Thanks for the Warnings, Israel
I have been in Gaza for five days now, and I am having difficulty understanding the eight-day war and the subsequent ceasefire. Let me explain the difficulty I am having. The Israeli Offensive Forces insist they protect civilians in Gaza, only targeting terrorists. They have several methods to protect innocent civilians. One method is to call the civilians on the phone; another method is to drop leaflets telling them to flee for their lives, as an attack is imminent. During the latest offensive, Israeli dropped leaflets in the rural areas telling people to flee to the city. In Gaza City, leaflets were dropped warning people to flee to the rural areas. A new, ingenious method they use to protect civilians is to drop “loud, non-lethal bombs” on a home as a warning for the inhabitants as to what will come. They even have a name for this warning. They call it “roof tapping.” Then anywhere from three minutes to 20 minutes pass before they bomb the house from F-16s. These bombs are very large and very lethal. The homes I have seen today have been completely flattened, and the houses around the target are also rendered uninhabitable.
The “non-lethal bombs” penetrate rooftops and can travel through four stories. Children or other civilians sitting under these bombs lose limbs, suffer head trauma, shrapnel wounds, and other injuries. The idea behind these warnings is that inhabitants will flee their homes once they are warned. If elders, small children, newborns, or disabled people are in the home, this can be a difficult endeavor. If a child suffers an amputation, fleeing will take a little more precious time. But let’s ignore these complications, as they just muddy the waters. I am amazed at the generosity of the Israeli occupiers. You see, they are the “most moral army in the world”; everyone knows this. The generals and politicians have been saying this for decades!
But this is my consternation. If you are so bent on protecting civilians and killing “terrorists,” why warn civilians to leave? Do they think the terrorists, who everyone knows hide behind civilians, will remain behind after the warning?
An even more confounding question remains. Why flatten an empty home?
After the most recent ceasefire agreement, it was stated that farmers would be able to reach their lands in the buffer zone that Israel established after it so generously abandoned its illegal settlements in Gaza. The farmers were thrilled that they would be able to farm on the 300-meter swath of land known as the buffer zone — better known here in Gaza as the no-go zone, because if they dared try to access this land they were immediately targeted by Israeli snipers, but I digress.
On Wednesday we accompanied farmers to the buffer zone in Johr el Deek. It was amazing! We walked right up to the razor wire barrier! We watched as two Israeli jeeps approached the fence. I was smiling as they got out of their jeeps, but my smile was erased as they lifted their weapons and fired toward us. Of course, they didn’t shoot us; the ceasefire was in effect for an entire week! I was confused, though, as they lobbed tear gas canisters at us and continued firing over our heads as we retreated. Perhaps the soldiers were as confused as I was about the details of the agreement. After all, unfettered access to the land is a little vague. Perhaps the farmers misunderstood.
The fishermen faced a similar dilemma. After the ceasefire was announced, the fishermen were told that Israel, in its magnanimity, would allow the fishermen to fish in Gazan waters up to six nautical miles from the shore. This was double (yes, double!) the limit that has been in effect for the past six years. The fishermen were happy. They would have an opportunity to provide for their families. Never mind that the Oslo Accords stated fishermen would have access to 20 nautical miles of the sea. That was way back in 1993. Who could expect agreements so old to be respected now?
The fishermen I spoke with said they had access to the six-mile limit for two whole days. Two days of fishing without risking their lives to feed their kids! It was great. So I was astonished to learn that on Wednesday, exactly one week after the ceasefire agreement, numerous fishing boats in waters from three nautical miles to six nautical miles came under heavy attack by the Israeli navy. One boat was sunk, three boats had their engines destroyed by gunfire, one trawler was confiscated, and nine fishermen were arrested. Of course, the Israeli officers made sure the fishermen stripped and jumped into the sea before they sank the boat. They were safely in custody on the Israeli gunboat before the Israeli navy blasted the fishing boat to smithereens.
The fishermen received no warnings. Of course, everyone realizes that cellphones don’t work so far from shore, and dropping leaflets would be impractical as most of the leaflets would fall into the water. And even I know that “roof tapping” at sea would be way too dangerous, as the possibility of harming the civilian fishermen would be high.
The best approach is to simply start firing from hundreds of meters away as the gunboats accelerate toward the fishing trawlers. This gives the fishermen at least three minutes to pull up their nets and escape back to port. I am not certain what changed on the third day for these fishermen, but few fish were caught.
We also visited the homes of two children who were killed. One was 15-year-old Hassan Jamal Nasser. The other child was 9-year-old Fares al-Basyouni. Both were killed in their homes as they slept.
Shrapnel that penetrated the wall decapitated Fares. His father described the horrific scene. “We didn’t hear the bombs. We woke to the sound of windows shattering and the house shaking. The house was full of smoke. My daughters and sons were screaming as I moved from room to room to find them.” Fares’s lifeless torso landed on top of Fares’s 14-year-old brother, who ran screaming from the house into the night.
I thought this was impossible. Didn’t they receive the warnings? Hassan’s cousin Mohammed confirmed that leaflets fell from the sky 20 minutes after the attack. So, you see, they were warned.
One thing is certain. Israel has a right to defend itself. President Obama said, “There’s no country on Earth that would tolerate missiles raining down on its citizens from outside its borders.” I agree with this wholeheartedly; who can deny it? I also understand that Israel has to teach its enemies a lesson from time to time, and I imagine the sooner the better. They certainly don’t want the people of Gaza to imagine what it must be like to be free, as this would only encourage the terrorists.
So you see my dilemma. What I read in the corporate media and what I hear from my government and Israeli politicians doesn’t quite square with the eyewitness accounts on the ground. Maybe the IOF can drop some leaflets and set me straight.
MoT
December 3rd, 2012 at 12:22 am
Don't worry, Johnny. Those gracious Israelis will give you a love "tap" on the roof before setting you straight. That's how generous they are. And hardly a peep here in American Idol Land. Where dancing nincompoops and TMZ are far more important than having the truth. Alas, when the day comes and the same thing happens here then you'll hear the wailing from coast to coast. But who'll be listening then?
Augustbrhm
December 3rd, 2012 at 2:33 am
The zionist with yankee taxpayers money have been murdering/destroying/starving Palestinians since their inception in 1949.
camus10
December 3rd, 2012 at 4:02 am
us arms used for civilian genocide while the mainstream press blames the victims
what deters palestinians for bringing their grievances to us courts
NowMoreThanEver
December 3rd, 2012 at 4:22 am
… and this just in at another commentary on this site:
"The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers plans to supervise construction of a five-story underground facility for an Israel Defense Forces complex, oddly named “Site 911,” at an Israeli Air Force base near Tel Aviv."
ODDLY NAMED?!?! Is that all they have to say about this choice of names? I think the Israeli establishment must be the most hubristic people in existence. It's almost enough to turn me into a conspiracy theorist.
notinmyname
December 3rd, 2012 at 4:56 am
It is clear that the only that Israeli policy is to occupy all the Palestinian lands well as the Palestinian land they call "Israel". The only thing that stopped them, I believe, is that Hamas would have inflicted casualties on them in a ground war, and it wouldn't have looked good on the world stage. But they can't help being cynical and twisted barbarians.
RyanSmurfy
December 3rd, 2012 at 5:16 am
Now we see why Netanyahu and his moneybag men plumped so hard for Romney.
musings
December 3rd, 2012 at 6:06 am
It seems very easy to explain this situation: Israel needs the leaflets for cover so that it can "prove" how morally it fights. The people meant to read the leaflets are not the intended victims of the bombs, but the world press, the talking points cobblers and other specialists in propaganda. The leaflets give them something, hard proof to show the world, that their own governments are not backing genocidal maniacs.
musings
December 3rd, 2012 at 6:08 am
The name, site 911, is not odd at all.
musings
December 3rd, 2012 at 6:11 am
The media is not catering to nincompoops, it is deliberately creating them. We're already in the Hunger Games, and the freaky hosts and colored light distractions have been spinning in our heads for a long time. Do you think the public would be happier with real jobs rather than to have them go overseas while a few people win obscene amounts of money in the lottery? Of course. But that isn't what is on the agenda, is it?
richard vajs
December 3rd, 2012 at 6:26 am
Israel is a sick country – their low handed tactics remind of the old antics in pre-integration Mississippi where I lived in for a short period. The old joke (?) that white people used to tell and enjoy thoroughly was this scenario – a black man tries to register to vote, and as usual he is made to pass a "literacy" test. First he is asked to write his name with a ball point pen on a sheet of wax paper and then he is handed a Chinese newspaper and asked to read the headline – the tale ends in a big laugh when the victim announces that, to him, the headline reads, "N—–r, you ain't voting today!".
The same cruelty, the same inhumanity, the same nastiness. And, surely, some sweet day, the same come-uppance. Of course, Segragrationist Mississippi didn't have nukes. Why does any civilized person support Israel today?
The Children Of Palestine Israel Has Attacked And Injured And Killed And Hurt! - Page 19 - US Message Board - Political Discussion Forum
December 3rd, 2012 at 12:14 pm
[...] that leaflets fell from the sky 20 minutes after the attack. So, you see, they were warned. Thanks for the Warnings, Israel by Johnny Barber — Antiwar.com [...]
Smithboy
December 3rd, 2012 at 2:42 pm
Israel is currently building new settlements they agreed not to build. The world is outraged but Israel shrugs its shoulders and says…What are you gonna do about it? What an ally.
rosemerry
December 3rd, 2012 at 2:56 pm
What is astounding is that the USA, Canada and lots of apparently normal, rational people in other western lands will keep pretending Israel is worth supporting despite every bit of evidence showing nothing but cruelty, disdain for anyone not "chosen", lies, disregard for any of these murders, lack of any compassion. This is an ally? Even lovers of Israel should realise this makes people hate them much more. Why can the Palestinians not be allowed freedom?Israel wants all Jews to be free in all the lands they live in, but stops any freedom for the real owners of Palestine.
robert emmet
December 3rd, 2012 at 4:01 pm
Israel is a European problem brazenly imposed on an indigenous people, the Palestinians.
Rich
December 3rd, 2012 at 7:34 pm
If what this gentleman is writing is true, then the Israelis are guilty of war crimes and should immediately be sanctioned. If this is true, I don't understand why it is not being written about anywhere else in the media. If this is true, I think world opinion will have to change.
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December 4th, 2012 at 5:19 am
[...] Johnny Barber: Thanks for the Warnings, Israel [...]
#PALESTINE NEWS | Dec 3, 2012 | Occupied Palestine | فلسطين
December 4th, 2012 at 11:32 pm
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