Monday, July 14, 2014 Tammuz 16, 5774
Israel's real purpose in Gaza operation? To kill Arabs
Since the first Lebanon war over 30 years ago, Israel's main strategy has been killing Arabs. The current atrocious war in Gaza is no different.
By Gideon Levy
The
goal of Operation Protective Edge is to restore the calm; the means:
killing civilians. The slogan of the Mafia has become official
Israeli policy. Israel sincerely believes that if it kills hundreds
of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, quiet will reign. It is pointless
to destroy the weapons stores of Hamas, which has already proved
capable of rearmament. Bringing down the Hamas government is an
unrealistic (and illegitimate) goal, one that Israel does not want:
It is aware that the alternative could be much worse. That leaves
only one possible purpose for the military operation: death to Arabs,
accompanied by the cheering of the masses.
The
Israel Defense Forces already has a “map
of pain,”
a diabolical invention that has replaced the no less diabolical “bank
of targets,” and that map is spreading at a sickening pace. Watch
Al Jazeera English, a balanced and professional television channel
(unlike its Arabic sister station), and see the extent of its
success. You won’t see it in Israel’s “open” broadcast
studios, which as usual are only open to the Israeli victim, but on
Al Jazeera you will see the whole truth, and perhaps you will even be
shocked.
The
bodies in Gaza are piling up, the desperate, constantly updated
tabulation of mass killing that Israel boasts of, which already
numbers dozens of civilians, including 24 children as of noon on
Saturday; hundreds of people injured, in addition to horror and
destruction. One school and one hospital have already been bombed.
The aim is to strike homes, and no amount of justification can help:
It’s a war crime, even if the IDF calls them “command-and-control
centers” or “conference rooms.” Granted, there are strikes that
are much more brutal than Israel’s, but in this war, which is
nothing other than mutual attacks on civilians — the elephant
against the fly — there aren’t even any refugees. In contrast to
Syria and Iraq, in the Gaza Strip the inhabitants do not have the
luxury of fleeing for their lives. In a cage, there’s nowhere to
run.
Since the first Lebanon war, more than 30 years ago, the killing of Arabs has become Israel’s primary strategic instrument. The IDF doesn’t wage war against armies, and its main target is civilian populations. Arabs are born only to kill and to be killed, as everyone knows. They have no other goal in life, and Israel kills them.
One
must, of course, be outraged by the modus operandi of Hamas: Not only
does it aim its rockets at civilian population centers in Israel, not
only does it position itself within population centers — it may not
have an alternative, given the crowded conditions in the Strip —
but it also leaves the Gazan civilian population vulnerable to
Israel’s brutal attacks, without seeing to a single siren, shelter
or protected space. That is criminal. But the barrages of the Israel
Air Force are no less criminal, on account of both the result and the
intent: There isn’t a single residential building in the Gaza Strip
that is not home to dozens of women and children; the IDF cannot,
therefore, claim that it does not mean to hurt innocent civilians. If
the recent demolition of the home of a terrorist in the West Bank
still stirred a weak protest, now dozens of homes are being
destroyed, together with their occupants.
Retired
generals and commentators on active duty compete to make the most
monstrous proposal: “If we kill their families, that will frighten
them,” explained Maj.Gen. (res.) Oren Shachor, without batting an
eyelid. “We must create a situation such that when they come out of
their burrows, they won’t recognize Gaza,” others said.
Shamelessly, without question — until the next Goldstone
investigation.
A
war with no goal is among the most despicable of wars; the deliberate
targeting of civilians is among the most atrocious of means. Terror
now reigns in Israel as well, but it’s unlikely there is a single
Israeli who can imagine what it’s like for Gaza’s 1.8 million
inhabitants, whose already miserable lives are now totally horrific.
The Gaza Strip is not a “hornet’s nest,” it is a province of
human desperation. Hamas is not an army, far from it, despite all the
fear tactics: If it really did build such a sophisticated network of
tunnels there, as is claimed, then why doesn’t it build Tel Aviv’s
light rail network, already?
The
1,000-sortie and 1,000 tons of explosives marks have almost been
reached, and Israel is waiting for the “victory picture” that has
already been achieved: Death to Arabs.
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