Life in Occupied Palestine & the world at large
Source: GlobalResearch.ca, 13-2-2006
by Stephen Lendman
Try to imagine daily life under these conditions:
You live in limbo in a country occupied by a repressive foreign army and a system of institutionalized and codified racism. You have no recognized nation, no right of citizenship and no power over your own daily life. You live in a constant state of fear. The occupier imposes economic strangulation and collective punishment by restricting free movement; enclosing population centers; closing borders; barring most of your people from working inside "its country"; imposing regular curfews, roadblocks, checkpoints, electric fences and separation walls and continues to build new settlements in your Occupied Territories (on your land in your country) violating the Geneva Conventions prohibiting an occupier from settling its population on conquered land.
The occupier denies your people their basic human rights including those under the Fourth Geneva Convention which governs the treatment of civilians in war and under occupation. There are 149 articles of this Convention. The occupier violates almost all of them and in so doing is committing war crimes according to international law. The UN Human Rights Commission determined it`s also committing "crimes against humanity" against your people. This concept comes from the 1945 Nuremberg Charter drafted by the U.S. to try Nazi war criminals. The international notion of a "crime against humanity" was established to define what Hitler did to the Jews. The UNHRC ruled this is what the occupier is doing to your people, and that this act is the historical and legal precursor to the international crime of genocide as defined by the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.
The occupier also sends its troops, tanks and heavy armor into neighborhoods at will to maraud and destroy. It also strikes at will from the air with sophisticated missle-firing attack helicopters and F-16s and deliberately inflicts eardrum shattering and terrifying sonic booms. And it gives its military/security forces the right to freely harass, arrest or kill extra-judicially any of your people - man, woman or child on any pretext with impunity. It bulldozes homes and the people in them if they don`t escape in time (usually in middle of the night and without warning or notice) as punishment or for lacking a permit to build on their own land, in their own country or for any other reason. It steals land relentlessly hoping it will have it all one day or at least all the parts it wants. It detains, imprisons and tortures thousands of your people for the real or perceived crime of fighting for their freedom against an oppressive occupier.
To enact vengeance and to provide security for its illegal settlers in your Occupied Territories, it restricts or prevents access to essential and emergency health care, education, employment, the right to move goods and services from producer/suppliers to end users, and even enough food and water. It created a state of economic siege forcing up to nearly two-thirds of your people (according to the UN) below the poverty line of $2.20 a day (and half of those two-thirds on $1.60 a day or less) and over half the work force to be unemployed (the number varying with the intensity of the "Israeli" lockdown). It destroys your peoples` crops and orchards including more than 1 million olive trees. It imposes punitive taxes and provides few services or withholds them at will as collective punishment. You have no power to stop any of these abuses or receive any redress in the occupier`s courts. How can you as a Muslim in a racist Jewish state.
DEMONIZATION OF MUSLIMS AND ISLAM IN A TIME OF MANUFACTURED FEAR AND ANXIETY
It`s always been open season in "Israel" and the West to demonize Muslims and Islam with language like "fundamentalist extremists", "crazed Arabs", "Jihadists" and "terrorists." The late renown and redoubtable Palestinian - American scholar, humanist and activist Edward Said explained in his most influential book - Orientalism - that as early as the 14th century Muslims and Islam were demonized with pronounced vitriol in Dante`s most famous work - The Divine Comedy - and that his characterizations of Islam were common in much English literature that followed.
9/11 just gave it added impetus to become practically de regueur. The "extreme right" in "Israel" and the West used a heightened and hyped climate of fear to use an old and easy scapegoat to advance their extremist imperial agenda behind the easy cover of patriotism and protecting national security. It wasn`t hard to portray Muslims and Islam as intolerant, inferior, violent and anti-western, especially Muslims of color or from Arab countries.
Former "Israeli" leaders were just as intolerant, referring to Palestinians in the most degrading terms, such as - Prime Ministers Menahim Begin calling them "cockroaches" and "beasts walking on two legs", Ehud Barak calling them "crocodiles", and Golda Maier saying "There was no such thing as Palestinians, they never existed." Even "Israel`s" George Washington and first Prime Minister, David Ben Gurion, said after expelling the Palestinians from their homes and land by brute force in the 1948 war establishing the State of "Israel": "We must do everything to insure they (the Palestinians) never do return." He also said at that time: "We have come and we have stolen their country." He expressed the same sentiment a decade earlier in a letter to his son when he wrote: "We will expel the Arabs and take their places.....with the force at our disposal." He thought they`d get away with it and that Palestinians would never come back when he added: "The old will die and the young will forget." He was right (so far) on the first point and dead wrong on the second.
MUSLIM WITCH-HUNTING IN "ISRAEL" AND THE WEST
The current war against Muslims and Islam is now raging in the West. Witness a Muslim cleric in London, Abu Hamza al Masri, being sentenced to 7 years in prison for daring to speak out against Muslim persecution and being convicted of inciting (so-called) "terrorism". The U.S. also seeks his extradiction. Witness Mounir el Motassadeq`s conviction in Germany of supposedly belonging to the al Queda cell that plotted the 9/11 attack. He insisted he had no involvement even though he knew some of the hijackers - to no avail. What chance could he have for "due process" in a country whose new Chancellor compares Islam with the "rise of fascism." Witness the many Western countries that now have draconian immigration laws principally aimed at people of color and Muslims behind the facade of a fraudulent "war on terror" and supposed border protection. And witness the current furor and backlash from the "cartoons" published in Denmark and other countries portraying a blasphemous image of the Prophet Mohammed. Imagine the response in the West if a similar portrayal of Christ appeared in a Muslim publication.
These images in print are just another part of the propaganda war on Islam used to justify the real thing in Iraq and Afghanistan and maybe soon in Iran and Syria. Call this episode "cartoon war." It`s a glaring example of how the Western corporate media promote their governments` racist campaign to degrade Muslims, portray them as inferior, label them (so-called) "terrorists", hope to stir up violence to prove it, give cover to "Israeli" oppression, and sell wars.
"Israel" as well has a long history of demonizing Muslims. They likely wrote the modern book on it. And they use it to justify "removing" anyone considered a threat to their authority and dominance. Recent examples include regular targeted assassinations (and willingness to commit them in other countries including the U.S.) and the fraudulent conviction on trumped up charges of Marwan Barghouti, the Palestinian leader who was imprisoned for life by the "Israelis" for the crime of being an influential freedom fighter. Barghouti, however, is still alive. Most often "Israel" prefers a sentence of elimination or targeted assassination. It`s much simpler when they can say "case closed" forever. "Israel" does it all the time with impunity and no condemnation by the world community of nations for these continued cold-blooded murders.
Influential Muslims or even some of their key supporters or defenders seen as a threat to the West don`t fare much better outside "Israel". It`s never been easy for them, but since 9/11 the gloves have come off and the persecution has become fearsome and relentless. In the U.S., the number of those harassed, detained, imprisoned or deported runs into the thousands. No one outside the government knows exactly how many have been affected.
Three recent headline-making cases in the U.S. illustrate what`s so worrisome and disturbing. The most recent just concluded is the case of Dr. Rafil Dhafir, a Muslim American of Iraqi descent and practicing oncologist until his license was revoked. In a U.S. style "kangaroo court" type trial he was convicted of violating the Iraqi Sanctions Regulations (the IEEPA) because he used his own funds and what he was able to get from donors to bring desperately needed humanitarian aid, including food and medical supplies, to Iraqi people unable to get them because of the U.S./UN imposed punitive sanctions. He did it through his Help the Needy charity. For his saintly work he was charged and unbelievably convicted of such claimed offenses as violating the sanctions, tax fraud, money laundering, and mail and wire fraud - a total of 60 counts and found guilty on 59 of them. The verdict - 22 years in prison. Everyone should visit Katherine Hughes` website - dhafirtrial.net - for her account of the trial and outcome in her "must read" article "Crime of Compassion." Katherine suspended her personal life to sit through the entire 17 week trial, became an advocate for justice for Dr. Dhafir and wrote and spoke out about it. What happened to Dr. Dhafir, a blessed, giving man, is a threat to us all. Katherine explained that the verdict sends a clear message to the Muslim community and everyone else - "If we can get Rafil Dhafir, we can get anyone."
A second instance thankfully had a better outcome, at least for now. It`s the "terrorism" conspiracy case brought against Florida Professor Sami Al-Arian in which a jury exonerated him on the 8 most serious of 17 total counts against him and deadlocked on the other 9. The Justice Department trumped up the charges alleging Professor Al-Arian`s legitimate organizations that included the Islamic Committee for Palestine, World Islam Studies Enterprise, and Islamic Academy of Florida were fronts for Palestinian Islamic Jihad, an organization on the U.S so-called "terrorist" list. The real intent of the trial was to silence an important voice supporting justice for the beleaguered and oppressed Palestinian people. It`s not known whether the persecution of Professor Al-Arian has ended as the Justice Department witch-hunters don`t quit easily. It`s quite likely they`ll return new charges and put an innocent man through more misery and expense until they find a way either to convict, bankrupt or break him.
The third case is one I`ve followed since inception and have given my financial support to its victim. It`s the case of Lynne Stewart, a New York City criminal defense attorney with a long career of defending "unpopular" clients because she believes, as we all should, that they, like anyone else charged, are entitled to the right of "due process" and "their day in court." Lynne was asked by former U.S. Attorney General Ramsey Clark to serve as a member of the court-appointed defense team for Sheik Abdel Rahman, convicted and now serving a life sentence in connection with the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. Lynne was convicted in a gross miscarriage of justice for violating special administrative prison rules and providing material support to terrorists. In fact, she was convicted in the Justice Department`s assault on the Bill of Rights. The baseless charges brought against her stemmed from communications she had with and about her client, which she had every right to do to conduct a proper defense, but which were twisted and distorted in her indictment. She was convicted of defrauding the government, conspiracy, providing material support to terrorists and making false statements. She was also disbarred and now faces a long prison term - at her age, a life sentence unless it`s overturned in an upcoming appeal.
The lesson from these 3 cases is clear. Challenge state authority, in these cases in the U.S, even in the pursuit of bringing humanitarian aid to the desperately needy, speaking up publicly on their behalf, or aiding them in their pursuit of justice, and you risk being the victim of ruthless and relentless police state type persecution to put you in prison for a long time. Even if they fail to do it, they can break you financially and ruin your life. That`s how the system works. Understand it and be prepared.
HOW THE "ISRAELIS" CONTROL THE PALESTINIAN POLITICAL PROCESS
Until the election of Hamas in January, 2006, "Israel" coopted the ruling corrupted Fatah party. It managed to control (rig) the electoral process (when they allowed it) to insure its preferred candidates won who then would serve their "Israeli" bosses as a quisling or proxy government to hold in check or even oppress their own people while ignoring their needs. It hid all this behind the facade of a democratic process that prevented any candidate from running for a leadership position who might put the needs of the Palestinian people ahead of those of "Israelis". It`s made daily life almost impossible and created overwhelming hardships and human misery. And it concealed it all with the help and complicity of the world community of nations (principally those in the so-called "Quartet" - the US, EU, UN and Russia) and the duplicitous facade of a sham "peace process" that never was and never will be as things now stand. After repeated failures, there`s always a new incarnation - the current one is called the "Road Map" (to nowhere).
Instead of being given any rights and humane treatment, Palestinians are portrayed as terrorists, militants and gunmen preying on the "Israeli" people. What they are, in fact, are victims and freedom-fighters. And no amount of "Israeli" concocted myth and deceit will ever change that or justify the egregious and endless crimes they commit against a near-defenseless civilian population. It matches a powerful "Israeli" Defense* Forces (IDF) equipped with the most sophisticated high tech weapons including nuclear ones against a lightly armed civilian population unable to defend itself. It unleashes that force at will brutally on the slightest pretext and has made life unbearable for a population some human rights observers call the most oppressed and longest suffering people on earth. There`s no dispute that the Palestinians are the largest and longest suffering refugee population in the world with nearly 4 million of them registered as refugees by UNRWA - the UN Relief and Work Agency responsible for them.
The web site If Americans Knew publishes and keeps current what it says "every American needs to know about "Israel"/Palestine." It calls the conflict "one of the world`s major sources of instability" and one Americans are directly connected to and imperiled by. The current statistics on its site cover the period between September 29, 2000 and February 2, 2006. They`re listed below:
--Number of "Israeli" (settlers`) children killed - 123, Number of Palestinian children killed - 707
--Total number of "Israelis" killed - 1084, Total number of Palestinians killed - 3790
--Number of "Israelis" injured - 7,633, Number of Palestinians injured - 29,395
--To the above totals add that in the 2 weeks up to February 10, 2006, "Israeli" security forces killed 15 more Palestinians and injured dozens more including 12 children. And more Palestinians are killed and injured nearly every day, including women, children and the elderly.
--Daily U.S. aid to "Israel" in dollars - $15,139,178 Daily U.S. aid to Palestinian NGOs in dollars - $232,290
--Number of UN resolutions targeting "Israel" - 65 Number of UN resolutions targeting the Palestinians - 0
--Number of "Israelis" held prisoner by the Palestinians - 0 Number of Palestinians held prisoner by the "Israelis" - 9,184
--Number of "Israeli" homes demolished by the Palestinians - 0 Number of Palestinian homes demolished by the "Israelis" - 4,170
--The current "Israeli" unemployment rate is - 8.9% The current estimated Palestinian unemployment rate - estimates vary and range up to 67% and at times even higher.
--Number of new "Israeli" settlements (for Jews only) built between March 2001 and July 11, 2003 on stolen Palestinian land - 60+ No Palestinian settlement has ever been built on stolen "Israeli" land (even though it`s land "Israel" stole from the Palestinians)
How did it get this way, and how can the Palestinians change it?
* This term is absolutely unacceptable. ""Israel`s"" Army is that of war and aggression for it protects land gained by force, confiscation and war in contradiction with the simplest human rights confessed by international laws and conventions.
