by Geri Procaccini
There have been notions, primarily by zionists but also by others, that what is happening in Gaza is not a genocide; that what’s happening is a reasonable response to the 10/7/23 attack on Israel.
The article recently published in the Vermont Daily Chronicle by Peter Fernandez is nothing more than an exercise in linguistics. Call it what you want, there is no question about the horror being orchestrated on the Palestinian people not only for the past two years, but for the past 70 years. The October 7th attack was simply an excuse for the Israeli government to escalate and “warp speed” the takeover of what is left of Palestinian land.
History is key when trying to understand this decades-long conflict. The Balfour declaration- the agreement made between Arthur Balfour, a British foreign secretary, and Lord Rothschild, the zionist leader of the British Jewish community – has been brought up a lot in the past year. It bestowed upon that community the right to establish a Jewish homeland in Palestine. What’s extraordinary about this declaration is that a third party country gave rights of ownership to a country it didn’t own – or have any legal right to – to another party who also had no right to the land being given away.
As disrespectful of the owners of this land as the Balfour declaration was, it did include this statement: “being clearly understood that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine”. Notwithstanding the fact that the basic premise of the declaration is a civil rights violation, whatever protection this phrase afforded the Palestinians was ignored.
A greater conundrum comes into play a year prior to the issuance of the Balfour declaration, when the Sykes-Picot agreement was formulated in 1916. During the First World War, the Ottoman Empire (rulers of the Middle East) was being weakened. The British recruited Arabs in the region to fight against the Ottomans in exchange for Arab independence. Oops, the zionists have forgotten about that…
The Hussein-McMahom agreement of 1916 gave Arabs sovereignty, while under the table and behind closed doors the Sykes-Picot agreement was being created. It divided the Arab world into spheres of control by European interests, mainly France and Britain. Palestine was mandated to both. Granted there are many more details and nuances to this story, but the fact is that the Arabs got screwed by the imperialists after fighting their war for them.
Israel acts with impunity, destroying schools, hospitals, mosques, leveling entire neighborhoods, without evidence that Hamas is hiding in these facilities. We are expected to take the Israeli government’s word and not question. When we do ask for an investigation of some heinous act that has been committed against Gazan civilians, their response? “We investigated and there was no evidence”. That’s like calling the uni-bomber, telling him we have evidence that he planted the bombs, and we are requiring him to investigate himself and let us know what he finds out.
Not that any of that really matters. There is no justification for the crimes against humanity and the horrific slaughter of innocent people including babies that Israel has been orchestrating. These crimes have been proven over and over through video and audio documentation by journalists (many who have gotten killed for their reporting), civilians, and medical personnel. There is video evidence of people being shot by Israeli and mercenary snipers as they trek many miles to aid stations (at this point there are only 4 for the entire region) to pick up food for themselves and their starving families.
Israeli officials are on record making genocidal statements permitting, authorizing and encouraging Israeli military forces to commit genocidal acts, assured that there would be no retribution.
A report from Doctors Without Borders stated, when asked about the Gaza “Humanitarian” Aid organization providing food to starving Gazans: “This is not aid. this is orchestrated killing.”
Over 200 journalists have been killed in Gaza since October 7, 2023. The International Federation of Journalists has condemned the attacks.
Although there is no evidence – as of yet, for some reason, there seems to be no investigation – it is justifiably questionable how Hamas was able to break through the most highly secured border on the planet, guarded by one of the most highly trained and technologically equipped militaries on the planet, and wreak havoc for hours without being stopped.
The big question here: Who had the most to gain from this attack? There is a shocking 38-page document, published in the Washington Post, that outlines exactly what the plan by Israel/US was and still is for Gaza, including the removal of the entire population of Palestinians; and constructing the “Trump Gaza Riviera”.
There is no question, for anyone who wants to consider the reality of what is happening in Gaza, that this is a slaughter of humanity on a scale that competes with the holocaust. Never again is here.
The author is a Waitsfield resident.