Intelligent Discontent

• Written by: DanJune 29th, 2006
• Comments:3 Comments
• Category:MT Politics, Media Bias, Peace, The World
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So betwixt all the wrangling of the American political apparatus, has anyone noticed that Israel has started another war? The pretext is the kidnapping of a single young Israeli soldier by Palestinian forces. Because of this Israel has invaded the Gaza Strip, destroyed the electrical grid, and angered regional powers.
Now, the emptiness of this rhetoric cannot help but be exposed when one reads the other major story going on in Israel right now, the "arrests" of 64 Palestinian ministers and members of parliament on the pretext that because they belong to Hamas they must be terrorists. And it seems that Israel wants to arrest many more in their broad sweep, which Palestinian officials are already calling an "open war against the Palestinian government and people". Now, I don’t intend to be a Hamas apologist, the party has an acknowledged record of terror and violence, but they were legally elected by the Palestinian people and Israel’s latest move has virtually destroyed the democratically chosen government of Palestine. Israeli radio even goes so far as to say "If the [kidnapped Israeli] soldier is not returned in 24 hours, Israel will not allow the Palestinian government to survive". So, as retaliation for the kidnapping of a soldier - who as part of his duty is put in harm’s way and is generally considered fair game by the Geneva Conventions as long as he is treated well in captivity - Israel has invaded unoccupied territory and dissolved an elected government. That seems reasonable. And while on the subject, why is it that it is called "kidnapping" when done by Palestinians (despite the fact that it was a soldier) and it is called "arrests" when done 64-fold by the Israelis (to civilian elected officials)?
This isn’t exactly the first time that Israel has started wars on flimsy pretexts. Recall in 1982 when the Israeli intelligence fabricated a PLO assassination attempt on Israeli Ambassador Argov so they could start an offensive in Lebanon, or any number of other incidents in which the stark expansionist policy of Israel has been obscured by rhetoric. Perhaps it is instructive to note that the United States isn’t the only state in the world that manufactures wars at its own convenience.
UPDATE: Israel is now threatening to kill the Prime Minister of Palestine!