American perfidy

Survivors

Headlines in the mainstream media celebrate Israel’s “rescue” operation, which released four hostages from Hamas in Gaza. “Bold”. “Daring” Stuff like that.

Read those reports carefully.

276 Palestinians were killed and more than 698 others were wounded during the Israeli “special operation”. However, the Israelis killed 3 hostages, including an American at the same time.

Israeli special forces entered Nuseirat in an aid truck and a civilian vehicle—then evacuated the freed hostages through the United States floating air pier. Posing as civilians is, of course, a war crime.

This is called “perfidy”.

Perfidy is specifically prohibited under the 1977 Protocol I Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, which states:

Protocol I of the Geneva Convention

Article 37. – Prohibition of perfidy

1. It is prohibited to kill, injure or capture an adversary by resort to perfidy. Acts inviting the confidence of an adversary to lead him to believe that he is entitled to, or is obliged to accord, protection under the rules of international law applicable in armed conflict, with intent to betray that confidence, shall constitute perfidy. The following acts are examples of perfidy:

(a) The feigning of an intent to negotiate under a flag of truce or of a surrender;

(b) The feigning of an incapacitation by wounds or sickness;

(c) The feigning of civilian, non-combatant status; and

(d) The feigning of protected status by the use of signs, emblems or uniforms of the United Nations or of neutral or other States not Parties to the conflict.

US cooperation in this case makes them complicit. They provided the means and also intelligence carry out the operation, fully aware it would violate the laws of war. Not that complicity in war crimes is anything new for the the perfidious US of A.

perfidious: unable to be trusted, or showing no loyalty (Cambridge Dictionary)

At the same time, the US has offered a cease-fire proposal which is been authorized by the UN Security Council.

It offers a "full and complete ceasefire", the release of hostages held by Hamas, the exchange of Palestinian prisoners and a complete Israeli withdrawal from Gaza. Hamas says it wants such an agreement guaranteed —by Russia, Turkey, and China as well as by the perfidious the US, before they sign on the dotted line. But it is most likely that the US will hedge on what “guarantee” means. Or refuse to accept one or all of the other guarantors. And then blame Hamas if it does not accept.

And there is the fine print to consider!

This proposal therefore is probably dead in the water. An abject and object lesson in the meaning of “perfidy”

The Israelis don't really want a cease-fire . Their strategy now is to starve and kill as many Palestinians as they can and to make Gaza unlivable, while distracting the world from their land grabs in the West Bank.

Yet, as many Israelis themselves have said, the US could have stopped this genocide before it started— could still stop it at any time – in 24 hours.

Unfortunately, it’s not just Biden – it's Congress. And of course AIPAC— which needs to be banned as a terrorist organization.

Still, if Biden had a sense of shame – he would stand up to Congress and AIPAC— and be celebrated by history as a man of principle— rather than a lying, cheating opportunist who has abused the principles upon which is country was supposedly founded.

That won't happen.

My mother once said

My mother once said,
there is no fear
in her embrace,
and safety
in her voice.
Yet my mother is afraid,
searching for solace
to hold her tight.

My mother once said,
we will survive,
the war will end,
we will return and rebuild,
and flowers will bloom again.
But my mother is gone,
she did not survive.
I could not find a flower to plant for her,
there might not even be a grave.

My mother once said,
I would become a doctor,
or maybe an engineer,
no other choice,
for the homeland
needs both healing and building.
But they took my head.
Oh, mother,
I did not become your dream
or the dream of the land.
I come to you,
headless – will you recognize me?

I will recognize you by your voice,
by your prayers
for me and for the martyrs.
I will not lose my way in the darkness,
for the fires of their hatred
have lit up the sky.

Oh, mother,
you lied, mother,
you lied for me and to yourself,
and for a homeland you loved.
But no one loved us,
oh, mother,
no one loved us,
except God.

Nour Khalil Abu Shammala

The latest special article

Despite the best efforts of Bill Gates and his crew to stop me, I'm making pretty good progress on the special article –which seeks to explain the New Globalism. If you want to get on the mailing list, just buy me and Ichi a coffee. Click here.

Off to look at kittens tomorrow. Did you know cats know the names of their friends? And yours too!