Sunday, July 27, 2014

On Gaza's tragedy

Jon Snow, one of UK's Top Journalists Says Gaza Has Left Him 'Deeply Scarred'

I cannot fathom why on earth the world can see what is happening to the Stateless people of Palestine and keep quiet. Nothing, absolutely nothing justifies the maiming and killing of other people's children. NOTHING. The other day, President Obama said it "breaks my heart". About the same time the US Senate passed resolution S. 498 which read:

Expressing the sense of the Senate regarding United States support for the State of Israel as it defends itself against unprovoked rocket attacks from the Hamas terrorist organization.
Whereas Hamas is a United States-designated terrorist organization whose charter calls for the destruction of the State of Israel;
Whereas Hamas continues to reject the core principles of the Middle East Quartet (the United Nations, the United States, the European Union, and Russia)--recognize Israel's right to exist, renounce violence, and accept previous Israeli-Palestinian agreements;
Whereas Hamas has killed hundreds of Israelis and dozens of Americans in rocket attacks and suicide bombings;
Whereas, since Israel's withdrawal from Gaza in 2005, Hamas and other terrorist groups have fired thousands of rockets at Israel;
Whereas Hamas has entered into a unity governing arrangement with Fatah and the Palestinian Authority;
Whereas the unity governing agreement implies Fatah's and the Palestinian Authority's support for Hamas' belligerent actions against Israel, potentially contributing to a false perception of legitimacy for Hamas' belligerent actions;
Whereas, since June 2014, Hamas has fired nearly 300 rockets at Israel;
Whereas Hamas' weapons arsenal includes approximately 12,000 rockets that vary in range;
Whereas innocent Israeli civilians are indiscriminately targeted by Hamas rocket attacks; and
Whereas 5,000,000 Israelis are currently living under the threat of rocket attacks from Gaza: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
        (1) reaffirms its support for Israel's right to defend its citizens and ensure the survival of the State of Israel;
        (2) condemns the unprovoked rocket fire at Israel;
        (3) calls on Hamas to immediately cease all rocket and other attacks against Israel; and
        (4) calls on Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to dissolve the unity governing arrangement with Hamas and condemn the attacks on Israel.

Notice that throughout this resolution, the Senate of the United States did not see the need to acknowledge the carnage and utter destruction of Gaza, the killing by Isreali War machine of hundreds (the figure has since topped 1000), a majority of them, according to the UN, civilians. And yes the deaths of many, many children a few of whom Jon Snow visited at Gaza's Shifa Hospital. Not one single acknowledgment of the destruction of human lives by their ally. Yes, the US has every right to support their ally; but to ignore the disproportionate "Israeli ruthlessness" (as Max Hastings calls it on Mail Online), is nothing short of astonishing, and unconscionable. Do these politicians, and their Israeli counterparts believe that whoever among the people of Gaza survives this massacre will forget what happened to their families and community this summer of hell? What does History tell us?

Watch Jon Snow's account of reporting from Gaza


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