The Moral Failure Of The West: Israel Is Stealing and Murdering Its Way Through Palestine

[Jim1cor13]

The Moral Failure Of The West: Israel Is Stealing and Murdering Its Way Through Palestine

By Dr. Paul Craig Roberts

 

Global Research, July 29, 2014

Region: Middle East & North Africa

Theme: Crimes against Humanity, Culture, Society & History, Media Disinformation, Politics and Religion

In-depth Report: PALESTINE

 

Many may know of this man, and listen to him or read his commentaries on financial matters. He 

served under President Ronald Reagan, I think as assistant Treasury Sec. and is quite qualified

to deliver on the request made of him. Interesting perspective and insight from his own experiences

and history that is not popular.

 

Readers are asking for my take on the Israel-Gaza situation, and, believe it or not, Oxford University’s famous debating society, the Oxford Union, invited me to debate the issue.

 

I replied to the Oxford Union that I was unprepared to take responsibility for the Palestinians without undergoing the extensive preparation that an Oxford Union debate deserves and requires. Unless things have changed since my time at Oxford, one prevails in a Union debate by anticipating every argument of one’s opponent and smashing the arguments with humor and wit. Facts seldom, if ever, carry the day, and sometimes not even wit and humor if the audience is already committed to the outcome by the prevailing propaganda. There is no time or energy in my overfull schedule for such preparation plus time away and jet lag.

 

Moreover, I am not an expert on Israel’s conquest and occupation of Palestine. I know more than most people. I was rescued from Zionist propaganda by Israeli historians, such as Ilan Pappe, by Jewish intellectuals, such as Noam Chomsky and Norman Finkelstein, by documentary film makers, such as John Pilger, by Israeli journalists such as Uri Avnery and the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, and by an Israeli houseguest who is an Israeli member of an Israeli peace group that opposes Israeli destruction of Palestinian homes, villages, and orchards in order to build apartment blocks for settlers.

 

There is only one take on the current Israeli slaughter of Palestinians, which Netanyahu, the demonic Israeli leader, declares will be a “protracted campaign” this time. We are witnessing yet again Israeli war crimes that are supported by the Great Moral West that is so concerned about the deaths of 290 passengers on MH-17 that they are about to drive the world to a major war, while Palestinian casualties pile up so fast that they are out of date by the time you put the numbers in a column. So far more than 1,200 deaths, with injuries to 2,000 children, 1,170 women, and 257 elderly.

 

Reading the Western Media, watching Western TV, and listening to Western radio, one is left with the propaganda that the Palestinians are to blame for the Israeli attack on Gaza, just as one is left with the propaganda that the Malaysian airliner deaths are Russia’s fault. There is no evidence, but propaganda does not require evidence. Just repetition.

 

The Gaza strip, a ghetto full of Palestinians evicted from their homes and villages in the West Bank, is one of the most densely populated areas on earth where life with scant resources is difficult. Israel is currently in the process of shrinking Gaza by 44 percent, and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Democrat, is preparing another “emergency” aid package consisting of US tax dollars to finance Israel’s slaughter and compression of Palestinian lives. (See: http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/07/28/as-israel-enforces-its-buffer-zone-gaza-shrinks-by-40-per-cent.html , http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article39255.htm , and http://news.antiwar.com/2014/07/28/senate-leader-israel-may-need-more-us-aid-for-war/print/

 

One would think that the Great Moral West would be discussing sanctions on Israel and on Washington’s stooge government in Kiev, which is bombing civilian homes, apartment complexes, and infrastructure in provinces where the people object to the Russophobic government installed by Washington in place of the one that they elected. But the Great Moral West only aids the perpetrators of death and destruction, not the victims.

 

Palestinians are being dispossessed and exterminated exactly as were the native American Indians. On occasion Israeli officials have said that they are only following America’s lead in clearing the land of undesirables. This is my take on what is one of the West’s great moral failings:

 

Israel Is Stealing and Murdering Its Way Through Palestine

 

As Zionists have endeavored to teach the world for decades, Israel is not subject to criticism. Only Jew-haters, anti-semites, and people who want to gas Jews and boil them in oil criticize Israel. Israel is above criticism, because Israelis are God’s Chosen People and despite being God’s Chosen People suffered the Holocaust.

 

This means that the Israeli government, like the one in Washington, can do whatever it wants and remain above criticism.

Since the 1940s Zionists have been stealing Palestine from the Palestinians. The majority of Palestinians have been removed from their homes and their country. They exist in refugee camps in other countries and 1.5 million are concentrated in the Gaza Ghetto, which is blockaded by Israel on one end and by the Washington paid Egyptians on the other.

 

This makes it convenient for Israel from time to time to attack the civilian population and civilian infrastructure in Gaza with military force. So far in Israel’s latest war crime, Israel has murdered more than 1,200 Palestinians, largely women and children. You will seldom see the photos of the destruction in the American media, but RT provides a few glimpses. http://rt.com/news/175852-gaza-ceasefire-deathtoll-thousand/

Israel is always the aggressor but always takes the role of the victim. Palestinian women and children are all subhumans–”snakes” as one Israeli politician put it–who sneak into Israel through secret tunnels (whose existence is akin to Saddam Hussein’s weapons of mass destruction) wearing suicide bomb belts and blow up innocent Israelis along with themselves while Israelis sit in cafes peacefully discussing philosophical issues and the latest news. To stop this slaughter of innocent Israelis, Israel has to blow up Palestinian hospitals, schools, and civilian homes and apartment blocks.

 

These unmistakable war crimes, these crimes against humanity are all ignored by the great moral arbiters of the world–the Governments of the West who are shaking their fingers not at Israel but their fists at Russia.

 

Western governments ignore Israel’s war crimes but not all Western peoples comply with this neglect. Many thousands of demonstrators against Israel have been in the streets in South America, London, Paris, Germany, Dublin, and Israel’s own Tel Aviv. http://rt.com/news/175860-london-gaza-protest-march/

 

But don’t look for much reporting of these demonstrations in the American presstitute media.

The American presstitute media is focused on those who died in the downing of the Malaysian airliner in eastern Ukraine, in order to blame those 290 deaths on Russia. As far as the American presstitute media is concerned, the murder of 1,200 Palestinian deaths is not happening or if it is, the Palestinians deserve it for responding to Israel’s oppression by firing in frustration primitive rockets that seldom, if ever, hit their targets.

 

What is another 1,200 murdered Palestinians? Who cares? Not Washington or the British PM in Whitehall and certainly not the Israelis. As far as Israel and the Great Moral West is concerned, 1,200 murdered Palestinians amount to nothing. They are not even chafe in the wind.

The last time Israel attacked the civilians in Gaza, a distinguished Israeli jurist, himself a Zionist, prepared a case for the UN that Israel had committed war crimes. On Israel’s orders the craven but very obedient US Congress passed a resolution denouncing the distinguished jurist for defaming the pure and innocent Israeli government. The pressure from Washington and Israel on the jurist broke his commitment to truth, and he retracted his findings.

 

This is what the Israel Lobby and the craven American presstitute media do to everyone who criticizes Israel’s crimes against humanity and Washington’s protection of Israel’s crimes. Anytime you see a person attacked by the Israel Lobby, you know for certain that the person under attack is the salt of the earth. The distinctive mark of a moral human being is to be attacked by the Israel Lobby and the presstitute American media.

 

While Israel murders Palestinians in Gaza with attacks on hospitals, schools, and civilian apartment blocks, Washington and its puppets in Kiev attack civilians in apartment blocks in the former Russian provinces of Ukraine who object to Washington’s overthrow of the democratically elected government in Ukraine and Washington’s installation of a Russophobic Russian-hating government in its place.

 

Washington has declared those in Ukraine who object to Washington’s takeover of their country to be “terrorists” and is seeking legislation that will permit US troops legally to enter Ukraine to suppress the “terrorists.”

 

David Ward, a member of the British Parliament, who has the right as a British citizen and member of Parliament to express his opinion, said that if he lived in Gaza under Israeli oppression, he would likely fire a rocket into Israel.

 

The British media and government is yet to criticize Israel for its crimes, but instantly attacked Ward for his “vile comments.” A Conservative member of Parliament, Nadhim Zahawi wrote the Metropolitan Police demanding an investigation into Ward’s statement “as a matter of urgency.” The Conservative party chairman Grant Shapps declared Ward’s statement to be an “incitement to violence,” a felony. The craven Labour Party declared Ward’s opinion to be “so vile and irresponsible” that “it defied belief.”

http://rt.com/uk/174920-david-ward-israel-tweet/

 

The Liberal Democrats of which Ward is a member “utterly condemned” Ward’s remarks and declared that Ward would be subject to disciplinary hearings and may permanently be expelled from the party.

 

There you have it. A member of Parliament in the country that invented freedom of speech expresses an honest opinion, and he is dead meat. Ward’s harmless remarks killed no one. The Israelis with weapons supplied by Washington have, at this time of writing murdered more than 1,200 people. But it is Ward who must be restrained, not Israel. Ward’s remarks are declared “vile and irresponsible” but not Israel’s murder of 1,200 people.

 

The US and UK pretend to be countries that are not afraid of the truth, where there is free inquiry and freedom to express one’s views, but it is all a great lie.

The US and UK are the two greatest threats to free speech on the face of the earth. In the UK no truth contrary to the line is permissible. In the US people who speaks the truth is put on the Watch List.

 

How much longer will the governments of the rest of the world regard the US and UK as homes of free speech and uplifting Western morality?

In America the success of Israeli propaganda, never challenged of course by the US media, exceeds the success of Washington’s own propaganda. Most Americans believe that Palestinian women and children are outfitted with explosive suicide belts and that “the snakes,” as they are described by Israeli politicians, walk into Israeli cafes and blow everyone up including themselves.

 

The fact of the matter is that Palestinians cannot get into Israel. Gaza is blockaded as are the few remaining Palestinian settlements in the West Bank. Israel has stolen almost all of Palestine. The few Palestinian settlements still permitted to exist are cut off by a massive wall from Israel and from each other by barbed wire and check points, cut off from hospitals and schools, from water, and from their fields and olive groves, which are being destroyed to make room for settlers‘ apartment blocks.

 

People this hemmed in are helpless, and the extreme right-wing Israeli settlers are moving into the few remaining Palestinian settlements evicting the Palestinians from their properties with the aid of US-provided Caterpillar tractors especially designed for uprooting Palestinian olive groves and demolishing Palestinian houses, just like the Caterpillar tractor that the Israelis ran over US citizen Rachel Corrie, murdering this protesting US citizen in cold blood. Yes, you are correct, the Great Moral US government did nothing about it. Israel learned when it murdered the crew of the USS Liberty in 1967 that Israel had carte blanche from Washington to murder US citizens.

 

When you view the photos of Palestinians who have undergone an Israeli attack, what do you see? You see unarmed people crying, hugging dead children in their arms and one another. You never see a resolute armed people prepared to repel the next Israeli attack. You see devastated hospitals, schools, and apartment complexes and Palestinians in tears and no weapons.

 

What is striking about the success of Israeli propaganda is its success when all evidence is that Palestinians are pacifists, incapable of resistance. The bulk of the people in Gaza are refugees from the West Bank where their land and homes were stolen by the Great Democratic State of Israel. The Israeli destruction of Palestine has been going on for almost seven decades. And still Palestinians are not armed and have no effective military units.

 

After seven decades the Palestinian people remain unarmed. Hamas has a few ineffective weapons, but the people themselves are unarmed. Their response to the Israeli murders of their children, wives, husbands, brothers, sisters, parents, cousins, and friends is to cry. This is not the response of a warlike people.

 

In contrast, there are reports that Israeli civilians sit atop the hill overlooking Gaza on sofas that they bring along with their drinks and food and watch in glee, clapping and cheering as Israeli bombs destroy Palestinians in their homes, children in their schools, and the ill in hospitals. If this is the true face of “the only democracy in the Middle East,” it is the face of evil.

 

The view brainwashed into the West that Palestinians are a threat to Israel is absurd. If Palestinians are a threat and a danger to Israel, how is it possible that Palestinians are locked away into sealed ghettos in the remnants of their own country or into refugee camps in foreign countries?

 

As Israel’s most distinguished historian, Ilan Pappe, has related, the story of Israel is the story of “The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine.” This story has been hidden by Western “moral” governments and by a corrupt Western media and “Christian” priests from Western populations that, possibly, would have objected, but who are now too brainwashed and disinformed to know.

 

Link: http://www.globalresearch.ca/the-moral-failure-of-the-west-israel-is-stealing-and-murdering-its-way-through-palestine/5393949

[Sentinel7]

I think that Dr Paul Craig Roberts need s to grab a rifle and hop his happy little hinny right out there and tell them bad Israelis to knock it off.

 

War is not a game you stomp your enemy into a mush muffin and they never want to attack you again

 

It is better to kill 5000 today then to drag it out and kill 15000 in a year

If you don’t want death and destruction then don’t attack

Simple isn’t it 

 

                                     Shalom

 

 

         No Surrender No Retreat and No Compromise

[gymrat76541]

Palestinians in Gaza should know better than to elect TERRORIST as their leadership.

 

Oh, and you can not blame the USA for the deaths that are clearly on Hamas's hands!

 

We just sell Israel arms and supplies. America is the world's largest arm dealer in the world!

 

Lets say it together: We're #1, We're #1, We're #1 hey! LOL

Edited August 2, 2014 by gymrat76541

[sportfisher]

Jim you are a deceiver, having a bible verse as part of your profile name is very deceitful. and you post this crap, I petition for removal of bible verse from your profile name.

[tkeaton]

Jim you are a deceiver, having a bible verse as part of your profile name is very deceitful. and you post this crap, I petition for removal of bible verse from your profile name.

 

Wolf in sheep's clothing?  I'll sign the petition.

[rothsdad]

[rothsdad]

Israel's future plans.  I guess it's nice to have Palestinians to kick around for awhile so Bibi can sing the blues. 

[Jim1cor13]

Hi sportfisher

 

1Cor13 is a chapter in Corinthians that is dear to my heart. The message of it is clear,

and that is that Love never fails. This has touched my life many times over the years

and helps me sort through all the senseless noise going around these days.

 

Love is also patient and kind, never harsh...it never fails.

 

Please realize, no matter how many times you threaten me with your accusations, 

or try and kill me with bitter words, it will never change this truth that has become part

of me. Petition all you want, changing my user name does not change my heart.

 

I wish you could understand, but it is ok if you would rather type poison, if it makes

you feel better. I choose to not play along with your tactics.

[Thaiexpat]

Thanks for the post Jim1. Good to see other people are exposed to this. Again. all those to love Isreal and claim to be American should talk with USS Liberty survivors.....They are the only US ally who has murdered US military and civilian personal. Why are we giving them money/arms/ect? Oh, I forgot, they are our "friends"...Hahahaha. What a joke! Dunno, just saying........

[flatdawg]

Israel's future plans.  I guess it's nice to have Palestinians to kick around for awhile so Bibi can sing the blues. 

Thats a lot of Arabs to murder.

[Maggie123]

Thank You Jim1cor13... What an eloquently written piece... One of the best I have ever read.

 

Dr. Paul Craig Roberts certainly spent his time and energy in a much more productive way with this endeavor than if he had decided to participate in the debate at Oxford University... and wisely so... I'm sure his conclusions were correct in deciding not to take that path.

 

 

"There is only one take on the current Israeli slaughter of Palestinians, which Netanyahu, the demonic Israeli leader, declares will be a “protracted campaign” this time. We are witnessing yet again Israeli war crimes that are supported by the Great Moral West that is so concerned about the deaths of 290 passengers on MH-17 that they are about to drive the world to a major war, while Palestinian casualties pile up so fast that they are out of date by the time you put the numbers in a column. So far more than 1,200 deaths, with injuries to 2,000 children, 1,170 women, and 257 elderly.

 

Reading the Western Media, watching Western TV, and listening to Western radio, one is left with the propaganda that the Palestinians are to blame for the Israeli attack on Gaza, just as one is left with the propaganda that the Malaysian airliner deaths are Russia’s fault. There is no evidence, but propaganda does not require evidence. Just repetition.

 

The Gaza strip, a ghetto full of Palestinians evicted from their homes and villages in the West Bank, is one of the most densely populated areas on earth where life with scant resources is difficult. Israel is currently in the process of shrinking Gaza by 44 percent, and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Democrat, is preparing another “emergency” aid package consisting of US tax dollars to finance Israel’s slaughter and compression of Palestinian lives. (See: http://www.thedailyb...0-per-cent.html , http://www.informati...ticle39255.htm , and http://news.antiwar....-for-war/print/

 

One would think that the Great Moral West would be discussing sanctions on Israel and on Washington’s stooge government in Kiev, which is bombing civilian homes, apartment complexes, and infrastructure in provinces where the people object to the Russophobic government installed by Washington in place of the one that they elected. But the Great Moral West only aids the perpetrators of death and destruction, not the victims."

This Is All So Heartbreaking... Iraq, Libya, Syria, Ukraine, Palestine... And So Many Other Places...

 

I Appreciate Everyone Who Has The Courage To Speak Out About What Has Been Going On.

 

My True Hope Is That We As Americans Will Come Together And Find Our Moral Compass Very Soon...

 

For Everyone's Sake.

[sportfisher]

Hi sportfisher

 

1Cor13 is a chapter in Corinthians that is dear to my heart. The message of it is clear,

and that is that Love never fails. This has touched my life many times over the years

and helps me sort through all the senseless noise going around these days.

 

Love is also patient and kind, never harsh...it never fails.

 

Please realize, no matter how many times you threaten me with your accusations, 

or try and kill me with bitter words, it will never change this truth that has become part

of me. Petition all you want, changing my user name does not change my heart.

 

I wish you could understand, but it is ok if you would rather type poison, if it makes

you feel better. I choose to not play along with your tactics.

the full counsel of God's word is not in your heart, and you play the victim card, lol

Your false accusations against Israel prove your heart.

[doctor robbins]

Thanks for the post Jim1. Good to see other people are exposed to this. Again. all those to love Isreal and claim to be American should talk with USS Liberty survivors.....They are the only US ally who has murdered US military and civilian personal. Why are we giving them money/arms/ect? Oh, I forgot, they are our "friends"...Hahahaha. What a joke! Dunno, just saying........

 

The USS Liberty was ruled a friendly fire incident and Israel not only apologized for it but they compensated the victims' families with millions of dollars in 1960's money.  The US has killed allies in similar incidents in wartime.  I can't see any scenario where Israel would gain anything by knowingly attacking an American vessel.   

[Thaiexpat]

The USS Liberty was ruled a friendly fire incident and Israel not only apologized for it but they compensated the victims' families with millions of dollars in 1960's money.  The US has killed allies in similar incidents in wartime.  I can't see any scenario where Israel would gain anything by knowingly attacking an American vessel.

[/quote

sorry, you might believe this LIE which is commonly used by those who support Israel, however, please refer to the book, "Attack on the Liberty" which gives first-hand accts of this event and the COVER-UP by the US and its "bestest buddy". How can anyone with even a marginal brain observe a flagged ship for over 2-hours and then make the "mistake" of thinking it is an Egyptian spy vessel and attacking it. Regardless, if people believe crap-n-bull stories, it is important to note that the attack DID happen. The term "friendly-fire" is used when an ally force or your own mistakenly attack you engaged in similar action (for example: Brits that were killed in the Gulf War I by USAF attacks) However, the US was not engaged in any military action against Egypt. In other words, to call it a mistake is one thing. To call it "friendly fire" is completely another. Now, the issue becomes WHY did Israel do this in the first place? Intelligence points to the fear that this ship, in transmitting key information about possible Israeli action against Egypt, would be intercepted by the Russians (THEIR Buddies) and passed on to Egyptian forces. Remember, this happened JUST before the 6-Day War or Lightning War. IDF forces mounted a complete and total surprise attack on Arab forces and were able to destroy a much larger force. So, the IDF tried to destroy a US military vessel to prevent any problems to their success. Rather convenient for them since they have strong allies in DC. Murder is murder no matter who does it and no matter how "sorry" they are. American need to remember this, just like Pearl Harbor. As for US forces killing/hurting other/own people whilst engaged in operations-yep, happens all the time. We always lost someone when we did "floats" in the Marines. REAL ACCIDENTS happen. Pre-mediated attacks on an ally are much more rare and unforgettable. Dunno, just saying...

[billy goat]

As with a lot of contentious issues we now face - all we need to do is follow the money.  Gaza is mere miles from the epicenter of the largest natural gas find in the Mediterranean awaiting massive infusion of development money.  Call it coincidence, call it fate or anything else you want, but you can bet Hamas leaders have had their eyes on this prize for a long time.  Just imagine the jump in regional influence they would garner from being a major supplier to European markets.  Hamas is playing on global sentiment to help license her claim to autonomy and expansion.    

[Maggie123]

It's Good You Brought That Up Billy Goat... In Fact Please Follow The Money To The Palestinian's Gas Reserves

 

As with a lot of contentious issues we now face - all we need to do is follow the money.  Gaza is mere miles from the epicenter of the largest natural gas find in the Mediterranean awaiting massive infusion of development money.  Call it coincidence, call it fate or anything else you want, but you can bet Hamas leaders have had their eyes on this prize for a long time.  Just imagine the jump in regional influence they would garner from being a major supplier to European markets.  Hamas is playing on global sentiment to help license her claim to autonomy and expansion.    

 

War and Natural Gas: The Israeli Invasion and Gaza’s Offshore Gas Fields

By Prof Michel Chossudovsky

Global Research, July 10, 2014

Global Research 8 January 2009

Region: Middle East & North Africa

Theme: Oil and Energy

In-depth Report: PALESTINE

 

 

Five years ago, Israel invaded Gaza under “Operation Cast Lead”.

 

The following article was first published by Global Research in January 2009 at the height of the Israeli bombing and invasion under Operation Cast Lead.

 

In the wake of the invasion, Palestinian gas fields were de facto confiscated by Israel in derogation of international law

 

A year following “Operation Cast Lead”,  Tel Aviv announced the discovery of  the Leviathan natural gas field in the Eastern Mediterranean “off the coast of Israel.”

 

At the time the gas field was: “ … the most prominent field ever found in the sub-explored area of the Levantine Basin, which covers about 83,000 square kilometres of the eastern Mediterranean region.” (i)

 

Coupled with Tamar field, in the same location, discovered in 2009, the prospects are for an energy bonanza for Israel, for Houston, Texas based Noble Energy and partners Delek Drilling, Avner Oil Exploration and Ratio Oil Exploration. (See Felicity Arbuthnot, Israel: Gas, Oil and Trouble in the Levant, Global Research, December 30, 2013

 

The Gazan gas fields are part of the broader Levant assessment area.

 

What is now unfolding is the integration of these adjoining gas fields including those belonging to Palestine into the orbit of Israel. (see map below).

 

It should be noted that the entire Eastern Mediterranean coastline extending from Egypt’s Sinai to Syria constitutes an area encompassing large gas as well as oil reserves.

 

Michel Chossudovsky, January 3, 2014

 

War and Natural Gas: The Israeli Invasion and Gaza’s Offshore Gas Fields

by Michel Chossudovsky

January 8, 2009

 

The December 2008 military invasion of the Gaza Strip by Israeli Forces bears a direct relation to the control and ownership of strategic offshore gas reserves. 

 

This is a war of conquest. Discovered in 2000, there are extensive gas reserves off the Gaza coastline. 

 

British Gas (BG Group) and its partner, the Athens based Consolidated Contractors International Company (CCC) owned by Lebanon’s Sabbagh and Koury families, were granted oil and gas exploration rights in a 25 year agreement signed in November 1999 with the Palestinian Authority.

 

The rights to the offshore gas field are respectively British Gas (60 percent); Consolidated Contractors (CCC) (30 percent); and the Investment Fund of the Palestinian Authority (10 percent). (Haaretz, October 21,  2007).

 

The PA-BG-CCC agreement includes field development and the construction of a gas pipeline.(Middle East Economic Digest, Jan 5, 2001).

 

The BG licence covers the entire Gazan offshore marine area, which is contiguous to several Israeli offshore gas facilities. (See Map below). It should be noted that 60 percent of the gas reserves along the Gaza-Israel coastline belong to Palestine.

 

The BG Group drilled two wells in 2000: Gaza Marine-1 and Gaza Marine-2. Reserves are estimated by British Gas to be of the order of 1.4 trillion cubic feet, valued at approximately 4 billion dollars. These are the figures made public by British Gas. The size of Palestine’s gas reserves could be much larger.

 

Map 1

Map 2

 

Who Owns the Gas Fields

 

The issue of sovereignty over Gaza’s gas fields is crucial. From a legal standpoint, the gas reserves belong to Palestine.

 

The death of Yasser Arafat, the election of the Hamas government and the ruin of the Palestinian Authority have enabled Israel to establish de facto control over Gaza’s offshore gas reserves.

 

British Gas (BG Group) has been dealing with the Tel Aviv government. In turn, the Hamas government has been bypassed in regards to exploration and development rights over the gas fields.

 

The election of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon in 2001 was a major turning point. Palestine’s sovereignty over the offshore gas fields was challenged in the Israeli Supreme Court. Sharon stated unequivocally that “Israel would never buy gas from Palestine” intimating that Gaza’s offshore gas reserves belong to Israel.

 

In 2003, Ariel Sharon, vetoed an initial deal, which would allow British Gas to supply Israel with natural gas from Gaza’s offshore wells. (The Independent, August 19, 2003)

 

The election victory of Hamas in 2006 was conducive to the demise of the Palestinian Authority, which became confined to the West Bank, under the proxy regime of Mahmoud Abbas.

 

In 2006, British Gas “was close to signing a deal to pump the gas to Egypt.” (Times, May, 23, 2007). According to reports, British Prime Minister Tony Blair intervened on behalf of Israel with a view to shunting the agreement with Egypt.

 

The following year, in May 2007, the Israeli Cabinet approved a proposal by Prime Minister Ehud Olmert  “to buy gas from the Palestinian Authority.” The proposed contract was for $4 billion, with profits of the order of $2 billion of which one billion was to go the Palestinians.

 

Tel Aviv, however, had no intention on sharing the revenues with Palestine. An Israeli team of negotiators was set up by the Israeli Cabinet to thrash out a deal with the BG Group, bypassing both the Hamas government and the Palestinian Authority:

 

The objective was essentially to nullify the contract signed in 1999 between the BG Group and the Palestinian Authority under Yasser Arafat.

 

“Israeli defence authorities want the Palestinians to be paid in goods and services and insist that no money go to the Hamas-controlled Government.” (Ibid, emphasis added)

 

Under the proposed 2007 agreement with BG, Palestinian gas from Gaza’s offshore wells was to be channeled by an undersea pipeline to the Israeli seaport of Ashkelon, thereby transferring control over the sale of the natural gas to Israel.

 

The deal fell through. The negotiations were suspended:

 

Israel’s intent was to foreclose the possibility that royalties be paid to the Palestinians. In December 2007, The BG Group withdrew from the negotiations with Israel and in January 2008 they closed their office in Israel.(BG website).

 

 ”Mossad Chief Meir Dagan opposed the transaction on security grounds, that the proceeds would fund terror”. (Member of Knesset Gilad Erdan, Address to the Knesset on “The Intention of Deputy Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to Purchase Gas from the Palestinians When Payment Will Serve Hamas,” March 1, 2006, quoted in Lt. Gen. (ret.) Moshe Yaalon, Does the Prospective Purchase of British Gas from Gaza’s Coastal Waters Threaten Israel’s National Security?  Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, October 2007)

 

Invasion Plan on The Drawing Board

 

The invasion plan of the Gaza Strip under “Operation Cast Lead” was set in motion in June 2008, according to Israeli military sources:

 

That very same month, the Israeli authorities contacted British Gas, with a view to resuming crucial negotiations pertaining to the purchase of Gaza’s natural gas:

 

“Sources in the defense establishment said Defense Minister Ehud Barak instructed the Israel Defense Forces to prepare for the operation over six months ago [June or before June] , even as Israel was beginning to negotiate a ceasefire agreement with Hamas.”(Barak Ravid, Operation “Cast Lead”: Israeli Air Force strike followed months of planning, Haaretz, December 27, 2008)

 

The decision to speed up negotiations with British Gas (BG Group) coincided, chronologically, with the planning of the invasion of Gaza initiated in June. It would appear that Israel was anxious to reach an agreement with the BG Group prior to the invasion, which was already in an advanced planning stage.

 

“Both Ministry of Finance director general Yarom Ariav and Ministry of National Infrastructures director general Hezi Kugler agreed to inform BG of Israel’s wish to renew the talks.

 

The sources added that BG has not yet officially responded to Israel’s request, but that company executives would probably come to Israel in a few weeks to hold talks with government officials.” (Globes online- Israel’s Business Arena, June 23, 2008)

 

Moreover, these negotiations with British Gas were conducted by the Ehud Olmert government with the knowledge that a military invasion was on the drawing board. In all likelihood, a new “post war” political-territorial arrangement for the Gaza strip was also being contemplated by the Israeli government.

 

In fact, negotiations between British Gas and Israeli officials were ongoing in October 2008, 2-3 months prior to the commencement of the bombings on December 27th.

 

In November 2008, the Israeli Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of National Infrastructures instructed Israel Electric Corporation (IEC) to enter into negotiations with British Gas, on the purchase of natural gas from the BG’s offshore concession in Gaza. (Globes, November 13, 2008)

 

Gaza and Energy Geopolitics 

 

“Ministry of Finance director general Yarom Ariav and Ministry of National Infrastructures director general Hezi Kugler wrote to IEC CEO Amos Lasker recently, informing him of the government’s decision to allow negotiations to go forward, in line with the framework proposal it approved earlier this year.

 

The IEC board, headed by chairman Moti Friedman, approved the principles of the framework proposal a few weeks ago.

 

The talks with BG Group will begin once the board approves the exemption from a tender.” (Globes Nov. 13, 2008)

 

The military occupation of Gaza is intent upon transferring the sovereignty of the gas fields to Israel in violation of international law.

 

What can we expect in the wake of the invasion?

 

What is the intent of Israel with regard to Palestine’s Natural Gas reserves?

 

A new territorial arrangement, with the stationing of Israeli and/or “peacekeeping” troops?

 

The militarization of the entire Gaza coastline, which is strategic for Israel?

 

The outright confiscation of Palestinian gas fields and the unilateral declaration of Israeli sovereignty over Gaza’s maritime areas?

 

If this were to occur, the Gaza gas fields would be integrated into Israel’s offshore installations, which are contiguous to those of the Gaza Strip. (See Map 1 above).

 

These various offshore installations are also linked up to Israel’s energy transport corridor, extending from the port of Eilat, which is an oil pipeline terminal, on the Red Sea to the seaport – pipeline terminal at Ashkelon, and northwards to Haifa, and eventually linking up through a proposed Israeli-Turkish pipeline with the Turkish port of Ceyhan.

 

Ceyhan is the terminal of the Baku, Tblisi Ceyhan Trans Caspian pipeline. “What is envisaged is to link the BTC pipeline to the Trans-Israel Eilat-Ashkelon pipeline, also known as Israel’s Tipline.” (See Michel Chossudovsky, The War on Lebanon and the Battle for Oil, Global Research, July 23, 2006)

 

Map 3

 

http://www.globalresearch.ca/war-and-natural-gas-the-israeli-invasion-and-gaza-s-offshore-gas-fields/11680

Edited August 3, 2014 by Maggie123

[Maggie123]

The USS Liberty was ruled a friendly fire incident and Israel not only apologized for it but they compensated the victims' families with millions of dollars in 1960's money.  The US has killed allies in similar incidents in wartime.  I can't see any scenario where Israel would gain anything by knowingly attacking an American vessel.   

 

Doc just do a simple search... "Testimony From USS Liberty Survivors"... that will get you started.

 

You May Be Surprised At How Many Lies Were Being Told About That All These Years...

 

Thanks To The Web... The Truth About The USS Liberty And Much More Is Out In The Open Now.

Edited August 3, 2014 by Maggie123

[MyLadiesDaddy]

Little Jimmy

Where's you LOVE for God's people.

Where's your love for the truth.

Where's your love for Jesus Christ,"IF YOU LOVE ME THEN OBEY ME".

Holy Father has clearly stated throughout his word what shall come to pass on

those who attack Israel.

Is Israel blameless? Maybe, maybe not. But if you really love Jesus Christ then you

would love what he loves. And clearly you don't.

Please don't take my response as an attack on you. It's not meant as such. I am, "IN LOVE",

attempting to speak truth. For it is written,"MANY WILL COME TO ME THAT DAY

SAYING LORD LORD, HAVE WE NOT DONE MANY WORKS IN THY NAME. AND JESUS

WILL RESPOND. DEPART FROM ME YOU WORKERS OF INIQUITY, I NEVER KNEW YOU".

I know, I was once one of those people. But then Jesus told me on July 18 1998

That I know more about him then the preacher in front of me. But then he said, "HOWEVER,

YOU DON'T KNOW ME".

It wasn't personal. Ever wonder why the bible tells us to,"WORK OUT YOUR OWN

SALVATION WITH FEAR AND TREMBLING"? Because it's easy for us to lie to ourselves.

It's just human nature, we see only what we want to see.

I pray God bless you.

[Jim1cor13]

the full counsel of God's word is not in your heart, and you play the victim card, lol

Your false accusations against Israel prove your heart.

 

Hi sportfisher

 

The truth is simple and evident. I do not 'fit' into your preconceived religious box,

and I am thankful I do not, because if you understood the full counsel of Gods word,

the fruit of your own lips put in print would reflect that. What you have found is a target

to condemn at will, but while you point fingers at anyone who does not obey and conform

to your version of christianity, you are indicting yourself and show clearly of what spirit

you are from. No victim card here, I have dealt with your type many times over the years,

and will not feed into your zealousness because what you are doing is wrong and you

do not fool me.

 

I honestly wish you well, and have stated i will not play your games or take your bait. Please 

stop trolling, and pay attention to your own deficiencies. We all are deficient in some way,

attacking each other as you do benefits no one. I am not your enemy, you are your own worst

enemy, seen by your militant style accusations.

 

How can you say you love God, and yet have so much hatred and spite for somone you do not

even know? You condemn yourself by your own words my friend. I do not condemn anyone,

because I have no right to ever do so. Look in the mirror, examine your own heart, it is very

profitable and when you pass judgment in the destructive manner that you seem to enjoy, it

will be measured back to you in the same measure as you give it out, this also you know yet

you still attack others. A pharisee is still a pharisee, no matter what they try and hide behind

but it does not need to be this way at all. I am not your problem, you are your own problem.

 

Please try and control your tongue, and quit mistreating others because they refuse to conform

to your brand of christianity. What you offer is death, I choose life in Christ.

Little Jimmy

Where's you LOVE for God's people.

Where's your love for the truth.

Where's your love for Jesus Christ,"IF YOU LOVE ME THEN OBEY ME".

Holy Father has clearly stated throughout his word what shall come to pass on

those who attack Israel.

Is Israel blameless? Maybe, maybe not. But if you really love Jesus Christ then you

would love what he loves. And clearly you don't.

Please don't take my response as an attack on you. It's not meant as such. I am, "IN LOVE",

attempting to speak truth. For it is written,"MANY WILL COME TO ME THAT DAY

SAYING LORD LORD, HAVE WE NOT DONE MANY WORKS IN THY NAME. AND JESUS

WILL RESPOND. DEPART FROM ME YOU WORKERS OF INIQUITY, I NEVER KNEW YOU".

I know, I was once one of those people. But then Jesus told me on July 18 1998

That I know more about him then the preacher in front of me. But then he said, "HOWEVER,

YOU DON'T KNOW ME".

It wasn't personal. Ever wonder why the bible tells us to,"WORK OUT YOUR OWN

SALVATION WITH FEAR AND TREMBLING"? Because it's easy for us to lie to ourselves.

It's just human nature, we see only what we want to see.

I pray God bless you.

 

Hi lgd

 

Before you judge me, please examine your own words and content, and take your own advice.

 

I have walked with our Lord for over 30 years, and never 'knew' Him until he shattered my

preconceived theology back when I was a young man. I mistreat no one, and you have no

clue as to my walk with Him, so please take your own advice, I will not play religious games,

I did that for a few years as a young man, and it was death to me until I was set free.

 

We all fall short, that is why we need grace every moment and hopefully we learn something of value

daily. How we treat others is important, perhaps that area should be focused upon.

 

Have a peaceful day lgd

Edited August 3, 2014 by Jim1cor13

[Big Newby]

Note to Dr. Roberts:  please meet with your Congressman and Senator and help them write legislation that will make it legal for the Mexican and Canadian governments to take whatever unilateral action they deem necessary anytime they feel the U.S. is doing something that meets the disapproval of these two nations.  Oh, and that can (and should include) giving those two nations the right to pirate millions of international dollars given for the purpose of rebuilding infrastructure (like schools and hospitals and roads) and using it to manufacture missiles and build a concrete underground of bunkers for the express purpose of attacking the U.S. however and whenever they choose.

 

And let's make certain that we scoff at (and subsequently ignore) when Canadians and Mexicans publicly shout often that the U.S. has no right to exist and that the ultimate goal of both was to kill all Americans and wipe the U.S.A. off the map. 

 

Then when Canada and Mexico decide to lob thousands of those internationally funded missiles at the U.S. make certain we turn the other cheek.  After all, they have that right.

 

How ignorant!!!!!!  Of course that will never happen.  But what continues to happen is Political Leftists shouting that Israel is evil and must be stopped when it protects its citizens.  They cry out against Israel when civilians are killed by bombs and missiles in Gaza.  What SHOULD happen is a cry for terrorism to stop at every level in the Middle East.  Hamas IS a terrorist organization whose very existence is to propagate terrorism throughout the Middle East and while doing so, destroy Israel.

 

If there is ever going to be peach in the Region, one thing must happen first:  terrorist attacks of all kind by all people, fighting across borders, indiscriminate killing of soldiers AND civilians, MUST stop.  How can anyone trust anyone else who says they want peace when they ignore cease fire after cease fire to kill?

 

As I see it Israel now has only two choices:  1) to fight to preserve their nation and citizens, or 2) Give up and hand over all Israeli people to Hamas for slaughter and the destruction of the nation.  That would be the only two choices for Americans if the same happened in this Hemisphere.  Who has the right to demand Israel do anything else?

[PipPig]

the full counsel of God's word is not in your heart, and you play the victim card, lol

Your false accusations against Israel prove your heart.

LOL....The full counsel of God's word is not in your heart as well champ!! You make it obvious!! 

[PipPig]

Little Jimmy

Where's you LOVE for God's people.

Where's your love for the truth.

Where's your love for Jesus Christ,"IF YOU LOVE ME THEN OBEY ME".

Holy Father has clearly stated throughout his word what shall come to pass on

those who attack Israel.

Is Israel blameless? Maybe, maybe not. But if you really love Jesus Christ then you

would love what he loves. And clearly you don't.

Please don't take my response as an attack on you. It's not meant as such. I am, "IN LOVE",

attempting to speak truth. For it is written,"MANY WILL COME TO ME THAT DAY

SAYING LORD LORD, HAVE WE NOT DONE MANY WORKS IN THY NAME. AND JESUS

WILL RESPOND. DEPART FROM ME YOU WORKERS OF INIQUITY, I NEVER KNEW YOU".

I know, I was once one of those people. But then Jesus told me on July 18 1998

That I know more about him then the preacher in front of me. But then he said, "HOWEVER,

YOU DON'T KNOW ME".

It wasn't personal. Ever wonder why the bible tells us to,"WORK OUT YOUR OWN

SALVATION WITH FEAR AND TREMBLING"? Because it's easy for us to lie to ourselves.

It's just human nature, we see only what we want to see.

I pray God bless you

You sound lost as well.....I doubt Jesus would support netanyahu or any of his followers!! 

http://www.realjewnews.com/?p=65

[yota691]

Hamas turned the neighborhood of Shuja'iya into a fortress for its weapons. It used the city of Beit Hanoun as a base for launching rockets. As this map shows, Hamas fires at Israel from everywhere in Gaza.

[rothsdad]

Hamas turned the neighborhood of Shuja'iya into a fortress for its weapons. It used the city of Beit Hanoun as a base for launching rockets. As this map shows, Hamas fires at Israel from everywhere in Gaza.

That's alot of bottle rockets! Lol  Lucky the jews have the Iron Yarmulka!

[MyLadiesDaddy]

You sound lost as well.....I doubt Jesus would support netanyahu or any of his followers!! 

http://www.realjewnews.com/?p=65

I fail to understand the anger displayed at my post. With complete love I expressed

The truth of God's word. This is not about Netanyahu at all, it's about God's people.

Think of it like this, your child goes to school and beats up a weaker child for calling

him names. Then a complete stranger begins calling your child all manner of evil

things. Threatening violence if they could. Now tell me, what would you do?

"THERE IS A WAY WHICH SEEMS RIGHT TO MAN, BUT THE ENDS THEREOF IS DEATH"

Both of you attack me and for the most part all I've done is give a personal testimony

With some quoted scriptures and a gentle warning. As Christians, are we not

supposed to be concerned for others salvation? And if I point out something that

I perceive to be in error, is that truly a,"JUDGMENT"?

Or is it possible that we have a difference of opinion. And nothing more. Now I ask you

Why all the hatred?

Is this just a conversation, on the internet?

Am I not just another insignificant poster in cyberspace?

And yet you felt an uncontrollable urge to attack me and in one case call names.

I, having a fundamental knowledge of the word of God, could explain to you why

you're so enraged at my conversation, however, in the interest of not enraging you

Any further I'll leave it up to you to, "DILIGENTLY STUDY RIGHTLY DIVIDING THE WORD OF GOD, SO AS

TO BE FOUND BLAMELESS".

May our blessed saviour give you the desires of your heart's.