Every other day, the experienced Israeli commentator Gideon Levy strikes so hard in the Israeli newspaper Ha’aretz column that he is constantly referred to as “Israel’s most hated man”. Now even more Israelis have got him up his throat.
– The situation is dark. Terrible. Those who before the war saw themselves as liberals, people who worked for peace and human rights, have adopted a new worldview: They do not care about the atrocities that are happening in the Gaza Strip. Most will even intensify the attacks, he tells Dagbladet.
HATED MAN: The Israeli commentator Gideon Levy is regularly scolded and called a traitor – and is constantly referred to as Israel’s most hated man. – I live well with that. My task is to tell about the abuses committed during the Israeli occupation. So that no one can say they didn’t know, says Levy. Photo: NTB Show more
– Criminals Hamas
Since the first intifada in 1987, Gideon Levy has written from the occupied West Bank and Gaza, “because no Israeli should be able to say that they did not know what abuses are being committed against the Palestinians”. For the past 17 years, he has not been able to report from inside Gaza, due to the blockade. But have contact with the citizens who are now being bombed.
– I can’t give up. I just have to keep going. This was a barbaric attack by Hamas, which does not care about its people. Hamas knew that Israel would react violently to such an attack. They should have protected their own population with hospitals and safe areas. Just that they haven’t done it makes them criminals, says Levy and continues:
– Hamas has had the means to build a formidable infrastructure with tunnels and hiding places. Nothing has been done to protect Gaza’s civilians, says Levy to Dagbladet.
GISLER: An Israeli woman from Kibbutz Kfar Azza when she was kidnapped to Gaza on 7 October. Over 200 Israelis, including dozens of children, are to be held hostage in Gaza. Over 1,300 Israelis, most of them civilians, were killed. Photo: NTB Show more
– La dem lide
His voice almost trembles when he talks.
– What Israel is doing in Gaza now is cruel and does not lead to anything. This will continue until Israeli opinion believes that Gaza and Hamas have been punished enough. We are nowhere near getting there, he says and continues:
– Now it is forbidden to empathize with the innocent in Gaza. Because Hamas did horrible things to us, they must be punished. And the left side thinks just like the right side: Bomb, bomb, bomb, he says.
Apartheid walls
Before he emphasizes that “punishment is not politics”. Levy believes a very one-sided media coverage is much of the reason why most Israelis are united in the demand for revenge. This also applies to Israelis who previously “cared for the fate of the Palestinians and fought against Israeli apartheid policies”.
– People sit in front of the TV around the clock. Here are the stories about the Israeli victims in the south. About the heroes from the south – and endless debates with generals who say the same thing: “We have to beat them, let them suffer, crush them, get them deported,” says Levy.
GROUND STRENGTHS: Israel’s defense says that on the night of Thursday, October 25, ground forces carried out a targeted attack inside Gaza. Video: IDF. Reporter: Magnus Paus / Dagbladet TV Show more
– War crimes
Until the October 7 attack, Israelis were at odds with each other, with months of demonstrations against Benjamin Netanyahu and his regime.
– Now all disagreement is gone and I knew it would be like that. As if Gaza is not enough: Now the settlers in the West Bank are using the opportunity to attack Palestinians. Several hundred Palestinians have been killed. Murdered by the settlers without anyone caring, says Levy.
He has no doubt that both Hamas and Israel have now committed – and are committing – war crimes by attacking civilian targets. It is supported by Roy Yellin, director of information at B’Tselem.
– The violent Israeli bombing of civilian areas in Gaza are war crimes – and should be stopped. Israel should be better, says Yellin to Dagbladet.
The UN also says it is “concerned that war crimes are being committed in response to the cruel attacks by Hamas, which also constituted war crimes”.
– Collective punishment is a war crime. Israel’s collective punishment of the entire population of the Gaza Strip must immediately end, says Ravina Shamdasani of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights on Friday.
Facts about the Israel-Hamas war
On October 7, Israel experienced the worst attack since the state’s origins: Hamas attacked over 20 different locations in southern Israel. Around 1,400 Israelis were killed in the attack and over 200 people are being held hostage in Gaza. Israel responded by declaring war on Hamas. Hamas demands a prisoner exchange and threatens to kill hostages if Israel continues its attacks on civilians. 12. October the Israeli army asked 1.1 million inhabitants in the north of the Gaza Strip to flee south to avoid being hit in an attack. At least 7,028 Palestinians have been killed. 18,484 are wounded according to Gaza’s health authorities.
– Unparalleled
He points out that this is not “very popular to say in Israel now”. On October 7, Israel experienced the worst attacks on Jews and Israelis since the Holocaust.
– We grieve and suffer, but must follow international law. Over one million people have already fled their homes in Gaza, seeking a safer place. They have no way to protect themselves and they wait, in terror and fear, while they hope to survive the day, says Yellin.
OUTRAGED: Roy Yellin of the Israeli human rights group B’Tselem. Photo: Private Show more
He points out that only military targets are legitimate to attack. And that the military attacks must be proportionate: That legitimate targets cannot be attacked if the expected damage to civilians will be excessive in relation to the expected military advantage.
– The massive destruction of Gaza is unparalleled. Entire neighborhoods have been destroyed, and the horrific death toll is rising every day. It’s unbelievable, says Yellin.
– Press Israel
Yellin asks Norway and the international community to wake up and protest the violent acts of war that are now taking place in Gaza.
– Pressure Israel to be more careful. Israel has the right to protect its citizens, but they must respect international law and human rights, he says.
Gideon Levy also asks Norwegian politicians to shout louder and to ask for a ceasefire.
– This cannot continue. The Gaza cage must be opened. 17 years of siege and blockade cannot continue. Gaza must be opened and international forces must be put in place between Israel and Gaza. The only thing we know now is that what comes after… It will be worse than before, says Levy.
EVACUATE SOUTH: Israel has asked all Palestinian civilians to flee south. But here too, as in Khan Younis, people die in bomb attacks. WHO now calls the situation in Gaza catastrophic. At least 7,028 people have been killed since the Hamas attack on October 7. Photo: NTB Show more
2023-10-28 09:46:59
#Forbidden #empathize #innocents #Gaza
