Cameron supports Israel’s right to defend itself by murdering women and children

Within three days, Israel drops more bombs on Gaza than it did during the 12 day war in 2012, and Britain’s PM David Cameron gives his “staunch support” for whatever carnage is the result.

Robin Beste

In response to Israel’s latest assault on Gaza, prime minister David Cameron has “reiterated the UK’s staunch support for Israel … and underlined Israel’s right to defend itself”.

That “right” has this week included:

• Dropping 800 tonnes of explosives on Gaza – more than during the entire eight-day war in 2012
• Firing over 450 rockets into Gaza
• Killing at least 84 people, including 18 children
• Killing at least 8 youths as they watched the World Cup semi-final match
• Killing eight members of the Al Haj family in the Gaza city of Khan Younis
• Injuring at least 600 people, who have overwhelmed the hospitals in Gaza, which are running out of basic supplies

Update 11 July 2014

• Number killed now 107
• According to Gaza health ministry figures half of the “terrorists” killed by Israel were women or children
• Five killed in family home bombed in Rafah
• Four-year-old killed in Gaza City
• 300 homes in Gaza destroyed
• 2000 Gazans made homeless
• Israel says it has launched 1,100 air-strikes – or one air strike every 4.5 minutes – in the last four days
• Netanyahu says more bombing in coming days, “no international pressure will stop us … we are preparing for all options including ground operations”
• UN high commissioner for human rights says Israel’s strikes on civilian homes are against international law

Update 12 July 2014

• Killed since 8 July: 121
• Injured since 8 July: 924

Israeli president Shimon Peres told CNN that a ground offensive might happen “quite soon”. The Israeli army has called up about 40,000 reservists. We know what that will mean: mass slaughter on the scale of Operation Cast Lead in 2008-9, when Israel killed 1398 people, 345 of them children, and destroyed much of Gaza’s infrastructure.

No doubt David Cameron will then reiterate his “staunch support” for this carnage too.

And safe to say that Cameron takes a favourable view of the BBC coverage of Israel’s latest violation of international law.

As in 2008-9, the BBC has proved itself true to form as a reliable propaganda foghorn, with a script written by the Israeli press office.

Which is why Palestine Solidarity Campaign has launched the following open letter to the BBC’s Director General. Please add your name, if you think the letter accurately describes what is wrong with BBC reporting of Israel’s brutal attack on Gaza.

Dear BBC,

Once again Gaza is under massive aerial bombardment from Israeli warplanes and drones, and, once again, the BBC’s reporting of these assaults is entirely devoid of context or background.

We would like to remind the BBC that Gaza is under Israeli occupation and siege.

We would like to remind you that Israel is bombing a refugee population – Palestinians who were made refugees when they were forced from their land in 1948 in order to create Israel.

We would like to remind you that Gaza has no army, air force, or navy, while Israel possess one of the strongest militaries in the world.

When you portray Israel’s shelling of a civilian population as a ‘response’ or ‘retaliation’ to rocket strikes from Gaza, we would like to remind you that these events flow from the displacement of the overwhelming majority of the Palestinian people from their homes and communities, with millions now corralled as refugees in the Gaza Strip. That initial injustice was compounded and continues with the ongoing occupation and siege.

When you portray the occupier as the victim, and the occupied as the aggressor, we would like to remind you that resistance to occupation is a right under international law. And we would like you to remember that Israel’s occupation, siege and collective punishment of Gaza is not.

And, finally, we would like to remind BBC journalists, when interviewing Israel’s spokespeople over the coming days, to ask the one question they have all failed to ask: “If Israel ends its occupation of Palestinian land, and allows the people of Palestine to live in freedom from Israeli domination, would that bring peace?”

Add your name to this letter. Sign Here

Israeli Embassy blocked by 10,000 protesters

10,000 demonstrators block the road outside the Israeli Embassy in London, 11.07.14, in protest against Israel’s savage bombing of Gaza.

Stop the Bombing, Stop the Killing, Free Palestine, say 10,000 protesters outside the Israeli Embassy in London, 11.07.14.

Huge turnouts across UK too. This is Birmingham

Protest in Birmingham, 11.07.14.

Source: Stop the War Coalition