By Marney Blom
Pro-Palestinian demonstrations erupted across the globe last Friday after former Hamas leader, Khalad Mashal, instructed Muslims worldwide to stage a Jihad — a day of rage and holy war. From Iran and Afghanistan to France and New York City, countless thousands of protesters took to the streets. Many shouted “Death to Israel” and “Free Palestine” while others carried banners identifying Israel as an apartheid state. Hundreds of thousands flooded the streets in front of the Israeli Embassy in Amman, Jordan in support of the Palestinian Arab cause in Gaza.
The death toll of innocent Palestinian Arabs caught in the cross-fire has risen to 3,500 civilians, the result of Israel’s retaliatory response to Hamas’ deadly surprise attack on October 7, 2023. Nonetheless, it has been reported that Hamas militants have blocked civilians from fleeing to the south for safety from the imminent destruction of Gaza City. The tiny Zionist state, the sole democracy in the region, is still reeling from the surprise attack and barbaric slaughter of 1,300 of its citizens and capture of more than 130 Israeli and dual nationals one day after the 50th anniversary of the Yom Kippur War. Pro-Palestinian supporters nonetheless claim that the people of Gaza are the victims and have waged a propaganda war across the globe.
Here are some of the key narratives circulating in the media fact-checked against the realities on the ground.
PALESTINE
Prior to World War II, Palestine was home to three diverse groups of people: Palestinian Jews, Palestinian Arabs and Palestinian Christians. Each group had its own unique religious tie to the land. However, after the 1967 Six Day War, the Arabs in the region began calling themselves “Palestinians”. It was a subtle form of branding that implied only they had a unique tie to the land despite the 3000-year-old Jewish presence that pre-dated them.
In Hebrew, Palestine reads the same as the word “Philistine” — the name given to the region by Roman general Titus after he successfully led the siege of Jerusalem in 70 AD. The name Palestine had first appeared in the writings of 5th century BC Greek historian Herodotus.
Starting with the 1936 Peel Commission, Arabs in the region have been offered statehood five times by international bodies and five times they have rejected it. To date there has been no formal acceptance and ratification of a Palestinian state by the Arab themselves, yet mainstream media regularly uses the word Palestine, and the U.N. has given Palestine a seat at the table as an Observer State.
HOW TO FREE PALESTINE?
The Gaza Strip fell into the hands of the Israelis as a result of the 1967 Six Day War, however it was unilaterally given back in 2005 as an olive branch and goodwill gesture to bring peace to the region. Immediately, the strip was swallowed up and controlled by Hamas — Arab terrorists and Iran proxies who have since fired tens of thousands of rockets into Israel. So much for peace!
When the Israelis exited from Gaza, they left behind productive farms and some of the most beautiful Mediterranean beaches and coastline. Instead of utilizing the farms and creating a flourishing tourism industry, they purposely and demonstratively destroyed it and made themselves dependent on Israel instead.
Despite their behaviour, Gazans have received billions of aid dollars to develop infrastructure. Instead of using the funds for farming, water desalination and energy independence, they built palaces for their leaders and stockpiled missiles to terrorize Israel.
In 2008, when I toured a police station in Sderot — an Israeli border town adjacent Gaza — on display were thousands of Hamas rockets that had been fired into Israel. These deadly weapons were made out of piping intended for the construction of sewage systems in Gaza, and were a gift from Israel. Instead, the materials were used to build rockets to kill innocent Israeli citizens.
Hamas has not only shown complete disregard for the welfare and safety of its own people, but it continues to bite the hand that feeds it.
As “Free Palestine” chants echo in demonstrators around the globe, Israeli Defense Spokesperson Jonathan Conricus, in a recent CBN interview with Gordon Robertson, agreed. Free Palestine from Hamas!
Pray for restraint and containment of the current war in Gaza, and for a minimum loss of life. Pray the Palestinian Arabs be set free from Hamas’ reign of terror.
To be continued: Israel’s 911 part 4
Marney Blom is news director for the Acts News Network
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