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Kawther Salam – The Rockets of Hunger and Israeli Propaganda

By Kawther Salam • Dec 26th, 2008 at 6:42 • Category: Analysis, Features, Israel, Newswire, Palestine, Resistance

I received a message from the photojournalist and peace activist Sameh Habeeb from Gaza while I was looking at the news in the Austrian TV, which pierced my ears with talk about the rockets which Hamas supposedly shoots at the "innocent Israeli occupation" which has jailed one and half million in Gaza since before Al-Aqsa Intifada broke out.

This rocket picture was published at the ORF website (Pic Credit: MOHAMED SABER/EPA/ORF)

This rocket picture was published at the ORF website (Pic Credit: MOHAMED SABER/EPA/ORF)

The rockets shown on Austrian TV looked to me like the fancy Bengala Rockets which are shot here while celebrating new year, and the clips shown on TV raise many questions:

- The picture published at the ORF website is credited to "MOHAMED SABER/EPA". Those are two first names and no family name. Who is this person? Why does he not present himself with a family name as any Arab would do? Does he exist at all or is he a fabrication?

- The rockets depicted in that picture (and on the video) look more like the fancy bengalas which can be bought in many shops all over the world before festivities than any known weapon.

- These so-called "rockets" appear to not have place for fuel or an engine, but they are supposed to fly 10-15Km ? How do they accomplish this miracle?

- How did ORF and other western media come into possession of this video which supposedly shows "Hamas fighters" shooting rockets from between fruit trees? Was it distributed by the Israeli embassy? Neither Austrian nor other western journalists are known to go to Gaza, so they can only have received them from the Israeli government, and that is what a link to exactly there from the ORF page suggests.

- If the firing of these rockets from Gaza can be doubted, from where else could they have been fired? From within Israeli territory perhaps? Could it be that the firing of these rockets is a propaganda campaign implemented by the IDF in order to "justify" a long-planned massacre against the people of Gaza?

- Could it be that the IDF is using the inhabitants of Sderot, Asqelon and other places around Gaza in order to construct a justification for genocide against a people who are already half hungered to death?

- Why did nobody ask these questions before showing the clip at several European TV stations? If western media are not sloppy in their research and their checking of sources but still publish material which is obvious propaganda, is it possible to say that this irresponsible and less than professional attitude, the wholesale regurgitation of Israeli propaganda, is tantamount to complicity in the genocide against the Palestinian people?

Even in the unlikely case that these rockets are "real", they would be an understandable yet lamentable reaction to years of illegal siege and murderous mayhem perpetrated by the Israeli regime. In this case they would be "rockets of hunger", wholly justified under international law, which allows an invaded people to defend itself with anything at their disposal.

The Israeli occupational regime is preparing to slaughter the besieged people of Gaza, and it is known that they are currently running a strong propaganda campaign around the world, controlling the international public opinion and turning their own crimes against humanity into "reactions" of the Gaza rockets.

The hungry people of Gaza under the Israeli blockade. (Pic Credit: Sameh Habeeb)

The hungry people of Gaza under the Israeli blockade. (Pic Credit: Sameh Habeeb)

The less than objective international media has adopted the Israeli propaganda wholesale, and continues repeating their falsified stories as a preparation for destroying Gaza over the heads of one and a half million mostly defenseless people, of whom about half are children.

Non of the European media has shown an objective picture about the real situation in Gaza, which is in fact and effect a concentration camp. Even during the previous truce between Israel and Gaza, the criminal state of Israel continued its blockade to hunger out and destroy to the Palestinians in Gaza.

I would ask the well-paid international dispensers of propaganda and the world governments some simple questions:

If somebody jails you in a ghetto for over six years, or even six days, denying you the most basic of human rights, continues blockading the ghetto, killing the sick people, occupying the sky, shelling, and killing people for no discernible reason, will you stay a peaceful people for even a second?
Is there any peace under the continued hunger and blockade?

This is the story of Gaza and of these useless rockets which you are using to justify the Israeli genocide, murdering, and jailing and starving people.

The message from the hungry people of Gaza, a voice lost under western propaganda and which more people should hear, follows. And here are more photos of the hungry Palestinians of Gaza.

Sameh Habeeb writes:

My Misery in Gaza pushed me to report on the Hunger of my people. I stopped by al shanty bakery mid of Gaza City. It is one of the biggest bakeries across Gaza which provides tens of thousands with bread. Hundreds of people crowded outside the bakery in a very long long row waiting for bag of bread. Children, women and men were awaiting the chance to have the bread which is totally running out in Gaza.

Abed Mas’od, 24, is a labour working in Al shanty bakery. I spoke to him whilst he was very busy preparing bread for thousands. I managed to get some information out of him.

Before the deadly crisis of bread which started 2 days ago; this bakery was preparing 30 bags of flour. But with today it makes around 100 each bag weights 60 Kilograms. Abed refers to this rise of bread-making quantity to the unrecorded request of population for bread which came after Israel ban flour into Gaza and closed borders.

"Our bakery is out of bread since days and what we have is only for another 24 hours. In fact, we have stopped our work yesterday as we ran out of flour. Now, we use grain (fodder) used for animals which will finish in hours." Bakery labor said.

Amongst the crowd a woman’s voice arose above all people in the row. She started to scream and appealed for God requesting a salvation and easing for life conditions. I came closer to the woman, then introduced myself and then started to ask her some questions. The woman, Om Ali Shoman,45, with a pale bleak face draws the suffering of entire populations.

She said, "This is our destiny. It’s a conspiracy machinated against us. What’s the fault of my children at home to stay with no bread. Did they fire rockets? Did they kill Israelis? Are they holding guns?

The number of Gaza bakeries is 47 but now the working ones are 14 only.
Normally, Gaza needs 450 tons of flour; 100 goes for bakeries and 300 for house use. Part of the house share flour is being provided by UNRWA which halted its work lately. The remaining flour and wheat quantities would be covering the needs of people except for few days.

Sameh A. Habeeb, B.A.
Gaza Strip, Palestine
Mob: 00972599306096
Tel: 0097282802825
E-mail: Sam_hab@hotmail.com
Sameh.habeeb@gmail.com

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Kawther Salam is a Palestinian journalist. She had a career of over 20 years working for various newspapers and TV stations in Palestine. She forced to live in the Exile in Vienna since 2002.
Email this author | All posts by Kawther Salam

29 Responses »

  1. That is an amazing article, Kawther. You are quite right! They look just like flare rockets that are on sale in some shops here during New Years! How come no one ever just looked at them and said it until now!?

  2. I agree, the mossad would happily oblige with any attacks required.

  3. Good writing! And if what you describe indeed turns out to be a fraud, it's of course neither the first nor the last time these bandits of zion are got caught with psychopathic lies. It appears to me that every sound which comes out through their svollen lips are only lies, lies, and bloody lies.

    Just a few words about the strong support for the Palestian side (in this conflict with the zionist creep) among swedish nationalists. It's a tremendous shame that swedish so called politicians have resigned under their jewish masters and branded Hamas as terrorists. But sooner or later these swedish traitors will be hung as a fair punishment after their creeping for evil US/Israel. Muslims living in Sweden are welcomed to join us ethnically swedish nationalists in the coming civil war, with the goal that Scandinavia (Sweden, Denmark and Norway) will become totally free from jewish maffia mongering and alike. And to Hell with this degenerated multi-culti! Sweden for the swedes. Palestina for the palestinian arabs. And what about the zionist all over the planet? To the tribunal with them! And let the guilty hang real slow. The rest can for sure try to build som new island of their own in the middle of the Pacific ocean, or someting similar – a tiny bit of Antartica perhaps?

    Hopefully our new year of 2009 will let us experience a total collapse of this long and murderous zionist occupation of Palestine. After all their horrible crimes, zionist jews and zionist whites (most often the last mentioned are christians) deserves nothing but death, and then hopefully an immediate further delivery to a quite hot place with everlasting, intensive pains for them.

    Hope You readers a very lucky 2009. Keep up the good fighting spirit against the enemies of all human kind. <<>>

  4. It is hardly surprising that investigating journalists do not question these type of rockets or the true facts – without exception US and UK media (newspapers and TV) are either Jewish owned or managed. There is simply no interest in the truth or the plight of the Palestinians in the camps. It is an outrage! Where is the United Nations censure? Where are our politicians? Answer: funded by Jewish organisations and members of the Labour Friends of Israel and Conservative Friends of Israel in the UK for instance.

  5. Yes ;

    it's another pathetic, false Flag Propaganda message.

    Typical of the of the lies churned out

    by the International Rothschild Zionist Banking
    .
    One World Govternment Lot.

    Reminds me of the story I listened to in Primary School;

    "The Greek Shepherd Boy Who Cried Wolf!"

    An Awake Down Under Aussie.

  6. Frankly , ……no apologies!

    I do not intend changing it Mate.

    I'm an Up Front True Aussie ;

    who believes in speaking his mind and telling the truth .

    The Gaza Strip Palestinians

    are being deliberately denied

    United Nations Food supplies

    that is readily available

    by the Zionist Israelis.

    This Is Genocide!

    An Aussie Down Under.

  7. While I was reading this article, another sad news occured. The Zionist has launced an attack . 120 Palestinians died. I am very sad and I cried.
    Where is justice in this world ?Are the powerful nations deaf and blind ?
    Thank you Kawther Salam. Yes you are right. The fabricated news was just a farce. It was an excuse to do a massive kill. And nobody not even the UN is doing anything about it.
    May God have mercy on those poor Pelestinians. May God rightfully deal with the aggresors. Amen.

  8. [...] Here are some questions about those rockets: The picture published at the ORF website is credited to "MOHAMED SABER/EPA". Those are two first names and no family name. Who is this person? Why does he not present himself with a family name as any Arab would do? Does he exist at all or is he a fabrication?The rockets depicted in that picture (and on the video) look more like the fancy bengalas which can be bought in many shops all over the world before festivities than any known weapon. [...]

  9. It amazes me with disgust as I monitor the various stories this morning about this disgusting act of violence against my fellow humans, those I consider equal, regardless of their beliefs. What constitutes a valuable story? Obviously not almost 200 deaths in a war torn, starving city. I couldn't believe how hard it was to find good information about this. One article here, one there, all with conflicting stories. Most of which were buried under supposedly more important headlines of about post xmas sales reports. Woopie, let's beat a dead horse and let Israel have it's private genocide. Has anyone noticed the conflicting stories about the supposed rocket attacks coming from Gaza? Israeli military claim hundreds, apparently 3000 since the end of the cease fire, yet where is the destruction? I've seen one video of a house that was hit, while the residents were home, sleeping. No one injured? How about the others? No wonder the Creator abandoned his people to there hateful and prideful ways. They claim to be representatives of the God of Love and Peace but yet prove false to it. Still, I do find comfort in having accurate knowledge to the unfolding of the final events in the last days of this wicked and corrupt world. Look forward to the completion of the prophecy in Revelation: The UN will turn on Organized Religion, the cause of all these atrocities you see today. Followed by turning it's attention to God's true worshipers and like someone touching you eye, which constitutes and immediate responce, Jehovah will destroy all these nations, freeing obedient mankind.

  10. I think you should have a look at Hamas' English website. There is a wonderful video about the history of the Qassam rocket there that entirely contradicts your article. The picture you show is of a mortar, not a rocket. http://www.alqassam.ps/english/
    And today, there were videos of destruction and people being rushed to the hospital. In one long shot from a moving vehicle one can see all the Mercedes Benz and other nice cars parked along the street. Life might not be good in Gaza, but it is better than you think.

  11. In a real court, if the acused is cought lying once he/she is not to be beleived on anything they say.
    Has physical Israel of Judaism ever lied? Ha ha I rest my case.

  12. There are many Americans, like myself, that dream of a time when Israel is Nuked. Sorry to those Israelis who are not part of the dis-ease, but like cancer, the infection is running rampant, serious action must be administered, otherwise, we could loose the patient.

  13. My sympathy goes to the besieged people of Gaza, and those everywhere suffering under Israeli subversion and terrorism.
    Sadly our media is completely controlled by these criminals, and as the article says, report Israeli lies without any journalistic investigation.
    The people of Gaza may gain some small comfort from the knowledge that they are merely today's victims of Israel. This demonic criminal state has the world in it's sights eventually. All those who currently ignore this disgusting situation will one day wake up to find that it has arrived at their front door.

  14. Thank you for your writing, we here in the USA must rely on sources such as this to find the truth. I doubt one of ten Americans could identify the Gaza strip on a map, yet we're constantly bombarded with images of spooky looking dudes in ski masks engaging in all kinds of mischief. Personally, I hope someday to see the map of Palestine as it was in 1946 again in reality. Keep up the great work!

    Thirteenth generation American

  15. [...] We better not mention the doubts about who, exactly, fires all those rockets. Also, the political prisoners? Um…1 Israeli prisoner vs 10,756 Palestinians as of 3/07. And [...]

  16. @John – If I understand you right then what you really want to say is that there's too much air in Gaza and so it should be taken away by the Israhellis. Am I mistaken?…

  17. @There is a perfectly good explanation for all of this | Twelfth Bough – You forgot to give the number of all the Palestinians who have passed through the barbaric jewnazi jails and concentration camps…

  18. @European American
    To European American
    No need to Nuke a country if instead the world could educate and deprogram the brainwashed citizens of Israel who are victims of the pathological psychopaths in their government.

    Then the game is up.

    And all countries should look at a similar situation in their own countries to see signs of the same kind of brainwashing that causes worldwide complicity in the atrocity of the middle east – but just to a different degree than in Israel.

    [However, I admit, HOW do we undertake DEPROGRAMMING the citizens!? Well I guess communicating, communicating, is a start?]

  19. [...] spirit bombing the shit out of the people they have been starving to death in Palestine based on rather crude evidence of Hamas related rocket attacks; this would be almost funny if it weren’t so sick. Of course, the [...]

  20. [...] The Rockets of Hunger and Israeli Propaganda Western media reports that "Hamas fighters" are firing rockets into Israel . But are they really? Or is this story a fabrication used to justify reprisals in Gaza ? More … [...]

  21. The Scofield sunami across Christiandom in the last sixty years is much of the reason we have a wicked Israeli movement flooding sociaty. Could Scofield have been a Commy Jew?
    We must educate the professed Christians that Jesus Christ is not in support of these self-apointed chosen people myth. In Christ there is neither Jew nor Gentile. Out of Christ there is nothing but caos and ultimately evil. I notice that most of your evengelical so called christians are out of the Bible, same as out of Christ.
    Deprograming the missguided aledged christians is a big must because this brain-dead croud is heavily supporting Physical Israel in all there evil, wile the Zionist Jew is breaking stiches laughing at them and viewing them as stupid goiy. God help the phony christians and all of us who suffer because of there stupidity.

  22. @Amazed onlooker – I recognized you at xmas.

  23. VERY IMPORTANT

    Please take some time to watch the TRUTH
    You owe it to yourself
    You owe it to your children
    You owe it to this agonized planet
    You owe to the future of humanity

    @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

    The TERROR of TERRORIST zionist entity can be seen here

    http://palestinian.ning.com/forum/topics/the-other-side-of-the-story

    @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

    Reality in Palestine

    http://palestinian.ning.com/video/1970466:Video:37170

    @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

    Gaza Massacre – The Movie

    http://palestinian.ning.com/video/video/show?id=1970466%3AVideo%3A37291

    @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

    Nowhere to run for those trapped in Gaza

    http://palestinian.ning.com/video/nowhere-to-run-for-those

    @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

    Happy New Year 2009 for the Children of Gaza!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    http://palestinian.ning.com/profiles/blogs/happy-new-year-2009-for-the

    @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

    The tiny bodies that were murdered

    http://palestinian.ning.com/photo/photo/show?id=1970466%3APhoto%3A37286

    @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

  24. [...] The Rockets of Hunger and Israeli Propaganda [...]

  25. We have been hearing for too long the Cruelty of Zionist against Palestinian, Its a shame on how we can bear our ears to hear the news, open our eyes to see the truth. We hates this massacre but we still keep it in our heart or we just say it trough our mouth.. Its so sad that we still dont have the courage and strength to take action with our hands even tough we really hate it. The Palestinian fight with all their will even if it just by trowing stone with their bare hands but we who live in peaceful society still sit down in our chair and grief for their death. the Palestinian have take their action! when will we be making our action? another 6 years? we can still wait for tomorrow, but is there a tomorrow for the Palestinian? Dont just think about it, please take action, any action at your will that you feel can help the Palestinian, even donating 1 dollar for their food might save one Palestinian child from hunger, and one Palestinian saved might save the whole nation from extinction. PLEASE.. dont wait for another mother lost her children or another children lost their parents. Lets unite

  26. Doom of the bloody state of Israel is not far. The day is very near inshallah!! It takes some time for the conditions to change. And it will. And those innocents who are killed by israel are martyrs, who have taken the bitter gulp of death and are now resting in thier graves. But the zionists will have a bitter end, except those who accept islam.

  27. @RJ
    12th generation. None of the dozen, from Plymouth rock, ever trusted a ***

  28. We all need to realize, today they want Palestine, tommorow they will want the world, what you see them doing to Palestinians today, they will do to us tommorow…

  29. Yes, jews themselves have provoked this conflict, themselves blasted the rockets but in all has accused the Palestinian.

    I support Palestinian folk and organization Hamas!!!

    World jews tries go war in many country. Speak that even they plan the war in Russia on 2012.

    (edited by mary)

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