False Narratives About Hamas to Incite Visceral Hatred Against the Palestinian People
White phosphorous bombs, declared an illegal weapon, are being
used by Israel against civilians in Gaza.
Following the events of October 7 in Palestine and Israel, the international media and many governments immediately denounced the actions by Hamas against Israel. Hamas is declared a terrorist organization. Many invented stories about Hamas decapitating babies and raping women and of bloody massacres by Hamas to feed a narrative of hatred which seeks to justify Israel's actions of targeting civilians in Gaza who Israel says Hamas uses as "human shields."
False images and reports of actions alleged to have been committed by Hamas appeared everywhere. They have been exposed and some have since been withdrawn but the narrative continues nonetheless. It's an assault against the human brain, causing anguish and suffocation, because it dictates that there is only one possible way of thinking, and that way must be on the side that condemns the Palestinians because it condemns Hamas. In the words of the Israeli Defence Minister, Palestinians are "human animals" and they deserve to die. In this narrative, history doesn't exist, real life does not exist. Just the horror used to justify Israel's takeover of all of Palestine.
"I have ordered a complete siege of Gaza. We are fighting human animals and acting accordingly," announced Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Monday, October 9. Water, food, gas -- everything has been blocked to lay siege to the Palestinian people.
On October 8, in a statement,
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau "unequivocally" condemned "these
terrible attacks in the strongest possible terms" and reaffirmed
"support for Israel's right to defend itself, in accordance with
international law."
"We call for the immediate release of those being held hostage and demand they be treated in accordance with international law. We will continue to monitor the situation closely, and we are in touch with our international partners to restore peace and security in the region. We must all work to protect civilian life."
Never does one hear the government of Canada raising its voice to protect Palestinian civilians subject to settler violence and dispossession but the Prime Minister says:
"To our Israeli friends: Canadians stand with you. The Government of Canada stands ready to support you -- our support for the Israeli people is steadfast."
Not a word to the bereaved Palestinian families.
Canadian flags were flown at
half-mast until sunset on October 9 on the Peace Tower and
Parliament Hill and at the Prime Minister's office at 80
Wellington Street.
In Quebec, the Quebec flag was lowered to half-mast on the central tower of the Parliament Building October 10 to 11 following what was defined as terrorist attacks and violence in Israel.
Montreal lowered its city hall flags to half-mast on October 9 until dusk to commemorate the victims of "the terrorist attacks and violence in Israel," said Mayor Valérie Plante. She said her thoughts were with the civilians who are "suffering the tragic consequences of this conflict." She expressed solidarity with "the Israeli and Palestinian populations of Montreal."
Then came the labelling of demonstrations in support of the Palestinian cause for justice as spreading hatred. A number of politicians made statements on the subject. Quebec Premier François Legault said the pro-Palestine demonstration was aimed at "celebrating or supposedly justifying the murder of civilians." It was "shameful" and "unacceptable," he said. Ignoring that his statement was best addressed at his own actions, he said, "I'm really very disappointed to see these people who allow themselves to make gestures like this at such tragic, sad times."
The Montreal demonstration was also the subject of inflammatory remarks by federal Immigration Minister Marc Miller who said, "I am ashamed and disgusted to see these scenes glorifying death and terror, in Montreal, the city that I love and the city that I represent. Hamas is a terrorist organization and no one should glorify its bloody violence."
Mayor Plante also fed the narrative that demonstrators were celebrating terrorism and violence. "If there are people demonstrating, justifying or excusing the terrorist attack that Hamas carried out, that's unacceptable. There's no place for that. We should be supportive, understanding and human. There are lots of Israeli families who have lost someone. We have a family from Montreal who lost a family member there," she communicated. Police have the power to intervene when hate messages are spread, she said adding that among the demonstrators, there could be people marching because they're worried about their loved ones in Palestine, not necessarily because they support Hamas. In this way, attempts are made to divide people by suggesting that there are extremist elements in their ranks that must be weeded out and the community is duty-bound to disassociate itself from extremism.
On October 12, in a press
release, the Federal, Provincial and Territorial (FPT) Ministers
of Justice and Public Safety issued the following statement at
their meeting in Bromont, Quebec. In its words, the statement
was issued "following calls for global protest and unrest by the
terrorist organization Hamas." The statement declares that
Canada supports freedom of legitimate expression and conviction
which includes condemning "the heinous acts committed by the
terrorist organization Hamas. Our democracy is founded on
respect and tolerance, and we call on all Canadians to remain
united during this difficult time. Our law enforcement and
security partners remain vigilant in the face of these potential
disruptions and are monitoring the situation closely to ensure
the safety of all Canadian citizens."
Ontario's NDP leader has asked Sarah Jama, who was elected
earlier this year in a Hamilton Centre by-election, to withdraw
a statement on the conflict between Israel and Hamas, and the
Premier is now calling on her to resign. Jama issued a statement
denouncing the "generations-long occupation of Palestine" and
what she described as apartheid and human rights abuses in Gaza.
"We must seek a solution to this cycle of endless death and
destruction: end all occupation of Palestinian lands and end
apartheid," she wrote.
Since then, Jama has said Premier Ford is putting pressure on
her to resign, and the Liberal leader and Simon Wiesenthal
Centre are also targeting her for her views.
The facts show Gaza has been turned into a camp which concentrates 2.3 million people into a small area where everything and everyone that goes in and out is controlled and now the population has been cut off of all water, electricity and food and subject to bombing and destruction of not only their residences, hospitals, schools and public spaces, but also of the places where they have been forced to take refuge. All UN Agencies are agreed about what is going on in Gaza but the governments of Canada, the United States, Britain, France, Germany and others push irrationality and portray the supporters of the Palestinian people and their right of return as hate-mongers and terrorists.
Their politicization of human rights means that some citizens are worth more than others. And, of course, if they are animals they are not deserving of rights at all. The definition of human rights is now managed by private interests who dictate the conscience which is legitimate and the conscience which is not and the course of action to be taken in any situation.
All human beings have rights because they are human. To live their humanity, they need a roof over their heads, food to eat, education, work, health care and freedom of speech to express their conscience and give rise to plans which solve the problems human beings face. Palestinians are human beings who demand to live as human beings, to participate in political, social, cultural and economic life as equals. It is their right.
The Communist Party of Canada (Marxist-Leninist) categorically opposes accusations that those who support the right of the Palestinian people to be are promoting hatred. All the facts show that false news is inciting visceral hatred of the Palestinian people in preparation of unleashing on them a ground campaign of unfettered brutality and massacres. This is already taking place against the people of Gaza, a population of 2.3 million people who are concentrated in a very small area and deprived of all means of subsistence, and now resistance.
We must beware that talk about civilians is not used to cover up the fundamental questions -- the Palestinian people are citizens of what country, what nation-state, whose first duty is to protect them, provide for them, uphold their dignity? Who is responsible for their safety? Israel is the occupying power. Under international law, including its founding resolution which it has never complied with, Israel as the occupying power is responsible for the protection of the citizens under its occupation and must be made to stop these atrocities while the citizens of all countries in the world must hold their governments to account to uphold the international rule of law and not permit crimes against humanity to be committed against the Palestinian people in the name of high ideals and opposing terrorism and hatred. It begs the question why the Israeli state has never been subject to sanctions or having its UN membership suspended at the very least, while other countries who fall afoul of the U.S. imperialists suffer the worst collective punishment that the UN and its Security Council can be used to mete out.
Together we are one. Together we must stand as one with the people of Palestine who are fighting for their right to be.
Israeli troops massed on the borders of the Gaza Strip begin
raids into Gaza on October 14, 2023.
(Quotations translated from original French by TML.)
This article was published in
Volume 53
Number 13 - October 2023
Article Link:
https://cpcml.ca/Tmlm2023/Articles/MS53132.HTM
Website: www.cpcml.ca Email: editor@cpcml.ca