Ex-Israeli pilot: 'Our army is a terrorist organisation run by war criminals'
May 17, 2021 at 12:26 pm | Published in: Israel, Middle East, News, Palestine
Yonatan Shapira, a former Israeli soldier on September 26, 2010 [HASAN MROUE/AFP via Getty Images]
May 17, 2021 at 12:26 pm
A former Israeli Air Force pilot, Yonatan Shapira, has described the Israeli government and army as "terrorist organisations" run by "war criminals."
Captain Shapira who had resigned from the Israeli army in 2003 at the height of the Palestinian Second Intifada explained in an exclusive interview with Anadolu News Agency why he realized after joining the army that he was "part of a terrorist organisation".
I realised during the Second Intifada what the Israeli Air Force and Israeli military are doing are war crimes, terrorising a population of millions of Palestinians. When I realised that, I decided to not just leave but to organise other pilots that will publicly refuse to take part in these crimes,
he said.
"As a child in Israel, you are being brought up in very strong Zionist militaristic education. You don't know almost anything about Palestine, you don't know about the 1948 Nakba, you don't know about ongoing oppression," Shapira said.
OPINION: Do the Palestinians not have the right to defend themselves?
Ever since leaving the Israeli army, Shapira has launched a campaign that encouraged other military members to disobey orders to attack Palestinians.
The campaign has led 27 other army pilots to be discharged from their posts in the Israeli Air Force since 2003.
In the last week, Israeli warplanes have waged hundreds of airstrikes against the Palestinian civilians in the besieged Gaza Strip, killing at least 188 Palestinians including 55 children and 33 women and wounding 1,230 people.
Another attack on Gaza: Israel squeezing the life of Gaza – Cartoon [Sabaaneh/MiddleEastMonitor]
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Jewish historian: 'Israel plays the victim and has to face its criminal record'
May 18, 2021 at 2:54 pm | Published in: Asia & Americas, Canada, Israel, Middle East, News, Palestine, US
Canadian writer of Jewish belief Yakov Rabkin during the 13th edition of the Casablanca International Book Fair, 13 February 2007 [ABDELHAK SENNA/AFP via Getty Images]
May 18, 2021 at 2:54 pm
Jewish historian Yakov Rabkin said that the international community is turning a blind eye to Israel's attacks on the Palestinians by merely asserting Tel Aviv's "right to self-defence" while the occupation is "a criminal who plays the role of the victim".
Rabkin, a professor of history at the University of Montreal, Canada, added that Israel should stop playing the victim and confront the truth about its criminal record.
He stated that the problem between Israel and Palestine is not new and that there were similar attacks that took place many years ago, stressing the need to pay attention to the lack of balance in power between the Palestinian and Israeli military capabilities.
Rabkin, whose authored A Threat from Within: A Century of Jewish Opposition to Zionism, said that the recent escalation in attacks against Palestinian sites is a reduplication of many painful events in the history of Israel and Palestine, as Israel continued to inflict its oppression on Palestinians displaced between 1947- 1949.
"I do not know why [Israeli] Prime Minister Netanyahu issued the order to attack Gaza, but I know that this situation does not harm him. On the contrary, he benefits from polarization in Israeli society, and such hostilities increase the polarization effect that we currently see in the streets of Israel," he continued.
READ: Israel is committing war crimes in Gaza Strip
He stressed that it is a huge mistake to describe what happened between Israel and Palestine as a "conflict", explaining: "We cannot use the term conflict in relation to the current situation, because we are mainly talking about a civilian population facing one of the most sophisticated military mechanisms in the region, of course, such consequences (the significant number of victims among the Palestinians) occur when there is such disparity in the balance of power."
Regarding the question of whether Israel's attacks on civilians constitute war crimes, the Jewish historian said: "I am not an expert in international law, but I can say that there is a very sophisticated military machine attacking civilians. I think these actions can be considered war crimes."
He continued: "But I am not a lawyer to talk about a legal description of Israel's actions as racist or amounting to war crimes. What is important here is what is behind all this. When there is such an unequal distribution of power between the two sides, you cannot talk about a conflict. It is rather about a party attacking another. "
Rabkin asserted that the US' support for Israel has nothing to do with the Biden administration, and stressed that the United States has devoted a large part of its foreign policies to making Israel "a country with immunity when it comes to its actions while making sure to defend and provide it with military and economic assistance and the support of international institutions and mechanisms."
As a result, he continued, there is a consensus in the international community about granting Israel unconditional immunity for its crimes, noting: "What Israel's actions are, are not very different from what the United States does in different parts of the world. "
The Jewish scholar added: "Ensuring human rights for all, especially for the Palestinians living in the area, must be a main preoccupation for the international community, which must focus on human rights and the rights of Palestinians living in areas controlled by the Israeli army."
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Engaging the World: The Making of Hamas's Foreign Policy
PublisherAfro-Middle East Centre (AMEC)
PublishedJanuary 2021
Paperback272 pages
LanguageEnglish
ISBN978-0-9947048-2-5
Buy Now
£20.00
+ £4 P&P
The Making of Hamas’s Foreign Policy is the first comprehensive account of how the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas, conducts its international relations, its attempts to develop a coherent and dynamic foreign policy, and its leveraging of this foreign policy to strengthen its global legitimacy and credibility. Having grown out of the refugee camps in Gaza, and relying mostly on its support within Palestine and the Palestinian diaspora, the movement was thrust onto the global stage by a series of events imposed on it. Its victory in the 2006 Palestinian parliamentary election, its subsequent demonisation and the imposition of an Israeli and Egyptian siege on Gaza convinced it of the need for a visible and coordinated international outreach.
This book evaluates the principles which guided the movement’s foreign relations, examines their evolution, their successes and failures, and the overall impact of the group’s foreign policy on the Palestinian national movement.
Much has been written about Hamas’s historical origins, its ideology, and some of its leaders. This book fills a void in that literature regarding the movement’s international relations. It is a useful text for academics, policymakers, as well as casual readers interested in the Palestinian struggle and the balance of power between Palestinians and Israel.
“It was with great interest that I went through the well-researched work of Dr Daud Abdullah, which illuminates an essential aspect of Hamas’s evolution, namely its international dimension.”
Prof Celso Amorim, Former Foreign Minister of Brazil
“Daud Abdullah is sympathetic to Hamas and their Muslim Brotherhood origins and therefore his account is sympathetic but not uncritical.
This is a valuable and readable book and I recommend it warmly.”
Clare Short, Former Secretary of State for International Development of the United Kingdom
“This book challenges successfully the common misrepresentation of Hamas in the West. It is a must read for anyone engaged with the Palestine issue and interested in an honest introduction to this important Palestinian movement.”
Prof Ilan Pappé, College of Social Sciences & International Studies, University of Exeter
About the Author
Daud Abdullah is the director of Middle East Monitor (MEMO). Formerly a senior researcher at the Palestinian Return Centre (London), he also lectured in history at the University of Maiduguri (Nigeria) and Islamic Studies at Birkbeck College, University of London.
Endorsements for Engaging the World: The Making of Hamas's Foreign Policy
"Palestine represents one of the great moral and political causes of our time, it unites people everywhere." This undeniable truth is reiterated in the final chapter of this comprehensive study on 'the making of Hamas's foreign policy'. In my period as foreign minister – during the government of President Lula, Brazil was deeply involved in the struggle for a fair and peaceful solution to the conflict in the Middle East.
One of our last decisions in the field of foreign policy was the recognition of Palestine as an independent and sovereign state. This bold step unchained a series of similar moves in Latin America, and beyond in the Global South, helping in the overall movement towards the resolution by the UN General Assembly. During that period, in our private conversations, President Lula and I strongly argued in favour of a broad and non-discriminatory inter-Palestinian dialogue. Our representative to Ramallah visited Gaza and had discussions with Hamas authorities there.
It was with great interest that I went through Dr Daud Abdullah's well-researched work, which illuminates an essential aspect of "Hamas's" evolution: its international dimension. As a firm supporter of Palestinian rights and a defender of a solution through peaceful means, I was very much encouraged by the author’s concluding words to the effect that through the intensification of diplomatic efforts and global alliances, "Hamas can play a pivotal role in the restoration of Palestinian rights".
Celso Amorim
Former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Brazil, under President Lula da Silva
--
This book challenges successfully the common misrepresentation of Hamas in the west. It is a must read for anyone engaged with the Palestine issue, and interested in an honest introduction to this important Palestinian movement. This book is also a crucial contribution for a better understanding of the relationship between the west and political Islam in general. The history, aims and vision of the movement have not before been explained in such a lucid and professional way.
Ilan Pappé
Author and professor at the College of Social Sciences and International Studies, University of Exeter
--
A must-read study of a foremost political movement in Palestine, this is the most comprehensive account of Hamas's international relations to date. Meticulously documenting the achievements and shortcomings of Hamas, the book shows how a pragmatic and highly dynamic non-state actor, rooted in the realities of Palestinians under occupation, can transform itself into a regional actor which seeks to project power on the global stage.
Prof Nur Masalha
Editor, Journal of Holy Land and Palestine Studies, SOAS, University of London
--
Dr Daud Abdullah's Engaging the World: The making of Hamas's foreign policy is a rare and honest probe of the Palestinian resistance movement's political maturity and growth, despite countless obstacles. While the discussion on Hamas in mainstream media and academia have centred largely on its Islamic origins and character, and have somewhat reduced the movement to a confining, stifling discussion on 'terrorism' and 'suicide bombings', Engaging the World dismantles and reconstructs the old discourses to present an entirely refreshed analytical realm. The book delves into Hamas's internal dynamics, continual diplomacy, and attempts to break away from its Israel-led isolation. Equally important, Abdullah's book offers a new and crucial case study of Palestinian politics in the modern era amid tumultuous and vastly changing regional and international powerplays resulting from ongoing revolts and wars. A truly riveting and revealing account. A must read.
Ramzy Baroud
Editor of Palestine Chronicle; Non-resident Senior Research Fellow at Afro-Middle East Centre and Centre for Islam and Global Affairs
--
This is a major undertaking, studying the ways by which Hamas conducted its foreign relations from the early 1990s to the present. Throughout the past three decades, Hamas has received great attention from scholars of modern Islam and the Middle East. Although it has emerged as a highly influential Islamic movement and partner in deciding the course of the Palestinian problem, no other study was dedicated to understanding Hamas's foreign policy. Here, Daud Abdullah steps in to fill this lacuna with an extensive coverage of the regional and international dynamics shaping the longest conflict in the modern world, and provides profound insight into the impact of these dynamics on Hamas and its role in Palestine. This work is an invaluable addition to the fields of political Islam, the Middle East, and Palestine studies.
Dr Bashir Nafi
Research Fellow at Al Jazeera Centre for Studies
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