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Palestinians: Dying to Live Free
Courageous Palestinians struggle to be free from Israeli occupation and viciousness.
by Stephen Lendman
Occupied Palestine is the longest unresolved conflict of our time. After 64 years, Palestinians remain largely isolated on their own.
Their suffering continues. Their rights don't matter. Western nations scorn them. Rhetorical support only is provided. It's insulting, demeaning and meaningless.
Ending Operation Pillar of Cloud changed nothing. Israel will provoke confrontations any time it wishes. Pretexts will be invented. Hamas and other resistance groups will be blamed.
The same disturbing scenario repeats. This time won't be different. It never is. Gaza remains the world's largest open-air prison.
A UN report said the Strip will be "unlivable" by 2020. It already is and has been since Israel's mid-2007 siege. Palestinians live under humanitarian crisis conditions most people can't imagine.
Israel persecutes them ruthlessly. Attacks will resume. Conflict cessation changed nothing. Living in a war zone assures it. It's that and much more throughout Occupied Palestine.
Overnight Wednesday, Israel terrorized West Bank residents. At least 55 Palestinians were arrested. Military sources said it was to "restore calm, maintain order, and prevent the infiltration of terrorists into Israeli communities."
They lied like they always do. Arrests reflected state terror.
Israel targeted Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine members. Some were mid-level figures. Israel called them "senior operatives."
They committed no crimes. Detention uncharged or longer-term imprisonment will follow. Abed al-Qaher Srour was arrested. He heads Hamas' Aziz Dweik's office.
Dweik is former Palestinian parliamentary speaker. On August 6, 2006, he was arrested and imprisoned uncharged for belonging to Hamas. In mid-June 2009, he was released. He's vulnerable to rearrest any time. So are many others.
Over 40% of Palestinian males have been imprisoned at some time. Many face rearrest and detention. Virtually all incarcerated Palestinians are political prisoners.
They're guilty only of wanting to live free on their own land in their own country. Occupation harshness denies them. It's been that way for over 45 years.
