(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . The Massacre of Children Must Stop Now [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.'] Date: 2023-12-11 United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said that the Gaza Strip was becoming "a graveyard for children." Here is a link to the NY Times images of 67 of the thousands of children killed by Israeli bombs. Even a conservative assessment of the reported Gaza casualty figures shows that the rate of death during Israel’s assault has few precedents in this century, experts say. More women and children have been reported killed in Gaza in less than two months than the roughly 7,700 civilians documented as killed by U.S. forces and their international allies in the entire first year of the invasion of Iraq in 2003, according to estimates from Iraq Body Count, an independent British research group. —NY times But are the numbers being reported by the Gaza Health Ministry accurate? No evidence of inflated mortality reporting from the Gaza Ministry of Health Notably, mortality data from the Gaza Ministry of Health has been "historically" accurate, researchers from the School of Public Health, the School of Humanitarian Health and the Department of Biostatistics at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore emphasized in a letter to The Lancet. In previous Gaza incursions by the IDF the numbers provided by the Gaza Ministry of Health and the Israelis were almost identical. "Our monitoring suggests that the numbers provided by the Ministry of Health may be under-reporting as they do not include fatalities who did not reach hospitals or may be lost under the rubble," the U.N. human rights office spokesperson said. "It is a logical assumption that the numbers being reported are underestimated, are low," said Nathaniel Raymond, Executive Director of the Humanitarian Research Lab at the Yale School of Public Health, who has worked on death counts in armed conflict and natural disasters for more than 20 years. — Reuters “And there does remain a gap between exactly what I said when I was there: the intent to protect civilians and the actual results that we’re seeing on the ground,” — US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken. Considering that 70% of those killed have been women and children, that may be the understatement of the century. The number of children and innocents being killed by Israeli bombs could soon be surpassed by the numbers that are at risk of dying by starvation and disease. UN says half of Gaza’s population is now starving amid Israel offensive on south Half of Gaza’s population is now believed to be “starving” as Israel’s attack on the besieged strip continues to escalate, a senior UN official warned. Calling for an immediate “humanitarian ceasefire”, Carl Skau, deputy executive director of the UN World Food Programme, took to X saying: “There’s not enough food. People are starving. The United Nations Relief and Works Agency says that 85% of Gaza’s population is displaced. As many as 1.9 million people – more than 85% of Gaza’s population – had been displaced, many of them multiple times, UNRWA said. More than 1 million people were sheltering in 94 UN facilities in the southern half of the strip. A War on Palestinian Civilians Children in Gaza who were killed by Israeli airstrikes. This is not a war on Hamas; it is a war on the Palestinian population. The war plan is consistent with Netanyahu’s long-term plan of enabling terrorists on both sides of the conflict to prevent peace and the establishment of a Palestinian state. Hamas and the violent extremist settler movement have been Netanyahu’s most important allies in this strategy. For years, Netanyahu propped up Hamas. Now it’s blown up in our faces A Brief History of the Netanyahu-Hamas Alliance If, as a result of October 7th, Bibi must now lose Hamas as a partner, he needs to create a replacement and make sure that there is no chance of rapprochement between Israelis and Palestinians. The wanton slaughter of Palestinian children, mass starvation, and the destruction of homes, businesses, and infrastructure will radicalize the millions of Palestinians who survive Netanyahu’s terror. Thanks to the way the war is being prosecuted for every one of Netanyahu’s Hamas allies that are killed, there will be 100 replacements. "In this kind of a fight, the center of gravity is the civilian population. And if you drive them into the arms of the enemy, you replace a tactical victory with a strategic defeat," Austin said, drawing on his experience as a four-star general overseeing the battle against Islamic State militants. "So I have repeatedly made clear to Israel's leaders that protecting Palestinian civilians in Gaza is both a moral responsibility and strategic imperative." - U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin Secretary Lloyd fails to understand that for Netanyahu, that’s not a bug. It’s a feature. The wanton disregard for civilian lives has a political purpose vital to Netanyahu’s vision. Nakba 2.0 Never one to miss the opportunities that his Hamas partners create, Netanyahu has just pulled off the largest ethnic cleansing operation in modern history right under the nose of his American allies. “We're Rolling Out Nakba 2023” —Likud Minister Avi Dichter Dichter was referring to the Gaza Strip's displacement of civilians. The Nakba, which means “catastrophe” in Arabic, refers to the mass displacement and dispossession of Palestinians in 1948. This had nothing to do with saving civilian lives as any pre-war intelligence about civilian patterns of behavior and locations is now useless, and targeting decisions will need to be made on the fly, ensuring higher civilian casualties. Despite US pressure, It looks like civilian casualties are going up, not down, as the South of Gaza is a scene of total chaos and a humanitarian disaster. At the same time, in the West Bank, daily settler violence has markedly increased. Murders, beatings, and burning of fields, houses, and cars. As President Biden has called for an end to settler violence, it has instead skyrocketed. In the annual Likud-endorsed Flag Day march, marchers chanted: “Death to Arabs,” “May your village burn,” and “An Arab is a son of a b**ch” as they marched through the Muslim quarter. Netanyahu purposely routed the march through the Muslim quarter to provoke and humiliate Palestinians. Netanyahu is laying siege to Palestinians in the West Bank in the hope of provoking a reaction that could justify extending his Gaza war to the West Bank. Biden should have no illusions about the Netanyahu government and its intent to kill Biden’s announced plan for peace. Netanyahu is a clear and present threat to American security and American interests in the region and should be treated accordingly. A brief history of the Israeli Right The Israeli right got its start in the Irgun (founded in 1931) and its offshoot, Lehi (better known as the Stern Gang). Both groups were declared terrorist organizations by the UN, Britain and the USA. After a history of bombing marketplaces, assassinating UN and British officials, and other terrorist activities, the two groups joined forces to launch their first military mission. Taking the Palestinian village of Deir Yassin. Once the village was taken, its inhabitants were massacred, and all their belongings looted. Children were killed in front of their parents before the parents were executed. Captives were taken to Jerusalem, where they were paraded through the streets, spat on, and stoned before being taken away and executed. The massacre was immediately condemned by the leadership of the Haganah (the main Jewish military force). The Jewish Agency for Palestine sent Jordan's King Abdullah a letter of apology. The head of the Irgun, Menachem Begin, in contrast, hailed the taking of Deir Yassin as a "splendid act of conquest" that would serve as a model for the future: in a note to his commanders, he wrote: "Tell the soldiers: you have made history in Israel with your attack and your conquest. Continue thus until victory. As in Deir Yassin, so everywhere, we will attack and smite the enemy. God, God, Thou has chosen us for conquest." Begin praised the massacre and promised more of the same, and he would make good on his promise. After the formation of the state of Israel, Israel’s first Prime Minister, David Ben-Gurion, feared that the Irgun were plotting a violent coup. Militias like the Irgun were required to join the newly formed IDF, and the IDF had a monopoly on arms imports. When an Irgun ship, the Altalena, loaded with arms and new Irgun recruits, attempted to land in Tel Aviv, Ben-Gurion sent an IDF force commanded by Yitzhak Rabin. A firefight resulted that put an end to the Irgun as a military force. The Irgun units in the IDF were dispersed throughout the IDF, so there could be no army within an army. Menachem Begin turned the Irgun into an opposition political party, eventually becoming the Likud. Begin would go on to become Prime Minister, never having to face justice for his terrorism. Yitzhak Rabin would also go on to be Prime Minister and would be assassinated by a right-wing Jewish terrorist. Before Rabin’s murder, Netanyahu led a mock funeral procession featuring a coffin and hangman's noose at an anti-Rabin rally where protesters chanted, "Death to Rabin". Rabin’s wife blamed Netanyahu for her husband’s murder. You can draw a straight line from Deir Yassin to Netanyahu’s coalition today and Netanyahu’s Gaza war plan. Biden Should Walk His Talk The US government should not negotiate with any political entity that does not recognize Israel's — or Palestine’s right to exist. Netanyahu’s coalition and the Likud should get the same diplomatic non-standing as Hamas with the US. They should not be receiving US aid and weapons to carry out a campaign of terror against Palestinian children. As Senator Bernie Sanders said: “I think what the Congress has got to do is make it clear to Netanyahu that we’re not going to simply give him a blank check to kill women and children in Palestine,” There are Israelis and Palestinians who are committed to working towards peace and a two-state solution, and Biden should be seeking them out and working with them. Just as the US has no problem in saying that Gaza must have a government that does not include political parties that do not recognize Israel’s right to exist, we should demand the same from Israel. Biden can not dictate who Israelis choose to run their government, but that doesn't mean Israel gets to dictate our foreign policy or who we choose to engage with and send aid to. Netanyahu may be determined to continue with policies that will end in Israel’s destruction, but we don’t need to allow him to drag us down with him. But Netanyahu is not in charge!!!! There is a unity government!!! BS… The leader of the largest opposition party in parliament, former Prime Minister Yair Lapid, refused to join the unity government. Lapid said it was necessary to "take the extremists out of the government of extremists.” Benny Gantz and the war management cabinet are just providing cover for Netanyahu. We should have no dealing with any Israeli party that does not support, in President Biden’s own words: A two-state solution — two peoples living side by side with equal measures of freedom, opportunity and dignity — is where the road to peace must lead. As Biden outlined in his proposal, the key is a state with equal measures of freedom, opportunity, and dignity . Not a South African-style Bantustan or an open-air prison with Palestinian wardens. Which is, up until now, all that has been offered in any of the peace negotiations. There is only one path to security for Israel and the defeat of groups like Hamas, and that is Justice for Palestinians. The US should demand an immediate ceasefire, prioritize the prevention of a humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, and the freeing of hostages and back it up with restrictions on aid. [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/12/11/2210994/-The-Massacre-of-Children-Must-Stop-Now?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=latest_community&pm_medium=web Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/