The Israeli propaganda machine has been exposed yet again over its accusations that Hamas used Gazans as ‘human shields’.
The Jerusalem Post yesterday published this article which, since it’s short, I have reproduced here in full. It went like this:
Members of a Gaza family whose farm was turned into a "fortress" by Hamas fighters have reported that they were helpless to stop Hamas from using them as human shields.
They told the official Palestinian Authority daily newspaper that for years Hamas had used their property and homes as military installations from which the group would launch rockets into Israel, dig tunnels and store arms. According to the victims, those who tried to object were shot in the legs by Hamas operatives.
Palestinian Media Watch quoted the official Palestinian Authority daily, ‘Al-Hayat al-Jadida’ as reporting on January 27, "The Abd Rabbo family kept quiet while Hamas fighters turned their farm in the Gaza strip into a fortress. Right now they are waiting for the aid promised by the [Hamas] movement after Israel bombed the farm and turned it into ruins."
According to the report, the hill on which the Abd Rabbo family lives overlooks Sderot, making it an ideal military position for Hamas fighters.
The Abd Rabbo family members emphasized to the paper that they were not Hamas activists and that they were still loyal to the Fatah movement, but that they had been unable to prevent the armed squads from entering their neighbourhood at night.
First off, one needs to note that the story originated from the Palestine Authority newspaper, Al-Hayat al-Jadida, essentially a Fatah propaganda rag. The story initially attempts to portray the Abd Rabbo family as ordinary everyday Gazan folk struggling, like everyone else the Gaza, to squeeze a living out of their small farm. It’s not until the end of the article that the illusion of them being an innocent ordinary everyday family caught up in the horrors of war that the reader is told that they don’t support Hamas and that they ‘were still loyal to the Fatah movement’.
Well, people are entitled to support whatever political movement they like and when the time comes they, hopefully, will get the opportunity to cast their vote for the mob they think will best represent them. The Jerusalem Post report infers that the Abd Rabbo family farm was singled out because it overlooked a strategic point in Israel and because the family were loyal to Fatah; and, if that were case, the Abd Rabbo family may have had a legitimate grievance.
But, of course, that’s not the case.
The name Abd Rabbo seemed familiar so a swift search within moments revealed that the family is headed up by none other than Yasser Abd Rabbo who is a little bit more than a simple grass-roots Fatah supporter in the Gaza. It turns out that he is the Secretary of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) and an advisor to West Bank PA President Abbas who has worked tirelessly with the Israelis to thwart Hamas control of the Gaza while cynically complaining to the Israelis about the civilian deaths there.
Rather than being human shields for Hamas, the Abd Rabbo’s were more enemies on the wrong side of the lines but useful for the propaganda cause.
Who would have believed it?
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2 comments:
So when can we expect to see a post from you admitting that the school supposedly attacked by Israel, where 43 people were alleged to have been killed, was not actually hit and no one died there?
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20090129.wgazaschool29/BNStory/International/home
Read the report you posted carefully and you'll find that there was no 'alleged 43 people killed', there were 43 people, all civilians, who were attacked and killed by Israelis while on the street outside of the school, most having just left the school as the shelling started. The school was hit but no one actually inside was killed. The Israelis waited until they came out of the school so that their targets were in the open and much easier to hit.
There was no 'supposed' about this incident. You can spin it any way you like, the bottom line is 43 innocent civilians were murdered in the open by Israeli terrorists in tanks while on dirt that doesn't belong to them.
It's a war crime no matter what way you look at it.
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