Zion and the Art of Armageddon
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Gideon Levy, a columnist with Israel’s Haaretz newspaper, told Al Jazeera the goal of the Israeli government appears to be to ethnically cleanse the north of Gaza by expelling all Palestinians. “Israel by itself declared that, basically, Hamas as a military force is totally thrashed. So why does it continue? It continues because Israel would like to see the northern part of Gaza empty of all its Palestinian inhabitants,” he added.
Some Israeli officials, however, have pushed for building settlements in Gaza, [although] Netanyahu has suggested a setup similar to the occupied West Bank: Israeli military control over Gaza while the Palestinian Authority or a local non-Hamas entity handles civil affairs. Israel’s real goal remains obscure, but the timing of its siege on the north is interesting, according to Levy. “Under the cover of the war in Lebanon … when the whole world is looking upon Lebanon and [the possible strike by Israel] on Iran… Israel is taking advantage of it and doing those things in Gaza without having any military goals there,” he said.
An Israeli attempt to occupy Gaza militarily or physically would violate international law. Further compounding the violation would be if it takes the same direction it has in the occupied West Bank. There, illegal Israeli settlements are cropping up everywhere, Palestinians are being deprived of access to their land, the Israeli army is raiding and killing with impunity – as are Israeli settlers – among other violations.
More than 750,000 Israeli settlers are living on Palestinian land taken by force.
Some Israeli officials, however, have pushed for building settlements in Gaza, [although] Netanyahu has suggested a setup similar to the occupied West Bank: Israeli military control over Gaza while the Palestinian Authority or a local non-Hamas entity handles civil affairs. Israel’s real goal remains obscure, but the timing of its siege on the north is interesting, according to Levy. “Under the cover of the war in Lebanon … when the whole world is looking upon Lebanon and [the possible strike by Israel] on Iran… Israel is taking advantage of it and doing those things in Gaza without having any military goals there,” he said.
An Israeli attempt to occupy Gaza militarily or physically would violate international law. Further compounding the violation would be if it takes the same direction it has in the occupied West Bank. There, illegal Israeli settlements are cropping up everywhere, Palestinians are being deprived of access to their land, the Israeli army is raiding and killing with impunity – as are Israeli settlers – among other violations.
More than 750,000 Israeli settlers are living on Palestinian land taken by force.
Oof!
(@trollnwgs)
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A stark reminder that it didn't all kick off on 7th October. Stealing Palestinian land is particularly heinous.
The israel apologists don't get that though...
And no doubt they'll consider the UK as anti-semitic for sanctioning some organisations who are supporting the settler terrorism in the West Bank/Palestine!
"The UK has announced sanctions in response to continued violence by "extremist Israeli settlers" in the occupied West Bank.
It comes following an unprecedented rise in settler violence in the West Bank over the past year, with the UN recording over 1,400 attacks by settlers against Palestinian communities since October 2023.
UK sanctions are targeting three settler outposts and four organisations that have "supported, incited and promoted violence" against Palestinian communities in the West Bank.
Foreign Secretary David Lammy said the "inaction" of the Israeli government "has allowed an environment of impunity to flourish where settler violence has been allowed to increase unchecked".
"Today's measures will help bring accountability to those who have supported and perpetrated such heinous abuses of human rights.
"The Israeli government must crack down on settler violence and stop settler expansion on Palestinian land*. As long as violent extremists remain unaccountable, the UK and the international community will continue to act."
*Actually the expansion needs to be reversed, otherwise the terrorism on both sides will continue ad infinitum!
He’s no proof, just lies.
Like when you said I’d been kicked off the forum
Just names!!
ha ha ha
your previous incarnation showed you supported brexit, Trump, Johnson, Farage
despite constantly denying it
just like you deny supporting Israels actions on Haza
Any one of 'em could've commented on the ruling by Judge Rohan Pirani regarding anti-semitism but chose not to do so, preferring to maintain their position in stubborn silence. I'll quote it once again but think they'll continue to sulk.
It's an important distinction that allows genuine criticism of the actions taken by the State of Israel which not all Israeli citizens agree with: "Not in our name" as war protesters said at the time of Blair's persistence during the second Iraq war.
If I condemn Israel for its atrocities does that cover it ?
I already have, but for you 420, one more time.
The stated objective of the operation demanding the evacuation of Palestinians residing in Beit Hanoon, Beit Lahiya, Jabalia refugee camp, and Jabalia town is to destroy regrouped Palestinian resistance forces in the north. However, observers have noted that this new assault may be the first stage of what Israeli media has dubbed the “General’s Plan” of ethnically cleansing northern Gaza as a form of collective punishment of Palestinians.
The plan was put forward by retired General Giora Eiland and calls for the expulsion of Palestinians from the area and the forced starvation and targeting of whoever stays behind – to be deemed “legitimate military targets”. At a session of the Knesset Foreign Affairs Defence Committee in September, Eiland reportedly said: “What matters to [Hamas leader Yahya] Sinwar is land and dignity, and with this manoeuvre, you take away both land and dignity.”
It is likely Netanyahu hopes the plan could provide him with an opportunity to declare “victory” to save face in front of the Israeli public, given that a year into the war, his government has still not achieved its objectives of “destroying Hamas”. However, it is doubtful Israel will have the military capacity and political space to carry out Eiland’s proposal in full...
Northern Gaza is also close to key Israeli locations, such as the port of Ashkelon, which lies just 10km (6 miles) from Gaza’s border. A significant portion of Israel’s southern population resides in the Ashkelon-Ashdod area. Control over the northern Gaza coast could also ensure greater security for Israel’s south and for its gas drilling infrastructure and possibly help the illegal appropriation of the Gaza Marine gas field.
The “General’s Plan” involves ramping up all of these activities to fully force Palestinians out of northern Gaza. Once the area is cleared of its inhabitants, the Israeli army would declare it a closed military zone, denying access to an estimated 400,000 Palestinians who remain in the north out of a pre-war population of 1.1 million. National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has repeatedly called for policies that would force Palestinians into “voluntary emigration” by creating unbearable living conditions.
This is feasible only if Israel achieves a decisive victory, which would require the destruction of the resistance groups. But developments over the past year have demonstrated that this is not a realistic outcome. Until international pressure mounts, the US changes its policy or there is an internal political event that sways Israeli public opinion, the Israeli government will likely continue to pursue the “General’s Plan” without officially acknowledging its intentions. The expulsion of Palestinians from northern Gaza will be presented as a military achievement to the Israeli public, while questions about its sustainability in the long run will likely be left unanswered.
Samer Jaber@Al Jazeera
The plan was put forward by retired General Giora Eiland and calls for the expulsion of Palestinians from the area and the forced starvation and targeting of whoever stays behind – to be deemed “legitimate military targets”. At a session of the Knesset Foreign Affairs Defence Committee in September, Eiland reportedly said: “What matters to [Hamas leader Yahya] Sinwar is land and dignity, and with this manoeuvre, you take away both land and dignity.”
It is likely Netanyahu hopes the plan could provide him with an opportunity to declare “victory” to save face in front of the Israeli public, given that a year into the war, his government has still not achieved its objectives of “destroying Hamas”. However, it is doubtful Israel will have the military capacity and political space to carry out Eiland’s proposal in full...
Northern Gaza is also close to key Israeli locations, such as the port of Ashkelon, which lies just 10km (6 miles) from Gaza’s border. A significant portion of Israel’s southern population resides in the Ashkelon-Ashdod area. Control over the northern Gaza coast could also ensure greater security for Israel’s south and for its gas drilling infrastructure and possibly help the illegal appropriation of the Gaza Marine gas field.
The “General’s Plan” involves ramping up all of these activities to fully force Palestinians out of northern Gaza. Once the area is cleared of its inhabitants, the Israeli army would declare it a closed military zone, denying access to an estimated 400,000 Palestinians who remain in the north out of a pre-war population of 1.1 million. National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has repeatedly called for policies that would force Palestinians into “voluntary emigration” by creating unbearable living conditions.
This is feasible only if Israel achieves a decisive victory, which would require the destruction of the resistance groups. But developments over the past year have demonstrated that this is not a realistic outcome. Until international pressure mounts, the US changes its policy or there is an internal political event that sways Israeli public opinion, the Israeli government will likely continue to pursue the “General’s Plan” without officially acknowledging its intentions. The expulsion of Palestinians from northern Gaza will be presented as a military achievement to the Israeli public, while questions about its sustainability in the long run will likely be left unanswered.
Samer Jaber@Al Jazeera
Well, the American Jewish Committee has this to say:
How is anti-zionism anti-semitic?
The belief that the Jews, alone among the people of the world, do not have a right to self-determination — or that the Jewish people’s religious and historical connection to Israel is invalid — is inherently bigoted. When Jews are verbally or physically harassed or Jewish institutions and houses of worship are vandalized in response to actions of the State of Israel, it is antisemitism. When criticisms of Israel use antisemitic ideas about Jewish power or greed, utilize Holocaust denial or inversion (i.e. claims that Israelis are the “new Nazis”), or dabble in age-old xenophobic suspicion of the Jewish religion, otherwise legitimate critiques cross the line into antisemitism. Calling for a Palestinian nation-state, while simultaneously advocating for an end to the Jewish nation-state is hypocritical at best, and potentially antisemitic.
Is all criticism of Israel anti-semitic?
No. The International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s Working Definition of Antisemitism (“the IHRA Definition”) — employed by governments around the world — explicitly notes that legitimate criticism of Israel is not antisemitism: “Criticism of Israel similar to that leveled against any other country cannot be regarded as antisemitic.” When anti-Zionists call for the end of the Jewish state, however, that is no longer criticism of policy, but rather antisemitism.
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Edit: comment removed as it was posted on the wrong thread
Last edited:
It is not the anti-Zionists opinion that makes it antiSemitic, it is the calling for the end of the Jewish state.
Similar calls for the end of Palestinian state, or the refusal to acknowledge the state, would be racist.
But Israel refuses to acknowledge the state of Palestine.
The refusal of Israel to acknowledge Palestine as a state is in defiance of a UN ruling:
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