Israel Attacks Palestinians During Peace Talks

Israel Attacks Palestinians During Peace Talks

by Stephen Lendman

Doing so exposes the sham process. So do many other similar incidents. Daily violence persists. Dozens of weekly incursions terrorize Palestinian communities.

Violence and arrests follow. So do detentions, interrogations and torture. Israel's no peace partner. Palestinians don't have one. They never did. For sure they don't now.

On August 28, Maan News headlined "Israeli forces kill 3 Palestinians in Qalandia camp," saying:

Undercover Israeli forces bear full responsibility. They wore civilian clothes. They acted provocatively. 

"Robin al-Abed, 32, was shot in the chest." He died instantly. 

"Younis Jihad Abu al-Sheikh Jahjouh, 22, was also shot dead." 

"Jihad Asslan, 20, died Monday morning." Ramallah Hospital officials pronounced him brain dead. 

"All three men were killed when Israeli forces opened fire on a crowd during clashes with camp residents following (a lawless) arrest raid."

Live fired injured at least 15 Palestinians. Six are in critical condition. Most were shot in the head, chest and upper body.

Israeli security forces shot to kill. They committed cold-blooded murder. Doing so repeats with disturbing regularity. 

One incident follows another. Police states operate that way. Israel's one of the worst.

An Israeli police spokeswoman Luba Samri said:

"In the early hours of the morning a border police team went into Qalandiya camp to arrest a hostile terrorist activist."

Israel calls all Palestinians wanting to live free "terrorists."

"After his arrest," she added, "a 'mob' of about 1,500 residents began a disturbance, throwing petrol bombs and stones, endangering the lives of force members, who responded with riot dispersal means." 

Palestinians often throw stones in response to Israeli provocations. They don't use petrol bombs. They don't use live fire. They don't endanger Israeli lives.

Samri lied. Coverup and denial don't wash. Incidents often end the same way. Palestinians are shot, killed and/or injured. Arrests are made. Israelis suffer no casualties.

On August 26, Haaretz headlined "Palestinian negotiators say they cancelled meet with Israelis after deadly clashes."

State Department officials claimed otherwise. Spokeswoman Mari Harf said:

"I can assure you that no meetings have been canceled. The parties are engaged in serious and sustained negotiations."

Early Monday, said Haaretz, a senior Palestinian official said talks were cancelled. It was to protest Qalandiya refugee camp killings and injuries.

Israeli officials didn't comment either way. Palestinian Foreign Minister Ryiad al-Makiki didn't say if the meeting was held.

"We have made it clear on several occasions that the negotiations will be affected by policy and measures that undermine the process," he said. 

"There is no doubt that what happened this morning will have an effect," he added.

According to UNRWA spokesman Christopher Gunness:

"Credible reports say (Robeen Zayed) was on his way to work…(He) was not engaged in any violent activity. He was shot in the chest" at close range and killed.

On August 26, the Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) headlined "Israeli Forces Use Excessive Lethal Force Killing 3 Palestinian Civilians and Wounding 16 Others, Including 5 Children, in Qalandiya Refugee Camp."

PCHR denounced Israel's "heinous crime. (It) holds Israel fully responsible. (It) demands international community assume its responsibilities." It wants Palestinian civilians protected.

Eyewitnesses told PCHR, "at approximately 05:00AM on Monday, 26 August 2013, Israeli forces in military vehicles and a 20-member infantry unit moved into Qalandiya refugee camp, north of occupied Jerusalem."  

"They positioned themselves in the streets and then moved into al-Souq neighborhood in the centre of the refugee camp to carry out an arrest campaign." 

"Israeli forces raided a house belonging to the family of Abdul Rahim al-Khatib near the Grand Mosque to arrest one of the family members."

Dozens of Palestinian youths and boys threw stones. Israeli forces responded with live fire, tear gas canisters and sound bombs.

Backup forces arrived. They used live fire. Three deaths and 16 injuries resulted. 

On August 20, Israeli forces killed a Jenin refugee camp civilian. He posed no threat. Cold-blooded murder is standard Israeli practice. 

Coverup and denial follow. PCHR demands accountability. It demands what it won't get. Israeli forces are free to kill again. They do so with impunity.

On August 26, B'Tselem headlined "Military force that killed three Palestinians stayed in Qalandiya Camp until almost 7AM."

B'Tselem field researchers began investigating what happened. They learned facts polar opposite of what Israel claims. 

Its spokespersons and officials lie. They whitewash repeated crimes of war and against humanity. They're caught red-handed. It doesn't matter. 

Israeli security forces are unaccountable. They act with impunity. They call cold-blooded murder self-defense. They call justifiable Palestinian self-defense terrorism.

According to B'Tselem, it "documented various incidents in which Israeli military forces entering a Palestinian refugee camp were met with massive stone-throwing and responded with fatal fire."

It's like matching sling shots against bullets. Outcomes are always the same. One side incurs deaths and injuries. The other at most suffers scratches too insignificant to matter.

On August 1, 2011, Israeli forces entered the Qalandiya refugee camp. They did so pre-dawn. Residents responded with stone-throwing.

Soldiers opened fire. Two residents were killed. Another was injured. Some prior incidents didn't cause deaths or injuries. Too often they do.

Palestinian lives and welfare have don't. It shows in Israeli-instigated violence. Victims are blamed. Perpetrators are absolved. 

They're free to commit more crimes. It bears repeating. Israel calls it self-defense. Killing Palestinians posing no threat is cold-blooded murder.

B'Tselem wants an investigation into the latest incident initiated immediately. In particular, it wants "the command's decision to carry out (an) arrest in (a violent) manner explained.

It asked whether Israeli forces "prepared in advance (to avoid) us(ing) lethal arms.

B'Tselem wrote Israel's Military Advocate for Operational Matters and the SHAI (Judea and Samaria) District Police.

It wants answers. Most important is preventing repeat incidences. They repeat with disturbing regularity.

On August 28, Haaretz editors headlined "Raid in Qalandiyah is a raid on the negotiations," saying:

Palestinians live in dread of the next incident. "This is what induces the sense of anger and hostility." At times, violence results.

Haaretz editors turned reality on its head. They claim the "main argument against the deadly raid at Qalandiyah is its timing."

It's repeated incidents that matter most. It's considering Palestinians subhuman. It's denying them all rights. 

It's occupation harshness. It's making dozens of weekly neighborhood incursions. It's state terror as official policy. It's holding thousands of Palestinian political prisoners illegally.

It's calling self-defense terrorism. It's waging war while talking peace. According to Haaretz editors:

"Just when Israel and the Palestinian Authority are struggling to weave the peace process anew after lengthy stagnation and an unprecedented American effort, the IDF operated in a manner that could jeopardize the talks."

They're more pretense than real. They reflect the greatest hypocrisy of modern times. They've been dead on arrival for decades. 

This time's no different. Haaretz editors claim otherwise. Don't expect them to explain why. They stop short of effectively denouncing settlement expansions. 

They object to bad timing during talks. They say little or nothing about stealing Palestinian land.

They claim IDF soldiers aren't "required to stop acting to thwart terrorism or arrest suspects. It's their duty and responsibility." 

They don't explain so-called terrorists don't exist.

On August 25, Haaretz editors called Abbas "a partner for peace," saying:

He's "a pragmatic leader who aspires to a peace agreement and is willing to take meaningful measures in order to create a new and better situation in the region."

False! He's a longtime Israeli collaborator. He's Israel's enforcer. He's unprincipled. He's a coup d'etat leader. 

He conspired with Israel against Palestine's legitimate government. In 2005, Israel rigged his election.

His term expired in January 2009. He hasn't called new elections. Since 1991 Madrid peace talks and Oslo, he betrayed his people multiple times over. He's done so for benefits he derives.

He's doing it again now. He plans unilateral surrender. He did it before. It's coming again. Peace talks are fake. They're a sham. 

"Today there is a unique opportunity to reach a historic agreement," claim Haaretz editors. Chances for doing so are ZERO. Perhaps one day Haaretz editors will explain.

Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago. He can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net. 

His new book is titled "Banker Occupation: Waging Financial War on Humanity."

http://www.claritypress.com/LendmanII.html

Visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com. 

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