Unauthorized Disclosure—Episode 11: Israeli Snipers Mow Down Palestinians, But It’s All Just ‘Clashes’ To Media
Hosts Rania Khalek and Kevin Gosztola discuss the protests by Palestinians on Land Day and how Israeli forces gunned down more than a dozen demonstrators. They talk about police killing Stephon Clark in Sacramento and how Louisiana refused to charge any officers responsible for killing Alton Sterling.
Ahead of the protests, as Khalek notes, the Israeli army stationed at the border with Gaza was given authority to shoot protesters. Snipers and tanks were prepared to fire on Palestinian demonstrators.
“They also used drones armed with tear gas, which has never been done before I believe anywhere in the world,” Khalek adds. “This was a first so I’m sure the Israelis were testing that product out on Palestinians. They often do, and then they will be selling that to plenty of countries and police forces who like to use tear gas on protesters.”
Khalek describes how outrageous it is that the vast majority of media outlets published coverage highlighting “clashes” between Israelis and Palestinians. It completely obscures that Palestinians were “mowed down in a premeditated fashion by Israeli snipers”
“How many Israelis have been killed in these ‘clashes’? None,” Khalek states.
Asked if there is something about the moment that threatens Israeli legitimacy any more than previous years or if there is a reason the government doesn’t want peaceful demonstrations to happen, Khalek contends Israel is more emboldened than ever and that is why its forces engage in this violence.
“Israel has been going down this rightward shift toward fascism for several years now. It has a more hard-line government that sees Palestinians as less and less human. Not that they saw them as human before, but it’s even worse now.”
She points out that the younger generation in Israel is more fascist and more right-wing than the generation before it, which is the opposite of what is happening in most other countries. Typically, younger people are more progressive.
Plus, President Donald Trump’s administration has an extremely close relationship to the government of Benjamin Netanyahu. That means they can shoot protesters, and there will be no consequences at all.
Listen to the episode by clicking on the above player or go here.