It is sad to see the international community under the leadership of the US, Canada, and the UK acting irresponsibly in their one-sided reactions toward the crisis in the Middle East.
Instead of acting neutral, these leaders are putting their egso and political agendas ahead of everything else -- most disturbingly, the human life.
I have noticed one trend over the years: we in the West preach about justice until we lose air in our lungs, but when it comes to the Middle East, we fail to uphold the same principles we preach to the rest of the world. We stand behind Israel regardless of whether it is right or wrong.
Sadly, not only western leaders bury their heads in the sand when it comes to Israel, the media also compromises its principles of justice, which are supposed to be the foundation and building blocks of its news coverage.
Many outlets are repeating the same rhetoric that is heard by Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu in describing Israel as the victim.
It is heart-warming to see intellectuals who stand up for justice and go against the current.
In her article published in the Globe and Mail, lawyer Diana Buttu paints a different picture.
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In describing the life of people in Gaza, she stated:
"Today, the people of Gaza suffer from a brutal blockade that has lasted for more than six years and isolation that has lasted for more than 20 years. Israel strictly controls imports into Gaza and exports are virtually non-existent. Palestinian life is so controlled by Israel that the Israeli government even sets policies on the minimum number of calories needed to prevent malnutrition."
Battu, who lived in Gaza during the last conflict, continued:
"access to the sea -- one of their main sources of livelihood - is strictly curtailed and the water of the Gaza Strip is barely drinkable, with less than 5 per cent of their water supply fit for human consumption. Today, Gaza is an open-air prison and it comes as little surprise that UN agencies recently concluded that, in a few years, Gaza will become unlivable."
She dispelled the myth that is being repeated by Obama and Harper that Israel has repeatedly asserted that any "democratic country" such as Canada would do the same and that it was left with no choice.
"These are patently false assertions," Battu said. "What Israel fails to explain is that other democracies have not maintained a brutal 45-year military occupation over another people; that other countries have not denied freedom to another people for decades; that other countries do not routinely expropriate land for Jewish-only housing and roads and that democratic countries do not control virtually every aspect of the lives of another people (including caloric consumption).
In spite of the doom picture in that region, Battu, who is a Canadian lawyer now living in the West Bank, sees a solution in the horizon:
"Israel can easily end its military rule over Palestinians -- in both the West Bank and the Gaza Strip -- and allow Palestinians to live in the freedom and dignity that is their right and that of others around the world. Continuing to maintain control over the lives of others is only a recipe for disaster...History has demonstrated that no subjugated people will willingly live under oppressive rule. The Palestinians are no different. The time has come for Israel to end its oppressive rule and allow the Palestinians to live in freedom."
The media has been complicit in not telling us the way things are regarding the suffering of the Palestinians.
After a recent visit to the Gaza strip, Noam Chomsky had painted a picture of what it feels to live in the deplorable condition of the Palestinians in Gaza.
He wrote, "Even a single night in jail is enough to give a taste of what it means to be under the total control of some external force."
Chomsky, who is a Professor of Linguistics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and renowned political activist and writer added, "it hardly takes more than a day in Gaza to appreciate what it must be like to try to survive in the world's largest open-air prison, where some 1.5 million people on a roughly 140-square-mile strip of land are subject to random terror and arbitrary punishment, with no purpose other than to humiliate and degrade."
It shocking to see how the situation is escalating and sadly everyone in the western leadership including Canada is putting all the blame on the Palestinians.
The Israel government has gone as far as to vow a Palestinian "holocaust."
As reported in the Daily Telegraph, a senior Israeli politician provoked controversy today when he warned that Palestinians firing rockets from Gaza would be punished with a "bigger holocaust" from Israeli armed forces.
Leaders of Canada, the US and the UK should uphold the principle of justice with regards to this conflict.
From Haaretz:
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton warned Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during her talks in Israel this week not to take any extreme actions in response to the Palestinian move in the United Nations for recognition as a non-member state. Clinton said such steps against the Palestinian Authority could bring about its collapse. The Palestinians are planning to ask the United Nations General Assembly to vote on upgrading its status from non-member entity on the symbolic date of November 29.The day after the cease-fire with Hamas took effect, Israel is preparing for the next crisis with the Palestinians, which is scheduled for six days from now. November 29th is the anniversary of the United Nations vote on accepting the Partition Plan in 1947, which led to the founding of the Jewish Sate. It is also the United Nations' International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People.
Read more here.
From the Jerusalem Post:
Washington is urging Israel not to allow construction in the area known as E-1 between Jerusalem and Ma’aleh Adumim as a possible response to the Palestinian bid for statehood recognition next week at the UN, The Jerusalem Post has learned.Building in E-1, which would create contiguity between Jerusalem and Ma’aleh Adumim to the northeast beyond the Green Line, is something various Israeli governments have long wanted to do, but which US opposition has prevented.
Read more here.
The New York Times' Jodi Rudoren chronicles displays of pride and sacrifice:
Inside a courtyard, there are faded remnants of “Congratulations from the uncles,” from the April wedding of a son of Ahmed al-Jabari, the commander of the Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, whose assassination last week was the beginning of the latest round of intense battle between Israel and the Gaza Strip.On the wall outside, the colorful Arabic script reads “Welcome hajji, Abu Muhammad,” a reference to Mr. Jabari’s return from a pilgrimage to Mecca last month. Nearby, the freshest paint pronounces a message from the troops: “Rest in peace. The mission has been accomplished.”
Read the full story at the New York Times.
An underground tunnel connecting through which I got into Gaza from Egypt. Israel has repeatedly targeted the tunnel network, trying to hinder flow of goods and weapons into the strip. (Photo by Mosa'ab Elshamy via Flickr)
16 soldiers spelled out 'loser' with their bodies to critique Netanyahu and show frustration at not going into battle.
The Economist discusses how the ceasefire was achieved and whether it could lead to lasting peace in the region.
Among others coming and going were the UN secretary-general, the American secretary of state and the foreign ministers of Turkey and Germany. But the real bargaining took place behind closed doors at the headquarters of General Muhammad Shehata, Egypt’s intelligence chief. There, in separate rooms, the Egyptians haggled with a legal adviser to the Israeli prime minister, and with representatives from Hamas, the Palestinian Islamist group that runs Gaza, and a smaller, more radical Palestinian faction, Islamic Jihad.
From the Associated Press:
JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel's army spokeswoman says an Israeli Arab who is a member of Hamas has been arrested for Wednesday's bus bombing in Tel Aviv.The bombing injured 27 people near Israel's military headquarters and threatened to scuttle efforts to broker a cease-fire to end fighting between Israel and Gaza.
Israeli military spokeswoman Lt. Col. Avital Leibovich reported Thursday on Twitter that authorities had arrested the man who planted the bomb on the bus and identified him as an Arab Israeli from the village of Taybeh. She said he was a member of Hamas.
| @ haaretzcom : BREAKING: #Israel security forces arrest suspects in #TelAviv bus blast http://t.co/91fS0v48 |
A Palestinian boy and militants of the Izzedine Al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, attend funerals of five Hamas militants in Mugharka village, central Gaza Strip, Thursday, Nov. 22, 2012. Five Hamas militants were killed in an Israeli air strike yesterday, Palestinian health officials said. (AP Photo/Adel Hana)
While the cease-fire agreement between Israel and Gaza on Wednesday brought an end to the rockets and airstrikes, the political fallout is just beginning. The Associated Press offers a breakdown of who won and who lost as a result of the truce agreement:
Read the full story on HuffPost World.
HuffPost Live's Ahmed Shihab-Eldin moderates a panel of bloggers and journalists and looks at whether members of the media have been targeted during the recent Israeli attacks on Gaza.
Statement From the U.S. State Department:
Question: Have the United States and Israel spoken specifically about the importance of safety for journalists covering the ongoing conflict in Gaza?Answer: U.S. officials discussed a range of issues with their Israeli counterparts with respect to the conflict in Gaza, including our concerns for the safety and security of civilians in both Israel and Gaza, which includes journalists in Gaza. In any armed conflict, journalists must be respected and protected from any form of intentional attack. Appropriate measures should be taken to ensure the safety and security of journalists as much as possible.
— Joshua Hersh
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| @ haaretzcom : Israel's FM Avigdor Lieberman: We didn’t negotiate cease-fire with #Hamas, we negotiated with #Egypt http://t.co/91fS0v48 #Gaza |
A Gaza man hugs a Palestinian Islamic Jihad militant after a press conference in Gaza City, Thursday, Nov. 22, 2012. Gazans are celebrating a cease-fire agreement reached with Israel to end eight days of the fiercest fighting in nearly four years constricting the Gaza Strip. (AP Photo/Hatem Moussa)
| @ alextomo : #c4news #gaza Nature does it better: flashes of white light and rolling thunder as a storm piles in over Gaza AND Israel |
| @ NadimJBaba : #Gaza City's got a thunderstorm, windows at Jazeera office still to be replaced after blast damage. Many families in same boat tonight |
| @ AymanM : Pouring down rain in #gaza, eating dinner, loud thunder heard, everyone starts clapping & laughing thinking it was an airstrike #onlyingaza |
| @ sarahussein : My @AFP story on life returning to normal in #Gaza http://t.co/pRiAPilH |
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| @ haaretzcom : Do you think the recently achieved #Gaza cease-fire could lead to a broader agreement with the #Palestinians? http://t.co/Krn55GvI |
Citing a human rights group, the Maan News Agency reports that Israel has transferred to administrative detention approximately 30 Palestinians from the West Bank who were involved in solidarity events for Gaza.
Under the policy of administrative detention, Israel can hold prisoners for renewable terms of six months without pressing charges.
Among the prisoners were leaders from Hamas and Islamic Jihad, as well as university students.
--Eamon Murphy
| @ blakehounshell : RT @BarakRavid: Behind the scenes of Israel's decision to accept Gaza truce - new post on Diplomania - http://t.co/QC2afTKL |
Ultra-Orthodox Jews of the Bratslav Hasidic sect, that gathered to show support for the forces, dance as they celebrate atop of a tank in southern Israel, close to the Israel Gaza Strip Border, Thursday, Nov. 22, 2012. (AP Photo/Tsafrir Abayov)
On the heels of his crucial role in peace negotiations between Israel and Hamas, Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi has consolidated power through a series of constitutional amendments and decrees, the Associated Press reports.
Morsi's amendments also call for the re-trial of members of Hosni Mubarak's regime for the killing of protesters during the Arab Spring.
Read the full story on HuffPost World.
A flak jacket hangs on the cannon of a tank as another is guided to a new position at a staging area near the Israel Gaza Strip Border, southern Israel, Thursday, Nov. 22, 2012. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis)
Mohammed Badei, leader of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, has come out against Wednesday's peace accord between Israel and Hamas.
"The enemy knows nothing but the language of force," said Mohammed Badei. "Be aware of the game of grand deception with which they depict peace accords."
Badei's comments come in sharp contrast to the peace negotiations by Egypt's President, Mohammed Morsi, who is also a member of the Muslim Brotherhood. Badei also went on to say that "jihad is obligatory" and called on Muslims to "back your brothers in Palestine."
Read the whole story on HuffPost World.
Paul Danahar, a BBC reporter in Gaza, has been following on Twitter the saga of a doctor at a hospital in the Strip who found himself suddenly treating his own six-year-old child, who later died from injuries sustained during the shelling. There are few details so far, but on Thursday Danahar added one more sorrowful note: the doctor, according to the UN, had been working so hard helping patients from the bombing that he hadn't seen his own family for three days, until suddenly the patient dying on the table before him was his boy.
--Joshua Hersh
According to Al Akhbar, a photo uploaded on September 29 to the Facebook profile of the head of the IDF's social media unit shows the lieutenant posing with brown mud on his face under the caption: "Obama style."
Sacha Dratwa, a 26-year old "immigrant from Belgium" as he was described in Tablet magazine, is in charge of the IDF's Facebook, Twitter and very controversial Instagram account.
-- Ahmed Shihab-Eldin
In the midst of the fighting between Israel and Hamas militants in Gaza, a Palestinian Authority ambassador vented his anger and frustration about the Hamas leadership in a phone conversation with an Israeli diplomat, Haaretz has reported.
The exchange, which was reported by the Israeli diplomat in a cable that was later leaked to Haaretz's Barak Ravid, captures the irritation and, ultimately, the impotence of the Fatah leadership in the West Bank, which found itself sidelined from the diplomatic conversation over a cease-fire in Gaza, despite technically being the appointed representatives of the Palestinian people around the world.
"The Hamas offices that were destroyed are not important," the unnamed ambassador apparently reported, expressing his sense of Hamas's indifference to what happens to their people. "The real offices are the mosques, which are connected to a widespread network of tunnels. Everything happens underground. Hamas has no regrets over the destruction in Gaza. On the contrary. Hamas gets a great deal of economic and political benefit from the terrible destruction because of the large donations that will come from the world and the political image of the organization that stands on the front line against Israel.”
The Israeli diplomat also reported the PA official as decrying his boss, PA president Mahmoud Abbas (informally known as Abu Mazen) for his failure to bring the people of Gaza under his wing:
"Abu Mazen never troubled to bring the residents of Gaza close to him," he reportedly said. He does not like Gaza, and if he could get rid of it, he would be happy to do so.... One way or another, Abu Mazen’s time is more or less up. The problem is who will replace him.
Reading over the exchange, Jeffrey Goldberg, a close Israel watcher, noted, "The difference between Israel and Fatah is that Fatah dislikes Hamas more."
Read the whole report here.
| @ BBCBreaking : Israeli soldier injured by mortar fire on Wednesday dies of wounds - sixth Israeli to die in recent conflict - reports http://t.co/6aUYSUvw |
| @ RichardEngel : #Israeli troops begin leaving border sites with #gaza |
This New York Times graphic not only charts the attacks in Israel and Gaza, but also identifies the different rockets used by Hamas and the neighborhoods affected by Israeli fire.
More important for many, though, is the context for how big Gaza is in comparison to New York City.
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IsraelNewswire
Arutz 7: Arab Killed in Gaza Tunnel Collapse http://t.co/CZD5HYvpW8 #israel
3 hours ago from twitterfeed
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IsraelNewswire
Ha'aretz: Egypt blocks Gaza border, Hamas calls continued closure 'unjustified' http://t.co/N2NzMxVXw1 #israel
7 hours ago from twitterfeed
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| jstreetdotorg Wittes: Gulf States can do more to show commitment to API. Stop planning visits to Gaza. Start previewing Israeli-Arab cooperation. | ||
The West's support for Israel (rightly or wrongly) should be viewed through the same lens as Arab support for Palestine: people generally support those they feel they have the most in common with. Period.
You are mistaken about Gaza being the largest open air prison in the world with 1.4 million prisoners.
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In fact, the largest open air prison has 13 million inmates, and it is a segregated women's prison, called Saudi Arabia.
Cheers.
Thank you for saying this, Mr. Kasim. The world needs to know. People need to stop burying their heads in the sand and realize that Muslims are going through incredible suffering in Palestine. Will there ever be hope for PEACE?? Possibly not with all this going on...but I keep faith..because I know that God is watching and HE is the best of judges.
I agree with the writer, Israel must withdraw from the West Bank (and the Syrian Golan Heights too!). Serious attempts are needed from the international community to exert pressure on Israel to pull back to its June 4, 1967 borders. Delineating permanent boundaries between two states that create a viable, independent, and geographically connected Palestinian state is the only sustainable solution in the region – the only one that can bring justice, and with justice, peace.
US, Canada, and others must stop their intolerable bias with Israel, and against the Palestinians.
Biblical Judaism and the Jewish historical narrative is all about Zionism in its pre-nation-state, 19th century political incarnation, but they are all about Zionism nevertheless.
If you support a Palestinian claim to ancestral lands, then you would be a hypocrite if you didn't at least understand and acknowledge the identical Jewish claim.
And I would say that to a right-wing revisionist Zionist as well.
I don't think we have any right to tell the Palestinians not to fight back - I am sure most Canadians would under similar circumstances.
Food for thought:
“In early 2010, one of Washington DC’s most prestigious think tanks was holding a seminar on the Middle East which included a discussion of Israel’s December 2008-January 2009 assault on Gaza [Operation Cast Lead], which killed about 1,300 Palestinians. When the death toll was mentioned, one expert on the panel smiled enigmatically and intoned: ‘It’s unfortunate, but every once in a while you have to mow the lawn.’
“The remark which likened killing hundreds of men, women and children – many of them non-combatants – with trimming the grass, was greeted with a light tittering around the room, which was filled with some of Washington’s most elite, highly educated and well-paid Middle East experts. Not a single one objected to the panelist’s black humor.” (Likening Palestinians to Blades of Grass, http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=55593)
Where is your, and the Muslim posters' rage about that?
While Canada has almost no influence with Arab nations the US has huge influence - particularly with the dictatorships - especially the worst of them all, Saudi Arabia. They don't come down hard on the Kingdom for obvious, self serving reasons - but they should. I assume we agree on that - and while the article is about Israel I doubt the author would disagree if you wanted to adapt this article to a discussion about Saudi Arabia too.
Justice is justice...and we should support it.
I'm proud that he is the leader of my country, I think he's doing a good job, and I agree with his support for Israel. What I'm ashamed of is the fact that people like you are my fellow citizens, no offense.