You know the drill by now: an escalation occurs in the Gaza Strip that is automatically blamed on Palestinian fighters. The New York Times does it, as the Electronic Intifada’s Maureen Murphy points out, and now the Washington Post prints a story with a similar narrative.
Here’s how the Post reports on how the bombardment in Gaza started:
The latest round of fighting began Saturday, when militants from a non-Hamas faction fired an antitank missile at an Israeli jeep traveling along the Israel-Gaza border, injuring four Israeli soldiers. Israel responded with shelling and firing that Gaza medical officials said killed at least four people, including two children, and wounded about two dozen others. Militants then fired about 130 rockets and mortar rounds at population centers of southern Israel over several days. After mediation from Egypt, the flare-up appeared to have waned by Tuesday.
But that’s now how “the latest round of fighting began.” The Institute for Middle East Understanding published an excellent timeline that shows how the fighting actually began:
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 8
Following a two-week lull in violence, Israeli soldiers invade Gaza. In the resulting exchange of gunfire with Palestinian fighters, a 12-year-old boy is killed by an Israeli bullet while he plays soccer.
Shortly afterwards, Palestinian fighters blow up a tunnel along the Gaza-Israel frontier, injuring one Israeli soldier.
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 10
An anti-tank missile fired by Palestinian fighters wounds four Israeli soldiers driving in a jeep along the Israel-Gaza boundary.
An Israeli artillery shell lands in a soccer field in Gaza killing two children, aged 16 and 17. Later, an Israeli tank fires a shell at a tent where mourners are gathered for a funeral, killing two more civilians, and wounding more than two dozen others.
As you can see, the escalation began when Israel killed a 12-year-old boy. The rockets and missiles fired in response were what the Gaza-based militant group Popular Resistance Committees called a “revenge invoice.”
The US cable TV news channels’ briefs are all singing the tune Israel was merely reacting to Palestinian assaults.
Who cares? The thing is POWERED (no, not by AA batteries, but) by the Siege (2006 – present) and the occupation (1967 – present) and the permanent exile of most Palestinians now living in Gaza from pre-1967 Israeli-controlled territory (1948 – present). EACH of these events was (or was started by) a voluntary (non-coerced) Israeli (or pre-Israeli) action.
The recent murders, assassinations, blah and rocket fire too, are mere details.
Furthermore, Israel as the strong power could exercise forbearance by ignoring the occasional and usually non-lethal rocket fire from Gaza. But no, instead of forbearance, Isrfael actually starts these things.
Isrfael ? Leave the typo. Phooi.
If Americans knew..
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/nov/15/israel-gaza-militants-deadly-exchanges-live?commentpage=last#end-of-comments
“The White House spokesman Jay Carney has condemned the rocket fire from Gaza, saying there is “no justification” for Hamas’s violence. He called on those responsible to stop the “cowardly acts” immediately.
Carney said Hamas claimed to have the best interests of the Palestinians at heart, but its use of violence was counterproductive to the Palestianian cause, the Associated Press reports.”
“No justification” is über chutzpah. What if Hamas said Palestine was the greatest nation in history (copyright M romney) ? Doesn’t that justify everything ?
And where is the court for Palestinians in Gaza who are killed by Israel?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NTaPGAvEdF0
as for “not in the best interests of Palestinians”, neither is listening to White House mouthpieces
• https://mondoweiss.mystagingwebsite.com/2012/03/sen-cardin-tells-how-he-and-hillary-clinton-muscled-foreign-ambassadors-to-block-anti-american-palestinian-statehood.html/comment-page-1#comment-437841
Sen. Cardin tells how he and Hillary Clinton muscled foreign ambassadors to block ‘anti-American’ Palestinian statehood
http://www.interventionism.info/en/What-s-sauce-for-the-goose-…
QUESTION: So the next time Human Rights Watch comes out with a report that’s critical of Israel for its treatment of the Palestinians, I’ll assume that you’re going to be saying the same thing, correct; that you think that the report is credible, it’s based on eyewitness accounts?
MS. NULAND: As —
QUESTION: And you’re not going to say that it’s politically motivated and should be dismissed?
MS. NULAND: Matt, as you have made clear again and again in this room, we are not always consistent.
Goyal.
QUESTION: So, in other words, anything that Human Rights Watch says that is critical of someone you don’t like, that’s okay; but once they criticize someone that you do like, then it’s not worth the paper it’s printed on?
MS. NULAND: Matt, I’m not going to get into colloquy on this one.
Alex thanks so much for linking this timeline. I need them. As has often been the case over the decades U.S. MSM print news and anything that gets reported about I/P conflicts on MSM TV the report is always yes always starts with the Palestinians attacking first. They ALWAYS skip over Israeli generally purposeful provocations. Folks should link this timeline everywhere they can. Call into news outlets, national radio show, CSpans Washington Journal. Ask them why they are not covering this issue and if they are why they are not covering it accurately.
Link everywhere you can.
Thanks again Alex
Oh yeah on NPR’s Diane Rehm show this morning not a whisper about this escalation. A show about airline pilots in the first hour which is generally focused on national or international politics. Rehm has never done a show completely focused on ever expanding Israeli illegal settlements or illegal housing in E Jerusalem. She used to be much braver. That last several years she seems to be losing her commitment to focusing on tough issues that may stir up the I lobby here in this country. Maybe her show started being targeted..phone calls, funding threatened. Something is up over there
After the two week lull and Israel’s first invasion into Gaza who might this “non Hamas faction” who responded to Israel successful attempt to incite a riot?
Alex what do you know about the Institute for Middle East Understanding? One thing that always gets me is how Israel has through the U.S. always vetoed (I believe 5 times) having UN International observers sent into the conflict particularly along the borders. Israel does not want outside witnesses observing their purposeful antagonism. Wonder if there is a second group who has verified the first actions of the Israeli’s in this most recent conflict?