Israel's actions indicate "Do as I say, not as I do" attitude
Weaponized bulldozers and soldiers inside Gaza borders
by Kathryn Shihadah
Israel has demonstrated that, beyond a shadow of a doubt, Palestinians of Gaza are not allowed to breach the border and enter Israeli territory. Israel's borders are "sovereign" and must be defended - obviously at the cost of Palestinian lives.
Those Palestinian lives might be females, medics, female medics, children, people who are praying or running away or standing around. When they even come near to, or look threateningly at, or help someone who was just shot at, the sacrosanct border of Israel - they have earned a bullet.
On the other hand
Israel has zero regard for Palestinian borders. Over 800,000 Israelis live on Palestinian land in the West Bank and East Jerusalem - never mind that the International Court of Justice declared settlements illegal in 2004.
Israel is also flagrantly violating Gaza's border on a regular basis - the very same border it defends with snipers from Palestinian intruders (and potential intruders). It just happened again - the full article is below. We're talking about Israelis entering sovereign Palestinian land in military vehicles.
Imagine for a moment if a Palestinian sniper picked off one or two of these individuals. The word "terrorist" would be shouted from the rooftops, and there would be hell to pay. (Even a kite can be labelled "terrorist," and its use as a weapon can result in severe repercussions, so why not a sniper?)
The "sovereignty" conversation must include the blockade - by air, sea, land, and even under the land - that has been in place since 2006.
A self-ruling state decides for itself who and what can enter and exit its borders; its people are free to move around within its territory; it is self-governing, without outside interference. Israel does not fully allow Palestinians in Gaza or the West Bank to exercise these basic rights.
Why does Israel get to kill Palestinians with absolute impunity - Palestinians who are merely demonstrating, demanding their rights - while Palestinians are not afforded any latitude for their own self-defense? If it's not ok for one, then it's not ok for either.
The international community has been complicit in these injustices, and that needs to stop. If our political leaders won't say anything, then it's up to the people who care about justice to raise their voices high against Israeli policy.
Israeli Bulldozers Level Lands in Gaza
Weaponized bulldozers and soldiers inside Gaza borders
from IMEMC News and Agencies
Several Israeli military vehicles raided the eastern borders of the besieged Gaza Strip on Monday morning [9 July 2018].
Locals said, according to Ma’an News Agency, that six Israeli military vehicles raided into the area near the eastern borders of Gaza City, razed and leveled lands while Israeli forces were putting up a security fence from inside the borders.
Earlier today, a number of Israeli military vehicles raided into Al-Breij refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip.
Four large D-9 Israeli military bulldozers reportedly entered dozens of meters into lands near the “return camps” as drones flew overhead.
Military bulldozers began razing lands and setting up a security fence; no shootings were reported.
Israeli military incursions inside the besieged Gaza Strip and near the “buffer zone,” which lies on both land and sea sides of Gaza, have long been a near-daily occurrence.
The Israeli army also regularly detains and opens fire on unarmed Palestinian fishermen, shepherds, and farmers along the border areas if they approach the buffer zone, as the authorities have not made clear the precise area of the designated zone.
The practice has in effect destroyed much of the agricultural and fishing sector of the blockaded coastal enclave, which has been under an Israeli air, land, and sea blockade for 10 years.
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