Killing of Palestinian Children by Israel 1-10-2005

10, January 2005                Killing of Palestinian Children by Israel

The killing of seven young Palestinian children in a strawberry field by Israeli tank fire is the latest transgression by Israel. Predictably, there was no apology from the Israeli army and no condemnation by the US Administration in mortal fear of offending the strong Jewish lobby. Failure to censure Israel by our lawmakers and the White House, is stark evidence of a blatant partiality towards Israel that is a major obstacle to establishing peace in the Middle East. The much touted ‘road map’ has been a colossal failure. The slaughter of civilians, Israelis and Palestinians, must be vigorously condemned.

It is tragic that Israel, aided and abetted by military and economic aid supplied from the U.S., has coopted its great religion by its brutal occupation, theft of Palestinian land and resources. Land theft is a clear violation of Article 4 of the Geneva Convention. The savage brutality of the Israeli military has been documented by Israel’s leading civil rights group, ACRI. Palestinians have been driven from their homes and large swaths of land has been stolen to construct illegal settlements in defiance of international law and UN sanctions. Ethnic cleansing continues with the construction of Sharon’s apartheid wall which will further isolate Palestinians into smaller enclaves. House demolitions, arbitrary arrests, torture and assassinations, wanton destruction of crops and olive groves, curfews, are the order of the day. Chris Hedges, of the New York Times, reported on the ghoulish Israeli military practice of murdering Palestinian children for sport.

Genocide, “the systematic killing or program of action intended to destroy a whole nation or ethnic group”, seems to be an appropriate word to describe the actions of the Israeli military.

It is especially troublesome that any criticism of the brutal actions of Israel is interpreted as anti-Semitic. Those who attempt to silence the critics must accept responsibility for the increasing isolation of Israel and its pariah status in the international community.