The myth of the ‘cycle of violence’
Published
by
Richard Kuper
JVL Introduction
Amjad Iraqi tackles head on the myth of the cycle of violence which holds two sides equally to blame for the ongoing killings.
There is, he points out, no “cycle” here: violence is a constant, daily experience for Palestinians, it is intermittent and occasional for Jewish-Israelis. And it does not hurt both sides equally.
When Palestinians spotlight Israeli brutality, they are demanding the end of their oppression; when Israelis point to Palestinian violence, it is usually to justify that oppression.
This article was originally published by the Landline, +972's newsletter on Tue 31 Jan 2023. Read the original here.
The myth of the ‘cycle of violence’
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When one recognises that the Israeli (Jews) are engaged in a process of (Christian Zionist-sponsored) ethnic cleansing, it is quite clear that the Israelis are not going to stop until Palestinians have been deprived sufficiently – whatever that constitutes!
Where there is an occupying power, under international law:-
Collective punishment is prohibited.
The taking of hostages is prohibited.
Reprisals against protected persons or their property are prohibited.
The confiscation of private property by the occupant is prohibited.
Which of these War Crimes has Israel NOT committed?
“the myth of the cycle of violence which holds two sides equally to blame for the ongoing killings”. The IDF would come first in any shooting fish-in-a-barrel competition.
It’s a well trodden path which defends the guilty by this form of reporting, often used by the BBC and others. The Forde Report, while making some clear apportioning of blame to the Labour establishment, summed up the left/right conflict within the party in a similar way, thus debasing the facts which Forde had revealed, but were in any case so obvious to anyone who actually read the Report.
P.S. The 9, later 10 Palestinians killed which began the latest killings, hardly raised a murmur until reported as a postscript to the reports on the Israeli deaths. It was ever thus.
As the Chinese saying goes: “You can’t equate the burglar with the householder.”