LAYING ASIDE HUMANITY IN PURSUIT OF VENGEANCE
THE TRAGEDY OF THE ISRAELI-PALESTINIAN CONFLICT
In the immediate aftermath of the attack carried out on Israel by Hamas on October 7th last year, there were fears that the retaliation from the Israeli government would be brutal. The shock of the events seemed to jolt the IDF awake from a dreamlike state straight into a nightmare. One in which they became the perceived monsters. To many unfamiliar with the Middle East and the never ending tensions in the region, the easiest way of interpreting events on the ground was via the prism of the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war. While different tactics are being employed in these disparate regions by the respective warring parties there have been similarities: Provocations, retaliation for said provocations and sadly the ensuing human suffering engendered by war. There has however been one key difference: The methodology employed in both conflicts by the dominant faction. For the duration of the Russia-Ukraine war there have been several instances where Ukraine’s battalions have carried out cross-border raids deliberately targeting civilians. Such include raids in the Belgorod region and more significantly the never ending harassment campaigns of ethnic Russians in the Donbas by Ukrainian troops using NATO weapons. Yet, through all of this the Kremlin is yet to have a knee jerk reaction to said provocations. Even after the terrorist attack on the Crimean bridge the ensuing Russian bombing run had a low claimed civilian casualty count. In contrast, the response to the terrorist attacks by Hamas has been a bloodbath for civilians in the Gaza Strip. The IDF has raked up a casualty count that is factors higher than that incurred in the entirety of the Russia-Ukraine war over the past two years. While it can be argued that the IDF is engaged in urban warfare which offers up different challenges to the running pitch battles in Ukraine, there are areas such as Mariupol where the Russians have been involved in similar with far less devastation to human life. It does seem that a majority of the Israeli people support the methods and tactics being used by the Israeli army. This has since long passed the pursuit for justice and is now akin to a quest for vengeance.
The beheaded babies story was a hoax which fell apart fairly quickly. Akin to the babies in incubators hoax from decades prior. Made up repugnant acts used to emotionally manipulate the general public into cheerleading madness.
At the start of the conflict horror stories about Hamas raping civilians and committing atrocities against children were widely shared by the IDF and the corporate main stream media. Of key note were stories about babies being beheaded and Hamas using “sexual violence as a weapon.” These stories were so over the top that they merited closer inspection. Not only because they portended a barbarism hitherto unseen but because they bore weighty allegations. Sadly, this only came months later after being used as justification to destroy Hamas by any means necessary even if that meant a callous approach to civilian lives. The beheaded babies story was a hoax which fell apart fairly quickly. Akin to the babies in incubators hoax from decades prior. Made up repugnant acts used to emotionally manipulate the general public into cheerleading madness. The “sexual violence as a weapon” hoax as championed by the New York Times and others citing dubious sources with made up horror stories has proven to be another atrocious lie. Yet, many an American would cite this as justification for the IDFs campaign in the Gaza Strip and elsewhere. False allegations of rape have proven to be incredibly potent and thus an effective propaganda tool in many conflicts. Such false allegations were used to depose fallen Libyan dictator Muamar Gaddafi. Similar claims were lobbed at the Kremlin in the ongoing conflict in Eastern Europe but fortunately failed to hit their mark. Perhaps because they were too obvious and a copy-paste version of the Libyan rape hoax but more importantly because they were fabricated whole-cloth. Strangely, the IDF are now being accused of carrying out acts of sexual harassment against Palestinian women. While these are yet to be investigated, the Hamas rape hoax has been investigated and has largely fallen apart with the New York Times scrambling to publish half-arsed retractions. Yet it persists. Unfortunately wars tend to be dehumanising affairs. While it is possible that Hamas did carry out despicable sexual acts on October 7th there is yet to be any credible evidence adduced by their accusers.
False allegations of rape have proven to be incredibly potent and thus an effective propaganda tool in many conflicts. Such false allegations were used to depose fallen Libyan dictator Muamar Gaddafi.
A few weeks ago the Israeli government accused UNRWA of harbouring Hamas and actually being a part of the plan to coordinate the October 7th attacks. This is similar to claims made by the IDF regarding journalists whom it claimed were embedded with Hamas during the fateful day. Based solely on these allegations the American government paused funding to the UNRWA. There has been no independent corroboration of the allegations yet the IDFs word was deemed good enough to pause funding. It is worth noting that the UNRWA released a report claiming that some of their employees were forced into giving false testimony to Hamas links. According to the organisation, 168 staffers out of the 13,000 present in Gaza have been killed during the Israeli bombing raids. Curiously, several nations paused their funding to the UNRWA at the same time. This does reek of retaliation to the findings of the International Court Of Justice on Israeli actions in Gaza during their ongoing campaign. Prime Minister Netanyahu was quick to voice his disapproval of the finding and vowed to keep on seeking out Hamas without any change in the methodology employed. It does seem that key figures in the Israeli government not only feel justified in their actions but entitled to them. The Israeli embassy in Singapore was recently asked to take down a Facebook post it had made with regard to the ongoing conflict while referencing the Koran (Singapore has a significant segment of the populace who identify as adherents to Islam). This suggests an underlying arrogance that has taken possession of some in the Israeli government. Sadly, this poison has been passed along to its citizens. The ongoing blockade of the food aid delivery trucks on the border between Gaza and Egypt is being largely carried out by a very vocal contingent of Israeli nationals without any repercussions from their government. Tellingly, some of them feel that their blockade is justified because of the October 7th attacks and the ongoing hostage situation in Rafah. This has a whiff of America’s sanctions doctrine which often aims to topple foreign leadership via collective punishment. This hardly ever works and often has the opposite effect. Many rally around their leaders in spite of their proven faults. The longer this blockade goes on the more Israel and subsequently the American government lose the moral imperative. Sooner rather than later their crimes will be seen as worse than what Hamas did on October 7th and they will be viewed with similar disdain. A point noted by President Trump in an interview with an Israeli publication with respect to finding a speedy and peaceful resolution for all involved.
In several pieces to camera used to justify air strikes and other raids on various targets, the IDF has attempted to tie everyone and everything to Hamas. During the Israeli raid on the Rantisi hospital in Gaza an IDF spokesperson pointed out random objects including a calendar as proof that Hamas had kept Israeli hostages there. This would have been a laughable scam that merits derision were it not for its insidious nature. On the 29th of February about one hundred individuals lost their lives in a stampede in attempts to get food in what has been dubbed the “Flour Massacre.” As hungry Palestinians swarmed aid-trucks in attempts to get food, Israeli forces, by their own account, fired warning shots. Sadly the chaos that ensued resulted in tragedy. To add insult to injury IDF soldiers routinely film themselves committing reprehensible acts few of which are condemned by senior Israeli leadership. In fact, it does seem that their acts are permitted by those in authority. The seemingly wilful bloodletting of civilians in this horrible conflict is robbing many of their humanity. Driven by rage at the tragic events of October 7th which has seeded a bloodlust in some keen on eliminating the Palestinian people. This doesn’t bode well for any of us and it behoves us all to seek out a peaceful and humane resolution to the tragedy of Gaza.
Image credits: Image by Sayedur Rahman from Pixabay; Image by OpenClipart-Vectors from Pixabay