Zionism, an obstacle to Peace

From founding to Genocide

There is a lot of information related to Palestine and Israel, it is a lot to cover and it is a lot to ask most people to have even a basic grasp of. I have grown tired of repeatedly and piece by piece dismantling Israeli propaganda regurgitated online. This essay/article whatever you wish to call it is guided by the talking points that zionists use to justify their occupation, apartheid and now genocide against Palestinians. It is a bit of a mix of chronological and topical.

There is now an audio version available with the Diligent News Podcast:

Article Read Through - Zionism, An Obstacle to Peace

Destruction of Palestine

Ancient ties

The Israeli claim rests solely on the Zionist interpretation of the Jewish religious text, this is because genetics and historical records show that while some Jews fled the area, some did not. Modern Palestinians can be genetically tied to the ancient Canaanites.

According to genetic research that compared modern DNA to ancient DNA the researchers found “In a principle component analysis (PCA), the ancient Levantines clustered predominantly with modern-day Palestinians and Bedouins and marginally overlapped with Arabian Jews…”.[1] Earlier studies corroborate this studies findings  “According to historical records part, or perhaps the majority, of the Moslem Arabs in this country descended from local inhabitants, mainly Christians and Jews, who had converted after the Islamic conquest in the seventh century AD”[2]. This does not mean that Jews have 0 ties to the land (genetically or otherwise) but it thoroughly debunks the israeli claim that Palestinians were ‘invaders’ that ‘ethnically cleaned’ Jews thousands of years ago.  

More details available here: “A Brief History of Palestine”—Jeremy Hammond

Population

Using Mcarthy’s work in Population of Palestine [3] we can examine the population of Palestine before the founding of Israel. This provides critical context to what happens after 1948.  In 1914 Jews were 7.5% of the population of Palestine, Christians made up about 10%  and Muslims 82%. This population grew following the Balfour declaration, in 1922 it was ~11% Jewish, (77% Muslim, 10% Christian). In 1946, after years of immigration The population was ~60% Muslim, 31% Jewish, 7.6% Christian.

Land Ownership

Despite growing to 31% of the population in Palestine by 1943 Jews owned a mere 5.8% of the land according to the Survey of Palestine [4]. Note in the imagine of ‘Land ownership by sub-districts’ Jews did NOT hold a majority of land in ANY sub-district. Though they were more concentrated in the North.

The Proposed UN Partition

In 1948 The UN partitioned Palestine. This partition did not account for the population percentages before mass Zionist migration nor after. It certainly did not account for the land ownership of Palestine.  Instead it gave 55% of Palestine to Zionist immigrants. Despite owning  greater than 94% of the land the Palestinians were granted only 45% of the country, as seen in the graphic below .

When Zionists claim ‘they accepted peace’ in 1948 and the Arabs did not, know that it is because their ‘accepting peace’ came along with gaining 10 times the amount of land they actually owned while Arabs ownership was reduced by half.

The Nakba

The plan above was never seen on the ground. When the Palestinians objected to the theft of more than half of their land a war broke out and the Jews began ethnically cleansing the land. When the British withdrew fully Zionists declared the establishment of their state ‘Israel’. The next day neighboring Arab states invaded, though they failed to drive out the Zionists.  As a result (some argue that this was the plan), Jordan took control of the West Bank and Egypt of Gaza. During this time 750,000 Palestinians were ethnically cleansed from their lands. The documentary ‘1948: Creation & Catastrophe’ [5] provides many insights into this time period. A common strategy was to surround a village or city then shell it with mortars and artillery.  They would then tell Palestinians ‘flee or face death’, they would leave a route open to travel along a road that led them the to nearest Arab population. In addition to the threat of massacre, the Zionists actually carried out massacres throughout Palestine. One such massacre occurred at Deir Yassin, where Zionists searched for days executing any they found. One horrific account tells of how some soldiers threw a child into a baker’s oven and then the father. The Israelis recently (falsely) claimed that Hamas did this in a kibbutz on 10/7/2023, it was a mere retelling of Zionist’s own crimes.

Many assumed, that they would be allowed to return after the hostilities as was common in wars. They were mistaken and not allowed to return. Those that attempted to return home were killed by the Zionists.  The map below is an overlay of the land ownership map presented above and the 1949 armistice lines[6].

1967 War

In 1967 Israel launched a “pre-emptive” strike on its Arab neighbors, Israel destroyed “90% of Egypt’s air force while it sat on the tarmac” [7] and did similar damage to Syria. The UN quickly called for a ceasefire which was accepted with relative speed. UN resolution 242 called for Israel to withdraw from territory it captured while affirming the independence of “Every State in the area and their right to live in peace within secure and recognized boundaries free from threats or acts of Force”.

Oslo Accords

1993 Oslo I

Israeli Prime minister, Yitzhak Rabin was elected in 1992 “with a mandate to pursue peace”. [8] He secretly negotiated with PLO chair Yasser Arafat to move towards a lasting peace. Israel was recognized by the PLO, and assurances were made to transfer authority over to the Palestinian Authority, withdraw israeli troops and to begin a process to address other concerns (such as Jerusalem, Refugees, settlements, security and defined borders) among other things.

While attending a peace rally in 1995 Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated for his attempts at peace.

2000 Camp David

Zionist will claim they ‘offered peace’ in 2000, The reality is they offered scraps of land, notably, Israel would receive almost ALL of Jerusalem in this deal. The religious and holy places would be under Israeli control. The thoroughfares would be impassible for Palestinians. What this is, is a ‘recognized’ collection of ghettos. There was no offered solution for Palestinian refugees , the settlements were to stay in place and there was no timeline on 'the ‘temporary’ nature of the area “planned” to be transferred to Palestine[9]. The removal of Muslim holy sites from Palestinian control would likely be enough on its own to end any chance of acceptance. In addition, the Israeli government had no real intention for this to move forward.

It was not a mistake that this deal was dead on arrival. Netanyahu was recorded detailing how he manipulates the US , to the point where an “absurd" 80% support Israel. He then details how he manipulates negotiations to give up very little. Finally he details how he stopped the Oslo accords. [10]
“Now, they did not want to give me that letter, so I did not give [them] the Hebron Agreement. I stopped the government meeting, I said: ‘I’m not signing.’ Only when the letter came … did I sign the Hebron Agreement. Why does this matter? Because at that moment I actually stopped the Oslo accords.”

He additionally boasted:

"They asked me before the election if I'd honor [the Oslo accords]," he said. "I said I would, but ... I'm going to interpret the accords in such a way that would allow me to put an end to this galloping forward to the '67 borders. How did we do it? Nobody said what defined military zones were. Defined military zones are security zones; as far as I'm concerned, the entire Jordan Valley is a defined military zone. Go argue."[11]

Hamas & Hubris

“Hamas, to my great regret, is Israel’s creation,” — Avner Cohen

“The Palestinian Authority is a burden, and Hamas is an Asset" — Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich

The rise of Islamists was seen as a means to ‘counter’ secular nationalists like PLO, loopholes were allowed for them and violence amongst the two groups was allowed if not encouraged [12]. Despite the regret some expressed, the support of Hamas continued. Galit Distel Atbaryan wrote “If Hamas collapses, Abu Mazen [Mahmoud Abbas] may control the strip. If he controls it, there will be voices from the left that will encourage negotiations and a political solution and a Palestinian state, also in Judea and Samaria [the West Bank] … This is the real reason why Netanyahu does not eliminate the Hamas leader, everything else is bullshit” [13].

In 2019 Netanyahu explicitly stated his beliefs while speaking to his Likud party “Anyone who wants to thwart the establishment of a Palestinian state has to support bolstering Hamas and transferring money to Hamas” [14].

“So what happened from 2009 until now is the total, total disregard to the option of political negotiations with the Palestinian Authority and the calculated decision to support the control of the Hamas in Gaza.” —Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert [15]

Hamas & Peace

Despite the claims to the contrary, in 2003 Hamas founder and Leader Ahmed Yassin expressed interest in a long term truce in exchange for Israel withdrawing from the land it seized after 1967. This was reiterated by Abdel-Aziz al-Rantissi who admitted it “was difficult to liberate all our land at this stage.. We accept a state in the West Bank, including Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip. We propose a 10-year truce in return for (Israeli) withdrawal and the establishment of a state," [16].

3 months Later Ahmed Yassin was assassinated by an Israeli fired hellfire missile. In context of the above statements, what use is a Hamas leader that speaks of peace?

In 2006, Palestinian Prime Minister and Hamas leader wrote “We in Hamas are for peace and want to put an end to bloodshed.” he asserts that “No plan will ever work without a guarantee, in exchange for an end to hostilities by both sides, of a total Israeli withdrawal from all the land occupied in 1967, including East Jerusalem” (this is the internationally recognized borders). [17]

In 2008, Hamas again offered another ‘long term truce’ in exchange for the 1967 borders. Former President Carter stated that “The problem is that Israel and the United States refuse to meet with someone who must be involved," [18].

In 2012, Hamas Leader Ahmed Jabari had been negotiating through a 3rd party with Israeli peace activist Gershon Baskin. Jabari had been responsible for the kidnapping, holding and release of Israeli soldier Galid Shalit. Jabari had enforced previous cease fires. Most importantly, Jabari reportedly “understood the futility of successive rocket attacks against Israel that left no real damage on Israel and dozens of casualties in Gaza” according to Gershon. The draft included plans to give Hamas the opportunity to act on intelligence to prevent attacks against Israel as a foundation for the peace. [19]

It is unknown if Jabari would have accepted, though Gershon believed there was a chance. Jabari received the draft for a permanent truce agreement hours before Israel assassinated him. What use is a Hamas leader that speaks of peace?

In 2017 Hamas issued a new charter that stated it “considers the establishment of a fully sovereign and independent Palestinian state, with Jerusalem as its capital along the lines of 4 June 1967, with the return of the refugees and the displaced to their homes from which they were expelled, to be a formula of national consensus” Additionally it states “Hamas affirms that its conflict is with the Zionist project not with the Jews because of their religion. Hamas does not wage a struggle against the Jews because they are Jewish but wages a struggle against the Zionists who occupy Palestine. Yet, it is the Zionists who constantly identify Judaism and the Jews with their own colonial project and illegal entity.” [20]

Unsurprisingly, Netanyahu rejected the document saying “Hamas is attempting to fool the world, but it will not succeed.”.

Some will say ‘hamas never wanted peace’, that might be true, but we never got the chance to actually find out because israel refused EVERY chance.

2006 Elections

In 2006 Hamas campaigned as “change and reform list”, a counter to the Fatah party that many saw as a cooperative lap-dog of Israel. Hamas won 44% of the vote (74 seats) to Fatah’s 41% (45 seats). According to exit polls by near east consulting[21],

• 83.7% supported a peace agreement with Israel.

• 75.2% wanted Hamas to abandon its goal of ‘the elimination of israel’.

• 78% believed corruption would decrease under Hamas.

This should make clear that Palestinians did not elect Hamas out of hatred of Israel, rather out of hatred of corruption. The large majority favored peace.

Withdrawal & Blockade

Withdrawal

In 2005, Israel enacted the policy of ‘disengagement’ in Gaza. They withdrew from Gaza and forced out the settlers. Israelis show this as an ‘attempt at peace’ though the plan had nothing to do with peace. Ariel Sharon’s advisor stated “The plan provides the amount of formaldehyde required so that there will be no political process with the Palestinians”.

Blockade

The policy established of using Hamas as a tool to thwart a Palestinian state was deteriorating. Palestinians OVERWHELMINGLY wanted peace. Even Hamas had begun to entertain peace (and continued to as mentioned above). Israel could assassinate the leaders who spoke of peace, but what about the population? The answer was mass punishment.

In June 2007, after Hamas took over Gaza, Israel began its brutal blockade of Gaza. Within Gaza unemployment had reached ~50%, there was limited power, limited technology and limited food. Only 64% of requests for medical treatment were approved by israel[22]. This left people, including children to die waiting for treatment[23].

From 2007 to 2010 Israel would ‘count the calories’ going into Gaza [24] to ensure a ‘starvation’ diet. Further research into this policy revealed chronic malnutrition as “Israel further adjusted the formula so that the number of trucks carrying nutrient-poor sugar were doubled while the trucks carrying milk, fruit and vegetables were greatly reduced, sometimes by as much as a half.”[25]. In addition Israel restricts where Palestinians can fish. The attacks on the fishing industry are another means to prevent the survival of Palestinians in Gaza [26]. Too often the penalty for deviating off course is death [27].

Brutality

Mowing the Grass

The israeli forces adopted a policy of ‘mowing the grass’ that was enabled by their full withdrawal from Gaza. The foundation of this policy is to periodically bomb Gaza “to degrade enemy capabilities”[28]. The result of this is the CONSTANT and ongoing injury, destruction and death for Palestinians[29]. In addition to the physical damage, Palestinians face growing mental health issue resulting from the constant violence and struggles to survive [30].

Kidnapping & Torture

Israeli forces have adopted a policy of conducting nighttime raids to “arrest” Palestinian children, some as young as 12 years old. Director of HaMoked, Jessica Montell had stated that “The fact that the military is making no effort to reduce these traumatic night arrests indicates to us that the trauma is part of the point”[31].

Each year hundreds of Palestinian children are imprisoned by israeli forces as seen in the chart below[32]. This is not inclusive of those who were arrested, including in nighttime raids, and then released without charges.

The children that are arrested face torture and abuse and are pushed through a military court with a >99.74% conviction rate. Children are shackled to crosses, they are even threatened with rape and death against themselves or their family. It was found to be widespread, systematic and institutionalized in the system[33]. Israel also had a policy of keeping children in outdoor cages, regardless of freezing weather[33]. Josh Paul, a former US state department official, described how a rape of 13 year old boy in an Israeli prison was brought to his attention by Defense of Children International, he brought it to to attention of the Israeli Government. The next day the Israeli government labeled DCI a terrorist organization and removed all of their equipment[34].

Over 1,200 Palestinians are held without charge or trial in what israel calls an ‘administrative detention’. These detentions can be renewed indefinitely [35].

Assault on Peaceful Protests

In 2018, Palestinians in Gaza began the ‘Great March of Return’. This was a peaceful protest that sought an end to the blockade of Gaza and to allow Palestinians to return to their homes. Israel responded by killing over 150, including 31 children, and injuring 10,000, 5814 of whom were hit with live ammunition. Among the injured were 1,849 children, 424 women, 115 paramedics and 115 journalists[36]. Jewish Voice for peace shows a boy, 16, throwing a rock towards the fence (from some distance), he was then shot 10 seconds later. He posed no threat, he was killed [37]. Some children, including 12 year olds were shot in the head and killed, a 14 year old was shot in the back and killed[36].

Settler Violence

Israel, whose founders fled pogroms now perpetuate them against the Palestinians. This is part of the settlement and ethnic cleansing policy that is taking more and more of the West Bank away from Palestinians each day.

“As part of this policy, Israel arms gangs of settlers and allows, and even encourages them, using inciting language, to attack Palestinians. As if that were not enough, in some of these cases, soldiers and police officers remain idle, assist the attackers or even harm Palestinians who are trying to protect themselves.”[38].

One settler, pictured below, upon stealing a Palestinian home simply replied “If I don’t steal it, someone else is gonna steal it”.[39]

Apartheid

The brutality and policies above make it clear that Israel is and has been an Apartheid state for some time now. Human Rights Watch[40] Amnesty International[41] and B’tselem[42] among others have issues scathing reviews declaring it as such.

From Bt’Selem

October 7th, 2023

On October 7th, 2023, Hamas members of Al Qassem Brigade broke out of the prison that is Gaza. The day was full of chaos, death and suffering. In total around 1147 Israelis were killed (the official tally has not been ‘finalized’ yet).

32% (369) combatants

62% (714) adult civilians

4% (50) kids < 19

It should also be noted that there is irrefutable evidence that Hamas committed war crimes on this day (including killing unarmed civilians). There is also irrefutable evidence that the IDF killed its own citizens on this day. This comes from witness testimonies[43] and a recently surfaced video of a tank firing on a kibbutz[44]. It is unclear if this was done as part of the ‘hannibal directive’ [45] or through sheer incompetency.

Propaganda

Shortly following the attack on 10/7, Israel with ‘eye witnesses’ claim that there were ‘40 beheaded babies’. This lie originated by a random soldier and a far right news agency. [46] In total 2 infants were killed[47] among other children.

Later in October, a tale of a ‘baby baked in an oven’ came about, you may recall this was an event that Zionists perpetuated during the Nakba. This occurrence, claimed to be an act of Hamas, was a lie[48]

Further embarrassments to the propaganda machine were the ‘hamas calendar’ incident, in which days of the week were presented as ‘guard shifts’ of hostages and the ‘Khamas nurse’, where an israeli pretended to be a nurse in Al Shifa and spouted israeli talking points. The ultimate lie of Al-Shifa Hospital being a ‘command center’ for Hamas was a lie and is discussed more below.

Sexual Violence

Despite claims of sexual violence, including rape, it appears that Israel did not collect physical evidence to support these allegations[49]. These claims now rest primarily on ‘eyewitness accounts’. Unfortunately Israel, the IDF and its ‘eyewitnesses’ have been unreliable during this conflict (and before). Max Blumenthal has a thread that gets into some of the details that cause more doubt here.

Genocide

Statements of Genocide

Much of this list was compiled by Jessica Buxbaum in the New Arab [49]

•  “I have ordered a complete siege on the Gaza Strip. There will be no electricity, no food, no fuel, everything is closed… We are fighting human animals and we are acting accordingly.” -- Yoav Gallant, Israeli Minister of Defense

• “The emphasis is on damage and not on accuracy” -- spokesman for the Israeli military

• “There is one and only (one) solution, which is to completely destroy Gaza before invading it. I mean destruction like what happened in Dresden and Hiroshima, without nuclear weapons,” — Moshe Feiglin, founder of right wing Zehut Party

• “Gaza should be razed and Israel’s rule should be restored to the place. This is our country"— Moshe Feiglin

• “There should be two goals for this victory: One, there is no more Muslim land in the land of Israel … After we make it the land of Israel, Gaza should be left as a monument, like Sodom”. Amit Halevi, Likud member

• "There will be no electricity and no water (in Gaza), there will only be destruction. You wanted hell, you will get hell," Maj. Gen. Ghassan Alian,

• “It is an entire nation out there that is responsible,” -- Israeli President Isaac Herzog

• “You must remember what Amalek has done to you, says our Holy Bible.” — Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu

  • The Biblical reference ‘Amalek’: “Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass.”

There is more, but you get the idea. Law for Palestine created a database with over 500 examples.

War Crimes & Israeli Lies

Summary executions:

• IDF reportedly separated men from women, then took at least 11 men , late 20s to early 30s, then shot and executed them in front of their families. They then ordered the women and children into a room and threw a grenade into the room. [50]

Intentional targeting of Journalists

• “the most dangerous situation for journalists we have ever seen…The Israeli army has killed more journalists in 10 weeks than any other army or entity has in any single year. And with every journalist killed, the war becomes harder to document and to understand.” —Sherif Mansour, CPJ's Middle East and North Africa program coordinator[51]

Attacks on medical facilities and medical professionals

• After forcing Palestinian care givers to abandon the hospital at gun point and assuring them the patients would be cared for, the IDF left the children to die and then rot. They were found days later during the temporary ceasefire. [52]

• “The practice of medicine is under attack” — Tlaleng Mofokeng, UN Special Rapporteur on the right to health [53]

• The IDF long stated they ‘knew’ that Al Shifa hospital was the ‘nerve center’ of Hamas operations, they used a low quality computer generated images to show what they claim were vast complexes beneath Al-Shifa[54]. They found less than a squads worth of equipment, in mostly pristine condition. Most of it was likely security equipment as it appeared unused. As for the tunnels, an Israeli official admitted that Israel knew they were there because they built them in the 1980s when occupying the area. [55]

• The IDF raided a hospital and reportedly dug up corpses and then crushed them with bulldozers[56]

Targeting Civilians

972 Magazine reported on the use of an ‘AI system’, Habsora, to “create targets” is essentially a “mass assassination factory” [57]

• “I remember thinking that it was like if [Palestinian militants] would bomb all the private residences of our families when [Israeli soldiers] go back to sleep at home on the weekend,”[57]

• “Nothing happens by accident.. When a 3-year-old girl is killed in a home in Gaza, it’s because someone in the army decided it wasn’t a big deal for her to be killed — that it was a price worth paying in order to hit [another] target. We are not Hamas. These are not random rockets. Everything is intentional. We know exactly how much collateral damage there is in every home.” — source for 972 magazine[57]

Targeting Children

• “We are looking for babies but there is no babies left, I killed a girl that was 12, but we’re looking for babies” — IDF soldier [58]

• 2 Palestinian children were shot dead by the IDF in the West Bank, their murder was captured on camera [59]

Targeting non-combatants and executions with small arms (soldiers with rifles etc)

• As if to drive home the barbarity of the ‘kill anything that moves’ doctrine of the IDF, they killed 3 hostages that were released or escaped . They were unarmed, disrobed, yelling ‘help’ in Hebrew and waving a white flag when Israeli snipers began shooting them. One fled and reemerged only to be finished off by the snipers.[60]

• IDF fires on a group of young men standing near a road way hitting at least one. They then drive up to the 24 year old wounded man and fire a barrage of bullets, executing him as he lay wounded on the ground. Another man (36) was hiding after the initial shots, the IDF then spotted him and he was executed from point blank range as well [61].

More war crimes

“The five cases presented barely scratch the surface of the horror that Amnesty has documented and illustrate the devastating impact that Israel’s aerial bombardments are having on people” — Agnès Callamard, Amnesty International’s Secretary General.[62]

Cost of war

The last line of defense in israeli propaganda is that ‘this is the cost of war’. A brief comparison to US campaigns and battles surface 2 points. First, a military seeking to avoid civilian casualties does not bomb civilian populations. Second, a campaign based on brutality is doomed to fail.

Israel’s Campaign Compared to US invasion of Iraq

People argue that what is happening in Gaza is the ‘normal’ ‘cost of war’. It is not. In the first year of our invasion of Iraq, ‘Shock and Awe’ was all over our TVs. We saw bombs going off and were meant to be thoroughly impressed. In that first year (March 2003-March 2004), US coalition forces killed ~7700 civilians[63]. It is also important to note that in EIGHT YEARS of fighting, US troops killed ~1,201 children in Iraq [81].

Battle of Ramadi

During an interview with Saagar Enjeti, Jocko Willink stated that during the battle of Ramadi the “The amount of air support was minimal… I’m talking a handful of times when I was there that buildings were hit with air support, were hit with bombs. In those situations it would be because there was no other way to resolve a scenario that was happening.”. He further detailed it would only occur if there were “CONFIRMED” snipers etc in a building that have already caused casualties and other efforts to eliminate the threat failed. Jocko continues “The vast majority of the time we didn’t use any air support at all. Why? Because the chances of collateral damage and civilian deaths was too high.”[64]

Battle for Mosul

The battle of Mosul began (officially) in October of 2016 and was predicted to take 3 months[65]. There was an estimated 3,000 - 5,000 IS fighters in the city. The coalition which included over 100,0000 fighters[66], declared victory in January of 2017. The US doctrine for forces is typically 3:1 , meaning to ensure victory, have 3 troops to every 1 enemy. Mosul had a ratio between 8:1 and 33:1 [66]. It is also noted that “high and frequent use of precision-guided munitions severely and dangerously reduced the United States’ Strategic stockpile”[66].

Hamas Fighters & Gaza

Hamas has up to 40,000 fighters [67]. The Mosul ratio would indicate that Israel would need 320,000 to 1.3 million troops to defeat Hamas. Responding to 10/7, Israel initially called up 300,000 reserves it currently has 200,000-250,000 still mobilized[67], this is in addition to the 169,000 active military[68].

The cost to Israel

Estimates put the direct cost around $200 million per day, additionally as much of 20% of the workforce is impacted by the war[69]. Growth in Israel is expected to slow from 3% in 2023 to 1% in 2024[69].

Highly Trained IDF

Despite it being fairly common knowledge that armor operations in urban environments require infantry attachments, this is a doctrine that the IDF has seemingly abandoned. This reflect a combination of lack of discipline and lack of training of the IDF. It is exemplified by the multiple times Hamas Operatives have been able to run up to tanks and place explosives on them[70]. The damage to the IDFs reputation is not just a loss in morale but may encourage others and ultimately undermines the safety of Israel.

American Support of Israel

While Netanyahu had previously bragged of the absurd level of US support, that support has finally cracked. No longer can Israel hide behind official narratives. Footage of the brutality comes directly from the people of Gaza.

We can see even before 10/7 and the response from israel, opinions have been shifting away from Israel.

Gallop

A November 2023 survey showed that 61% of all voters support a ‘Permanent Ceasefire’ including 76% of Democrats, 57% of independents and 49% of Republicans [71]. When looking at ‘where sympathies lie’ by age group we see that 18-34, only 29% respond favorably of israel, 52% sympathize with Palestinians. The older groups sympathize more with Israel, 35-49 48% to 23% , 50-64 67% to 13% and 65+ is 65% to 15% [72]. We can see the age groups more reliant on ‘network news’ and ‘Cable news’ are more likely to support Israel[73]. It is not surprising that groups that have been exposed to Israeli propaganda for decades are lagging in letting go.

Most popular platforms for daily news consumption in the United States as of August 2022, by age group (Statista)

The Cost to America

American weapons and munitions reserves were already severely impacted by our support of the war in Ukraine. As seen in the chart below, several munitions are going to already take YEARS to rebuild[74]. Despite the depleted state of our reserves, the White house has continued to bypass congressional review in order to send arms to israel[75].

International Disdain

On multiple occasions the US has shamefully stood alone in vetoing calls for an immediate ceasefire at the UN [76], 153 voted for a ceasefire and the US voted against. While the governments of Arab countries in the region may still, at least on paper, support the US, the populations do not. Only 7% of the arab population across 6 nations believes the US has a positive role in the Gaza war[77]. Both China and Russia have much higher ratings. As US hegemony is waning, this could prove to be critically important in the coming years.

Houthis

The Houthis in Yemen declared they would attack any ship aiding Israel’s Genocide in Gaza. In response the US sent naval forces. The imbalance here is significant, in addition to the troop and operating costs, we are shooting down ~$2,000 drones with $2 million missiles[78]. The international ‘support’ for Operation Prosperity Guardian is an embarrassment to US leadership. Many of the ‘supporting nations’ contributed no troops or naval vessels, the Netherlands literally sent 2 officers to Bahrain[79].

220 Days and counting

The population of Gaza is roughly, 25% men, 25% women and 50% children.

Since the retaliations began at least 39,675 civilians have been killed in Gaza.

33.5% are men

26% are women

40% are children

This is a genocide. Israeli leaders call it a genocide. International experts call it a genocide. We can go on X or TikTok and see it is a genocide. It must end.

Conclusion

The US must end its support for israel’s genocide in Gaza. In addition to it being the clear moral choice, ending this genocide is critical for the US maintaining some semblance of international credibility. We have a depleted stockpile and are being embarrassed on every front of this war-turned-genocide. Freedom is the only chance for peace to take hold in the region. We have learned through decades of war that you cannot win these wars through force. Give Palestinians peace, freedom and a legitimate state along the 1967 borders and Hamas will fade into memory.

Related Articles

Appendix

Population Chart

copied from the The Population of Palestine

Land ownership

accessed here

Resources

1. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5478715/

2. https://www.ucl.ac.uk/tcga/tcgapdf/Nebel-HG-00-IPArabs.pdf

3. McCarthy, Justin. The Population of Palestine: Population History and Statistics of the Late Ottoman Period and the Mandate. Columbia University, 1990.

4. https://www.palestineremembered.com/Articles/A-Survey-of-Palestine/Story7011.html

5. 1948 Creation and Catasrophe

6. http://www.passia.org/maps/view/15

7. https://www.britannica.com/event/Six-Day-War

8. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Yitzhak-Rabin

9. http://www.passia.org/maps/view/37

10. https://electronicintifada.net/content/video-netanyahu-brags-he-deceived-us-destroy-oslo-accords/8934

11. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/netanyahu-in-2001-america_n_649427

12. https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB123275572295011847

13. https://responsiblestatecraft.org/benjamin-netanyahu-israel/

14. https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2023-10-09/ty-article/.premium/another-concept-implodes-israel-cant-be-managed-by-a-criminal-defendant/0000018b-1382-d2fc-a59f-d39b5dbf0000

15. https://www.npr.org/2023/11/21/1214529460/former-israeli-prime-minister-reflects-on-the-2005-withdrawal-from-gaza

16. https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/en/home/2004-01/26/content_301063.htm

17. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2006/mar/31/israel

18. https://www.haaretz.com/2008-04-21/ty-article/meshal-offers-10-year-truce-for-palestinian-state-on-67-borders/0000017f-db3d-d3ff-a7ff-fbbd77080000

19. https://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/17/opinion/israels-shortsighted-assassination.html

20. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/may/01/hamas-new-charter-palestine-israel-1967-borders

21. https://www.neareastconsulting.com/plc2006/blmain.html

22. https://www.ochaopt.org/content/gaza-strip-humanitarian-impact-15-years-blockade-june-2022

23. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/apr/01/palestinian-baby-dies-after-treatment-delayed-by-israeli-blockade-of-gaza

24. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/oct/17/israeli-military-calorie-limit-gaza

25. https://electronicintifada.net/content/israels-starvation-diet-gaza/11810

26. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/8/23/gaza-fisherfolk-can-only-dream-of-fishing-freely-under-israels-blockade

27. https://www.hrw.org/news/2017/06/18/israeli-forces-kill-gaza-fisherman-sea

28. https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2021/05/14/israel-gaza-history/

29. https://www.statista.com/chart/16516/israeli-palestinian-casualties-by-in-gaza-and-the-west-bank/

30. https://blogs.worldbank.org/arabvoices/intersection-economic-conditions-trauma-and-mental-health-west-bank-and-gaza#:~:text=Years%20of%20ongoing%20exposure%20to,partial%20air%20and%20land%20blockade

31. https://apnews.com/article/politics-israel-government-palestinian-territories-west-bank-68f7590fe86ca7dc7b37e5775e41d711

32. https://www.btselem.org/statistics/minors_in_custody

33. Stone Cold Justice: Israel’s torture of Palestinian children

34. Josh Paul Interview

35. https://apnews.com/article/israel-detention-jails-palestinians-west-bank-793a3b2a1ce8439d08756da8c63e5435#:~:text=That's%20the%20most%20in%203%20decades%2C%20a%20rights%20group%20says,-FILE%20%2D%20Israeli%20police&text=JERUSALEM%20(AP)%20%E2%80%94%20Israel%20is,human%20rights%20group%20said%20Tuesday

36. https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/campaigns/2018/10/gaza-great-march-of-return/

37. https://www.facebook.com/jewishvoiceforpeace/posts/1074945429350499/

38. https://www.btselem.org/press_releases/20230621_wave_of_settlers_riots_across_the_west_bank

39. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/5/4/if-i-dont-steal-your-home-someone-else-will-jewish-settler-says

40. https://www.hrw.org/report/2021/04/27/threshold-crossed/israeli-authorities-and-crimes-apartheid-and-persecution

41. https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/campaigns/2022/02/israels-system-of-apartheid/

42. https://www.btselem.org/apartheid

43. https://thegrayzone.com/2023/10/27/israels-military-shelled-burning-tanks-helicopters/

44. Tank Firing on Kibbutz

45. https://www.alternet.org/2014/09/hannibal-directive-how-israels-secret-military-doctrine-deliberately-killed-soldiers-and-massacred

46. https://ca.news.yahoo.com/israel-hamas-war-unverified-claim-beheaded-babies-misinformation-214727885.html

47. https://www.timesofisrael.com/14-kids-under-10-25-people-over-80-up-to-date-breakdown-of-oct-7-victims-we-know-about/#:~:text=14%20kids%20under%2010%2C%2025,about%20%7C%20The%20Times%20of%20Israel

48. https://www.informationliberation.com/?id=64093

49. https://www.newarab.com/analysis/erase-gaza-how-genocidal-rhetoric-normalised-israel

50. https://reliefweb.int/report/occupied-palestinian-territory/un-human-rights-office-opt-unlawful-killings-gaza-city

51. https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/gaza-war-most-dangerous-ever-journalists-says-rights-group-2023-12-21/

52. https://www.palestinechronicle.com/five-dead-premature-babies-discovered-in-gaza-hospital/

53. https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2023/12/gaza-un-expert-condemns-unrelenting-war-health-system-amid-airstrikes

54. IDF Al Shifa CGI

55. https://theintercept.com/2023/11/21/al-shifa-hospital-hamas-israel/

56. https://www.cnn.com/2023/12/23/middleeast/kamal-adwan-hospital-gaza-israel-abuse-allegations-intl-cmd/index.html

57. https://www.972mag.com/mass-assassination-factory-israel-calculated-bombing-gaza/

58. https://twitter.com/QudsNen/status/1740229918896923052

59. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/11/29/israel-kills-two-children-in-latest-raid-on-jenin-refugee-camp

60. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/12/16/israeli-hostages-mistakenly-killed-in-gaza-were-had-a-white-flag-official

61. https://twitter.com/btselem/status/1735629020476158067

62. https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2023/10/damning-evidence-of-war-crimes-as-israeli-attacks-wipe-out-entire-families-in-gaza/

63. https://www.iraqbodycount.org/database/

64. Saagar Enjet & Jocko Willink interview

65. https://www.armyupress.army.mil/Journals/Military-Review/English-Edition-Archives/Jan-Feb-2019/Arnold-Mosul/

66. https://mwi.westpoint.edu/urban-warfare-project-case-study-2-battle-of-mosul/#:~:text=The%20attacking%20force%20was%20a,Response%20Division%20(ERD)%3B%20the

67. https://mwi.westpoint.edu/urban-warfare-project-case-study-2-battle-of-mosul/#:~:text=The%20attacking%20force%20was%20a,Response%20Division%20(ERD)%3B%20the

68. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/10/11/how-big-is-israels-military-and-how-much-funding-does-it-get-from-the-us#:~:text=Israel's%20military%20at%20a%20glance&text=According%20to%20the%20International%20Institute,form%20part%20of%20its%20paramilitary.

69. https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/12/31/gaza-war-costs-israel-economy/

70. Watch | Hamas Militant Blows Up Israeli Tank In Gaza

71. https://news.gallup.com/poll/472070/democrats-sympathies-middle-east-shift-palestinians.aspx

72. https://poll.qu.edu/poll-release?releaseid=3884

73. https://www.statista.com/statistics/717651/most-popular-news-platforms/

74. https://www.csis.org/analysis/rebuilding-us-inventories-six-critical-systems

75. https://www.reuters.com/world/us-skips-congressional-review-approve-sale-artillery-projectiles-israel-2023-12-29/

76. https://time.com/6452308/us-votes-against-un-gaza-ceasefire-reactions/

77. https://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/united-states-rapidly-losing-arab-hearts-and-minds-through-gaza-war-while

78. https://www.politico.com/news/2023/12/19/missile-drone-pentagon-houthi-attacks-iran-00132480

79. https://gcaptain.com/spain-italy-france-decline-us-command-of-red-sea-operation-prosperity-guardian/

80. https://law4palestine.org/law-for-palestine-releases-database-with-500-instances-of-israeli-incitement-to-genocide-continuously-updated/