Trigger-Happy Israelis: Profile of State-Sponsored Terrorism

by Stephen Lendman

A previous article discussed Amnesty International's (AI) report titled "Trigger-Happy: Israel's Use of Excessive Force in the West Bank." It begins saying:

"Out of nowhere many soldiers jumped out and ambushed Samir. They shot him first in the leg, yet he managed to run away towards the village."

"But how far can an injured child run? Twenty, maybe 30, metres? They could have easily arrested him, especially when he was injured, but instead they shot him in the back with live ammunition."

"To me, this is premeditated murder." Killing 16-year old Samir was no random incident. Israel's entire history reflects endless bloodshed. Crimes of war, against humanity and genocide.

Ongoing for decades. Trigger-happy and then some. The latest incident involves Italian solidarity activist Prodo Corsi.

Critically wounded by Israeli gunfire. During a nonviolent Kafr Qaddum protest march. According to Palestinian Health Minister Jawad Awwad:

"(S)hooting live fire at the upper part of the bodies of protesters is directly targeting them and is a deliberate attempt at murder."

"Israel does not differentiate between foreign solidarity activists, Palestinians, or even journalists."

Foreign parliamentarians may be next. Anyone showing solidarity with beleaguered Palestinians is vulnerable.

Multiple incidents of Israeli violence occur throughout Occupied Palestine daily. A snapshot of monthly 2014 incidents include:

In January, Israeli forces killed six Palestinians. Including five civilians. Four in the West Bank. Two in Gaza.

Another 219 Palestinians were injured. All but three were civilians. Including 43 children.

Settlers launched 29 attacks. Injuring eight Palestinians. Uprooting around 1,000 trees. Vandalizing 18 vehicles.

IDF soldiers targeted children multiple times. Attacking them with tear gas, rubber-coated steel bullets, stun grenades and occasional live fire.

Over 100 Palestinian West Bank structures were demolished. Over 400 community incursions were conducted.

Nearly 500 Palestinians were arrested. Without just cause. Late January Gazan air strikes killed about 1,200 heads of livestock.

Including 150 cattle. 400 rabbits. 600 pigeons. 60 hens. Damaging five homes. 2 schools. An educational center. An office.

In February, Israeli forces killed three Palestinian civilians. Over 220 were injured. All but three civilians. Including 53 children.

Settlers launched 23 attacks. Injuring six Palestinians. Vandalizing property. Destroying crops.

In January and  February, Israel conducted 23 airstrikes on Gaza. More than throughout 2013. Killing five civilians. One alleged militant.

Injuring dozens more. Including women and children. Israeli forces demolished 17 Palestinian structures. Nine in Jerusalem.

Conducted nearly 240 community incursions. Arresting around 300 Palestinians.

In March, Israeli forces killed 11 Palestinians. Another 236 were wounded. All but two were civilians. Including 68 civilians. An explosion injured 11 Gazans.

Settlers injured nine Palestinians. Vandalized 24 Palestinian properties.

In April, israeli security forces injured 284 Palestinians. All but three were civilians. 92 were children. Scores of Palestinian children were arrested.

Home demolitions displaced 90 more. On April 6, Israel's Civil Administration declared 1,000 dunums of Bethlehem Governorate land government property.

In May, Israel forces killed two Palestinians. Injured another 266. All but 20 were civilians.

Settlers launched 27 attacks. Injuring 13 Palestinians. Including 8 children. Hundreds of Palestinian trees were uprooted.

In June through August, Israeli security forces went wild. Conducting over 750 West Bank/East Jerusalem raids.

Arresting over 1,000 Palestinians. Injuring nearly 600. Nearly 400 with live fire. Including with 0.22-inch-caliber bullets. Ruled illegal to disperse demonstrations or public disturbances.

In response to the killing of three Israeli youths. Wrongfully blamed on Hamas. Possibly an Israeli false flag. To reign terror throughout the Occupied Territories.

Including 51 days of premeditated war on Gaza. Operation Protective Edge (OPE) having nothing to do with Hamas rockets. Everything to do with perpetuating conflict.

Preventing Palestinian self-determination. Blaming innocent victims for Israeli crimes. Preventing Fatah/Hamas unity.

27 West Bank Palestinians were killed. Including 5 children. Operation Protective Edge killed over 2,200 Palestinians. Around 80% civilians. Including nearly 600 children. Hundreds of women.

Injuring another 11,000. Turning large parts of Gaza to rubble. Horrendous Israeli war crimes by any standard. With impunity.

Palestinian lives don't matter. Israel is free to mass murder again. Expect it to take full advantage. Western leaders yawn and do nothing. Business as usual persists.

Days before Israel launched OPE, Israeli uniformed and plainclothes forces killed Yusef Ahmad Bani Gharrah. A Palestinian Jenin refugee camp youth.

Accosting him without just cause. Wrongfully calling him a Hamas militant. Intending to throw an explosive device. A customary Israeli Big Lie. Its way of justifying cold-blooded murder.

Several hundred extremist settlers raged through Jerusalem. Shouting "Death to Arabs." "A Jew is a brother." "An Arab is a bastard." "We want war."

Attacking five Arab bystanders. Injuring several. A day after three Israeli teenagers were buried, settlers kidnapped Mohammed Abu Khdeir.

Doused him with petrol. Burned him alive in retaliation. The same day, Israeli security forces attacked dozens of Palestinians and journalists. Protesting Khdeir's murder. Injuring at least 35.

From July 8 to August 26, Operation Protective Edge raged. On August 25, both sides agreed to open-ended ceasefire terms.

Including resuming peace talks in Cairo within a month. So far resolving nothing. Nor will they.

Israel is all take. No give. Its agreements aren't worth the paper they're written on.

Terms agreed on included opening border crossings. Enabling the rapid entry of humanitarian aid. Including construction supplies for rebuilding.

Monitoring to ensure reconstruction solely for civilian purposes. Gazan coastal fishing waters expanded from three to six nautical miles. Increased to 12 miles by year end.

State-sponsored assassinations halted. Hamas stuck to the letter of the deal. Israel breached it straightaway.

Virtually everything agreed to. Blaming Hamas for its crimes. Good faith isn't Israel's long suit.

Decades of conflict, repression and occupation harshness attest to its dark side. Expect no change going forward.

Major issues remain unresolved. Gaza's liberating struggle continues.

Occupied Palestine remained on the boil throughout September and October. Into November. Numerous incidents kept tensions high.

Horrific abuses. Hundreds of arrests. Collective punishment. Murdering Palestinians in cold blood. Al-Aqsa clashes. Islam's third holiest site.

Longstanding occupation harshness. Targeted assassinations at Israel's discretion.

Stealing their land. Bulldozing family homes. Violating core international humanitarian and human rights laws.

Persecuting Palestinians ruthlessly. Peace more elusive than ever.

Ultranationalist defrocked/reinstated Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman's plan is straightforward.

Encourage Arab citizens to move to a Palestinian state. Using "economic incentives."

Maybe he has the same thing in mind for occupied Palestinians. Incentivize them to leave home for worthless scrubland Israel doesn't want.

France's Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius has something else in mind. A Security Council resolution.

With clear guidelines. A framework for dealing with final status issues.

To jumpstart dead-in-the-water talks. Over a two-year period. Including an international peace conference. Involving other major parties besides America.

"The objectives are…to create detailed parameters to resolve the conflict that would be adopted by the international community and set the basis of future negotiations," said Fabius.

"We must fix a calendar because without one how do you convince anybody that it won't just be another process?"

Fabius' strategy includes recognizing Palestinian statehood. Not "if." Rather "how and when."

Not as long as Israel and America have anything to say about it.

Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago. He can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net.

His new book as editor and contributor is titled "Flashpoint in Ukraine: US Drive for Hegemony Risks WW III."

http://www.claritypress.com/LendmanIII.html

Visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com.

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