Why Is Israel Putting Boots On The Ground In Gaza Now?

Gaza Strip

The Gaza Strip  is one of the most densely populated areas in the world. Many have called it the worst place to live in the world. The Gaza Strip has been often referred to as the world's largest open-air prison. Here is why?

1. Gaza has been home to a majority refugee population since 1948. This occurred when in that same year Israel claimed statehood and forced many Palestinians to flee their homes. 
2. Since that time Israel has controlled the Gaza Strip by air, land and sea. Regulating what goes in and what goes out. 

When Hamas  won democratically held elections in 2006, Israel intensified its siege and punishment of the Palestinian people living there. Israel justifies this increase of force by claiming that Hamas is a terrorist organization. In the view of the Palestinian people, Hamas is nothing more than a political party that stands in rejection to Israel control of the region. Hamas has declared that this control which in reality is nothing more than a blockade is illegal. In fact, many U.N. experts say Israel's blockade of Gaza is illegal. [ See Palmer Report] 

Israel blockade of Gaza has cut the region off from the rest of the world and made life miserable for the people living there. 80 percent of the people living in Gaza depend on aid. 57 percent of the families lack enough food for their families. U.N. inspectors have determined that 90 percent of the drinking water in Gaza is unsafe. Due to the blockade, spare parts to repair and upkeep water treatment plants have not been available. Medicine and doctors are in short supply. The infrastructure in Gaza has also suffered. Basic building supplies have been largely banned from entering the region. Israel claims these materials could be used to make weapons. These negative factors are compounded by the reality that the population of Gaza continues to grow. Power outages are common in Gaza. Gaza has virtually no economy. The unemployment rate in Gaza hovers around 40%. 

A History Of Violence

Israel over the years has launched several large attacks against Gaza. The thing is with Gaza being such a heavily populated area no one is safe. Israel in the past and in the present claims these attacks are in retaliation to indiscriminate firing of missiles by militant groups within the Gaza Strip. However, as we have seen in the past and now here in this current affair a disproportionate use of force. 

Hamas Explained.  

  

This latest conflict was kick-started by the death of three Israeli teens. Right on cue, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu blamed Hamas for the killings and ordered air strikes. Not long after this declaration a Palestinian youth was killed by Jewish extremist in what appears as a revenge killing. Many have suggested the right-wing prime minster and other Israeli government officials knew weeks ago of the whereabouts of the murdered teens bodies and the persons responsible. In fact, the Israeli government imposed a gag order on journalist covering the abduction of the three Jewish teens to keep the media from covering the story.[Source: Mondoweiss]

Many suggest this was done to fuel the fans of anger and heighten tensions in the region. There are those who claim that the Israeli prime minster did this on purpose. That he wanted to stage manage the events and arouse the public to back his known warmongering spirit. This would not be the first time the Israeli government has manipulated what should be a police action, into a military action against Hamas. For example, the Israeli housing authorities are now calling for settlements in Gaza.

There is a media bias in America towards Israel!

This is were the sore spot comes for this writer. We see in the American press sensational articles of the dead Jewish teens. We have for decades been spoon fed a huge dose of woe is Israel at the expense of a nation of pure poverty with no standing army and arsenal of a few rockets and rock throwers. For many years there have been illegal occupation by Israel of the Gaza Strip in the form of settlements. These illegal settlements were a serious sticking point for the Palestinian people. These settlements were the genesis of much of the civil disobedience and terrorist acts on the part of the Palestinians.

What are settlements?        

In 2005 the settlements were removed from the Gaza Strip. However, Israel was forced by the international courts to do so and many scholars suggest Israel is looking for any excuse they can to re-settle Gaza. The American media has done a huge disservice by shadowing the overall facts surrounding the Middle East conflict as a whole.

One Palestinian child has been killed by Israel every three days for the past 13 years. [Source: Stop the War coalition ]

Often times in the America media we hear of a cycle of violence, a cycle of oppression, and as in this recent case we here mostly of the three dead Israeli teens and very little of the dead Palestinian youth. This is the norm here in America. Anyone with any sense of fairness and a solid mind to seek out the facts can clearly see that in terms of the people of Gaza and the West Bank Israel has been the aggressor. We have seen time and time again that the Israeli's are the worthy victims and the Palestinians are the unworthy victims. There is the underlying fervor that's narrative is the Palestinians are less human and probably deserve what they are getting. There has been an ongoing dehumanization of the people of Gaza and the West Bank by the American media. The American government no matter right or left has been in the hip pocket of Israel and the Jewish lobby.

Supporters of Israel ask a very legitimate question. What do you expect Israel to do when rockets are being shot into their country and its citizens targeted by terrorist plots? It begs the fair question, what is the proper response? For starters, Israel should allow the 80% refugee population of Gaza to move around and colonize themselves back in their homeland that was taken from them. You can't just go back a couple of weeks or years to grasp the impudence behind the Palestinian rejectionism of Israel. Every since the 1948 declaration of statehood by Israel the people who were forced from their homes have had to live in effect under apartheid type conditions imposed by the Israeli's who have been backed by the West and largely the Untied States.

Why is Israel putting boots on the ground in Gaza now?

Benjamin Netanyahu

“In light of Hamas' criminal and relentless aggression, as well as the dangerous attempt to infiltrate Israeli territory, Israel must act to defend its citizens,” 




This past Thursday Israel launched a ground invasion along with continued air strikes into the Gaza Strip. The

purpose of this invasion is to weed out the tunnels Israel claims will be used to invade their homeland. Once again, on the surface, this sounds like a legitimate claim by the warmongering Netanyahu. However, his motives are suspect. Why? The main purpose for the tunnels is the Israel blockade of Gaza. Hamas can't get much supplies into the country due to the blockade. So, they have developed an alternative way of resupplying the people of Gaza. The warmonger [Netanyahu] knows this and by destroying these tunnels it will cause the population as a whole to suffer. Moreover, the majority of these tunnels pop out beyond the Egyptian border. Smugglers supply them with goods that Israel can't or won't let through. These tunnels serve both Hamas and the Gaza civilians. In fairness, Hamas and other militant groups do use these tunnels to smuggle in weapons, components for homemade rockets and other materials they need to fight. The civilians bring in medicines, food and whatever else they can that doesn't get through the blockade.

However you score it, sending in ground troops to Gaza constitutes a major escalation of this ongoing saga between Hamas and Israel. Since Hamas won fair elections in Gaza there has been an up-tick of tensions in the region. If the truth be told and you won't get this from America mainstream media Hamas has done a masterful job of helping improve the lives of the people of Gaza. Despite the Israeli blockade of Gaza that strictly limits the movement in or out of the country and the importation of vital goods Hamas has remained in firm control of the Strip. These tunnels have played a major role and Netanyahu wants them destroyed. So, by sensationalizing the deaths of three Israeli teens and by imposing a gag order on the media to report the facts the game-plan has seemed to work for the warmonger to turn a police matter into a military matter which has now become a full-scale military operation.

President Obama Has Warned The Warmongering Netanyahu About Failing Peace Talks With The Palestinians Would Isolate Israel. 

             

Written By: Johnny