Israel is trying to hide the fact that these so called innocent religious teens are actually members of the Israeli Terrorist Forces, who have been terrorizing, and abducting Palestinian children and teen age civilians in the Israeli occupied Al-Khalil region.
By Dr. Elias Akleh
For the last ten days Israeli propaganda had deafened our ears and blinded our eyes with their exaggerated alleged grievances about three supposed-to-be innocent Israeli teens, who allegedly had been abducted by Palestinians, namely Hamas, in their attempt to justify an Israeli terror campaign of mass abductions of Palestinian children, youth and officials to derail the formation of the newly Hamas/Fatah technocratic government.
Israel had claimed that three Israeli allegedly innocent teens; 16 years old Gilad Shaer, 16 years old claimed to be US-Israeli national Naftali Fraenkel, and 19 years old Eyal Yifrah, had been abducted while hitch-hiking home from a religious seminary in Gush Etzion illegal colony (settlement) north of Al-Khalil (Hebron) city in the occupied West Bank.
Israel is trying to hide the fact that these so called innocent religious teens are actually members of the Israeli Terrorist Forces, who have been terrorizing, and abducting Palestinian children and teen age civilians in the Israeli occupied Al-Khalil region. The picture above shows clearly who the “US-Israeli national innocent teen” is, and where his real loyalty stands. The picture shows clearly how proud he is of abducting Palestinian teens his age.
Israel is conducting a terror campaign in the West Bank in their search for these three teen soldiers. Groups of fully armed to the teeth Israeli soldiers have been conducting pre-dawn hour raids of Palestinian homes savagely abducting children. Other soldiers are raiding institutions, schools and universities, while still other groups are erecting more checkpoints restricting Palestinians’ movement even more than it has been.
Israel had also targeted welfare organizations such as “Islamic Charitable Society” in Al-Khalil, the British-based “Islamic Relief Worldwide” (IRW) Israel accuses of aiding Hamas, and had confiscated files and computers.
Besides arresting Palestinian children Israel had arrested also Palestinian officials and lawmakers not just from Hamas faction but also from Islamic Jihad and Fatah. The Palestinian Parliament Speaker, Aziz Dweik, was also among those arrested.
In its illegal siege of the Gaza Strip Israel has closed the Kerem Shalom border crossing used for fuel deliveries exacerbating Gaza’s fuel crises. The Israeli war plane had also conducted bombing raids targeting some vital life supporting centers.
The Israeli military said on Saturday June 21st that in the past week they have raided 1150“locations” including homes, charities, universities and offices, and had detained (abducted) 340 Palestinians, 240 of whom are affiliated to Hamas.
Throughout their history the Jews’, and Israel’s, mode of operation is to commit crimes, terrorism, massacres and genocide, then turn around and play the role of the victim. Through the Zionist-bought and controlled Western media outlets Israel is playing the role of the victim, whose innocent and religious teens have been kidnapped by terrorist Palestinian groups, and is justifying its terror campaign against Palestinians as their legal right to return their own boys.
The Western media outlets, TV stations and internet websites, are grossly exaggerating and falsifying the disappearance of the three Israeli teen soldiers. They are playing on the feelings of their audience by exploiting the grievance of the Israeli teens’ mothers to justify Israeli terrorism. These same media outlets ignore the fact that Israel had been kidnapping, torturing, and imprisoning Palestinian teens, and even children, for the last 66 years since 1948. The grievance of the thousands of Palestinian mothers, worried about the safety of their Israeli-abducted teen agers and even children, have never been broadcasted on those so-called democracy loving, unbiased, humanitarian media outlets. Palestinian resistance against the occupying Israeli forces and against illegal militaristic Israeli colonizers (settlers) is never justified. For such media outlets Israel can never do wrong while Palestinians’ resistance is always terrorism.
Israel has always targeted Palestinians’ weakest point; their children. The so-called “invincible Israeli army” has been concentrating its aggression against Palestinian children in an attempt to traumatize them and to instill fear within their psyche so they would never resist when they grow up. Israeli soldiers and snipers do not hesitate to shoot and murder in cold blood Palestinian teen agers even while peacefully demonstrating against Israeli occupation. The May 15th 2014 double murder of 17 years old Nadeem Nawara, and of 16 years old Mohammad Odeh, is just one proof of this.
Security camera footage obtained by “Defense for Children International Palestine” shows clearly that the Israeli military sniper had assassinated the two Palestinian teens from a far distance even though they did not pose any threat to him. Amnesty International has fiercely censured this murder accusing Israeli forces of resorting to extreme force.
“The news that two Palestinians were killed during today’s demonstrations is alarming. Israeli forces have repeatedly resorted to extreme violence to respond to Palestinian protests against Israel’s occupation, discriminatory policies, confiscation of land, and construction of unlawful settlements. The use of unnecessary and excessive force by Israeli forces against protesters in the occupied Palestinian territories…. is unacceptable and must be stopped immediately,” media outlets quoted Philip Luther, director of the Middle East and North Africa Program at Amnesty International as saying.
Amnesty International has criticized Israeli extreme violence against Palestinian youth in many of its reports. You can read its 2012 report, its 2014 report, and watch its Trigger Happy Killing in the West Bank video report.
United National children Fund (UNICEF) had also joined Amnesty International in accusing Israel of “systematic mistreatment” of Palestinian children. UNICEF said that each year some 700 Palestinian children aged 12 to 17 –mainly boys- are arrested, interrogated and detained by the Israeli army, police and security agents. To get the children to confess of crimes not committed Israeli interrogators take delight in threatening them with physical violence, death, and sexual assault against themselves or a family member.
In March 2013 UNICEF published its report entitled “Children in Israeli Military Detention”stating that Israel systematically tried Palestinian youths in military courts, and gave evidence of practices it states were “cruel, inhumane and degrading treatment or punishment.” It also described the mistreatment of Palestinian teenagers in Israeli jails as widespread stating that: “Ill-treatment of Palestinian children in the Israeli military detention system appears to be widespread, systematic and institutionalized.” After seven months of the release of its report UNICEF reported that Israel is still “systematically” mistreating detained Palestinian children and that “violations are ongoing.”
Israel has totally ignored all these reports and keeps violating international laws and mistreats Palestinian children. International Middle East Media Center reported in March 2014 that Israeli military courts had sentenced 14 years old Laith Husseini for nine months jail term and 16 years old Mohammad Abu Rammouz for six months jail term. The Public Committee Against Torture accused Israel of torturing Palestinian children to extract confessions.
Head of the Census Department at the Palestinian Ministry of Detainees, Abdul Nasser Ferwana, stated that last month, January 2014, Israeli soldiers had kidnapped and detained more than 10,000 Palestinian children since the beginning of Al-Aqsa Intifada in September 2000. He also stated that Israel has imprisoned more than 11,000 Palestinians, including 2,500 children, over the past three years.
Israel is so adamant on traumatizing Palestinian children that it did not hesitate in July 18th2013 to put up the above wanted posters of Palestinian children, who took part in exercising their legitimate right to protest the Israeli occupation of their homeland. The poster threatened these children of being sought and would be arrested if Israeli soldiers see them.
Until now no Palestinian faction has claimed responsibility for the kidnapping of the teen Israeli soldiers. Hamas, the main suspect by Israel, has denied its responsibility and knowledge of the kidnapping. Taking occupying Israeli soldiers prisoners, as was done in the case of Gilad Shalit, is considered a form of resistance by Palestinian freedom fighters, who would take pride of such an act. Many believe that the alleged kidnapping is a trick Israel is using to justify the real goal of such terror campaign, which is the derailing of the newly formed Fatah/Hamas technocratic unity government. Hamas accused Israel of using the kidnapping allegation to torpedo the recent reconciliation deal between Hamas and Fatah.
Israeli Finance Minister, Yair Lapid, second Hamas accusation when he told Israeli media on Friday June 20th that the real goal of the search for the three illegal settler soldiers is to break Palestinian resistance movement Hamas and its reconciliation deal the Fatah.
Last April, Palestinian factions Fatah and Hamas signed an agreement to end years of separation and rivalry and form a unity government to manage Palestinian civil services. This agreement was met with blessings from the European Union and the United states, who announced plans to work with the new government.
The UN has also welcomed the formation of Palestinian unity government. On Sunday June 7th UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Robert Serry, met with four ministers of the newly formed unity government. He assured the Gaza-based ministers that the international body is ready to increase its operations in Gaza, with water and energy being a priority.
“I congratulated the Ministers on their appointment and discussed with them the many practical challenges ahead. Gazans must, as soon as possible, feel the dividends of unity. Open crossings both for goods and people, access to construction material, re-establishing trade links between the West Bank and Gaza and exports are urgently needed to kick start the economy and create job opportunities.” Serry stated after his meeting.
Israel was angered by Palestinian reconciliation and the forming of the unity government, and by the international support for this government. This would mean the end of the seven years old illegal siege of Gaza Strip and a boost to the Palestinian international position. Israel has threatened to suspend the so-called peace talks with the Palestinian Authority, which was futile anyway, and threatened to impose further sanctions against Palestinians.
Yet Israel knows that the only way to cripple the Palestinian unity government and to keep Palestinians divided is through mass detention of all Palestinian officials, who supported Palestinian reconciliation, the same way Israel had jailed the popular Marwan Barghouthi in order to assure the election of the Israeli-puppet Mahmoud Abbas as president.
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