"It is impossible to imprison two million people without exacting a cruel price"

Because of the crisis in Gaza, we are expanding our blog which is, as you know, primarily focused on how Israel uses water as a weapon.

It is impossible to imprison two million people without exacting a cruel price

Gideon Levi

08 October 2023

Behind all this is Israeli arrogance; Our thought is that we are allowed to do anything, and that we will never pay and be punished for it. We will continue without interruption. We will arrest, kill, abuse, dispossess, protect the settlers of the pogroms, go to Joseph's tomb, Othniel's tomb, Joshua's altar, all in the Palestinian territories, and of course to the Temple Mount - more than 5,000 Jews in Sukkot alone - we will shoot innocent people, gouge out eyes and smash faces, drive out, We will be expropriated, robbed, kidnapped from beds, ethnically cleansed and of course we will continue the unbelievable siege on Gaza - and everything will be fine.


A formidable barrier will be built around the strip, the underground wall of which alone cost three billion shekels, and we will be safe. We will rely on the geniuses of 8200 and the Shin Bet agents who know everything, and they will warn us in time. We will move half an army from Gaza to Hawara just to secure the crazy shenanigans of Zvi Sukkot and the settlers , and everything will be fine, both in Hawara and Erez. It turns out that the sophisticated obstacle And the most expensive thing in the world, a simple, smoking bulldozer can break through relatively easily, when there is great motivation to do so. Here, you can cross this arrogant obstacle with bicycles and scooters, despite all the billions poured into it, and all the famous experts and contractors getting rich.


We thought that we would continue to harass Gaza, throw at it here and there crumbs of kindness in the form of a few thousand work permits in Israel - a drop in the ocean, and they are also always conditional on proper behavior - and still keep it as a prison. We will make peace with Saudi Arabia and the Emirates - and the Palestinians will be forgotten from the heart, until they are erased, as quite a few Israelis would like. We will continue to hold thousands of Palestinian prisoners, including prisoners without trial, most of them political prisoners, and we will not agree to discuss their release even after decades in prison. We will tell them that only by force will their prisoners see freedom. We thought that we would continue to arrogantly repel any attempt at a political solution, just because it is not appropriate for us to engage in it, and everything will surely continue like this forever.


Once again it has been proven that this is not the case. Several hundred Palestinian militants broke through the fence and invaded Israel in a way that no Israeli imagined possible. Several hundred Palestinian militants proved that it is impossible to imprison two million people forever, without it exacting a cruel price . Just as the smoking and outdated Palestinian bulldozer yesterday tore down the fence, the wisest of all fences, so it also tore through Israel's mantle of arrogance and complacency. And he also tore up the idea that it is enough to attack and dismantle Gaza with suicide drones, and sell them to half the world, in order to maintain security.


Yesterday, Israel saw images it had never seen before : Palestinian military cars patrolling the city, Gazan cyclists entering its gates. These pictures must tear away the veil of arrogance. The Palestinians of Gaza have decided that they are willing to pay anything for a glimpse of freedom. Does this have any potential? No. Will Israel learn the lesson? No.


Yesterday they were already talking about erasing entire neighborhoods in Gaza, about occupying the Gaza Strip and punishing Gaza "as it has never been punished before". But Gaza has not stopped being punished by Israel since 1948, even for a single moment.75 years of abuse, and the worst is waiting for her again. The threats to "flatten Gaza" prove only one thing: we have learned nothing. The arrogance is here to stay, even after Israel once again paid a heavy price.


Benjamin Netanyahu bears a very heavy responsibility for what happened, and he must pay the price, but it did not start with him and will not end after he is gone. We must now cry bitterly for the Israeli victims; But we also have to cry over Gaza. Gaza, most of whose residents are refugees created by Israel; Gaza, which has never known a single day of freedom.

Urgent Statement by the Jewish Voice for Peace Health Advisory Council

We are posting articles that give context for what is happening in Gaza, along with our usual focus of how Israel uses water as a weapon.

Urgent statement by the Jewish Voice for Peace Health Advisory Council

October 8, 2023

As health and human rights workers and activists, we state unequivocally that the slaughter or capture of civilians is unconscionable regardless of who does it. This is truly a low moment born out of 75 years of oppression against Palestinians. For decades we have documented the realities on the ground in Israel/Palestine, the crushing occupation and siege in the West Bank and Gaza, the restrictions on medical permits, the de-development of the health care systems, and the unwillingness of Israel and the international community to address the root causes of the current situation. The consequences of Israel's settler colonial history, the clear establishment of an apartheid regime, including medical apartheid, the illegal occupation and denial of human rights and self-determination for Palestinians, has tragically led us to where we are today.  While we grieve the horrific loss of life and massive numbers of injured, Hamas's attack was not "unprovoked" as reported in the mainstream media, it was the response of people who have been pushed beyond their ability to endure the impossible and the unconscionable. 

 Over the past 15 years, the Palestine Centre for Human Rights has documented at least six large-scale military assaults on Gaza, with compelling evidence that Israeli authorities committed war crimes and crimes against humanity against civilians in Gaza. International law states that during hostilities "civilians and civilian objects must be protected against direct and indiscriminate attacks. Healthcare workers and health facilities must also be protected and may not be made the object of attack."

 We join with Al-Haq, Al-Mezan, and the Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) to support the following statement: 

 [We urge the] international community to take immediate and urgent action to stop Israel’s revenge and reprisal against Gaza’s civilian population and civilian objects. The latest statements by the Israeli establishment…portend an unprecedented number of killings, with civilians bearing the brunt. Accountability is the key to ending Israeli crimes, with Third States sharing responsibility for its consequences. We call on the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court to expedite the investigation into the Situation in Palestine with full resources and onsite visits as promised in December 2022. We stress that if no immediate action is taken by the international community to hold Israel accountable for the international crimes committed against the Palestinian people, more civilian casualties will follow, and destruction will continue to take place.

To this end, we call upon the UN Security Council, Third States, and UN Member States to immediately intervene with all necessary means to cease Israel’s attacks against
the Palestinian people, and to impose sanctions and an arms embargo on Israel. In line with international obligations, the international community must cooperate to bring Israel’s illegal occupation as a continuing act of aggression since 1967 to an end; ensure the dismantling of the occupying administration and the full and unconditional withdrawal of all Israeli occupying forces from the territory, and the dismantling of Israel’s apartheid regime.

“The U.S. must focus on a political solution and de-escalation, not fuel violence by sending the Israeli military more weapons. US complicity in Israel’s occupation, blockade, and apartheid must end." JVP Action