On Saturday December, 26th, Israel once again unleashed a wave of violence against the Palestinians, this time conducting aerial bombings of the Gaza Strip. In what is being called the bloodiest day in the Gaza since the 1967 war, Amerikan-made F-16s rained down over 100 tons of bombs on an area of only 139 sq. miles, killing over 227 and injuring over 700. This day will forever be remembered as another stark example of the violent and oppressive legacy of U.S. imperialism and it lackey settler-state, Israel.
Like Amerika, Israel is founded on land stolen from an indigenous population. Today, the Palestinian territory is a small fraction of its original size, existing in walled ghettos and two main spatially separated tracts: the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. In the context of this historical situation, these continued attacks on the Palestinian people can be viewed as nothing less than an act of protracted genocide.
Palestinians for their part have resisted. In 2006 the Palestinian people by a landslide elected the Hamas movement to Parliament. Supported by the U.S. and Israel, the ruling Fatah Party launched a coup, throwing the Palestine into a brief civil war. From the fighting, Fatah regained control of the West Bank and Hamas
consolidated their rule in Gaza. Since then, the U.S. and Israel have enforced a tight embargo upon Gaza, inducing food and energy shortages which some have called a humanitarian crisis.
This most recent attack was clearly directed towards the Hamas led government in the Gaza Strip. Police stations, civil administration buildings and official military outposts were targeted for aerial bombings. Of the killed, many were functionaries of the state: police, military, bureaucrats and local officials. The real intentions of these attacks are obvious: to cripple Gaza society even further.
Israel claims that its latest actions are aimed at stopping “rocket attacks.” The attacks referred to are mortars and small projectiles shot by small handfuls of mobile combatants. Usually fired from between half a mile and a mile away, Palestinians resisting genocide aim high towards a settlement, often hitting
nothing. Rarely, such acts of resistance kill Israeli citizen non-combatants.
Beyond philosophical questions of ‘parities’ of violence between Israelis and Palestinians, there is the question of survival. For Palestinians, every settlement represents an outpost of invasion. Like the Amerikan invasion of North America before it, the indigenous Palestinian faces the real possibility of being completely annihilated by Israel. With meager means and an even more desperate situation, ‘indiscriminate’ mortar attacks and even suicide bombings become viable options in fighting for survival. Those who support Palestine’s right to exist must also support their right to resist the ensuing Israeli invasion. RAIM-Denver can be counted amongst this
group.
Like the genocide of indigenous North Americans, crude acts of resistance are used to build public opinion for further aggression. The same is happening today in Gaza. While it is hard to say exactly how many in the Israel and the West actually support this latest aggression towards Palestinians, it is obvious that their is very little solidarity with the Palestinian victims. This should be lesson to the oppressed masses of the world: the First World does not care if you die.
RAIM-Denver joins the international chorus of outrage at this latest attack and mourning for those who lost their lives. Our sincerest condolences go out to the loved ones of those who died in this latest act of U.S.-supported Israeli aggression. We cannot imagine the pain you’ve been made to endure. Moreover, we look forward to the day when you live free, safe from aggression and oppression and in equal standing with the world community.
Down with U.S. Imperialism
Down with Zionism
Defend the Palestinian People’s Right to Self Determination
1 comment:
you are doing a great job.may allah bless you.
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