Saturday 14 March 2009

THE WEST BANK ~ DE FACTO STATE OF LAWLESSNESS


This intriguing short film is completely riveting and full of visual insight into the problems in the West Bank area of Hebron. It is filmed in Tel Rumeida.

Most of us in the West do not really understand life on the West Bank as experienced by the Palestinian people. The scene is usually painted as one of terrorist Palestinians taking their ire out on hapless immigrants moved to Israel for a better life. The truth is very very different that that. Nor do we understand the seemingly irrational and hate filled behaviour of the settlers in this area.

These answers will be found in this short documentary. Many parts are subtitled so it is possible to really "get" the action. I know I learned a lot that explains the animal like behaviour of the settlers and their actions towards their Palestinian neighbours. It explains how and why the children of the settlers are combative, aggressive, and rude beyond belief. Once you see a Settler mother teaching her children better rock throwing techniques, or advising them of better places to hurt the Palestinians, you understand.

Such blatant hatred and racism is rarely seen on film. To learn that most of these Settlers around Hebron are members of terrorist Zionist groups encouraged to live here, with the hope of driving out all Palestinians, explains a lot. It certainly does not excuse, but it shows where it comes from. What I found extremely interesting is some of the worst terminology and attitudes come from Settlers with American and British accents. (13:00)

In North America, among the natives there was a custom termed "running the gauntlet". The members of the tribe would form two columns facing each other and those who were newly captured and, naked, had to run the distance and survive the rocks, sticks, punches, attempts at tripping, etc of the tribe. This is almost the same for Palestinian children every day going to and from school. Such events are painfully well documented here. And, once again, some of the most aggressive children were clearly of American families, their accents giving them away in this.

The terrifying thought is that these loathsome children serve their time in the IDF. This clearly explains the actions of many of the military towards the Palestinians during the recent horrors perpetrated on the Gazan populace. If they come from such backgrounds, they would take grim pleasure in murdering and maiming the Palestinian people.

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