Hamas is not oppressing Gaza and the West Bank. As a matter of fact there are no Hamas members in the West Bank and over 200 Palestinians have been murdered in the West Bank since Oct 7th.
The situation in Gaza is not a grey area for many reasons but many people have an instinctual need to make Israel the victims. That is not the case even though Israel would like you to believe that. Before I give you the details let me be clear that I do not support Hamas. Targeting civilians is not acceptable for anyone but also remember that the number of victims claimed by Israel is likely inflated because some were killed by friendly fire and some were armed settler militia members who cannot be counted as civilians. Now I will give you the reasons why this is not a grey area.
As a military man I do know about the rules of armed conflict. So let’s talk about that. By closing off the borders of Gaza 15 years ago Israel assumed the role of an occupation force. Under international law an occupation force is supposed to do everything possible to protect civilians under the occupation. Prior to the October 7 attack by Hamas the Israelis killed 6,000 civilians. That is a war crime according to international law. During that time they subjected the people of Gaza to periodic shortages of food, water, medicine and fuel. That is also a war crime. The communal punishment of a people for actions that they did not commit which is what is going on in Gaza right now is also a war crime. The population of Gaza is 2.3 million people. Hamas has approximately 20 thousand members or less than 1% percent of the population. Gaza is 141 sq miles for a population density of 16,000 people per sq mile . You can not plan a bombing campaign without understanding that there will be unacceptable civilian casualties. On top of that Israel has targeted schools, mosques, hospitals and three refugee camps including one in southern Gaza where they told civilians to evacuate to. Targeting schools, hospitals and refugee camps is a war crime. There is nothing collateral about this. It is a very deliberate attempt to drive the Palestinians out of Gaza and ethnic cleansing and it is another war crime.
That was the plan all along according to a document leaked from the Israeli defense ministry.
Totaling ten pages, the main plans of the document detail the following stages:
1. Instruct Palestinian civilians to vacate north Gaza ahead of ground offensive.
2. Sequential land operations from north to south Gaza.
3. Routes across Rafah to be left clear.
4. Establish tent cities in northern Sinai and construct cities to resettle Palestinians in Egypt.
The UN definition of genocide is
Definition
Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide
Article II
In the present Convention, genocide means any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such:
a-Killing members of the group;
b-Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group;
c- Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part;
d-Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group;
e-Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group.
Israel met all five conditions to be guilty of the crime of genocide. Also a war crime.
Israel killed 6,000 Palestinians since the closing of Gaza, injured tens of thousands more, imprisoned 2.3 million Palestinians in the largest concentration camp the world has ever known, imprisoned an additional 4,500 hundred Palestinians including hundreds of women and children, and at least 1,000 adults being held indefinitely without charges, in Israeli jails, Israel periodically denied the people of Gaza food, water and medicine. All of this happened before the Hamas attack on Oct 7th.
LET ME REPEAT THAT LAST LINE:
ISRAEL COMMITTED WAR CRIMES, ETHNIC CLEANSING AND GENOCIDE BEFORE OCTOBER 7th.
The problem is that people in the West brainwashed by Israeli propaganda cannot comprehend the depth of the Israeli evil. They cannot fathom that the Israeli government shoots protesters in front of their families as well as targeting medical personnel and reporters. They cannot fathom how the Israeli government falsely imprisons thousands of Palestinians including hundreds of children and at least a thousand adults who have been held indefinitely without charges. They cannot imagine a country who lets their religious fanatic settlers beating, murdering and confiscating land from innocent Palestinians. Their is a side of the oppressor (Israel) and the oppressed (the Palestinians) Do not allow Israeli propaganda manipulate you into supporting the side of the oppressor. There is a reason people like Caitlin are supported by a chorus of voices. Many people who were fooled by Israel in the past now see what they truly are. The survivors of the holocaust who had the good will and best wishes of much of the world, squandered that good will by committing their own genocide against the Palestinians. This fact saddens me deeply.
Hamas is not oppressing Gaza and the West Bank. As a matter of fact there are no Hamas members in the West Bank and over 200 Palestinians have been murdered in the West Bank since Oct 7th.
The situation in Gaza is not a grey area for many reasons but many people have an instinctual need to make Israel the victims. That is not the case even though Israel would like you to believe that. Before I give you the details let me be clear that I do not support Hamas. Targeting civilians is not acceptable for anyone but also remember that the number of victims claimed by Israel is likely inflated because some were killed by friendly fire and some were armed settler militia members who cannot be counted as civilians. Now I will give you the reasons why this is not a grey area.
As a military man I do know about the rules of armed conflict. So let’s talk about that. By closing off the borders of Gaza 15 years ago Israel assumed the role of an occupation force. Under international law an occupation force is supposed to do everything possible to protect civilians under the occupation. Prior to the October 7 attack by Hamas the Israelis killed 6,000 civilians. That is a war crime according to international law. During that time they subjected the people of Gaza to periodic shortages of food, water, medicine and fuel. That is also a war crime. The communal punishment of a people for actions that they did not commit which is what is going on in Gaza right now is also a war crime. The population of Gaza is 2.3 million people. Hamas has approximately 20 thousand members or less than 1% percent of the population. Gaza is 141 sq miles for a population density of 16,000 people per sq mile . You can not plan a bombing campaign without understanding that there will be unacceptable civilian casualties. On top of that Israel has targeted schools, mosques, hospitals and three refugee camps including one in southern Gaza where they told civilians to evacuate to. Targeting schools, hospitals and refugee camps is a war crime. There is nothing collateral about this. It is a very deliberate attempt to drive the Palestinians out of Gaza and ethnic cleansing and it is another war crime.
That was the plan all along according to a document leaked from the Israeli defense ministry.
Totaling ten pages, the main plans of the document detail the following stages:
1. Instruct Palestinian civilians to vacate north Gaza ahead of ground offensive.
2. Sequential land operations from north to south Gaza.
3. Routes across Rafah to be left clear.
4. Establish tent cities in northern Sinai and construct cities to resettle Palestinians in Egypt.
The UN definition of genocide is
Definition
Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide
Article II
In the present Convention, genocide means any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such:
a-Killing members of the group;
b-Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group;
c- Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part;
d-Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group;
e-Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group.
Israel met all five conditions to be guilty of the crime of genocide. Also a war crime.
Israel killed 6,000 Palestinians since the closing of Gaza, injured tens of thousands more, imprisoned 2.3 million Palestinians in the largest concentration camp the world has ever known, imprisoned an additional 4,500 hundred Palestinians including hundreds of women and children, and at least 1,000 adults being held indefinitely without charges, in Israeli jails, Israel periodically denied the people of Gaza food, water and medicine. All of this happened before the Hamas attack on Oct 7th.
LET ME REPEAT THAT LAST LINE:
ISRAEL COMMITTED WAR CRIMES, ETHNIC CLEANSING AND GENOCIDE BEFORE OCTOBER 7th.
The problem is that people in the West brainwashed by Israeli propaganda cannot comprehend the depth of the Israeli evil. They cannot fathom that the Israeli government shoots protesters in front of their families as well as targeting medical personnel and reporters. They cannot fathom how the Israeli government falsely imprisons thousands of Palestinians including hundreds of children and at least a thousand adults who have been held indefinitely without charges. They cannot imagine a country who lets their religious fanatic settlers beating, murdering and confiscating land from innocent Palestinians. Their is a side of the oppressor (Israel) and the oppressed (the Palestinians) Do not allow Israeli propaganda manipulate you into supporting the side of the oppressor. There is a reason people like Caitlin are supported by a chorus of voices. Many people who were fooled by Israel in the past now see what they truly are. The survivors of the holocaust who had the good will and best wishes of much of the world, squandered that good will by committing their own genocide against the Palestinians. This fact saddens me deeply.