Terry and I were visiting Ramallah, the provisional capital of the West Bank in Palestine, only a few weeks ago. We drove with friends from the Aida refugee camp near Bethlehem.
Along the entire route my friend pointed out the many, ever expanding Jewish settlements that spring up and grow like pestilent weeds in the Palestinian territories, taking more and more of EVERYTHING for themselves while leaving the native Palestinians with less and less.
Less water to drink. Less land to live on. Less air to breath. Less money to spend – on necessities. Less freedom. Less respect.
Israel’s goal is to strangle the life out of every Palestinian remaining in Palestine, until the Zionists finally have it ALL to themselves.
Today Ramallah is on lock-down. Perhaps you’ve heard the news.
You may have heard about the attacker who killed one Israeli soldier and shot a pregnant woman, leading to the death of her baby. A number of others were injured. It was a horrible act of violence, deserving strong condemnation.
But there is more to the story that you may not have heard about. This lamentable attack was carried out in response to the earlier killing of 3 Palestinians by Israeli soldiers. Very few news outlets have reported that piece of the story. But that is par for the course when it comes to the news about Israel/Palestine. (When you listen to the link above, be sure to notice the blatant assertion of racial privilege expressed by the female settler in the red head scarf.)
And of course, precious few reporters ever remind their viewers about the larger context of the violence that Palestinians must endure EVERY DAY OF THEIR LIVES. For the state of Israel has imposed an extremely violent, racist, inhumane military occupation upon the entire population of Gaza and the West Bank.
But, hey…it seems that the Palestinians don’t have enough sense to simply lay down and die quietly, as the Israeli government would like. Believe it or not, they actually resist and occasionally fight back, in an extremely modest sort of way. Imagine that!
With an Israeli boot pressed against their throat, strangling the life out of them, the uppity, ungrateful (and, of course, as we all know, “inherently violent”) Palestinian people have the unmitigated chutzpa to resist their occupiers! Imagine that. The gall of those people.
And the average Israeli says, “Why don’t you all just DIE already! Or leave.” (I am not exaggerating. That’s the attitude. Remember the words of the woman settler in the video above.)
So, Israel sends in more soldiers to kill more Palestinian civilians, to wreak more havoc, to tear apart more families. To blow up more homes in repeated acts of collective punishment (which also violate international law, by the way).
Why? Because the Palestinians rudely insist, “We will not lay down and die for you so easily, Israel.”
Today, I would not be allowed into Ramallah. The beautiful, hospitable al-Azzeh family would no longer be free to share their home with my wife and I. We wouldn’t be able to eat maqluba together while talking, laughing, drinking strong Arabic coffee and sharing our lives with each other.
As I write this post, Israeli soldiers, and rabid, illegal settlers from nearby outposts, continue on the rampage throughout the city. No one is safe. No Palestinians have any rights or protections. Soldiers and settlers may attack anyone they see, kick down any door they choose, shoot at any car or whatever window that happens to tickle their fancy.
Yet, the anchors for U.S. news will continue to repeat the propagandistic lies written for them by the Israeli embassy describing how Palestinian “terrorists” have been attacking innocent Israelis.
Folks, in Israel today: up is down, black is white, right is wrong and wrong is right.
That, my friends, is the Israel-Palestine “conflict” in a nutshell.
