Israel Attacks Syria and Gaza
by Stephen Lendman
Israel gets away with daily crimes of war, against humanity and slow-motion genocide. It does so with impunity. It does it because world leaders able to act do nothing.
Failure to hold Israel accountable reflects complicity with crimes too great to ignore. They've persisted for decades.
They show no signs of ending. On October 30, reports said Israeli warplanes struck Latakia. It's Syria's principle port city. Damascus was attacked. An administration official confirmed what happened.
Washington partners with Israeli crimes. Annual billions of dollars in military aid supports them. Going along with attacking Syria shows Obama's true intentions.
He deplores peace. He intends escalated war. His planned intervention earlier was delayed. It's not deterred. More on Israel's reported attack below.
Ahmed el-Helah and Mariam Itani's book titled, "The Suffering of the Palestinian Child under the Israeli Occupation," [3] says they "live and suffer every moment of their lives under the painful reality of occupation."
Growing numbers are killed, injured, maimed, handicapped, arrested, imprisoned, and tortured.
"What about those who have lost their parents, friends, brothers and sisters due to" continuous Israeli oppression, the authors asked?
"What about the children who live in fear and who suffer distress or cannot sleep, who feel unprotected in the face of a ruthless and arrogant Israeli occupation?"
Who outside Palestine understands their suffering? Who comprehends world leaders' complicity with Israeli ruthlessness?
Palestinian youths and adults suffer the same way. Children enduring daily harshness "lose their childhood and innocence, just as they lose hope and joy in their lives," said the authors.
Physical and emotional pain reflect daily life. They "ignite the spirit of resistance and deepen hatred" against a ruthless rogue regime.
Both authors agree. Occupation harshness must end. Israel must be held responsible for its crimes.
Its officials must be "prosecute(d) in international judicial institutions for committing the most horrific and inhumane crimes against" young children, youths and adults.
Their crime is wanting to live free like Jews. Their greatest wish is freedom from fear. Their hope is growing up to something better than now.
They wonder if they'll live long enough to see it. They're uncertain each day if they'll see another. Life in Occupied Palestine is nightmarish.
In September, Israeli soldiers murdered five Palestinian civilians. Multiple community incursions occur daily.
Homes are broken into violently. They're ransacked. Personal possessions are trashed. They're damaged or destroyed. Some items are stolen.
Families are terrorized. Children are traumatized. Arrests, interrogations, torture and detentions follow. Children are treated like adults.
According to the Ahrar Center [4] for Prisoners Studies and Human Rights, Israel arrested 325 Palestinians in September. It did so lawlessly.
Seventeen children under age 15 were targeted. Two women were arrested. Three journalists were kidnapped. So were Palestinian legislators Nazzal Ramadan and Maher Bader.
Near daily arrests persist coincidentally with Israel's sham prisoner releases. Anyone freed is vulnerable to rearrest. Israel treats nonviolent Palestinians like terrorists. Rogue states operate that way.
Late Thursday, Israeli tanks, armored personnel carriers and soldiers invaded Gaza. Attack helicopters accompanies them.
Allegedly it was to destroy part of a tunnel network discovered earlier. These type attacks occur often. Any pretext or none at all justifies them. Lawless aggression defines Israeli policy.
Members of Israel's ruthless Golani Brigade led Thursday's assault. In early 1948, David Ben-Gurion formed it. He did so to ethnically cleanse Palestine.
Ariel Sharon was one of its first commanders. Golani forces are infamous. They're cutthroat killers. According to a former unnamed Israeli soldier:
They include "psychopaths, the poor, orphans, Israelis who live in small towns, immigrants, illiterates, people with mental problems, drug and alcohol abusers, and people with criminal records."
They're responsible for some of the worst abuses against Palestinian civilians. They include violent home invasions, unprovoked attacks, physical beatings, cold blooded murder, assaults on women and children, and numerous other human rights violations.
Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak once called the IDF "the most moral army in the world." Daily atrocities prove otherwise.
On Friday, Israeli warplanes bombed southern Gaza. Three Hamas Qassam Brigade members were killed. Their bodies were found dismembered.
On Thursday, Israeli artillery killed a Palestinian youth. Another was wounded. The IDF targeted an area east of Khan Yunis' refugee camp.
Last Monday, Israeli warplanes struck an area northwest of Gaza City. Missiles were fired near Mawkusi towers. No casualties were reported.
Palestinians live in a virtual war zone. Israeli ground or air attacks can come any time for any reason or none at all.
Western media report virtually nothing. Failure to do their job responsibly shows complicity with Israeli crimes. It's official policy. Pro-Israeli bias is longstanding.
Since Obama's war on Syria began in March 2011, Israel launched several cross-border attacks. It made one or more ground incursions. It conducted four air attacks.
On October 31, reports said Israeli warplanes attacked Syria for the fifth time this year. Doing so is lawless aggression. They're acts of war.
No nation may attack another except in self-defense. Israel does often. It remains unaccountable for war crimes.
It's complicit with Obama's war on Syria. In late January, its warplanes struck one or more targets on the Syrian-Lebanese border. Around the same time, a Jamraya military research center was attacked.
On May 3, Israel attacked suburban Damascus. Al-Hameh village was targeted. On May 5, Israel struck Jamraya's Scientific Research Center.
Syria poses no threat to Israel. Obama lied saying it's entitled to defend itself against enemies. He shares responsibility for what happened.
He's complicit in all Israeli attacks. These type incidents are jointly planned. Both nations are longstanding imperial partners.
On July 5, Israel targeted a Syrian warehouse believed to house Russian-made SA-300 air defense missile components and Yakhont anti-ship cruise missiles.
Reports at the time suggested Israeli Dolphin-class submarines were involved. It's believed Israeli warplanes flew from Turkey's Incirlik Air Base.
Other times they attack from Lebanese air space. Perhaps they did on Wednesday. Lebanon's national news agency reported Israeli warplanes entering Lebanese airspace at 1:40 PM.
They conducted maneuvers. They remained for hours. They headed toward the Mediterranean Sea around 5:00 PM.
According to Syrian opposition forces, Israeli warplanes struck Latakia. Allegedly Russian SA-8 and SA-125 missiles were targeted. Damascus was attacked.
No casualties were reported. Israel neither confirmed or denied the attack. On October 31, CNN headlined [5] "Israeli planes strike Syrian military base, US official says."
"(A)n Obama administration official told CNN on Thursday." Missiles allegedly intended for Hezbollah were targeted. Why Syria would transfer weapons it needs for self-defense wasn't explained.
Multiple Israeli attacks are part of Obama's war on Syria. They're intended to provoke a Damascus response.
Doing so would give Washington, Israel, key NATO partners and rogue Arab allies reason to escalate fighting to full-scale war.
Assad isn't stupid. He knows what's going on. He didn't fall for Israel's trap earlier. He's not about to now.
"The (US) official declined to be identified because of the sensitive nature of the information," said CNN.
"There was some confusion about the timing of the attack, with some reports saying it happened Wednesday, and others saying Thursday."
The unnamed US official didn't say either way. Russia Today [6]'s report added more confusion. Its Arabic source denied media reports.
"Ammar al-Asad, head of the foreign affairs committee within the Syrian National Council, said in an interview with RT that 'In Latakia, we did not hear any sounds, incidents, or anything that can prove the attack happened.' "
It remains to be seen what dirty tricks Obama, Netanyahu and rogue partners plan next.
So-called planned peace talks remain a convenient illusion. It's unclear if they'll even take place. Why bother. Obama didn't wage war to quit. Nothing in prospect shows it's ending.
Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago. He can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net.
His new book is titled "Banker Occupation: Waging Financial War on Humanity."
http://www.claritypress.com/LendmanII.html
Visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com.
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