To view Myth #5, click here.
To go back to Myth #3, click here.
If you’re unable to view the white paper above, see text below.
4. MYTH: Israel is a democracy that upholds human rights
Projecting itself as a superior civilization to the Palestinians, Israel attempts to present itself to the world as a Western, democratic, humane and rational society.
FACT: Since its inception in 1948, Israel has acted as an occupying force, using the pretext of the Holocaust to justify the ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian population, annexing Palestinian land, and controlling Palestinian territory by military force as well as illegal settlements. Israel also engages in apartheid, creating laws specifically for Jews and other laws specifically for Palestinians who are Muslim or Christian. The Apartheid wall in the West Bank also serves as discrimination, holding an entire population behind an armed concrete wall based on their race.
All occupying forces have three goals:
- Ensuring its own existence over the existence of a native population
- Annexing as much land as possible to continue the occupation and expand the new colony
Operation Protective Edge resulted in Israel annexing a 4-mile buffer zone surrounding the Gaza Strip border. This looks very similar to Israel annexing land from the West Bank and the Golan Heights in its 1967 war.
Israeli buffer zone tightens Gaza chokehold: “Israel declared a three kilometre buffer zone inside Gaza’s borders last week, an area that represents 44 percent of Gaza’s territory. Anyone within the zone has been warned by the Israeli military to leave or risk being bombed.”
Since Israel established statehood, it has annexed nearly 90 percent of Palestinian land. See image below:
- Crushing any resistance and any sign of strength among the population it’s occupying
Israel views the newly announced unity government between Hamas and Fatah as a threat as it would end Israel’s current presumed right to occupy Palestinians’ land, control their borders, place Gaza under siege as well as bomb the Gaza Strip with no consequences under the International Criminal Court.
“I call on all responsible elements in the international community not to rush to recognize a Palestinian government which has Hamas as part of it and which is dependent on Hamas,” Israel’s Prime MinisterBenjamin Netanyahu told a cabinet meeting in June. “Hamas is a terrorist organization that calls for Israel’s destruction, and the international community must not embrace it. That would not bolster peace, it would strengthen terror.”
To view Myth #5, click here.