Horrific. Unjustified. Morally Wrong. But ‘UNPROVOKED?

Opinion|Published 1 year ago

Picture: Jaafar Ashtiyeh / AFP / Taken on JULY 4, 2023 – People flee falling tear gas canisters during an ongoing Israeli military operation in Jenin city in the occupied West Bank on July 4, 2023. Israel's biggest military operation for years in the occupied West Bank has continued, leaving many Palestinians dead and forcing thousands to flee their homes as the government then said it struck ‘with great strength’ the militant stronghold.

By Common Dreams Staff

Horrific. Unjustified. Morally wrong. But ‘unprovoked’?

After the Palestinian group Hamas launched the biggest attack on Israel in years – with many killed, hostages taken, and fighting raging – many US elected officials released statements Saturday condemning the “unprovoked” attacks.

But many others took to Twitter Saturday to ask incredulously how Israel’s continued brutal occupation of the Palestinian people cannot be considered a provocation.

75 years of ethnic cleansing
15 years of blockade
Confiscation of Palestinian lands
Pogroms on Palestinian towns
Desecration of Palestinian sacred sites
Daily raids into Palestinian homes
Constant humiliation of a entire people

Nothing about today is “unprovoked”.

Picture: Jaafar Ashtiyeh / AFP / Taken on JULY 4, 2023 – People flee falling tear gas canisters during an ongoing Israeli military operation in Jenin city in the occupied West Bank on July 4, 2023. Israel's biggest military operation for years in the occupied West Bank has continued, leaving many Palestinians dead and forcing thousands to flee their homes as the government then said it struck ‘with great strength’ the militant stronghold.

Writer Caitlin Johnstone tweeted: “It’s clear now that whenever the western political/media class starts bleating the word ‘unprovoked’ in unison, you know with absolute certainty that whatever they're talking about was massively provoked.“

Hamas attacks on civilian targets in Israel are completely unjustified. The Biden administration is totally wrong, however, to say they are "unprovoked." Israel has been killing many scores of Palestinian civilians, including children, in recent months.
— Stephen Zunes (@SZunes) October 7, 2023

I keep seeing the Hamas attack described as "unprovoked," as if Israel has not been occupying, dispossessing, blockading, and besieging a population. The attack is morally wrong but let's be honest about what its causes are. https://t.co/p42drceYCN
— Nathan J Robinson (@NathanJRobinson) October 7, 2023

75 years of ethnic cleansing.
15 years of blockade.
Confiscation of Palestinian lands.
Pogroms on Palestinian towns.
Desecration of Palestinian sacred sites.
Daily raids into Palestinian homes.
Constant humiliation of a entire people.

Nothing about today is “unprovoked.”
— Amer Zahr (@AmerZahr) October 7, 2023

Today’s attacks on Israel are horrific—especially since innocent women and children are involved. Today’s attacks, however, were not unprovoked.

Praying for peace. 💔 https://t.co/CG2S7xM2f9
— Nick Laparra (@NickLaparra) October 7, 2023

AFP Picture: May 13, 2021

Picture: Mahmud Hams / AFP / Taken on May 13, 2021 Palestinian Muslim men perform the morning Eid Al-Fitr prayer outdoors amid the destruction on the first day of the Muslim holiday which marks the end of the holy fasting month of Ramadan, following two days of Israeli airstrikes on Gaza, on May 13, 2021 in Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip. - Israel's air force said it had launched multiple strikes overnight, targeting what it described as locations of Hamas, the Islamist group that controls Gaza. Meanwhile, incoming passenger planes scheduled to land at Israel's Ben Gurion airport near Tel Aviv were being diverted on May 13 to a southern airport amid rocket fire from Gaza, the airports authority said.

Statement from the White House on Israel: pic.twitter.com/4eH2laDues
— philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) October 7, 2023

My statement on the violent, unprovoked and despicable terrorist attack by Hamas against the State of Israel. pic.twitter.com/vpj3X8EE2y
— Hakeem Jeffries (@RepJeffries) October 7, 2023

This ignominious, unprovoked, and barbaric attack on Israel must be met with world condemnation and unequivocal support for the Jewish state’s right to self-defense. We must provide Israel with whatever it needs to defend itself — now. As President, I’ll make sure that our policy…
— Robert F. Kennedy Jr (@RobertKennedyJr) October 7, 2023

I forcefully condemn these cowardly, horrifying, unprovoked attacks on Israel by Hamas.

Attacking innocent civilians is particularly despicable and reflects the craven behavior of this terrorist group.

I unequivocally stand with the people of Israel now, and always.
— U.S. Senator John Fetterman (@SenFettermanPA) October 7, 2023

AFP Picture: November 27, 2015

Picture: Mohammed Abed / AFP / Taken on on November 27, 2015 – A Palestinian protester uses a slingshot to throw stones at Israeli security forces during clashes along the border with Israel on the eastern outskirts of Gaza City on November 27, 2015.