#hamas attacking us does not allow us to commit genocide

[spookylightwhispers]

israel presenting their case: hamas

[odinsblog]

Let us be very clear: Hamas breached international law on the 7th of October. Hamas targeted innocent civilians in the most callous and inhumane manner, and their actions have been rightly condemned by right thinking people across the world.

But we should also be very clear, Israel has breached international law, not just every day since October the 7th, but virtually every single day for decades.

Israel occupies Palestinian land, against international law.

Israel blockades Palestinian territory, against international law.

Israel builds and expands illegal settlements, against international law.

Israel enforces an apartheid system that restricts the movements of Palestinians and denies their fundamental rights, against international law.

And Israel regularly and systematically attacks and kills Palestinian civilians, against international law.

So the question that must be answered by all of us in political life is this: How does the world respond to flagrant abuses of international law when it comes to the horrendous war crimes of Hamas? The response was very clear and very consistent. World leaders queued up to say Israel has the right to defend itself. One after another repeated their words the great and the good, including our government.

“Israel has the right to defend itself.”

Repeated in statement after statement, tweet after tweet, despite the full knowledge that those words have become contaminated. The words, “Israel has the right to defend itself” means in practice that Israel takes that right as license to bombard civilians, to bomb schools, hospitals and other civilian infrastructure. And it has now been taken as license to enforce the displacement of 1 million people from one end of an open air prison to another. To deny food, energy, medical supplies to a besieged civilian population, to actually deny them water, to ensure that children, the sick, the disabled, the elderly will literally die of thirst.

“Israel has the right to defend itself” has now become cover for, “Israel has the right to commit genocide.”

Right in front of our eyes. How come we never hear the words, “Palestine has the right to defend itself”?

Not when a humanitarian flotilla bringing essential supplies to Gaza is met with a military assault and the murder by Israel of nine unarmed activists.

Not when Palestinians march in peaceful protests against illegal blockade and are met again with a military assault and the murder of 300 of them.

Not after the countless bombings of Gaza by Israeli forces.

Not even when Israel targeted and murdered four little Palestinian boys playing football on a beach.

And not when Palestinians were dragged from their homes and forced to watch as those homes were destroyed to allow for new illegal Israeli settlements on lands that are clearly defined in international law as part of Palestine.

And not after the countless offensive attacks by Israel against the people of Gaza or the West Bank, have we or any heard anybody in this house or any Western leader uttered the words, “Palestine has the right to defend itself.”

And why not?

And by the way, I'm not asking you to say those words. And in fact, it's just as well you don't. Because we all know that the people of Palestine can't defend themselves, not against one of the most powerful military forces in the world that is backed up by even more powerful military forces.

The truth is that the people of Palestine, just like the innocent people of Israel, don't need the international community to tell them that their leaders have the right to inflict more bombings, more pain, more suffering. They need the international community to say, “Stop.” To release the hostages, to say stop the bombings, the siege, the slaughter. They need the international community to tell Israel to stop the blockade, stop the apartheid, stop the annexations, to stop the genocide.

And they need countries Tánaiste to lead the way. And Ireland should be one of those countries that leads the way.

We know colonialism.

We know oppression.

We know conflict.

But we also know conflict resolution.

We know peace building.

We know nation building.

And because of what we know, what our history has taught us, our call tonight must be clear, immediate, full and unequivocal ceasefire fires and a decisive international intervention that leads to negotiations and to a lasting and just peace settlement and to, at long last, to a free, sovereign and independent Palestine.🇵🇸

[jewish-sideblog]

I know for a fact that people are responding with orientalism, fetishization, and fandomization of the Israel / Palestine conflict. Because there is no way in hell that the American left would have responded the same way to October 7 happening in America.

Imagine if 364 people had been killed by AK assault rifles in a mass shooting at a music festival in America. I think the response from the American left would be much different. There would been have been universal condemnation and a push to dismantle and disarm the known hate group that planned and executed the shooting. There would have been common sense reforms planned to prevent the exact same thing from happening again.

But the mass shooting killed 364 Israelis, not 364 Americans. It was accompanied by 5000 rockets aimed at civilian targets, 775 other fatal shootings, and 247 instances of human trafficking across international borders. Torture. Mutilation. Sexual violence. Infants shot multiple times.

Somehow, that means the response from the American left has fully reversed. Many of them have, in essence, said that “A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.” They used the opportunity to glorify terrorists who mass-murdered civilians with the intent to commit genocide. Isn’t that what the American alt-right normally does in response to violence?

The necessary disclaimer here is that none of this should serve to justify the actions of the Israeli government. A military force that is typically known for having historically low rates of civilian death now has historically high rates— there is no excuse for that. The amount of sheer Israeli incompetence that allowed the attack to happen in the first place, and led such a disproportionate response, is nothing but a complete humanitarian failure of the Likud administration.

But I remember distinctly how many Americans glorified Hamas and called for the destruction of Jews in Israel on October 7th. During the terrorist attack. Before Israel’s military response. Clearly, no military response of any kind could have been justified by the people who usually beg for violent hate groups to get disarmed.

This is a kind of conflict many of them will never have to actually reconcile with, because the while the average American can access an automatic rifle, they can’t access a rocket launcher. Lacking insight into geopolitical history, the realities of warfare, and any actual ties to the real people being killed, they turned their slacktivism into a show. Hamas are Good Guys and Zionists are Bad Guys. And as long as it’s happening several thousand miles away, a Good Guy with a Gun becomes a perfect fantasy.

[matan4il]

@anon-e-has-a-tmblr asked regarding this post (that briefly referred to the UN's International Court of Justice's ruling):

Wait didnt the ICJ ruled FOR israel?? I dont understand any of this

That's a very good question. The answer is complex. On the surface, they ruled against Israel. The first part of their decision says Israel must immediately halt its military operations in Rafah, and since most people only read this first part, it was taken as a win by the Israel hating crowd. I don't follow every international news outlet out there, but from what I understand, that's pretty much how it was initially reported across the board. Here's an example from the BBC:

Then, the legal opinions of five of the trial's judges were published, including Aharon Barak's (the globally esteemed judge, former president of Israel's Supreme Court of Justice, and a kid Holocaust survivor... Someone who truly understands what a genocide is because he lived an actual one). Four of the five judges indicated that the ruling actually has a second part, where they mention that the military operations that that Israel must stop immediately in Rafah are limited to the ones which might lead to a genocide (the only judge to publish their opinion and disagree with this interpretation is the South African one. Pretend to be surprised).

In other words, the court didn't say, "Israel IS doing this thing, and therefore must stop," instead it said, "Israel must stop IF what it's doing could cause this thing." What the court ended up ruling is still kind of ambiguous when you try to translate it into practical rules on what is and isn't allowed, but it's probably the best that we could hope for, because it does allow military action in Rafah.

In other words, this is NOT the provisional measure South Africa was asking for, they wanted an immediate junction against any and ALL Israeli military operations in Rafah, and even in Gaza overall (they got neither), not a reference to this, but with an asterisk that allows Israel to continue operating there under certain conditions (though having to be even more cautious with any action that might be misinterpreted as contradicting said conditions). Given how politically biased against Israel the ICJ is, this absolutely can be taken as a win.

The issue is two fold.

First, since Israel is already pretty much already doing more than any other army to aid the civilian population under the rule of the enemy, if this is limiting us even more in having to demonstrate the crimes we're not committing (and think of how hard that actually is... how do you legally prove in-existence? If you had to prove you've never murdered anyone or had an intent to murder anyone, and had to do something beyond showing an arrest record clear of murder charges, how would you do that?) then how much military operational room do we have left to root out Hamas, and will it be enough to achieve our goals of destroying it and bringing back all of our hostages?

Second, and this is arguably the bigger one, is the optics of it. Because so many will only refer to the first part, and act as if the second part doesn't exist, that Israel's military operation in Rafah (you know, the city that Hamas just yesterday used to fire rockets from at central Israel, including Tel Aviv, in what was probably the first massive Hamas rocket attack since January on that area) does have to stop completely, and if we don't halt, then we're criminals. Just like some people used being Israel being to court as if it proves our fault (rather than wait for the required conviction to claim we're guilty), some will use the very fact this new provisional measure was issued to claim it's proof of our crimes, even though it's not.

In fact, I've already seen headlines reflecting how notoriously anti-Israel European Union senior Josep Borell is using this misinterpretation to pretend that Israel has to stop completely, or it's not complying with the court's ruling.

A full win for Israel would have been if the ICJ had ruled that there's no room for new provisional measures.

That was never going to happen with this biased court. Instead, the ICJ used the claim that things are deteriorating in Gaza to rule against Israel, even though it never found that it was Israel's fault that the situation is becoming worse (not to mention that they're basing the estimate of how the humanitarian, rather than military, situation is in Gaza is deteriorating on what Hamas is reporting. You know, the terrorists who are the actual culprits in using the Gazans as human shields, making things worse on purpose, for example through Hamas stealing the aid allowed in, and selling some of it back to Gazans at impossible prices).

So I hope this explains why, even though all things considered Israel got the best result it could at a biased court, it's still seen as a ruling against us, when everyone knows how it will be used (including the judges themselves. Listen to the American ICJ judge on this case, a month ago, already having to explain that the previous provisional measures were not a finding against Israel)...

(for all of my updates and ask replies regarding Israel, click here)

[eretzyisrael]

Israel’s Enemies Tell Five Big Lies

Following the worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust, antisemites mount a series of vicious attacks, threats and malicious lies against Jews and Israel

With no shame or sign of humanity, the enemies of Israel have doubled down on their insistence that Israel is an illegitimate state that must be destroyed and that the savage slaughter of 1,200 innocent Jews was justified—all based on five “Big Lies” about the Jewish state.

What are the facts?

The world for Jews and Israel will never be the same. Wellesley College students receive official messages saying Zionists (i.e. most Jewish students) are not welcome in the school’s dorms. Hamas official Ghazi Hamad in a TV rant swears Hamas will repeat October 7 over and over until Israel is annihilated. West Bank Palestinian activist Ahed Tamimi says “What Hitler did to you was a joke—we will drink your blood and eat your skull.”

While Hamas’s October 7 atrocity shattered the hope of many Palestinian supporters, causing them to rethink their positions, the event only ignited an explosion of hate from other of Israel’s enemies. Tens of thousands of demonstrators made clear they no longer support two states living side by side in peace. Rather they demand “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free . . . by any means necessary”—meaning, clearly, slaughter of civilians.

Power of Big Lies: Though Israel was the victim of a mass murder of innocent Jews, its enemies blame the Jewish state—not only for the Hamas massacre, but also for responding in defense. The reasons many blame Israel for the atrocity are based on five Big Lies. Big Lies were used by Nazi leader Goebbels, who noted that if he told an outrageous lie often enough, people would begin to believe it. Alternatively, if you use truth as a basis for your judgments, you may these facts useful:

Lie #1: Israel is a colonial state that stole Palestinian land. A colonizer is a foreign nation that conquers and exploits another nation. First, the Palestinians have never controlled any land in Palestine: They were also never a nation. Nothing was stolen. Second, Jews are the indigenous people of the land of Israel. They have lived there continuously for 3,000 years and had two commonwealths for over 1,000 years: They are not foreigners. No colonial state.

Lie #2: Israel commits genocide. Genocide is the intent to destroy a national, ethnic, racial or religious group by killing its members. Israel does not, nor has ever, targeted innocent Palestinian civilians for killing—no mass murders, no pogroms. All Palestinian civilian deaths have occurred as collateral damage while fighting terrorists who hide in residential or other public areas. Tellingly, the population in in and around Israel has mushroomed since Israel’s founding in 1948—from about 700,000 to seven million today: Zero genocide.

Lie #3: Israel practices apartheid. Apartheid is a system of legalized racial segregation in which one racial group is deprived of political and civil rights. Israel has no laws or policies separating or limiting the rights of any of its citizens—including two million Arab-Israeli citizens—nor any Palestinians outside Israel. Political and civil rights of all Palestinians outside Israel are controlled by their respective dictatorships, who allow virtually no freedoms, such as speech or the vote. No apartheid.

Lie #4: Israel is committing war crimes. War crimes include torture, hostage taking, acts of terrorism, rape and intentional targeting of civilians. While Hamas committed all these acts on October 7, Israel commits none. Though some media bristle at what they consider excessive civilian deaths during Israeli military efforts, in fact, Israel attacks only military structures and personnel—never civilian-only targets. Unfortunately, Hamas places its fighters in dense residential areas or in tunnels beneath them, endangering civilians. No Israeli war crimes.

Lie #5: Israel brutally oppresses the Palestinians daily. Oppression is the malicious exercise of power to discriminate against some groups. Because Israel completely exited Gaza in 2005, it has no power over of the daily lives of Gazans. However, because of Hamas’s continuous terror, especially efforts to kill Jews and destroy the Jewish state, Israel and Egypt have placed Gaza under a strict blockade to prevent terror attacks. Likewise, because of the Oslo Accords, Israel and the Palestinian Authority share governance of Judea and Samaria (the West Bank). Thus, Israel plays virtually no role governing Palestinians daily lives and only enters Palestinian-controlled areas when terrorists flee to and hide in them. No oppression.

Above all, Israel and the U.N. have made numerous offers of land for an independent Palestinian state. Unfortunately, the Palestinians have turned down five offers of land for peace since 1948, three of them over the last 23 years. Apparently, their dream of conquering Israel “from the land to the sea” is more important.

The bestiality of the October 7 massacre shocked us—beheadings, incineration, rape, torture, heartless executions, brutal kidnappings. Even worse, the gates have opened to unlimited Jew hatred on American streets and campuses—to condoning savagery with the excuse of Palestinian liberation . . . based on utter lies about the Jewish state. But Hamas and the haters should know that “Never Again,” means fighting and defeating evil forever.

[nicollekidman]

Hi Abby, I am uncomfortable saying this off anon for a variety of reasons, please do not think one of them is cowardice. I have followed you for years and years. I’ve come to love so much media because of you and always appreciate your takes. I have chosen to unfollow you now. I am a Jewish person who has been so scared and upset about what the state of Israel is doing to Palestinians and am disgusted by the war crimes committed by Israel. At the same time, I have numerous Israeli friends and family members who have been murdered by Hamas in the last few weeks. Civilians visiting for educational and cultural exchange programs, horrifically killed. Your recently reblogged informational post about how Hamas is not a terrorist organization was deeply upsetting. This may not matter at all to you, but I ask that you consider empathy to all people involved in this issue. Decolonization is important. My friends and family are dead. These two facts can coexist. Just wanted to share this with you because I know many people see your blog and are affected by the information you share.

probably shouldn’t answer this at 1am and you’ve already unfollowed so you probably won’t even see this but i just want to ask you why my sharing resources and information about the reality of hamas and it’s current functioning within gaza / its original charter immediately made you think that i don’t care about loss of human life. there was not a single phrase in that post that minimized victims of the october attack, in fact, not a single phrase in that post took a stance on anything, it was purely informational. frankly, i think it was so measured to dissuade from reactions exactly like this, and if i had written it myself, i would’ve done a worse job.

and if you had been able to push past your knee jerk reaction to reading “they are not a terrorist organization” you would recognize that clarifying language and correcting misconceptions is one of the most important things we can do, both going forward in ending this genocide and looking back on how and why lives have been lost in both israel and palestine.

i have personal empathy and grief for your situation, and i’m so sorry you have suffered loss amongst your community and loved ones. but your loss does not form a shield behind which you are allowed to hide from truth, or force other people to close their mouths when trying to educate themselves and others. we are currently witnessing ongoing mass death, us-backed genocide, and a hugely successful (in the west) propaganda campaign to make this endeavor as Unknowable as possible, especially to those who have never looked into the reality of life in the region. grounding ourselves in recent history, learning more about words and labels that are thrown around weekly, daily, hourly, SPECIFICALLY to justify and excuse the ongoing campaign of death israel has visited upon the palestinian people for decades…. that is the LEAST we are all responsible for. it is your duty, as someone who has lost friends and loved ones, and it is mine, as someone with eyes on their stupid blog, to make every concerted effort to understand and spread the truth, in context, to enrich our own activism and honor the dead.

saying “decolonization is important” while unfollowing me after years bc i shared information about what hamas is, is so empty and meaningless you might as well have not said it at all. thousands of people are actively and endlessly being murdered behind a smokescreen of Terrorism with the VERY SPECIFIC connotations that holds over the west and the US in particular… attempting to relay information that complicates and clarifies your exact knee jerk reaction is the entire point. i hope one day you are able to look a little closer and recognize that your personal hurt in seeing new information that makes you uncomfortable is not important in the scheme of what we are currently trying to prevent

[highfantasy-soul]

I'm sickened by the response my US Senator representative sent me after I contacted him about the genocide of Palestinians (send from a 'no reply' email address, of course).

Rafael Warnock, a Christian pastor (of course) had the absolute gall to say

"The heinous acts of violence committed by Hamas upon the people of Israel on October 7, 2023 were horrific and are rightly condemned by all who believe in human dignity and seek a lasting peace. What these events make clear is that there are those who fear peace and seek to sabotage it at any cost."

As if Israel is the one who had been 'accomplishing' peace until the evil, evil Palestinians attacked out of nowhere!! There hasn't been peace for Palestinians for 75 years!! Remember this analysis of Hamas' actions later when he discusses Israel's reaction to it.

He went on to say

"I also recognize the Palestinian community’s deep, legitimate pain and suffering. As a pastor who believes every human being is sacred, I am carefully monitoring Israel’s operations in Gaza. I am praying that all hostages are rescued, and innocent Palestinians are not caught in the crossfire."

'Monitoring'???? If he was 'monitoring Israel's operations in Gaza', he would have seen that for fucking DECADES that Israel has already been attacking Palestinian civilians!! There is no 'crossfire' to be caught in - Israel is specifically targeting civilians! So what is he planning to do with all the info he's getting from this 'monitoring'? What more does he need to see in order to take action and stand up against what Israel is doing?

He continues with about the most horrific statement I can imagine

"Israel has a moral responsibility to protect its citizens from indiscriminate harm"

Just flat out saying that Israel is MORALLY CORRECT to slaughter Palestinians because of Hamas' actions! And by extension, that Palestine DOES NOT have the 'moral responsibility' to protect its citizens from indiscriminate harm perpetrated by Israel since he called their actions 'heinous' and 'horrific'. How much more clear can you get that this Southern, Christian pastor, a registered Democrat, believes that it is morally correct for the Palestinian people to be oppressed by a settler colonial fascist nation?

He started his letter by condemning Hamas' actions against Israeli civilians, but when Israel does FAR FAR worse to Palestinians, it's no longer 'horrific' or 'heinous', it's "Israel's moral responsibility".

He again reiterates that

"it [Israel] also has a duty to do all it can to prevent harm to innocent Palestinian civilians"

And to that, all I can say is: WTF are you even saying? We have hard evidence that for over 75 years Israel has been 'harming' innocent Palestinian civilians in every conceivable way. So this statement is either wildly misinformed or he doesn't consider apartheid, military occupation, war crimes, violations of international law, carpet bombings of civilian areas, and restriction of resources like food, water, and electricity to be 'harm'. As long as it's happening to those 'savage Arabs' it's fine. Almost like he believes, as Israel does, that there are no innocent Palestinians.

He then goes on to talk about all the work he's done to 'help' the Palestinian people such as

"joined a letter to Secretary of State Blinken regarding the need for humanitarian support and access in Gaza as a result of the May 2021 hostilities" "joined a letter to Secretary Blinken expressing my concern about the Israel High Court's recent ruling to allow the evictions of Palestinian residents from their homes in the Masafer Yatta region of the West Bank" "I signed onto a June 23, 2023 letter to President Biden calling for an investigation into her [American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh] killing"

And finally,

"On October 18, 2023, I joined several of my colleagues in the Senate in sending another letter to Secretary Blinken requesting that the U.S. provide at least $73 million in emergency international humanitarian assistance for the Palestinian people following the outbreak of the ongoing conflict in Israel and Gaza"

So, after a couple years and you 'expressing concern' and 'joining letters', what has happened? Why did that aid need to be sent? What did the investigation in the murder of the American journalist find and what did you do with that information? (It found that Israeli forces had killed her and Senator Warnock did nothing with that information).

These statements firmly place the suffering of the Palestinian people as passive things that 'just happen' rather than an active choice to impose suffering upon them by the Israeli government.

And about that aid that's trying to get into Palestine now: how's that going? Is Israel letting that aid get through the border? No? So why hasn't he mentioned that? Why hasn't he called out Israel's refusal to allow aid in? Unless he doesn't truly believe that Palestinians deserve that aid.

It is not 'confusing' or 'complicated' to condemn apartheid, war crimes, and military rule over a disenfranchised people trapped in an open-air concentration camp. People standing up against their oppressors should not be seen as 'justification' for wiping an entire people group off the map.

If you TRULY believe that the death of civilians is never justified and must be stopped, but then you only condemn one side's actions (the side that is being oppressed, has no military, no resources of its own, etc), then it sounds like you just want the oppressed to sit down and shut up so the oppressors can continue to murder and subjugate them. It sounds like you don't want 'peace', you want 'quiet' and the domination of the 'superior' group over the 'inferior' one.

As Martin Luther King Jr. and so many others have echoed the sentiment "Peace is not the absence of violence, it is the presence of justice"

Palestinians aren't calling for the eradication of Jewish people. They are not calling for Jews to be second-class citizens. They are not attempting to treat Israelis like Israelis have treated them. They are calling for freedom and equality.

As long as there is a government whose foundational principals are that one ethno group of people should be above another, there can be no peace, no justice, no equality. That is why the Confederate States of America had to be removed from power, that is why the Nazi Party of Germany had to be removed from power, that is why the Israeli government as it stands today MUST be removed from power.

---

I went back to Senator Warnock's contact page and sent my response to him that way as I could not respond to the email reply, but honestly, I'm not expecting much in return.

Senator Jon Ossoff, the other senator for my state (as well as a descendant of Jewish people who fled from the Holocaust) has not responded to my initial email. As this conflict is closer to him than others, I'm not sure I expect an answer from him at all as I am not in favor of Israel which many take as antisemitism. Perhaps he will take the situation more seriously than a Christian pastor, and perhaps he will listen to the countless Jews around the world who are standing up for Palestine, but only time - and actions - will tell.

[disappointingyellowhighlighter]

I know nobody needs to hear my opinions about the Israel Palestine conflict but I have a lot of thoughts and nowhere to put them so here goes:

1. What Israel is doing is wrong. Israel as a state should not exist, especially in the way it does now.

2. Innocent Israeli citizens exist. Jews do have ancestral ties to the land and should be allowed to exist there without having to be conflated in belief with a genocidal government. Not all Israeli citizens are Jewish, and they, too, deserve to exist there without having to be conflated in belief with a genocidal government.

3. Hamas is a terrorist organization.

4. If Israel puts down its weapons before Hamas does, innocent Israeli citizens will die.

5. Every country on earth should be calling for a ceasefire. From both sides. Yes, the sides are not on equal footing. But BOTH must put down weapons for peace to be an option.

6. Western leftists do not understand how to be anti-zionist and anti-israel without being antisemitic. It is not a fine line, but it is one that is easy to cross and many do not listen when they are called out for it. Please listen when this comes up. Please check the biases of the sources you consume media from. Check how they are funded, check where they are located. By all means read the articles but be aware where they are coming from. I know it's easy to disregard this argument, and it may even be made erroneously, but please evaluate what has been said and think about why a Jewish person may have found it offensive. If it is TRULY just because there was criticism of Israel and/or Zionism, disregard the argument. Additionally, please understand the conditional whiteness given to white Jews. Telling us we have white privilege without understanding conditional whiteness and the history of whiteness as a classification, especially in regard to how it affects Jews, is ignorant at best and antisemitic at worst. Yes, many of us have white privilege. Until we are openly Jewish.

7. A lot of people who are calling to free Palestine have not thought past that. I agree. Free Palestine. But what happens after? Are former Israeli citizens expected to leave? If so, where? If not, do you expect the two groups to work out their own peace? Or should other nations be involved? If former Israeli citizens are not given a place to go and start getting attacked by the new government, what then? How will you respond if that is what happens? Please consider these questions. I know you don't think anything bad will happen, but think about what hamas already did, think about how Jews are treated historically, and think about what the plan would be going forward after the dismantling of Israel.

8. A lot of people think violence against Israeli citizens is justified. A lot of people think Hamas is in the right. I cannot change your mind. But this IS antisemitic. If you believe that Hamas was in the right for what they did to civilians because they are citizens of Israel, the only country in the world that's national religion is Judaism, you are antisemitic. If that statement upsets you, re-evaluate your position and why you feel the way you do.

9. Israel is indiscriminately bombing Gaza under the guise that they are somehow taking down Hamas. They are lying. Israel will claim any man killed by the IOF in Gaza is Hamas. They are lying. Israel is actively committing a genocide and if you are not against that genocide you are wrong.

10. Many diaspora Jews, because of this conflict, feel unsafe. We would be crazy not to. Any move on Israel's part always results in a rise of antisemitism worldwide, because people conflate Israel with Judaism. They are not even close to the same. I've seen appalling images of IOF soldiers using a combat knife as a yod, holding it up to a Torah. That is disgusting. But enough people conflate Israel and Judaism that diaspora Jews are affected by anything Israel does. Almost always negatively. If you are calling diaspora Jews selfish or saying we are claiming false victimhood, you are being antisemitic and you are using a genocide to justify it. If that statement bothers you, re-evaluate.

13. There is nuance in this situation. And if you refuse to acknowledge that nuance, I can assume it is for antisemitic reasons. And if that statement bothers you, re-evaluate.

11. I implore people to study Jewish history. See WHY Israel exists in the first place. You do not need to have empathy for Israel, I suggest you actively have none, but please please have empathy for Israeli citizens and diaspora Jews alike.

12. American support of Israel comes from a place of antisemitism.

14. All of these opinions can and should exist in tandem. Palestinians are being oppressed by Israel, Gaza is an open air prison, and Israel needs to stop bombing Gaza immediately. Innocent Israeli citizens and diaspora Jews should not be blamed for the actions of the Israeli government.

15. Free Palestine.

[abla-soso]

So I have seen your Israel vs Palestine posts. I don't know much about the conflict so I have been doing some research on the history and watching some news coverage.

I admit that I am slightly biased for Israel but there is so much information that it is hard to tell truth from lies. Israel says they want to eliminate Hamas but I don't understand how bombing Palestine is supposed to do this. I mean I don't think the Nazis were defeated by just bombing German towns. That makes no sense.

I want your take on this:

What is your ideal solution to this conflict?

After the attacks on Israel, how you would have preferred Israel to respond?

What is your opinion on Hamas and how they got elected into power?

How would you respond to people who disapprove of Palestinians on the news not condemning Hamas' attacks?

@fanfic-lover-girl

Hello. Sorry it took me so long to answer, but I've been mentally and emotionally drained by what's happening in Gaza. I'm glad you're willing to learn the truth and I hope you commit to it no matter how difficult it is to unlearn years of propaganda. The fact that you're open-minded and decent enough to admit your ignorance and your biases is a positive sign for growth.

I hope you've read my latest Palestine posts because they pretty much answered all of your questions, but I will try to summarize them as best as I can:

This genocide was never about Hamas. It was always about ethnically cleansing the land from Palestinians and turning the legally recognized Palestinian territories into Israeli ones. Israeli officials have publically stated this. There is no Hamas in the West Bank, yet the Palestinians there are still been bombed. Israel has been slaughtering and ethnically cleansing the Palestinians since 1948. That's 40 years before Hamas ever existed. Hamas existed as a response to Israel's state terrorism. Israel is using "fighting Hamas" as an excuse to justify its war crimes.

The ideal solution is justice. Peace can not happen without justice. The apartheid of Israel must end. The brutal occupation and military dictatorship must end. The genocidally racist government and ethnostate of Israel must be dismantled. Palestinians should get back their basic human rights. Zionists - whether they were Jews or Arabs - must be kicked out, because the defeated colonizers can NOT peacefully co-exist with the newly freed population and they'll always be a danger. Non-zionist Jews are welcome to stay as full citizens and they're allowed to call freed Palestine their home.

Hamas - like any freedom fighters group aiming for liberation from brutal tyranny - is certainly flawed and some of its methods can be problematic. But it's not a religiously extremist group. It's not a terrorist group. They're not aiming to kill all Jews or whatever bullshit Israeli propaganda spews. Their only enemy is the armed zionists. Do they care about Israeli citizens? No, not really. Hamas as a group does not systematically aim to kill or torture Israeli civilians (their humane treatment of the Israeli hostages should be clear proof of that), but they don't care if some Hamas members lash out on their own. They don't view Israeli citizens as innocent civilians, and I can't blame them. Not when ALL of these "civilians" have worked in the Israeli military (because military service is mandatory in Israel) and are actively and directly supporting the genocide of Palestinians. Most of Hamas members are deeply traumatized orphans who suffer from unimaginable oppression every single day. I can't condemn them when they lash out. Just as I can't condemn Nelson Mendiola (who was labeled a terrorist for using armed resistance). Just as I can't condemn the Native Americans who raged many wars against their colonizers. Just as I can't condemn the freed slaves in Haiti who massacred their white slavers during the slave revolution. I can objectively find some of their actions unjustifiable (mainly if they deliberately targeted children) but no one has any right to condemn them.

I'd tell them it's pretty fucking shitty to focus on the oppressed when they lash out at their oppressors, and it's even more shitty to condemn them for not being passive victims. I'd ask them: Why is no pro-Israel person being asked to condemn Israel's war crimes on the news? Why are they equating the violence done by the oppressive colonizers with the violence done by the colonized who are trying to be free?

[catdotjpeg]

Israel has killed more than 1,000 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip since the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruling last week, ordering Tel Aviv to prevent acts of genocide in Gaza. The Israeli forces have not ceased to bomb the Gaza Strip since October, except for a temporary pause in November to allow for the exchange of captives. Gaza’s Ministry of Health said on Sunday morning that Israel killed 127 Palestinians and injured 178 others, committing 14 massacres in the past 24 hours. The number of Palestinians killed in the Israeli aggression on Gaza now stands at 27,365 martyrs, and 66,630 were injured since October. Meanwhile, some Israeli government ministers and Knesset members are making it clear that their wish is to ethnically cleanse Palestinians from Gaza. 

The far-right National Security Minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, told the Wall Street Journal that his plan is to “encourage Gazans to voluntarily emigrate to places around the world” by offering them cash incentives. Ben-Gvir’s position aligns with the Religious Zionism political alliance, one of the core blocs that makes up Netanyahu’s government. Last week, members of Religious Zionism held a conference in occupied Jerusalem, dubbed “Return to Gaza Conference”, in which they called for building 21 Israeli settlements on top of recently destroyed Palestinian neighbourhoods.

Ben-Gvir is also looking forward to the day Donald Trump would sit in the Oval Office, believing that he will give Israel a free hand in Gaza, while President Joe Biden is “hampering Israel’s war effort”. Ben-Gvir made these statements despite the fact that the Biden administration has stood firmly behind Israel since October 7, authorizing the sale of thousands of munition rounds, rejecting calls for a ceasefire, and supporting Tel Aviv diplomatically and in the UN Security Council.   The U.S. also called Hamas to free all the Israelis captured during the Operation Al-Aqsa Flood cross-fence attack on October 7. However, Hamas had refused these calls before an agreement on a permanent ceasefire is reached. Currently, Hamas is still deliberating over a proposed truce for 45 days and the release of 35 Israeli captives in return for the freeing of thousands of Palestinian prisoners in the Israeli jails. The deal is yet to be confirmed.

But releasing Israeli captives is not a top agenda item for some Israeli politicians. Amichai Elhaho, the Israeli Minister of Heritage, who called for nuking Gaza, pleaded to Israelis who protested against Netanyahu to release hostages, to think outside the box. “We must get out of mental stagnation that the deal is the only way to free the hostages,” Elhaho told army radio on Sunday. “The Jewish morality does not hold us fully responsible for the release of the captives,” he added.

-- From "‘Operation Al-Aqsa Flood’ Day 121" by Mustafa Abu Sneineh for Mondoweiss, 4 Feb 2024

[shivroyscunt]

^^^ just saw this post and i needed to like. put in words why this can be true but still does not accurately capture the historical and geopolitical context surrounding the entire situation.

nobody is saying that hamas themselves are enacting #progressive revolution. theres no such thing as “progressive” when it comes to revolution, there is only desperation and anger and the need to overthrow an oppressive regime. they are retaliating against years of occupation, oppression, and boiling tensions, and they are retaliating with just as much violence and horrific atrocities as the israeli state has enacted upon the people and land they occupy. it is easy for whataboutisms when we dont feel that violence and terror directed towards us — i personally will never know what it feels like to have my food/water supply cut off, my home raided, my life disrupted by daily violence and surveillance. you cannot expect occupied people (colonized) to not feel hatred for their oppressors (colonizers), and you cannot expect them (especially not the most radical groups) to react reasonably and peacefully after enduring decades of occupation and dehumanization (and when they do attempt peaceful resistance it is met with violence).

i dont want to get into zionist talking points about the holy land / ancestry / divine rights — this isnt about that. the modern day israeli-palestinian conflict is a direct result of colonial interference, and an issue of settler-colonialism, not a religious conflict. this is about the fact that since 1948, the western world (ie. britain and the US, colonial/imperial powers) has played a direct role in supporting and establishing the (secular) israeli military state both financially and politically. global powers have every reason to be in cahoots, america has every reason to push imperial/colonial propoganda rooted in racism, and their support has allowed israel to continue subjugating palestinians.

and to respond to this persons point about how hamas has given netanyahu the excuse he’s been waiting for to commit genocide — that is not the salient point you think you’re making. if the israeli government (on top of the ethnic cleansing and terror inflicted on palestinians over the past 50 years, the illegal and inhumane blockade on gaza for the past 15) decides to lean even more into genocide, that absolutely cannot be solely attributed to hamas’ recent act of (what western media has deemed) terrorism. sure, this might be a catalyst in the sense that archduke franz ferdinand’s assassination was a catalyst for ww1, but its obvious that, like with ww1, theres a lot more at play here.

also i just want to point out how baffling it is that the israeli government, which has one of the most well-funded and cohesive military operations in the world, was unable to predict or prepare for an attack like this (it feels fishy to me but i dont wanna get into conspiracy theories, so). i get that it was a “surprise” attack, but the israeli gov took it as an opportunity to declare war (as they have done throughout the last 75 years to occupy more land and displace more people from their homes). the fact that the israeli state is so ready to — as this person put it — commit genocide should be a deeply deeply troubling notion. we should not be defending/advocating for a police state, we should be condemning it.

i want to add that i am aware israel was a safe haven for jewish refugees during and after the world wars and the holocaust, and that there are now multiple generations of people/survivors who have experienced repeated historical trauma and oppression. these ppl deserve a place where they can feel safe — but the israeli state, the way it was built and the way it has evolved, is not a place of safety. antisemites have always and will continue to use this conflict as an excuse to hate jews, which is disgusting and reprehensible. those who use palestinian liberation as an excuse to call for the extinction of jewish ppl are not for true liberation.

i dont know what a solution to the conflict looks like, but i do know that the israeli state has driven the ppl of palestine to retaliate, and that liberation is not a pure simple or easy endeavor. people cannot afford moral purity when their lives and futures are in constant flux, when their basic human rights are on the line. this is a tragedy, no one is disputing that. it is devastating that innocent civilians suffer most in times of war, violence, and conflict. but that is the price of nationalism, the price of power and humanity at its worst, and what we are seeing today is the culmination of decades of oppression, decades of tragedies, small and large.

[gentil-minou]

(Same anon who talked about having a Jewish friend)

Actually, I've already seen a bunch of the video explanations and looked things up before sending the last ask in, and yeah, I'm pretty convinced the Palestinians got a raw deal. It looks like the British came in, took over Palestine, then decided to kill two birds with one stone and try to move all the Jews out of their country and into the area they were trying to establish as Israel, while intimidating or outright forcing Palestinians into leaving their own homes in order to make room.

And then after repelling the attack from all the surrounding countries trying to get rid of Israel (which yeah, that uh. That would also have led to a massive tragedy), Israel took over a bunch of territory beyond what they'd been assigned (without any Palestinian input whatsoever), and claimed it as spoils of war or something. And it's occupied areas even beyond that, and regularly bombed Gaza like. A Lot.

Honestly, my biggest source of difficulty is that, well. I DO know people who are Jewish and have family in Israel, and are pro-Israel and arguing all the usual Israeli talking points, and are scared right now. And I can't really say that they shouldn't be afraid for themselves and their friends and family either, even though from what I've seen with my research, Palestinians seem to have been dealt a rawer hand. I'm not sure what to say to them, except generally adopting one of the more neutral stances that focuses on the horrors this conflict has inflicted on everyone involved, like what Rick Riordan said in a recent blog post.

I am also quite aware that when anyone, myself included, tries to speak about this issue, the reader is waiting to pounce, thinking, “Yes, but whose side are you on?” That is exactly the wrong question. If there are two sides to this issue, those sides are not Palestinian/Israeli or Muslim/Jewish. The two sides are humanitarian and dehumanizing. Dehumanizing has a long evil history. It is appealing and easy to buy into, because humans are tribal animals. We are hardwired to think in terms of ‘us’ versus ‘them.’  We are the real humans, the good guys, the ones with God on our side. Those other people are evil monsters who don’t deserve empathy. Hate mongers have thrived on dehumanizing for as long as there have been humans. It provides them with a purpose, a way to rally support, power, and scapegoats. It is  easy to point to atrocities committed by our enemies, while justifying or minimizing the atrocities committed by ourselves or our allies.

Humanitarianism is a much harder sell. It requires us to empathize, to see other groups of people as equally deserving of dignity and quality of life. It requires not always putting ourselves and our needs first. But in the long run, humanitarianism is our only hope. If violence could end violence, if we could put an end to “those other people” once and for all, human history would read very differently than it does.

So yes, I am appalled by the Hamas attacks on Israeli civilians. I am appalled by the suffering of Palestinian civilians in Gaza. Both things can be true. Both things must be true. My thoughts are with all the people who have died, who have lost loved ones, who have had their worlds and their lives shattered, especially the children. More death and violence will not break this cycle, which has been going on for generations. There is no military solution. Even since I first wrote the post, only twenty-four hours ago, the Israeli government’s brutal retaliation against the entire population of Gaza has reached genocidal proportions. This is not only an atrocity. It is folly. Answering misery with misery only creates more fertile ground for extremism, dehumanizing the “other side,” letting hate mongers thrive, stay in power, and reduce us all to our most monstrous impulses. The only real solution is treating each other like equally worthy human beings, and negotiating a peace that allows all parties a chance to live in security and dignity, with hopes for a future that does not include bombs and rockets and gunfire. This means security and support for Israel, yes. It also means a secure Palestine which is allowed to get the international aid and recognition it needs to build a viable state.

Do I think that will happen? Unfortunately, no. Humans are simply too selfish, too ready to blame “the other” for all their problems, too ready to dehumanize, though I also believe, perhaps paradoxically, that most people just want to live their lives in peace and have a chance for their children to have a brighter future. The problem is when we don’t allow other people to have those same hopes and dreams — when it becomes a false choice of us versus them.

What can I do? I will continue to write books that I hope will give young readers some joy. I will resist the urge to demonize entire groups of people. I will call for less violence, not more violence. And when asked whose side I am on, I will tell you I am on the side of humanitarianism.

I'm not sure whether you have a better stance to take when it comes to talking to friends who have close ties to the Israeli side of this conflict, who are afraid for themselves and their family. Because I can't say they're wrong to be afraid and upset, but also there needs to be recognition of what Palestinians have gone through as well. I'm not sure whether you have Jewish friends who support Israel who you've talked about this with, but if you do, how do you handle that?

To be frank, I wish I had the answers for your question but I don't right now. The majority of people in my life are either Pro-Palestine or refuse to talk about the situation saying it's too stressful, which is its own frustration and which I push back on by still talking about it.

The people in my life that are Pro-Israel are at work, which is difficult considering the ethics in this situation are all over the place. How do I support an Israeli client calling for the genocide of an entire race? How do I, as their therapist, validate something that I find so morally repugnant I feel sick to my stomach before every session. How do I deal with working at an organization devoted to helping kids with their mental health when right now one of the most traumatic incidences the world has ever seen is happening right this second?

My workplace has apparently chosen silence and not talking about any of this as its strategy, and I don't know how to navigate it. Do I leave my job and the kids I work with to uphold my morals? Do I stay to help the kids I wanted to support even though they support something I fine reprehensible? Do I ignore it like my workplace does and stay for the kids I can help, where I comparmentalize everything thats been happening so I can help them even though their problems are so small? Do I stay even though every second of silence and refusal to recognize the very real genocide happening right now kills me every single day? I haven't worked it out yet. I don't know how to balance psychology ethics with my own ethics, and I think that's it's own issue.

So I don't have the answers here. I'm much better talking about these things online than I am in person. I have a better reach online than I do in person, which is why I do it so much here. If I had to confront a Pro-Israeli family/friend I know myself and I know I would cry and get angry and I don't know what I would do after that.

So for that, I'd say you're doing better than I am Anon.

Something I have considered though is where do I draw the line for what makes someone a friend or person I want to keep in my life.

And to me, a South Asian woman with an Arabic name from a Muslim family who grew up under the shadow of Post-9/11 Islamophobia in NYC and has devoted her life to working with kids who have trauma, depression, and anxiety, I think I am justified in taking it personally and with great offence if someone is saying the genocide of people I relate to heavily is okay. I think I as a person as a human being can draw the line when I need to.

And I think what gets me is I will talk about it. I refuse to stop.

[eretzyisrael]

According to the Times of Israel: "The German government sharply rejects allegations before the UN’s top court that Israel is committing “genocide” in Gaza and warned against “political instrumentalization” of the charge. Government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit says in a statement that Israel was “defending itself” after the “inhuman” attacks by Hamas on October 7. He says Germany would intervene as a third party before the ICJ under an article allowing states to seek clarification on the use of a multilateral convention. The move allows Germany to present its own case to the court that Israel has not infringed the genocide convention and has not committed or intended to commit genocide. Germany is not claiming to be legally impacted by South Africa’s case and therefore it does not require the ICJ’s permission for third party intervention. As a signatory of the 1948 Genocide Convention, it has the right to join cases and put forward its arguments on the case. Hebestreit stated that Germany “intends to intervene as a third party in the main hearing,” suggesting Berlin will intrude in South Africa’s primary case against Israel in which the court could take years to decide whether or not Israel has violated the Genocide Convention. Accordingly, the move does not appear to influence this week’s proceedings — hearings where South Africa has requested an interim injunction from the court compelling Israel to implement a ceasefire. A decision on that more immediate matter is expected within one month.

“In light of German history and the crimes against humanity of the Shoah, the German government is particularly committed to the [UN] Genocide Convention,” signed in 1948 in the wake of the Holocaust, Hebestreit says. He says the Convention marked a “central instrument” under international law to prevent another Holocaust. For this reason, he says, “we stand firmly against a political instrumentalization” of the Convention. Hebestreit acknowledges diverging views in the international community on Israel’s military operation against Hamas in Gaza. “However the German government decisively and expressly rejects the accusation of genocide brought against Israel before the International Court of Justice,” he says.

“The accusation has no basis in fact.”

[gallopinggallifreyans]

Israel's assault on Gaza better change international law. States should no longer be able to abstain from signing and ratifying humanitarian law. Israel has not ratified the Rome Statute. Human rights must be unequivocally agreed upon.

War is a continuation of policy by other means, and war does follow a particular set of rules. These rules should never permit crimes against humanity—to a good extent, they don't. But the relevant international agreements require party states to sign and ratify these agreements into law before they can be applied to that same state. Belligerents must be held accountable regardless of their signing and ratifying.

Intervention must be genuine, without allowing war by proxy, and must not allow war by attrition. The R2P has failed several times in this regard, and the UN as a global body severely miscalculated its own competency—a pattern of behaviour. Retaliation between states in "unprovoked" attacks may be necessary—this is an unavoidable fact of human behaviour. However, the punishment must fit the crime. Israel's assault on Gaza is not happening in a vacuum and should not be treated as such. Hamas's attack on Israel was not created in a vacuum and should not be treated as such. Whether or not Israel was instrumental in creating Hamas, or to what degree, I don't know. I do know that Hamas and other extremist groups tend to form under pressure, whether legitimate or perceived, i.e. manufactured pressure.

In the last 80 odd years, Israel has been the equivalent of a playground bully. Never caught, never responsible. It is not unreasonable to look at the history of Israel and its relations with the surrounding Arab countries and realize that Israel is indeed the perpetrator of quite a few conflicts. The forgiveness that the West has shown to Israel stems from both their own overcompensation for their complicity in the Holocaust, and from their economic interests in the region, to which Israel by virtue of being friendly is their open door. The mending relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia brokered by the Biden administrations have been broken. Iran funds Hamas and is neutral to Saudi, but holds negative views of America, and considers Israel its number one enemy. Net negative for Iran, if Israel and Saudi managed to become friendly. But, the punishment will never fit the crime. Hamas killed 1,300 and captured 199, while Israel carpet bombs Gaza in retaliation, killing thousands. The death toll rises every day.

So many Western powers have bent over backwards for Israel in the interest of maintaining a good standing with the Israeli Jewish community. Predictably following the Nakba, Israel's right to exist as a state has been protected by those very same Western powers. The displacement of Palestinians? A minor inconvenience for the colonizers. Instead of allowing Palestinians and Jewish people displaced and destroyed from the Holocaust coexist in a region that is rightfully the homeland for both people, the West has consistently pushed for the slow but steady eradication of native Palestinians. They apologize for one genocide by funding another. Look to the Gaza Resolution set forth by Russia to the UNSC. Nine affirming votes are needed to pass the resolution. The vote failed, with three Western powers plus Japan (i.e. four powers with histories of colonization and genocide) voting against. This is an explicit message: the West will continue to profit from this war.

The ability to rapidly share news worldwide affects support and dissent. Local and regional conflicts have and will continue to become global issues, as long as those conflicts are made public to the world. Israel's assault on Gaza is a prime example of social media being used as a tool of state propaganda. Statements put forth on official X (formerly Twitter) accounts indicated Israel's intent to commit genocide and ethnically cleanse Gaza for the sake of reaching the Hamas tunnels. These tweets have since been deleted. Israel has consistently been fact-checked by community notes. The latest propaganda is their claim about the hospital bombing, that it was caused by a Palestinian rocket misfire. And news sources are eating it up. Tell me, BBC, since you so happily posted about Hamas tunnels under schools and hospitals, do you think that if Hamas had this kind of bomb in its artillery, it would not have used it against Israel long ago? Which is more consistent? A powerful military that is currently carpet bombing Gaza or a group of extremists with a known pattern of firing weak rockets?

The West's stance is inconsistent and shameful. Israel's claims are inconsistent and shameful. If an Israeli ground assault takes place within the next week, I'll win War Crime Bingo. Never again is now.

[xtruss]

Lap Dog of the United States and The Illegal Regime of Isra-hell, Germany, Says It’ll Intervene in ICJ Case on Israel’s Behalf, Blasting Genocide Accusation

— By Biranit Goren and AFP | 12 January 2024

L-R: Dr. Tal Becker, Prof. Malcolm Shaw KC, Dr, Gilad Noam, Dr. Galit Raguan attend a hearing in the case brought to the International Court of Justice at The Hague in which South Africa has accused Israel of committing genocide in its war with Hamas in Gaza, January 12, 2024. (International Court of Justice)

The German government sharply rejects allegations before the UN’s top court that Israel is committing “genocide” in Gaza and warned against “political instrumentalization” of the charge.

Government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit says in a statement that Israel was “defending itself” after the “inhuman” attacks by Hamas on October 7.

He says Germany would intervene as a third party before the ICJ under an article allowing states to seek clarification on the use of a multilateral convention.

The move allows Germany to present its own case to the court that Israel has not infringed the genocide convention and has not committed or intended to commit genocide.

Germany is not claiming to be legally impacted by South Africa’s case and therefore it does not require the ICJ’s permission for third party intervention.

As a signatory of the 1948 Genocide Convention, it has the right to join cases and put forward its arguments on the case.

Hebestreit stated that Germany “intends to intervene as a third party in the main hearing,” suggesting Berlin will intrude in South Africa’s primary case against Israel in which the court could take years to decide whether or not Israel has violated the Genocide Convention.

Accordingly, the move does not appear to influence this week’s proceedings — hearings where South Africa has requested an interim injunction from the court compelling Israel to implement a ceasefire. A decision on that more immediate matter is expected within one month.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, left, talks to government's spokesman Steffen Hebestreit during weekly cabinet meeting of the German government at the chancellery in Berlin, Germany, Jan. 25, 2023. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)

“In light of German history and the crimes against humanity of the Shoah, the German government is particularly committed to the [UN] Genocide Convention,” signed in 1948 in the wake of the Holocaust, Hebestreit says.

He says the Convention marked a “central instrument” under international law to prevent another Holocaust.

For this reason, he says, “we stand firmly against a political instrumentalization” of the Convention.

Hebestreit acknowledges diverging views in the international community on Israel’s military operation against Hamas in Gaza.

“However the German government decisively and expressly rejects the accusation of genocide brought against Israel before the International Court of Justice,” he says.

“The accusation has no basis in fact.”

[arpov-blog-blog]

..."The Gaza war has proved one of the deadliest conflicts for journalists in recent memory.

At least 63 journalists and media workers have been killed over the course of the war as of December 8, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists. That’s as many as were killed during the entire two-decade Vietnam War by some counts.

Most of those killed were Palestinians in Gaza, and dozens more Palestinian journalists have been reported injured, missing, or arrested. Additionally, family members of journalists — including those of Al Jazeera’s Gaza bureau chief and a CNN producer — have been killed in the bombardment, and the premises of more than 50 media outlets in Gaza have been hit. Journalists covering the war have also faced assaults, threats, and censorship, as well as contended with communications blackouts in Gaza.

Since the October 7 attack by Hamas, a Palestinian militant group designated as a terrorist organization by many countries, Israel has said that it cannot guarantee journalists’ safety in Gaza and has denied them access to the region, even during the recent temporary ceasefire. The exception is those working for organizations allowed to embed with the Israel Defense Forces under certain requirements, including prior review of anything they publish. Despite Israel’s claims that it tries to avoid civilian casualties, including that of journalists, its bombardment of Gaza has proved indiscriminate. More than 16,000 people have been killed in Gaza as of the last estimate by the Gaza Health Ministry, a figure that may be an undercount due to the large number of missing people and a breakdown in communications among hospitals in Gaza.

Hamas, for its part, has also long restricted political expression and the free press, using intimidation, physical violence, and torture to do so, according to human rights organizations. Even before the war, that also had a chilling effect on journalists operating out of Gaza.

All of this has made it incredibly difficult for journalists to deliver independent reporting that can provide a critical check on wartime propaganda, and has greatly decreased the number of reporters on the ground able to provide the world with a clear, factual understanding of what is actually going on in Gaza. In that vacuum, Hamas and Israel frequently offer dueling narratives of the reality on the ground that are often impossible to verify.

“We have to assume that journalists who are on the ground are objective observers. And so targeting them really means that you are trying to diminish public understanding and access to the news that these journalists are reporting,” said Kiran Nazish, a foreign correspondent who has reported from conflict zones and the founding director of The Coalition For Women In Journalism, a worldwide support organization for female journalists.

Israel’s history of killing journalists

Under international law, journalists don’t constitute a separate, protected class from civilians overall. However, just as it is illegal to intentionally target civilians or launch an attack that does not distinguish between military targets and civilians, it is also illegal to intentionally target journalists. Media cannot be considered military targets even when they are being employed for propaganda purposes unless they make an “effective contribution to military action” or they “incite war crimes, genocide or acts of violence,” according to the International Committee of the Red Cross.

Nevertheless, independent investigations have concluded that Israel has intentionally targeted journalists on multiple occasions.

The group Reporters Without Borders recently filed a complaint before the International Criminal Court accusing Israel of committing war crimes against journalists covering the conflict in the Palestinian territories — the third such complaint it has filed since 2018. Israel has opposed these complaints, arguing that the ICC has no jurisdiction over them because Palestine is not an independent state, despite the fact that it is recognized as such by 138 of the United Nations’ 193 members and is a party to the ICC, unlike Israel.

One journalist killed by Israeli fire in Lebanon during the most recent round of fighting, Reuters reporter Issam Abdallah, was explicitly targeted, Reporters Without Borders argues in its forensic analysis of the attack. Israel has claimed that it was responding to an anti-tank missile fired by the Iranian-backed militant group Hezbollah, which is designated by many countries as a terrorist organization, suspecting a “terrorist infiltration into Israeli territory” from Lebanon, only to later find out journalists had been harmed."