• Targeting of civilian centers the IDF’s modus operandi.
By Ronald L. Ray —
On July 8, 2014, apartheid, terrorist Israel unleashed its newest round of genocidal war against beleaguered native Palestinians. Ostensibly part of a disproportionate reprisal for the June kidnapping and murder of three youths, Operation Protective Edge had already claimed nearly 200 Palestinian lives and wounded over 600 Palestinians in just six days. With Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promising more violence against mostly unarmed Palestinian civilians, and a truce far from certain, AMERICAN FREE PRESS brings readers the truth behind the latest Zionist bloodlust.
One Israeli-American and two Israeli teenagers were abducted in the Israeli-controlled section of the West Bank on June 12. The official story is that Naftali Fraenkel, 16, Gilad Shaer, 16, and Eyal Yifrah, 19, were hitchhiking at night in Palestinian territory, despite Israeli warnings against the behavior. The three youths lived and attended yeshivas in illegal Israeli West Bank settlements. At the yeshivas, the youths would have been indoctrinated into the Talmud, militant Zionism and violent hatred of Arabs. In fact, hitchhiking is a typical “rite of passage” for young Zionists, by which they assert their “ownership” over Palestinian territory.
Later that night, however, the young men were shot and killed. A burned motor vehicle with Israeli license plates was found with their bloodstains in it. The bodies, though, were not located until June 30. Despite knowing within 24 hours that the three were already dead, Netanyahu suppressed this information, leading to weeks of escalating emotions and protests on both sides. Daily Israeli air strikes on Gaza followed.
Falsely blaming the Hamas Party for the abductions, the Israeli government used the kidnapping as a pretext for trying to destroy Hamas in the Palestinian territories, discredit the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) and Hamas-Fatah unity government, and further expropriate Palestinian lands while wiping out more Palestinians.
In actuality, Hamas denied responsibility and was uninvolved. Evidence points rather to the Qawasmeh tribe. However, the clear and unusual failure of the Israel Security Agency to prevent the crime, and the use of an Israeli vehicle in its commission, raise serious questions about those really responsible for the deaths.
During 387 raids prior to July 4, thousands of Israel Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers invaded Gaza and the West Bank, detaining hundreds of Palestinians, including members of Hamas, elected officials and dozens of children. IDF soldiers stole at least $370,000 in cash and $2.5 million in property from individuals, universities, medical facilities and businesses. Offices of independent media, like Russian-owned RT, were raided and damaged, suggesting an effort to cripple objective media reporting.
Jewish extremists have executed revenge killings on Palestinians, and thousands of Arabs now have lost their jobs or work permits. Many are
afraid to leave their homes. Numerous houses, a mosque and two farms have been destroyed. Multiple Palestinian refugee camps were attacked by the Israeli military.
On June 29, Hamas finally retaliated with its first rocket barrage against Israel since 2012. The spiral of violence launched by fanatical Israeli officials began to spin faster.
On July 8, Netanyahu initiated Protective Edge—in Hebrew, Tzuk Eitan, meaning “solid cliff”—a cliff over which the Israelis intend to push the Palestinian nation. The offensive and surrounding propaganda obviously were long planned, apparently seeking permanent “pacification” of the Palestinian people, along with control of natural gas fields in Palestinian territory.
But while Hamas now is better armed and trained than before, they still possess no significant defense capabilities. The U.S.-funded, massively armed Israelis are “shooting fish in a barrel.”
PNA President Mahmoud Abbas rightly characterized the operation as “genocide” and the illegal “collective punishment” of an entire people for the crimes of a few. On July 10, Israel warned 100,000 Palestinians to evacuate their homes, suggesting imminent IDF occupation, but they have no place to flee, being confined by Israeli walls and military.
Israelis so far have bombed over 1,090 Gazan targets, leaving 2,000 more Palestinians homeless. They have attacked a hospital, three clinics and a water desalinization plant, and cut off water in some areas. Warplanes attacked worshippers exiting a mosque. Widespread targeting of Palestinian civilians has occurred, constituting war crimes and crimes against humanity. Some Hamas retaliatory rocket attacks, however, also have been directed toward civilian areas.
The World Health Organization and the Palestinian Health Ministry have appealed for $40 million to help prevent an imminent, Israeli-caused collapse of health care in Palestinian territories. One physician said, “We are working in a terrible situation. I did not have the necessary materials to stitch my trauma patients today and had to improvise.”
Ma’an News quoted Palestinian Ehab Nashibi’: “All my life, I never had anything against Jews, and I taught my kids the same. Honestly, now I’m changing my thoughts.”
Ronald L. Ray is a freelance author and an assistant editor of THE BARNES REVIEW. He is a descendant of several patriots of the American War for Independence.
