Human Rights Laws Don't Apply to Occupied Palestine?

by Stephen Lendman (stephenlendman.org - Home - Stephen Lendman)

According to Israeli occupation forces, human rights laws don't apply to shooting or otherwise harming peacefully demonstrating Gazans - or Palestinians anywhere else in the Territories.

The IDF falsely claims Hamas exploits Great March of Return demonstrations to conduct attacks on Israel - a bald-faced lie.

The Netanyahu regime "opposes the applying of human rights law during an armed conflict (sic)" - even when one side alone is armed, initiating hostilities, the other side defenseless, turning truth on its head claiming Israeli rules of engagement comply international law.

The same standard applies to all peaceful Palestinian demonstrations throughout the Territories - fair game for its security forces to attack, operating by their own rules, ignoring rule of law principles.

Palestinian demonstrations have nothing to do with harming Israeli security, its soldiers or civilians - everything to do with resisting tyranny, protesting against occupation harshness, demanding fundamental rights they're denied.

For Gazans, it's about ending years of illegal blockade, liberating the Strip from Israeli viciousness, undoing humanitarian crisis conditions it created.

Since Good Friday, the Palestinian Center for Development & Media Freedoms documented at least 14 Gazan journalists shot by Israeli snipers with live ammunition - willful attacks to silence them, the regime wanting reports of its ruthlessness suppressed.

At least two journalists died. Israeli actions constitute grave breaches of Fourth Geneva and other international laws.

A culture of impunity exists.  Gaza's Health Ministry reported 45 deaths and around 6,800 others injured, many from live fire. 

Israel considers peaceful protests against occupation harshness "hostile acts by Hamas" - a bald-faced lie largely uncontested in the West, siding with Israel, failing to hold it accountable for high crimes too grievous to ignore.

On May 3, State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert was pressed to explain why she failed to condemn Israeli lethal shootings of Palestinian journalists in Gaza.

She responded dismissively, saying "there are…a lot of journalists who die all around the world. I'm not going to be able to list every single death of a journalist around the world," adding:

"In terms of Israel, we would say the bigger issue is that the violence has to stop, and we understand that Israel has a right to defend itself." 

Pressed to acknowledge that IDF snipers shot journalists doing their job, threatening no one, she declined to answer, saying only "I don't have all the details on an investigation." 

Whenever Israel investigates high crimes committed by its security personnel or racist settlers, whitewash follows nearly always.

Even when pressed further to admit Israeli soldiers killed two Gazan journalists since March 30, Nauert continued to plead ignorance, saying "I don't have any information on that. I would refer you to the Government of Israel on that."

Washington makes all sorts of baseless accusations against its adversaries, no credible evidence proving any of them.

Cold hard facts clearly prove grievous Israeli human rights abuses against defenseless Palestinians. Saying Israel has a right to defend itself ignores its high crimes.

A Final Comment

Friday was World Press Freedom Day. In response, Secretary of State Pompeo issued a statement, saying "(o)n (its) 25th anniversary, we renew our commitment to promoting and protecting a free press, which is an essential pillar of democracy," adding:

"Today, we honor the many journalists and media actors who have dedicated their lives, often at great risk, to promote transparency and accountability throughout the world."

Not in Occupied Palestine! Not in countless dictatorships Washington wholeheartedly supports! 

Increasingly not in Israel and Western societies, notably not in America with Net Neutrality at risk of being lost, along with mainstream and social media acting as guardians of power, suppressing truth-telling on vital issues.

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