Palestine's Guernica

The Israeli campaign of "death from above" began around 11am on Saturday morning and continues as I write these words.

The bloodiest single day in Palestine since the war of 1967 is far from over following Israel's promise that this is "only the beginning" of their campaign of state terror. Approximately 400 people have been murdered thus far, but the body count continues to rise at a dramatic pace as more mutilated bodies are pulled from the rubble, prior victims succumb to their wounds, and new casualties are created by the minute.

What is occurring is nothing short of a war crime, yet the Israeli public relations machine is in full swing, churning out lies by the minute.

Once and for all it is time to expose the myths that they have created:

- Israel claimed to have ended the occupation of the Gaza Strip in 2005. While Israel has indeed abandoned its settlements in the tiny coastal Strip, it has in no way ended the occupation. It remained in control of Gaza's borders, airspace and waterways, and has carried out frequent raids and targeted assassinations since its "disengagement".

Furthermore, since 2006 Israel has imposed a comprehensive siege on the Strip. For over two years, Gazans have lived on the edge of starvation and without the most basic necessities of human life, such as cooking or heating oil and basic medications. This siege has already caused a humanitarian catastrophe that has only been exacerbated by the dramatic increase in Israeli military aggression.

- Israel claims that Hamas violated the ceasefire and abandoned it unilaterally. Hamas indeed respected their side of the ceasefire, except on those occasions early on when Israel carried out major offensives in the West Bank. In the last two months, the ceasefire broke down with Israelis killing several Palestinians and resulting in the response of Hamas. In other words, Hamas has not carried out an unprovoked attack throughout the period of the ceasefire.

More
http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2009/928/re22.htm