GENERALIZED HYPOCRISY [Post # P2402]
February 5, 2024
On October 7, when the terrorist atrocities unfolded near the Gaza Strip, Israeli networks and media outlets all over the world immediately spoke about a historic failure for Israeli intelligence services, a surprise attack and an unconditional support for the Jewish State from several countries—notably Western countries.
As for the intelligence community, it surely made serious mistakes and, apparently, had no idea of what was really going on in the Gaza enclave. The distorted nature of a sworn enemy, the criminal activities of the most disgusting sponsor of terrorism in the world and even an enlightening, far-sighted report published at the end of August 2023, a few weeks before the barbaric slaughter of innocent civilians, did not ring any bell.
As for the intelligence community, it surely made serious mistakes and, apparently, had no idea of what was really going on in the Gaza enclave. The distorted nature of a sworn enemy, the criminal activities of the most disgusting sponsor of terrorism in the world and even an enlightening, far-sighted report published at the end of August 2023, a few weeks before the barbaric slaughter of innocent civilians, did not ring any bell.
Sad to say, it is all the more remarkable how some Israeli commanders allegedly reacted when "female observers who served near the Gaza border" raised concern about "training sessions, anomalies, and preparations" in the area. According to a news story by a media outlet, the response was stunning: "I don't want to hear about this nonsense again. If you bother me with these things again, you will stand trial"!
It also emerged that a former Israeli Defense Minister had "predicted Hamas's massacre" in 2016: he had "sounded an alarm about the Gaza-based terror group's intentions to infiltrate Israel, occupy communities along the Gaza border, and take Israeli civilians as hostages back to the Strip".
In addition, his "document explicitly cautioned against the decision not to launch a preemptive strike on Gaza after July 2017, warning that this would have far-reaching consequences, potentially worse than the aftermath of the Yom Kippur War" in 1973.
[cf. https://www.i24news.tv/en/news/israel-at-war/1698702029-a-2016-document-by-former-defense-minister-lieberman-predicted-hamas-massacre ]
It is surely unfortunate that his words fell on deaf ears. However, it might be worth noting that the most dangerous "far-reaching consequences", probably, had nothing to do with the Yom Kippur War, nor with "the Gaza-based terror group's intentions to infiltrate Israel", BUT with the critical (perhaps catastrophic) decisions that were taken in 2006, during the Lebanon War, when no attempt was made to destroy the Hezbollah terror organization!
Anyway, let's go back to the Gaza Strip.
Since the Hamas terror group had never been dismantled and the Tehran bunch of criminals was still there, it would have been wise to assume that a 24-hour alert had to be established. After all, what is stated in the Hamas Charter (2017) is clear: "Hamas believes that no part of the land of Palestine shall be compromised or conceded, irrespective of the causes, the circumstances and the pressures and no matter how long the occupation lasts. Hamas rejects any alternative to the full and complete liberation of Palestine, from the river to the sea."
To be fair, as outlined in this website (click here), that charter also claims that "without compromising its rejection of the Zionist entity and without relinquishing any Palestinian rights, Hamas considers the establishment of a fully sovereign and independent Palestinian state, with Jerusalem as its capital along the lines of the 4th of June 1967, with the return of the refugees and the displaced to their homes from which they were expelled, to be a formula of national consensus", BUT... although this concession might look great and almost generous, it is clearly incompatible with the statement that "no part of the land of Palestine shall be compromised or conceded, irrespective of the causes, the circumstances and the pressures and no matter how long the occupation lasts"!!!
Indeed, since "Hamas believes that no part of the land of Palestine shall be compromised or conceded, irrespective of the causes, the circumstances and the pressures", there is no denying that the real goal is to accomplish the task, which was clearly defined in the original version of the charter (1988):
"The Hamas has been looking forward to implement Allah's promise whatever time it might take. The prophet, prayer and peace be upon him, said: The time will not come until Muslims will fight the Jews (and kill them); until the Jews hide behind rocks and trees, which will cry: O Muslim! there is a Jew hiding behind me, come on and kill him!"
Anyway, let's go back to the Gaza Strip.
Since the Hamas terror group had never been dismantled and the Tehran bunch of criminals was still there, it would have been wise to assume that a 24-hour alert had to be established. After all, what is stated in the Hamas Charter (2017) is clear: "Hamas believes that no part of the land of Palestine shall be compromised or conceded, irrespective of the causes, the circumstances and the pressures and no matter how long the occupation lasts. Hamas rejects any alternative to the full and complete liberation of Palestine, from the river to the sea."
To be fair, as outlined in this website (click here), that charter also claims that "without compromising its rejection of the Zionist entity and without relinquishing any Palestinian rights, Hamas considers the establishment of a fully sovereign and independent Palestinian state, with Jerusalem as its capital along the lines of the 4th of June 1967, with the return of the refugees and the displaced to their homes from which they were expelled, to be a formula of national consensus", BUT... although this concession might look great and almost generous, it is clearly incompatible with the statement that "no part of the land of Palestine shall be compromised or conceded, irrespective of the causes, the circumstances and the pressures and no matter how long the occupation lasts"!!!
Indeed, since "Hamas believes that no part of the land of Palestine shall be compromised or conceded, irrespective of the causes, the circumstances and the pressures", there is no denying that the real goal is to accomplish the task, which was clearly defined in the original version of the charter (1988):
"The Hamas has been looking forward to implement Allah's promise whatever time it might take. The prophet, prayer and peace be upon him, said: The time will not come until Muslims will fight the Jews (and kill them); until the Jews hide behind rocks and trees, which will cry: O Muslim! there is a Jew hiding behind me, come on and kill him!"
[cf., e.g., https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/hamas-muslim-brotherhood-andrew-c-mccarthy/ ]
Therefore, as soon as hordes of terrorists crossed the Gaza border, I had no doubt that there was a "failure for Israeli intelligence services", while I felt puzzled when the concept of "surprise attack" came into play. Most of all, I was left completely baffled and confused when I read the news about an "unconditional support". Apparently, all major institutions in democratic countries around the globe were eager to affirm or (quite often) reaffirm an "unwavering support": from the United States to the European Union, from Canada to Australia.
YET, as I looked back to recent history, I could hardly be convinced by those noble sentiments of solidarity that were coming up with so many words of friendship and sympathy.
For instance, in spite of the support given by the US administration to Israel AFTER the terrorist attack from Gaza, the general attitude toward the Middle East appeared to be (at the very least) ambiguous all around the United States, as suggested by what had been going on across the Country for quite a time:
Therefore, as soon as hordes of terrorists crossed the Gaza border, I had no doubt that there was a "failure for Israeli intelligence services", while I felt puzzled when the concept of "surprise attack" came into play. Most of all, I was left completely baffled and confused when I read the news about an "unconditional support". Apparently, all major institutions in democratic countries around the globe were eager to affirm or (quite often) reaffirm an "unwavering support": from the United States to the European Union, from Canada to Australia.
YET, as I looked back to recent history, I could hardly be convinced by those noble sentiments of solidarity that were coming up with so many words of friendship and sympathy.
For instance, in spite of the support given by the US administration to Israel AFTER the terrorist attack from Gaza, the general attitude toward the Middle East appeared to be (at the very least) ambiguous all around the United States, as suggested by what had been going on across the Country for quite a time:
A) The House of Representatives and the Senate were filled with an impressive number of members who had often taken a clear stand in favor of terrorist groups active in the Middle East.
B) Several institutions (especially academic institutions and intellectual powerhouses) had a long tradition of anti-Semitic rhetoric, which could also date back to the pre-war period, when Ernst F.S. Hanfstaengl, Hitler's foreign press chief, was invited to Harvard University in 1934. On that occasion, there were "receptions given in his honor at the homes of alumni and top administrators, including the president". Reportedly, he was also "cheered when he gave a Nazi salute to several friends in the crowd".
C) The current US administration resolved to resume talks with a den of terrorists in order to revive the so-called nuclear deal and, just before the October 7 massacre, "issued a blanked waiver for sanctions on $6 billion in frozen Iranian assets as part of a broader agreement to secure the release of five American detainees". As expected, the president of the most powerful terror organization in the world was quick to state that its criminal gangs would "decide what to do with this money".
[cf. https://nypost.com/2023/09/12/iranian-president-plans-use-the-6b-prisoner-cash-wherever-we-need-it/]
D) On October 6, 2023 (OCTOBER 6, 2023!!!), it was possible to learn about a remarkable moment in American history: "US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has approved the release of $75 million in crucial food assistance for Palestinians just hours before the funds were set to be redistributed elsewhere" (and, obviously there was an overwhelming sense of gratitude from the agency that is known through the acronym UNRWA: "Thank you [Blinken] for providing $75 million in food assistance to Palestine refugees in Gaza!"—GAZA!!!!!... probably without checking how much would be used for the benefit of terrorist groups!!!)
[cf. https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20231006-under-the-radar-us-approves-release-of-75m-aid-to-palestine/]
Neither can we forget the US pressure on the Israeli Government to negotiate with the Gaza terror groups, which were still able to launch rockets against Israel last January, after months of military operations—and those rockets clearly showed/show the need to remove a lethal threat rather than focusing on negotiations or humanitarian issues.
As well as I doubt that the killings perpetrated by Hamas can be interpreted as a "surprise attack", in my opinion it would be out of place to believe that the current US administration's actions were surprising.
If we do not want to intentionally ignore several key events of the last decades, we cannot forget what happened
[BUT, mind you!, maybe each aspect of the Afghan botched operation in 2021 was scientifically studied with the noble aim of adopting a politically correct MAMA slogan: a nice contrast to the deplorable MAGA brand!!!]
By the way (again, not surprisingly!!!) both James Earl Carter Jr. and Barack Hussein Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize—and while we are here, we can also mention another Nobel Peace Prize Laureate involved in the US administration: Albert Arnold Gore Jr., who must still explain why the hell a melting glacier formed the Great Lakes in North America thousands of years ago or how it could happen that the Mediterranean Sea nearly dried up roughly six million years ago, when no human being was using fossil fuels!
If we cross the Atlantic Ocean and land in Europe, the overall picture seems to be equally embarrassing.
There was plenty of rhetoric and empty claims about rock solid support for Israel and its right to self-defense or something like that, BUT there were/are also controversial issues that cast a black shadow over the European Union's policies in the Middle East:
Frankly speaking, certain (frequent) comments about "international law" remind me of Harry Callahan's compelling argument in the movie Dirty Harry, when he was forced to acknowledge the inalienable rights of a criminal and the nonexistent, illusory rights of a victim: "The law's crazy"!
However, such comments also remind of a sort of generalized hypocrisy mixed with generalized anti-Israel feelings, especially if we look at some incontrovertible facts:
Perhaps more importantly, at the end of the war there was a strong effort to remove Nazi ideology and anti-democratic sentiments in Germany and Japan, with the result that these Countries soon became good friends and reliable allies of their former enemies. INSTEAD, in Palestine (especially in the Gaza Strip), there was a systematic and deliberate development of disgraceful policies (with the open support and shameful endorsement from Western governments and alleged relief organizations), whose aim was to spread a culture of hatred and fanaticism through an education process that has created the thousands or, more likely, the millions of people who are "looking forward to implement Allah's promise whatever time it might take".
It's certainly great to know that many terrorists (and their sponsors) are overjoyed to see that "no one in the region is experiencing calm", BUT what about the innocent civilians in Gaza City or Rafah or Khan Younis? Were they delighted to live in dire poverty, because most of the resources were being deployed to get weapons, build tunnels, design dual-use hospitals and fill the pockets of the top terrorists who are still moving as they please between Iran and Lebanon, Qatar and Syria, Oman and Turkey?
For instance, it is explained that a young man aged 25 would not give an enthusiastic welcome to the Palestinian Authority: in his opinion, it's unlikely that "the PA taking over Gaza is a solution people will accept or support". Definitely, he would "reject it", since he "can see what's happening in the West Bank, which is under PA's control".
Next, we can find the enlightening statement of a young lady, aged 29: "The only solution, or any next move that should be discussed now, should prioritise the means of how to dismantle years of occupation and military rule across the occupied territories".
In both cases, the message is clear: despite its wise pay-for-slay policy, the Palestinian Authority stubbornly refuses to fight the Israel Defense Forces when it's searching for weapons and arresting terrorists, who should rather be free to visit Jerusalem or Haifa or Tel Aviv, planting explosive devices in restaurants or placing bombs at bus stations or stabbing people around!
Is it surprising? Not at all! In fact, even if we are talking of people who claim to "refuse government funding and carefully review all donations" in order to reject anything that goes against their "policies, mission, and values", a document has come out, from which we learn that the Prime Minister of Qatar "agreed to provide monetary support of 3 million euros to the organization Human Rights Watch" in 2018. Hence, there should be no doubt (and no surprise!) about the actual "policies, mission, and values" of this "organization", since Qatar is a close ally of the Iranian clerics and a good friend of the Hamas terror group!!!
Obviously, the government spokesperson's answer was obvious: "If we could release one prisoner for every one hostage we would obviously do that"!!!
Instead, it's NOT so obvious if the broadcaster, driven by her anti-Israel fury, realized that her question should have been put to the Hamas negotiators, who obviously assume that their Palestinian brothers are no more than cannon fodder. Indeed, they can even feel that their brothers' lives are worth less than one thousandth the value of Israeli citizens, as proved by an agreement between Israel and Hamas in 2011, when an Israeli soldier was released in exchange for 1,027 prisoners, mainly Palestinians and Arab-Israelis!!!
Anyway, let's start by observing that the German Government, quite frequently, gives the impression to be proudly glad to welcome aliens... on and off making it clear that they should be skilled workers!!! YET, when needed, that very Government might not hesitate "to send back rejected asylum seekers to the EU countries where they first arrived ⎼ namely Italy, Greece and Spain" or might be ready to extend "border checks at crossings from Austria" because of the "rise in the number of migrants arriving via the Western Balkans route"!!!
Let's now go back to Israel for a brief comment on the perennial question of the so-called refugees, who should rather be defined heirs or descendants of refugees.
What is absolutely sure is that they represent a fantastic, profitable resource for all the bureaucrats who receive huge amounts of money by working under the umbrella of the UNRWA intelligentsia, which, notably, manages general-purpose buildings that can comfortably become excellent terrorist sanctuaries—ideal sites to store weapons and launch missiles against Israel.
Actually, the billions of dollars that have been pouring in from around the world necessarily represent the main (perhaps unique) reason to keep dealing with a unique problem.
Surely, I don't intend to downplay the suffering of the families who lost their properties between 1947 and 1949, BUT there are plenty of precedents and documented events in the history of mankind that make the refugee issue in Palestine definitely unique and (to use a euphemism) a bit awkward:
After all, exploitation of the poor, weak and naive never comes as a surprise, when billions of dollars (i.e., huge amounts of taxpayers' money) are available to corrupt leaders of developing countries and greedy, unscrupulous officials (most noticeably employees of institutions/organizations financially supported by so-called advanced countries). The handling of the well-known Oil-for-food program, set up in 1996 to help (!!!) Iraqi people, is a wonderful example and the perfect companion to the handling of the money that was supposed to serve for the sake of the Palestinians, but was actually used for the only purpose of buying rockets and rifles instead of food and medicines—and in 2001, it was great to learn that (not surprisingly!!!) the United Nations and its Secretary General, responsible for the Oil-for-food program, had been awarded the centenary Nobel Peace Prize!!!!!
Nonetheless, most Palestinians have always seemed to be happy, have been enthusiastically supporting the Hamas terrorists and were surely excited by the millions of dollars in the hands of Yasser Arafat, a pioneer in the field of global terrorism and, of course, a Nobel Peace Laureate—not to mention the joy of the average Palestinians for the lavish lifestyle of his wife and daughter, who (not surprisingly!!!) preferred to buy "a multimillion-dollar flat in a chic district" in Paris instead of living in a refugee camp or somewhere in Ramallah!
Since we have come across the decades-long failure to solve the refugee problem, it may be worth spending a few words on Egypt's stance "against any displacement of Gaza's residents to Sinai" (October 2023).
Several past events definitely suggest that the Egyptian leadership did take a wise decision—much wiser than many decisions taken by lots of bureaucrats around the world, who seem to be happy to welcome any aliens.
Indeed, it was rational to observe that "Palestinians could instead be moved to Israel's Negev desert", since "the Gaza Strip is effectively under Israeli control". Sure enough, there is little or no argument to involve Egypt: if Palestinians must move, the Negev desert represents a logical choice, "till the militants are dealt with", as clearly stated by President al-Sisi.
As expected, the Egyptian President was also motivated by the risk of encouraging a "forced displacement of Palestinians from their land". His message couldn't be more explicit: "What is happening now in Gaza is an attempt to force civilian residents to become refugees and migrate to Egypt, which should not be accepted".
In other words, it was necessary to reject "any attempt to resolve the Palestinian issue by military means or through the forced displacement of Palestinians from their land, which would come at the expense of the countries of the region".
However, there were also other reasons: told and untold!
What could be openly discussed was the destiny of Sinai: a Palestinian settlement "would turn the peninsula into a base for attacks against Israel"!!!
Actually, according to President al-Sisi, such a settlement would imply "that we move the idea of resistance, of combat, from the Gaza Strip to Sinai, and so Sinai would become the base for launching operations against Israel". Incidentally, don't forget that "Egypt is also wary of insecurity near its border with Gaza in northeastern Sinai, where it faced a terrorist campaign which escalated a decade ago"!!!
That said, there are a few points, which deserve to be properly considered, in order to cast some light on (possible?!?!?) untold reasons:
In Jordan, in September 1970 (the so-called Black September), there was "an all-out attack on the Palestinians", who "found themselves at war with an Arab government". In the end, "thousands of Palestinians were killed in the fighting".
Then, it was the turn of Lebanon, which used to be a sort of Switzerland of the Middle East. "The Palestinian guerrilla movement" (NOT just a peaceful group of civilian residents!!!!!) "had moved its base" right there, a civil war broke out and eventually even the Syrian Army was mobilized. Again, "thousands of Palestinians were killed", mostly in the Tel al-Zaatar refugee camp, near Beirut, in 1976.
Similarly, "more than 2,000 people, including many civilians, were reportedly killed" in the Shatila and Burj-el Barajneh Palestinian refugee camps between 1985 and 1987, in consequence of attacks by the Syrian-backed Shiite Amal militia.
Then, of course, in 1982, there was the exceptionally well-known Sabra and Shatila massacre, after which the "Kahan Commission of Inquiry, formed by the Israeli government in response to public outrage and grief, found that Israel was indirectly responsible for not anticipating the possibility of Phalangist violence"—yet, no one can deny that the massacre was perpetrated by the Lebanese Christian Phalangist militia "to avenge the murders of Lebanese President Bashir Gemayel and 25 of his followers, killed in a bomb attack earlier that week".
While everyone all over the world must have heard of Sabra and Shatila at least once in his life (since it was possible to claim that Israel was somehow "responsible"), you could bet that just a few people (not surprisingly!!!) are aware that over 3,000 "Syrian Palestinians were killed by Syrian Regime forces" between 2011 and 2020, according to the Syrian Network for Human Rights.
Notably, other brutal killings of Palestinians by their Arab brothers took place even in the Gaza Strip in 2014—and the number of people who were assassinated in 2014 has been recently increased by the number of civilian residents (and/or alleged civilian residents) who were exploited as human shields or were hit by malfunctioning rockets launched by the Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror groups...
Well, here we are!!!
As suggested by some comments about events that unfolded after the 1948-1949 war, it's high time to discuss the ongoing problem of Palestinian statehood!!!
Today most of the Arab world (or, at least, most of the moderate Arab world) seems to be in favor of a two-state solution with East Jerusalem as the capital of a sovereign Palestinian State. Yet, that very solution was available for eighteen years, from 1949 to 1967, without any objection from Israel. However, nothing happened, either because the Palestinians and the leaders of the neighboring Arab countries were engaged in preparing a new war against Israel or because Jordan had de facto annexed the West Bank and was looking forward to creating a Great Jordan or because the West Bank and the Gaza Strip (at that time under Egyptian rule) were not enough for the Palestinians, who wanted to build a Great Palestine.
Next, after the Six Day War in 1967 (waged by Arab states!), the scenario completely changed, as typically happens at the end of a conflict, since wars always have consequences. In this specific context, not surprisingly!!!, the Israelis decided it would be wise to protect their State in a more efficient way and it seems hard to conclude that they made a mistake.
No matter what the right-thinking pro-Palestinian activists and Hamas fans believe, it is unquestionable that
➤ Israel was attacked again in 1973 (Yom Kippur War)
➤ Plenty of weapons are often found in dens of terrorists, when the Israeli military conducts raids in the West Bank
➤ Lots of criminals and suicide bombers have been moving across Israel despite the West Bank barrier
➤ When Israel abandoned the Gaza Strip, the majority of the Palestinian voters sided with Hamas (perhaps because they had been motivated by "Allah's promise")
➤ Even a Catholic archbishop attempted to smuggle weapons and explosives from Lebanon to Israel(!!!)
E) "Blinken's approval of the funds came after US Ambassador to the UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, announced an additional $73 million in funding to support UNRWA's core and emergency services"—additional!!!!!... it was NOT an exceptional event, BUT a regular donation!!!
Neither can we forget the US pressure on the Israeli Government to negotiate with the Gaza terror groups, which were still able to launch rockets against Israel last January, after months of military operations—and those rockets clearly showed/show the need to remove a lethal threat rather than focusing on negotiations or humanitarian issues.
As well as I doubt that the killings perpetrated by Hamas can be interpreted as a "surprise attack", in my opinion it would be out of place to believe that the current US administration's actions were surprising.
If we do not want to intentionally ignore several key events of the last decades, we cannot forget what happened
A) In the Sixties, when the US administration decided that Ngô Đình Diêm was not fit to be president of South Vietnam, set the foundations for the Vietnam War in order to promote democracy, fought that war in the worst possible way and was practically responsible for the torture, brainwashing, hard labor, re-education and death of former Vietnamese opponents of the democratic Communist regime, in the aftermath of the conflict
B) In the Seventies, when the US administration decided that Reza Pahlavi was not fit to be Shah of Iran, set the foundations for the ayatollahs' regime in order to promote democracy and turned a loyal ally into the worst sponsor of world terrorism
C) Between 2013 and 2014, when the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria became a major terrorist organization, in spite of the military presence of US forces in Iraq, which didn't do anything for a long time, probably as a sign of respect for the local democracies, especially in Iraq
D) Between 2014 and 2017, when the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria had almost gone out of control, the US administration finally thought it was high time to do something and took the opportunity to fight the Assad regime, without toppling the dictator and with the result that Russia (a potential, precious asset in the world scenario) came to the obvious conclusion that it was perceived as an enemy, since the military intervention against its Syrian friend was, at the very least, the third hostile action against a Russian ally, after the US bombs in Serbia (1999) and Libya (2011)
E) In 2021, when the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan gave a free hand to the democratic Taliban regime and made America miserable again, as miserable as it was in 1980, after a failed mission that took place to rescue US hostages, who were being held by Iranian terrorists, in consequence of the replacement of the Shah with a democratic cleric!
[BUT, mind you!, maybe each aspect of the Afghan botched operation in 2021 was scientifically studied with the noble aim of adopting a politically correct MAMA slogan: a nice contrast to the deplorable MAGA brand!!!]
By the way (again, not surprisingly!!!) both James Earl Carter Jr. and Barack Hussein Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize—and while we are here, we can also mention another Nobel Peace Prize Laureate involved in the US administration: Albert Arnold Gore Jr., who must still explain why the hell a melting glacier formed the Great Lakes in North America thousands of years ago or how it could happen that the Mediterranean Sea nearly dried up roughly six million years ago, when no human being was using fossil fuels!
If we cross the Atlantic Ocean and land in Europe, the overall picture seems to be equally embarrassing.
There was plenty of rhetoric and empty claims about rock solid support for Israel and its right to self-defense or something like that, BUT there were/are also controversial issues that cast a black shadow over the European Union's policies in the Middle East:
A) a strong desire to restore the nuclear deal with a terrorist regime
B) a shameful financial support for study books used in Palestinian schools and characterized by "a systematic insertion of violence, martyrdom and jihad across all grades and subjects in a more extensive and sophisticated manner, embracing a full spectrum of extreme nationalist ideas and Islamist ideologies that extend even into the teaching of science and mathematics"
C) outrageous payments to the Palestinian Authority, which directly or indirectly represent a tangible contribution to its pay-for-slay policy—and these payments have not been suspended in spite of some good news (about the "suspension of Palestinian development aid") just after the terror attack from Gaza...
[cf., e.g., https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/is-the-eu-funding-ongoing-palestinian-authority-terrorist-payments-589377,
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/10/9/eu-suspends-development-aid-payments-to-palestinians-after-hamas-attack]
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/10/9/eu-suspends-development-aid-payments-to-palestinians-after-hamas-attack]
D) the old mantra that civilians are innocent by definition, which represents an insurance policy for terrorists hiding in residential areas and civilian facilities, including hospitals and mosques
E) rhetorical questions (e.g., "How many is too many?"), typical of bureaucrats who fail to understand (or pretend not to understand) that the answer is quite simple: no matter the collateral damage, until terrorists are unable to launch rockets and all of them are removed from the battlefield, the only reasonable goal for Israel is to neutralize any threat to its sovereignty and territorial integrity "before the fighting in Gaza stops"—which is exactly what happened in 1945 in Germany and Japan, where the fighting stopped as soon as German and Japanese Armed Forces stopped fighting
F) well-known tirades, whose final objective is the freedom of terrorists and the annihilation of Israel (e.g., "Some of the actions - and the UN has already said that, such as cutting water, cutting electricity, cutting food to civilian populations is against international law, so yes there are some actions which are not in accordance with international law")
Frankly speaking, certain (frequent) comments about "international law" remind me of Harry Callahan's compelling argument in the movie Dirty Harry, when he was forced to acknowledge the inalienable rights of a criminal and the nonexistent, illusory rights of a victim: "The law's crazy"!
However, such comments also remind of a sort of generalized hypocrisy mixed with generalized anti-Israel feelings, especially if we look at some incontrovertible facts:
A) The right-thinking people who call for a restrained response and want Israel to suffer in silence have never been in cities like Ashkelon or Sderot, but would probably do whatever is needed to protect their properties if they lived under the threat of rocket attacks
B) The most excited critics of Israel (in the first place, high-level bureaucrats) are self-proclaimed anti-fascist and anti-nazi firebrands, who (rightly!) celebrate the anti-fascist and anti-nazi war (i.e., World War II), BUT ALWAYS forget that this war came to an end after the death of millions of civilians, the indiscriminate destruction of residential areas (including the bombing of Dresden or the nuclear attack on Hiroshima) and the unconditional surrender of Germany and Japan.
Perhaps more importantly, at the end of the war there was a strong effort to remove Nazi ideology and anti-democratic sentiments in Germany and Japan, with the result that these Countries soon became good friends and reliable allies of their former enemies. INSTEAD, in Palestine (especially in the Gaza Strip), there was a systematic and deliberate development of disgraceful policies (with the open support and shameful endorsement from Western governments and alleged relief organizations), whose aim was to spread a culture of hatred and fanaticism through an education process that has created the thousands or, more likely, the millions of people who are "looking forward to implement Allah's promise whatever time it might take".
C) Self-proclaimed anti-fascist and anti-nazi firebrands are also self-proclaimed democratic activists, who do not hesitate to threaten or attack alleged fascists (i.e., individuals who don't share their beliefs) in the name of democracy—of course, assuming that they shall never suffer the consequences of their actions, as well as Hamas terrorists, supported by a good number of Western accomplices, believe that their crimes should go unpunished. Please note that this is a fact, NOT a conjecture, as proven by the reaction of the terrorist organization and their apologists, when the US (alas!?!?!) opposed a UN Security Council demand for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip on December 8, 2023. What a horrible experience!?!?! A slap in the face of the most virtuous actors on the world stage: China (responsible for the crackdown on Uyghur Muslims), Iran (where the Mahshahr massacre took place in 2019), Russia (which destroyed the Chechen resistance), Turkey (which still pretends to ignore the Armenian genocide) and, of course, Palestinian officials. All of them were looking forward to a unanimous verdict in favor of the murderers, who were endeavoring to "implement" what was supposed to be "Allah's promise" and were also sure that they deserved to get off scot-free
[cf., e.g., https://www.arabnews.com/node/2422691/middle-east]
D) Most of the victims in Dresden and Hiroshima could probably be classified as "innocent civilians"; yet, they were also citizens of the countries, which had attacked Poland and the United States. Obviously, the military operations against Poland and the United States had nothing to do with the average citizens of Dresden and Hiroshima, but Adolf Hitler and Hideki Tōjō would have never been at the helm of Germany and Japan without the support of a good number of German and Japanese "innocent civilians" (as well as Kim Il-sung, Pol Pot, Joseph Stalin, Mao Zedong and other similar individuals would have never imposed a tyrannical rule and a warmongering ideology without the backing of a significant percentage of their fellow countrymen)
E) What happened in the Gaza Strip has strong similarities with events that eventually led to the Second World War: surely, the average inhabitants of the Gaza Strip had nothing to do with the attack that was launched on October 7 by gangs of terrorists, but the criminals at the helm of the Gaza Strip were right there because a good number of "innocent civilians" (BOTH in the Gaza Strip AND in the West Bank) had freely voted (in 2006) for a party whose aim was to "implement" what was assumed to be "Allah's promise"
F) Despite so many analogies between today's war in the Gaza Strip and events of the past, the Israelis called for Gaza residents to move south before major military operations, WHILE no history book talks about any warning given to innocent civilians in Dresden or Hiroshima, in Berlin or Tokyo, before their cities were razed to the ground in World War II (and even if the displacement of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians did not save the lives of many civilians and presumed civilians, the number of casualties is much lower than what could be reasonably expected in a fight against terrorists or so-called militants or alleged resistance groups who hide in residential areas)
G) What happened on October 7, in actual fact, can be seen as part of a "bloody gambit to create a 'permanent' state of war". As pointed out by one of the many leaders who live in the lap of luxury at a good distance from Palestine, the terrorists who are still roaming the Gaza Strip have "succeeded in putting the Palestinian issue back on the table", with the result that "now no one in the region is experiencing calm".
It's certainly great to know that many terrorists (and their sponsors) are overjoyed to see that "no one in the region is experiencing calm", BUT what about the innocent civilians in Gaza City or Rafah or Khan Younis? Were they delighted to live in dire poverty, because most of the resources were being deployed to get weapons, build tunnels, design dual-use hospitals and fill the pockets of the top terrorists who are still moving as they please between Iran and Lebanon, Qatar and Syria, Oman and Turkey?
[cf. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/08/world/middleeast/hamas-israel-gaza-war.html,
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12706715/Hamas-terrorist-billionaires-live-marble-floored-mansions.html]
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12706715/Hamas-terrorist-billionaires-live-marble-floored-mansions.html]
H) Allegedly, an answer to the above questions can be found in the website of a news network that has been acting as a loyal mouthpiece for the terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip. Looking at that website, it is possible to learn that the average citizens are quite happy with the status quo ("In the midst of Israel's assault, people of Gaza still don't want the PA", as stated in an article published on November 7, 2023).
For instance, it is explained that a young man aged 25 would not give an enthusiastic welcome to the Palestinian Authority: in his opinion, it's unlikely that "the PA taking over Gaza is a solution people will accept or support". Definitely, he would "reject it", since he "can see what's happening in the West Bank, which is under PA's control".
Next, we can find the enlightening statement of a young lady, aged 29: "The only solution, or any next move that should be discussed now, should prioritise the means of how to dismantle years of occupation and military rule across the occupied territories".
In both cases, the message is clear: despite its wise pay-for-slay policy, the Palestinian Authority stubbornly refuses to fight the Israel Defense Forces when it's searching for weapons and arresting terrorists, who should rather be free to visit Jerusalem or Haifa or Tel Aviv, planting explosive devices in restaurants or placing bombs at bus stations or stabbing people around!
Of course, it is legitimate to suppose that some comments were cherry-picked in order to spread a politically correct vision or that the "people of Gaza" tend to say what can be said, while they are not inclined to say what can't be said. As a matter of fact, the devoted love of the "people of Gaza" for their terrorist organizations does not appear to be unanimous, as confirmed by a different source, according to which even a "top Hamas military commander" dared to criticize his leaders ("My dear Gaza is under bombardment", "They destroyed us"), lamenting that he only "had some dates and olive oil to eat, unlike the group's head, Ismail Haniyeh, and others, who live in splendour in Qatar and Turkey".
In addition, it is possible to find the footage of a correspondent inclined to ignore Palestinian civilians who are hospitalized in Gaza and dare to put unacceptable questions: "Why is Hamas hiding among us civilians? Why don't they go to hell and hide there instead?"
YET, the comments of the "top Hamas military commander" and the "unacceptable questions" of the poor man in the Gaza hospital are probably most unusual and extremely rare, since the terrorist organizations must necessarily have a strong grip on the population, victim of a successful brainwashing program. Not for nothing, even an "UNRWA teacher" appears to be involved in the criminal system, while a hostage, who had escaped, was eventually recaptured by Gazans and returned to their fellow-terrorists.
[cf., e.g., https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/article-775777,
https://www.timesofisrael.com/israeli-russian-released-by-hamas-had-escaped-for-4-days-was-recaptured-in-gaza/]
https://www.timesofisrael.com/israeli-russian-released-by-hamas-had-escaped-for-4-days-was-recaptured-in-gaza/]
I) There is plenty of non-governmental organizations, too, which are keen to be on good terms with terror organizations. One example comes from a syndicate, which maintains that its members are "country experts, lawyers, journalists, and others who work to protect the most at risk, from vulnerable minorities and civilians in wartime, to refugees and children in need". Going through its reports and articles, one is likely to come across comments about "Israeli authorities' crimes against humanity of apartheid and persecution" and similar alleged atrocities. SO, the notable lesson is straightforward: terrorists are "the most at risk"! At bottom, those "experts, lawyers, journalists, and others" are virtually dreaming of a heavenly place where freedom fighters are free to kill the Jews and "implement" what they believe to be "Allah's promise", while Israel is not allowed to defend itself!
Is it surprising? Not at all! In fact, even if we are talking of people who claim to "refuse government funding and carefully review all donations" in order to reject anything that goes against their "policies, mission, and values", a document has come out, from which we learn that the Prime Minister of Qatar "agreed to provide monetary support of 3 million euros to the organization Human Rights Watch" in 2018. Hence, there should be no doubt (and no surprise!) about the actual "policies, mission, and values" of this "organization", since Qatar is a close ally of the Iranian clerics and a good friend of the Hamas terror group!!!
[cf. https://www.hrw.org/about/about-us,
https://www.hrw.org/news/2023/11/22/while-fire-rages-gaza-west-bank-smolders,
https://www.memri.org/reports/raven-project-leaks-alleged-qatari-support-3-million-euros-human-rights-watch]
https://www.hrw.org/news/2023/11/22/while-fire-rages-gaza-west-bank-smolders,
https://www.memri.org/reports/raven-project-leaks-alleged-qatari-support-3-million-euros-human-rights-watch]
J) An English broadcaster, (probably?!?!?) without understanding what she was talking about, did not seem satisfied with the terms of a truce deal between Hamas and Israel that began on November 24, 2023: curiously, she complained that Israel was going to release 150 prisoners, while Hamas would hand over only 50 hostages. Thus, she had the brilliant idea to put an unambiguous question to an Israeli government spokesman: "Does Israel not think that Palestinian lives are valued as highly as Israeli lives?"
Obviously, the government spokesperson's answer was obvious: "If we could release one prisoner for every one hostage we would obviously do that"!!!
Instead, it's NOT so obvious if the broadcaster, driven by her anti-Israel fury, realized that her question should have been put to the Hamas negotiators, who obviously assume that their Palestinian brothers are no more than cannon fodder. Indeed, they can even feel that their brothers' lives are worth less than one thousandth the value of Israeli citizens, as proved by an agreement between Israel and Hamas in 2011, when an Israeli soldier was released in exchange for 1,027 prisoners, mainly Palestinians and Arab-Israelis!!!
[cf., e.g., https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2023-11-23/ty-article/no-equivalence-between-israeli-hostages-and-palestinian-prisoners-says-govt-spokesperson/0000018b-fc9b-d8d0-a58f-ffdb88fe0000
https://www.timesofisrael.com/ben-gvir-warns-against-disaster-of-a-hostage-deal-slams-idiocy-of-war-cabinet/]
https://www.timesofisrael.com/ben-gvir-warns-against-disaster-of-a-hostage-deal-slams-idiocy-of-war-cabinet/]
If you are still perplexed, the philosophy and the mood of certain individuals are clearly exposed in a more recent article published in the website of a news network, whose loyalty to Hamas is beyond any manner of doubt. While discussing a "public report" of the network's friends about the Israeli hostages (a kind of essay titled "Our Narrative"), the article blatantly admits that the terrorists make a clear distinction between humans and (in their opinion) sub-humans: "The report said Hamas planned to target Israeli military sites and to capture soldiers, which could be used to pressure the Israeli authorities to release thousands of Palestinians held in Israeli prisons". THOUSANDS!!!
K) Hypocrites and charlatans tend to become particularly active when wars break out, but their influence is often felt in everyday life: for instance, when political gurus in the US want to defund the police, BUT pay large amounts of money for their own security or shed crocodile tears if they fall prey to criminals and are eventually helped by police officers
[cf., e.g., https://www.foxnews.com/media/dem-party-chairwoman-once-called-defund-police-carjacked-assaulted-minneapolis]
L) The most enthusiastic sympathizers of illegal aliens are also fervent supporters of the not in my backyard policy, as proved (for example) by recent events in New York City, which "already had one of the strongest sanctuary laws in the country"—and it was not enough: "on October 31, 2017, the New York City Council passed Intro 1568-2017, establishing that no New York City resources can be used for federal immigration enforcement purposes". HOWEVER, last September, the local mayor did not seem impatient to embrace illegal immigrants and dared to say: "This issue will destroy New York City. Destroy New York City." Not surprisingly, he explained that "it started with a madman down in Texas", who "decided he wanted to bus people up to New York City". YET, it is hard to understand why Texas authorities should be so naive as to refrain from sending illegal aliens to a sanctuary city, which has clearly pledged to offer a warm welcome to any alien and has even stated that its resources cannot "be used for federal immigration enforcement purposes"
[cf. https://www.populardemocracy.org/blog/sanctuary-city-policy-wins-new-york-city,
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/mayor-eric-adams-predicts-migrant-crisis-will-destroy-new-york-city#]
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/mayor-eric-adams-predicts-migrant-crisis-will-destroy-new-york-city#]
M) Another interesting example of the not in my backyard policy comes from France, which "denounced Italy's refusal to take in more than 600 migrants stranded aboard" a so-called "rescue ship" in June 2018. HOWEVER, not surprisingly!!!, when illegal aliens try to cross the border between Ventimiglia, Italy, and Menton, France, "the Italians, now so overwhelmed by numbers of arrivals, do only cursory checks", WHILE "the French police, facing a similar problem, are more thorough" and "document checks at the first station expose dozens seeking illegal passage every day": in the end, lots of migrants "are hauled off to be detained and documented then returned over the border to Italy"!!!
[cf. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-europe-migrants-italy-france-idUSKBN1J81JL,
https://www.itv.com/news/2023-09-04/pass-of-death-young-migrants-risk-it-all-for-chance-of-new-life-in-france]
https://www.itv.com/news/2023-09-04/pass-of-death-young-migrants-risk-it-all-for-chance-of-new-life-in-france]
N) Some German initiatives also appear to be (not surprisingly!!!) funny—or, perhaps more properly, potentially dangerous even for Germany itself (if we focus on the wider picture and don't forget some details).
Anyway, let's start by observing that the German Government, quite frequently, gives the impression to be proudly glad to welcome aliens... on and off making it clear that they should be skilled workers!!! YET, when needed, that very Government might not hesitate "to send back rejected asylum seekers to the EU countries where they first arrived ⎼ namely Italy, Greece and Spain" or might be ready to extend "border checks at crossings from Austria" because of the "rise in the number of migrants arriving via the Western Balkans route"!!!
[cf. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/germany-extends-checks-austrian-border-migrant-numbers-rise-2022-10-11/,
https://www.euractiv.com/section/justice-home-affairs/news/migrants-at-the-german-austrian-border-will-be-sent-back-to-italy-greece-and-spain/,
https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/germany-extends-checks-austrian-border-migrant-numbers-rise-2022-10-11/]
https://www.euractiv.com/section/justice-home-affairs/news/migrants-at-the-german-austrian-border-will-be-sent-back-to-italy-greece-and-spain/,
https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/germany-extends-checks-austrian-border-migrant-numbers-rise-2022-10-11/]
In addition, Germany seems to be thrilled to pieces to "disburse aid to migrant charity groups operating in the Mediterranean", provided that the alleged rescue ships land in Southern Europe. Please note that the words "alleged rescue ships" (in the writer's opinion) don't absolutely mean that these vessels don't save lives, but simply refer to the fact that human trafficking or, in the most favorable hypothesis, collusion with human traffickers might come first, as suggested even in a report that was issued in 2017 by Frontex, i.e. the European Border and Coast Guard Agency, which is supposed to support EU Member States and Schengen-associated countries in the management (!!!) of the European Union's external borders: "it transpired that both border surveillance and SAR missions close to, or within, the 12-mile territorial waters of Libya have unintended [SIC!!!] consequences. Namely, they influence smugglers' planning and act as a pull factor that compounds the difficulties inherent in border control and saving lives at sea. Dangerous crossings on unseaworthy and overloaded vessels were organised with the main purpose of being detected by EUNAVFOR Med/Frontex and NGO vessels." No matter what you feel, it seems statistically interesting to observe that an alleged rescue ship is almost always available to save lives at a short distance from a boat in danger of sinking, while fatal accidents are extremely rare...
[cf. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/germany-disburse-funds-migrant-charities-amid-spat-with-rome-2023-09-28/,
https://www.frontex.europa.eu/assets/Publications/Risk_Analysis/Annual_Risk_Analysis_2017.pdf ]
https://www.frontex.europa.eu/assets/Publications/Risk_Analysis/Annual_Risk_Analysis_2017.pdf ]
Of course, the German practices might be merely interpreted as a trivial, irrelevant example of a global strategy, which is systematically adopted by do good mandarins, who make any effort to look as if they were extremely generous, BUT are actually affected by the not in my backyard syndrome. Thus, so far, nothing new on the horizon. HOWEVER (as said above) there should be concern for possible collateral damage even in the case of Germany, if we don't forget some details: this is unequivocally proved by the terror attack on a Berlin Christmas market in 2016. The fanatic murderer who killed twelve people had disembarked in the Island of Lampedusa, Italy, in 2011, thanks to the open border EU policy, mostly encouraged and supported by countries, which feel reasonably safe, because they are not supposed to see illegal aliens disembarking in their ports... and in this context, no one should pretend to ignore the terrorist who recently murdered two Swedish nationals in Brussels (October 2023) and had also been welcomed to the Island of Lampedusa in 2011, as well as the terrorist who killed three people in a church in Nice, France, in 2020, although the French Police are likely to be "more thorough", as already pointed out.
[cf., e.g., https://edition.cnn.com/2016/12/22/europe/anis-amri-berlin-christmas-market/index.html ,
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/brussels-shooting-now-belgium-terrorist-attack-b2430838.html ,
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/oct/29/nice-church-attacker-identified-as-21-year-old-tunisian-man ]
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/brussels-shooting-now-belgium-terrorist-attack-b2430838.html ,
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/oct/29/nice-church-attacker-identified-as-21-year-old-tunisian-man ]
Let's now go back to Israel for a brief comment on the perennial question of the so-called refugees, who should rather be defined heirs or descendants of refugees.
What is absolutely sure is that they represent a fantastic, profitable resource for all the bureaucrats who receive huge amounts of money by working under the umbrella of the UNRWA intelligentsia, which, notably, manages general-purpose buildings that can comfortably become excellent terrorist sanctuaries—ideal sites to store weapons and launch missiles against Israel.
[cf., e.g., https://www.unrwa.org/newsroom/press-releases/unrwa-condemns-placement-rockets-second-time-one-its-schools ]
Actually, the billions of dollars that have been pouring in from around the world necessarily represent the main (perhaps unique) reason to keep dealing with a unique problem.
Surely, I don't intend to downplay the suffering of the families who lost their properties between 1947 and 1949, BUT there are plenty of precedents and documented events in the history of mankind that make the refugee issue in Palestine definitely unique and (to use a euphemism) a bit awkward:
A) According to different sources, a good number of Arabs, fearing a war, left Palestine even before the foundation of the State of Israel. Later, when Israel was attacked by their Arab brothers, another good number of Palestinians spontaneously fled, since they were encouraged by their leaders to avoid the risk of becoming victims of collateral damage during the (imminent, expected) massacre of the Jews—and it goes without saying that they would come back to their homes as winners very shortly, as promised by optimistic rabble-rousers and inspiring bigwigs. Definitely, it seems legitimate to maintain that many people did not abandon their lands "because they were actually expelled but because of the fear of war, the fear of battle reaching their homes, and so on"
[cf. https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/myths-and-facts-the-refugees,
https://pij.org/articles/597/the-palestinian-exodus-1948]
https://pij.org/articles/597/the-palestinian-exodus-1948]
B) If one million Palestinians (including harmless individuals) had really been expelled from their lands (MIND YOU, in consequence of a war declared by Arab leaders!), it would be terribly awful and sad, but unfortunately similar events have stained the history of humanity and NOTHING has ever happened, which is vaguely similar to what has been going on in Palestine for over seventy years: after the end of World War II, we have seen NO REFUGEES sitting on the borders with Croatia or Slovenia or Silesia or former East Prussia, claiming their lands and homes back; similarly, there are NO JEWISH REFUGEES sitting on the border with Spain or in the outskirts of Alexandria, Egypt, still waiting to enter their homes, from which their ancestors were expelled by the Catholic Monarchs in 1492 or by Cyril of Alexandria in 415. Nor should we forget the hundreds of thousands of Jewish people who left Arab countries between 1948 and 1972 (often because of persecutions) and were forced to "take little more than the shirts on their backs"—and no one should fail to remember that the Jewish people had not waged any war against the states from which they had to flee
C) The refugee affair is so extravagant that it looks like an engineered artefact created by indoctrinating millions of poor people and forcing them to live a miserable life, by means of threats, brainwashing practices and an education process, which was/is based on the cult of hatred and religious fanaticism for the benefit of few and the detriment of many.
After all, exploitation of the poor, weak and naive never comes as a surprise, when billions of dollars (i.e., huge amounts of taxpayers' money) are available to corrupt leaders of developing countries and greedy, unscrupulous officials (most noticeably employees of institutions/organizations financially supported by so-called advanced countries). The handling of the well-known Oil-for-food program, set up in 1996 to help (!!!) Iraqi people, is a wonderful example and the perfect companion to the handling of the money that was supposed to serve for the sake of the Palestinians, but was actually used for the only purpose of buying rockets and rifles instead of food and medicines—and in 2001, it was great to learn that (not surprisingly!!!) the United Nations and its Secretary General, responsible for the Oil-for-food program, had been awarded the centenary Nobel Peace Prize!!!!!
Nonetheless, most Palestinians have always seemed to be happy, have been enthusiastically supporting the Hamas terrorists and were surely excited by the millions of dollars in the hands of Yasser Arafat, a pioneer in the field of global terrorism and, of course, a Nobel Peace Laureate—not to mention the joy of the average Palestinians for the lavish lifestyle of his wife and daughter, who (not surprisingly!!!) preferred to buy "a multimillion-dollar flat in a chic district" in Paris instead of living in a refugee camp or somewhere in Ramallah!
[cf., e.g., https://www.theguardian.com/world/2005/sep/07/iraq.ewenmacaskill,
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/1411047.stm,
https://www.forbes.com/2004/11/11/cz_nv_1110arafat.html?sh=67e77e9273bb,
https://english.alarabiya.net/articles/2007%2F08%2F22%2F38159,
https://www.smh.com.au/world/middle-east/first-lady-courts-controversy-with-life-of-luxury-in-paris-20041106-gdk27g.html]
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/1411047.stm,
https://www.forbes.com/2004/11/11/cz_nv_1110arafat.html?sh=67e77e9273bb,
https://english.alarabiya.net/articles/2007%2F08%2F22%2F38159,
https://www.smh.com.au/world/middle-east/first-lady-courts-controversy-with-life-of-luxury-in-paris-20041106-gdk27g.html]
D) It would be very unfair to talk about events that involved the leadership of the Palestine Liberation Organization several decades ago without pointing out that today it is possible to witness a similar passionate support of the average Palestinians for leaders, who openly publicize "Allah's promise" and secretly rake in millions of dollars...
Since we have come across the decades-long failure to solve the refugee problem, it may be worth spending a few words on Egypt's stance "against any displacement of Gaza's residents to Sinai" (October 2023).
Several past events definitely suggest that the Egyptian leadership did take a wise decision—much wiser than many decisions taken by lots of bureaucrats around the world, who seem to be happy to welcome any aliens.
Indeed, it was rational to observe that "Palestinians could instead be moved to Israel's Negev desert", since "the Gaza Strip is effectively under Israeli control". Sure enough, there is little or no argument to involve Egypt: if Palestinians must move, the Negev desert represents a logical choice, "till the militants are dealt with", as clearly stated by President al-Sisi.
As expected, the Egyptian President was also motivated by the risk of encouraging a "forced displacement of Palestinians from their land". His message couldn't be more explicit: "What is happening now in Gaza is an attempt to force civilian residents to become refugees and migrate to Egypt, which should not be accepted".
In other words, it was necessary to reject "any attempt to resolve the Palestinian issue by military means or through the forced displacement of Palestinians from their land, which would come at the expense of the countries of the region".
However, there were also other reasons: told and untold!
What could be openly discussed was the destiny of Sinai: a Palestinian settlement "would turn the peninsula into a base for attacks against Israel"!!!
Actually, according to President al-Sisi, such a settlement would imply "that we move the idea of resistance, of combat, from the Gaza Strip to Sinai, and so Sinai would become the base for launching operations against Israel". Incidentally, don't forget that "Egypt is also wary of insecurity near its border with Gaza in northeastern Sinai, where it faced a terrorist campaign which escalated a decade ago"!!!
That said, there are a few points, which deserve to be properly considered, in order to cast some light on (possible?!?!?) untold reasons:
A) With reference to the words of President al-Sisi, it is certainly justifiable to argue that Israel made an "attempt to force civilian residents to become refugees": civilian residents!!!!! Indeed, as reported by the media, the Israelis clearly claimed that their objective was to get rid of Hamas (NOT "civilian residents") once and for all. Therefore, it would have been stupid to encourage a displacement of active Hamas terrorists (who had to be neutralized), as well as (in principle) active Hamas terrorists would have been stupid, if they had fled to Egypt instead of fighting their enemies. YET, while talking about "civilian residents", President al-Sisi did NOT forget the risk of "operations against Israel". The obvious conclusion is that, in the opinion of the Egyptian Leader, it is not so obvious to distinguish between Palestinians who are "civilian residents" and Palestinians who are terrorists or potential terrorists (or "militants", as President al-Sisi calls them according to the article cited above). In truth, this fact becomes implicitly unequivocal (or, better, explicitly unequivocal), if we focus on the dire warning of the Egyptian President himself: "Sinai would become the base for launching operations against Israel"!!!
B) Even the terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip seem to confirm that it is hard (or maybe impossible) to distinguish civilian residents from combatants, since their Health Ministry has always counted the number of casualties without separating civilians or alleged civilians from self-proclaimed freedom fighters.
C) President al-Sisi probably knows or, at least, suspects that there may be something rotten at the Rafah Crossing and, hence, on the Egyptian side of the border—a necessary condition for allowing the terror organizations in the Gaza Strip to build an efficient war machine.
D) The great advantages of dealing with Palestinians (civilians?, militants?, terrorists?, freedom fighters?, the choice is yours!) become clearer if we remember what happened in Jordan, Lebanon and Syria some time ago—and it is possible to learn instructive lessons even if we look back on some key episodes by citing essays by writers who feel the urgent need to "liberate Palestine". Undeniably, it is not strictly necessary to search for articles posted by ultra-nationalist, Jewish supremacists!!!
In Jordan, in September 1970 (the so-called Black September), there was "an all-out attack on the Palestinians", who "found themselves at war with an Arab government". In the end, "thousands of Palestinians were killed in the fighting".
Then, it was the turn of Lebanon, which used to be a sort of Switzerland of the Middle East. "The Palestinian guerrilla movement" (NOT just a peaceful group of civilian residents!!!!!) "had moved its base" right there, a civil war broke out and eventually even the Syrian Army was mobilized. Again, "thousands of Palestinians were killed", mostly in the Tel al-Zaatar refugee camp, near Beirut, in 1976.
Similarly, "more than 2,000 people, including many civilians, were reportedly killed" in the Shatila and Burj-el Barajneh Palestinian refugee camps between 1985 and 1987, in consequence of attacks by the Syrian-backed Shiite Amal militia.
Then, of course, in 1982, there was the exceptionally well-known Sabra and Shatila massacre, after which the "Kahan Commission of Inquiry, formed by the Israeli government in response to public outrage and grief, found that Israel was indirectly responsible for not anticipating the possibility of Phalangist violence"—yet, no one can deny that the massacre was perpetrated by the Lebanese Christian Phalangist militia "to avenge the murders of Lebanese President Bashir Gemayel and 25 of his followers, killed in a bomb attack earlier that week".
While everyone all over the world must have heard of Sabra and Shatila at least once in his life (since it was possible to claim that Israel was somehow "responsible"), you could bet that just a few people (not surprisingly!!!) are aware that over 3,000 "Syrian Palestinians were killed by Syrian Regime forces" between 2011 and 2020, according to the Syrian Network for Human Rights.
Notably, other brutal killings of Palestinians by their Arab brothers took place even in the Gaza Strip in 2014—and the number of people who were assassinated in 2014 has been recently increased by the number of civilian residents (and/or alleged civilian residents) who were exploited as human shields or were hit by malfunctioning rockets launched by the Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror groups...
[cf. http://www.marxists.de/middleast/rose/7-liberate.htm#13,
https://www.thejc.com/news/world/real-real-liar-1.47897?reloadTime=1675382400011,
https://snhr.org/blog/2020/07/29/55316/,
https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2015/05/gaza-palestinians-tortured-summarily-killed-by-hamas-forces-during-2014-conflict/]
https://www.thejc.com/news/world/real-real-liar-1.47897?reloadTime=1675382400011,
https://snhr.org/blog/2020/07/29/55316/,
https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2015/05/gaza-palestinians-tortured-summarily-killed-by-hamas-forces-during-2014-conflict/]
E) The moral of the story is that it would be crazy to criticize President al-Sisi for rejecting "displacement of Palestinians from their land", BUT there are still some issues that probably need to be borne in mind:
➤ The Palestinians who really are "civilian residents" seem to be better protected in refugee camps located in the West Bank
➤ No one is complaining about the exodus of Christians from Afghanistan, Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon, Palestine, Sudan and so on—nor about the exodus of rich Muslims (such as Yasser Arafat's wife and daughter) from Palestine!!!
➤ No one is complaining about the exodus of Christians from Afghanistan, Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon, Palestine, Sudan and so on—nor about the exodus of rich Muslims (such as Yasser Arafat's wife and daughter) from Palestine!!!
➤ Do-good agencies and humanitarian organizations never made a fuss when Jewish people were expelled from Muslim lands and many of them eventually became Israeli citizens!!!
[cf., e.g., https://www.oneforisrael.org/holidays/special-days-in-israel/half-israels-jews-came-muslim-countries/]
➤ The Turkish Sultan has described Hamas as a "group of freedom fighters": a statement which is not surprising, since it comes from a close friend and staunch supporter of the terrorist organization, BUT it is not so clear why the rights of the Kurds continue to be ignored or why their militants are not declared a "liberation group" or why the brutal killing of 1.5 million Armenians during World War One should not be considered "a crime of savagery aimed at committing a crime against humanity"
➤ According to a leading figure of the Royal Hashemite Family, the people in the Middle East ("shocked and disappointed by the world's reaction" to the catastrophic developments in consequence of the "Israeli bombardment in Gaza") have "seen a glaring double standard in the world": an alleged "double standard", which is probably due to the fact that it all started with assassinations perpetrated by Hamas terrorists, who hide in residential areas and even hospitals or mosques, use civilians as human shields (apparently "not allowing them to evacuate") and certainly cannot be neutralized without collateral damage—YET, many Western leaders are simplistically inclined to grumble about the death of innocent civilians in Gaza and/or call for a ceasefire, with the objective of preserving the species of terrorists (since Western countries are not likely to be the primary targets).
[cf. https://edition.cnn.com/2023/10/24/middleeast/queen-rania-jordan-amanpour-interview-intl/index.html,
https://www.i24news.tv/en/news/israel-at-war/1698419612-idf-hamas-key-operation-center-is-underneath-gaza-s-largest-hospital,
https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-770242]
https://www.i24news.tv/en/news/israel-at-war/1698419612-idf-hamas-key-operation-center-is-underneath-gaza-s-largest-hospital,
https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-770242]
Meanwhile, these same leaders (openly responsible for "a glaring double standard"!!!) carefully refrain from reminding the Royal Family in Amman that
😕 the Kingdom of Jordan took part in the war against Israel in 1948
😕 the Kingdom of Jordan seized control of the West Bank at end of that war
😕 the Kingdom of Jordan annexed the West Bank in 1950 (instead of working to establish an independent Palestinian State)
😕 the Kingdom of Jordan attacked Israel again in 1967
😕 the Kingdom of Jordan was responsible for massacres of terrorists and innocent civilians or alleged innocent civilians—massacres that started in September 1970, when it was politically correct (at least somewhere in the Middle East) to say that the terrorists of the Palestine Liberation Organization were, indeed, terrorists!!!
😕 the Kingdom of Jordan (presumably much wiser that the Israeli counterpart!) decided that it was a good idea to expel the Palestinian fedayeen in 1971!!!
😕 the Kingdom of Jordan attacked Israel for the third time in 1973 and made it clear that even one of the most moderate Countries in the region could represent a serious danger for the Jewish State
😕 the Kingdom of Jordan seized control of the West Bank at end of that war
😕 the Kingdom of Jordan annexed the West Bank in 1950 (instead of working to establish an independent Palestinian State)
😕 the Kingdom of Jordan attacked Israel again in 1967
😕 the Kingdom of Jordan was responsible for massacres of terrorists and innocent civilians or alleged innocent civilians—massacres that started in September 1970, when it was politically correct (at least somewhere in the Middle East) to say that the terrorists of the Palestine Liberation Organization were, indeed, terrorists!!!
😕 the Kingdom of Jordan (presumably much wiser that the Israeli counterpart!) decided that it was a good idea to expel the Palestinian fedayeen in 1971!!!
😕 the Kingdom of Jordan attacked Israel for the third time in 1973 and made it clear that even one of the most moderate Countries in the region could represent a serious danger for the Jewish State
Well, here we are!!!
As suggested by some comments about events that unfolded after the 1948-1949 war, it's high time to discuss the ongoing problem of Palestinian statehood!!!
Today most of the Arab world (or, at least, most of the moderate Arab world) seems to be in favor of a two-state solution with East Jerusalem as the capital of a sovereign Palestinian State. Yet, that very solution was available for eighteen years, from 1949 to 1967, without any objection from Israel. However, nothing happened, either because the Palestinians and the leaders of the neighboring Arab countries were engaged in preparing a new war against Israel or because Jordan had de facto annexed the West Bank and was looking forward to creating a Great Jordan or because the West Bank and the Gaza Strip (at that time under Egyptian rule) were not enough for the Palestinians, who wanted to build a Great Palestine.
Next, after the Six Day War in 1967 (waged by Arab states!), the scenario completely changed, as typically happens at the end of a conflict, since wars always have consequences. In this specific context, not surprisingly!!!, the Israelis decided it would be wise to protect their State in a more efficient way and it seems hard to conclude that they made a mistake.
No matter what the right-thinking pro-Palestinian activists and Hamas fans believe, it is unquestionable that
➤ Israel was attacked again in 1973 (Yom Kippur War)
➤ Plenty of weapons are often found in dens of terrorists, when the Israeli military conducts raids in the West Bank
➤ Lots of criminals and suicide bombers have been moving across Israel despite the West Bank barrier
➤ When Israel abandoned the Gaza Strip, the majority of the Palestinian voters sided with Hamas (perhaps because they had been motivated by "Allah's promise")
➤ Even a Catholic archbishop attempted to smuggle weapons and explosives from Lebanon to Israel(!!!)
[cf., e.g., https://www.nytimes.com/1974/08/19/archives/israelis-arrest-greek-catholic-archbishop-on-weapons-charges-linked.html ]
In a few words, whoever is willing to accept the decision taken by the United Nations in 1947 (Resolution 181) should acknowledge that Israel has never been the aggressor, BUT has always been the victim of violence and has always been forced to defend itself.
Of course, reality is not so simple! Even though the most ardent advocates for Palestinian terrorist organizations are usually mad about the never-too-much-to-be-praised United Nations and its do-good agencies, the Hamas Covenant and (much earlier, well before the 1948-1949 war) the leaders of several Countries in the Middle East made it clear that the State of Israel should have never existed.
The basic idea was that the Israelis were illegal settlers.
Hence, there is no point in wasting time on silly trifles such as
➤ the Balfour Declaration (1917), which optimistically stated: "His Majesty's Government view with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people, and will use their best endeavours to facilitate the achievement of this object"
➤ the quiet establishment of an Emirate of Transjordan in 1921 without any simultaneous attempt to provide "a national home for the Jewish people", although "His Majesty's Government" had promised "to facilitate the achievement of this object"
➤ the manifest fact that populations with different cultures have always tried to create their own states, as happened in the case of East Timor and the republics of former Yugoslavia or the former Soviet Union during the last few decades
➤ the history of a people with a strong need for a home country, after the horrors of the extermination camps and terrible persecutions that had been going on for over 1,500 years
The overall message coming from the Hamas Covenant and several terrorist or pro-terrorist organizations in the Middle East is that the Jews have no rights because of a dogmatic belief.
No matter that they had NOT waged a war against anyone, but had simply bought lands in deserted regions, proving that even desolate areas could turn into fertile plains for the benefit of everyone: the Jews were invaders and had/have no rights!
Again, however, reality is not so simple and this is NOT the end of the story! IF the Jews were/are invaders and had/have no rights, it would be nice to know WHY the fate of Palestine still depends on the outcome of the Battle of the Yarmuk in 636. It is obviously true that the world could enjoy wonderful monuments such as the Dome of the Rock thanks to that battle, BUT it is not so obvious that the average living standard of the inhabitants of the Middle East would not be much better if that region had not changed for ever after a military campaign!!! Neither is it necessarily obvious that the populations who had been living there for many generations were delighted to be attacked by invaders and forced to obey new rulers!!!
There's no need to insist on this issue by observing that analogous comments can apply to many more battles that were fought before and after 636, in the Middle East and elsewhere in the world—and there's no need to suggest that the friends, sponsors and supporters of Palestinian terrorist organizations who live in Europe, Asia, Africa, Oceania and the Americas should probably take a breath, relax and wonder IF they really have the ethical right to live where they live and profess the religions they profess. OR IF they should rather move somewhere else and profess different faiths, because their place of birth and their religious education are the evil fruits of conquests and/or tragedies and/or destructions and/or massacres of the past.
By the same token, there are friends, sponsors and supporters of Palestinian terrorist organizations who live in Europe, Asia, Africa, Oceania and the Americas who should probably take a breath, relax and wonder if their home countries should not welcome millions of people who live somewhere else and descend from ancestors that were the victims of conquests and/or tragedies and/or destructions and/or massacres of the past.
Probably, however, it's sheer folly to insinuate that the purchase of lands is much more ethical and virtuous than the military conquests of new territories, since the right-thinking, politically correct, anti-Israel world does not seem too upset (for instance) by the Chinese invasion of Tibet!!!
Ironically, even Israel itself seems to be filled with right-thinking pundits and politically correct feelings, as signaled by some baffling reactions, when "Israel's UN ambassador Gilad Erdan placed a Holocaust-era yellow Star of David, during his speech at an emergency Security Council meeting" and clearly explained his views: "We walk with a yellow star as a symbol of pride. A reminder that we swore to fight back to defend ourselves. Never Again is now."
According to some critics, the underlying problem was that "the yellow patch symbolizes the helplessness of the Jewish people and being at the mercy of others", while nowadays there is "an independent country and a strong army".
It was even claimed that the yellow star "dishonors both the victims of the Holocaust and the State of Israel".
Notably, the Director of the Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum did not mince his words: "We are masters of our destiny. Today we place a blue-white flag on the lapel, not a yellow patch."
The Israeli opposition Leader, too, was quick to deliver his thought: "What is happening in the State of Israel is not a Holocaust, it is a war. The year is not 1943. The year is 2023."
In a few words, whoever is willing to accept the decision taken by the United Nations in 1947 (Resolution 181) should acknowledge that Israel has never been the aggressor, BUT has always been the victim of violence and has always been forced to defend itself.
Of course, reality is not so simple! Even though the most ardent advocates for Palestinian terrorist organizations are usually mad about the never-too-much-to-be-praised United Nations and its do-good agencies, the Hamas Covenant and (much earlier, well before the 1948-1949 war) the leaders of several Countries in the Middle East made it clear that the State of Israel should have never existed.
The basic idea was that the Israelis were illegal settlers.
Hence, there is no point in wasting time on silly trifles such as
➤ the Balfour Declaration (1917), which optimistically stated: "His Majesty's Government view with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people, and will use their best endeavours to facilitate the achievement of this object"
➤ the quiet establishment of an Emirate of Transjordan in 1921 without any simultaneous attempt to provide "a national home for the Jewish people", although "His Majesty's Government" had promised "to facilitate the achievement of this object"
➤ the manifest fact that populations with different cultures have always tried to create their own states, as happened in the case of East Timor and the republics of former Yugoslavia or the former Soviet Union during the last few decades
➤ the history of a people with a strong need for a home country, after the horrors of the extermination camps and terrible persecutions that had been going on for over 1,500 years
The overall message coming from the Hamas Covenant and several terrorist or pro-terrorist organizations in the Middle East is that the Jews have no rights because of a dogmatic belief.
No matter that they had NOT waged a war against anyone, but had simply bought lands in deserted regions, proving that even desolate areas could turn into fertile plains for the benefit of everyone: the Jews were invaders and had/have no rights!
Again, however, reality is not so simple and this is NOT the end of the story! IF the Jews were/are invaders and had/have no rights, it would be nice to know WHY the fate of Palestine still depends on the outcome of the Battle of the Yarmuk in 636. It is obviously true that the world could enjoy wonderful monuments such as the Dome of the Rock thanks to that battle, BUT it is not so obvious that the average living standard of the inhabitants of the Middle East would not be much better if that region had not changed for ever after a military campaign!!! Neither is it necessarily obvious that the populations who had been living there for many generations were delighted to be attacked by invaders and forced to obey new rulers!!!
There's no need to insist on this issue by observing that analogous comments can apply to many more battles that were fought before and after 636, in the Middle East and elsewhere in the world—and there's no need to suggest that the friends, sponsors and supporters of Palestinian terrorist organizations who live in Europe, Asia, Africa, Oceania and the Americas should probably take a breath, relax and wonder IF they really have the ethical right to live where they live and profess the religions they profess. OR IF they should rather move somewhere else and profess different faiths, because their place of birth and their religious education are the evil fruits of conquests and/or tragedies and/or destructions and/or massacres of the past.
By the same token, there are friends, sponsors and supporters of Palestinian terrorist organizations who live in Europe, Asia, Africa, Oceania and the Americas who should probably take a breath, relax and wonder if their home countries should not welcome millions of people who live somewhere else and descend from ancestors that were the victims of conquests and/or tragedies and/or destructions and/or massacres of the past.
Probably, however, it's sheer folly to insinuate that the purchase of lands is much more ethical and virtuous than the military conquests of new territories, since the right-thinking, politically correct, anti-Israel world does not seem too upset (for instance) by the Chinese invasion of Tibet!!!
Ironically, even Israel itself seems to be filled with right-thinking pundits and politically correct feelings, as signaled by some baffling reactions, when "Israel's UN ambassador Gilad Erdan placed a Holocaust-era yellow Star of David, during his speech at an emergency Security Council meeting" and clearly explained his views: "We walk with a yellow star as a symbol of pride. A reminder that we swore to fight back to defend ourselves. Never Again is now."
According to some critics, the underlying problem was that "the yellow patch symbolizes the helplessness of the Jewish people and being at the mercy of others", while nowadays there is "an independent country and a strong army".
It was even claimed that the yellow star "dishonors both the victims of the Holocaust and the State of Israel".
Notably, the Director of the Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum did not mince his words: "We are masters of our destiny. Today we place a blue-white flag on the lapel, not a yellow patch."
The Israeli opposition Leader, too, was quick to deliver his thought: "What is happening in the State of Israel is not a Holocaust, it is a war. The year is not 1943. The year is 2023."
[cf. https://https://www.i24news.tv/en/news/israel/diplomacy/1698739244-erdan-wears-holocaust-era-yellow-star-tells-un-iran-are-nazis-of-our-time ,
https://https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/yad-vashem-head-erdans-yellow-star-stunt-at-un-dishonors-holocaust-victims-israel/ ]
Although these critical remarks are certainly based on sound principles, there are simple truths that should not be ignored and might eventually justify the logic behind the decision to don a yellow Star of David "at an emergency Security Council meeting":
Meanwhile, many Jews had already been subjected to unprovoked attacks around the world: in practice, there are close similarities with the early stages of the persecution of the Jews in Nazi Germany—and although it can be claimed that a second Holocaust is unlikely right now, it is crystal clear that anti-Semitic fury has become a worldwide phenomenon, while last century it was confined to a few geographical areas.
For this reason, the Israeli Ambassador should be praised rather than criticized... at least in Israel!!!
➤ a pro-terrorist statement by the United Nations Secretary-General: "Palestinian people have been subjected to 56 years of suffocating occupation"—a pro-terrorist statement by the UN Secretary-General, who obviously pretended to forget/ignore decades of aggressions and wars against the Jewish State
➤ the pro-terrorist "last official communication" of the director of the New York Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (!!!!!), who called for "the dismantling of the deeply racist, settler-colonial project and an end to apartheid across the land" (of course, pretending to forget/ignore "Allah's promise") and looking forward to "the establishment of a single, democratic, secular state in all of historic Palestine" (i.e., looking forward to the end of the State of Israel and, of course, "looking forward to implement Allah's promise whatever time it might take")
❶ "We are masters of our destiny"
❷ "Today we have an independent country and a strong army"
Yet, whoever is master of his destiny should probably acknowledge that the destiny of his nation and the power of its army might also depend on geopolitical global dynamics. Thus, the widespread anti-Semitic/anti-Israel propaganda (as well as the Nazi propaganda) could have devastating consequences sooner or later, especially in a planet where
➤ the United States is full of enemies of Israel
➤ Russia (after trying to invade Ukraine) claimed that "Israel has no right to defend itself as it is an occupying power"
➤ the name Israel could not be found in the maps of two major Chinese platforms, even though China does not make use of yellow badges!!!
Therefore, it seems justifiable to believe that the Israeli Ambassador made a smart move when he wore "a yellow star as a symbol of pride" and explained that the yellow star was a reminder ("A reminder that we swore to fight back to defend ourselves").
In a sense, it was a message of hope: perhaps, sooner or later, the leading figures and a good number of rabid people in some countries could change their mind. Hopefully, they could be brought back to reason by that "reminder": certainly not in Iran and, probably, neither in China nor in Russia, BUT (with a bit of luck) at least somewhere in the European Union and the United States...
In view of recent events, it is worth mentioning an article about the terrorist activities of the Houthis in the Red Sea. It is quite interesting and, perhaps curiously, was published in the website of a news network, which can be regarded as a close friend of several terrorist organizations in the Middle East.
According to the author of the article, "after several attacks where the Israeli connection appeared very distant or vague, it is prudent to assume that any ship could be targeted".
Then, we find wise remarks about the so-called Operation Prosperity Guardian, which was announced in December 2023 and was "intended to allow international shipping to continue navigating safely through the Red Sea":
"Every admiral would tell his political superiors that military necessity would call for attacks on Houthi missile infrastructure on the ground in Yemen: fixed and mobile launch sites, production and storage facilities, command centres and whatever little radar infrastructure there exists."
Next, a few lines below, we come across a clever warning: "Attacks against targets in Yemen would have a clear military justification. But they would also carry a clear political risk: that of the West, particularly the US, being seen in the Arab and Islamic world as actually entering the Gaza war on the side of Israel. After all, the Houthis say their attacks on Red Sea ships are aimed at getting Israel to end the war."
The sound arguments in the article clearly lead to some obvious thoughts:
➤ In order to adequately defend itself, Israel necessarily needed to attack (and possibly destroy) "fixed and mobile launch sites, production and storage facilities, command centres and whatever little radar infrastructure there exists", all across the Gaza Strip, "on the ground"—and it's not Israel's fault if schools, hospitals, mosques and residential areas had been transformed into dens of terrorists
➤ The rockets which were still being launched from the Gaza Strip toward Israel a few weeks ago were evidence of the fact that the Israelis, after one hundred days of warfare, had not been able yet to solve the problem: in other words, their military operations should have been much more destructive and devastating
➤ It's a pity that a military attack on Houthi terrorist groups would be simply "seen in the Arab and Islamic world as actually entering the Gaza war on the side of Israel": in practice, it is claimed that "the Arab and Islamic world", after openly supporting the Hamas terrorist organization, would also support other criminals, even though a Country like Saudi Arabia did wage a war against the Houthi militias and (unfortunately) did not succeed (or was prevented from succeeding) in its attempt to neutralize "fixed and mobile launch sites, production and storage facilities, command centres and whatever little radar infrastructure there exists", in that part of Yemen, which is controlled by Iran-sponsored terrorists
Meanwhile, evidence of UNRWA officials' direct involvement in the October 7 massacre has come to light. It's the cherry on the cake: that direct involvement is the final touch that makes a well-oiled anti-Israel machine practically perfect!!!
As reported by the media, some countries have taken action and have "paused" (just PAUSED!!!) funding for the troubled agency, but unfortunately the punitive provisions are likely to be temporary measures and life might go back to normal pretty soon.
By chance, right now, there are discussions about a potential agreement, which might include a pause in fighting.
It's probably good news, but what next?!?
Will terrorist organizations be dismantled from the river to the sea?!? Will children's indoctrination into extremist ideologies stop once and for all?!?
Or will we rather see business resume as usual?!? Will we see radical militants take back the control of the Gaza Strip?!? Will we see new attacks on Israel for seventy-five more years?!? Will we see the pause in fighting turn into an opportunity for the terror groups surrounding Israel to become stronger and more dangerous?!?
Finally, in view of a terrorist attack that took place in Brussels (October 2023) against citizens of a Country, where someone (perhaps accidentally and unintentionally) did not hesitate to pay homage to suicide bombers some time ago, it seems reasonable to quote a particular passage from Jihad Al-Kuffar, a book which was published in 2010 and is supposed to be the diary of an al-Qaeda militant.
The alleged writer of the diary is taking his notes in Bamiyan, Afghanstan, in January 2001 (Chapter 7). He is talking about a fellow fighter who lives in Sweden and believes that "the time is ripe" for positive developments for terrorist organizations. He even dreams of a possible tribute to suicide bombers. More precisely, his dream refers to an episode that actually occurred in 2004: He had excellent news, reliable information, about the current trend in Sweden. In his view, many citizens understand our struggle and want to help us in our efforts, starting with the Palestinian intifada. The word is that the time is ripe for the Swedes to pay tribute to our martyrs. Bewitched by the most progressive frontiers of modern art, Stockholm museums might soon display a new generation of exhibits—artworks which are specifically designed to acknowledge and reward the tireless efforts of the suicide bombers who continue to blow themselves up with the aim of killing as many Jews as possible[*].
https://https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/yad-vashem-head-erdans-yellow-star-stunt-at-un-dishonors-holocaust-victims-israel/ ]
Although these critical remarks are certainly based on sound principles, there are simple truths that should not be ignored and might eventually justify the logic behind the decision to don a yellow Star of David "at an emergency Security Council meeting":
A) When it all happened, there was already an increasing flurry of anti-Semitic rhetoric, from London to Paris (where Stars of David were spray-painted on several buildings), from Istanbul to La Paz (where the local government cut official ties with Israel), from the Dáil Éireann in Dublin to the House of Representatives in Washington, DC, where it was possible to come across an impressive number of anti-Semitic/anti-Israel rants and lawmakers eager to call for a ceasefire, which would grant safe conduct for terrorists and make it clear that Israel was doomed to be the sacrificial victim of new massacres.
Meanwhile, many Jews had already been subjected to unprovoked attacks around the world: in practice, there are close similarities with the early stages of the persecution of the Jews in Nazi Germany—and although it can be claimed that a second Holocaust is unlikely right now, it is crystal clear that anti-Semitic fury has become a worldwide phenomenon, while last century it was confined to a few geographical areas.
For this reason, the Israeli Ambassador should be praised rather than criticized... at least in Israel!!!
B) The Israeli Ambassador gave a convincing explanation of his action ("each time you look at me you will remember what staying silent in the face of evil means") in a perfect environment: an institution characterized by a long, indisputable tradition of anti-Israel/pro-terrorist bias, as recently proved (once more!!!) by
➤ a pro-terrorist statement by the United Nations Secretary-General: "Palestinian people have been subjected to 56 years of suffocating occupation"—a pro-terrorist statement by the UN Secretary-General, who obviously pretended to forget/ignore decades of aggressions and wars against the Jewish State
➤ the pro-terrorist "last official communication" of the director of the New York Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (!!!!!), who called for "the dismantling of the deeply racist, settler-colonial project and an end to apartheid across the land" (of course, pretending to forget/ignore "Allah's promise") and looking forward to "the establishment of a single, democratic, secular state in all of historic Palestine" (i.e., looking forward to the end of the State of Israel and, of course, "looking forward to implement Allah's promise whatever time it might take")
➤ the pro-terrorist decision to let the criminal Iranian ring take the chair of a United Nations Human Rights (!!!!!) social forum in November 2023
C) The statements of the Israeli opposition Leader ("The year is not 1943. The year is 2023.") are certainly right and, indeed, the number of Israeli civilians massacred on October 7, 2023, cannot be compared with the number of Jews who were or were going to be victims of the Final Solution in 1943. HOWEVER, what was happening in October 2023 was not much different from what happened in Nazi Germany in the Thirties, when the Jews were singled out, discriminated against and forced to wear a yellow badge. Today, there are no compulsory badges, BUT the Jews continue to be singled out and discriminated all over the world, even in friendly states. For instance, the Israeli opposition Leader should not forget the number of nations that do not have diplomatic ties with Israel, the number of Jewish people who are continually harassed or threatened all over the world (from Russian airports to US colleges) and the number of institutions that endorse the so-called BDS movement (even in countries like Ireland or Spain, where the majority of the people certainly do not care for "Allah's promise"!!!)
D) The comments of the Director of the Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum, too, are unquestionably well-founded, when he claims
❶ "We are masters of our destiny"
❷ "Today we have an independent country and a strong army"
Yet, whoever is master of his destiny should probably acknowledge that the destiny of his nation and the power of its army might also depend on geopolitical global dynamics. Thus, the widespread anti-Semitic/anti-Israel propaganda (as well as the Nazi propaganda) could have devastating consequences sooner or later, especially in a planet where
➤ the United States is full of enemies of Israel
➤ Russia (after trying to invade Ukraine) claimed that "Israel has no right to defend itself as it is an occupying power"
➤ the name Israel could not be found in the maps of two major Chinese platforms, even though China does not make use of yellow badges!!!
[cf. https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/article-771270,
https://www.wsj.com/livecoverage/israel-hamas-gaza-war-latest/card/israel-goes-unnamed-on-china-online-maps-aY5VjRWIlsnSMuASZNF2]
https://www.wsj.com/livecoverage/israel-hamas-gaza-war-latest/card/israel-goes-unnamed-on-china-online-maps-aY5VjRWIlsnSMuASZNF2]
Therefore, it seems justifiable to believe that the Israeli Ambassador made a smart move when he wore "a yellow star as a symbol of pride" and explained that the yellow star was a reminder ("A reminder that we swore to fight back to defend ourselves").
In a sense, it was a message of hope: perhaps, sooner or later, the leading figures and a good number of rabid people in some countries could change their mind. Hopefully, they could be brought back to reason by that "reminder": certainly not in Iran and, probably, neither in China nor in Russia, BUT (with a bit of luck) at least somewhere in the European Union and the United States...
In view of recent events, it is worth mentioning an article about the terrorist activities of the Houthis in the Red Sea. It is quite interesting and, perhaps curiously, was published in the website of a news network, which can be regarded as a close friend of several terrorist organizations in the Middle East.
According to the author of the article, "after several attacks where the Israeli connection appeared very distant or vague, it is prudent to assume that any ship could be targeted".
Then, we find wise remarks about the so-called Operation Prosperity Guardian, which was announced in December 2023 and was "intended to allow international shipping to continue navigating safely through the Red Sea":
"Every admiral would tell his political superiors that military necessity would call for attacks on Houthi missile infrastructure on the ground in Yemen: fixed and mobile launch sites, production and storage facilities, command centres and whatever little radar infrastructure there exists."
Next, a few lines below, we come across a clever warning: "Attacks against targets in Yemen would have a clear military justification. But they would also carry a clear political risk: that of the West, particularly the US, being seen in the Arab and Islamic world as actually entering the Gaza war on the side of Israel. After all, the Houthis say their attacks on Red Sea ships are aimed at getting Israel to end the war."
The sound arguments in the article clearly lead to some obvious thoughts:
➤ In order to adequately defend itself, Israel necessarily needed to attack (and possibly destroy) "fixed and mobile launch sites, production and storage facilities, command centres and whatever little radar infrastructure there exists", all across the Gaza Strip, "on the ground"—and it's not Israel's fault if schools, hospitals, mosques and residential areas had been transformed into dens of terrorists
➤ The rockets which were still being launched from the Gaza Strip toward Israel a few weeks ago were evidence of the fact that the Israelis, after one hundred days of warfare, had not been able yet to solve the problem: in other words, their military operations should have been much more destructive and devastating
➤ It's a pity that a military attack on Houthi terrorist groups would be simply "seen in the Arab and Islamic world as actually entering the Gaza war on the side of Israel": in practice, it is claimed that "the Arab and Islamic world", after openly supporting the Hamas terrorist organization, would also support other criminals, even though a Country like Saudi Arabia did wage a war against the Houthi militias and (unfortunately) did not succeed (or was prevented from succeeding) in its attempt to neutralize "fixed and mobile launch sites, production and storage facilities, command centres and whatever little radar infrastructure there exists", in that part of Yemen, which is controlled by Iran-sponsored terrorists
Meanwhile, evidence of UNRWA officials' direct involvement in the October 7 massacre has come to light. It's the cherry on the cake: that direct involvement is the final touch that makes a well-oiled anti-Israel machine practically perfect!!!As reported by the media, some countries have taken action and have "paused" (just PAUSED!!!) funding for the troubled agency, but unfortunately the punitive provisions are likely to be temporary measures and life might go back to normal pretty soon.
[cf., e.g., https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/article-783950]
By chance, right now, there are discussions about a potential agreement, which might include a pause in fighting.
It's probably good news, but what next?!?
Will terrorist organizations be dismantled from the river to the sea?!? Will children's indoctrination into extremist ideologies stop once and for all?!?
Or will we rather see business resume as usual?!? Will we see radical militants take back the control of the Gaza Strip?!? Will we see new attacks on Israel for seventy-five more years?!? Will we see the pause in fighting turn into an opportunity for the terror groups surrounding Israel to become stronger and more dangerous?!?
Finally, in view of a terrorist attack that took place in Brussels (October 2023) against citizens of a Country, where someone (perhaps accidentally and unintentionally) did not hesitate to pay homage to suicide bombers some time ago, it seems reasonable to quote a particular passage from Jihad Al-Kuffar, a book which was published in 2010 and is supposed to be the diary of an al-Qaeda militant.
The alleged writer of the diary is taking his notes in Bamiyan, Afghanstan, in January 2001 (Chapter 7). He is talking about a fellow fighter who lives in Sweden and believes that "the time is ripe" for positive developments for terrorist organizations. He even dreams of a possible tribute to suicide bombers. More precisely, his dream refers to an episode that actually occurred in 2004: He had excellent news, reliable information, about the current trend in Sweden. In his view, many citizens understand our struggle and want to help us in our efforts, starting with the Palestinian intifada. The word is that the time is ripe for the Swedes to pay tribute to our martyrs. Bewitched by the most progressive frontiers of modern art, Stockholm museums might soon display a new generation of exhibits—artworks which are specifically designed to acknowledge and reward the tireless efforts of the suicide bombers who continue to blow themselves up with the aim of killing as many Jews as possible[*].
[*] https://www.theguardian.com/world/2004/jan/18/israel.artsnews
COMMENTS
COMMENTS
Remark by Bill, NV on 02/07/2024 at 3:22:57 PM
Subject: Rafah Crossing
Content: A good result - maybe a turning point - would be the Israeli control of the Rafah Crossing. Not forever, just until some people come back to reason!
Last updated on March 29, 2024