As Israel slaughters its way through Gaza, it’s frustrating to watch discussions get confused by the daily complexities of the conflict, because the underlying truth is incredibly simple: the Zionists that now firmly control Israeli government intend to take permanent control of Gaza, making it a part of their nation. There is no nuance or balance needed to see the big picture. This might be illegal, brutal and savage, but nobody can claim not to understand it. To illustrate the point, here are four maps showing Israel and Palestine at various points in the past century. Gaza is the little strip of green on the coast on the left.

In Israel’s colonial plan, Gaza is a minor issue. The real prize is the West Bank, and as the map shows, that is being taken one settlement, one house at a time. Those spots of green are getting smaller every day. They are little spots of misery in a wealthy land, lacking the water, roads and other infrastructure available to the rest of Israel, and facing regular violence from Israeli settlers, who are backed by IDF forces. The biggest prize of all is Jerusalem, and as the map shows, that was once clearly part of Palestine, and is now being surgically extracted and grafted on to Israel.
From a historical point of view, the events in Israel-Palestine are fascinating to watch. Once, such land grabs were commonplace. In fact, every point on Earth was once inhibited by different racial and tribal groups: America and Australia were, of course, not white, England wasn’t Anglo-Saxon and China wasn’t Chinese. But blatant colonialism has mostly been banished into history. Israel-Palestine is (one can hope) the last example of a once normal class of human behaviour. It is also the only colonial takeover ever to be recorded in such minute detail on social media.
In 2005, Israel withdrew all Jewish settlers from Gaza. At the time, this was hailed as progress; but Israel had no intention of staying out, or of allowing Gaza to operate a normal economy or society. As soon as the withdrawal finished, a savage blockade was begun, ostensibly to prevent terrorist attacks. Gazans (including children) were terrorised, arrested, tortured, humiliated. Gazan fishermen were prevented by the Israeli navy from legally fishing, often coming under gunfire. Denied building materials and fuel, infrastructure crumbled. Disease spread and life expectancy fell. Gaza remained a desperate place, isolated even from the main body of Palestinian life in the West Bank.
The Hamas Myth
So it’s no surprise that support for the conservative Hamas grew in Gaza, creating a rift between Gazans and those in the West Bank who largely supported the secular Fatah movement. Hamas’ rise was aided by Israel, which benefited by sowing division in Palestine, and by creating for itself an “extremist” enemy. In the propaganda war, Hamas has repeatedly proven itself useful to Israel, as has been seen again in the current conflict, confusing observers into believing that Israel actually needs to defend itself against a mortal enemy.
Hamas was elected to power in Gaza in 2006, much to Zionist delight. Now the Israeli population could be whipped up into an eternal state of fear against the extremists, and the lines between Hamas and all Palestinians could be repeatedly blurred. It is often pointed out that Hamas calls for nothing less than the destruction of the state of Israel, and this is true, but it is falsely claimed that Hamas could never be persuaded to recognise Israel. Hamas has often proven itself far more pragmatic than the “terrorist” image crafted by Israel.
Hamas has come close, at various times, to reaching a peace agreement. But Israel has never wanted peace, and nor does it want a Hamas “monster” that turns out not to be monstrous after all. Conciliatory Hamas leaders have repeatedly been assassinated by Israel: this fact alone exposes the lie that peace has ever been on offer. In 2012, Hamas leader Ahmed Jabari was close to signing a peace agreement, and so Israel, true to form, murdered him. Hamas has never been a serious obstacle to peace: Israel is the only obstacle to peace, because accepting peace would mean abandoning the colonial Zionist project of taking all of Palestine.
Again, in the current conflict, Hamas’ demands have not been extreme. Hamas has offered Israel 10 conditions for a lasting truce. The conditions are all reasonable, and in most cases simply demand that Israel complies with international law. And yet, Israel rejects them, and thanks to the lies of global media and governments, the public is allowed to believe the “peace with Hamas is impossible” lie.
Hamas is widely disliked by most Palestinians, and is largely powerless; and yet the ongoing slaughter is presented as a “war” between two sides. Such is the comedy of Zionist propaganda.
The Genocide
Since withdrawing from Gaza in 2005, Israel has alternated between providing slow death and fast death for the people of Gaza. During Operation Cast Lead in 2008/09, around 1,400 Palestinians were killed. Around half of these were civilians; those classed as “fighters” included many Palestinian police, who had been deemed a valid military target by Israel. The UN’s report, carried out by Richard Goldstone (a Jew), made clear that Israel had been repeatedly guilty of war crimes and violations of humans rights.
Besides the human cost, Israel destroyed or damaged schools, hospitals and 20,000 homes during Cast Lead. Once the conflict was over, a resumed blockade ensured that these could not be rebuilt. Gaza became increasingly unfit for human existence: in 2009, the UN reported that Gaza’s water supply was close to collapse – and yet Israel continued to blockade any investment in infrastructure. This has been nothing less than slow genocide, carried out in full view of the world.
Those Rockets
So Hamas has blindly fired puny rockets at Israel. Didn’t Native Americans have the right to fire arrows at white settlers, even if the act was futile? The firing of rockets is futile, and plays into Israel’s hands. But what. The fuck. Are Palestinians supposed to do? By way of comic interlude, here’s a cat being startled by a scary Hamas rocket.
The Anti-Semitism Shield
As a Jew, I have no fear in attacking Israel, but many of my non-Jewish friends tell me that they often hold back for fear of the standard “anti-Semite” attack. During this current attack on Gaza, I’ve been heartened to see increasing numbers of Jews, in the UK, US, Israel and elsewhere, standing up for Palestinians. Ex-IDF soliders too have been speaking out. In doing so, they help burst the myth that this conflict is about Jew against Arab, or Jew against Muslim.It is true that anti-Semitism is, and has been for centuries, a powerful force, especially in Europe. It may well also be true that European anti-Semitism is on the rise. In part, that rise is the result of Israeli terrorism. Europe’s Jews can’t expect support from Israel’s Zionists; indeed, the Zionist wet dream is that an upsurge in violence against Jews in Europe will drive us to Israel, increase the Jewish population there, and add strength to the conquest of Palestine.
The Final Solution for Gaza
Oh – did I mention that Gaza has an estimated $4bn of gas reserves?
So it has been obvious, for years, that Israel’s 2005 withdrawal from Gaza was a temporary step, rather than an acceptance that Palestinians could keep hold of that little coastal strip of land. The question was when, and how, they would seize Gaza.
Today, we began to learn. The map below was tucked away at the bottom of a BBC news article. Israel, which has already killed over a thousand in the current conflict, and maimed countless more, declared a “buffer zone” in Gaza, and advised civilians to leave it. The problem with this announcement being that the zone takes up almost half of Gaza. Or, in other words, Gazans are being squeezed into half the previous space: and Gaza was, already one of the most densely populated places on the planet. Gazans (half of them children) are, as we speak, being driven into the sea.
If this isn’t genocide, what is? Will the world wake up? If not now, when?
