Killing of Palestinians is not new. It has been going on for decades, unabated, uncriticized, and bankrolled by the US. The Leahy Laws enable us to withhold aid to countries that commit human such rights abuses, but in spite of overwhelming proof of abuse by Israel, our politicians refuse to cut off military support.
Reuters, the Associated Press, the New York Times can’t seem to say “Palestinians protest nonviolently; Israeli soldiers kill them.” Headlines from the region consistently misrepresent the situation as two equal sides – or worse, as Palestinian aggressors inciting Israel to return fire. Words matter.
JTA reports that a bill about to be introduced in Congress “will fund Holocaust education in schools.” We wonder if this will fund education about all the holocausts, both past and present, that the world has seen… including the current violence against Palestinians in Gaza…. [UPDATE – bill has been introduced]
How western media cover Gaza: Show a close up of Palestinians’ raised fists and open mouths and angry faces and raised flags – they are threatening, aren’t they?: violent, dangerous, and menacing. Make sure the frame of your camera is quite tight. Don’t ever open the frame to show 100 Israeli sharpshooters nearby firing live ammunition at thousands of defenseless and unarmed civilians protesting the systemic theft of their homeland…
Imagine if Russian or Syrian troops had shot dead almost 30 civilians, and injured thousands, during peaceful protests. Mainstream media headlines and airwaves would be filled with condemnations from senior UK and US politicians and prominent commentators. But not so when it is Israel doing the killing, and the BBC & Guardian provide Israel spin…
Two young Palestinian men are in danger of losing their legs if they remain in Gaza hospital; this constitutes a violation of their right to life and health, and is a violation of international humanitarian law and international human rights law.
Crowds of young men went to the border area, setting tires on fire to create a smokescreen to obstruct the vision of Israeli snipers. They were met with gunfire and tear gas as they hurled stones at the heavily armed Israeli soldiers backed up by tanks and warplanes. Israel, which controls all of Gaza’s border crossings, airspace and waters, imposed a ban on the entry of tires, and Israeli forces brought huge fans and massive water cannons to extinguish the fires…
Videos from Gaza show Israeli forces shooting a woman slowly walking, a boy running away from the border, a man praying, etc. The Israeli military defends its its actions, tweeting: “everything was accurate and measured; we know where every bullet landed.”
From IMEMC (updated) 30 MAR 4:14 PM The Number of Palestinians killed by Israeli army fire, Friday, has arrived to ten young men, while at least 1100 were injured. Many of the wounded Palestinians suffered serious wounds. Dr. Ashraf Al-Qedra, the spokesperson of the Health Ministry in Gaza, identified the slain Palestinians as: Jihad Ahmad…
Israeli forces are mobilizing against a mass peaceful protest by Palestinian families in Gaza demonstrating for their right of return to land that Israel has confiscated for Jewish only habitation… Their demands: “to be let out from the cage you have bound them in, to fish without being shot, to return to the village that you have torn down, to travel outside the barbed wire you surround them with… The Israeli cabinet has issued a “shoot to kill” policy.