Israeli Fascist Brutality

by Stephen Lendman

Let’s not mince words. Israel is a fascist police state, masquerading as a democracy. How when state terror is official policy, when soldiers, police and Zionist zealots brutalize and murder Palestinians unaccountably, when institutionalized apartheid exceeds the worst of South Africa’s regime.

Palestine is a free-fire zone, unsafe to live in for Arabs. Israeli security forces rampage with impunity, licensed to kill at their discretion, taking full advantage, rewarded for shocking brutality.

In the last five days alone, three Palestinian youths were gunned down in cold blood, two aged 13. Another 500 were injured, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS).

It declared a state of emergency in the West Bank and East Jerusalem following days of Israeli violence, reminiscent of Nazi Germany’s Kristallnacht - in Occupied Palestine an endless pogrom of racist hate, violence, mass arrests and cold-blooded murders.

PRCS activated its Al-Bireh HQ central Operations Room- its “staff, teams and volunteers put on standby.” It said Israeli forces attacked its personnel, ambulances and other vehicles 14 times in the past 72 hours while they tried aiding wounded Palestinians - preventing them from providing humanitarian care.

Ambulance crew members were beaten and wounded. A PRCS statement condemned Israeli violence, saying it “constitute(s) a blatant violation of key IHL (international humanitarian law) provisions” - mainly Fourth Geneva, requiring the protection of civilians in time of war.

Article 2 states “the present Convention shall apply to all cases of declared war or of any other armed conflict which may arise between two or more of the High Contracting Parties, even if the state of war is not recognized by one of them.”

“The Convention shall also apply to all cases of partial or total occupation of the territory of a High Contracting Party, even if the said occupation meets with no armed resistance.”

Fourth Geneva protects all personnel involved in aiding, transporting and treating wounded or sick individuals.

Israel enforces vicious occupation harshness, waging war on an entire population. Since last week, dozens of Palestinians were shot with live fire. Numerous others were physically assaulted.

Tensions were high following Israeli soldiers and police desecrating the Al-Aqsa Mosque (Islam’s third holiest site) multiple times in recent days - damaging it deliberately, brutalizing peaceful worshipers, making numerous arrests.

Things spun out-of-control following the killing of four Israelis. In just societies, police conduct investigations without brutalizing entire communities. Israel imposes collective punishment. Horrific Palestinian suffering follows.

A PLO statement said Israel “is deliberately creating a situation of violence and instability that threatens to spiral out-of-control.”

The Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) accused Israel of crimes of excessive force and extreme brutality - carried out by soldiers, police and lunatic settlers.

Abused Palestinians respond justifiably to provocative Israeli tear gas, rubber bullets, live fire, beatings and other forms of abuse, using stones and empty bottles - hardly a fair fight.

PCHR said over 170 Palestinians wounded or killed by “live bullets and shrapnel in Jerusalem.” Israeli collective punishment policy willfully targets defenseless civilians.

World leaders able stop these horrors do nothing more than urge both sides to show restraint - effectively condoning Israeli violence, hate crimes, an appalling disregard for Palestinian rights, safety and welfare.

Netanyahu is a fascist thug, calling legitimate Palestinian resistance terrorism, vowing no letup in extreme police state violence.

“(J)ust as we’ve smashed previous waves of terrorism, we will also smash this wave of terrorism,” he blustered.

He convened a Monday evening security cabinet meeting to discuss ways to escalate violence against defenseless Palestinians. He ordered thousands more soldiers and police as shock troops throughout the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

Zionist zealots demanded increased toughness, including fascist cabinet ministers. Extremist tourism minister Yariv Levin said “(t)hose who think that terror can defeat the spirit of the nation of Israel and can stop us implementing our historical rights in every part of the land of Israel, should see us here today and understand that we will not be beaten.”

Social affairs minister Haim Katz urged accelerated settlement construction. “The prime minister is the only one who can defeat terrorism and build the land of Israel, and we expect him to do so,” he said.

He called for tougher penalties on parents of children arrested for stone-throwing. PLO member Hanan Ashrawi said “who think that terror can defeat the spirit of the nation of Israel and can stop us implementing our historical rights in every part of the land of Israel, should see us here today and understand that we will not be beaten.”

Palestinians want rights everyone deserves. Israel wants endless violence and instability, blaming Palestinians for its high crimes, maintaining occupation harshness in response, including cold-blooded murder - with full US support and encouragement.

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.

Listen to cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests on the Progressive Radio News Hour on the Progressive Radio Network.

It airs three times weekly: live on Sundays at 1PM Central time plus two prerecorded archived programs.