The Olive Branch or The Gun?

by Jafar M Ramini

“Today I come bearing an olive branch in one hand, and the freedom fighter’s gun in the other. Do not let the olive branch fall from my hand. I repeat, do not let the olive branch fall from my hand.”
Yasser Arafat November 13th 1974 UN General Assembly.

The late Abu Ammar – Yasser Arafat -believed not only his Arab and Muslim brothers, but the whispers of Western leaders when they said, “only with negotiations can the Palestinians gain any independence or a state of their own”. Eventually, this olive branch was raised and the gun was holstered, if not to say, buried forever.

How could a leader of a Freedom Movement have believed those empty promises and resorted to so-called ‘peace negotiations’? I don’t know. But that is history. What I do know is that for any negotiations to succeed the teams must have equal power and equal positions internationally. We were, and still are, the weaker partner and we were, and now even more so, shunned and demonised by western powers who are ready to brand even the sight of a gun in our hands as ‘terrorism’.

We all know what the Oslo Accords and the peace negotiations brought to us since that fatal day on The White House lawn 26 years ago. Arafat, for his efforts to negotiate peace with the Israelis, was rewarded with imprisonment, isolation, humiliation and eventually assassination. The State of Palestine that he was promised never did materialise, and if you examine the conditions on the ground nowadays in Occupied Palestine there is no hope in hell of it ever happening.

What the Oslo Accords did give us was more land theft, more Palestinian blood-shed, more deportations and forcible removals, more imprisonment without charges or trial, instead torture and deprivation of basic requirements for a decent, civilised life. Two million Palestinians are encased and isolated in appalling, sub-human conditions, not even allowed a simple, clean sip of water or a light into their homes, or any basic needs of day-to-day life. On the contrary they are suffocated, bombarded and murdered.

The settlements in Occupied Palestine since the Accord have tripled in size. Nowadays there are 140 settlements and outposts and there are over 700,000 settlers living in them.

As for the olive branch? That was particularly targeted. Over a million olive trees in Palestine have been either chopped to pieces by chain-saws or unrooted and burnt. Every year the feral Jewish settlers on the land, protected and supported by the Israeli Occupation Forces hijack the olive harvest and prevent the Palestinian farmers from attending to their trees. No, brother Abu Ammar, I am afraid that peace with the people who are hell-bent on our total annihilation is simply not possible.

They don’t consider us as equals. Not even human beings. To them we are beasts. They don’t acknowledge our existence and they deny our very humanity. Many a Zionist leader has declared openly their intention to colonise the land by all means possible. And they have. Ben-Gurion, considered to be the founding father of Israel put it succinctly and clearly back in 1948.

“We must use terror, assassination, intimidation, land confiscation and the cutting of all social services to rid the Galilee of its Arab population.”

That was then and since that time many a Zionist leader has come out with more blatant statements to show their genocidal and expansionist intent. It is not limited to politicians or even army generals. Rabbi Kashtiel, is the head of the highest religious school for army veterans in the settlement of Illit. Besides being a religious authority, Rabbi Kashtiel is a major power in Israel especially in the military and political arena and his teaching, unashamedly, is on a Youtube video.

“Even if not one bullet was fired, even if the residents of Gaza would be constantly offering us flowers, with love-letters and drawing of hearts, we would be obliged, even on the Sabbath, to start a war to conquer Eretz Israel,” he says.

“We are in no danger. Our hand is strong. It our duty to conquer. It is a holy commandment.”

Enough said.

This belligerent and murderous mentality is commonplace in Israeli society. Poll after poll after poll show Israeli society’s over-whelming support for the hardest military doctrine and the harshest occupation, expulsion and annihilation of Palestinians.

Gideon Levy, renowned Israeli columnist for Haaretz daily Newspaper, reflecting on the latest intended and unnecessary massacre wrote these words In an article entitled, “No-one In Israel Knew They Were Committing a Massacre. And They Didn’t Care”

“None of our heroes knew. The ones who always know everything suddenly didn’t know. The ones who can track down the son of a wanted man in a Damascus suburb didn’t know that sleeping inside their miserable hovel in Dir al-Balah was an impoverished family.

“They, who serve in the most moral army and the most advanced intelligence services in the world, didn’t know that the flimsy tin shack had long since stopped being part of the “Islamic Jihad infrastructure,” and it’s doubtful that it ever was. They didn’t know and they didn’t bother to check — after all, what’s the worst that could happen?”

The worst that could happen did happen. The murder of eight members of the same family. Five of them were children under the age of 13. All were civilians with no connection to any of the factions operating from Gaza.

The reason that Israel can continue on its murderous, expansionist way with no care in the world and with impunity is because of the total support of most Western powers, especially the United States of America, the silence of the international community and I am ashamed to say, the collaboration of many of the members of the Arab League.

This blanket, subservient support has been multiplied a thousand-fold since Donald Trump entered The White House. His administration is manned to the brim with Zionist sympathisers, hardened Zionists and dual Israeli/American citizens. Since he came to power he supported every illegal move by Benjamin Netanyahu’s Far Right government. Last year, while the Israeli Occupation Forces were murdering Palestinian civilians during the March of Return at the security fence at Gaza Mr Trump gifted them Jerusalem.

Yesterday, as another 34 innocent Palestinian civilians were massacred and before their blood had even dried on the ground, Trump’s Secretary of State, Mr Pompeo announced that “The Trump Administration is reversing the Obama Administration’s approach towards Israeli settlements. Calling the establishment of civilian settlements ‘inconsistent with international law’ hasn’t worked.”

In other words, the settlements are suddenly legal. Mr Trump and his Secretary of State are unilaterally re-writing the international rule book in favour of their friends and allies in Israel. And when you are the most powerful empire known to man ruled by a sociopath and narcissist who has surrounded himself with evangelical Zionists, who is going to stop you?

To all the leaders of the PLO in Ramallah, do you think that there are any more manoeuvres left for you to make?

To all the factions of the resistance in Gaza, after yet another massacre of our people do you think that it is time to re-think your policies?

To the Palestinian Authority and Hamas, the picture of our future in Palestine and that of our children and grandchildren could not be more bleak at this time. Do you think it is time to put your political differences and ambitions aside and unite as one against an enemy who is hell-bent on our annihilation?

To all my Palestinian brothers and sisters, no matter where you are, do you think that we should continue raising the olive branch?

Jafar M Ramini is a Palestinian writer and political analyst, based in London, presently in Perth, Western Australia. He was born in Jenin in 1943 and was five years old when he and his family had to flee the terror of the Urgun and Stern gangs. Justice for the people of Palestine is a life-long commitment.

Why Palestine?

by Jafar M Ramini

Is it because when ‘God’ created this land, with its sweeping landscapes, its proud hills, its sweet streams, its succulent figs, its crunchy grapes, its juicy oranges and its mighty olive trees he was overwhelmed with its beauty? Maybe because of all this he decided to call this land his own and, as such, plagued it or blessed it from here to eternity.

The people who follow this God – ‘the people of the book’ – Jews, Christians and Muslims – have each had a different claim and a different relationship with the Holy Land. Through history this relationship, based on religious affiliation and fervour has plagued Palestine and soaked it in rivers of blood.

The recent manifestation of all this is the imported Jewish Zionists into the Holy Land. We all know about the Zionist movement of the late nineteenth century and the desire to usurp Palestine and call the land their own. We also know the enormous efforts that were employed by the Christian Zionists to make this Jewish Zionist project a reality.

Recent events in America and the advent of Mr Trump being elected to the highest office in the land make a cause of deep concern not just for us Palestinians but all humanity. Mr Trump, his vice President, Mr Pence, his Secretary of State, Mr Pompeo and his National Security Advisor, Mr Bolton all claim to be Christian Evangelicals. For those not familiar with this branch of Christianity, the Christian evangelical belief centres around what is known in their bible as ‘The Rapture’. Adherents to this Rapture theory, and there are some 60 million of them, not only believe in the second coming of their Messiah, Jesus Christ, as per the prophecies, but also he will only appear when all the Jews of the world are gathered in Jerusalem, where, upon the appearance of Christ they will convert and be saved.

This Christian Evangelical belief was clearly displayed in Jerusalem last year when Mr Trump deemed it to be the Eternal Capital of Israel. There was the sombre, holier-than-thou, Vice President, Mr Mike Pence addressing the Knesset in the manner of a Pastor preaching to his congregation. Then came a real Pastor, Dr Robert Jeffress, proclaiming to the whole world, and I quote, “Thank you, Oh God, every day for giving us a President who stands on the right side of history, but more importantly, stands on the right side of you, oh God.”

It was a message not lost on Secretary of State, Mr Mike Pompeo when he said that Trump must have been sent to us by God.

Then, not to be outdone Pastor Haggee of Texas, founder and National Chairman of Christians United for Israel, gave a thundering benediction, pronouncing that “Jerusalem is where the Messiah will come to establish a Kingdom that will never end.”

Hmmmm. Pastor Hagee, can I remind you of the recent events in your country, where hundreds of thousands of the adherents and supporters of the God-sent Mr Trump shouted “send her back, send her back, send her back”, referring to the elected Congress-woman, Ilhan Omar? Also, please recall, the recent behaviour by Israel, the country that you hold so holy, when it refused to allow Congress-woman Omar and her colleague, Congress-woman Rachida Tlaib from entering Israel at the head of a congressional delegation from the United States.

In lieu of all this, if the Messiah was to turn up with his swarthy skin, dark hair and dark features and land in Houston or Austin or the Carolinas would he be met with braying, Evangelical Christians shouting “send him home, send him home, send him home”?

And if Jesus was able to go home, looking at the Far-Right government of Israel do you think that he would be allowed in?

Cause for concern, don’t you think?

Jafar M Ramini is a Palestinian writer and political analyst, based in London, presently in Perth, Western Australia. He was born in Jenin in 1943 and was five years old when he and his family had to flee the terror of the Urgun and Stern gangs. Justice for the people of Palestine is a life-long commitment.

A Zionist At The Helm

by Jafar M Ramini

This is the morning after the night before. This is the reality check. This is the most ominous thing that could happen to us Palestinians at this stage of our struggle against occupation and persecution. Britain has its new Prime Minister.

Who is Boris Johnson? The shambolic, disheveled, stuttering Boris Johnson we all know is but an act. it is a put up job to hide the real ambitious, narcissist and vain man who will not stop at anything, no matter what it is, to achieve his goal. Witness what Martin Hammond, his house-master at Eton wrote to Boris’s father in 1982 while the boy Johnson was under his care.

“Boris really has adopted a disgracefully cavalier attitude to his classical studies . . . Boris sometimes seems affronted when criticised for what amounts to a gross failure of responsibility (and surprised at the same time that he was not appointed Captain of the School for next half): I think he honestly believes that it is churlish of us not to regard him as an exception, one who should be free of the network of obligation which binds everyone else.”

So this is our new Prime Minister. He has a mixed heritage. He had a Turkish Muslim great grandfather on his father’s side and a Lithuanian Jewish Rabbi great grandfather on his mother’s side. He was born in New York, brought up in England, educated at Eton and finished off at Oxford via a must-do for aspiring Zionists, a spell at a Kibbutz. He was in Occupied Palestine in 1984 where he acquired his Zionist education and credentials.

“I am a passionate Zionist. I am a supporter of Israel. I believe in its existence. I’ve been on a kibbutz for heaven’s sake.” speaking on LBC radio, July 23 2019.

He is known for his strong views about the right of Israel to exist. Speaking in the House of Commons on the centenary of the Balfour Declaration, Johnson said in 2017: “A century after those words were written, I believe that the Balfour Declaration paved the way for the birth of a great nation. The State of Israel has prevailed over every obstacle, from the harshness of nature to the visceral hostility of its enemies, to become a free society with a thriving and innovative economy and the same essential values that we in Britain hold dear.

He never stopped to demonstrate his passion for Zionism and Israel. He does not shy away from ridiculing any supporters of Palestinian rights, specially the BDS movement. He has continuously criticised calls for a boycott of Israeli goods, describing the campaign as “completely crazy” and promoted by a “few lefty academics in corduroy jackets pursuing a cause”.

Welcome to the new Britain. Let’s hope we survive it.

Jafar M Ramini is a Palestinian writer and political analyst, based in London, presently in Perth, Western Australia. He was born in Jenin in 1943 and was five years old when he and his family had to flee the terror of the Urgun and Stern gangs. Justice for the people of Palestine is a life-long commitment.

The Lie Of The Century

by Jafar M Ramini

Well it’s happened. It’s real. Mr Jared Kushner, the son-in-law and Senior Advisor of President Trump has delivered 136 pages of lies, suppositions and conjuring tricks to seduce or compel us Palestinians to accept our fate and surrender our rights. What rights? As far as this document is concerned Palestinians have no rights whatsoever and as for a Palestinian perspective, what is that?

The Palestinians were not even invited to Manama, let alone considered. What about the Israelis? Were they there? Were they invited? On the face of it, no, but in reality they were amply represented. What is Jared Kushner if not the team captain for the Greater Israel Project? After all, he is Jewish, an ardent Zionist, an investor in the illegal settlements in Palestine and an advocate, par excellence, for Israeli survival and supremacy.

The Lie Of The Century, as I call it, is just that. A lie. From beginning to end, every word, every supposition of this long-winded deception is to ensure that the Greater Israel Project will advance unhindered and we, the Palestinians, are to accept the crumbs off the table of our land-lords. Or perish.

But, hang on a minute, how could an occupier who seized our land by brute force be made a legitimate land-lord over us? The answer is simple. In the Trumpian universe all that matters are power and Mammon. Isn’t this what the ‘Deal of The Century’ is all about? American/Israeli power exercised over us Palestinians without mercy? And what about the money? Oh yes, there is money, but it is not American nor Israeli money. It’s Arab money. To be extorted from despotic, Arabic regimes in the Gulf, as per usual. Trump demands and the Arab Regimes of the Gulf and Saudi Arabia oblige. If they don’t, as Mr Trump intimated, their shaky thrones wouldn’t last a week without US protection.

Mr Kushner promised $50 billion in Arab money to be divided between Palestine, Jordan and Egypt. Nowhere in the document was there any mention of Palestinian political rights, the right of return of the Palestinian refugees or even the Israeli occupation of Palestine. All was conveniently kicked into touch because it doesn’t matter, you see. What matters is Israeli survival and supremacy and the continued, rapid march of the Greater Israel Project.

I say ‘rapid march’ because who is to stop it? The Palestinians do not have an army, an airforce, a navy or even a coalition to stop this march. Jordan has already succumbed to American threats and promises of prosperity. The same goes for Egypt. Especially under the hand-picked President Abdul Fatah Alsisi, whose sole purpose is to neuter Egypt and serve as a facilitator for American and Israeli hegemony in our area.

Syria? Western powers, Israel and despotic Arab/Muslim states have made sure that Syria is taken out of the equation by embroiling it in a 7-year long devastating war.

The Gulf States? Saudi Arabia? Instead of stopping this advance of Greater Israel they are facilitating it by making a frantic rush towards normalisation with Israel and to form a coalition of the willing to combat a perceived threat from another Muslim country, Iran. The honourable exception is the State of Kuwait who refused to attend this farce and reaffirmed their total support of Palestinian rights and aspirations.

Let’s look closely at the word, ‘surrender’. Many of you might remember an article I wrote recently entitled, ‘Surrender Or Die’. It didn’t take too long for the Israelis to prove me right. There it is. From the Grand weasel’s mouth, none other than Danny Danon, the Israeli Ambassador to the UN. In an article entitled, ‘What’s Wrong With Palestinian Surrender”, published in the New York Times on June 24th, one day before the Manama ‘Workshop’. “Surrender”, he wrote,” is the recognition that in a contest, staying the course will prove costlier than submission.”

There you have it. To the victor the spoils.

And then comes the other Grand Weasel, Mr Jared Kushner, to deliver the message of surrender to a room full of weasels. All these aforementioned weasels, who have been gnawing at our heels for over a century omitted to consider one vital point. The Palestinian character and pride.

Surrender is not in our character. We’d rather die standing up, defending our rights than exist, kneeling at the feet of our self-appointed land-lords and benefactors.

Just in case any of those weasels calling for our surrender might have any interest in what we Palestinians want, here is how Executive Member of the PLO, Dr Hanan Ashrawi, put it.

Jafar M Ramini is a Palestinian writer and political analyst, based in London, presently in Perth, Western Australia. He was born in Jenin in 1943 and was five years old when he and his family had to flee the terror of the Urgun and Stern gangs. Justice for the people of Palestine is a life-long commitment.

The Nakba of Two Palestinians

by Jafar M Ramini

Do you ever sit with your thoughts and wonder what religion has done for you or to you?

As a Palestinian I often do and this is the reason that many years ago I declared myself to be agnostic. It is because of religion and unproven words in an old text called The Bible that a group of atheist Zionists from Europe declared that the land of my birth and that of my forefathers is theirs. And only theirs as ordained by their Bible.

All in the name of religion.

Seventy one years ago today those atheist Zionists, under the banner of their Jewish King David committed one of the most horrific crimes in history when they carried out a murderous assault on my country and my people. The result of which was tens of thousands of Palestinians killed, 800,000 Palestinians forcibly exiled and 78% of the historic land of Palestine stolen.

All in the name of religion.

In the process of that carnage and theft, almost 700 Palestinian towns and villages were destroyed and buried without trace. This is how the Jewish hero of the 1967 war, General Moshe Dayan described the ethnic cleansing of Palestine.

“Jewish villages were built in the place of Arab villages…There is no one place built in this country that did not have a former Arab population.” March 19th 1969.

All in the name of religion.

Mr David Ben Gurion, the founding father of the Zionist state had this to say:

“We must use terror, assassination, intimidation, land confiscation, and the cutting of all social services to rid the Galilee of its Arab population.”—David Ben-Gurion, May 1948, to the General Staff, from Ben-Gurion, a biography by Michael Ben-Zohar, Delacorte NY. 1978.

All in the name of religion.

And as if to exonerate himself he continued to say, “… I am not religious, nor were the majority of the early builders of Israel believers. Yet their passion for this land stemmed from the Book of Books … [The Bible is] the single most important book in my life.

All in the name of religion.

When Ben-Gurion reflected on the situation he and his Zionist partners created he admitted, “If I were an Arab leader, I would never sign an agreement with Israel. It is normal; we have taken their country. It is true God promised it to us, but how could that interest them? Our God is not theirs.”

All in the name of religion.

Our God is not theirs? Are not all the teachings in the so-called holy books about the one God and that we are all created in his image? But if the Zionists were to admit that our beliefs are on par with theirs then the creation of a state simply for Jews wouldn’t make sense. What does make sense to them is to make us look inferior, uncivilised and unruly to justify their colonisation and theft of our land. If you listen to the teachings of Rabbi Eliezer Kashtiel, head of the pre-military academy of Eli , an illegal settlement in the West Bank you can see how it works. He was speaking to school children when he said “Jews are the masters, Arabs are the slaves, this is not by chance, this is biology and genetics. They are happy to be slaves, they want to be slaves. Arabs want to live under occupation, because they can’t run a country or do anything, look at them, look what they look like”

The Knesset went one further last July when they passed the Nation State Bill, which reaffirms in no uncertain terms that self determination in the land of Israel is ‘exclusively for the Jews’ to the detriment of all other citizens or inhabitants of Israel. Which clearly explains the intentions of Mr Ben Gurion and what he had in store for us.

“We must do everything to insure they [the Palestinians] never do return….”

Successive Israeli leaders have kept to the word of their founding father. They are determined that we will never return. Not only that, they are equally determined that the entire land mass of Palestine, and I mean 100% of the land, is theirs and theirs alone. And if any of us Palestinians are left on this land our situation will be that of a slave serving his master.

All in the name of religion.

For over a year now the besieged Palestinians in Gaza, who are descendants of those expelled in 1948, have been marching to the separation fence between Gaza and Israel to demand their right of return. Only to be met with sniper fire, tear gas and missiles in full view of the international community. Were those snipers also pupils of Rabbi Eliezer Kashteil? Does this explain their callous disregard for Palestinian lives? And is this what religion is all about? Obviously it is if you are a Christian Evangelical, who will not only condone what Israel is doing to us but openly and actively encourage it. All in the hope that their Messiah will return and fulfil his promise to the faithful. This saviour or Messiah, might I add, was like me, a Palestinian. Does his hoped for return negate my return? Is this what religion is all about?

This article was inspired by a visit I made to the Matthias Church in Budapest and saw the ornate trappings of religious power beside an austere bust of the Christ with his crown of thorns.

Jafar M Ramini is a Palestinian writer and political analyst, based in London, presently in Perth, Western Australia. He was born in Jenin in 1943 and was five years old when he and his family had to flee the terror of the Urgun and Stern gangs. Justice for the people of Palestine is a life-long commitment.

New Zealand’s Black Friday

by Jafar M Ramini 

This morning, Friday the 15th March, we woke up to the horrendous news of the massacre of 49 people at two mosques in the city of Christchurch, New Zealand. A further 20 people are seriously injured.

Just the name of the city – Christchurch – and the mention of two mosques being attacked with the innocent, Muslim worshippers being mowed down, tells its own story. It reflects on the simple, harmonious nature of New Zealand and the total acceptance of the diverse nationalities and religious practices of the citizens and residents of that country. The perpetrator of of this unfathomable massacre is an Australian white supremacist male, 28 year old Brenton Tarrant. There was no doubt this was a cold-blooded, premeditated crime. Tarrant live-streamed on social media his entry into one of the mosques as he opened fire. He and three of his accomplices have been apprehended but the country is still on high alert and a state of lockdown.

This kind of wanton crime that we have seen in many western communities against Muslims is as a result of callous hate remarks made by various politicians and pundits against Islam. Chief amongst them are the likes of Mrs. Pauline Hanson and other politicians like her here in Australia who whip up hatred and rejection of Muslim residents and immigrants in this country. The blood of the victims of this massacre had not even dried before an abhorrent Australian politician went on twitter to fan the flames of Islamophobia and racial hatred.

Senator Fraser Anning tweeted: “Does anyone still dispute the link between Muslim immigration and violence?”

The Queensland senator also wrote: “As always, left-wing politicians and the media will rush to claim that the causes of today’s shootings lie with gun laws or those who hold nationalist views but this is all cliched nonsense.

“The real cause of bloodshed on New Zealand streets today is the immigration programme which allowed Muslim fanatics to migrate to New Zealand in the first place.”

Senator Anning, it is not the gun laws, nor the immigration that are the reasons for violence of this nature. It is people like you who open their mouths and spew the venom of their supremacist racism and their hate and rejection of the other.

It was good to see that both the current Prime Minister of Australia, Scott Morrison and his predecessor condemned this bigotry in no uncertain terms.

“”The remarks by Senator Fraser Anning blaming the murderous attacks by a violent, right-wing, extremist terrorist in New Zealand on immigration are disgusting,” said Mr Morrison.

“Those views have no place in Australia, let alone the Australian Parliament.”

Former Australian prime minister Malcolm Turnbull wrote: “Fraser Anning’s comments today are contemptible.

“He is a disgrace to the Senate and what is worse by spreading hatred and turning Australians against each other he is doing exactly what the terrorists want.”

Then there is the compassionate, articulate reaction from New Zealand’s young Prime Minister, Ms Jacinda Ardern. Speaking from the heart she said,

“This is one of New Zealand’s darkest days. What has happened in Christchurch is an extraordinary act of unprecedented violence. It has no place in New Zealand. Many of those affected will be members of our migrant communities, they could be refugees – New Zealand is their home – they are us. The people who perpetrated these acts of violence are not.”

Senator Anning, this is what a real politician and leader sounds like. Despite the tragedy this young women has shone a light on how politicians should behave. Dear lady, I salute you.

To all the families, their friends and neighbours who were affected by this cold-blooded murder I offer my deepest condolences. God bless you all.

Jafar M Ramini is a Palestinian writer and political analyst, based in London, presently in Perth, Western Australia. He was born in Jenin in 1943 and was five years old when he and his family had to flee the terror of the Urgun and Stern gangs. Justice for the people of Palestine is a life-long commitment.

Good day to you all. Or is it?

by Jafar M Ramini 

Every time I watch anything to do with Israel on American TV, or listen to a radio report somewhere, or read an article in a newspaper or online, I am always confronted with the same slogan. “We must support our closest ally with whom we share values and a way of life. We must do our utmost to enable them to defend themselves against their many enemies who are vowed to destroy them. After all, they are the only democracy in the Middle East and our security is linked to theirs”.

This is the kind of wording that leads to many a proxy and unnecessary war fought on behalf of this so called vital ally, Israel, in the Middle East, Iraq, Libya, Syria and now in Yemen. This kind of unquestioning support of Israel continues in occupied Palestine despite the Palestinian Authority bending over backwards to accommodate their increasing demands. The Oslo Accord instead of being a ‘peace process’ was in fact a slow and overt process of entrenching the occupation, increasing the settlement buildings and oppressing even further the indigenous population. All this, despite Israel declaring itself a racist and apartheid state, keeping nearly two million Palestinians under lock and key in Gaza, Illegally might I add, for over eleven years while periodically invading Gaza and bombarding them at will.

Another war in the Middle East is very likely, very soon, if we the citizens of the world, especially in the west, don’t do whatever is in our power to stop it from happening. The war I am talking about is going to be against Iran. Why? Israel wants it because Iran is the only power in the Middle East that is perceived by Israel to be in the way of their expansionist ambitions and hegemony all over the Middle East. They have been demonising Iran, spreading lies about Iran and about its so-called belligerent intentions against the Apartheid State. All Israel has to do is cry ‘foul’ in Washington and all American politicians and generals alike jump to attention.

Two prominent American politicians, Mr John Bolton, Security Advisor to President Trump and Mr Mike Pompeo, Mr Trump’s Secretary of State, visited the Middle East in the last week, met with Mr Netanyahu and have both publicly pledged America’s ‘undying’ support for Israel and their firm intention to do whatever they can to stop the perceived Iranian aggression. The preparations for this imminent war are there for everyone to see.

Take a look at the mass movement of American naval vessels from the China Sea towards the Arabian Gulf and the Sea of Oman. There are reports that these ships number 63 so far. The American forces have shipped 60 of the latest, most advanced Patriot missiles to their base in Saudi Arabia. They moved a further 19 Patriot missiles to Kuwait, 10 to Bahrain and 23 to the UAE. All this machinery of war is weaponised, loaded and ready for action. American aircraft carriers have been stationed around Israel near to its border with Lebanon and two in the Sea of Oman, all armed with Patriot missiles. All of this in addition to reports that Israel has stationed eight Thad anti missile installations outside every city and four inside every city in Israel. The iron dome has been deployed and they have stationed Patriot missiles everywhere around the country.

Does this sound like the drums of war to you? It does to me and it carries with it all the horror and foreboding of outright war. As a Palestinian, whose people have suffered and are still suffering under a harsh regime of occupation, apartheid and oppression, I see no end in sight because of this unbridled and unfettered support.

Are the American people aware of what is in store for us all? I very much doubt it. Because the people who are supposedly there to serve them and protect them are actually in service to a foreign power.

Have a look at this.

https://www.paulcraigroberts.org/2019/01/10/americans-need-a-congress-that-represents-americans/

Jafar M Ramini is a Palestinian writer and political analyst, based in London, presently in Perth, Western Australia. He was born in Jenin in 1943 and was five years old when he and his family had to flee the terror of the Urgun and Stern gangs. Justice for the people of Palestine is a life-long commitment.