Gaza’s Situation on October 6, 2024

Jonathan Kuttab

US and Israeli media and politicians often speak as if Hamas carried out an unprovoked attack on October 7, which started the current round of hostilities. The reasoning goes that since Hamas started this round, it is responsible for its consequences, no matter how horrible. Israeli actions are seen as a “response”, and we are often asked “How else should Israel have responded? What would you have them do?”

But we first must ask: what was the situation on October 6?

On October 6, Gaza, a small area about 22 miles long and between 5 and 8 miles wide, was packed with 2.3 million Palestinians, two-thirds of whom were refugees and survivors of the 1948 Nakba. Israel was imposing a severe siege on the whole strip (with cooperation from Egypt on the southern border) whereby no people or goods could enter or leave the strip without Israeli approval.

Israel had managed to continue the occupation of Gaza after it withdrew its settlers in 2005, without being physically “on the ground,” except for occasional forays. It controlled the area from the air, sea, and by managing all entrances. This situation mirrored the West Bank, where Israel is still the occupier, but where it has subcontracted internal affairs of the major city centers to the Palestinian Authority, under severe restriction. So too had Israel “subcontracted” internal control of Gaza to Hamas while maintaining external control, frequently invading the area with bombardment and “mowing the lawn” operations. 

On October 6, Israel continued to dominate the Gaza strip, with its currency, population register, customs controls, and regime of restrictions. Postal, communications, internet, and fuel services were also strictly under Israel’s control. It doled out permits for all services into and out of Gaza including fuel, medical supplies, entry and export of food materials, and all other needed goods and services through a system of extortionist Israeli middlemen.  

The short list of goods that Israel permitted to enter Gaza excluded not only “dual function goods” that could serve military as well as civilian uses (such as steel bars and cement), but also innocuous materials such as glass, chocolate, all but one form of pasta and spaghetti, etc. Often the list showed caprice and nastiness, and it seemed to have no logic behind it other than Israel’s desire to assert power and control. Fishing, which the Oslo Agreement allowed up to 12 miles out, was also strictly restricted, usually to 6 or 3 miles, and it was often banned altogether.

The de-development of the Gaza strip was so severe that most of its residents were dependent on relief and supplies from UNRWA (the United Nations Relief and Works Agency), whose supplies were also carefully monitored and often delayed or restricted at Israel’s whim. It was commonly known that Gaza was the world’s largest open-air prison, and in 2012 the United Nations announced that Gaza would be unlivable by 2020. 

For its part, Hamas tried to join a political process. It changed its charter to be more moderate, announced repeatedly that it would be willing to accept a long-term “hudna” (ceasefire) with Israel, and expressed openness to accept a two-state solution accepted by the majority of Palestinians in an open election. It also supported the brave civil society initiative known as the March of Return, a nonviolent action that was met with brutal savagery as Israeli snipers killed and maimed hundreds of Palestinian unarmed protesters while the world stood silently by.

Attempts were also made to create a joint Fatah-Hamas front and to end the divisions preventing Palestinians from negotiating with one voice, but these efforts failed. Both Hamas and Fatah blamed each other for this, but the US and Israel made it clear they would not allow an end to the schism. Netanyahu openly told Mahmoud Abbas that there would be no relations and negotiations with them, if they made peace with Hamas.

As if all this was not enough, Netanyahu was continuously tightening the noose, placing more and more restrictions on Gaza, such as limiting the availability of electricity to a few hours a day through controlling the amount of fuel allowed into its one electricity company . 

The Israeli government, dominated by right wing parties was also busy with its own problems from the corruption charges, to the unprecedented street protests, and was also infected with enormous hubris regarding its economic, political, and military superiority over its neighbors. It was not in any mood to offer anything but more restrictions to the people of Gaza.  The Gaza strip was a pressure cooker, so it was no surprise that, eventually it exploded. 

To understand what happened on October 7, we need to be cognizant of the reality that existed in Gaza on October 6. The prison camp of Gaza was totally unlivable and unacceptable, and it had to end. The world, however, including those concerned with peace and justice, had somehow forgotten about Gaza and neglected its people.

There is much to criticize about Hamas, but one cannot blame them for preparing to fight their enemies and tormentors, or for attempting to break out of their open-air prison. On October 6, the situation in Gaza was truly degrading and intolerable, and the world seemed not to listen or care. Something had to be done to bring the plight of Gaza back into consideration, and October 7 was Hamas’ answer. In many ways it was inevitable.

What really happened on Oct 7, 3024

When coming to an understanding of the events of October 7, we must ask: what actually happened on that fateful day?

This question is important because of the prevailing political and media narratives. These narratives claim that what Hamas did on that day, apart from being unprovoked, was so heinous and evil that it excused everything that happened next. This allows politicians to claim that the evil of Israel’s genocidal attacks were only a “response” and that blame should be laid squarely at the feet of Hamas. We hear frequently that Israel’s actions were an imperative needed to rid the world of the evil of Hamas.

Since so many of the myths perpetuated about October 7 have been debunked and proven untrue (40 decapitated babies, widespread systematic rapes, and the burning of babies) it is important that we know what actually did happen.

My own observations and research on that question run contrary to the popular narrative. It is important to start with the qualification that I am a pacifist and do not think violence is ever the proper response. However, under international law, an oppressed people has the right to resort to armed struggle, provided it is aimed at combatants, not civilians. However, I personally do not believe violence is the proper or effective way for Palestinians to resist, and I must insist that nonviolence is our best method.

Having said that, it needs to be stated that what happened on October 7 was first and foremost a brilliant military operation. On that day, the severely under-resourced forces of Hamas, using largely handheld weapons and homemade explosives, effectively penetrated the high tech walls and fences surrounding them. In over 40 places, Hamas fighters simultaneously breached the fence,  attacked and captured two or three army bases, killed over 340 soldiers (by Israeli reports), captured over 40 additional soldiers, and took them to Gaza to use them for prisoner exchange. In addition, Hamas’ attacks caused the collapse of the entire Israeli security system surrounding Gaza, leaving its borders open for angry Palestinian mobs to attack the surrounding Israeli kibbutzim and communities.

In addition to the legal military actions, Hamas also attacked civilians at a music festival that was held about a mile from their enclave. They also overran a number of Israeli civilian settlements killing residents, and captured about 200 civilians as hostages. Such attacks on civilians and the taking of civilian hostages is clearly contrary to international law and cannot be justified, particularly since among the hostages were elderly people and children who could not be considered combatants under any circumstances. These civilians should have been immediately released without any conditions.  In addition, it must be noted, Hamas  fired a barrage of primitive rockets at primarily civilian targets, which is also illegal under international law. .

The stunned Israeli forces failed to provide protection to these communities or secure their borders. Instead, under the Hannibal Directive, in order to prevent the taking of hostages back into Gaza, they carried out numerous attacks, mostly by helicopters and tanks. These deadly attacks burned all vehicles moving back towards Gaza. Israel also carried out attacks in the kibbutzim where hostages were being held, killing both Palestinian attackers and Israeli hostages. These attacks killed so many people that the numbers of actual Israeli casualties had to be revised from 1400 to less than 1200, since many bodies had been burnt beyond recognition. It was later discovered that these victims were not in fact Israeli civilians or soldiers, but Palestinians. A recent report said that 28 Israeli helicopter gunships  used up all their ammunition and had to return to reload that day.

Every person killed on that day is a universe unto themselves and such deaths are truly to be mourned, whether soldiers or civilians. Their deaths were the direct results of Hamas’ attack, even if it was Israeli soldiers who  actually killed them under the Hannibal Directive. Likewise, the terrifying experience of being captured and held captive for political reasons is never acceptable or justifiable anywhere, anytime.  However, I still believe these corrections to the popular narrative are necessary.

Although horrible and unspeakable, false narratives of exaggerated crimes by Hamas, and uncertainty about how many of the Israeli civilians were killed by Palestinian mobs or Israeli forces needs to be further investigated.  This is especially true since the behavior of Hamas has been viewed and condemned as barbaric, and is proclaimed to be integral to Hamas’ identity and character. These claims are aimed at  justifying the demonization of, and subsequent attempts to destroy Hamas. Anything, including civilian structures, institutions, events, and people alleged to be associated with Hamas in any way were thus proclaimed to be legitimate targets for destruction and annihilation. 

What also happened on October 7 was the traumatic collapse of Israel’s vaunted security arrangements, its intelligence apparatus, its constant surveillance, its military doctrine, and its deterrence. The attack triggered past traumas from centuries of antisemitic persecution and the Holocaust, evoking fears of the destruction of Jewish life in Palestine, akin to the destruction of the First and Second Temples. It also triggered  fears akin to every settler-colonial movement of the “revolt of the natives.” All these fears and traumas were triggered by October 7, and in many ways enabled the massive and totally disproportionate genocidal response. October 7 was not viewed as another episode in the ongoing conflict with the Palestinians, but as an existential event pertaining to the very survival of the state of Israel and the Jewish people as a whole.

What has been happening since that fateful day

Right after October 7, and under the intense trauma of that day which has not yet dissipated, Israel announced a number of fateful decisions that continue to govern its behavior to this day, a full year later:

1.   Israel announced that there were no longer any restraints or red lines for military violence. If there was ever actually any respect for rules, standards, regulations, international law, or international public opinion, these were no longer operative. In light of what happened on October 7, everything was allowed, and in fact required, to avenge that defeat and “ensure it never happens again”.
2.   Genocidal language and actions were now the order of the day. Gaza had to be “wiped out” and leveled to the ground. They were “Amalek” (a Biblical reference to a tribe King Saul was ordered to annihilate: men, women, children, and animals, without mercy.) They were announced to be “human animals” and would be treated as such. “They” clearly referred to all Gazans, (and subsequently, others as well). Israel justified cutting off their water, food, fuel, and medical supplies. These statements and actions were carried out at the very highest level and repeated by various officials and leaders: From the Prime Minister, the President of Israel, to the Defense Minister, to journalists and pundits. Violence against Palestinians in Gaza was, and is, celebrated by some Israeli soldiers proclaiming their crimes on their social media accounts. These statements seem to accurately reflect overwhelming sentiment in Jewish Israeli society.
3.   The important distinctions between civilian and military, combatants and non-combatants, were completely erased. This was accomplished with a variety of excuses, first ignoring Hamas’ political and civil institutions and organizations, then making  the claim that Hamas was embedded in the civilian population and used their own civilians as “human shields.” These excuses continued with bogus claims that military command centers were located under hospitals, universities, mosques, and other civilian structures. By always claiming, without proof, that they have accurate intelligence information, Israel totally erased the distinction between civilian life and military targets. Preventing access by  independent foreign journalists while hunting down local journalists made the message clear: Israel’s version of events was not to be challenged or fact-checked. It should be noted that detailed investigations following the 2008-2009 and 2014 conflicts by Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and the United Nations Human Rights Council, have failed to find a single documented case of any civilian deaths caused by Hamas using human shields. 
4.   The full power of destructive weapons and advanced technology was used against the whole population in Gaza. 2000-pound bombs were dropped in the midst of a densely-populated area, and even on tent encampments, with horrendous results. Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) programs such as Lavender were used to provide algorithms that generated a bank of hundreds of “targets” daily which could be destroyed with missiles, artillery, armed drones, quad-copters, and tanks, usually from afar. They were enhanced by such cruel A.I. programs as Daddy’s Home to ensure that whole families of “targets” would also be wiped out. 
5.   Populations were ordered to move around, leave their homes en masse, on short notice, and  be crowded into smaller and smaller “safe areas” which were in turn bombed and attacked. There seemed to be no limit or restraint on the violence used. This same tactic is now being used in Lebanon. On Wednesday, October 2nd, Israel “ordered” the evacuation of 30 towns and villages in Lebanon, including villages north of the Litani River and Nabatiyyah, the 6th largest city in Lebanon. Those who refused to move were told they would be presumed to be terrorists or sympathizers and risked being shot or bombed just for staying in their homes. 
6.   Powerful friends abroad, particularly politicians and media in the United States, were enlisted to support the Israeli narrative. These powerful figures sought to prevent and fight calls for ceasefire and de-escalation, protect and provide impunity against international accountability for Israel, and label all those who tried to challenge Israel and its actions as enemies and antisemites.
7.   Goals were announced for the military campaign, such as “total victory” and the utter destruction of Hamas and its governing structures, that were impossible to realize and that ensured that the war would continue almost indefinitely. What Israel initially announced would  last a few weeks has continued for one year, and there is no end in sight. Running out of ammunition, which occurred in the first few weeks, was remedied by an apparently limitless resupply from the United States, and a commitment to continue doing so. 
8.   Worst of all, the very thought of peace and resolution of the conflict with Palestinians was removed entirely from the conversation.  A full year after October 7, there is no discussion of resolving the Palestinian Question. On July 18, the Israeli Knesset overwhelmingly rejected any possibility for a future Palestinian state. No peace process, no negotiations, no vision of anything other than continuing conflict and reliance on military power alone. The issue for Israel is no longer fear of expanding the conflict, but seeking ways to ensure that it expands and escalates further. Beginning on October, 8, the current government made a fatal choice for Israel: it will live by the sword, and it may end up dying by the sword. 

On October 7, I thought naively that the horrible events of that day may offer an opening for direct negotiations between Hamas and Israel, where parties could  exchange hostages and prisoners and begin a genuine conversation about  a lasting, just peace. I also thought that the utter collapse of the High-Tech Wall and of Israel’s “security doctrine” could lead to a re-evaluation of militarism and a move towards diplomacy, and reconciliation. I was very wrong. Instead, we saw a doubling down on military solutions, a determination to use power and more power, a rejection of all calls for ceasefire, de-escalation, and negotiations, a shrinking of the Israeli “peace camp,” and a grim,vengeful determination to use overwhelming force and force alone. The principles established by Israel on October 8 are now the principles that guide it  in Gaza, Lebanon, the West Bank, and perhaps also Iran and elsewhere. 

The saddest thing about the current situation is that all parties are now thinking only in military terms.  No one is thinking of “what makes for peace,” but only about how to inflict greater pain, loss and destruction on the other side.

Those of us who care about justice and peace, who care about Palestinians, Israelis, Lebanese, and other human beings need to break out of the paradigm being imposed on us by one interpretation of October 7, and return to basic principles:  Justice, fairness, human rights, international law, and seeking that which makes for peace, rather than war.  We must find a way, with a commitment to active nonviolence, to maintain our hope in a better future for all, rather than despair, despondency, and surrender to the dark logic of violence and hatred. 

Every Life, A Universe,

Jonathan Kuttab, Co-Founder

Nonviolence International
https://www.nonviolenceinternational.net/

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P.S. Please join the Every Life,  A Universe Days of Remembrance by wearing black ribbons/arm bands and attending our 3 days of online events led by Israeli and Palestinian peace heroes!

Nonviolence International
https://www.nonviolenceinternational.net/

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Ramallah, August 21, 2024—Israeli forces are systematically detaining and torturing Palestinian children in the Gaza Strip, including using some as human shields.

During an Israeli military incursion into the Al-Tuffah area of Gaza City on December 27, 2023, Israeli forces detained at least eight Palestinian children and used several as human shields, according to documentation collected by Defense for Children International – Palestine. Israeli forces detained around 50 Palestinians, including brothers 13-year-old Abdullah H. and 11-year-old Abdulrahman H. as well as 12-year-old Karim S. Israeli soldiers forced them to take off their clothes and bound their hands before forcing them to walk in front of Israeli tanks.

“They insulted us, slapped me on my face, and kicked me in my stomach and waist. I almost died from the beating,” Karim told DCIP. “Then they made us walk in front of bulldozers and tanks in the streets so that the resistance wouldn’t target them.” 

Frequently asked questions, answers, and documentation on Gaza

An evolving document compiled by young Palestinian media activists

October 2023

1. What is the background on Israel/Palestine?

Israel was built on top of Palestine through the ethnic cleansing of the native Palestinians, a long-standing Zionist policy that resulted in 8 million Palestinians becoming refugees or displaced people and the rest enclosed in ghettos/bantustans (1) based on a set of myths and distortions of reality to justify colonization (2).

(1) See PalestineRemembered.com; History of the Question of Palestine; YouTube: how Israel was created;

(2) Zionism at 100: The Myth of Palestine as “A Land Without People” ; The Myth of the U.N. Creation of Israel; see books by Shlomo Sand on the myths that allowed ethnic cleansing; Ben-Hur, the LA Times & a place called Palestine ; Greenberg, Gary. 101 Myths of the Bible: How Ancient Scribes Invented Biblical History. Sourcebooks, 2002; Whitelam, Keith W. The invention of Ancient Israel: The Silencing of Palestinian History. New York, Routledge. 1997; Nur Masalha “Palestine: A four thousand year history”; Raed, Basem. Hidden Histories: Palestine and The Eastern Mediterranean. Pluto Press. 2010.

2. What is the Gaza strip and what is its background?

Gaza is a sliver of land along the Mediterranean Coast. Per the 1947 UNGA partition resolution, Gaza’s area was many times more than what it is now, and it was to be under the UNGA 181 but during 1948, Israel removed 247 villages and towns, including Asqalan (now Israeli Ashkelon) and Najd (now Sderot). Most of them were pushed (including on boats from Jaffa) to be squeezed in the open-air prison called the Gaza ‘Strip’. Thus 2/3rd of the current population (2.3 million, 60% of which are below 18) of the squeezed Gaza ghetto are refugees, a concentration area of “surplus people”. After Israel’s occupation of the Strip in 1967, Israel conducted numerous attacks on the area including in 1974, 1981, 1987-1991, 1997, 2000, 2008, 2014, 2018/2019, and 2021. The nonviolent 2018-2019 march of return by unarmed civilians was met by Israeli forces’ systemic targeting, massacring these civilians. The violence against people living in crowded Gaza had been ongoing for decades- see other questions and answers below. The events of 7 October 2023 that took Israel by surprise and caused pain and suffering is precisely what Palestinian were faced with many fold over in the past 75 years (33 massacres in 1948 alone and hundreds more since then including the lates series of massacres commnitted in Gaza in October 2023) (3)

(3) https://wehaddreams.com/; https://israelpalestinenews.org/israel-cant-imprison-two-million-gazans-pay-cruel-price/; https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/ethnic-cleansing-genocide-in-gaza [https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/6/24/impoverished-gaza-economy-struggles-under-israeli-blockade]

3. What is happening now in the West Bank and 1948 areas of Palestine and how is this related to Gaza?

The West Bank (including Jerusalem) and Gaza have been under a brutal Israeli military occupation since 1967. This occupation is illegal per international law (illegality of acquisition of territory by war, see below). Israeli settlers built, and continue to build, colonialism in these occupied areas. Since the PLO signed an agreement which recognized Israel in 1993, it was hoped that after an interim period of 5 years of negotiations, a Palestinian state in Gaza and the West Bank would be formed with currently Israeli-occupied East Jerusalem as its capital (the Oslo accords). Instead, the last 30 years saw a tripling of the number of illegal Israeli colonial settlers living on the land of the West Bank (now 970,000 settlers). Palestinians were removed from their lands and homes and squeezed into Bantustans/ghettos in the West Bank and this process is ongoing (in just the past two years, 22 communities in the WB were removed). The Palestinian economy has been devastated, natural resources are stolen and given to colonial settlers, and there are almost daily incursions into Palestinian cities and holy sites like Al-Aqsa mosque (4). But even remaining Palestinian within the state of Israel did not escape ethnic cleansing, for example in the Naqab/Negev (5).

(4) https://www.unocha.org/occupied-palestinian-territory ; https://www.btselem.org/publications/202309_the_pogroms_are_working_the_transfer_is_already_happening ; https://www.arij.org/latest/ben-gavir-and-netanyahu/

(5) https://www.refworld.org/pdfid/4ed61bdc2.pdf

4. Does Israel have the right to defend itself?

First the premise that a colonizer is doing self-defense is itself a linguistic error. Colonizers use violence to achieve their cause of ethnic cleansing. This happened in all other colonial situations in over 170 countries. As an occupier/colonizer that was created by ethnic cleansing of the local people beginning in 1948 and continuing today, the Israeli regime defends its illegitimate colonization project (itself based on violence). The claim that Hamas presence as a guerrilla force among the Palestinians in Gaza is also not an excuse for violating basics of warfare and targeting civilians. Afterall, Israeli military facilities are also inside Israeli cities but this does not justify targeting civilians. Further Israeli authorities themselves openly declared that they are punishing the population of Gaza (not fighters from Gaza) by bombing them without warning and starving them. (6)

(6) https://gisha.org/en/total-blackout-in-gaza/; https://www.msf.org/indiscriminate-violence-and-collective-punishment-gaza-must-cease; https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2020/07/israels-collective-punishment-palestinians-illegal-and-affront-justice-un ; https://www.arij.org/latest/israel-violates-human-rights-through-the-collective-punishment-of-the-qunbar-family/ ; https://gisha.org/en/collective-punishment-continues/ ; https://jacobin.com/2021/05/israel-palestine-right-to-self-defense-justification-for-war-article-51-un-charter

5. Do Palestinians have a right to resist?

Yes, international law does stipulate that local people have a right and obligation to resist oppression of course consistent with International law (7). Israel’s 75 years of oppression on millions of people cannot be ignored to demand quiescent victims (8). The struggle for freedom in South Africa and Algeria or other colonial situations was not delegetimized when (a minority) of natives as individuals or groups targeted colonial settlers. Ending colonization is always the only way to end both the resistance and the much larger violence of the colonizers. But we also recognize that most resistance in the past 100 years by Palestinians has been popular (non-violent) resistance. Certainly less violent than most other colnial-anti-colonial struggles.(9)

(7) https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2017/7/20/palestinians-have-a-legal-right-to-armed-struggle ; (French: https://les7duquebec.net/archives/286849 )

(8) https://www.jadaliyya.com/Details/45383

(9) See Mary Elizabeth King “A quiet Revolution” 2007; Mazin Qumsiyeh “Popular Resistance in Palestine: A history f Hope and Empowerment” Pluto Press 2014; Marwan Darwish and Andrew Rigby “Popular Protest in Palestine: The uncertain future of unarmed resistance”, Pluto Press, 2015.

6. Does Israel commit breaches of international law and human rights conventions?

From its inception, Israel ethnically cleansed Palestinians (a breach of international law, including the Geneva Conventions). Israel was admitted to the UN only when it agreed to implement UN resolutions, including UNGA 181 and 194, but Israel refused to implement them. Subsequently Israel has violated over 70 UN Security Council Resolutions and hundreds of UNGA resolutions. In the most recent October 2023 conflict in Gaza and as a matter of policy even when there is no conflict, Israel engaged in collective punishment, many cases of which are verifiable war crimes and crimes against humanity. All human rights organizations (AI, HRW, PHR, B’Tselem) and global organizations (UN, WHO, etc) denounced collective punishment, including carpet bombing of residential buildings, denial of basics of life (water, food, medicines, fuel), and use of white phosphorous on civilian areas. (10) If we take just the UN Declaration on Human Rights, which ironically Israel and the US signed, we find Israel breaching just about every article. Israel intentionally targets Palestinian civilians and commits human righst abuses on large scale amounting to crimes against humanity and war crimes including including via collective punishment (11).

(10) https://ifamericansknew.org/cur_sit/boyle.html https://ifamericansknew.org/cur_sit/ilaw-articles.html Even Raz Segal Israeli historian, professor of Holocaust and genocide studies at Stockton University says it is “A Textbook Case of Genocide: Israel has been explicit about what it’s carrying out in Gaza. Why isn’t the world listening?” [https://www.democracynow.org/2023/10/16/raz_segal_textbook_case_of_genocide] Dropping ;leaflets telling 1.1 million people to leave Northern Gaza and head south (and then ironically bombing them) [https://www.richardsilverstein.com/2023/10/15/breaking-israeli-security-source-confirms-iaf-massacred-civilians-in-refugee-convoy-despite-army-denials-70-dead/]

(11) https://www.amnesty.org/en/location/middle-east-and-north-africa/israel-and-occupied-palestinian-territories/report-israel-and-occupied-palestinian-territories/ https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2023/10/israeloccupied-palestinian-territory-un-experts-deplore-attacks-civilians https://www.emro.who.int/opt/news/hospitals-in-the-gaza-strip-at-a-breaking-point-warns-who.html; Youtube: Kids Used as Human Shields [https://www.ochaopt.org/content/hostilities-gaza-strip-and-israel-flash-update-10]; Use of Palestinians as human shields Amnesty International: Israel’s apartheid against Palestinians Israel hits center of Red Cross Statistics on number of people killed Israeli who revealed “medieval-style” torture of Palestinians faces virulent backlash US State Dept 2020 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices

7. Is Israel ruled by rational people?

The criminality of Israeli leaders including their racist statements about indigenous people is highly documented, and continues openly (12). Israeli leaders have always chosen to use their military might to achieve their objectives of colonization. Yitzhaq Rabin, who came the closest to recognizing some need to compromise and allow some margin of freedom for some Palestinians, was assassinated by a right wing Zionist. Since then, Israeli leadership has shifted to become more racist and fascist (e.g. having settlers like Smotrich and Ben Gvir in the cabinet).

(12) https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20160213-the-wild-beast-of-israeli-racism/ ; Michael Ben-Ari, ex-member of the Knesset: “There are no innocents in Gaza. Mow them down … Kill the Gazans without thought or mercy.” Israel Katz, Minister of Transportation: “Gaza should be bombed so hard the population has to flee into Egypt.” Avi Dichter, Current Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Former Shin Bet director and Minister of Internal Security: “Gaza should be wiped clean with bombs.”; “The Gaza Strip must be smaller at the end of the war. Anyone who starts a war against Israel must lose territory“ Gideon Sa’ar Israeli Interior Minister; Israeli President says there are no innocent civilains in Gaza and that they are responsible [https://thewire.in/world/northern-gaza-israel-palestine-conflict]

8. What about children?

No other country violates the rights of children or kills them in such large numbers as Israel. Defense of Children International documented countless cases of child abductions, detentions, severe interrogation amounting to torture, and outright killing. Just in the period of 7 October – 15 October 2023 Israel killed 720 children and injured about 2500. (13)

(13) [Names and faces of some of those murdered in Gaza in a previous incursion] [https://www.dci-palestine.org/724_palestinian_children_killed_in_gaza_as_israel_targets_civilians] [https://www.insider.com/children-rights-gaza-palestine-israel-human-rights-united-nations-2023-10]

9. Does the Zionist movement and the government of Israel lie to advance their cause of colonization?

Yes, daily. This is more blatant in Gaza but has been going for 75 years. The Israeli newspaper Haaretz (7/15/01) reported that: “… giving his audience (Likud leaders) a bit of advice on how to deal with foreign interviewers (Benjamin Netanyahu said): ‘Always, irrespective of whether you’re right or not, you must always present your side as right'”. Indeed from its inception, the Israeli government and its agents abroad have lied. There were false flag operations like the Lavon Affair, or the bombing of Jewish community centers in Iraq to blame it on locals and scare Iraqi Jews to leave their country (14). Hasbara (propaganda) is a very common Zionist tactic to advance their project of colonization. During the October 2023 incidents Israeli leaders lied about Hamas killing and beheading babies, about Israeli soldiers killing Israeli citizens, or even about wanting peace (15)

(14) The Lavon Affair: Israel and Terror in Egypt ; https://books.google.ps/books?id=XTWUEAAAQBAJ&redir_esc=y ; https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/avi-shlaim-proof-israel-zionist-involvement-iraq-jews-attacks

(15) Israel lies to manufacture a case for genocide; Israel killed an American citizen and lied about it [https://edition.cnn.com/2022/05/24/middleeast/shireen-abu-akleh-jenin-killing-investigation-cmd-intl/index.html] Just three lies on Gaza; Netanyahu in a video worth watching very carefully [https://electronicintifada.net/content/israeli-forces-shot-their-own-civilians-kibbutz-survivor-says/38861] [https://mondoweiss.net/2023/10/hostages-how-the-u-s-media-is-distorting-the-news-from-palestine/]

10. Did the Palestinians have a fair chance to tell their stories in the Western world?

As the late professor Edward Said articulated clearly, Palestinian voices are methodically suppressed. This only intensified as the Zionist movement increased its grip on Western media, which then silenced Palestinian voices. In the US for example, distorted, misleading and outright false coverage as a result of the strong Zionist lobbies (16). Free speech must be protected in all countries: in Palestine Israeli forces shoot you for demonstrating, meanwhile Germany, France and Belgium are trying to outlaw free speech or demonstrations addressing human rights/international law/Palestine and even balanced reporters harassed or fired (17).

(16) See Mearsherimer and Walt on the Israel lobby and Question # 16 https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/mar/06/evangelical-christians-republicans-2024-israel-palestinians https://decolonizepalestine.com/myths/ https://ifamericansknew.org/

(17) See Paul Findley, “They Dare to Speak Out”; https://www.aljazeera.com/program/the-listening-post/2021/5/22/incite-and-inflame-israels-manipulation-of-the-media; Demonstrations in the West ignored by Western media https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJDL_JfmFKE https://www.trtworld.com/us-and-canada/us-news-network-msnbc-suspends-muslim-anchors-amid-israeli-war-in-gaza-15405819; Misinformation about the Israel-Hamas war is flooding social media. Here are the facts: [apnews.com/ap-fact-check]

11. Does Israel destroy infrastructure and livelihoods of innocent people for revenge?

Yes, and the deliberate destruction of infrastructure is illegal per International law. (18)

(18) https://www.btselem.org/press_releases/20231015_suffering_does_not_justify_suffering_and_one_injustice_does_not_justify_another_and_one_crime_does_not_warrant_another https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/10/13/what-infrastructure-in-gaza-has-been-damaged-since-israels-assault; Human Rights organizations on the carnage in Gaza

12. Is Israel a democracy?

At least 65 Israeli laws exist that discriminate against non-Jewish citizens, alongside hundreds more laws which apply to people living under occupation. Human rights organizations (AI, HRW, PHR, etc.), including local ones like B’Tselem, have called the dual legal system apartheid. (19)

(19) See Adalah database of racist laws; The seven most racist Israeli laws; http://apartheidweek.org/resources/; https://www.hrw.org/report/2021/04/27/threshold-crossed/israeli-authorities-and-crimes-apartheid-and-persecution; 300 groups call on the UN to investigate apartheid

13. Is this a religious war?

Absolutely not. While the Zionists have used Judaism as an excuse and weaponized it in their attacks on the native people, the colonial and apartheid system does not discriminate in its victimization of native Christians, Muslims, Druze, Bahai, or Atheists. All non-Jews were targeted for ethnic cleansing, with the exception of the self-proclaimed Christian Zionists (21). Palestinian and non-Palestinian Christians have been outspoken for human rights. Jews have also been the most outspoken (21). But Israel’s use of religion to try to justify its colonization does lead to targeting and harming the religious sites and sensibilities of other religions. This is part of the reason why the state facilitates settler attacks on Al-Aqsa mosque (3rd holiest site in Islam), which has influenced uprisings like the last one (22).

(20) https://www.christianzionism.org/

(21) https://www.jewishvoiceforpeace.org/

(22) https://www.palestineremembered.com/Articles/General/Story2670.html

14. Who is profiting from colonialism and war?

Gaza is a testing laboratory for Israeli arms manufacturers and is critical for flowing funds to the military and industrial complex in Israel. Israel profits from the humanitarian aid to Gaza and the WB that comes through Israel, from occupied area natural resources including theft of water and the Gas fields off of Gaza (23)

(23) https://www.whoprofits.org/; https://www.middleeasteye.net/opinion/gaza-testing-ground-israeli-military-technology https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt183p4xd?typeAccessWorkflow=login; https://electronicintifada.net/content/cruel-experiments-israels-arms-industry/19011 Azerbaijan: Israeli Arms Sales, Greased Palms, Ethnic-Conflict & Armenian Nakba ; https://www.arij.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/The_Economic_Cost_of_the_Israeli_occupation_Report_upd.pdf

15. Why do some Western countries and some Arab governments (most dictators) support and normalize Israel?

Israel gets nearly $4 billion in military aid annually from the US and gets protection from prosecution under international law by use of the US veto power at the UN. This collusion with apartheid is carried out even against US law (24). Part of it has to do with the history of those countries themselves being colonial and imperial powers who have killed millions of natives and “understand” what it takes for colonization (25). Furthermore, the US military industrial complex benefits from this funding to Israel, as a large portion of the funding can only be spent purchasing weapons directly from US arm dealers (26). Another part of it is the strong Zionist lobbies in Western countries (27). For some Arab dictatorships, it is because they are dependent on the US and some other Western countries to stay in power against the wishes of the people, or because they believe the US hegemony will last forever. This complicity and normalization are what has encouraged Israel to violate human rights and increased chances of the kind of resistance we have seen in October 2023 (28). But among people of the world, there is great sympathy and support for Palestine (29).

(24) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leahy_Law

(25) Jonathan Cook: The blood of Gaza is on the West’s hands

(26) https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2016/09/14/fact-sheet-memorandum-understanding-reached-israel

(27) https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v28/n06/john-mearsheimer/the-israel-lobby; Here is a journalist doing his job showing US Hypocrisy in supporting crimes against humanity; https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/feb/15/revealed-disinformation-team-jorge-claim-meddling-elections-tal-hanan
https://www.timesofisrael.com/expose-unmasks-israel-led-disinformation-team-that-meddled-in-dozens-of-elections/

(28) https://www.alhaq.org/advocacy/21873.html https://imeu.org/article/imeu-policy-analysis-5-abraham-accords-isolate-palestinians-solidify-israel http://opiniojuris.org/2021/06/24/the-pathology-of-arab-state-silence-on-palestine-how-rapprochement-with-israel-reveals-complicity-in-the-conflict-and-could-cause-further-unrest-in-the-region/

(29) Millions were out in the streets in October 2023 depite governments threats and intimidation. Examples: [https://www.rts.ch/info/regions/geneve/14391001-la-cause-palestinienne-fait-descendre-6000-personnes-dans-la-rue-a-geneve.html] [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qCvcAxoAS48

16. What should be done about the situation?

Amnesty International has said, “The root causes of these repeated cycles of violence must be addressed as a matter of urgency. This requires upholding international law and ending Israel’s 16-year-long illegal blockade on Gaza, and all other aspects of Israel’s system of apartheid imposed on all Palestinians.” (30) Implementing International law, human rights, and justice are essential to stopping these cycles of violence. Justice means the return of Palestinian refugees, the abolition of apartheid laws, and full equality regardless of religion. If some in the western world still believes in a “two state solution” as a step towards peace, then they must insist on full withdrawal (i.e. all illegal settlements evacuated) from the 1967 occupied territories (West Bank, including East Jerusalem; Gaza; and the Golan Heights) and allow Palestine to be a state with full sovereignty (including natural resources, borders, etc). In either case, apartheid laws should be ended and refugees should be allowed to return or compensated per UNGA resolution 194.(31).

(30) https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2023/10/israel-opt-civilians-on-both-sides-paying-the-price-of-unprecedented-escalation-in-hostilities-between-israel-and-gaza-as-death-toll-mounts/

(31) Beinart on this issue [https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/14/opinion/palestinian-ethical-resistance-answers-grief-and-rage.html] Another Jew speaking openly about what must be done [https://youtu.be/Tpi3qoSm7VA?feature=shared]

17. Where can I get more information?

Here are some relevant links:

• https://www.aljazeera.com/live
• https://electronicintifada.net/
• https://t.me/PNNEnglish
• https://english.pnn.ps/
• http://www.imemc.org
• https://israelpalestinenews.org
• https://ifamericansknew.org/
• https://imeu.org/
• https://mondoweiss.net/
• https://israelpalestinetimeline.org/
• http://palestineremembered.com
• https://www.middleeastmonitor.com
• http://decolonizepalestine.com
• https://www.visualizingpalestine.org/
• https://www.jewishvoiceforpeace.org/
• https://english.wafa.ps/Regions/Details/1
• https://act.uscpr.org/a/callforgaza

18. How can I help financially?

• Medical Aid for Palestinians
• Middle East Children Alliance
• UNRWA
• ANERA
• PCRS

19. What more can I do? (Campaigns)

Educate yourself (resources above plus books, videos like Occupation 101, Born in Gaza)

Use the right language (colonialism, apartheid, collective punishment) not “conflict” etc if you have to use war it is war on the people of Gaza not Hamas-Israel war

Write to media (letters to editor or op-eds)

Join groups like the International Solidarity Movement

Create or join local groups of joint struggle (like PSM)

Join political parties and lobby all politicians

Use social media with hashtags for Palestine (facebook, X/Twitter, Instagram, Telegram, TikTock, Youtube)

Join or organize protests (5 people or 50,000 people)

Join the Boycott, Divestiment, Sanctions campaigns http://bdsmovement.net

Join http://righttoenter.ps

Organize street theatres, flash mobs, tabling, or flyering

Engage in civil dsiobedience

Contact local faith centers (Churches, Mosques, Synagogues, Temples)

Volunteer in Palestine

Sign a petition such as: – https://www.change.org/p/to-stop-the-killing-we-must-right-the-wrongs-that-feed-it – https://secure.avaaz.org/campaign/en/israel_palestine_save_the_kids_loc/

Here is a statement signed by over 800 international legal scholars is published now – please help to circulate widely to your governments and representatives. [https://opiniojuris.org/2023/10/18/public-statement-scholars-warn-of-potential-genocide-in-gaza/]

West Bank situation: We must spotlight that oppression in the West Bank continues. We hsould set-up or expand civilian defense groups to face the Zionist settlers who have been armed and given a green light to commit pogroms, like happened recently in Turmusayya, Beita and Huwwara. As we are in the Oliver harvest season, settlers and soldiers have shot at farmers trying to get totheir fields.

Arab governments should be challenged on their complicity and hypocrisy. The show concern for Gaza civilains but aid and abet the governments that perpetuate crime against humanity in places like Gaza. تعرب عن قلقها أو استيائها ألخ

Western governments should be challenged and we must demand they stop funding, arming, and protecting Israel from international law.

Israeli political and military leaders should be brought to trial for war crimes and crimes against humanity, including violating the conventions on crimes of genocide and apartheid/racial discrimination.

Western media must be challenged for their lies and distortions, and for bias in use of language which results in their complicity in crimes. Their support of genocide is also eroding the public’s trust in them. As one person wrote “The UK media’s coverage is shameful and our leaders are self-serving liars.”

Social media issues: Activists and all people of conscience must use Facebook, Instagram, Tik-tok, X (Twitter), Telegram and other websites for sharing photos and videos.

Challenging IHRA

As a Palestinian Canadian I am equally shocked, as was Independent Jewish Voices Canada, by the high-handed move of Doug Ford’s Ontario government to ram through the flawed and widely-rejected International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) antisemitism definition.

Shockingly, the IHRA definition was passed on October 25 by an Order-In-Council before two deadlines, of October 26 and October 30 respectively, set by the Standing Committee on Justice Policy for submitting requests to participate in public hearings and to submit written material. Read more….

Controversies at U of T Law, York University highlight escalating suppression of moderate voices criticizing Israel

At the heart of a University of Toronto hiring scandal is an academic whose critique of Israeli settlements in Palestine is not what most people would call radical. At York University, a professor is facing death threats and a campaign to stop him from teaching human rights courses — a campaign that accuses him of anti-Semitism after he debated the definition of anti-Semitism. more..

Why is the Mainstream Media Silent on Palestine?

An online webinar hosted by author and activist, Miko Peled, with alternative media journalists
Mnar Muhawesh Adley (MintPress News), Rania Khalek (Unauthorized Disclosures), and Anya Parampil (The Grayzone)

If you missed it, watch it now.

Haaretz: Eyad Hallaq’s Mom Sleeps in Her Late Son’s Bed. His Dad Won’t Eat. They Have a Message for Israel’s Police   Read here

Listen to Desmond Sequeira interview on NewsTalk 610 CKTB

Fellowship of Reconciliation:  As ‘annexation’ looms, let’s expand our compassion to include Palestinians

David Hart – Since we are able to accept the suffering of others when we dehumanize them, we must start with the simple recognition that Palestinians are fully human…. more

Britain, Japan, Norway Reiterate Rejection of Israeli Annexation of Palestinian Land

Britain, Japan and Norway have reiterated their rejection of Israel’s plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank, Saeb Erekat, secretary general of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), said on Wednesday. …More

IHRA Definition of Anti-semitism Challanged

Sheryl Nestel of IJV-Toronto took on Richard Marceau of the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA) and Bernie Farber in a thrilling debate on the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism. Sheryl, along with York law professor Faisal Bhabha, passionately argued that the IHRA is absolutely designed to silence legitimate critique of Israel.

Watch the full video of the debate here!

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One state or two? Gideon Levy debates at Oxford