Diligent News: Palestine

The Future of Palestine

Eomar — Thu, 06 Feb 2025 23:31:41 GMT

What the future holds for Palestinians is uncertain, while Trump has secured a ‘ceasefire’, true peace is still elusive. His recent announcement of ‘US ownership’ of Gaza has created an uproar from world leaders & people across the political spectrum on the internet.

Victory in Gaza

Leading up to October 7th, the Abraham Accords had essentially written out the Palestinian people. Hamas’ attack on 10/7 centered the region back on the Palestinian cause, ensuring that the world knew they would not simply fade away. Israel responded with brutality & carried out a genocide. At the human level, it is up to the Palestinian people to determine if the cost was ‘worth it’. It is up to them collectively to decide if it is a ‘victory’. While many balk at the sheer human cost, remember the call of America’s founders, Give Me Liberty or give me Death.

Destruction & Death

The UN estimates that the zionists damaged or destroyed an estimated 69% of the structures in Gaza [0] and up to 92% of all housing units[1] . Based on the lancet up to 64,260 people have been directly killed [2] & up to 960,000 may ultimately die as a result [3]. I cover these numbers & other issues in Gaza Ceasefire. Donald Trump, when asked how many ‘have to go’ replied “All of them, probably a million-seven or a million-eight”[4] indicating a death toll between 400,000 & 600,000 people.

Military Victory

Resistance Forces

I cover in American Victory how destruction & death does not equate to victory. I warned then of “COIN Math” in which if you kill one “bad-guy” you end up with 5 more because his friends & family pick up arms. Our own state department confirmed this predictable outcome stating that Hamas has recruited 10,000-15,000 new members since the start of the genocide [5]. Hamas was conducting effective operations against the IDF right up until the ceasefire took effect. Post ceasefire Hamas reestablished order, security & even had parades in the streets [6].

In June 2024, I wrote how israel was defeated in Double or Nothing, and it is worth revisiting. The facts on the ground remain largely unchanged. Hezbollah, while battered is not destroyed, remember the sheer volume of munitions they started with. They too were able to conduct effective operations right up until the ceasefire. Just as Hamas was able to recruit, I assume the continued post-ceasefire zionist aggression is helping Hezbollah recruit. I think the biggest challenge Hezbollah will face is supply chain through Syria, though I doubt this will be completely dismantled.

Iran is still formidable, I reviewed their capabilities in ‘A Wider War Iran’. We saw in their exchanges with Israel that they are VERY capable of striking deep into the zionist entity. I view the first attack, long foreshadowed as a soft warning to Israel, Israel’s response was to strike Iranian air defense site. Israel then further escalated leading to “True Promise 2” which hit Israel much harder. True Promise 2 included multiple direct impacts on the Nevatim Airbase & even at least one hit in Tel Aviv [7]. Israel’s response to this was muted, perhaps limited by Iran upgrading to Russian S400 systems [8].

Yemen was able to defy israel & America with continued strikes in the Red Sea & directly on Tel Aviv. The Red Sea combat was described as “the toughest [naval] fight since WW2”[9]. As mentioned in America’s Waning Power, our ‘exquisite systems’ are increasingly vulnerable to drone & missile attacks. Not only was Yemen simultaneously conducting these operations (without a Navy), they were also sending domestically produced Palestine-2 Hypersonic Missiles into Tel-Aviv[10].

Israel

Previously, Israel had claimed 844 soldiers were killes and 5,696 were wounded [11]. Eyal Zamir, incoming Chief of Staff, stated least 5,942 ‘bereaved families’” (a term for families who had a member killed in war). He additionally added that over 15,000 were injured [11][12]. I had written previously about the supply chain impact on Israel and how they had resorted to using munitions made in 1953 to continue operations. To say that the systems were stretched is an understatement.

America

There are 4 primary things to note with America.

As mentioned above, our platforms are increasingly vulnerable to attack, ESPECIALLY if this escalates into a hot war with America directly involved.
Americans are tired of war, Trump campaigned on and won as ‘the anti-war candidate’
The dollar is facing real challenges now from BRICS+, with Bitcoin seemingly taking a role.
Our war manufacturing cannot withstand the demands on it and we have depleted our stockpiles.

Now, this doesn’t mean America cannot ‘lean in’ to fight harder and more, it is just to point out that we would rapidly accelerate the end of our empire by doing so and risk the well being of America in the process. Another reminder, China is sitting back watching us make mistake after mistake. No American should want us involved at all, let alone directly putting boots on the ground.

Trump and his ‘plans’

Trump has done some good, a few days before his inauguration, he was able to secure a ceasefire through his envoy, something Biden couldn’t or wouldn’t do for 15 months. Wickoff and the stories coming out were promising. Trumps appointment to Deputy Minister of Defense (middle east) Michael Dimino is a legitimate America first (as in not wanting to send us to die for Israel) American that has the zionists ‘worried’[13].

Ethnic Cleansing

"The US will take over the Gaza Strip, and we will do a job with it, too. We'll own it and be responsible for dismantling all of the dangerous unexploded bombs and other weapons on the site, level the site and get rid of the destroyed buildings, level it out, create an economic development that will supply unlimited numbers of jobs and housing for people of the area." — Donald Trump

“The Gaza Strip would be turned over to the United States by Israel at the conclusion of fighting” — Donald Trump

The basis for Trump’s plan seems to completely ignore the reality on the ground in Gaza and the larger Middle East. Israel does not ‘own’ the Gaza strip, it is not in a position to force Palestinians out and by accepting a ceasefire, that Hamas is adhering to, it has lost the ability to claim that it ‘must continue’ killing.

Trump has been floating around the idea of ‘moving Palestinians out’ of their land, he frames it as ‘humanitarian’ though its very clearly to serve Israel. He completely ignores any possibility of Palestinians refusing (as they have for 75+ years). While vague each time he mentioned this ‘plan’ it garnered immediate responses from our Arab ‘allies’ in the region refusing it entirely. The previous mentions resulted in strong opposition from Egypt & Jordan[14] , the leaders of both nations recognize that even they have limits to the corruption they can openly get away with.

On February 4th, after meeting with Netanyahu, Trump came out with a more detailed plan (the quote above). Despite it being ~4AM in Riyadh they firmly rejected any talk of diplomatic relations with Israel unless “an independent Palestinian state is established, with East Jerusalem as its capital”[15].

There are two possibilities that I see. First (and the one I’m hoping for), this is merely an absurd stance designed to elicit a strong response from Arab states who step in and say ‘no no, we will give [tons] of resources to get it done’ . The second option is that this is something he thinks is actually feasible. In addition to betraying America to get it done, we would ultimately fail at great expense of lives, liberty & property. He and those he blindly follows fail to recognize that Israel failed in removing Hamas and their entire country is a few miles away.

Trump openly calling for the violation of US & international law is not good for him (as he opens himself to another impeachment). If a negotiation tactic, it has already garnered a lot of strong talk from countries around the world [16], perhaps opening the door for “then you fix it”, though at the same time costing us political capital. If it is a ‘serious’ proposal, it will fail and the mere attempt will cause irreparable harm to the United States.

Lunacy & Solutions

American Occupation!

“If military action is necessary, the United States and our allies will help the Iraqi people rebuild their economy, and create the institutions of liberty in a unified Iraq at peace with its neighbors” — George W. Bush, [making the case to invade Iraq] [17]

While many delusional neocons are excited about adding a new forever war, some people that I are generally on the ‘right’ side of things seem to have lost sight of the plot. Ian Carroll , suggested that this is a way to ‘counter Israel’ which I find plausible in the form of a negotiation tactic but absurd if the intent was to actually put boots on the ground (or help enforce ethnic cleansing etc). The tweet below borders on madness. When have the American people benefited from our forever wars? Ian is using talking points from our Iraq invasion like it is a ‘great idea’. While expected from some, it is disappointing from him.

We would not be ‘saviors’ just as we were not ‘saviors’ in Iraq. We would not benefit, just as we did not benefit from our other wars for israel. If you are ‘America First’ then you are not sacrificing American live liberty or property for ANY other nation. As I detail in American Victory, our military objectives must be SMART (Specific, Measurable, ACHIEVABLE, Relevant, Time-Bound), and they must serve Americans. This is not SMART and does not serve Americans.

The solution

The ‘solution’ has always been there and it is accepted by almost ALL nations except America & Israel (even Hamas accepts it), it is a 2 state solution based on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as the Capital of Palestine. I cover the previous false ‘efforts’ in Zionism, an Obstacle to Peace. If the world, including America accepts this obvious solution the hate will fade and peace will be the result. If we choose ethnic cleansing, forever wars, apartheid and genocide, then obviously the violence will continue (in Palestine & destabilizing the rest of the world).

premiumtimesng

Real Sovereignty

The apartheid state committing a genocide does not get to dictate to those resisting who ‘gets to be in power’. If the Palestinians choose Hamas, then that is their choice. Remember in 2006, Hamas won 44% of the vote but Palestinians overwhelmingly (83.7%) wanted peace with Israel. The vote for Hamas was a vote against corruption, not a vote to ‘destroy israel’. Give people liberty & peace will follow.

Military

Real sovereignty means that the people of Palestine maintain their right to self defense and a military to ensure their sovereignty lasts. We see the alternative to this in the West Bank where zionists gangs roam freely committing pogroms against helpless Palestinians.

End the Blockade

The blockade of Gaza must end. The state of Palestine must be free to construct and maintain docks/piers & an airport (like the one Israel previously destroyed [18]) in order to trade & build its economy. The naval blockade must also be lifted & access to all resources including the offshore oil/gas & access to fishing areas without fear of being murdered.

End the West Bank Ghettos

While this should be a given with the borders described above, I want to be clear to those easily confused. As a sovereign nation, any presence of Israelis or zionist “settlers” in the west bank are illegal and must be removed. The layer upon layer of fragmentation implemented and expanded after Oslo must be removed.

Maintaining Peace

Again the Palestinian people want peace, they have wanted it for decades now. Give them sovereignty & hope for the future and the violence will fade. Ensure that no ‘mowing the grass’ is allowed. Through economic & diplomatic pressure ensure that all sides are peaceful. It may be hard to stomach for some, but assist whoever is in charge of the government of Palestine in keeping the peace as was outlined in previous agreements that were cut short by israel committing assassinations.

I believe international troops in Palestine will cause trouble. If Israel feels ‘too threatened’ then allow international troops on the ‘israel side’ of the wall. International workers/volunteers will likely be welcome and be a force for peace on both sides.

Rebuilding

We know the people of Palestine do not want to move out of Gaza and it is illegal to force them to. The only acceptable place for them to be asked to move would be within the pre-1948 boundaries of Palestine (but I doubt Israel would accept this offer). Reconstructing Gaza does not require depopulating it, instead, create ‘work zones’, no barriers no ghettos, but a coordinated plan led by the Palestinian government to work designated sections at a time.

I believe the first steps would focus around transportation of wreckage & building materials. This would likely mean building and expanding the port in Gaza city as well as clearing way for roads. An agreement for waste management with Egypt (utilizing the Sinai to process it) would likely be the most economical.

Previously there were ~334,000 housing units [19] (remember ~92% have been destroyed). Let’s assume, the population of Gaza is now 2 million people (taking a middle estimate of the total murdered by Israel). The average household size in Gaza was 5.7 in 2022 [19]. That means there needs to be a total of lets say, 360,000 housing units (there was a shortage before & this adds some buffer).

The first step might be the ‘low hanging fruit’ of mostly clear places and something like barracks housing, as an upgrade from tents to provide shelter. For the next part, I asked Chat-GPT about the dimensions of the 'most economical multi family building’ (I am not an engineer & my construction career ended after highschool). I think the construction type should be uniform, its boring, its probably not ‘beautiful’ but it would work & it would allow those building it to develop expertise as time goes on and they build essentially the same building over and over again.

Say 20% of the land is roads & infrastructure, that leaves 111 sq mi for buildings, at 10,000 sq ft footprint each, that is 310,000 buildings, which would be ~3+ times as many housing units as needed. The point here being there is sufficient space to rebuild. The next assessment would be if there is open & usable land to begin permanent housing construction. If so, great start building! If not a coordinated system of debris removal & construction must be implemented.

To ensure peace & avoid resentment, the area should be divided by random collection of adjacent blocks (the number depending on the available resources). These would then be further subdivided based on the amount of area to accommodate the appropriate number of ‘10,000 sq ft’ footprint buildings. Each section could be cleared then built, probably working away from and then towards the nearest major roadway. This provides a few things. Community, as people literally work together to rebuild their homes. Ownership/responsibility, if working to rebuild what very well could be your own home, the odds of taking dangerous/cost saving “short cuts” diminishes. Importantly this allows a coordinated but not isolated rebuilding to take place, hopefully ensuring that all feel hope for the future and thus helping to avoid additional violence.

BBC

Gaza Population Map, NBC

I realize this plan is rather simplistic, but it is functional and the point of it is to show that it CAN be done. There is no ‘need’ to move Palestinians, that plan is fueled by zionists desire to get the land they tried and failed to take. If you put actual experts who aren’t serving israel on this, I’m sure they could provide a more detailed & accurate plan.

Conclusion

Israel failed in its military objectives in Gaza and is trying now to cling to ‘victory’ through a doomed-to-fail plan that Trump hopefully proposed merely as a negotiation strategy. There is no mechanism to enact the proposed ethnic cleansing, and after the fallout from the initial announcement, Trump is now walking back any use of American troops, further emphasizing the question of ‘who is going to do it’.

The path forward has been the same for decades, a truly sovereign Palestinian state based on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital. The people of Gaza are resilient and survived 15 months of genocide & 75+ years of oppression. With sovereignty, no blockade & a newfound liberty providing hope for the future the Palestinians of Gaza can and will rebuild their homes.

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https://www.aljazeera.com/gallery/2025/2/5/gaza-transformed-into-rubble-strewn-wasteland-after-israeli-bombardment

Gaza Ceasefire

Eomar — Tue, 14 Jan 2025 16:24:13 GMT

News of an ‘imminent ceasefire’ in Gaza has been spreading. Initially I doubted the credibility of this claim due to the previous ‘rumors of a ceasefire’, however, US & israeli media have been echoing the same claim. US media has also begun to reveal some of the horrors faced by Palestinians (notably, 60 minutes published footage they sat on since May). To me, I see this as ~~government~~ corporate media ‘justifying’ the ceasefire to Americans who have been lied to by the same organizations for decades.

Again, this is not ‘in effect’ yet though I hope it will succeed. I wanted to cover some of the details in the ceasefire itself, how it is moving forward and what comes next.

Children Celebrate rumors of a Ceasefire via Suppresed News

The current toll in Gaza

A report by the Lancet states that the death toll reported by Gaza officials was 41% lower than reality. They estimate the actual death toll to be ~64,260 [1]. An earlier Lancet article estimates that 3-15 times more people will die from ‘indirect deaths’ due to the “war” [2]. This could bring the total between 192,000 & about 960,000 out of a population of ~2 million people.

As of March of last year, there were over 1,000 child amputees in Gaza thanks to the ongoing israeli bombardments [3], the number is certainly higher now. HRW reported in December 2024 on the use of water “as a weapon of war” by the israelis [4]. Palestinians are also facing starvation, another ‘weapon’ of israel, despite the US government attempts to silence any report of it [5]. Famine is not something that can be easily ‘turned off’ and will contribute to the total deaths estimated about.

Lasting health impacts, like those of the 9/11 responders still loom for those that survive the immediate challenges[6]. More will likely be exposed as they try to rebuild, a monumental task that will have people removing decaying human remains, debris and unexploded ordinance. In addition to the physical health, the mental trauma and anguish is almost beyond comprehension. Imagine the mental state of a child, knowing there are people that intentionally shoot children in the head [7]. Imagine them having seen it, perhaps they saw a sibling murdered, perhaps a parent saw their child killed.

UNRWA

Over 9,000 Palestinians are imprisoned by israel [8]. Again, this is nothing new for israel as I detailed here. The imprisonment, described as ‘Hell’ by B’tsalem (an Israeli human rights group) comes with torture and even death [9].

The Ceasefire Deal

This deal is highly similar to one proposed in May 2024 [10]. Netanyahu could have got the hostages back on 10/9/2023, he could have got them back in May 2024. He chose to continue slaughtering innocent people, even at the expense of his own people.

‘The Saviour' shared via X a more detailed breakdown. Similar details are now being reported on other sites. Importantly, the first phase includes steps to end the killing, suspending ground operations, pauses in air operations & significant increase in humanitarian aid.

What i saw conveniently left out by the western media is that this is a prisoner EXCHANGE. As mentioned, the israelis routinely hold Palestinian men, women & children as ‘prisoners’, often indistinguishable from hostages. Israel will release 30 Palestinians for each Israeli. For each israeli soldier , 50 Palestinians will be released. It is also reported that some of these people were in prison for life or other long-term sentences [11].

Phase 2 will be conditioned upon a ‘permanent ceasefire’ & full israeli withdrawal from Gaza (this is including the Philadelphi corridor, something I believe is crucial for Gaza). Phase 3 will include a reconstruction plan, an exchange of human remains and lifting the decades long blockade of Gaza. Again, this is all essentially the previous deal that Hamas had accepted & was rejected by Netanyahu in May of 2024.

Resistance

I wrote on the right to resist in ‘Give Me Liberty’. It is worth noting the resilience of the forces on the ground in Gaza & others that fought against the zionists. Yemen continues to drive the point home that zionists will not have peace until Palestinians do [12]. I think this ceasefire deal and the timeline provides some perspective on why the Hezbollah ‘ceasefire’ is holding despite repeated violations by the zionists. Make no mistake, without the resistance to israeli aggression, this deal would be no where near as favorable for Palestinians. If you doubt it, look at Ben Gvir & zionist twitter right now having a meltdown.

Genocide Joe

I think it is worth mentioning again, this was NEVER about the hostages. I think Netanyahu saw in Biden either a man too incompetent to do the right thing, or an administration run entirely by an agent of israel (maybe Biden, but likely whoever actually was running things). Without the blank check support of Biden et al this war had NO way of continuing. Supporting genocide was never in American interests. Strategically, given our dwindling resources (America’s Waning Power & A Wider War: Supply Chain & Restraint) and weakening global standing, America needed this to end. The ease with which the US could have ended this is a dark stain on Biden, Harris, Blinken and the others. I hope their complicity in this genocide forever haunts them.

Trump for Peace

I wrote my thoughts on Election Day back in November. I thought maybe punishing Kamala was the ‘best we could do’. The news I am seeing today caught me by surprise.

The Jerusalem Post, is repeating claims of Al Araby that Netanyahu’s stance changed because of Trump’s promise of ‘hell to pay’ if no deal is reached [13]. Haraatz has now published details of how Trump “Forced Netanyahu to accept a Gaza plan he repeatedly rejected” [14]. They describe Trump’s Middle East Envoy is an aggressive businesman that went to make a deal. It is telling that they were ‘shocked’ that he behaved as if the US is the one in control, not Netanyahu. It will be interesting to learn more as this continues to develop, especially as Netanyahu risks losing support of the even more radical elements in his government. Ben Gvir is now openly admitting how he sabotaged peace efforts & stating he will end the coalition government in protest of this deal [15].

Closing

While we don’t yet have peace, I am hopeful. The narrative shift coming from the corporate media gives me some hope. What Trump & others have said gives me some hope. We have to keep the pressue on to ensure it ‘crosses the finish line’.

As I mentioned above, the dying will not stop when the bombs stop. We need to ensure that as much aid as possible can reach those in need once the ‘gates’ are opened. Organizations like PCRF & Heal Palestine are great organizations to support this cause. In addition to healing, we need to ensure those that committed this evil face justice. The Hind Rajab Foundation has been doing amazing work, ensuring that the genociders have no peace abroad by seeking their arrest under international law.

Americans need to reclaim their sovereignty & actually put America first, that means NO MORE fighting israel’s wars (directly or indirectly). The effort to expose dual citizens & foreign agents, led (at least in government) by Representative Thomas Massie is now being picked up by General Flynn & Vivek Ramaswamy. Even Trump has shared a video of Jeffrey Sachs on ‘truth’ that labeled Netanyahu a “Dark son of a bitch”. We have to continue exposing the corruption & treason to ensure peace actually has a chance.

For true lasting peace, at a minimum, the world must recognize Palestine along its 1967 borders. Despite the unfairness of this theft by the Zionists, the majority of Palestinians (including Hamas) have long accepted these borders as the basis for the state of Palestine. If this ceasefire takes hold, do not abandon the Palestinian people. Continue speaking out, continue writing your representatives, do not allow this to be merely a 'temporary pause' that lasts only until the evils of zionist tyranny force more violence.

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Give me Liberty

Eomar — Sun, 20 Oct 2024 14:24:59 GMT

Following the 9/11 attacks Americans were rightfully saddened and angered by the murder of their fellow countrymen, even though most of us didn’t personally know anyone who lost their lives. Many of us ‘answered the call’ for years to come to ‘ensure it never happened again’. In the year after 9/11, more people joined the military than in any year since.

Many, like myself, intentionally joined the infantry. Whatever the ‘reason’, we chose to ‘be in the fight’. My fellow grunts, the honest ones with functioning brains, can recognize that if exposed to a fraction of the oppression that Palestinians face they would fight too. We can look at our founders, and see DEFINITIVE proof that they would fight with MUCH less provocation.

The List of grievances, with references to the King replaced with “The Zionists”

The oft pushed narrative that Palestinians are the ‘aggressor’ is simply one of the many lies meant to earn your apathy or worse, your support for the zionist oppressors. It is to distract from the fact that Palestinians are fighting for their God given rights, rights that ANY self respecting human being would fight for (more details in ‘related articles’ below). The right to resist oppression is also a human right, it is fundamental to our own nation’s founding and it is echoed in international agreements.

Americans, probably most men throughout the world, often fantasize or at least romanticize ‘going out in a blaze of glory’. Among those that consider themselves patriots, “Give me Liberty or give me death” is an oft repeated motto. Would we live by this motto? I hope we never truly have to find out. I hope the ongoing erosion of liberty is stopped & reversed before we have to find out.

However, if down the road in a fight for our liberty, we find ourselves missing an arm from a government tank shelling us, sitting in a bombed out building on a dusty chair as we bleed out. I hope we all have the strength of will to throw rubble at the government drone sent to finish us off.

Give me Liberty, or give me Death.

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Israeli Escalations

Eomar — Wed, 31 Jul 2024 15:23:05 GMT

In the past day Israel has crossed multiple, MAJOR red lines. First they bombed Beirut, reportedly assassinating a Hezbollah leader (still not confirmed). Then they assassinated Ismail Haniyeh (the political leader of Hamas), perhaps more significantly, they did so inside of Tehran.

Druze Community Attacked

Netanyahu had traveled to America last week to meet with whoever runs the Biden administration and former President Trump. Shortly after visiting Trump, a missile hit a Druze community in the occupied Golan heights (Hezbollah denies responsibility) . The Druze, the rest of the world (excluding the US) and international law recognize the area as Syrian. 12 children were murdered [1]. Netanyahu claimed this ‘required a response’ and pretended to care for the Druze in order to escalate the conflict.

Beirut

If you look at the range of strikes, from both Hezbollah & Israel, both sides generally keep the conflict contained to the border areas. The last attack in the Beirut area killed Hamas deputy leader, Saleh al-Arouri in January 2024 [2]. The response to this killing was attacks on military targets within the general area of operations[3].

Washington Institute

The attack in Beirut yesterday (7/30/2024) reportedly killed Fuad Shukr and 3 civilians, 74 more civilians were injured [4] . When looking at the response to the previous attack, it clearly did NOT establish any sort of deterrence with Israel. Strategically this means Hezbollah would need to respond in a much more dramatic fashion to prevent the impression that this can continue with impunity.

Tehran

Iran had previously stated that any attacks on their sovereignty would be met with immediate response. After the attack on their embassy in April, they responded with a volley of ~300 drones and missiles as I detailed here. The United States & others worked to minimize the damage and to deescalate the situation. Tehran walked away feeling they had established deterrence, again, this was apparently in error. The assassination of a diplomat (which despite western labels, Haniyeh was still considered a diplomat) is a flagrant violation of international law & norms as well as a direct attack on Iranian sovereignty. Iran’s supreme leader promised “harsh punishment” and Iran has raised a red flag, symbolizing a call for revenge (last raised in April) [5].

Hamas

It is important to recognize that this is a rather standard operating procedure of the zionists. I detailed in Zionism, an obstacle to Peace, how each time a Hamas leader speaks of peace, the zionists assassinate them. There have been multiple embarrassments for the zionists & US backers where Hamas accepts peace & israel must then publicly decline it. The US even recently said that negotiations ‘might soon succeed’ [6]. While the assassination of Haniyeh is a strategic loss for Hamas, it is not a new situation for them and not an unforeseeable potentiality. This seems to be the clearest signal in the midst of the recent aggression, Israel is doing all it can to thwart peace talks & escalate the conflict.

Why Escalate?

“Their malice for each other is intense: you think they are united, yet their hearts are divided.” — The Quran

Immediately before these escalations there were riots against the arrest of 9 IDF soldiers accused of raping a Palestinian hostage. Right wing zionists had stormed bases and other government locations demanding the release of the soldiers. While some politicians called for calm, others demanded their release and argued, publicly, that rape is ‘legitimate’.

“Yes! If he is a Nukhba [Hamas militant], everything is legitimate to do! Everything!" — Lawmaker Hanoch Milwidsky on the legitimacy of anal rape of hostages [7]

The depravity of zionism was on full display for the world to see and was threatening to tear the country apart. An escalation, really the response to their escalation, is being sought as a unifying thing to rally behind. Remember, before 10/7 there were large protests against the Netanyahu government, 10/7 (and the IDF lies associated with that day) silenced and temporarily unified the country.

America

While the riots were one thing that ‘necessitated’ these actions, I feel like there is more to what was said/promised in the United States. The intensity of these escalations feels like a desperate attempt to trigger a wider war sooner, rather than later. I believe that the zionists have full control/support of the current administration (whoever is running it). The new Harris campaign is likely making large promises to secure enough donations to make up for lost time (and dramatically low approval ratings).

On the other side of the election, I think that the ‘no new wars’ rhetoric from Trump was reiterated, it is a recurring part of his campaign. Trump has also publicly called for israel to ‘finish quickly’ as to not lose the ‘pr war’ [8]. Despite Trumps rhetoric, he frequently contradicts himself by advocating for and boasting of support for israel.

I believe the zionists are seeking to start a wider war BEFORE US elections, to ensure that the next administration can pin blame on the current one. From the zionist perspective, already being engaged in a war would effectively tie the hands of the next administration. If Trump were to be elected this would allow him to continue his ‘no new war’ rhetoric while clearing the way to support israel as ‘a sign of strength’. If it were Kamala, she can just continue on doing whatever it is she is doing now.

To my Fellow Americans

I have several articles for you to reference on why a war in the middle east is NOT in our interest. In summary, our mission should be to preserve AMERICAN life, liberty & property as detailed here in 'American Victory', the longer we fight for our crumbling empire the more damage we do to our nation. Zionism is un-American, zionists do not want peace and our politicians only peddle this ‘greatest ally’ nonsense to you because zionism creates constant conflict & profits for the military industrial complex. As a foreign nation tries to drag us into war, I encourage you to read this excerpt from my article “War is STILL a Racket”.

Closing

It is important to remember that Hezbollah is highly capable of inflicting damage on israel and Iran is formidable as well. It is unclear what the response will be to zionist aggression and escalatory strikes. On one hand, a dramatic counter attack seems logical to establish deterrence. On the other hand, doing so would potentially play into what the zionists want. While it is a strategic conundrum for those involved, it is clear that America should stay out of it. Our interests are not served by fighting another war for israel. Americans must demand peace from our government.

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Double or Nothing

Eomar — Tue, 25 Jun 2024 19:21:24 GMT

“Hamas is an idea. Anyone who thinks we can eliminate Hamas is wrong," —IDF Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari

The IDF went into Gaza with the stated goal of ‘destroying Hamas’, now they admit what I have been saying for months (here & here), they cannot win. The hubris of the israelis led them on this path of slaughter & destruction. Rather than seek peace in the face of defeat, zionists clamor for another war, this one with Hezbollah.

Current Assessments

IDF

Force size

The IDF chief of staff is claiming he is needs an additional division (4,500 troops) to ‘fulfill its missions’ [1]. In previous articles, using the battle of Mosul as a model, we see zionists would need 320,000 - 1.3 million combat troops to take and hold Gaza as well as a significant amount of time. Remember, this is COMBAT troops not total force.

Conscripts, fight like conscripts

The IDF was once touted as an ‘elite fighting force’ and even I believed it. I thought that despite being conscripts they fought on par with America’s professional, all volunteer force. I was wrong, very wrong. They fight like we see conscripts fight all over the world.

The frequent & abundant self-reported images and videos of war crimes by the IDF is itself an indicator of their lack of discipline. We see videos of bodies being mutilated, women’s undergarments being worn, cripples being mocked. All variety of depravity is on display and showed to the world by the IDF. Additionally the IDF is reported to be ‘exhausted by 8 months of fighting’ [2]

While on its surface, the frequent ambushes against israeli armor seem bad enough, the reality reflects something much worse. We see in the below US army manual that infantry is key to ‘combined arms’. Tanks are not meant to operate alone in urban environments. Despite this we see video after video of tanks (and other armor) alone & exposed. It seems that the IDF officer corps (as I assume they at least know this) does not have the ability to control their men & conduct operations as required.

Combined Arms in Urban Terrain [3]

Tank targeted at point blank range [4]

This breakdown in command and control can have catastrophic consequences that reach beyond the mounting casualties we see ongoing today. The quote below gives an idea of how difficult it is becoming for the IDF to field troops. With low discipline, minimal control and mounting exhaustion, just how long can the IDF continue to fight? Yet we see politicians & other lunatics pushing for a war with Hezbollah.

Haaretz: False alarms and fatigue[5]

Hezbollah

I wrote in “A Wider War: Hezbollah” that Netanyahu saw a war with Hezbollah as a way to lure in the Americans and cling to power. I also detailed how Hezbollah could inflict HUGE amounts of damage with their ~160,000 rockets & missiles, this was with a seemingly overly optimistic (for the israelis) 80% interception rate. Foreign Policy is now reporting that Hezbollah has over 1 million rockets & missiles[6]. A million just further illustrates the destructive force Hezbollah can bring to bear.

Strike capabilities

Hezbollah has been targeting various systems throughout northern israel for months. A spy balloon here, a radar tower there, they even showed how they hit an iron dome system. All of this has been clearing the path for deep penetration into zionist held land. Hezbollah recently published a drone captured video of residential areas outside of Haifa, the Haifa port, chemical containers and other strategic locations near Haifa. Additionally, this drone flew over 4 different anti-air batteries without being intercepted[7]. The HudHud is not a small drone, it has a 2 meter wingspan and it can be armed with up to 4 missiles [8].

The port in Haifa sees over 29 million tons of cargo per year and is the largest port for israel. It is also the primary naval base for the zionist forces. The city of Haifa has a population of ~280,000. while the ‘haifa district’ has a population near 1 million. Looking back at “A Wider War: Hezbollah” this area is within reach of ‘medium range’ weaponry.

Shaul Goldsten, who heads the company that manages Israel’s electric grid, stated that Hezbollah could target their power and make israel “uninhabitable” after 72 hours[9]. Hezbollah, made this abundantly clear by following up with another video that listed out potential targets in the event of an attack on Lebanon. The Hadera power station is the largest power producer in israel and is run on imported coal. Many of these potential targets were analyzed in “A Wider War: Hezbollah”, in short, Hezbollah is very capable of destroying them.

El Mayadeen [10]

What is Next

Hezbollah

Hezbollah has thus far shown great strategic patience in this conflict. Their exchanges with the zionists have been against military targets and have been seemingly limited in range . By showing restraint and patience Hezbollah is giving time for israel to further alienate itself. Had Hezbollah responded on 10/8 in full force, the US and others would likely respond with full commitment. Now that the world has been allowed to see what zionism truly is, the appetite to help israel (at least by the people) in most countries is very low or non-existent. As israel openly commits more and more war crimes, Hezbollah is likely to face less & less outside interference.

I believe that Hezbollah will continue to show patience. I don’t see the balance of power shifting in favor of israel as time goes on. Hezbollah will likely continue to make strikes that ‘soften’ israel’s defenses so that in the event of escalation, they can have more devastating effect. We also saw in the Iran-Israel tit-for-tat that Russia encouraged Iranian restraint, I assume that this would extend to encouraged restraint from Hezbollah as well.

American Involvement

When I wrote ‘A Wider War: Hezbollah’ I theorized that expanding the conflict might be seen as a way to lure in the Americans. As we contemplate American involvement in another foreign war, it is important to remember recent history as well. We lost in Iraq, maybe not catastrophically, but our interests aren’t ‘better off’ since our invasion. We were completely embarrassed in Afghanistan, our withdrawal looked like a rout & the Taliban ended up with an air force. We are ineffective in Yemen. Perhaps most importantly, we are losing in Ukraine. Looking at the whole picture, including the points captured in “America’s Waning Power”, the United States seems unprepared and uninterested in another conflict.

As described in that article, America already (back in January and earlier) had supply shortages. Our manufacturing cannot keep up with the demand that our war in Ukraine placed on us, adding israel’s munition hungry genocide didn’t help. I wouldn’t expect much from NATO countries as their focus is on the dangerously close war with Russia. Further evidence that the US has no interest in an expanding war is provided by how the US worked to de-escalate the tit-for-tat with Iran & how the US is pushing israel (however timidly) for a ceasefire in Gaza.

I do not think there is ANY appetite in the United States to send in troops to support this war. While the majority of Americans (55%) believe the US should play a role in ending the “Israel-Hamas war”, only 20% believe it should have a major role, 35% believe it should have a minor role & 27% want the US to play ‘no role at all’ [11]. If a wider war were to break out I believe the US would try to aid israel while also trying to keep it small enough that most Americans don’t even notice we are at war.

Israel

Israel is the hardest actor to judge because I do not believe they are rationally acting in their own best interests. I detailed in “American Victory” how they sacrificed ‘small victory’ in favor of ‘large defeat’. I do not believe that the majority of israelis understand the risk they truly face. Many still believe the rhetoric of their state propaganda agencies. Even those that caution against war largely overestimate Israel’s capabilities. This article states at 3,000 launches a day ‘at least some’ of the Iron dome will be overwhelmed. Meanwhile, we already saw how a single one-way drone can penetrate israeli defenses and strike iron dome batteries.

The result? 62% of Jewish israelis favor an attack on Hezbollah[12].

Destruction is not victory

In American Victory I show that destruction does not equate to victory. Israel can likely inflict a huge amount of damage on Lebanon but that doesn’t mean they will ‘win’. We see today, with much of Gaza destroyed, Hamas can STILL launch rockets into israel. Hezbollah’s wider range of weapons and larger theater of operations means that israel would be unable to destroy their launch capabilities. If we look back at the 2006 war, we get an even clearer picture. That war is largely described as a loss for israel [13]. At the start of that war, Hezbollah reportedly had a mere 13,000 rockets & missiles[14]. Now they have hundreds of thousands, including advanced missiles & drones capable of precision strikes. Despite this, we are expected to believe israel can achieve ‘its mission’ in Lebanon.

Survivability

"From my perspective, I think it's going to be a war that Israel will lose within the first 24 hours…simply because of the pictures we will see of mass destruction in very sensitive areas within Israel on a scale we've never seen before." Eran Etzion former deputy head of israel’s national security council

If the image of invulnerability is shattered, can israel survive as it is today? I think no. We see that 40% of those who have been evacuated from the north are unlikely to return [15] . What will happen if the Haifa port and other locations that Hezbollah has shown it can hit are destroyed? What will happen if 500kg bombs go off in Tel-Aviv? This is not the 5-10kg homemade rockets of Hamas, but professionally constructed weapons of a modern military. Will zionists around the world still believe ‘israel is the only safe space for Jews’ or will they stay in Brooklyn? In 2022, there were 7 million Jews living in Israel, 79% (5.5 million) of them were reportedly born there [15], if they were born to parents with dual citizenship, they likely have it or are eligible for it as well. How many parents would stay there if it meant greater risk to their children?

Nuclear weapons

Many zionists will point to israel’s nuclear capabilities as the ‘winning hand’ in this conflict. Again, destruction does not mean victory. Were Israel to utilize nuclear weapons, they may destroy Lebanon, but they would also irradiate themselves and their northern ‘bread basket’. The political repercussions would be catastrophic. I don’t think that the use of nuclear weapons would ‘save’ the zionist state, it would just be another route to their own destruction.

Conclusion

Hezbollah has shown it can strike successfully against Israel. The United States has signaled that it is not interested in a wider war (though it likely will allow itself to be dragged into one). Israel has shown it is incapable of securing its airspace & it is incapable of ‘achieving victory’ in Gaza, adding a Hezbollah front would be disastrous.

The best thing for israel is to move towards lasting peace and stability. This means no occupation and a 1967-border-based 2 state solution. Unfortunately, I think it is unlikely Israel will do this on its own. I believe that their leaders know the truth of their capabilities & the limited impact they can have against Hezbollah. They are gambling on the basis that a war with Hezbollah may ‘buy them some time’. In reality, a war with Hezbollah would hasten their demise.

Note: Benny Gantz is in America trying to lure us further into their war. He has recently lied stating “we can bring Lebanon completely into the dark, and take apart Hezbollah’s power in days”.

If you are an American reading this, know that your politicians are risking more American lives & capital on behalf of a losing fight. Read or re-read American Victory to get a sense of why we should push for peace, primarily by refusing to be involved. The longer we stay on the warpath the worse the outcome will be.

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We hold these Truths

Eomar — Thu, 25 Jan 2024 16:32:30 GMT

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” — United States Declaration of Independence

A fundamental human right to property is enumerated in our Bill of Rights. “The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated…”. It is something that Americans fiercely defend. As our Declaration states, this right does not derive from government, it is from our Creator. This right, and others, belong to us all, regardless of which country we are born in or which government we are born under.

This is why I do not spend (much) time arguing about whether Palestine as a State existed before 1948. The fundamental issue is not pre-1948 Palestinian statehood, at the base level, the ‘founding’ of ‘israel’ was theft. It was the violation of the human right to property of at least 750,000 individuals. I encourage you to look at the actual land ownership and what the UN unlawfully gave away in 1948. It is clearly counter to the founding principles of our nation. Palestinians owned 94% of the land, Zionist immigrants owned a mere 6% yet the UN “gave” the Zionists 55% of Palestine. Zionists took even more land during ensuing the Nakba.

Occupation

Upon forcing out the native Palestinians, upon depriving them of their rights and their property, the zionists, Israel, became an occupying force. The UN and the international community recognize the rights of an occupied people to resist ‘by all available means’. In establishing an Apartheid State , zionists further solidified Palestinian’s right to resist.

“Reaffirms the legitimacy of the struggle of peoples for independence, territorial integrity, national unity and liberation from colonial domination, apartheid and foreign occupation by all available means, including armed struggle;” — Rights of peoples to self-determination

To put this in context of America’s founding documents, by seizing and controlling the rights of Palestinians, the zionist state in effect forcibly became a governing body of the people. Until those rights are restored, or the deprivation of those rights is amended in some other way, the Palestinian people have a right to say HOW they are governed, especially if Israel wants to claim the mantle of a Democracy.

“That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government”

A 'state’s right to exist’ is not inherent in the state, it is derived from the governed. This is why Israel has kept the ‘state’ of Palestine in purgatory for 75 years. To declare an end of the state, to declare that all historic Palestine is now Israel would require it to then accept the Palestinians not only in the West Bank and Gaza, but in the Diaspora. It would reveal the harsh reality, that the ‘Jewish Democracy’ is held together only by ethnic cleansing and Apartheid. ‘There will be a state soon’ helps ‘put the issue in formaldehyde’ as Ariel Sharon’s advisor once said.

Palestine pre-1948

“State, political organization of society, or the body politic, or, more narrowly, the institutions of government.”[1].

As mentioned, it is not overly important (in my opinion) to prove Palestinian statehood prior to 1948, it also isn’t overly difficult. Palestine did exist as a state before 1948. Even Theodore Herzl, Zionism’s ‘founder’ referred to the land as Palestine[2]. We See it on maps, we see on coins, we see it in texts, we can see it in culture and histories and most importantly, we heard it from the people living there[3]. While it is true that Palestine didn’t have ‘ultimate’ sovereignty under Ottoman rule, historian Beshara Doumani notes that “until the late nineteenth century, most Palestinians enjoyed a great degree of self-rule”[4].

If the US were to break apart would you claim that New York didn’t exist? More importantly, would you claim New Yorkers have no right to their homes, land and property? No, rule would revert to the people, it would fall upon them to form a new government. The collapse of state does not strip the inhabitants of their right to property because the right to property does not come from the state.

Conclusion

The issue of pre-1948 Palestinian statehood is a secondary issue, even a tactic of distraction utilized by zionists. The primary issue is an irrefutable one. The human right to property of at least 750,000 individual Palestinians was violated when their land was stolen during the Nakba. This is true regardless of any political status or lack thereof. The right to property is a human right given to us by our Creator. Since it’s formation, the Zionist state and Zionism has been antithetical to our (American) founding principles. It is immoral and illogical to ask Palestinians to accept what we would not.

While israeli officials would previously pretend to seek a two-state solution, Netanyahu, bolstered by the West’s support for his ongoing genocide, has recently stated his opposition to a Palestinian state[5]. His hopes are that if the west can accept genocide[6], they can accept further ethnic cleansing and ongoing Apartheid too. I hope he is wrong on all counts.

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List of Grievances

The List of Grievances from Our Declaration of Independence but I replaced references to the King with ‘Zionists’.

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Resources & Notes

This one was short compared to my other articles. It was originally part of ‘Zionism, an obstacle to Peace’ but it felt better as a shorter ‘stand alone’ piece. If you want more details on the post 1900 history of Palestine and the zionist occupation read Zionism, an Obstacle to Peace.

https://www.britannica.com/topic/state-sovereign-political-entity
https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/quot-the-jewish-state-quot-theodor-herzl
https://www.palestineremembered.com/tags/Palestine-Pre-Nakba.html
Doumani, Beshara B. “Rediscovering Ottoman Palestine: Writing Palestinians into History.” Journal of Palestine Studies, vol. 21, no. 2, 1992, pp. 5–28. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/2537216. Accessed 24 Jan. 2024.
https://archive.ph/3iwma
https://www.icj-cij.org/sites/default/files/case-related/192/192-20231228-app-01-00-en.pdf

Guarding your Humanity

Eomar — Thu, 11 Jan 2024 16:56:23 GMT

“They perpetuate the fiction so many Americans want to believe – that no real people die in war, that it’s just an exciting video game.” — Ira Chernus [0]

Dehumanization has long been a tool of war, Nazis believed Jews & Slavs were “Untermenschen” (sub-human)[1] . In the US, following 9/11 we were told “they hate us for our freedom”. Still caught up in the post 9/11 fervor it was much easier to sell ‘hate’ to the American public than to explain how decades of foreign policy decisions created blowback. The israeli government pushes this same ‘hate’ onto its own people dehumanizing Palestinians at every chance since its ‘founding’. Seeing so much suffering being caused by the zionists can wear down on our own humanity even as it is their lack of humanity that causes these feelings. It might be justifiable to hate the soldiers committing these crimes, it is certainly justifiable to hate the state/government that is facilitating it. Too often, once we give over to hating our enemies we strip them of their humanity, it is at that point, the most vile aspects of human nature come out.

Hate

When Osama Bin Laden was killed, a fellow Marine and I went out to celebrate. We got drinks, we went downtown and joined the crowds to cheer the death of an evil man. Bin Laden was responsible for the the death of thousands of Americans, his actions led America into wars it would ultimately sacrifice money, freedoms and lives for. If ever a person was deserving of death for their crimes, Bin Laden was it. Yet when I now reflect back on it, I feel a bit uncomfortable. Not because I have new found sympathy for Bin Laden, but because of how it reflects upon me. I do not want to be a person that celebrates the death of another person.

I didn’t reflect too much on this until I saw more cheering of death by my fellow Americans. This time it was dead Russians. Not evil masterminds of massive attacks, mostly (I think) just conscripts. There are seemingly endless videos of Ukrainian bombs dropped via drones. I found this by the Daily Mail, complete with some rock music to really ‘get you pumped’ for murder and death. The comments near universally cheer this. Commenters didn’t see the son, the brother, the father, the human. They only saw a dehumanized invader, ‘Orc’ has been the “acceptable” term. Facebook(Meta), even loosened its rules to allow for ‘war posts’ against Russians[2]. Al Jazeera quoted a clerk in Kyiv: “They’re orcs because we don’t consider them human”[3].

Hate and dehumanization led to the Nakba and it led to the imprisonment of 2 million people in Gaza. It led to blockades and brutality. After over a decade it led to a violent escape & attack on October 7th. It led some Palestinians fighting for their freedom to lose sight of their own humanity as they killed civilians alongside military occupiers. As if to highlight the utter wrongness of this kind of violence, Vivian Silver, a 74 year old peace activist and founding member of ‘Israeli-Palestinian Women Wage Peace Movement’[4] was among those killed.

Zionists have since declared all Palestinians ‘sub-human’. I see Zionists proudly state ‘there are no innocents’ in Gaza. I see Zionists commenting how children, literally babies ‘deserve’ to be murdered by Israel. I saw a video of a father and his maybe 2 year old daughter being gunned down by the IDF in the middle of the street. I see him weakly reach towards her as he dies. This is one of many, many horrific videos. I see this and I wonder how do Israelis, and other Zionists not see it? What had become of Herzl’s dream of “an outpost of civilization as opposed to barbarism”?

Anti-Semitism

“Anti-Semitism begat Herzl, Herzl begat the Jewish state begat ‘Zionism’.”—Ahad Ha-Am

Zionism as an idea began in the late 1800s in the face of growing Anti-Semitism including brutal pogroms. In 1914, Jews made up ~7.5% the population of Palestine. By 1931 it was 16.7%, 1932 17.7%, 1933 20%, 1934 23%, 1935 26.7%. We saw roughly 3x the Jewish immigration to Palestine starting in 1933. This surge coincides with the year Hitler came to power in Germany. Jews fled to Palestine, perhaps not due to love of Zionism, but for fear of what they (rightfully) thought might be coming.

Image of Jewish Refugees arriving in Palestine by ship

As I see the evil’s of today’s Zionism, manifested in an Israeli government openly calling for genocide[5]. I wonder if Nathan Birnbaum’s concerns, “A Zionism that has no better foundation than anti-Semitism is doomed to failure”[6], had come true. Did the hatred that Jews fled in the years up to 1948 stick with Israel’s earliest Zionist founders? Did the the crimes, the massacres and the ethnic cleansing that created Israel embed itself in the foundation of Zionism and Israel? It appears so, the oppression and violence that Zionists now perpetrate against Palestinians is eerily similar to that which they fled[7].

Anti-Zionism, not Anti-Semitism

“If thou art able, correct by teaching those who do wrong; but if thou canst not, remember that indulgence is given to thee for this purpose”. — Marcus Aurelius

Israeli officials often claim that ‘Israel is the only safe place for Jews’. Despite this claim Jews can still be found throughout the world. They are friends, neighbors, co-workers, members of our community. This is not to say that all bigotry and hate has been defeated but to refute the concept that Jews are ‘other than’. If you are an American Jew then you are an American, just like any other.

In business, there is the concept of ‘attack the process, not the person’. As we fight against Zionism, i say “attack the idea, not the person”. To those swimming in a sea of despair, frustration and anger caused by the crimes of Israel, I implore you to separate first, the idea, the lie, that Zionism is Judaism[8]. I hate Zionism. I hate the ethno-supremacy it stands for, I hate the Apartheid it enforces, I hate the Genocide it is carrying out. However, I do not hate Jews, many are not even Zionists. I do not hate Israelis, many (at this point) had no choice to be born Israeli. Even Zionists I try to understand. Their belief system is evil, that is unquestionable. However, perhaps many zionists are indoctrinated by state propaganda, perhaps they don’t even know how truly evil zionism is. The organization Breaking the Silence features former IDF members who now speak out against the crimes of zionism. Are those people evil for having once been a part of an evil system? I think no. While some have committed unforgivable evil, some have ‘merely’ been adherents to a hateful ideal they were indoctrinated into. It is for this reason I say attack the idea, not the person.

A large percentage of Israelis get their news from Israeli television(47%) and Israeli news websites(42%). 44% find TV and newspapers “reliable” , 48% radio[9]. I don’t know much about Israeli media institutions, but I remember how propaganda driven our news was after 9/11 and still is today. In this clip Gideon Levy calls out the channel he is on stating “what is happening over there [in Gaza] is not shown on this channel or any other Israeli channel!”[10] In America, only 32% say they trust the mass media[11]. 27% prefer to get news from TV, 6% radio, 5% print and 58% digital media. When we look at American Jew’s attitudes towards Israel based on a 2020 survey conducted by Pew research [12] 54% have never been, 25% feel ‘very emotionally attached to Israel, 32% ‘somewhat’ and 41% ‘not much/not at all’. In this 2020 survey, 54% felt the level of American support was ‘about right’ and 22% said the US was too supportive. 40% of those surveyed had positive ratings for Netanyahu vs 26% ‘fair’ and 28% ‘poor’ ratings (remember, in 2020). 63% of American Jews felt that there is hope for a coexistence with a peaceful Palestinian State yet only a 3rd felt that the Israeli government is sincere in its efforts for peace. In addition to the opinions above, voices like Norman Finkelstein, Gabor Mate, Avi Shlaim, Gideon Levy among others show that Jewish voices can be among the most powerful ones calling for peace. As I was writing this I learned that 650 Israelis supported South Africa’s Genocide case against israel.

I believe most would agree that a function of corporate media has at least now become to push state propaganda, we see that those who escape its grasp are more likely to oppose israel. In the chart below you can see how as age increases so does reliance on corporate media, so does the favorability of israel. For those 18-29, 83% prefer digital devices for news, of that group 56% have an unfavorable view of israel (in 2022). We see this reinforced in a more recent survey on how Biden is handling the current genocide. 46% of those ages 18-29 disapproved, vs 19% approved. For those not informed on the matter, Biden has provided unquestioning support with ‘no red lines’, green lighting genocide and bypassing congress to provide weapons for it[13]. This gives me hope that when spared decades of indoctrination and/or when free of propaganda, people will see the truth.

data source from 2 Pew Polls [14] [15]

Pew [16]

As a final plea, if you cannot, for your own humanity’s sake, stifle your hatred, then do it for practical purposes. Know that alienating and causing fear in your innocent Jewish neighbors helps Zionism. When Hitler came to power, the rampant Anti-Semitism tripled Jewish migration to Palestine. Anti-Semitism hurts the cause for Palestinian Freedom, it poisons the cause’s message with hate, it gives politicians cover to hide behind and it helps israel get new conscripts. There is no place for Anti-Semitism in the cause for Palestinian Freedom.

The fight against Humanity

“Indeed, the study of killing by military scientists, historians, and psychologists gives us good reason to feel optimistic about human nature, for it reveals that almost all of us are overwhelmingly reluctant to kill a member of our own species, under just about any circumstance.” [17]

In WW2, US Brigadier General Marshall studied the behavior of men on the front lines. He found that only 15-20 percent of soldiers would fire their weapons[17]. It should be noted that his methods have been criticized though his findings are generally still accepted. The US military took action upon learning of this and integrated steps to glorify killing, I’m sure my fellow Marines, especially fellow grunts can give some examples but author Gwynne Dyer stated that “the language used in Parris Island to desensitize Marines to the suffering of an ‘enemy’ and at the same time they are being indoctrinated in the most explicit fashion (as previous generations were not) with the notion that their purpose is not just to be brave or to fight well; it is to kill people”. [17]. Unsurprisingly, an American took this lesson to the IDF..

“I made the targets as human as possible. I changed the standard firing targets to full- size, anatomically correct figures because no Syrian runs around with a big white square on his chest with numbers on it. I put clothes on these targets and polyurethane heads. I cut up a cabbage and poured catsup into it and put it back together. I said, ‘When you look through that scope, I want you to see a head blowing up.’ Everybody was satisfied.”[18]

I feel like this can be an article on its own, instead I’ll ask that you think on just how accustomed to seeing death, murder and violence you have become. How often do we enjoy watching violent movies or shows, or playing violent games? I never really thought of it before but now, I can’t help but wonder what impact this has had on us. Have these seemingly benign media actually eroded our capability to empathize with those killed in the real world?

Conclusion

Judaism is not what we are fighting against, Zionism is. We see most clearly in our Jewish allies for Palestinian Freedom that Anti-Semitism has no place in the cause for Palestinian Freedom. I mention above that we should ‘attack the idea, not the person’. I showed that free of their government’s propaganda, there is hope that zionists can see the truth. That they can see the evil of their ways and turn away from Zionism.

I recognize the absolute evil of what the zionist forces are doing but I must ‘take no pleasure’ in their death. It’s not for them, it’s for me. It’s a small conscious step I take to guard my own humanity. I want Palestinian victory, but I want to do all I can to ensure that the mistakes of the zionists are not repeated. I want to ensure that in fighting against inhumanity Palestinians do not internalize it, that we do not let it into the foundation of a Free Palestine.

“And those who come after them will pray, “Our Lord! Forgive us and our fellow believers who preceded us in faith, and do not allow bitterness into our hearts towards those who believe. Our Lord! Indeed, You are Ever Gracious, Most Merciful.”.

“Say to them, ‘As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their ways and live. Turn! Turn from your evil ways! Why will you die, people of Israel?’”

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Resources

Note: you might notice the links in resources look a bit different, I started using an archiving website where i could so that if the original links are deprecated the info is still there

https://www.corteidh.or.cr/tablas/a21893.pdf

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Lebensraum
https://archive.ph/HtpFJ
https://archive.ph/Yghyz
https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2023/11/18/drowning-in-own-blood-kin-of-israeli-victims-of-hamas-still-want-peace
https://eomar.substack.com/p/zionism-an-obstacle-to-peace#%C2%A7statements-of-genocide
Shapira, Anita. “Anti-Semitism and Zionism.” Modern Judaism, vol. 15, no. 3, 1995, pp. 215–32. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/1396227. Accessed 5 Jan. 2024.
https://eomar.substack.com/p/the-holocaust
https://www.jewishvoiceforpeace.org/resource/zionism/
https://www.cbs.gov.il/en/mediarelease/Pages/2023/Selected-Data-from-the-2022-Social-Survey-on-Attitudes-Regarding-Communications-and-Social-Media.aspx
1. *translated via google translate
Haaretz Journalist Gideon Levy accuses Israeli army of indiscriminate killings in Gaza
https://news.gallup.com/poll/512861/media-confidence-matches-2016-record-low.aspx
https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2021/05/11/u-s-jews-connections-with-and-attitudes-toward-israel/
https://archive.ph/HtpFJ
https://www.pewresearch.org/global/2022/07/11/most-israelis-express-confidence-in-biden-but-his-ratings-are-down-from-trumps/pg_2022-07-11_u-s-israel_2-01/
https://www.pewresearch.org/journalism/fact-sheet/news-platform-fact-sheet/?tabId=tab-3ba18853-102d-419c-8365-7c30a9e960c8
https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2023/12/08/americans-views-of-the-israel-hamas-war/
https://archive.ph/h40R
https://archive.org/stream/soldieroffortunemagazine/Soldier%20of%20Fortune%20%5B1985%2709%5D_djvu.txt

How to help

Eomar — Thu, 04 Jan 2024 06:06:14 GMT

I have received several messages from people who were privately supportive of various posts I’ve made on linkedin but scared to publicly comment. As time goes on I hope people become more comfortable speaking out against Genocide, Apartheid and Zionism. I understand the risks though! Even as the son of a Palestinian refugee I kept silent for my entire professional career until recently. For me, genocide is apparently where I draw the line (shamefully late in retrospect). This post is my thoughts and opinions on how to try to mitigate some risks surrounding this topic. At least at this time i think of this article as potentially dynamic, I’m not an expert here so will welcome feedback.

I think there are various ways to approach supporting Palestine and Palestinians. I will break it into ‘levels’ because I think it makes sense as I’m writing this. These levels don’t reflect your commitment, your contributions or anything other than your ability/comfort level so I advise to stay where you feel most comfortable. You staying employed is important too! Note, this isn’t an assurance ‘you’ll be free of retribution’, its simply my attempt to help broaden the pool of public supporters.

Humanity

You don’t really know much about what is going on in Palestine, you have seen videos/comments/etc that make you feel ‘what israel is doing is wrong and I want to help end it’. This is great! This shows that despite propaganda, threats and risk when you see suffering your humanity is pushing you to act! Maybe you aren’t comfortable speaking out yet, that’s ok! There are still things you can do!

CeaseFireToday

https://ceasefiretoday.com/- There are links here to sign petitions, email/contact congress and to donate.
1. I don’t think there is risk involved in donating money here, PCRF and Doctors without borders are both amazing organizations
2. Contacting congress, they will ASK for your details, I think depending on method used in contacting you might need to provide them. I don’t know if this info is protected or not but I haven’t seen it anywhere so I’m guessing yes to some degree at least.
  1. The link has a pre-loaded email you can use or modify if you choose.
  2. If you modify it or writing your own, make sure to be respectful. Stumbled upon this guide that might help
3. Petitions your name will probably get out (I think that’s the point?)
Social platforms
1. Linkedin you are obviously, not anonymous. I think the best policy, and one I try to follow, is to use all social media accounts as if you have NO anonymity even if you don’t share personal info on them. If you are posting things on social media, be sure it can’t be construed as a post in any official capacity for your employer
Maybe you aren’t comfortable posting yet, maybe you are comfortable reacting? It still helps! More engagements will help posts be seen by more people, so a simple ‘thumbs up’ or ‘support’ on linkedin/twitter/etc can help, a comment can potentially help more but might be more ‘risky’.
1. If commenting, can just say how it makes you feel. A video of a murdered child is SAD, saying so is probably still ‘safe’
2. adding this note in, Social Media will limit exposure of pro-Palestine posts, if you have a connection you want to support, you may have to make the effort to go find their posts.
Quietly build your network of Pro-Palestinian people
1. Bullies don’t really change when they grow up. They will target those they think are ‘weak’ or ‘vulnerable’. In addition to blocking these types, having allies that can speak up with/for you is a big help
2. Don’t be concerned that by blocking fervent Zionists your message will have limited reach, these people are not the ones we want to focus on helping yet. Block block block. Delete their comments etc.
Read/click/subscribe/follow
1. Keep reading and learning about the truth of what is happening. Follow Palestinians on the ground. Follow or subscribe to experts (will add some resources below).
Donate to PCRF

Sharing the message

You’ve had enough of being silent, but you aren’t quite sure of how to properly word how you feel. I think in this situation it is best to stick with ‘safe’ resources. ‘Safe’ in this context is messaging from a person or group that is grounded enough and respected enough that sharing their message will be least likely to risk you getting in trouble. Top of mind for me in this category is Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP), Breaking the Silence. These are two Jewish organizations, them being Jewish organizations should help shield you from any real claim that your post is ‘Antisemitic’.

If you are going to share other posts, make sure to double check it for anything that CAN BE interpreted as antisemitic, like forcibly and obtusely seen that way. Something as simple as ‘They are murdering babies’ can turn into ‘what do you mean ‘they’, all Jews!?’ so be careful. It sounds absurd I know but, trust me, be careful. Another important note, be patient. Don’t rush to post some ‘breaking news’ on linkedin, part of the misinformation campaign is to deliberately leak out fake info to discredit those that share it. Make sure that what you post is truth, consistent accuracy is more valuable in this journey than speed.

yes, a watermelon

Amplifying the message

At this point you know a good deal about the subject. You can hold conversations about it, you can refute (calmly and based in FACTS) Zionist talking points. Now maybe you start sharing posts of more direct voices. People or material directly calling out and refuting Zionist talking points. Posting a documentary or an interview you saw with a brief comment on it, posting a picture or video found on social media…Important note, BE CAREFUL WHO YOU SHARE!! There are some twitter accounts that share good content, right alongside straight up antisemitic garbage. Don’t share their stuff. Find their source (these types aren’t really generating the videos/photos), take a screen shot or capture the video and share that. DO NOT post things that link to an antisemitic account.

Using your own Voice

At some point you may want to start sharing your opinions directly. You’ve seen enough and can hold your ground in debates. You are patient enough not to respond in haste and jeopardize yourself. From here its risky. There is a level of protection in sharing other people’s content, you still have the ‘ignorance defense’. “Oh I didn’t realize” might help you stay employed until you find your next job. When you start using your own words you can be held accountable for them, even if everything you said is true and just, you can still face consequences. Just know that.

Also know, just because someone else said something that rang true, doesn’t mean you are ready to carry that mantle, or maybe in corporate world that position is career suicide. Norman Finkelstein is great, but if you adopt his position you are wading in DEEP. In one example, on Piers Morgan’s show he refused to condemn Hamas stating that they ‘were born into a concentration camp’. I saw another person essentially adopt that same position, she was not prepared to defend it, it did not look good. If you are going to say that you aren’t going to condemn hamas you better be EXTRAORDINARILY prepared to defend that position AND be ready to lose your job for it.

CeaseFiretoday

Conclusion

There are, unfortunately, potential risks with speaking out for Palestine. For me personally it was like a great weight lifted off my shoulders when I made my first public post in regards to Palestine. I have since been pretty ‘aggressively’ speaking out and I (knock on wood) am still employed. Your support in this cause is important no matter what ‘level’ of support you feel comfortable giving. Thank you for siding with humanity!

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Leave a comment

Resources

I plan to have AT LEAST this part dynamic, other parts will potentially change if feedback comes in.

Zionism an Obstacle to peace
1. This is my first official article, its long and tries to cover A LOT. There are ~70 sources used here so rather than list them all out here, read and click the links
1948 Creation and Catastrophe
1. Really great documentary on the creation of Israel
Tantura
1. I have not seen the whole thing in a while but I remember clips and it comes highly recommended from others
Gaza fights for Freedom
MartyrMade Podcast – Fear and loathing in New Jerusalem (episode 1 here)
1. I’m about ½ way into this ~23 hour series, its been really great so far
2. These are on spotify
3. And somewhere on his substack (I think)
Organizations
Interviews:
1. Avi Shleim
  1. 2023 The Wire
2. Norman Finkelstein
  1. 2023 A brief history
  2. 2021 Grayzone
3. Gabor Mate
  1. 2023
  2. 2021 Russel Brand
4. Ilan Pappe
  1. 2023 Hatem Bazian
5. Last Week Tonight (John Oliver)
  1. Not really an interview, but this is a lot more ‘digestible’ for the casual observers in my opinion.
Groups you can help with
1. Tech for Palestine
2. No Tech for Apartheid

The Holocaust

Eomar — Wed, 03 Jan 2024 16:14:12 GMT

Call for a Ceasefire Now!

Six million Jews were killed in The Holocaust. It was so horrific that the world vowed ‘Never Again’, yet when I look at the persecution Jews faced in Nazi Germany it is hard not to notice the similarities to the oppression that Palestinians face today. I make this comparison as a plea, stop this before it goes any further, we have seen how it ends.

The Holocaust

The holocaust did not begin in Auschwitz or any other extermination camps that the Nazis established. The first ‘building block’ was to use existing Anti-Semitism to formulate the idea that Jews (and Slavs) were Untermenshen (‘subhuman’) [1]. This enabled the Nazi policy of expansionism known as “Lebensraum” (German for ‘living space’), in which the Hitler saw the “superior Aryan Race’ seizing the land of Eastern Europe[1].

The Holocaust Encyclopedia further outlines the persecution faced by Jews in Nazi controlled territories.

Excerpt from Holocaust Encyclopedia[2]

In 1939 the ‘stopgap’ measures described above were seen as inadequate, in 1941 Germans began implementation of the ‘final solution’ in which they would kill any Jews they came across[3]. In 1942, deeming bullets too ‘inefficient’ Nazi officials planned and implemented extermination camps[3]. These camps would kill millions more, stopping only after Nazi defeat and the liberation of the camps by allied powers.

Do unto others, that which was done unto you?

There are too many direct parallels between Hitler’s treatment of Jews and Zionist’s treatment of Palestinians to ignore. It may seem far fetched but the rabbis of the Bnei David pre-military academy lay it out plainly[4].

- “Yes, we’re racists. We believe in racism… There are races in the world and peoples have genetic traits, and that requires us to try to help them,” he said. “The Jews are a more successful race.”-- Rabbi Eliezer Kashtiel

- “Let’s just start with whether Hitler was right or not,” he told students. “He was the most correct person there ever was, and was correct in every word he said… he was just on the wrong side.” -- Rabbi Giora Redler

This is not some backwater, this is the ‘flagship pre-military academy’ [5]. Adding to the absurdity of these statements, is that Israel, including defense minister Yoav Gallant and the Shin Bet send Israeli extremists here for further training! The ‘punishment’ for an extremist leading anti-Palestinian pogroms was to send him to the West Point of Israel[5].

The Nazis had Lebensraum and the Israelis have Zionism. A founding call of Israel was ‘A land without a people for a people without a land’. This very call shows the immediate dehumanization of Palestinians who lived in Palestine for thousands of years before the Zionist project started.

Call for a Ceasefire Now!

Legal Discrimination Against Palestinians

Jewish Nation State Law

States that “the right to exercise national self-determination in the State of Israel is unique to the Jewish people.” It also made Hebrew the only official language, and asserted that “Jewish settlement – without specifying where – is a ‘national value’ and promises to encourage and advance settlement efforts”[6]. This bill was passed in 2018, then, people now leading the Israeli government like Bezalel Smotrich complained that is wasn’t ‘strong enough’.

Right to return

“Every Jew has the right to come to this country” , not ‘EVERY Jew’ though, not now. In 2016 head of Israel’s conversion Authority stated that applicants cannot be “foreign works, infiltrators, Palestinian or illegally in the country”[7]

Family reunification law

A law was reenacted in March of 2022 that stated a Palestinian with Israeli citizenship cannot extend their citizenship to their spouse[8]. So a Jew who has never left the United States, can fly to israel and become a citizen, then marry a non-Jew from the US and grant them citizenship, a Palestinian who has lived in Palestine-now-israel for generations is denied the same right.

Public Identification, Exclusion and humiliation

In the occupied West Bank, there are roads that Palestinians cannot travel on, there are streets that Palestinians cannot open businesses, there are check points breaking up towns. An extreme example, Israeli forces set up a checkpoint outside of a man’s home preventing him from leaving or entering without checking in[9]. They will even weld doors shut to keep Palestinians from using the road[10]. The Palestinian IDS and license plates are easily identifiable apart from the Israel-issued IDs and license plates[11] making enforcement of these humiliating rules possible.

Organized violence

Pogroms were a key driving force in the birth of Zionism. The violence and the fact that the state stood by and did nothing or even supported the violence added to the isolation of Jews in Europe. Now pogroms are a weapon of Zionists.

The February 2023 pogrom in Huwara was so bad that the Israeli commander actually called it a Pogrom [11]. “CNN found that, not only did the forces fail to stop the riots in Huwara, they did not protect residents as settlers set fire to Palestinian homes and businesses and blocked emergency services from responding. Instead, when residents threw rocks in reaction to the settlers’ aggression, Israeli forces fired at the Palestinians with tear gas and stun grenades, according to analysis of the footage and eyewitness accounts.” [12]. Unfortunately, the most unique aspect of the Huwara pogrom was the Israeli commanders comment. In the first half of 2023 the UN reported 591 ‘settler related incidents’ that caused casualties or property damage to Palestinians[13].

UN 2023 Settler incidents [12]

Internment

Israel turned Gaza into an open air prison[14], in addition they blockaded Gaza to inflict extreme suffering on the population and further humiliate Palestinians living there[16a]. “Barring Palestinians in Gaza from moving freely within their homeland stunts lives and underscores the cruel reality of apartheid and persecution for millions of Palestinians.” – Omar Shakir HRW Israel & Palestine Director

It is not just Gazans that face internment, in the west bank, Movement and access are greatly restricted as mentioned above. Israel uses ‘administrative detention’ to hold thousands of Palestinians without charges[15] , those it does charge, even children, it forces through a military court, after torture and coercion the ‘court’ has a 99.74% success rate [16b].

Call for a Ceasefire Now!

Physical Displacement, Widespread Theft and plunder

The foundation of israel is theft and plunder. At the time of its founding, Zionists owned ~6% of the land that was Palestine[16c]. The UN resolution that ‘greenlit’ Israel awarded them 55% of the land[16d], this plan never was enacted, Zionists stole additional land capturing 78% of Palestine, despite having owned only 6%. Some 750,000 Palestinians were displaced during the Nakba [16e]. This was not enough for the Zionists. In 1967 they launched a pre-emptive strike and seized control of the rest of Palestine.

UN Proposition on division of Palestine vs Land ownership of Palestine

Palestine after Israel ethnically cleansed it during the Nakba(1948)

The theft and displacement continued. Now under the guise of ‘security’ and ‘settlements’. Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu boasted about destroying the Oslo accords and detailed how he did it "Nobody said what defined military zones were. Defined military zones are security zones; as far as I'm concerned, the entire Jordan Valley is a defined military zone. Go argue."[17]. The methodology has been in practice for decades. Israel denies building permits for Palestinians, designates land vital to ‘military operations’ and then forces the Palestinians out and demolishes their homes and schools[18]. Palestinians now ‘control’ virtually nothing, they have limited “autonomy in the green areas but this amounts to little more than segregated ghettos.

Map of Zionist expansion & theft, “Judea” [19]

Theft is not limited to lands and homes. In recent raids Israeli forces stole millions for currency exchanges in the West Bank[19]. There is no recourse for the Palestinians. There is no justice for them. The governments power is solely there to be used against them.

Forced labor

The Apartheid system described above leaves little economic hope within the “Palestinian territory” as such workers are forced to seek employment with Israelis. Just the permit takes more than 30% of their wages. The workday was described by one worker as beginning “at 2 A.M. and ends when I get back home at 5 or 6 P.M”[20].

Haaratz: The Great Exploitation [20]

This exploitive system does not only target desperate adults, children too are working, often in agriculture in israeli settlements. HRW states they do so do to the “dire economic conditions… conditions for which Israel’s policies throughout the occupied West Bank including the Jordan Valley, which severely restrict Palestinians’ access to land, water, agricultural inputs like fertilizers, and their ability to transport goods, are largely responsible.”[21].

It should be noted that the very suffering, imprisonment and occupation of Palestine is a industry. The Israeli ~~defense~~ occupation industry exports hit a record $12.5 billion in 2022[22]. Israel may be the only nation with a ‘testing ground’ filled with humans to be blown apart by their ‘new technology’. Israel is able to ‘showcase’ their equipment with impunity against Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza [23].

Final Solution

There are several organizations that have labeled Israel an Apartheid State[16f], I admittedly don’t know much history regarding Apartheid. In my search for comparison I came across a thesis paper that stated “ The fundamental differences between the Holocaust and apartheid became most apparent in their terminal stages. Whereas Nazism led to genocide, the leitmotif of apartheid was cheap labour, not planned extermination” [24]. I fear that with over 1% of Gaza’s population already dead and another 2% of the population injured we are on the brink of Zionist’s ‘final solution’ for Palestinians. Israeli leaders are openly calling for ethnic cleansing[25], they are openly calling for Genocide[16g]. The world must stand up and put an end to this before it gets even more out of hand. Individuals can contact their representatives [Ceasefiretoday] . Individuals & business leaders can divest from and boycott Israel. The steps that businesses took against Russia can be taken against Israel, the effect will be MUCH greater. Do not allow for the murder to be further industrialized. Do not let weaponized starvation[26] and disease do to Palestinians in Gaza what gas did to Jews in Nazi Germany.

Remember, Never Again.

Zionism, an obstacle to Peace

Eomar — Tue, 02 Jan 2024 16:07:38 GMT

There is a lot of information related to Palestine and Israel, it is a lot to cover and it is a lot to ask most people to have even a basic grasp of. I have grown tired of repeatedly and piece by piece dismantling Israeli propaganda regurgitated online. This essay/article whatever you wish to call it is guided by the talking points that zionists use to justify their occupation, apartheid and now genocide against Palestinians. It is a bit of a mix of chronological and topical.

There is now an audio version available with the Diligent News Podcast:

Destruction of Palestine

Ancient ties

The Israeli claim rests solely on the Zionist interpretation of the Jewish religious text, this is because genetics and historical records show that while some Jews fled the area, some did not. Modern Palestinians can be genetically tied to the ancient Canaanites.

According to genetic research that compared modern DNA to ancient DNA the researchers found “In a principle component analysis (PCA), the ancient Levantines clustered predominantly with modern-day Palestinians and Bedouins and marginally overlapped with Arabian Jews…”.[1] Earlier studies corroborate this studies findings “According to historical records part, or perhaps the majority, of the Moslem Arabs in this country descended from local inhabitants, mainly Christians and Jews, who had converted after the Islamic conquest in the seventh century AD”[2]. This does not mean that Jews have 0 ties to the land (genetically or otherwise) but it thoroughly debunks the israeli claim that Palestinians were ‘invaders’ that ‘ethnically cleaned’ Jews thousands of years ago.

More details available here: “A Brief History of Palestine”—Jeremy Hammond

Population

Using Mcarthy’s work in Population of Palestine [3] we can examine the population of Palestine before the founding of Israel. This provides critical context to what happens after 1948. In 1914 Jews were 7.5% of the population of Palestine, Christians made up about 10% and Muslims 82%. This population grew following the Balfour declaration, in 1922 it was ~11% Jewish, (77% Muslim, 10% Christian). In 1946, after years of immigration The population was ~60% Muslim, 31% Jewish, 7.6% Christian.

Land Ownership

Despite growing to 31% of the population in Palestine by 1943 Jews owned a mere 5.8% of the land according to the Survey of Palestine [4]. Note in the imagine of ‘Land ownership by sub-districts’ Jews did NOT hold a majority of land in ANY sub-district. Though they were more concentrated in the North.

The Proposed UN Partition

In 1948 The UN partitioned Palestine. This partition did not account for the population percentages before mass Zionist migration nor after. It certainly did not account for the land ownership of Palestine. Instead it gave 55% of Palestine to Zionist immigrants. Despite owning greater than 94% of the land the Palestinians were granted only 45% of the country, as seen in the graphic below .

When Zionists claim ‘they accepted peace’ in 1948 and the Arabs did not, know that it is because their ‘accepting peace’ came along with gaining 10 times the amount of land they actually owned while Arabs ownership was reduced by half.

The Nakba

The plan above was never seen on the ground. When the Palestinians objected to the theft of more than half of their land a war broke out and the Jews began ethnically cleansing the land. When the British withdrew fully Zionists declared the establishment of their state ‘Israel’. The next day neighboring Arab states invaded, though they failed to drive out the Zionists. As a result (some argue that this was the plan), Jordan took control of the West Bank and Egypt of Gaza. During this time 750,000 Palestinians were ethnically cleansed from their lands. The documentary ‘1948: Creation & Catastrophe’ [5] provides many insights into this time period. A common strategy was to surround a village or city then shell it with mortars and artillery. They would then tell Palestinians ‘flee or face death’, they would leave a route open to travel along a road that led them the to nearest Arab population. In addition to the threat of massacre, the Zionists actually carried out massacres throughout Palestine. One such massacre occurred at Deir Yassin, where Zionists searched for days executing any they found. One horrific account tells of how some soldiers threw a child into a baker’s oven and then the father. The Israelis recently (falsely) claimed that Hamas did this in a kibbutz on 10/7/2023, it was a mere retelling of Zionist’s own crimes.

Many assumed, that they would be allowed to return after the hostilities as was common in wars. They were mistaken and not allowed to return. Those that attempted to return home were killed by the Zionists. The map below is an overlay of the land ownership map presented above and the 1949 armistice lines[6].

1967 War

In 1967 Israel launched a “pre-emptive” strike on its Arab neighbors, Israel destroyed “90% of Egypt’s air force while it sat on the tarmac” [7] and did similar damage to Syria. The UN quickly called for a ceasefire which was accepted with relative speed. UN resolution 242 called for Israel to withdraw from territory it captured while affirming the independence of “Every State in the area and their right to live in peace within secure and recognized boundaries free from threats or acts of Force”.

Oslo Accords

1993 Oslo I

Israeli Prime minister, Yitzhak Rabin was elected in 1992 “with a mandate to pursue peace”. [8] He secretly negotiated with PLO chair Yasser Arafat to move towards a lasting peace. Israel was recognized by the PLO, and assurances were made to transfer authority over to the Palestinian Authority, withdraw israeli troops and to begin a process to address other concerns (such as Jerusalem, Refugees, settlements, security and defined borders) among other things.

While attending a peace rally in 1995 Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated for his attempts at peace.

2000 Camp David

Zionist will claim they ‘offered peace’ in 2000, The reality is they offered scraps of land, notably, Israel would receive almost ALL of Jerusalem in this deal. The religious and holy places would be under Israeli control. The thoroughfares would be impassible for Palestinians. What this is, is a ‘recognized’ collection of ghettos. There was no offered solution for Palestinian refugees , the settlements were to stay in place and there was no timeline on 'the ‘temporary’ nature of the area “planned” to be transferred to Palestine[9]. The removal of Muslim holy sites from Palestinian control would likely be enough on its own to end any chance of acceptance. In addition, the Israeli government had no real intention for this to move forward.

It was not a mistake that this deal was dead on arrival. Netanyahu was recorded detailing how he manipulates the US , to the point where an “absurd" 80% support Israel. He then details how he manipulates negotiations to give up very little. Finally he details how he stopped the Oslo accords. [10]
“Now, they did not want to give me that letter, so I did not give [them] the Hebron Agreement. I stopped the government meeting, I said: ‘I’m not signing.’ Only when the letter came … did I sign the Hebron Agreement. Why does this matter? Because at that moment I actually stopped the Oslo accords.”

He additionally boasted:

"They asked me before the election if I'd honor [the Oslo accords]," he said. "I said I would, but ... I'm going to interpret the accords in such a way that would allow me to put an end to this galloping forward to the '67 borders. How did we do it? Nobody said what defined military zones were. Defined military zones are security zones; as far as I'm concerned, the entire Jordan Valley is a defined military zone. Go argue."[11]

Hamas & Hubris

“Hamas, to my great regret, is Israel’s creation,” — Avner Cohen

“The Palestinian Authority is a burden, and Hamas is an Asset" — Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich

The rise of Islamists was seen as a means to ‘counter’ secular nationalists like PLO, loopholes were allowed for them and violence amongst the two groups was allowed if not encouraged [12]. Despite the regret some expressed, the support of Hamas continued. Galit Distel Atbaryan wrote “If Hamas collapses, Abu Mazen [Mahmoud Abbas] may control the strip. If he controls it, there will be voices from the left that will encourage negotiations and a political solution and a Palestinian state, also in Judea and Samaria [the West Bank] … This is the real reason why Netanyahu does not eliminate the Hamas leader, everything else is bullshit” [13].

In 2019 Netanyahu explicitly stated his beliefs while speaking to his Likud party “Anyone who wants to thwart the establishment of a Palestinian state has to support bolstering Hamas and transferring money to Hamas” [14].

“So what happened from 2009 until now is the total, total disregard to the option of political negotiations with the Palestinian Authority and the calculated decision to support the control of the Hamas in Gaza.” —Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert [15]

Hamas & Peace

Despite the claims to the contrary, in 2003 Hamas founder and Leader Ahmed Yassin expressed interest in a long term truce in exchange for Israel withdrawing from the land it seized after 1967. This was reiterated by Abdel-Aziz al-Rantissi who admitted it “was difficult to liberate all our land at this stage.. We accept a state in the West Bank, including Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip. We propose a 10-year truce in return for (Israeli) withdrawal and the establishment of a state," [16].

3 months Later Ahmed Yassin was assassinated by an Israeli fired hellfire missile. In context of the above statements, what use is a Hamas leader that speaks of peace?

In 2006, Palestinian Prime Minister and Hamas leader wrote “We in Hamas are for peace and want to put an end to bloodshed.” he asserts that “No plan will ever work without a guarantee, in exchange for an end to hostilities by both sides, of a total Israeli withdrawal from all the land occupied in 1967, including East Jerusalem” (this is the internationally recognized borders). [17]

In 2008, Hamas again offered another ‘long term truce’ in exchange for the 1967 borders. Former President Carter stated that “The problem is that Israel and the United States refuse to meet with someone who must be involved," [18].

In 2012, Hamas Leader Ahmed Jabari had been negotiating through a 3rd party with Israeli peace activist Gershon Baskin. Jabari had been responsible for the kidnapping, holding and release of Israeli soldier Galid Shalit. Jabari had enforced previous cease fires. Most importantly, Jabari reportedly “understood the futility of successive rocket attacks against Israel that left no real damage on Israel and dozens of casualties in Gaza” according to Gershon. The draft included plans to give Hamas the opportunity to act on intelligence to prevent attacks against Israel as a foundation for the peace. [19]

It is unknown if Jabari would have accepted, though Gershon believed there was a chance. Jabari received the draft for a permanent truce agreement hours before Israel assassinated him. What use is a Hamas leader that speaks of peace?

In 2017 Hamas issued a new charter that stated it “considers the establishment of a fully sovereign and independent Palestinian state, with Jerusalem as its capital along the lines of 4 June 1967, with the return of the refugees and the displaced to their homes from which they were expelled, to be a formula of national consensus” Additionally it states “Hamas affirms that its conflict is with the Zionist project not with the Jews because of their religion. Hamas does not wage a struggle against the Jews because they are Jewish but wages a struggle against the Zionists who occupy Palestine. Yet, it is the Zionists who constantly identify Judaism and the Jews with their own colonial project and illegal entity.” [20]

Unsurprisingly, Netanyahu rejected the document saying “Hamas is attempting to fool the world, but it will not succeed.”.

Some will say ‘hamas never wanted peace’, that might be true, but we never got the chance to actually find out because israel refused EVERY chance.

2006 Elections

In 2006 Hamas campaigned as “change and reform list”, a counter to the Fatah party that many saw as a cooperative lap-dog of Israel. Hamas won 44% of the vote (74 seats) to Fatah’s 41% (45 seats). According to exit polls by near east consulting[21],

83.7% supported a peace agreement with Israel.
75.2% wanted Hamas to abandon its goal of ‘the elimination of israel’.
78% believed corruption would decrease under Hamas.

This should make clear that Palestinians did not elect Hamas out of hatred of Israel, rather out of hatred of corruption. The large majority favored peace.

Withdrawal & Blockade

Withdrawal

In 2005, Israel enacted the policy of ‘disengagement’ in Gaza. They withdrew from Gaza and forced out the settlers. Israelis show this as an ‘attempt at peace’ though the plan had nothing to do with peace. Ariel Sharon’s advisor stated “The plan provides the amount of formaldehyde required so that there will be no political process with the Palestinians”.

Blockade

The policy established of using Hamas as a tool to thwart a Palestinian state was deteriorating. Palestinians OVERWHELMINGLY wanted peace. Even Hamas had begun to entertain peace (and continued to as mentioned above). Israel could assassinate the leaders who spoke of peace, but what about the population? The answer was mass punishment.

In June 2007, after Hamas took over Gaza, Israel began its brutal blockade of Gaza. Within Gaza unemployment had reached ~50%, there was limited power, limited technology and limited food. Only 64% of requests for medical treatment were approved by israel[22]. This left people, including children to die waiting for treatment[23].

From 2007 to 2010 Israel would ‘count the calories’ going into Gaza [24] to ensure a ‘starvation’ diet. Further research into this policy revealed chronic malnutrition as “Israel further adjusted the formula so that the number of trucks carrying nutrient-poor sugar were doubled while the trucks carrying milk, fruit and vegetables were greatly reduced, sometimes by as much as a half.”[25]. In addition Israel restricts where Palestinians can fish. The attacks on the fishing industry are another means to prevent the survival of Palestinians in Gaza [26]. Too often the penalty for deviating off course is death [27].

Brutality

Mowing the Grass

The israeli forces adopted a policy of ‘mowing the grass’ that was enabled by their full withdrawal from Gaza. The foundation of this policy is to periodically bomb Gaza “to degrade enemy capabilities”[28]. The result of this is the CONSTANT and ongoing injury, destruction and death for Palestinians[29]. In addition to the physical damage, Palestinians face growing mental health issue resulting from the constant violence and struggles to survive [30].

Kidnapping & Torture

Israeli forces have adopted a policy of conducting nighttime raids to “arrest” Palestinian children, some as young as 12 years old. Director of HaMoked, Jessica Montell had stated that “The fact that the military is making no effort to reduce these traumatic night arrests indicates to us that the trauma is part of the point”[31].

Each year hundreds of Palestinian children are imprisoned by israeli forces as seen in the chart below[32]. This is not inclusive of those who were arrested, including in nighttime raids, and then released without charges.

The children that are arrested face torture and abuse and are pushed through a military court with a >99.74% conviction rate. Children are shackled to crosses, they are even threatened with rape and death against themselves or their family. It was found to be widespread, systematic and institutionalized in the system[33]. Israel also had a policy of keeping children in outdoor cages, regardless of freezing weather[33]. Josh Paul, a former US state department official, described how a rape of 13 year old boy in an Israeli prison was brought to his attention by Defense of Children International, he brought it to to attention of the Israeli Government. The next day the Israeli government labeled DCI a terrorist organization and removed all of their equipment[34].

Over 1,200 Palestinians are held without charge or trial in what israel calls an ‘administrative detention’. These detentions can be renewed indefinitely [35].

Assault on Peaceful Protests

In 2018, Palestinians in Gaza began the ‘Great March of Return’. This was a peaceful protest that sought an end to the blockade of Gaza and to allow Palestinians to return to their homes. Israel responded by killing over 150, including 31 children, and injuring 10,000, 5814 of whom were hit with live ammunition. Among the injured were 1,849 children, 424 women, 115 paramedics and 115 journalists[36]. Jewish Voice for peace shows a boy, 16, throwing a rock towards the fence (from some distance), he was then shot 10 seconds later. He posed no threat, he was killed [37]. Some children, including 12 year olds were shot in the head and killed, a 14 year old was shot in the back and killed[36].

Settler Violence

Israel, whose founders fled pogroms now perpetuate them against the Palestinians. This is part of the settlement and ethnic cleansing policy that is taking more and more of the West Bank away from Palestinians each day.

“As part of this policy, Israel arms gangs of settlers and allows, and even encourages them, using inciting language, to attack Palestinians. As if that were not enough, in some of these cases, soldiers and police officers remain idle, assist the attackers or even harm Palestinians who are trying to protect themselves.”[38].

One settler, pictured below, upon stealing a Palestinian home simply replied “If I don’t steal it, someone else is gonna steal it”.[39]

Apartheid

The brutality and policies above make it clear that Israel is and has been an Apartheid state for some time now. Human Rights Watch[40] Amnesty International[41] and B’tselem[42] among others have issues scathing reviews declaring it as such.

From Bt’Selem

October 7th, 2023

On October 7th, 2023, Hamas members of Al Qassem Brigade broke out of the prison that is Gaza. The day was full of chaos, death and suffering. In total around 1147 Israelis were killed (the official tally has not been ‘finalized’ yet).

32% (369) combatants

62% (714) adult civilians

4% (50) kids < 19

It should also be noted that there is irrefutable evidence that Hamas committed war crimes on this day (including killing unarmed civilians). There is also irrefutable evidence that the IDF killed its own citizens on this day. This comes from witness testimonies[43] and a recently surfaced video of a tank firing on a kibbutz[44]. It is unclear if this was done as part of the ‘hannibal directive’ [45] or through sheer incompetency.

Propaganda

Shortly following the attack on 10/7, Israel with ‘eye witnesses’ claim that there were ‘40 beheaded babies’. This lie originated by a random soldier and a far right news agency. [46] In total 2 infants were killed[47] among other children.

Later in October, a tale of a ‘baby baked in an oven’ came about, you may recall this was an event that Zionists perpetuated during the Nakba. This occurrence, claimed to be an act of Hamas, was a lie[48]

Further embarrassments to the propaganda machine were the ‘hamas calendar’ incident, in which days of the week were presented as ‘guard shifts’ of hostages and the ‘Khamas nurse’, where an israeli pretended to be a nurse in Al Shifa and spouted israeli talking points. The ultimate lie of Al-Shifa Hospital being a ‘command center’ for Hamas was a lie and is discussed more below.

Sexual Violence

Despite claims of sexual violence, including rape, it appears that Israel did not collect physical evidence to support these allegations[49]. These claims now rest primarily on ‘eyewitness accounts’. Unfortunately Israel, the IDF and its ‘eyewitnesses’ have been unreliable during this conflict (and before). Max Blumenthal has a thread that gets into some of the details that cause more doubt here.

Genocide

Statements of Genocide

Much of this list was compiled by Jessica Buxbaum in the New Arab [49]

“I have ordered a complete siege on the Gaza Strip. There will be no electricity, no food, no fuel, everything is closed… We are fighting human animals and we are acting accordingly.” -- Yoav Gallant, Israeli Minister of Defense
“The emphasis is on damage and not on accuracy” -- spokesman for the Israeli military
“There is one and only (one) solution, which is to completely destroy Gaza before invading it. I mean destruction like what happened in Dresden and Hiroshima, without nuclear weapons,” — Moshe Feiglin, founder of right wing Zehut Party
“Gaza should be razed and Israel’s rule should be restored to the place. This is our country"— Moshe Feiglin
“There should be two goals for this victory: One, there is no more Muslim land in the land of Israel … After we make it the land of Israel, Gaza should be left as a monument, like Sodom”. Amit Halevi, Likud member
"There will be no electricity and no water (in Gaza), there will only be destruction. You wanted hell, you will get hell," Maj. Gen. Ghassan Alian,
“It is an entire nation out there that is responsible,” -- Israeli President Isaac Herzog
“You must remember what Amalek has done to you, says our Holy Bible.” — Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu
- The Biblical reference ‘Amalek’: “Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass.”

There is more, but you get the idea. Law for Palestine created a database with over 500 examples.

War Crimes & Israeli Lies

Summary executions:

IDF reportedly separated men from women, then took at least 11 men , late 20s to early 30s, then shot and executed them in front of their families. They then ordered the women and children into a room and threw a grenade into the room. [50]

Intentional targeting of Journalists

“the most dangerous situation for journalists we have ever seen…The Israeli army has killed more journalists in 10 weeks than any other army or entity has in any single year. And with every journalist killed, the war becomes harder to document and to understand.” —Sherif Mansour, CPJ's Middle East and North Africa program coordinator[51]

Attacks on medical facilities and medical professionals

After forcing Palestinian care givers to abandon the hospital at gun point and assuring them the patients would be cared for, the IDF left the children to die and then rot. They were found days later during the temporary ceasefire. [52]
“The practice of medicine is under attack” — Tlaleng Mofokeng, UN Special Rapporteur on the right to health [53]
The IDF long stated they ‘knew’ that Al Shifa hospital was the ‘nerve center’ of Hamas operations, they used a low quality computer generated images to show what they claim were vast complexes beneath Al-Shifa[54]. They found less than a squads worth of equipment, in mostly pristine condition. Most of it was likely security equipment as it appeared unused. As for the tunnels, an Israeli official admitted that Israel knew they were there because they built them in the 1980s when occupying the area. [55]
The IDF raided a hospital and reportedly dug up corpses and then crushed them with bulldozers[56]

Targeting Civilians

972 Magazine reported on the use of an ‘AI system’, Habsora, to “create targets” is essentially a “mass assassination factory” [57]

“I remember thinking that it was like if [Palestinian militants] would bomb all the private residences of our families when [Israeli soldiers] go back to sleep at home on the weekend,”[57]
“Nothing happens by accident.. When a 3-year-old girl is killed in a home in Gaza, it’s because someone in the army decided it wasn’t a big deal for her to be killed — that it was a price worth paying in order to hit [another] target. We are not Hamas. These are not random rockets. Everything is intentional. We know exactly how much collateral damage there is in every home.” — source for 972 magazine[57]

Targeting Children

“We are looking for babies but there is no babies left, I killed a girl that was 12, but we’re looking for babies” — IDF soldier [58]
2 Palestinian children were shot dead by the IDF in the West Bank, their murder was captured on camera [59]

Targeting non-combatants and executions with small arms (soldiers with rifles etc)

As if to drive home the barbarity of the ‘kill anything that moves’ doctrine of the IDF, they killed 3 hostages that were released or escaped . They were unarmed, disrobed, yelling ‘help’ in Hebrew and waving a white flag when Israeli snipers began shooting them. One fled and reemerged only to be finished off by the snipers.[60]
IDF fires on a group of young men standing near a road way hitting at least one. They then drive up to the 24 year old wounded man and fire a barrage of bullets, executing him as he lay wounded on the ground. Another man (36) was hiding after the initial shots, the IDF then spotted him and he was executed from point blank range as well [61].

More war crimes

“The five cases presented barely scratch the surface of the horror that Amnesty has documented and illustrate the devastating impact that Israel’s aerial bombardments are having on people” — Agnès Callamard, Amnesty International’s Secretary General.[62]

Cost of war

The last line of defense in israeli propaganda is that ‘this is the cost of war’. A brief comparison to US campaigns and battles surface 2 points. First, a military seeking to avoid civilian casualties does not bomb civilian populations. Second, a campaign based on brutality is doomed to fail.

Israel’s Campaign Compared to US invasion of Iraq

People argue that what is happening in Gaza is the ‘normal’ ‘cost of war’. It is not. In the first year of our invasion of Iraq, ‘Shock and Awe’ was all over our TVs. We saw bombs going off and were meant to be thoroughly impressed. In that first year (March 2003-March 2004), US coalition forces killed ~7700 civilians[63]. It is also important to note that in EIGHT YEARS of fighting, US troops killed ~1,201 children in Iraq [81].

Battle of Ramadi

During an interview with Saagar Enjeti, Jocko Willink stated that during the battle of Ramadi the “The amount of air support was minimal… I’m talking a handful of times when I was there that buildings were hit with air support, were hit with bombs. In those situations it would be because there was no other way to resolve a scenario that was happening.”. He further detailed it would only occur if there were “CONFIRMED” snipers etc in a building that have already caused casualties and other efforts to eliminate the threat failed. Jocko continues “The vast majority of the time we didn’t use any air support at all. Why? Because the chances of collateral damage and civilian deaths was too high.”[64]

Battle for Mosul

The battle of Mosul began (officially) in October of 2016 and was predicted to take 3 months[65]. There was an estimated 3,000 - 5,000 IS fighters in the city. The coalition which included over 100,0000 fighters[66], declared victory in January of 2017. The US doctrine for forces is typically 3:1 , meaning to ensure victory, have 3 troops to every 1 enemy. Mosul had a ratio between 8:1 and 33:1 [66]. It is also noted that “high and frequent use of precision-guided munitions severely and dangerously reduced the United States’ Strategic stockpile”[66].

Hamas Fighters & Gaza

Hamas has up to 40,000 fighters [67]. The Mosul ratio would indicate that Israel would need 320,000 to 1.3 million troops to defeat Hamas. Responding to 10/7, Israel initially called up 300,000 reserves it currently has 200,000-250,000 still mobilized[67], this is in addition to the 169,000 active military[68].

The cost to Israel

Estimates put the direct cost around $200 million per day, additionally as much of 20% of the workforce is impacted by the war[69]. Growth in Israel is expected to slow from 3% in 2023 to 1% in 2024[69].

Highly Trained IDF

Despite it being fairly common knowledge that armor operations in urban environments require infantry attachments, this is a doctrine that the IDF has seemingly abandoned. This reflect a combination of lack of discipline and lack of training of the IDF. It is exemplified by the multiple times Hamas Operatives have been able to run up to tanks and place explosives on them[70]. The damage to the IDFs reputation is not just a loss in morale but may encourage others and ultimately undermines the safety of Israel.

American Support of Israel

While Netanyahu had previously bragged of the absurd level of US support, that support has finally cracked. No longer can Israel hide behind official narratives. Footage of the brutality comes directly from the people of Gaza.

We can see even before 10/7 and the response from israel, opinions have been shifting away from Israel.

Gallop

A November 2023 survey showed that 61% of all voters support a ‘Permanent Ceasefire’ including 76% of Democrats, 57% of independents and 49% of Republicans [71]. When looking at ‘where sympathies lie’ by age group we see that 18-34, only 29% respond favorably of israel, 52% sympathize with Palestinians. The older groups sympathize more with Israel, 35-49 48% to 23% , 50-64 67% to 13% and 65+ is 65% to 15% [72]. We can see the age groups more reliant on ‘network news’ and ‘Cable news’ are more likely to support Israel[73]. It is not surprising that groups that have been exposed to Israeli propaganda for decades are lagging in letting go.

Most popular platforms for daily news consumption in the United States as of August 2022, by age group (Statista)

The Cost to America

American weapons and munitions reserves were already severely impacted by our support of the war in Ukraine. As seen in the chart below, several munitions are going to already take YEARS to rebuild[74]. Despite the depleted state of our reserves, the White house has continued to bypass congressional review in order to send arms to israel[75].

International Disdain

On multiple occasions the US has shamefully stood alone in vetoing calls for an immediate ceasefire at the UN [76], 153 voted for a ceasefire and the US voted against. While the governments of Arab countries in the region may still, at least on paper, support the US, the populations do not. Only 7% of the arab population across 6 nations believes the US has a positive role in the Gaza war[77]. Both China and Russia have much higher ratings. As US hegemony is waning, this could prove to be critically important in the coming years.

Houthis

The Houthis in Yemen declared they would attack any ship aiding Israel’s Genocide in Gaza. In response the US sent naval forces. The imbalance here is significant, in addition to the troop and operating costs, we are shooting down ~$2,000 drones with $2 million missiles[78]. The international ‘support’ for Operation Prosperity Guardian is an embarrassment to US leadership. Many of the ‘supporting nations’ contributed no troops or naval vessels, the Netherlands literally sent 2 officers to Bahrain[79].

220 Days and counting

The population of Gaza is roughly, 25% men, 25% women and 50% children.

Since the retaliations began at least 39,675 civilians have been killed in Gaza.

33.5% are men

26% are women

40% are children

This is a genocide. Israeli leaders call it a genocide. International experts call it a genocide. We can go on X or TikTok and see it is a genocide. It must end.

Conclusion

The US must end its support for israel’s genocide in Gaza. In addition to it being the clear moral choice, ending this genocide is critical for the US maintaining some semblance of international credibility. We have a depleted stockpile and are being embarrassed on every front of this war-turned-genocide. Freedom is the only chance for peace to take hold in the region. We have learned through decades of war that you cannot win these wars through force. Give Palestinians peace, freedom and a legitimate state along the 1967 borders and Hamas will fade into memory.

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Appendix

Population Chart

copied from the The Population of Palestine

Land ownership

accessed here

Resources

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Stone Cold Justice: Israel’s torture of Palestinian children
Josh Paul Interview
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https://www.btselem.org/apartheid
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Tank Firing on Kibbutz
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https://ca.news.yahoo.com/israel-hamas-war-unverified-claim-beheaded-babies-misinformation-214727885.html
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Diligent News: Palestine

The Future of Palestine

Victory in Gaza

Destruction & Death

Military Victory

Resistance Forces

Israel

America

Trump and his ‘plans’

Ethnic Cleansing

Lunacy & Solutions

American Occupation!

The solution

Real Sovereignty

Military

End the Blockade

End the West Bank Ghettos

Maintaining Peace

Rebuilding

Conclusion

Related Articles

Diligent Gear

Resources

Gaza Ceasefire

The current toll in Gaza

The Ceasefire Deal

Resistance

Genocide Joe

Trump for Peace

Closing

Related Articles

Resources

Give me Liberty

Related Articles

Israeli Escalations

Druze Community Attacked

Beirut

Tehran

Hamas

Why Escalate?

America

To my Fellow Americans

Closing

Resources

Double or Nothing

Current Assessments

IDF

Force size

Conscripts, fight like conscripts

Hezbollah

Strike capabilities

What is Next

Hezbollah

American Involvement

Israel

Destruction is not victory

Survivability

Nuclear weapons

Conclusion

Resources:

We hold these Truths

Occupation

Palestine pre-1948

Conclusion

List of Grievances

Related Articles

Resources & Notes

Guarding your Humanity

Hate

Anti-Semitism

Anti-Zionism, not Anti-Semitism

The fight against Humanity

Conclusion

Resources

How to help

Humanity

Sharing the message

Amplifying the message

Using your own Voice

Conclusion