Israeli terrorism

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Israeli terrorism
amatullah
11/09/01 at 20:57:46
Bismillah and salam,
This article is from the Halifax Herald, never mind the =20 at the end of sentences, i don't know what that's about


Sunday, November 4, 2001 Back The Halifax Herald Limited=20

--------------------------------------------------------------------
                 Israeli terrorism=20
                 How you define a terrorist act depends on whether =
you're looking down the wrong end of a gunbarrel

                       =20
                       Murad Sezer / The Associated Press=20
                       A Palestinian boy rides his bicycle past a =
destroyed building which was shelled by Israeli tanks the previous night =
in the Khan Yunis refugee camp, Gaza strip, on Oct. 28.=20
                     =20
                 By Ismail Zayid COMMENTARY

                 THE RECENT horrendous massacre of thousands of =
innocent victims, on Sept. 11 Sept. in New York and Washington, brought =
a great deal of attention to the subject of terrorism, Osama bin Laden =
and his group, al-Qaida.=20

                 There has also been some insinuation, by the media and =
politicians, towards Arabs and Muslims, with reference to the Middle =
East and the Palestine conflict.=20

                 But nowhere is there any mention of Israeli terrorism =
in relation to this conflict.=20

                 Terrorism is defined in a variety of ways. An =
interesting definition is put forward by the noted intellectual Noam =
Chomsky, who wrote: "There is another defining property of 'terrorism' =
in contemporary (Orwellian) newspeak: it refers to violent acts by Them, =
not Us."=20

                 Another definition is when the men, women and children =
who are killed are Palestinians and the gunmen or pilots who murder them =
are Israelis. This form of terrorism is not terrorism, we are told, but =
mere retaliation, self defence or what they may call 'civilized =
terrorism.'=20

                 The late professor Israel Shahak, a Holocaust =
survivor, and then chairman of the Israeli League for Human and Civil =
Rights, wrote: "There is nothing new in the fact that Israel is a =
terrorist state, which, almost from its inception, has used its =
intelligence service (the Mossad) to assassinate people on foreign soil =
with any violence or terror it considers necessary for its ends."=20

                 The actions of the state of Israel since its creation, =
and those of the terrorist gangs (the Stern, Irgun Zwei Leumi and the =
Haganah) that brought it about, testify to Israel's long-established =
record in terrorism, not only in the Middle East but on the =
international scene. This record is massive and would take volumes to =
relate but I will refer only to a few examples:=20

                 Assassination of Palestinian leaders and =
intellectuals, in Europe and the Middle East has gone on for years. This =
includes the 1972 Lillehammer affair in Norway, where an innocent =
Moroccan waiter was killed in error, instead of a targeted Palestinian; =
the murder of the Palestinian diplomat and scholar Naim Khader in 1985 =
in Brussels, and many others.=20

                 Fathi Shikaki was assassinated in Malta in 1995 on the =
orders of Yitzhak Rabin. The role of Ehud Barak, dressed as an Arab =
woman, in the assassination of three Palestinian leaders, including the =
poet Kemal Nasser, in 1973 in Beirut, must not be forgotten.=20

                 Israeli-targeted assassination of Palestinians =
described as activists, as well as bystanders, continues to this day. =
Israeli assassination is not limited to Palestinians but includes the =
1944 assassination of the British minister Lord Moyne in Cairo as =
planned by Yitzhak Shamir.=20

                 A horrible crime was committed in the assassination of =
the Swedish nobleman, Count Folke Bernadotte, a UN mediator, on Sept. =
17, 1948, in Jerusalem, on the orders of Yitzhak Shamir, who later =
became prime minister of Israel. Count Bernadotte's sin was his =
recommendation, as the UN mediator, that Palestinian refugees who were =
driven out from their homes by Israel should be allowed to return to =
their homes. This recommendation was the substance of the UN resolution =
194, on Dec. 11, 1948, stipulating the right of return for the =
Palestinian refugees as soon as possible.=20

                 Israeli use of chemical weapons is also on record in =
the botched attempt to assassinate Khalid Meshal in Amman in 1997, on =
the orders of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.=20

                 Incredible as it may seem, Israel also indulged in the =
development of bioterrorism.=20

                 Some readers may recall Daniel Paul's column in The =
Chronicle-Herald titled Where is the outrage over Israel's work on =
biological weapon? (Jan. 15, 1999). His column referred to a report in =
The Sunday Herald - The Ethnic Bomb: Israeli weapon would kill Arabs, =
spare Jews, (Nov. 15, 1998), from The Sunday Times of London, quoting =
Israeli scientists and politicians.=20

                 The first act of air piracy in the history of civil =
aviation was carried out by Israel in 1954, when a civilian Syrian =
airliner was forced down in Tel Aviv and its passengers and crew held =
hostage, despite international condemnation.=20

                 The first act of shooting down a civilian airliner was =
deliberately carried out by Israel when a Libyan airliner was shot down =
by Israeli jet fighters over Sinai in February 1973, on the orders of =
Israeli prime minister Golda Meir, killing 107 of its passengers and its =
entire French crew.=20

                 Israeli terror was not restricted to Palestinians, =
Arabs and Europeans but included its own closest supporter and ally, the =
United States. In 1954, Israeli secret agents bombed the U.S. diplomatic =
centres in Cairo and Alexandria (known as the Lavon Affair), in an =
attempt to put the blame on the Egyptians. Israel later honoured the =
perpetrator, Marcello Ninio.=20

                 In June 1967, Israeli forces attacked and sank the =
U.S. spy ship USS Liberty, and strafed rescue boats, killing 35 and =
injuring 170 U.S. servicemen, in an attempt to conceal its own secret =
communications, and again tried to blame it on the Egyptians. To this =
day, incredible as it may seem, the U.S. Congress refuses to hold an =
inquiry into this crime, as requested by the surviving crew. Needless to =
say, no sanctions were imposed or calls to extradite the perpetrators =
were made.=20

                 Zionist terror did not spare Jews. In 1940, Menachem =
Begin's Irgun Zwei Leumi terrorist gang bombed the ship Patria in Haifa =
harbor, killing 240 Jewish refugees, so as to put the blame on the =
British for political gain.=20

                 In 1950-1951, Israeli agents were dispatched to Iraq =
where they tossed hand grenades into the crowded Massauda Shem-Tov =
synagogue, causing numerous deaths, in order to blame it on the Iraqis =
and encourage reluctant Iraqi Jews to emigrate to Israel.=20

                 Israeli terrorism against Palestinians continues, =
including murder, torture, expropriation of their land, for the creation =
of illegal settlements and demolition of thousands of their homes as =
well as entire towns and villages, not to mention numerous massacres, =
including those of Deir Yassin, Qibya and Sabra and Shatilla.=20

                 The Palestinians of the West Bank have remained under =
illegal occupation for over 34 years, in defiance of international law =
and UN Security Council resolutions. Their acts of resistance are =
described by Israel as terrorism, yet international law entitles all =
peoples, including even the Palestinian people, to resist foreign =
occupation.=20

                 Occupation is violence, and to bring an end to =
violence and bring peace and security for Israelis and Palestinians, =
Israel must comply with international law and withdraw completely from =
all territories occupied in 1967, including East Jerusalem.=20

                 Israeli acts of belligerency extend beyond its =
defiance of international law and Security Council resolutions to =
violation of its own agreements with the Palestinian Authority.=20

                 Its recent re-occupation, of seven cities and towns in =
the Palestinian autonomous areas is illegal. The pretext for this is the =
recent assassination of the Israeli Minister of Tourism, Rehavam Zeevi, =
by members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine in =
retaliation for Israel's assassination of their leader Mustafa Zibri two =
months earlier.=20

                 Mr. Zibri's assassination was one of over 50 =
Palestinian leaders assassinated over the last year. The invasion of =
these towns, including Bethlehem and Beit Jala, using tanks and Apache =
warships, has resulted in the demolition of scores of homes and the =
killing of over 50 Palestinians, mostly women and children.=20

                 The invasion of these towns and cities continues in =
defiance of international condemnation and the call for immediate =
withdrawal by the U.S., Israel's ally, benefactor and unquestioning =
supporter. But, alas, Israel remains above international law.=20

                 The late Canadian historian Frank Epp, then president =
of Grebel college of the University of Waterloo, wrote: "It is true that =
terrorist acts have been perpetrated by people identified as =
Palestinians. But there is another terrorism which is more vicious and =
brutal, that of dispossession and displacement forced upon the =
Palestinians.=20

                 However, terrorism meted out by the Palestinians, =
regrettable as it is, is minute by comparison with that which has been =
inflicted on them. The mass media have failed to make this point =
adequately."=20

                 The tragedy for the Jewish people of Israel, in the =
crimes that are committed in their name, is highlighted in the statement =
made by the noted British historian Arnold Toynbee, who stated in a 1961 =
lecture at McGill University to a largely Jewish audience: "The Jewish =
treatment of the Arabs in 1948 was as morally indefensible as the =
slaughter by the Nazis of six million Jews . . . The most tragic thing =
in human life is when people who have suffered impose suffering in their =
turn."=20

                 The Palestinian people today are calling for a modicum =
of justice. For without this, there will be no peace for Arab or Jew in =
the Middle East.=20

                 Dr. Ismail Zayid was born and grew up in Beit Nuba, =
Palestine. He is the author of two books: Palestine: A Stolen Heritage, =
and Zionism: The Myth and the Reality.


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