Vengeance or Eschatological Rage? Both Are Genocide in Gaza

Alastair Crooke posed those issues as “the elephant in the room” related to Gaza during his 9 November talk with Judge Napolitano and now repeats it in his SCF essay after disclosing the fact that Hamas is deep underground—60 meters—in their vast tunnel networks:

So, the Elephant in the room for inhabitants of the Middle East – watching the destruction of the above-ground, civil structure – is what exactly is the objective of this killing? Hamas are deep below the ground. And although the IDF claims many successes, where are the bodies? We don’t see them. The bombing therefore must be to force an evacuation of civilians – a second Nakba.

And the intent lying behind the expulsion? Benn says it is to create a sense that they will never return home:

“Even if some cease-fire is soon declared under American pressure, Israel will be in no hurry to withdraw and allow the population to return to the northern Strip. And if they do come back – what will they come back to? After all, they will have no homes, streets, educational institutions, shops or any of the infrastructure of a modern city”.

Is this punishment on Gaza’s civilian population, prompted by desire for vengeance? Or is it an outpouring of eschatological rage and determination? No one can say.

This is the ‘Elephant’. And on its clarification hangs the issue of whether the U.S. too will be tainted by a crime. On this clarification, hangs whether some sustained diplomatic accommodation can be found, or not (if Israel is indeed returning to Biblical, eschatological root-justification).

Crooke may be too diplomatic to say, but many millions globally have already decided that is doesn’t matter which as both are Genocide and the Outlaw US Empire is certainly “tainted” with that crime. What the Zionists are doing to the Palestinians has absolutely zero justification, and it most certainly isn’t some sort of sordid “right of self defense.” Lots of ancient myths used to demonize Jews are being confirmed for millions of people even if the connection isn’t exact. The atrocities match or go beyond those of Hitler’s Nazis as they’re broadcast globally 24/7. For centuries, Jews were cast as being sub-human; what we now see is proof of a complete lack of humanity and basic morals, from Zionists and their few supporters—perhaps 40 million out of 8 billion (Most of that 40 Million are Christian-Zionists who dream of the Final Days, yet another eschatological delusion).

For the Outlaw US Empire, its actions show its complete disdain for morality and human rights, most of which was already known by a small percentage of humanity prior to 2010. But since that time, the Empire has swiftly descended into an ever-deepening morass of immorality. The editorial in today’s Global Times reeks of a sense of despair:

The whole world is witnessing a human nightmare unfold in Gaza Strip: Al-Shifa Hospital, the largest hospital in Gaza, is bombed and surrounded by tanks, and temporarily cut off from the outside world. As a result of a fuel shortage, the death toll of critically ill patients and premature infants keeps rising, and "the hospital no longer functions as a hospital." On November 13, an Israeli tank "is outside the gate of the outpatient clinic department," and "almost all" hospitals in northern Gaza have stopped services. The current death toll in Palestine has exceeded 11,000, with approximately 40 percent being children. The World Health Organization states that one child dies every 10 minutes. Regardless of how the warring parties justify their actions, this scene will become an indelible scar in the history of human civilization.

Israel claimed that they do not target medical facilities and that the headquarters of Hamas is sited in bunkers under Al-Shifa Hospital. It accused Hamas of using patients and medical staff as "human shields." But Hamas denied this allegation. In the absence of concrete evidence and with Israel's overwhelming military strength, images related to Al-Shifa Hospital have broken through the blockade and spread worldwide. This has resulted in an outpouring of international sympathy for Gaza civilians and strong calls for an immediate ceasefire. Although determining right from wrong in a war is sometimes challenging, the moral balance is clear when the situation in Gaza has reached such a point. Making a moral judgment on this matter is not difficult.

Regardless of the words and actions, the basic principles stipulated by international humanitarian law, international human rights law, and various conventions must never be blurred or deviate from. The fundamental principle that the wounded and sick, civilians, medical personnel, ambulances and healthcare facilities should be protected is the clearest and most basic criterion. It is also the bottom line of human civilization. Whoever touches upon this bottom line, regardless of the reasons, the nature of the behavior undergoes a fundamental change….

However, it is regrettable to see that the US and its closest Western allies currently still maintain an ambiguous stance. On one hand, they insist on not "immediately ceasing fire" in the name of the so-called fight against terrorism, emphasizing Israel's "right to self-defense," even though such attacks have far exceeded the scope of "self-defense." On the other hand, under the strong pressure of international public opinion and morality, they make statements like "we don't want to see firefights in hospitals." However, the humanitarian disaster in Gaza has shocked the entire international community, and Washington's related statements so far have been light and even perfunctory. Its loud voice in support of Israel's "right to self-defense" and its casual treatment of the humanitarian crisis undoubtedly form a stark contrast, making people clearly see what their claimed "rules-based international order" really is….

In the face of a humanitarian disaster, the choice between pursuing one's own political self-interest or upholding morality and conscience not only tests the conflicting parties but also tests the US-led Western countries, which claim to prioritize human rights. [My Emphasis]

In a fresher article he wrote for al-Mayadeen published on 12 November, Crooke, seems clearer about the overall stakes:

US and Israeli interests -- set against the horrific sight of massive civilian deaths in Gaza --are diverging in both the short and long term. For "Israel", the Israeli Security Minister says that anything short of “ending Hamas’ existence is failure.” 

The US is wholly invested in helping "Israel" defeat Hamas, yet by setting the bar so ‘messianically high’, Netanyahu sets a trap for Biden: Should the IOF fail to annihilate Hamas, "Israel" cannot ‘win’. And, at the end, if "Israel" simply withdraws -- and Hamas and its revolutionary ethos remains -- it will be understood across the Islamic sphere as a Hamas ‘victory’.  Put bluntly, levelling Gaza is no solution for Biden.

Worse, in the latter scenario, Biden is stripped of being able to point to a clear US ‘end game’ in Gaza to mollify growing criticism at home of his ‘no limits’ support for "Israel’s" war on Hamas -- an endorsement that increasingly is being called ethnic cleansing, or even genocide by US protestors.

As many had already pointed out in relation to the crimes being committed by the Ukrainian Nazis, there is no statue of limitations for the massive number of crimes being committed in Gaza—and it was long established that “following orders” in defense for crimes of this nature, and in this case we’re talking about 80%+ of Occupied Palestine’s populace. One thing is 100% certain: The Outlaw US Empire no longer has any standing to lecture any other nation about Human Rights now that it’s the prime actor again in Genocidal acts.

Many are saying that we have yet to witness WW3’s beginning. I argued against that line of thought in my rebuttal to Lukyanov, that we’re already within a hybrid form of world war that hopefully won’t escalate further. But is Crooke’s elephant the Gaza Genocide or is it something else that’s bigger? Many see the unelected Big Money Oligarchy that owns/controls all three branches of the Outlaw US Empire’s Federal government and their international allies—Trump famously gave them another name besides Globalists—The Swamp that desperately needed draining and still does. There’s some good news for Gazans a bad news for The Swamp, as reported by Pepe Escobar at his Telegram:

Gilles Devers is one of the most veteran lawyers in France, who in just 10 days gathered an army of lawyers from all the continents of the world to prosecute Israel for its war crimes against the Palestinians.

Lawyer Giles Devers is promising the Israeli occupation with a dark fate and says to the Palestinians: "You did not have anyone to defend you, but now you have an army to defend you in international and national courts."

The Zionists and their cadre of allies must be hunted down like the Nazis and made to pay for their massive crimes. Although it will be of little solace for Gazans, it appears the Zionists will bankrupt themselves in their Genocidal frenzy. Kit Klarenberg takes apart a Financial Times article and reports on it and more at The Cradle, “Blowback: The Gaza war's massive toll on Israel's economy: Israel may never recover from its post-October 7 economic collapse. The Palestinian resistance managed not only to destroy Israel's internal security perception, but also to erect significant risk barriers for foreign investors.”

On 6 November, the Financial Times published an extraordinary investigation tracking the devastating economic toll of Israel's war on Gaza - its impact reverberating across personal finances, job markets, businesses, industries, and the Israeli government itself…. 

On Monday, Bloomberg put numbers to the economic impact of Tel Aviv's military belligerence: The Gaza war has cost the Israeli economy almost $8 billion to date, with a further $260 million in losses incurred with every day that passes.

I’d speculated on the effect on air travel, tourism and immigration/emigration in an earlier report just after 7 October. Here are some figures showing my negative assessment to be correct:

Despite persistent efforts throughout 2022 to revive tourism, October saw a massive 76 percent year-on-year decline. The onset of Al-Aqsa Flood further decimated travel, with daily flights to and from Ben Gurion Airport plummeting from 500 to a mere 100.

By contrast, in October 2022, international arrivals exceeded 370,000. With no end to the war in sight, and Zionist settlers themselves fleeing in droves, it seems unlikely Tel Aviv will become a popular holiday destination again anytime soon.

Who wants to be known as partners with a Genocidal nation? The Zionists already face a determined BSD (Boycott, Sell, Divest) movement they’ve used many means to combat with some success. Now that will be almost impossible to circumvent:

Just two weeks after Al-Aqsa Flood erupted, the organization issued a study on damage to Israel’s tech sector, once a source of national pride and joy, and a bellwether for its prosperity more generally. The findings were stark.

Even at that early stage, SNPI forecast a rapidly impending “economic crisis whose force is still unknown” based on its survey. In all, 80 percent of Israeli tech firms reported damage resulting from the country’s worsening “security situation,” while a quarter recorded “double damage, both in human resources and in obtaining investment capital.” 

Over 40 percent of tech companies had investment agreements delayed or canceled, and just 10 percent were “managing to have meetings with investors” at all. The report concluded:

“The uncertainty and the resulting decision of many investors to ‘sit on the fence’ due to the current situation hits an ecosystem that was already struggling to raise capital, partially due to the political instability on the eve of the war, combined with the worldwide economic recession.”

Global South businesses will avoid Occupied Palestine like the plague as will many in the West who hadn’t ever made a choice about Zionism’s ongoing immorality. Many writers are saying Western support for the Gaza Genocide will have profound affects on Global South relations. Relations with Russia were already very poor and many are seen as fence sitters by China as the Outlaw US Empire attempts to corral allies to attack China. The siege of Gaza and the ongoing Genocide represent one side of the conflict with what amounts to an economic siege being waged on Occupied Palestine. At the conflict’s conclusion, the Zionist economy will remain in tatters as it is heavily reliant on Palestinian labor, and few if any Palestinians will want to work for Genocidalists.

The Zionists continue to claim success over Hamas, but words are cheap as Hamas remains mostly untouched in its underground warren. In the North, Hezbollah has adopted Russia’s tactic of attrition. And in Iraq, many important militias have declared war on the Empire, and Imperial bases within Syria are also under attack. And even Ansar Allah within Yemen have declared war on the Zionists. Within the region, many unflattering political cartoons attacking seemingly soft Arab leaders are surfacing as agitation rises daily. As the conflict enters its 6th week, how much longer will the “wait and see” game be played by Arab leaders? Will the West Bank finally erupt as many have expected? And what of Jordan whose voice has been very meek?

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