How Israel brought Gaza to the brink of humanitarian catastrophe
Guardian / Avi Shlaim
09-Jan-2009 (10 comments)

Oxford professor of international relations Avi Shlaim served in the Israeli army and has never questioned the state's legitimacy. But its merciless assault on Gaza has led him to devastating conclusions: "Gaza is a classic case of colonial exploitation in the post-colonial era. Jewish settlements in occupied territories are immoral, illegal and an insurmountable obstacle to peace. They are at once the instrument of exploitation and the symbol of the hated occupation. In Gaza, the Jewish settlers numbered only 8,000 in 2005 compared with 1.4 million local residents. Yet the settlers controlled 25% of the territory, 40% of the arable land and the lion's share of the scarce water resources. Cheek by jowl with these foreign intruders, the majority of the local population lived in abject poverty and unimaginable misery. Eighty per cent of them still subsist on less than $2 a day. The living conditions in the strip remain an affront to civilised values, a powerful precipitant to resistance and a fertile breeding ground for political extremism."

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You want terrorism?

by IraniIrooni (not verified) on Sat Jan 10, 2009 09:07 PM PST

Why don't you people ask about the Irgun and the Stern Gang? They were the early jew TERRORIST groups that bombed bazaars and buses to scare Palestinians off of their land. And this was BEFORE israel was declared a nation. At least Palestinians are fighting for THEIR lands which were ILLEGALLY taken.

by the way, that boy President Obama's chief of staff, Rahm Israel Emanuel ... well, his father was a member of the Irgun. I'll bet you still over 70% of Americans think Emanuel is hispanic. This is hillarious .... and sad. It appears that Washington DC is no longer our capitol ... it is basically israel.


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STOP and THINK!

by IraniIrooni (not verified) on Sat Jan 10, 2009 09:00 PM PST

I am sick & tired of some of you likud lovers continuing to use the same old terrorist/terrorism crap! PLEASE instead of going back 15 or 20 years, go back a bit further and examine just how badly the Palestinians have been treated!

Ask yourself this - WHY are the Palestinians in refugee camps? WHY are they out of their homes? WHY are the Russian jew immigrants and many US jews now living on the Palestinian farmlands within the new ILLEGAL and IMMORAL settlements?

I bet many of you also favor a military strike, an assassination, or some coup of the current Iran mullahs. Well, that is no different than what the Palestinians are doing. They want their lives and properties back! They were the intelligent, educated and more moderate of the arabs before israel destroyed their lives.

I am not in any way condoning bloodshed, but in order to stop this we must get to the core of the problem. And unfortunately the AIPAC-run US politicians are afraid to do so.

You think israel doesn't know that this war will create more angry Palestinians? Of course it does! That's what it wants. Israel needs more excuses to bomb and kill and drive the Palestinians out. This is GENOCIDE. This strategy is combined with its continuing illegal settlements, blockade of imports/exports (which included food and medical supplies) DURING THE 6-MONTH TRUCE, and many more likud-type and immoral actions.

Get real. And don't keep asking why we worry about Palestine. We do because it impacts the US, Iran and the rest of the world. Did you see oil futures jump to nearly $50 right when this began? It has come back down, but mainly because of the bad US economy. Did you see people of all religions and ethnicities demonstrate against israel? Did you hear the Vatican condemn israel's actions? This impacts us all. This is why the US gives over $4billion of our tax money to israel, plus basically free military weapons, technology and more. This is why we are concerned!

Tell me why the hell israel has not followed UN resolutions? Why settlements continue? Why is that a 'special' nation? Why is it ok for israel to force Palestinians out of their homes and into REFUGEE CAMPS, while its not ok for any other country or terrorist group to do so? Is that country really that special?

Israel must exist, but it must abide by the same laws and rules as others.

We Americans pull out our guns and stand firm in our front yard when someone, ANYONE, tries to illegally invade our house, our property! We are willing to shoot and DEFEND our homes. But we cannot understand just why the Palestinians have been driven to such extreme?!?!??!

This is unbelievable.


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Hajminator

Why truth is so hard to accept ?

by Hajminator on Fri Jan 09, 2009 06:28 PM PST

Avi served in the Israeli army. He comes from a great family in Israel. He's an Oxford respectful professor in International studies. His diploma ain't fake like Kordan's one. He's proud to have served the country he loves.

What's the problem with you? When I posted the extracts of his article 3 days ago, Zion, you giggled! That's incomprehensible.

Beside that, you want us to believe you, who never served your country other than by sitting on your chair in your home in LA and fighting terrorists just in front of your laptop screen instead of Avi?


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WOW Irandokht

by Anonymousirani (not verified) on Fri Jan 09, 2009 05:41 PM PST

Do you realize how terrible it is what you are saying? In your opinion we are just taking advantage of the situation to porve our point. ma oonghadr heivoon nistim.

Nobody likes what is going on in Gaza, even the majority of rightists here don't. We just don't wish to see Iranians go through what Gazans are going through. We've had our 8 years of war and lost loved ones. Enough is enough. People can't take it anymore.

BY THE WAY I'M A DEMOCRAT.


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Israelis pull the trigger, kill children

by Anonymous8 (not verified) on Fri Jan 09, 2009 04:35 PM PST

it is that simple. anyone who doesn't agree is not being honest.


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Kaveh Nouraee

Crimes Against Humanity?

by Kaveh Nouraee on Fri Jan 09, 2009 04:00 PM PST

Terrorists represent humanity now?


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NO

by Anonymousforever (not verified) on Fri Jan 09, 2009 03:33 PM PST

what EVERYBODY should be doing is realizing that this is NOT exclusively israels fault. hamas plays HUGE role in this tragedy. i am as horrified as everyone else at needless killing and suffering BUT i am not going to blindly blame israel for all of this. and i would simply like an explanation from anyone who thinks differently. to be so obviously biased calls for only one conclusion.

what am i saying!! it's been obvious to everyone already.


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Zion

How many more times...

by Zion on Fri Jan 09, 2009 03:31 PM PST

... is this one poor guy going to be linked in this website...good that you found one guy to say your favorite kind of crap!


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IRANdokht

Great Article!

by IRANdokht on Fri Jan 09, 2009 12:41 PM PST

Thanks for posting this JJ!

I hope kasseh hayeh daghtar az ash ham bekhoonan. Everyone should speak up against this humanitarian catastrophe instead of using human rights or IRI as an excuse to divert people's attention from these crimes against humanity!

IRANdokht


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Artificial Intelligence

I agree with SOME of his analysis but

by Artificial Intelligence on Fri Jan 09, 2009 05:20 PM PST

He conveniently left out Hamas' murderous suicide bombing campaign over the last 15 years or so which resulted in the harsher treatment of Gaza once Hamas took over in 2006.  You can not take out these facts from the equation. The type of violence Hamas engaged in silenced many Israelis. This can not be ignored.  

 


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