By invading Gaza, Israel claims to be addressing short-term security concerns but it is also damaging what remains of the peace process — and the offensive raises troubling questions about the future of the Palestinians trapped in Gaza, writes former Congressman Dennis Kucinich.
By Dennis Kucinich
Israel invades Gaza because it can. Gazans, in the face of an invasion, have no ability to strike back, while Israel strikes forward. Israel has total military superiority, an air force which can knock and then bomb, a navy which can shell Gazans from miles off shore, an army which can roll tanks into Gaza nonstop. Gazans have no army, navy, air force with which to defend. Israel, as any nation, has a right to defend itself, but it confuses offense with defense. It is on the offensive in Gaza.
Israel with its overwhelming military strength is attacking and invading Gaza in violation of international and U.S. law. Its construction of settlements violates the Oslo agreement. Its Central Bank dries up the Gaza economy and blocks payments to Gaza civil servants. Its total control brings the Palestinians to utter subjection and total despair.
Soldiers from the Israeli Defense Forces prepare for the invasion of Gaza, as the second phase of Operation Protective Edge. (IDF Photo)
Israel can kill, injure, humiliate Palestinians at will, with impunity, which is exactly what gave rise to Hamas and strengthens Hamas’ hold in Gaza, even as the IDF advances. Israel will go door to door in Gaza in the hunt for Hamas, which comprises the government of the Palestinians and is therefore a necessary party to any peace talks. It is axiomatic that if you kill your partner for peace you will have no partner for peace.
There will be no peace, for now, as Gaza is turned into an abattoir, to collectively punish Gazans for supporting Hamas. Israel, in its attempt to divide Hamas from the Gazans, will actually multiply Hamas’ strength in Gaza and elsewhere. Israel may indeed find and kill Hamas officials. But It is not the current individuals who make up Hamas who constitute Israel’s deep dilemma which threatens its long-term security, it is Israel’s policies which gave rise to Hamas and which, if left unaltered, will spawn increased resistance no matter how many members of Hamas Israel is successful in apprehending or killing.
What is the end game? To cast Gazans to the sea, where they will be met by the Israeli Navy? To push Gazans into Egypt? To eject all Palestinians to … where? This is a question relevant not only to Israelis and Palestinians, but to the entire world.
There will be consequences for this invasion. The cycle of violence will widen. It will draw in friends of the Palestinians and will affect Israel’s allies. In the U.S., as our great friend presses the attack in Gaza, there will be increasing questions among the American people as to whether the $3 billion we give Israel annually is being used to defend our great friend, or is buying the U.S. billions of dollars worth of problems because of the manner in which our friend “defends” itself.
Since the U.S. is helping to pay Israel’s bills, we cannot avoid the consequences of paying the price for Israel’s actions against the Palestinians.
Dennis Kucinich is a former congressman from Ohio and a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2004 and 2008.
@ Gregory,
Nobody is speaking of annihilating Israel. If anything Israel is annihilating the Gazans as we speak and have been violating international law for 40 years or more .
And no one needs to dominate the world.
Thank God for the emergence of some positive leadership focused on developing themes for Inclusive Growth: Sustainable Solutions.
A real boost for a better world portended by BRICS summit and the tour of LATAM by Putin and Jinping.
Nothing will change, until someone does something different which changes it.
The future of the world really depends on whether Putin’s use of diplomacy can prevail over Washington’s use of force ~ Paul Craig Roberts:
http://www.veteransnewsnow.com/2014/06/25/406919-can-putins-diplomacy-prevail-over-washingtons-coercion-paul-craig-roberts/
@ Morton:
“what kind of a country and what kind of people would voluntarily elect murderers and assassins as their prime ministers ?â€
that kind of says it all in a nut shell doesn’t it?
The Balfour declaration made by “Great Britain” was/is interpreted by the Zionists as giving Eretz Israel to the Jews.
The “West” gave Arab Land away without having respect for the wishes of 95% of the native population.
The colonization and ethnic cleansing continues with the protection of the U.S.
.
As Vladimir Jabotinsky another early Zionist from Russia famously stated “The soil does not belong to those who possess land in excess but to those who do not possess any”.
http://tinyurl.com/qagfrft
What country would allow rockets to be fired into its territory without defending itself. Israel has provided the only source of electricity, medical aid, food and water for Gaza. The result is that terrorists claiming to represent the people have used the situation as a cover to annihilate Israel as a continuing attempt to increase Muslim world domination.
Get the facts, Christians. Your next.
C’mon Morton, reverse the situation: Jews were living in Palestine for centuries. The UN imposes Palestinians in the midst of the Jews and the Palestinians begins to squeeze the Jewish population into a borderline existence, via a superior military, not because it is right but because they can. Would take it sitting down?
Excuse me Morton, but it was terrorists who pushed the Palestinians off their land 70 years ago and many are still living in refugee camps as Israel illegally takes their land.
Can’t Israel live with ‘Blowback’. They let Yassin, a member of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood into Gaza 35 odd years ago, gave him a permit to collect funds, and even gave him money to build Islamic schools and Mosques. Arafat, the man who made peace with Rabin, (peace lasted only a short time, Rabin was killed by an Israeli settler). That organization became Hamas which Israel supported to divide the Palestinians while Israel took their land. In time Hamas got too strong, Israel reacted by arming the PA but it was too late. Israel and the Palestinians are now paying for wily and obscene Israeli behaviour.
Most Americans don’t know that the USS Liberty was attacked on purpose by Israelis in 1967 because the intelligence ship would have alerted America to Israel’s plan to attack Syria (Johnson only let them attack Egypt, even though by radio intercepts they knew Egypt wanted peace hoping America would intervene). Johnson didn’t like Egyptian nationalism. That was an act of war but Johnson let Israel get away with it. 37 Americans died, and the facts were to be kept secret. They tried to sink the boat and the lifeboats so there would be no one to tell the tale.
Annihilate Israel? Muslim world domination?
According to Pepe Escobar (Asia Times), in the vicinity of Gaza there are rich deposits o oil, and Israel wants to control those deposits. Is there any truth in what Escobar says?
Yes there is oil and gas particularly off shore from Gaza but Palestinians are not allowed to go near it. I think the Asia Times a few years ago produced a map showing where the resources were. You might find it by googling gaza oil.
What a good article. I also think the invasion of Gaza came soon after the Malaysian plane incident so that the Gaza invasion would get less notice on the 2nd or 3rd page.
You will find the gas / oil map at:
http://globalresearch.ca/war-and-natural-gas-the-israeli-invasion-and-gaza-s-offshore-gas-fields/11680
There are quite a few articles written and on the web about oil/gas that belong to Gaza/Palestine due to where they are found and how Israel is stealing those resources. One interesting point is that Israel is looking to sell those resources to the Ukraine junta and Europe!
http://www.globalresearch.ca/oil-found-by-israel-should-belong-to-palestine-3-5-billion-barrels-of-oil-reserves-on-the-border-between-israel-and-palestine/5362043
http://www.globalresearch.ca/coups-false-flags-covert-wars-color-revolutions-ukraine-and-americas-neocolonial-adventure/5373349
All that is happening in our days is the prelude to enormous changes but even before discussing in regard of the possible remedy one must be clear about how we came to this point recognizing both physiognomy and origin of the threat:
Since 9/11 it’s the War on Terror
One “false flag” attack so called by error
Blair, Bush and Israel had a Pact in store
Their next surprise is knocking at your door
A hidden vile Idea from those who want “more”
will use you and your Belief for the next World War
As “chosen people” gain while Humankind loses
Greed wins not by the swords but by the words of Moses
Daring is to tell you when, better then to tell you rhymes
could not side with either one to get ready for our times
to look beyond and past today to seek for a solution
one only hope is there for you and spells Wavevolution
……………….
A new type of Revolution wins with the ultimate weapon:
Your Mind.
http://www.wavevolution.org/en/freethinking.html
Interesting poem, but the somewhat esoteric religious references seemed just a little too magical mystery tour woo woo for my taste. But, I gave it the benefit of the doubt and clicked the link. It all kind of started out like word-salad – verbal constructs that suggest only a tenuous relationship to empirical reality – kinda smacked of that folkish ancestor paganism combined with new-age awakening…sort of like something that might also contain Runic symbols and love of “blood and soil”. You know, like the Thule Society. Then I got to the “Elders of Zion” part, and I realized that this is basically a neo-Nazi site. Be warned – – its kinda hard to get rid of the “cookie” this link drops in your browser.
The congressman brings up what I think about a lot, why give Israel any aid? The U.S. goes around the world spouting ‘freedom & liberty’, and then there is Israel. It is bad enough that the U.S. is guilty of our own sins, and then there is Israel.
As a side note; I am happy to see Congressman Kucinich writing on this site, instead of seeing him on Fox.
True.
Apparently Bill Clinton, ever so timidly stated on India’s NDTV yesterday, that Israel is isolating itself.
It’s good to see Rep. Kucinich and Paul Findley still out there batting for Palestine:
http://mycatbirdseat.com/2014/07/65781rep-dennis-kucinich-israel-invades-gaza-because-it-has-americas-tacit-consent/