Israel

Netanyahu never met a non-Jew he considered equal, a peace plan he didn't spurn, a law he didn't violate, or truth he didn't turn on its head.

He reveals Israel's true face. He's contemptuous of Palestinians, other Arabs, and Iranians. He considers them subhuman enemies. More on his latest outburst below.

New York Times columnist Tom Friedman is notoriously pro-Israeli. At the same time, he calls the "far-right group running Israel today so arrogant." He omitted lawless, racist, hawkish, and menacing.

Palestinians wanted liberation and peace for decades. They agreed to relinquish plenty for it. Israel enforces occupation violently. On Saturday, half a million Gazans massed in Gaza City's Kateba Square.

They commemorated Hamas' 25th anniversary. More than 3,000 foreign guests joined them. They came from Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Malaysia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Algeria, Britain, and several other European countries.

A main stage was erected for speakers. Two empty chairs were positioned on it symbolically. They represented Hamas founder Sheikh Ahmed Yassin and Qassam Brigades head Ahmad Jabari.

Israel murdered them in cold blood. They're two of many Palestinian martyrs. They're lionized as heroes. Rogue killers remain unaccountable. Justice has miles to go.

Political Bureau Chairman Khaled Meshal said occupation never will be recognized. Freedom depends on resistance. He urged regional country support.

He called resistance a means, not an end. He added that "should the world find a means (to) liberate Palestine, liberate Jerusalem, and achieve the right of return without resistance, let them try."

Sixty-four years of trying produced nothing. History teaches that liberation depends on resistance. He vowed to keep working for free Palestine.

Electronic Intifada co-founder Ali Abuninmah discussed one example of how media scoundrels misreport what Hamas leaders say.

The London Observer sister publication to the Guardian misquoted Meshal. It claimed he said:

"We don't kill Jews because they are Jews. We kill the Zionists because they are conquerors and we will continue to kill anyone who takes our land and our holy places….We will free Jerusalem inch by inch, stone by stone."

He actually said:

"We do not fight the Jews because they are Jews. We fight the Zionist occupiers and aggressors. And we will fight anyone who tries to occupy our lands or attacks us. We fight those who fight us, who attack us, who besiege us, who attack our holy places and our land."

The difference is stark. Fight or struggle for liberation isn't kill. The Observer also called his speech "uncompromising."

Other mainstream reports also distorted his comments. Readers and viewers don't know they're being systematically lied to.

Abuninmah said none reported Meshal saying he welcomes peaceful conflict resolution if world leaders find ways to achieve it. Don't blame us for resisting without it, he added.

"If we found another way without war we would have seized it, but the history of nations shows that there is no victory or liberation without war, without battles, without sacrifice."

As long as Israel, Washington, and other Western nations oppose Hamas, they'll continue to be unjustly vilified.

Prime Minister Ismail Haniyya said liberation depends on Palestinian solidarity and unified resistance. "The power of Gaza is (Palestinian) power." It's ready and willing to continue struggling for freedom and dignity as one nation.

On Sunday, Arab League ministers agreed to provide Palestine hundreds of millions of dollars in aid. Qatari prime minister and Arab League secretary-general Hamad Al Thani criticized failed Quartet efforts. He called for reevaluating its performance and ways to help Palestine.

On December 9, Haaretz headlined "Netanyahu: Palestinians have no intention of compromising with Israel."

Like media scoundrels, he distorted Hamas leaders' comments. He lied, saying they'll never recognize Israel. Hamas founder Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, Meshal, Haniyya, and other Hamas officials want peace with dignity, not conflict.

They want decades of lawless occupation and repression ended. They want Palestinian self-determination universally recognized. They want treatment equal to Jews. They'll tolerate nothing less nor should they.

Meshal and Haniyya expressed willingness numerous times to recognize Israel in return for self-determination in peace inside pre-1967 borders. It represents 22% of historic Palestine.

The 1947 UN partition plan gave Palestinians 44%. Jerusalem was declared an international city. Netanyahu said wanting what's rightfully theirs "exposed the true face" of Israel's enemies.

"They have absolutely no intention of compromising with us." Israel's idea of compromise is what it says goes. For over 64 years, virtually all Palestinian rights were spurned.

Compromise isn't in Israel's vocabulary. Netanyahu represents the worst of rogue governance. "They want to destroy the state," he claimed. "They will of course fail. The nation of Israel will overcome these hostile enemies."

Israel is its own worst enemy. It governs through the barrel of a gun. Netanyahu is a world class thug. He gives chutzpah new meaning. He makes lesser rogues almost look respectable. He hastens Israel's demise.

He criticized Abbas for not condemning Meshal's remarks. "The interesting thing is precisely that (Abbas) did not issue a condemnation, not against words calling for Israel's destruction, just as he did not condemn the firing of missiles at Israel."

Meshal and other Hamas officials don't call for Israel's destruction. Israel and media scoundrels claim otherwise. Missiles fired in self-defense are legal and essential.

Israel provokes conflict repeatedly. Past and present rogue Israeli officials call self-defense terrorism. Palestinians are condemned for doing the right thing.

Israel calls naked aggression its divine right. Disbelievers are attacked and killed. Netanyahu is Israel's worst ever leader. He belongs in prison, not high office.

He lied saying Israel "want(s) true peace with (its) neighbors." He attacks Palestinians viciously multiple times daily.

He lied claiming Meshal wants Palestine to have all Israeli territory. He and other Hamas leaders agreed to accept 22% of historic Palestine within pre-1967 borders.

Haaretz lied. It said "Hamas rejects dialogue with Israel." Its "charter calls for the destruction of Israel."

Hamas leaders endorse legitimate negotiations on equal terms. They reject one-way Israeli demands. They want peace, not confrontation and violence. They don't call for Israel's destruction.

Even Haaretz turns truth on its head. It knows better but willfully distorts. If Israel's best broadsheet betrays readers, imagine how low the rest of its major media stoop.

In the mainstream, truth is the rarest commodity. It's mostly targeted head on, misrepresented, and avoided. It's the first casualty of war. It's a weapon of war when used to support it.

Misreporting is virulent censorship by misinformation or omission. It's fundamentally unprincipled and duplicitous. AJ Liebling (1904 - 1963) once said press freedom is "guaranteed only to those who own one."

He added that "people confuse what they read in newpapers (or see on television) with news."

Big Lies launch wars. They also justify unconscionable violence and other lawless acts. Haaretz shares guilt with other scoundrel media. Maybe conscience pangs one day will produce change.

Journalistic ethics and professional conduct stress public trust, credibility, accuracy, truth, avoiding bias, fairness, integrity, independence and accountability.

Nothing short of those qualities measure up. Most Israeli and Western media lack them entirely. Instead of accurate full disclosure, readers, listeners, and viewers are systematically lied to.

Hamas, other resistance groups, and many independent ones fall victim. Fundamental wrongs triumph over right. Things don't change. Innocent people suffer. They deserve better. Hamas and other groups like them want Palestine liberated.

They won't surrender like Fatah did at Oslo and subsequent agreements. Israel got everything it wanted. Palestinians sacrificed all rights.

Conditions are much worse now than earlier. Hamas wants historic wrongs reversed. All oppressed people feel the same way.

On December 6, Al Haq headlined "Gaza Strip: Palestinians Under Continuous Israeli Fire in the Buffer Zone."

Memorandum understanding of ceasefire terms stipulated these attacks would end. Israel committed violations straightaway.

Children are still shot for target practice. Farmers are attacked in their fields. Fishermen are accosted at sea. Some are shot. Others have their vessels damaged or confiscated.

From late November though early December, Al Haq reported numerous lawless Israeli attacks. Gazans are no safer now than before ceasefire terms were agreed.

Israel is a serial violator. Agreed terms called for "facilitating the movements of people, refraining from restricting residents' free movements, and (not) targeting residents in border areas."

Israel "continued to enforce the movement restrictions in place before the ceasefire and did not hesitate to open fire directly on Palestinians in the buffer zone on land and at sea."

Palestinian lives and welfare are as much at risk now as before. They're still terrorized daily. Dozens of West Bank homes are accosted and ransacked pre-dawn. It happens weekly. Residents are arrested. Their crime is praying to the wrong God.

Excessive force is official Israeli policy. So is targeting women, children and infants. Murdering them while they sleep is standard practice. Pillar of Cloud killed dozens for eight days. Over 1,000 were wounded, many seriously.

Fighting slowed but hasn't stopped. Hamas and other resistance groups unilaterally observe truce terms. Expect a greater Israeli provocation to produce a response Netanyahu calls terrorism.

His notion of peace is none at all. His idea of truth is avoid it. His governing style is hardline. His type security is naked aggression. Palestine's liberation has miles to go. It's well worth struggling for.

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

His new book is titled "How Wall Street Fleeces America: Privatized Banking, Government Collusion and Class War"

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

Visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com and listen to cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests on the Progressive Radio News Hour on the Progressive Radio Network Thursdays at 10AM US Central time and Saturdays and Sundays at noon. All programs are archived for easy listening.

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