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An Israeli soldierpoints his gun at
a Palestinian child
in Hebron city,
2007.
It seems that
women and
children are
now the
enemy of
Israel . . .
. . . Why else would several thousand of them have been cold- bloodedly maimed and murdered in the recent military action, and many more made homeless?
I used to be a staunch supporter of 'God's ancient people'. But the war crimes they've committed in Gaza in the last few weeks have forced me to change my mind. According to the BBC some 6,800 civilians have been killed or injured, and more than 50,800 are now without a home, as a result of the latest campaign.
Can Israel be said to be a peace loving democratic nation when it shells people at prayer in their mosques, destroys homes knowing that there are families in them, targets civilians with cluster and phosphorous weapons, and shoots children playing on the roofs of their houses? And who know what other atrocities took place, since reporters were refused entry to Gaza.
One man who did know what was going on and who phoned daily reports to a TV station in Tel Aviv was Dr Izeldeen Abuelaish, a Palestinian obstetrician who specialises in treating infertility. He used to work part-time in Israel helping Jewish women to have babies, but now he has lost several children of his own.
On Friday 16th, just a few days before the ceasefire, three of his daughters and a niece were killed, and others injured, when an Israeli shell came through the wall of his house.
It can't be proved but it seems to me there's little doubt that Dr Abuelaish was deliberately targeted, possibly for undermining the military news blackout, and probably because of his long crusade for peaceful integration. Surely this and the many other atrocities of the military campaign are the actions of criminals - war criminals. Yet who will bring these criminals to justice?
Watch the following video clips and decide for yourself if these are the actions of sane and humane human beings...
Norwegian doctors on the ground speak out
Several news reports of Dr Abuelaish's tragic loss
"Nowhere to hide" brings desperation in Gaza
Channel 4 News report, & other links
Although Israel clearly has a right to defend itself its methods are barbaric and take us back to the days when a conqueror would raise a city to the ground and slaughter all of its inhabitants. Has Mankind really moved forward in the last 3000 years?
Of course we can't blame the average Israeli any more than we could blame the average Northern Irish man or woman during the troubles in that province. But while a small number of atrocities were performed by British forces they fade into insignificance compared to what Israel is doing and has done in Gaza and Lebanon and throughout their short modern history.
Is there more to this conflict than meets the eye? Does the Israeli civil and military leadership have an agenda we are only dimly aware of? Check out my blog:
Israel, white pawn or black queen?
and be prepared for a sea-change in your international political perceptions.
Six months later:
Isaeli soldiers speak out about war crimesOne year later:
Israel's weak attempts to cover it's tracks
