Resistance in Palestine
The International Press fails yet again



Yet again the propaganda justification machine trundles into operation as events in Palestine take another dive. The Palestinians have broken the truce, Israel has shown infinite patience, the world is duped once more...

As the ceasefire in Palestine comes to a seemingly crashing halt, the worlds media predictably points the finger at the Palestinian groups for the failure of agreement. Hamas, Islamic Jihad and the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades among others are blackened in the eyes of the world once more as the international community yet again looks on with impotence. No one spoke of Israels non participation in the ceasefire agreement. No important newsflash informed us of the massive land grab still under way via the building of the seperation wall or the increase in settlement construction. There were no press statements on the Israeli governments refusal to even negotiate the right of return or their renewed aggression towards Syria and Lebanon.
Bold headlines, as always, proclaim the Palestinian human bomb attacks but only the small print explains why and for what the event was in retaliation for. The familliar buzz words are on the lips of the war correspondants once more as they trundle out their tired re-hash of the government approved version of events. Terrorism, Millitants, Suicide Bombers, Islamic Extremism, the list is endless...

But when all is said and done, the news bulletins end with the viewer still devoid of any information or fact on the stories dark & dangerous villains. Strange how an article written on any given subject ends without a refrence, quote or a simple background fact. The subject of the article remains as unknown to the viewer as it was before, aside from the newly formed notion that they are the bad guys.

We all know which group the human bomber came from. Clips of archival footage, showing masked men brandishing an array of weaponry, would also seemingly confirm the terrorist nature of that group.
But there the facts, what precious few of them there are, end. Who are these groups? Where did they come from? What is their purpose? What incites these people to violence? Why so many diffrent groups seemingly sharing the same purpose?
The Palestinian resistance groups are many. They are the men, women and children of the Intifada, the indiginous people of Palestine. Their purpose, an act of defiance to their oppressors, a national struggle. The trigger of their involvement parrallels that of the ridicule and suffering endured by their own famillies at the hands of their occupiers. Their aims, to free their children from a bloody legacy forced upon them and a desire to protect them from it.
Simplified like that, the groups become less mysterious, less unknown. A national struggle against oppression is known to everyone around the world and many have endured it. India, Ireland, South Africa, Cambodia, Cuba, Russia, even our own Scotland. But, unlike Scotland, the Palestinians dont have a France to ally themselves with. Nor the many enemies of England like the Irish, or the inspirational face of a young hero like Che Guevara to inspire support around the world. Palestine it seems is on its own.

The next news bulletin you read describing a human bomb attack, dont be too quick to condemn. The body count in the occupied territories weighs heavy on the one side, the opposite side that is, from the martyrs. You cannot judge that which you cannot comprehend, you can only try and understand.
If it were not for the semi-organised armed resistance, the Palestinians would have been forgotten long ago. They would probably even now be herded into their desert ghettos, fenced in, starved of food & water, denied their very identity. The new seperation wall serves no other purpose than that. How long ago would it have been built had it not been for the Palestinian determination and how long after would Israel look to what it sees as its rightful heritage, the land between the Nile and the Euphrates and all that exists between them.
Killing is wrong. We all know this, but still we choose a side of the conflict and label the good guys and the bad guys accordingly. Either all killing is wrong or none of it is. You cannot have both.