The Most Documented Genocide in History
Every day a new atrocity as ethnocide blurs across our screens. A new murder, children being shot by snipers like a grotesque gameplay. As I write Reuters reports: ‘At least 13 Palestinians were killed and 15 wounded in Israeli strikes on a school sheltering refugees and a residential building in Gaza, early on Saturday. Wafa said at least eight of the dead were in refugee tents at Halima al-Sa’diyya school in Jabalia, northern Gaza’.
You have to consciously actively resist becoming numbed to it. The destruction is systematic as Israel attempts to erase Palestinian culture and infrastructure: every university has been destroyed, the central archive containing documents from 150 years of history has been obliterated along with hundreds of mosques.
No journalists are allowed into Gaza to bear witness, for their own safety they say. In reality it’s estimated that, as of September 6, 2024, at least 116 journalists and media workers have been killed in the conflict.
In just one day the horror reveals: ‘Israeli bulldozer mutilating a Palestinian boys body’, ‘Israeli forces kill Palestinian girl in Nablus, 13 year old Bana Amjad Bakr was shot dead by Israeli soldiers in her village of Qaryut’, ‘Israeli airstrike burns Gaza baby’, ‘Video of how Israeli troops killed a young Palestinian boy in Gaza for no reason, then killed six of his family members as they returned from a cemetery to bury him, holding a white flag. Their remains were bulldozed into a pile of garbage’ – and on and on and then this: ‘The White House said it was “deeply disturbed” by the death of an American woman who, according to Palestinian officials and witnesses, was shot in the head by Israeli troops during a protest against Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank. The White House also called for Israel to investigate her killing, which has caused strong reactions across the international community. The US state department confirmed the death of Ayşenur Ezgi Eygi, 26, a volunteer peace activist with the anti-occupation International Solidarity Movement (ISM).’
It shouldn’t be – but clearly is – a game changer. One American life has a higher value than tens of thousands of Palestinians. To mitigate the impact three things are happening; they are stalling saying ‘they are waiting for all the facts’ (they are always waiting for the Israelis to investigate); they are highlighting her dual nationality (she’s not really an American); and they are trying to smear her as a radical.
But Israeli forces are completely out of control and the focus is now on the West Bank where the atrocities continue and are escalating. This gives pay to the lie that it is about ‘the right to self defence’ as there is no Hamas in the West Bank. This is ethnic cleansing in plain sight.
Now, as the orgy of violence continues, our new government of Change announces the suspension of UK arms licences to Israel. But in cold calculation it represents a mere tenth of arms licenses leaving 320 licences untouched. In a very Starmerite way it was tip-toeing through the details of International Law, arguing that this specific bit of kit would be part of an atrocity but this specific bit would not. It’s an attention to detail that is shameful in a wider context. War and mayhem and genocide doesn’t work like that. It is a morally abhorrent piece of calculation.
Lethal Radius
Although it is presented as some moral stance, and has been roundly condemned by people like Boris Johnson and other Conservatives, it ignores, for example the use of F-35 stealth fighter jets. Reports from Danish researchers put paid to the lie of there being good weapons and bad ones and specifically the use of F-35s. It’s worth reading the report from the Campaign Against the Arm Trade (CAAT):
“The Foreign Secretary David Lammy today made a statement to Parliament on the results of a review of arms export licences to Israel, announcing the suspension of 30 export licences for use by the Israeli military that could be used in Gaza. However, he stated that the ‘Open General’ licence relating to the F-35 combat aircraft, 15% of which is produced in the UK, and for which Israel is one of the recipient countries, would be exempted.
This statement came on the same day that Danish news outlet Information, together with NGO Danwatch, revealed that, for the first time, it has been possible to definitively confirm the use by Israel of an F-35 stealth fighter to carry out a specific attack in Gaza.
The attack took place on 13 July, on an Israeli-designated ‘safe zone’ in Al-Mawasi in southern Gaza, killing 90 people and injuring at least 300. The Israeli military claims that the target of the attack was Mohammed Deif, head of Hamas’s military wing. The attack involved three GBU-31 2000lb bombs, which have a ‘lethal radius’ of 360m, and are thus certain to kill large numbers of civilians when used in highly-populated areas. The circumstances of this attack, the extremely high civilian death count in a densely populated safe zone, have been assessed as almost certainly violating the International Humanitarian Law (IHL) principle of proportionality, and may well be a war crime.
The use of F-35s by Israel in the attack on Gaza has been confirmed since the beginning of the war, including their use to deliver 2000lb bombs. However, it has rarely if ever been possible to establish which type of aircraft was used to attack which targets. In this case, Danwatch uncovered an article describing Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant personally going to an F-35 base to thank the pilots involved, and the Israeli military has since confirmed in response to a request by Information and Danwatch that an F-35 carried out the attack.”
Britain is utterly complicit in war crimes and genocide. How much? To say ‘15%’ is to engage in some macabre bean-counting exercise. The ‘lethal radius’ calculation again exposes the lying narrative about ‘precision bombing’.
Watch this excellent video from @oxfamgb & @savechildrenuk and support their call to end all arms sales to Israel now. pic.twitter.com/XC2E4T2A92
— Humza Yousaf (@HumzaYousaf) September 4, 2024
The Black Mirror
It is easy to feel completely helpless in the wake of the daily carnage and to become numb to the horror of it all. It is easy to be overcome by the cynicism of a Labour government leveraging political gain from attempting to cancel some arms licences while keeping the vast bulk in place. You can’t be absolved by being 15% involved in genocide. It’s easy also to be completely disheartened by the reality that US and UK political parties are riddled with Israeli lobbying and control which have contaminated the body politic.
But as the Israeli forces, and adjacent settlers reveal their true intent in the West Bank, and as the legal pressure mounts against Israel and her supporters (only yesterday the International Court has declared Israel an illegal state) it is crucial to maintain direct action, mass protest and pressure for the complete ban of arms to Israel.
We do have power to create mass pressure on the Labour government to demand a ceasefire and legal consequences brought to bear and to an end of profiting from genocide. We can ask: what is the strategic importance of being an ally to Israel for Britain (what is the strategic importance of being an ally to Israel for Britain?). It seems very unclear.
Is it profit through arms sales? Is it because we are tied to the US? Is it purely about the lobbying power of Israel and its forces within Westminster? Because other European countries have taken action against the atrocities.
It’s clear now that Israel was constructed on the ruins of another society and are now engaged in decimating the Palestinian people, their culture, their education system and their places of worship. It’s clear too they are systematically targeting children and engaging in torture all as a means of exercising a reign of terror. We have a black mirror in history with Gaza and the Warsaw Ghetto and a dreadful symmetry between Arendt’s Banality of Evil and the depravity of the Two Nice Jewish Boys podcast:
Shocking video in which Eytan Weinstein, American-born host of Israeli podcast “Two nice Jewish boys” calls for the extermination of 5m Palestinians, as co-host Naor Meningher nods along. Weinstein is also a senior product manager at @PaloAltoNtwks.pic.twitter.com/iMci3etRGA
— Ian Fraser (@Ian_Fraser) September 6, 2024
The horror has revealed the reality of what Israel is and has become and we must build international solidarity, boycott, action and political pressure to free Palestine and create the conditions for peace.
When will Hamas give up the hostages and stop using their own people as human shields?
Wow, that was quick. When will you engage in discussion without a script written for you by IDF/Hasbara?
Your faux-naif question is reprehensible (unforgiveable) in the context of Zionist genocide since 1948, thousands of Palestinians held captive and tortured and the widespread and longstanding use by Israel of Palestinians as human shields.
Indeed.
Prior to the current slaughter of Palestininans in Gaza by the IDF, the Netanyahu government helped Hamas so as to play them off against the PLO and the Palestinian Authority, in a bid to undermine the Palestinian national movement, and scupper any prospects of peace. This does not in any way reduce the responsibility of Hamas for the slaughter they committed on October 7th, or their completely unacceptable taking of hostages. But what if does do is to heap further responsibility on Netanyahu’s deeply cynical, genocidal far-right government.
SteveH seems very keen to distract us from the matter of genocide.
FYI: https://www.dw.com/en/is-israels-army-using-palestinians-as-human-shields/a-70166645
The BBC Eye Investigations: Settlements Above the Law links Israeli settlements in the West Bank (illegal under international law) with outposts (illegal also under Israeli law) to Israeli settler expansion into Gaza itself. You can find it prominently on iPlayer. Unusually, the Western crews appear to be embedded with Palestinians, and follow their harsh and sometimes lethal treatment at the hands of the Occupation. One view repeatedly expressed by Israelis (including recent immigrants) on camera is “It’s our land” despite all reason and evidence. It’s a horrible, racist, genocide-supporting ideology that brings terror, expulsion and death to the Palestinian population.
But if many of these actions are illegal even by Israel’s own laws, what has NATO (also given a NATO citizen was murdered, in the above article, whether Turkish or USAmerican or both) got to say about these issues?
“Human security has become a crucial aspect of NATO’s operations, missions, and activities. For NATO, the term refers to the mitigation and response towards risks and threats posed to populations.
“In 2022, the North Atlantic Council established ‘The Human Security Approach and Guiding Principles,’ providing NATO with a framework to considering conflict and crisis from the perspective of civilians. Taking a human security approach means embedding considerations for civilian populations into all stages and levels of Alliance operations, missions, and activities. This approach aligns with NATO’s core values of individual liberty, human rights, democracy, and the rule of law.
“The Guiding Principles encourage NATO planners to think beyond the adversary with the objective of preventing and responding to threats that civilian populations might be confronted with during conflict or crisis. NATO uses the term “Human Security” to link five policy areas: protection of civilians, preventing and responding to conflict related sexual violence, combating trafficking in human beings, children and armed conflict, and cultural property protection.
“NATO Allied Command Transformation contributes to Alliance-wide transformation efforts, including through the integration of human security related policies into the work of ACT, such as Multi-Domain Operations in Urban Environments.”
https://www.act.nato.int/article/human-security-in-nato/
Really?
Perhaps an interview with Ms Rachel Grimes (MBE) is in order.
Thanks for this piece Mike expressing what many people think about Israel’s actions in Palestine.
The US, UK and some other nations seem to have no ability to identify what is self defence and what is revenge bordering on ethnic cleansing. The US could force a ceasefire on Israel ,despite Netanyahu resistance for personal political purposes, but are unwilling to do this.
The people like Johnson and others decrying any sanctions on Israel and saying we should give them unquestioned support are from the same camp as people who said the same thing about apartheid South Africa in 70’s and 80’s. They were wrong then and are wrong now.
Another similarity with South Africa is that the longer the conflict in Palestine goes on, the more informed about the history and discrimination being experienced by Palestinians the general public become.
Articles like this makes one lose any kind of respect for Bella Caledonia. Worst than the Hamas Broadcasting Corporation.
Great
OK Bibi.
I’ve said it before and will say it again. The actions of Israel against the Palestinian population follow almost exactly the actions of the USA against the native Americans after colonisation. Enclose them in reservations (concentration camps) steal their land and massacre any that complain.
There are none so blind as those that will not see. Witness some of the responses here.
An apt and still effective reference, as the U$A today is, at its core, as racist as ever it was. Both nations founded by settler terror, invoking their sky god as “justification” to eradicate the racial inferiors in the way of expansion, civilization, Manifest Destiny, Lebensraum. Thank you, Michael, for this telling and timely piece–I especially appreciated the part about not giving up, but persisting.
I like the use of the word “Lebensraum”. Maybe it will touch a nerve.
The definition of Antisemitism includes any comparison of the actions of Israel with Nazi Germany. I have no problem with Jews or the Jewish religion but, like Jeremy Corbyn, in these terms I may be considered as guilty.
It is becoming more apparent by the day with the current Israeli government supporting the settlements in occupied West Bank in defence of international law that they wish to clear the land of the local Palestinians.
With the destruction of property, herding of population, restrictions on food and fuel it is becoming increasingly obvious that the current Israeli government wish to do the same in Gaza.
Your comparison of Palistinians and native North American indigenous peoples is becoming all too apparent right down to demonising them as savages who are not quite human.
If the local Palestinians/Arabs were in charge they would undoubtedly clear the land of the local Jewish population and kill them all without compunction. .
Best keep out of a problem that’s been going on for over a millennium and has nothing to do with us.
Sounds a bit like Chamberlain before WW2.
“Nothing to do with us”: apart from a few minor considerations such as the Balfour Declaration.
How to stay out of it:
1.Stop selling arms to one side.
2.Stop blocking UN resolutions in favour of one side.
3.Comply with international law.
I agree the UK government should stay out of this conflict.
@Dougie Blackwood, yes, though it gets worse. In Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong, James W Loewen writes:
p151 “The Seminoles’ refusal to surrender their African American members led to the First and Second Seminole Wars (1816-18, 1835-42).” Only one textbook mentions this reason, also key factor in Texas War 1835-36 and Mexican War 1846-48.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seminole_Wars
So, we have genocides against indigenous people (who are welcoming refugees from colonial-enslaver terror), racialised chattel slavery and all its endemic crimes, land grabs and annexations all going on at the same time.
I watched the documentary America’s New Female Right on BBC iPlayer, and while the influencer self-policing the USAmerican–Mexico border seemed a bit hazy on world facts (Africa was a country, Arabic a dialect), she was very clear that ‘cartels’ were sending armed settlers into the USA to basically annex Texas etc. This is a mirror image to what history tells us the USA did: she was standing in occupied Mexico. I think this strikes at the heart of the problem: when your lot are obviously the Bad Guys, by celebrating your genocides etc you fear bringing karmic retribution and this manifests in you projecting your own psychopathy onto Others. This is a peculiarity of the Abrahamic religions, and in particular the Judeo-Christian value of divinely-inspired mass-murder of innocents (Old Testament). All these myths are right-wing, of course. They have implicit and explicit racial hierarchies and distinctions between ‘civilised’ and ‘barbarians’, God’s chosen and God’s damned. But the secular Golden Rule is hard to shake off, and maintaining delusions of grandeur comes at a cost.
#karmaphobia
There is a sense of impotence in all this though.
Expressing anger and disgust at Israel (and also Hamas too of course) is well and good but in reality what more does it do other than slake a personal sense of having done the right thing by doing so? How many times can one say the same thing but which is essentially raging into the void before it starts to become normalised impotence? The invective can be increased to fever pitch but it makes no difference.
Sorry to be so negative but I read so much of this kind of thing and continually raising awareness but with no sense of how to achieve any change at all, leads simply to ongoing despair.
Niemand – I think much of the anger being displayed is due to:
UK government continuing to support the current Israeli government with arms, trade and blocking international measures to ensure compliance with international law.
It is becoming obvious to many that current Israeli government is not interested in a ceasefire and allies should be using all means possible to persuade them to agree to one. Hamas have been degraded to such an extent that they pose a minimal threat militarily and other Arab nations can talk to them about a ceasefire.
Until there is a ceasefire long term peace via a two state solution gets further away and the risk of a much larger conflict in Middle East grows every day. A larger conflict which it will be difficult for UK to stay out of.
Hi – I know what you mean but would say that pushing back against the narrative being sold to us is important. For example exposing the lie that by reducing some but not of all of the arms sales is somehow a moral stance to take. For example questioning what exactly is the strategic interest that Britain has in being an ally of Israel? For example backing the BDS and direct action movements. For example challenging the whole story that this is ‘defensive’. And, actually laying testimony to war crimes is, in my opinion, important.
What’s the alternative? Say nothing?
I don’t disagree. Maybe if there is enough pressure, including from sites like this, it can shift the sands. To some extent that has already happened with some changes to, say, Labour’s stance on Israel. But in terms of the bigger picture it can feel like whistling in the wind.
And times change – I was watching an old episode of Yes Prime Minister the other day (1987 I think) and in that the Middle East conflict comes up and some fictional UN vote, and the official line Sir Humphrey wants the PM to maintain is to ‘support the Arabs’ . . . ‘obviously’ (in his words), whereas PM Hacker wants to support Israel because he wants to suck up the US. This was seen as a dangerous and u just line to take (and not just because of its venality, especially given Appleby’s normal amoral stance on pretty much everything). I cannot help but feel that since then, the Israeli lobby has done a very good job at making support for the Palestinians essentially anti the state of Israel and quite probably antisemitic, even up to about a year ago where it reached fever pitch. Of course the actions of Hamas have fuelled this big time too.
In response to John, I do not think Hamas can be dismissed so easily – yes they are degraded for now but their ideology remains, just as the Israeli hard-liners do and it is these people who hold the power. As for other Arab countries, that is an interesting one – what exactly are they doing with regard to putting pressure on Hamas?
I know what you mean. So many political failures in my lifetime. However I remember thinking apartheid would never end and then, at last, you sat and watched Mandela walk out of prison on live television.
Niemand – thanks for considered reply.
It is quite widely thought that the Hamas 7th October attacks were intended to derail Saudi Arabia recognition of Israel and raise profile of Palestinian issue among Arab nations who were turning away from the Palestinians. Atrocious as 7th October attacks were this aim has been achieved aided and abetted by Israel’s over the top response.
Hamas now pose a minimal military threat to Israel especially when you consider the overwhelming military might and support Israel have in comparison with any other Middle East country. History tells us that every relative whose father, mother, child the IDF kill will be a potential Hamas recruit. History also shows us that any peace settlement in Palestine that doesn’t include Hamas to some degree will be fragile.
The wider Arab community doesn’t want a war with Israel as they know they will in all probability lose. Even Iran, have been measured in their response to recent Israeli actions outside Gaza which have been rather provocative. Most Arab nations are keen for peace in Palestine as issue causes a lot of unrest within their own countries. They can bring pressure to bear on Hamas but cannot be seen to being too supportive of Israel or USA.
There is a settlement to be had if all sides are willing and I agree that current Israeli government and Hamas do not appear very willing. The first step, and only way of recovering hostages alive, is a permanent ceasefire. With the vast majority of force being deployed by Israel and vast majority of suffering being endured by Palestinians I think the onus is on Israel to achieve a ceasefire. The current Israeli PM is unwilling to commit to one so the onus is on allies, primarily USA, to get them to do so. It is the first step on a long road to any potential peace in Middle East.
Well said John and thanks. It was at least good to see the very big protests in Israel exactly about getting the hostages home.
There is some contradiction here though – I agree the Arab countries and Iran do not want a major war as they think they will lose (and tbf, just don’t want a war full stop). But why is that? Because Israel is armed to the teeth with major support from their allies, especially the US.
Niemand – I think the answer to your last question is yes. Why is that? probably because most Arab countries see Israel as a European/Western country’ in their region. With many of citizens of Israel having come from Europe or USA (and still coming especially in West Bank) they have a point. With Israel competing in Eurovision and being a member of UEFA you could say that it is an idea shared by Europe.
This is all far from ideal but that is how the land lies and real leaders roles are to make the best of the situation that is presented to them for all their citizens not for their own narrow personal political perspective.
@Niemand, you are asking what is the point of bearing witness? There’s a rich tradition of this. Greenpeace talks about being “inspired by the Quaker concept of ‘bearing witness’”. There are truth commissions and survivor testimonies. There’s the musical traditions that you will know much more about than me (the lyrics of Blowin’ in the Wind come to mind). By bearing witness we are not turning our heads and pretend we just don’t see. The end of Bob Dylan’s first quote on the Wikipedia page sums up the point.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blowin%27_in_the_Wind
There’s a sense too, in stories like The Emperor’s New Clothes, that it takes a critical mass (it might be quite small) of open dissent to challenge a status quo made of lies, typically flattering to rulers (I’ve seen some research on this). This open dissent has changed coverage, not overnight but comparatively quickly, from media corporations like the BBC and the Guardian, who have had to move with viewers, listeners and readers (to some significant extent).
You say this dissent has made no difference. But social tipping points don’t register change linearly. British political norms have flipped on some issues quite quickly after decades or centuries of entrenched opposition to change. That’s not always a good thing, depending on your viewpoint. But it’s generally how constitutional changes are wrought in more reasonable countries.
Yes I do get this. Just registering my deeper frustrations about the conflict and impasse. Personally I do feel pretty impotent in the face of the Israeli war machine and indeed the whole, endless conflict in the region.
And though I do not accuse Bella of this at all, on the left the hypocrisy is very telling – until quite recently much of it was attacking its own for being antisemitic for condemnation of Israel’s general stance in the region. It was funny but basically painful to see the Guardian do a slow about turn after the sacking of Steve Bell (and others) at the start of the conflict.