Caoimhin O’Muraile ☭ On 7th October 2023 the Palestinian militant group, Hamas, crossed the border into Israel with relative ease.
The Israeli authorities, including the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) were apparently caught asleep when the incursion took place. How could this have been? The Israelis have one of the highest technologically advanced defence systems in the world so how could a group like Hamas carry out such an audacious raid? One news bulletin, very, very briefly explained why this breach in Israel's security may have happened. It was only shown once and has not been seen again on TV. Apparently, many of the IDF troops assigned to defend the border had taken time out to go hunting ‘Palestinians with Israeli settlers’ - Israeli settlers who are illegally occupying Palestinian land supposedly protected under so-called ‘international law’. These settlers are comfortably housed and living on land they have no right to be on. Not content with stealing this territory, every now and again these illegal squatters go looking for Palestinians - unarmed Palestinians - often accompanied by members of the IDF. This was the reason, according to this brief news bulletin, why the border was left with a skeletal protection, the troops were out on a ‘turkey shoot’ with the illegal settlers. Putting this on the news was an obvious mistake as the last thing the Western authorities want is their peoples to know the truth about what is happening in Israel/Palestine. The caption was not shown again.
My own view of Hamas, unlike some other Palestinian fighting groups, is they are a bunch of religious nutters, like their nemesis in Israel the Zionists. Like their paymasters in Iran who torture and kill women who do not conform to some barmy Muslim religious law, which perhaps does not exist outside their interpretation of the Koran, and such tortures and murders happen all too often in Iran. Hamas appear to share a similar set of beliefs. Hamas are anti-women’s rights, anti-LGBTQ and certainly will not bring freedom to the Palestinian people. The Zionist crowd in Tel Aviv who constitute the Israeli Government are no better in their fanatical beliefs in Judea and hatred of Arabs. Don’t get me wrong, it is everybody’s right to practice their religion, or to follow none, but not if that leads to fanaticism, murder and war.
When Hamas crossed into Israel, something which the Israelis have been doing to the Palestinians on the Gaza Strip for many decades all too often killing unarmed Palestinians, they had the chance to take the moral high ground, but did not take this opportunity. Had Hamas a military brain between them they would have taken a golden opportunity to score a military victory over the IDF and score points in the propaganda war. They did not do this. One option may have been, cross the border as they did, then double back on themselves and take the IDF border guards, reduced in number as they must have known, from the Israeli side. They could have stolen their uniforms and weapons and waited for those guards, out on a ‘turkey shoot’ with the settlers, to return and take them as well using the art of surprise. They could then return to Gaza better armed and with IDF uniforms and issue a statement along the lines of, perhaps:
My own view of Hamas, unlike some other Palestinian fighting groups, is they are a bunch of religious nutters, like their nemesis in Israel the Zionists. Like their paymasters in Iran who torture and kill women who do not conform to some barmy Muslim religious law, which perhaps does not exist outside their interpretation of the Koran, and such tortures and murders happen all too often in Iran. Hamas appear to share a similar set of beliefs. Hamas are anti-women’s rights, anti-LGBTQ and certainly will not bring freedom to the Palestinian people. The Zionist crowd in Tel Aviv who constitute the Israeli Government are no better in their fanatical beliefs in Judea and hatred of Arabs. Don’t get me wrong, it is everybody’s right to practice their religion, or to follow none, but not if that leads to fanaticism, murder and war.
When Hamas crossed into Israel, something which the Israelis have been doing to the Palestinians on the Gaza Strip for many decades all too often killing unarmed Palestinians, they had the chance to take the moral high ground, but did not take this opportunity. Had Hamas a military brain between them they would have taken a golden opportunity to score a military victory over the IDF and score points in the propaganda war. They did not do this. One option may have been, cross the border as they did, then double back on themselves and take the IDF border guards, reduced in number as they must have known, from the Israeli side. They could have stolen their uniforms and weapons and waited for those guards, out on a ‘turkey shoot’ with the settlers, to return and take them as well using the art of surprise. They could then return to Gaza better armed and with IDF uniforms and issue a statement along the lines of, perhaps:
acting on intelligence received from inside the IDF Hamas ASUs (Active Service Units) penetrated Israeli security attacking and killing a number of IDF border guards. We have the ability and expertise to hit when and how we please as this operation bears testament.
Such a statement would have caused panic and confusion inside the IDF and the Zionist Government in Tel Aviv. There were other equally legitimate alternatives for them to hit. They did not do this and instead took civilian hostages whose only crimes were listening to music or being Jewish. Hamas is not a military outfit, moreover it is a bunch of religious rabble!! The Israelis have for many, many, years been murdering Palestinian civilians and Hamas had the opportunity to rise above this barbarism of their foes. They should have confined their operations to attacking and destroying military, political and economic targets. Instead, they took civilians, women and children, concert goers as hostages and nobody, outside Hamas, knows what fate awaits them!
Hamas could have gained much credibility in the eyes of normal people, among which I do not include western governments, by carrying out a well-planned military assault on Israel in their pursuit of a Palestinian nation-state. Hamas want to see the total destruction of Israel, something which will not happen and should not be allowed to happen. The destruction of the apartheid Zionist state yes, definitely, but the destruction of Israel as a country, no equally definitely not! After all, when the Third Reich was thankfully defeated in 1945 we witnessed the destruction of the evil Nazi state, but not the obliteration of Germany off the map, so where’s the difference? A smaller and reformed Israel and her population of 9.5 million, slightly larger than Greater London, living in peace alongside a Palestinian nation state is not an unreasonable starting point and aim. There would be no room for the Zionist fanatics or Hamas under such an arrangement.
The response by the Israelis to the Hamas attack has been devastating and murderous. They have turned Gaza, which has been an open-aired prison for the Palestinian inmates for years, into something between the Warsaw Ghetto, where Jewish people were forced to live by the Nazis and subsequently destroyed by them with the inhabitants still in their dwellings following an ‘uprising’ and the Sobibor Nazi Death Camp. If the Hamas attack was a war crime, which it was once they took hostages, then the reaction by Israel is ten war crimes! However, a war crime is a war crime be it one or a hundred. The death and destruction Israel is inflicting on the people of Gaza has been done under the aegis of ‘Israels right to defend herself’ which is stretching this right to say the least. Does this ‘right to defend herself’ stretch as far as cutting off electricity supplies to civilians? Does it go so far as to legitimise preventing hospitals from treating patients, some in critical conditions? Does it stretch to stopping emergency medical supplies to hospitals? The answer to these questions is categorically No. What the Israelis are doing constitutes war crimes of the first degree and the Zionist regime in Tel Aviv just like some of the Nazis nearly eighty years ago should be held to account. Oddly enough it was the USA who gave protection and immunity to some Nazis who were of use to them!!
Could the Israeli Intelligence Services have been behind the Hamas attack? Could Mossad have planned the attack on Israeli civilians? No, this is unlikely but what is possible is they allowed the attacks to go ahead. The reason for this, if it was the case and it’s only a remote possibility, could have been to create a situation which, under the guise of ‘Israel defending itself’ which allows them to bomb and bulldoze Gaza to pulp? Could this have happened? Unlikely but certainly not beyond the bounds of possibilities. In the eyes of the world Israel would be exercising her ‘right to defend herself’ which is what has happened as government after government repeatedly speak of this right of ‘Israel to defend itself’. From Washington to London to Dublin, in fact across the western world, we have repeatedly heard this bland, less than convincing rhetoric about Israels ‘right the defend herself’ and it is wearing very thin! In the Dail, 12th October 2023, Holly Cairns, the leader of the Social Democrats asked Tanaiste, Micheal Martin, “why had the European Union not shown the same condemnation of Israeli attacks on Gaza civilians as they have to Hamas for their attacks?” Martin replied with some half-baked answer, which was no answer at all really, about the EU continuing financial support for the people of Gaza. Also in the Dail, People Before Profit TD, Richard Boyd Barret, was almost foaming at the mouth in his condemnation of Israel. As the veins stuck out on his neck he, rightly, condemned the IDF and Netanyahu Government demanding the 26 county administration support the Palestinians. What a great pity he, and his parent party the Socialist Workers Party, did not show the same outrage against British atrocities in the six counties!
The response by the Israelis to the Hamas attack has been devastating and murderous. They have turned Gaza, which has been an open-aired prison for the Palestinian inmates for years, into something between the Warsaw Ghetto, where Jewish people were forced to live by the Nazis and subsequently destroyed by them with the inhabitants still in their dwellings following an ‘uprising’ and the Sobibor Nazi Death Camp. If the Hamas attack was a war crime, which it was once they took hostages, then the reaction by Israel is ten war crimes! However, a war crime is a war crime be it one or a hundred. The death and destruction Israel is inflicting on the people of Gaza has been done under the aegis of ‘Israels right to defend herself’ which is stretching this right to say the least. Does this ‘right to defend herself’ stretch as far as cutting off electricity supplies to civilians? Does it go so far as to legitimise preventing hospitals from treating patients, some in critical conditions? Does it stretch to stopping emergency medical supplies to hospitals? The answer to these questions is categorically No. What the Israelis are doing constitutes war crimes of the first degree and the Zionist regime in Tel Aviv just like some of the Nazis nearly eighty years ago should be held to account. Oddly enough it was the USA who gave protection and immunity to some Nazis who were of use to them!!
Could the Israeli Intelligence Services have been behind the Hamas attack? Could Mossad have planned the attack on Israeli civilians? No, this is unlikely but what is possible is they allowed the attacks to go ahead. The reason for this, if it was the case and it’s only a remote possibility, could have been to create a situation which, under the guise of ‘Israel defending itself’ which allows them to bomb and bulldoze Gaza to pulp? Could this have happened? Unlikely but certainly not beyond the bounds of possibilities. In the eyes of the world Israel would be exercising her ‘right to defend herself’ which is what has happened as government after government repeatedly speak of this right of ‘Israel to defend itself’. From Washington to London to Dublin, in fact across the western world, we have repeatedly heard this bland, less than convincing rhetoric about Israels ‘right the defend herself’ and it is wearing very thin! In the Dail, 12th October 2023, Holly Cairns, the leader of the Social Democrats asked Tanaiste, Micheal Martin, “why had the European Union not shown the same condemnation of Israeli attacks on Gaza civilians as they have to Hamas for their attacks?” Martin replied with some half-baked answer, which was no answer at all really, about the EU continuing financial support for the people of Gaza. Also in the Dail, People Before Profit TD, Richard Boyd Barret, was almost foaming at the mouth in his condemnation of Israel. As the veins stuck out on his neck he, rightly, condemned the IDF and Netanyahu Government demanding the 26 county administration support the Palestinians. What a great pity he, and his parent party the Socialist Workers Party, did not show the same outrage against British atrocities in the six counties!
In Britain at the Labour Party Conference leader Keir Starmer said “I am shocked and appalled by events in Israel and these attacks by Hamas must be condemned”. Not a word, notably, of condemnation for the disproportionate response from Tel Aviv! At a press conference in Tel Aviv while shaking hands with war criminal, Benjamin Netanyahu, US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, told the Israeli leader; “America will always be at Israel's side”. He went on to liken the Hamas attacks with “echoes of Nazi massacres”. If any side, without condoning Hamas for one second, is emulating the actions of the Third Reich against Jewish people, it is the Israelis actions against Palestinian civilians. So much for so-called ‘international law’ which, arguably, does not exist!! If a country is well in with the USA, as Israel is, they are free to break any law they wish with, it appears, US permission.
To have a law, any law, it must be enforced. This often quoted ‘international law’ is unenforceable as those unofficially charged with enforcing it, the USA, NATO, Russia, Britian and China regularly break such laws. I remember many years ago in West Belfast on the toilet door of a pub was written, ‘when the people who make the law, break the law, in the name of the law then there is no law’. A fitting piece of wall graffiti which also applies to this ‘international law’. Blinken by stating “America will always be at Israel's side” was giving approval to go out and commit war crimes to Netanyahu, of that there can be no doubt. According to Gabrielle Aumann, Medicines Sans Frontier, the war crimes committed include; “hospitals attacked by Israeli forces”. He continued; “We are running out of supplies and electricity. Babies in units will die if the electricity runs out. The Israelis are violating humanitarian law” he said.
The advice Hamas are giving to people, people in a position of hopelessness, is to ignore the Israeli warnings about leaving Gaza. As bombs explode all around them Hamas can offer nothing more concrete than this rubbish? How can a person ignore something which is happening before their very eyes? Are Hamas totally bereft of any form of reality? War crimes are going on in Palestine and have been for decades, people are being murdered by the thousand daily and all Hamas can say is, “ignore anything Israel say and stay where you are”. On this occasion Hamas, through their actions in the attack on Israel, have exposed the legitimate Palestinian struggle to the same allegations of war crimes as those levelled at the Israelis! Are they simply plain stupid, or just barbaric as are, it has appeared for many years, the Israeli Government? One thing Hamas and the Zionists share, they are both fucking evil, rotten to the core.
A war crime, according to the Geneva Convention 1949, is a violation “of the laws of war that give rise to individual criminal responsibility for action by combatants in action such as intentionally killing civilians”. War Crimes cover “murder, ill treatment or deportation to slave labour or any other of the civilian population in the occupied territory, killing of hostages, torture or inhuman treatment.” Both the Hamas and the Zionist regime in Tel Aviv are guilty of many of these offences and should be tried for such crimes.
To have a law, any law, it must be enforced. This often quoted ‘international law’ is unenforceable as those unofficially charged with enforcing it, the USA, NATO, Russia, Britian and China regularly break such laws. I remember many years ago in West Belfast on the toilet door of a pub was written, ‘when the people who make the law, break the law, in the name of the law then there is no law’. A fitting piece of wall graffiti which also applies to this ‘international law’. Blinken by stating “America will always be at Israel's side” was giving approval to go out and commit war crimes to Netanyahu, of that there can be no doubt. According to Gabrielle Aumann, Medicines Sans Frontier, the war crimes committed include; “hospitals attacked by Israeli forces”. He continued; “We are running out of supplies and electricity. Babies in units will die if the electricity runs out. The Israelis are violating humanitarian law” he said.
The advice Hamas are giving to people, people in a position of hopelessness, is to ignore the Israeli warnings about leaving Gaza. As bombs explode all around them Hamas can offer nothing more concrete than this rubbish? How can a person ignore something which is happening before their very eyes? Are Hamas totally bereft of any form of reality? War crimes are going on in Palestine and have been for decades, people are being murdered by the thousand daily and all Hamas can say is, “ignore anything Israel say and stay where you are”. On this occasion Hamas, through their actions in the attack on Israel, have exposed the legitimate Palestinian struggle to the same allegations of war crimes as those levelled at the Israelis! Are they simply plain stupid, or just barbaric as are, it has appeared for many years, the Israeli Government? One thing Hamas and the Zionists share, they are both fucking evil, rotten to the core.
A war crime, according to the Geneva Convention 1949, is a violation “of the laws of war that give rise to individual criminal responsibility for action by combatants in action such as intentionally killing civilians”. War Crimes cover “murder, ill treatment or deportation to slave labour or any other of the civilian population in the occupied territory, killing of hostages, torture or inhuman treatment.” Both the Hamas and the Zionist regime in Tel Aviv are guilty of many of these offences and should be tried for such crimes.
An addition in 1977 to the Geneva Convention of 1949 was an amendment which detailed ‘international humanitarian law’ which, notably Israel are not signatories to as neither, are the USA the country along with the British Government giving the most unequivocal support to the Zionist breach of international law! Clearly both Hamas and the Israeli Government are guilty of breaking ‘international law’ but it looks likely only Hamas will pay the penalty. The United States will continue to stand beside the Zionist regime in Tel Aviv as will, no doubt, the British Government and the European Union. Basically, what is happening is that a cloak of protection is being given to Netanyahu and his government misinterpreting ‘Israels right to defend itself’ with ‘Israels right to commit war crimes’.
The situation in the region is affecting many walks of life not least sport. In Britain on Monday 9th October Arab and Muslim sportsmen in Cricket, Football and Rugby held a meeting. At this meeting it was decided if the Wembley Arch was illuminated in Israeli flag colours before or during the friendly football match between England and Australia on Friday 13th October at Wembley these sports competitors stated “they would walk off the pitch if respect was not shown to the Palestinians lost in the conflict.” Earlier Jewish supporters of all three games had condemned the sporting authorities for “staying quiet” about what they described as; “the worst atrocity since the holocaust”. The Wembley authorities decided against lighting up the arch much to the annoyance of the British Government and the Israeli Football Association. The Irish Dailly Mirror on Saturday 14th October reported; “Rabbi quits in FA refusal”. This was in reference to “the Chair of the Faith in Football group” resigning over the FA's refusal to illuminate Wembley in the Israeli flag colours. “Rabbi Alex Goldberg has told the FA that Faith in Football will no longer be working with them”. This group appear to be a religious faction, which is their right, which refuse to see the crimes of both Hamas and the Israeli defence forces. The IDF have committed by far the most war crimes which ‘Faith in Football’ conveniently do not mention. Equally, “two wrongs do not make a right”, for once I have semi-agreement with Taoiseach Leo Varadkar.
All the warring factions which are murdering civilians in the area should be taken off the stage. Starting with the Netanyahu Government in Tel Aviv, Hamas and any other faction who are a barrier to peace should be taken out of the game. The demand Israel should be wiped off the map must be dropped. The Zionist state which exists at the moment should be forced out and a new, reformed and smaller and democratic Israel put in its place. The other idea, perhaps applicable in any other situation, but not this one due to historical factors, is a non-starter. That is, Israel goes and a unified Palestine be born where ‘Jews can live’. Given the historical experiences of the Jewish people dating back to the 12th century and before, why should these people have any faith or confidence in such an arrangement? Did they not consider themselves safe in Russia before the ‘Pale of Settlement’? Equally, did the Jewish community not feel safe in Germany until Hitler came to power? The answer to both these is yes they did feel safe and look what happened. Why then should they feel safe in the proposed new Palestine where ‘Jewish people can live’? I know I wouldn’t if I was Jewish, would you?
The victims in this almighty murderous mess, the Israeli hostages whose fate is unknown to all but Hamas, and the Palestinian people of Gaza who are being bombed out of existence are the real sufferers. The Palestinians are being pulled in a three way-no-win situation. On the one hand, Egypt is refusing, so far, to open the ‘Rafah Pass’ which is the border crossing between Gaza and Egypt. Therefore, the Palestinians cannot cross into Egypt. On the other, Israel is not allowing aide to cross their border into Gaza because if they do, the bombing and killing of Palestinians would have to stop for fear of bombing the aide convoys. In the centre Hamas are telling the Palestinian people of Gaza to “ignore the Israeli warnings to move south, and stay where they are”, three not very appetising choices. Cold blooded murder by all concerned with one side, the Zionists, backed all the way by the USA and the West. What fucking hope for the Palestinian refugees?
The situation in the region is affecting many walks of life not least sport. In Britain on Monday 9th October Arab and Muslim sportsmen in Cricket, Football and Rugby held a meeting. At this meeting it was decided if the Wembley Arch was illuminated in Israeli flag colours before or during the friendly football match between England and Australia on Friday 13th October at Wembley these sports competitors stated “they would walk off the pitch if respect was not shown to the Palestinians lost in the conflict.” Earlier Jewish supporters of all three games had condemned the sporting authorities for “staying quiet” about what they described as; “the worst atrocity since the holocaust”. The Wembley authorities decided against lighting up the arch much to the annoyance of the British Government and the Israeli Football Association. The Irish Dailly Mirror on Saturday 14th October reported; “Rabbi quits in FA refusal”. This was in reference to “the Chair of the Faith in Football group” resigning over the FA's refusal to illuminate Wembley in the Israeli flag colours. “Rabbi Alex Goldberg has told the FA that Faith in Football will no longer be working with them”. This group appear to be a religious faction, which is their right, which refuse to see the crimes of both Hamas and the Israeli defence forces. The IDF have committed by far the most war crimes which ‘Faith in Football’ conveniently do not mention. Equally, “two wrongs do not make a right”, for once I have semi-agreement with Taoiseach Leo Varadkar.
All the warring factions which are murdering civilians in the area should be taken off the stage. Starting with the Netanyahu Government in Tel Aviv, Hamas and any other faction who are a barrier to peace should be taken out of the game. The demand Israel should be wiped off the map must be dropped. The Zionist state which exists at the moment should be forced out and a new, reformed and smaller and democratic Israel put in its place. The other idea, perhaps applicable in any other situation, but not this one due to historical factors, is a non-starter. That is, Israel goes and a unified Palestine be born where ‘Jews can live’. Given the historical experiences of the Jewish people dating back to the 12th century and before, why should these people have any faith or confidence in such an arrangement? Did they not consider themselves safe in Russia before the ‘Pale of Settlement’? Equally, did the Jewish community not feel safe in Germany until Hitler came to power? The answer to both these is yes they did feel safe and look what happened. Why then should they feel safe in the proposed new Palestine where ‘Jewish people can live’? I know I wouldn’t if I was Jewish, would you?
The victims in this almighty murderous mess, the Israeli hostages whose fate is unknown to all but Hamas, and the Palestinian people of Gaza who are being bombed out of existence are the real sufferers. The Palestinians are being pulled in a three way-no-win situation. On the one hand, Egypt is refusing, so far, to open the ‘Rafah Pass’ which is the border crossing between Gaza and Egypt. Therefore, the Palestinians cannot cross into Egypt. On the other, Israel is not allowing aide to cross their border into Gaza because if they do, the bombing and killing of Palestinians would have to stop for fear of bombing the aide convoys. In the centre Hamas are telling the Palestinian people of Gaza to “ignore the Israeli warnings to move south, and stay where they are”, three not very appetising choices. Cold blooded murder by all concerned with one side, the Zionists, backed all the way by the USA and the West. What fucking hope for the Palestinian refugees?