Netanyahu: Serial Liar, Unindicted War Criminal

by Stephen Lendman

A previous article explained he heads an Israeli regime comprised of hate-mongering racists, over-the-top fascists and religious fundamentalist zealots.

It's Israel's most extremist regime in its history. It exceeds the viciousness of Netanyahu's previous coalitions and Sharonian evil. It represents the worst of rogue state ruthlessness and then some.

Netanyahu's speeches repeat the same old demagogic Big Lies. At the June 9 Herzliya Conference, he blustered about nonexistent "Iran(ian) regional aggression" and nuclear weapons program.

After renouncing Palestinian statehood while campaigning, he lied saying he's "committed to a solution of two states for two peoples…"

On Sunday, he derided the soon-to-be-released UN Human Rights Council report on last summer's Gaza war - premeditated Israeli naked aggression by any standard.

He called it "a waste of time" to read, an attempt to "blacken" Israel's name. He received his own Foreign Ministry's report on the conflict.

Parts of it will be released later on Sunday - whitewashing Israeli high crimes like all other internal investigations of state criminality against Palestinians. The full report will be available later this month.

During his weekly cabinet meeting, Netanyahu said "(w)e will act everywhere and as necessary in order to contend with false claims and anti-Israel initiatives."

He called Israel's Foreign Ministry whitewash report on last summer's Gaza aggression "the true facts…demonstrat(ing) that the actions carried out by the IDF were done in compliance with international law."

Fact: Operation Protective Edge (OPE) was cold, calculated, premeditated naked aggression against 1.8 million near-defenseless besieged Palestinians trapped lawlessly in the world's largest open-air prison.

Fact: Israel and America partner in each other's wars.

Fact: Netanyahu lied claiming Hamas rockets sparked conflict.

Fact: Hamas responded legitimately to Israeli aggression in self-defense as international law allows. Claims otherwise are Big Lies.

"We will expose the truth - that Israel has not committed war crimes," Netanyahu blustered.

"We will work everywhere, for as much as it takes, to deal with false claims and anti-Israeli initiatives."

The whole world knows truth is polar opposite. Over 2,200 murdered Palestinians (including nearly 600 children and about 300 women) and over 11,000 injured (many maimed for life) bear testimony to Israeli lawlessness.

Not amount of bluster, demagoguery and serial lying can cover up clear hard truths.

On Friday, pro-Israeli officials calling themselves a "High Level International Military Group, made up of 11 former chiefs of staff, generals, senior officers, political leaders and officials from the United States, Germany, the United Kingdom, Holland, Spain, Italy, Australia and Colombia" released a fabricated report absolving Israel of documented crimes of war and against humanity.

It reads like bad fiction. It was submitted to the UN Human Rights Council ahead of its own soon-to-be-released report on the conflict.

The group visited Israel from May 18 - 22 - meeting with Netanyahu, Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon and IDF commanders involved in last summer's war.

They spent no time in Gaza with survivors of Israel's aggression. They ignored them altogether. Their report was based solely on Israel's version of events - blatant lies covering up one of history's great crimes.

Israel's war was planned months in advance. The group lied claiming "this was not a war that (it) wanted. In reality, (it) sought to avoid the conflict and exercised great restraint over a period of months before the war when its citizens were targeted by sporadic rocket attacks from Gaza."

"Once the war began, Israel made repeated efforts to terminate the fighting…(It) was a legitimate war, necessary to defend its citizens and its territory to defend its citizens and its territory against sustained attack from beyond its borders."

"Israel not only met a reasonable international standard of observance of the laws of armed conflict, but in many cases significantly exceeded that standard."

"(N)one of us is aware of any army that takes such extensive measures as did the IDF last summer to protect the lives of innocent Palestinian civilians."

Fact: It bears repeating. Israel's Operation Protective Edge (OPE) was well-planned naked aggression.

Fact: It had nothing to do with Hamas rockets. They were fired after repeated Israeli provocations - not the other way around.

Fact: It had everything to do with sabotaging Palestinian statehood, maintaining occupation harshness, continuing settlement expansions on stolen Palestinian land, and preventing Fatah/Hamas unity, among other objectives.

Fact: Claiming OPE wasn't a war Israel wanted is polar opposite truth.

Fact: So is saying it made repeated efforts to halt conflict.

Fact: It wanted continued war to turn as much of Gaza to rubble as possible - as well as murder and maim a maximum number of its people, mostly civilian men, women and children deliberately targeted.

Fact: Claiming Israel took "extensive measures" to protect civilian lives is pure rubbish.

Fact: Civilians were willfully murdered. At least 89 entire families were slaughtered in cold blood.

Fact: Claiming Israel exceeded international law standards and other Big Lies exposes the group as a front for Israeli lawlessness.

Israeli combat veteran Breaking the Silence members explained war crimes superiors ordered to commit.

Rules of engagement were clear. Commanders ordered troops "to fire at every person they identified in a combat zone" - meaning anyone, anywhere in Gaza, including in civilian neighborhoods, schools, hospitals, UN shelters, and other nonmilitary sites.

Orders were "shoot to kill" everyone in sight - including women, small children, the elderly and infirm.

A Breaking the Silence press release "paint(ed) a disturbing picture of the IDF’s policy of indiscriminate fire, which directly resulted in the deaths of hundreds of innocent Palestinian civilians."

The so-called "High Level International Military Group" conspired with Netanyahu to absolve his high crimes demanding accountability.

Expect none ahead like always. Expect more mass slaughter and destruction ahead against defenseless Palestinians any time at Israel's discretion.

Expect world leaders able to intervene responsibly to continue turning a blind eye to its worst atrocities.

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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