Live Feed of Gaza While Under Attack

http://alwatanvoice.com/live/

Gaza bombardment and slaughter continues

The last few days saw continued heavy bombardments of Gaza by Israeli forces - from the sea, air and on ground. There was no let up of Israeli attacks on the besieged brutalized people of the Gaza strip. Death toll of civilians continue to mount on the Palestinian side. To date, over 450 are counted as dead while the number of injured is over 2,500. The number of homes damaged and people made homeless is in the tens of thousands. As I type this, I'm watching a live camera feed of Gaza while it burns. I can hear the drones constantly buzzing and the ferocious shelling is heard in the distant. Plumes of dark smoke can be seen from countless roof tops of homes that have just been hit by artillery fire or missile attack. It's a very grim scene, the night before we saw intense fighting - and saw the IDF unleash a hellish bombing campaign on the civilian population that left countless dead - countless buried alive - countless of mangled bodies - mostly children and women - who had their heads blown right off. There is no rationale or justification for this brutal criminal attack by Israel. To say it's "disproportionate" is a crime of understatement in itself. This kind of brutal savage attack is criminal - a war crime against humanity that cries out to the heavens. Israel cannot claim it has "the right to defend itself" when it is an occupier and has maintained a intolerable suffocating siege on the people of Gaza and the West Bank. It cannot make that claim while Israel continues to steal land and build illegal settlements. It cannot make that claim while Israel continues to torment, brutalize and subjugate the natives. Had Israel allowed a Palestinian state to emerge consisting of territory pre 67 and then such a state would fire rockets into Israel, then and only then can Israel have the right to defend itself. It then has the right to do whatever it chooses to do to defend its citizens. It can bomb whomever inside the Palestinian state that is firing into Israel. In that situation, I would even support such action by Israel. To occupy and brutalize a people for over 40 years and then claim victim-hood when the prisoners get restless is a bit silly and no one should take Israeli claims seriously. They don't have the right to occupy and oppress other people in perpetuity. The longest modern day occupation has just gotten bloodier today for the natives.

Once again Gaza is under attack!

What can be said that hasn't been said a thousand times already regarding the senseless slaughter taking place in Gaza today. What words can convey the piercing horror and deep despair that continues to befall the besieged people of Gaza. Enough already but we all know Israel is a beast that cannot be tamed. Why do I say that? I just look at history and I see a deliberate ethnic cleansing campaign - borderline genocidal, that has been on going for decades and the latest episode in Gaza is just one of many sad chapters we have seen perpetrated against the natives of Palestine. It is important to note that the 1.2 million residents of Gaza today where refugees who were ethnically cleansed from their homes in Palestine ( today Israel) back in 1948. These people were herded into camps in this tiny strip of land which today is the largest open air prison. When Israel complains about rockets being fired from there - but of course these people will resist their enslavement and eradication - and in predictable fashion the occupier, oppressor and tormentor will respond even more viciously than before to teach the misbehaving prisoners resistance is not an option. We have seen this scene play out for several decades now to ad nauseam. We are told resistance is not an option, going to the UN or ICC is not an option either and so what are an oppressed and enslaved people to do? It is clear to me that Israel only wants the Palestinians to submit, go quietly, or die. This is the only road map Israel has carefully built and nurtured over the years. Since submission is not going to happen, going away quietly is hardly an option - there is nowhere to go - and of course death - while for some I'm sure is an appealing option considering the hell they must go through daily, is in itself not going to happen. Ok, so now we know the Zionist game plan. They leave no option for peace to develop - block moves by the UN or other bodies to intervene with the help of Uncle Sam, force the natives to resist - then when they do, Israel can clobber them harder. Brilliant. Israel can play the victim and that allows the IDF to go on a rampage with a get out of prison card given to it by the international community ( the West). This begs the question, knowing all of this, seeing how nothing has been accomplished using violent resistance against Israel - other than giving Israel a pretext to destroy and slaughter - something Zionists already have wet dreams about - so why are the Palestinians - mainly Hamas now - so stupid as not to see the futility of their approach? It's more than futile, it is actually harming their cause -- beyond the obvious death and destruction that will befall them. Nothing threatens Israel more than peace. Therefore, it is imperative to out smart those who have malicious intent. This requires a new approach - a completely new way of thinking. That means new leadership, which I don't see, and sadly that means more of the same for the foreseeable future.

ISIS IN IRAQ

The situation in Iraq is proving to be a precursor of things to come for the region. The radicalization of the Muslim Arabs is a phenomenon that will continue to keep the Middle East simmering in turmoil for the foreseeable future. I have always believed that a deep cleansing of sorts within Islam is needed to finally get past the sectarian divide. The Christian faith went through that violent upheaval for millenia and unfortunately, it seems Islam won't escape the same fate. What we need to do is to stay out of this perfect storm scenario unfolding - where Shiite versus Sunni, Islamists versus secularists collide and implode in a clash of civilization within Islam. There are those who want this conflict to be a clash of civilization between the West and Islam but that narrative must not be allowed to take root. This conflict is over the role of Islam in the 21st century. I repeat, we should stay out of this conflict. That means immediate withdrawal of all our troops from the region. If what is to follow is a conflict between Sunni's and Shiite, so be it. We can no longer continue to interfere and in essence delay the day of reckoning. These societies need to overcome their sectarian and tribal fanaticism to ever hope to advance in the modern age. Our involvement has hindered - and in many cases delayed progress towards goals I think we all should value - like secularism , democracy and individual rights.