Recent Cobra Situation Updates + call for Meditation for Peace

 

Monday, October 16, 2023

Short Situation Update

The Light Forces are doing whatever possible to contain the conflict in the Middle East. They have communicated to Black nobility families that they will begin removing them from the surface of the planet if this conflict escalates much further. Quoting Fulford:

 

This is the real reason why Israel is hesitant to begin the ground offensive in Gaza.

The Resistance is getting much more directly involved in surface operations, top priority being the removal of scalar and directed energy weapons, among other things. Resistance agents are using Hamas tunnels in Gaza as a perfect cover to emerge on the surface:

https://edition.cnn.com/2023/10/15/middleeast/hamas-tunnels-gaza-intl/index.html

https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/israel-gaza-war-israel-hamas-war-hamas-tunnels-hamas-terror-tunnels-israels-tall-challenge-in-ground-offensive-plan-4478223

https://www.wionews.com/world/explained-hamas-mysterious-tunnel-in-gaza-that-pose-challenge-for-israel-646486

 

 

The Light Forces are still asking as many people as possible to participate in our meditation for peace in Israel every 4 hours:

https://www.welovemassmeditation.com/2023/10/urgent-meditation-for-peace-in-israel-every-4-hours.html

What is important at this time during this meditation is added focus to visualize humanitarian aid reaching people in Gaza and their situation being resolved in the best possible way. You can also visualize negotiations resulting in lasting peace in the area.

The following article, quite relevant for the times we are in and which I have posted in 2018, has been censored by Blogger and forcefully removed from my blog, and has been since reposted here:

https://theeventhub2015.blogspot.com/2023/08/the-portal-2018-09-27-situation-update.html

Another article has many useful meditations you can use for your spiritual growth:

http://beyondtheveil2017.blogspot.com/p/useful-staff.html

Many useful meditations can also be found from the transcript of my mini workshop in Germany:

https://german-cobra-posts.welovemassmeditation.com/2023/09/ascension-protocols-workshop-with-cobra.html

 

 

You are still more than welcome to join our Ascension conference in Thailand in November, as we still have a few spaces available:

https://ascension-thailand.com/

In your Ascension process, the following book from Solara can be very useful:

https://mercado.nvisible.com/store/products/the-star-borne-a-remembrance-for-the-awakened-ones/

Many Goddess temples are finally being open:

https://www.sisterhoodoftherose.network/post/opening-of-the-taipei-goddess-temple

https://www.sisterhoodoftherose.network/post/reports-and-experiences-with-the-opening-of-the-centre-and-temple-of-atargatis-in-hungary

https://goddessofthebluelotus.com/

We are getting closer to the completion of the Galactic prophecy:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kgQHXrnDHQs

Victory of the Light!

 

Tuesday, October 10, 2023

Situation Update

As it has been said a few months ago, things are accelerating very fast since late September.

First, physical biochips have been cleared and all that is left in those locations in the body is a dead, inactive circuitry of the biochip. These biochip residues are also weak spots through which the Lurker can manifest distorted quantum fluctuations and anomalous plasma generated from subquantum unspace.

Lurker also emanates anomaly from subquantum unspace through quantum fluctuations and they distort elemental essence around the surface of the planet on the plasma, etheric, astral and mental planes. Lurker can then direct and manipulate this elemental essence to influence the surface humanity with increasing or decreasing the amount of quantum fluctuations at various locations in that elemental essence.

More intel has been released about the Lurker. Lurker is actually a conglomerate of all beings that were projected into subquantum unspace with extremely strong technologies in all previous cosmic cycles. The first such projection occurred at the beginning of time in the first cosmic cycle when the Source became aware that something as strange as primary anomaly exists. Then Source decided to project a part of itself into that anomaly in order to understand and resolve it, and that projected part became trapped in subquantum anomaly and became the first, primordial Lurker, with more Lurkers to follow in subsequent cosmic cycles:

http://www.thenewearth.org/returnoflight.html

Actually as a result of this, a part of the Source turned against itself and thus duality was born. Primary anomaly with Lurker was so strong that it hijacked the antahkarana all the way from the physical plane up to the highest dimension to a degree, and even Ascended beings lacked insight into what is really going on in the anomalous universe. Through cosmic cycles, Source was learning about anomaly and solving parts of it until very recently time arrived for completion of duality through the doorway of the 11:11:

https://www.amazon.com/11-Inside-Doorway-Solara/dp/1878246054/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=11+11+solara&qid=1696964351&sr=8-1

Very soon, an even more powerful doorway will open which will lead to final removal of darkness from the universe, and also final liberation of this planet. All intel about that doorway must be veiled for now, except this hint:

https://jfsdigital.org/articles-and-essays/vol-26-no-1-september-2021/special-relativity-theory-expands-the-futures-cones-conceptualisation-of-the-futures-and-the-pasts/

Starting from September, this future doorway is already sending time-reverse loops through Minkowski spacetime, and this is why the events and situations started to accelerate.

First, the dark forces crossed a certain red line and as a response to this, the Resistance has started taking action. What they are doing must unfortunately remain classified for now, but hopefully I will be able to reveal it soon.

Let me just say that the dark forces with their collective actions violated a critical mass of Galactic Codex principles, and legally the Light forces have the green light to intervene on the surface of the planet, regardless of local laws which surface humanity is not respecting anyway.

First step of this surface intervention process was the removal of all those Light force individuals with too much war trauma or fear to meaningfully contribute to liberation process. Time of endless Galactic council discussions Is over. All those wounded and fearful beings were taken to locations outside this solar system where they will receive much needed healing and later they might join the liberation forces again if they will be capable or willing to do so. About 80% of all star races members were taken out of the solar system, together with about 40% of the Resistance, but the remaining beings are with much less fear and are willing to take action.

Saint Germain was given command to all underground and surface operations, and all Light forces not limited but including the Resistance and Pleiadian, Sirian, Andromedan, Arcturian and Central race fleets are now under his command regarding planetary operations. Ashtar was given command to all nearspace and space operations.

 

 

Saint Germain has given command to the Light Forces to immediately start taking action, and on October 5^th the Resistance has cleared the vast majority of child abuse locations in the cellars under Black nobility castles, rescuing many children.

Black nobility has seen this as an act of intrusion on their private property and for the first time in their existence they became afraid for their own lives.

As a response, Pallavicini family has given orders to activate Doom33, or whatever is still remaining left of it, since Doom33 was greatly reduced in power in the last decade through actions of the Resistance:

http://web.archive.org/web/20180414063832/https://ahuwahzeus583992924.wordpress.com/2018/01/31/pallavicini-crime-syndicate/

Let me refresh your memory about Doom33 from one of my past articles:

 

According to sources, the current war in Israel was masterminded by this guy, with connections both in Israeli high political circles and also with high connections in Hamas, and with Israel knowingly allowing for Hamas incursion to occur:

https://www.israelhayom.com/2018/03/19/italian-imam-heads-to-jerusalem-for-anti-semitism-conference/

https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/195414

The goal of the Black nobility is to expand Israeli conflict as far as possible with hopes to create a Word War III in alignment with Armageddon prophecies:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armageddon

https://www.jw.org/en/bible-teachings/questions/battle-of-armageddon/

The Light Forces are doing whatever possible to limit the conflict and prevent it from spreading beyond Israeli borders. This is why it is of utmost importance for as many people as possible to continue doing the meditation for peace in Israel every 4 hours:

https://www.welovemassmeditation.com/2023/10/urgent-meditation-for-peace-in-israel-every-4-hours.html

The Resistance has used this conflict as a cover to finally be able to start some surface operations. They are now actively removing scalar and directed energy weapons from the surface.

On October 7th, Hamas started its incursion into Israeli territory, and they have attacked many party goers near Urim Kibbutz:

https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/defense-news/article-762057

Using the chaos of that battle as a cover, Resistance members were able to partially disable some scalar and intelligence systems at Urim military base just a few kilometers away:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urim_SIGINT_Base

Urim base is marked with red cross on this map:

 

 

Surface operations of the Resistance to disarm scalar and directed energy weapons, which are harassing far too many Lightworkers, will continue. You can support their actions energetically doing the following mediation if you feel so guided:

https://www.welovemassmeditation.com/2023/07/meditation-to-counteract-5g-and-scalar-networks.html

On October 2^nd, someone with access to very high level intel and advanced understanding of operations behind the scenes, started posting coded messages on the US debt clock website.

The message on October 2^nd quotes Matthew 21:12:

https://www.soulask.com/ominous-message-on-the-us-national-debt-clock-website-follows-a-series-of-strange-signals-around-the-world/

The message on October 8^th quotes Revelation:

https://halturnerradioshow.com/index.php/en/news-page/world/the-debt-clock-is-now-quoting-verses-from-revelation

Victory of the Light!

 

DREAMLAND v1.0 master test in progress

Sunday, October 8, 2023

Urgent Message To The Surface Population

Dark forces are trying to engineer a new world war by triggering a conflict in Israel.

Therefore the Light Forces are asking as many people as possible to join our urgent meditation for peace in Israel every 4 hours:

https://www.welovemassmeditation.com/2023/10/urgent-meditation-for-peace-in-israel-every-4-hours.html

 

Goddess wants peace and peace it will be!

Sunday, October 1, 2023

Alert downgrade to red

BENJAMIN FULFORD: Khazarian mafia seeks Chinese protection as military tribunals loom | Weekly Geopolitical Report

Insider intel on Kavanaugh, and so much more happening in geopolitics! ~PB

BENJAMIN FULFORD: Khazarian mafia seeks Chinese protection as military tribunals loom | Weekly Geopolitical News and Analysis

September 24, 201
By Benjamin Fulford, White Dragon Society


The satan-worshipping Khazarian mafia is in a frenzy of fear as military tribunals loom. As a result, they are offering the world (as if it were theirs to give) to China in exchange for protection, according to Gnostic Illuminati and Asian secret society sources. In addition to this, they are threatening to unleash pandemics, blow up the Yellowstone Caldera, set off a massive EMP attack, and cause other mayhem in a futile effort (as these attempts will be neutralized) to blackmail themselves out of the reach of long-delayed justice. Also, they are carrying out a foolish and widely derided smear campaign to derail the appointment of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court.


Pentagon sources say they used “the threat of 9/11 declassification, which may soon happen, to force George Bush Jr. to publicly back Kavanaugh, whose confirmation would unleash military tribunals.” Remember, Kavanaugh said during his confirmation hearings that the U.S. has been under martial law since shortly after 9/11 and as a result, military tribunals could try, and even sentence to death, civilians guilty of treason.


In addition to this, the sources say that “because of the interference in the 2016 U.S. election by the Jewish mafia, which supported Hillary Clinton, Trump may use FISA declassification leverage to force the UK and Australia to purge Zionists and Israeli dual-citizens from positions of influence.”
The rogue state of Israel, for its part, has been trying to seek Russian and Chinese protection as it loses control of the United States. However, this is backfiring, big time. Here is the U.S. military’s analysis of where these efforts are leading.


First, in reaction to the recent Israeli stunt to fool Syria into shooting down a Russian plane in yet another desperate attempt to start World War 3, “An angry [Russian President Vladimir] Putin and the Russian Orthodox Church may have declared holy war on the anti-goy Jewish faction, and may impose a no-fly zone on Israel until it returns the Golan to Syria, lifts the siege of Gaza, denuclearizes, and returns the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and all stolen lands to Palestine and Lebanon.”


Second, “With China in control of the Haifa Port and infrastructure projects in Israel, the BRICS nations may ban this rogue state from the quantum financial system, and [U.S. President Donald] Trump may just agree to a UN arms embargo and air-sea blockade.”


With all this and more going on, it is no surprise that the Swiss branch of the Rothschild family, the BIS, and the Elders of Zion sent a representative last week to Japan to negotiate surrender with the White Dragon Society (WDS). The negotiator (whom we will call the BIS man) said the banking families were worried about …... a chaotic situation, mass executions, civil war, and other unrest such as was seen during the French and Russian Revolutions. In other words, the BIS man said the banking families are willing to surrender as long as plans for a smooth transition to a better system for the planet are put into place and guillotines are not on the menu.


It is also possible to confirm from recent public statements by the BIS that they acknowledge their current system of printing money out of nothing and distributing it via connected insiders is becoming dysfunctional and headed for a catastrophic collapse. To put it in the BIS’s own words, “their head is on fire and their feet freezing.” This can be translated to mean that the super-rich are getting too super rich, while the rest of the world’s population is suffering.


https://www.bis.org/publ/qtrpdf/r_qt1809_ontherecord.htm


The WDS reiterated its position that a jubilee is the only answer. In particular, a global financial reset would need to include a one-time write-off of all debt, public and private, and a redistribution of assets illegally obtained through fiat finance. The end result would be to ensure that everyone on earth owned their own home and had no debt. This would be a one-off event so that after the jubilee, if somebody were to sell their home to buy drugs and then end up homeless, they would not be bailed out.


The WDS also proposed setting up a future planning agency to help coordinate a multi-trillion-dollar campaign to end poverty, stop environmental destruction, and responsibly release suppressed technology—in particular, technology that would make immortality possible for those who wish it.


The WDS further said it supports keeping existing royal families in place as symbols of continuity, while day-to-day management would be left to meritocracies such as the Pentagon, the Vatican, the Chinese Communist Party, the newly created future planning agency, etc. In other words, all the functional bits of the old system would be left intact and reformed in the name of continuity and a smooth transition. Live, real-time, Internet-based democracy would also be supported, the WDS proposed.


The whole process could be started with public disclosure of the real history of the planet to prepare the public for the transition, the WDS said.


The BIS representative was supportive of these proposals and promised to take them to “the people in Zug, Switzerland.”


He also provided some insight into the minds of the “gnomes of Zurich,” noting they communicated using “mathematical symbols.” If that is the case, then they should consider the following equation that will come true. If they do not agree to a transition, then: Zug+BIS+Zionism=0.


The NSA now believes Evelyn de Rothschild is the head of the Rothschild clan and not Nathaniel, as was previously told to us by the CIA. They also say their latest intelligence indicates the Rothschilds are planning to offer control of Japan to the Chinese in exchange for protection. This process would begin with the enthronement in April of Crown Prince Naruhito as Emperor of Japan, since it would put the throne into the hands of a Rothschild puppet with no imperial blood, the NSA source says.


The WDS and representatives of an Asian secret society discussed this issue recently and agreed that the Japanese people need to be told the truth about their imperial family, and that a committee of experts should decide in concert with the Japanese public what to do about the Chrysanthemum Throne.


The Vatican P2 lodge has also made a public appeasement of China. This came in the form of the Vatican agreeing to give the Chinese government a say over the selection of Catholic bishops in China. It also came in the form of Italy’s government being the first in the G7 to announce that they would participate in the China-led One Belt One Road development project.


It is also worth remembering at this point, about a couple of tweets put out in 2016 by a “Baroness de Rothschild.”


Bss De Rothschild @BssDeRothschild: “Unfortunately for deplorables in 2017, IMPEACHMENT will rob you of your little Russian-hacked election ‘victory.’”


Bss De Rothschild @BssDeRothschild: “After a Trump/Putin/Iran/China/NK Nuclear war, the world will revert back to the Globalist ideal offering security via Europe.”


http://www.battleforworld.com/2018/05/08/baroness-de-rothschild-twitter-postings-trump/#TrumpChina


Clearly, the Rothschilds and other P2 types are running to China for protection now that their World War 3 and “Russiagate” scams are failing. However, the Chinese are fully aware the Khazarians will tell them whatever they want to hear, only to stab them in the back the first chance they get. They also know the same people who are sucking up to them now are the ones who humiliated them during the Opium Wars. As we saw above, the Chinese have quietly seized Israel’s infrastructure and are cooperating with the Russians and the U.S. military to force the Zionists to end all their troublemaking.


The Khazarians are also losing one of their last bastions of power—control over the major Internet companies. As the Pentagon put it, “It’s hammer time, as Big Tech may be subject to DOJ antitrust actions and broken up in concert with heavy fines from the EU.”


We would like to conclude this week’s report by forwarding to you an e-mail from a veteran criminal investigator who is a friend of former CIA operative Robert David Steele. Among other things, this investigator makes it clear why the Khazarian mob is delaying Kavanaugh’s appointment:


“The reason the left (the cabal) is trying to delay the examination of Kavanaugh’s accuser [Christine Ford] is to give them time to cause a massive blackout out East using the smart grid and their Stuxnet-derived software provided by Israel and now in all power company computers. Or until they can provoke a major war in Syria and Iran, and perhaps even a nuclear exchange with the Russian Federation.


“I may be wrong on all this, but the mainstream media editors will quickly switch sides and go with who they think is the new winner, since their prior masters have been adequately disempowered. They have no loyalty to anyone, but are ass-kissers to big money and big power.


“By the way, I know quite a bit of the hidden secret history of the Minnesota Wetterling murder and Johnny Gosch kidnapping. It is all related to the CIA, FBI, international pedo-satanic network, Bronfmans, GHWB, White House page boys, Barney Frank, Craig Spence, etc. It is a story of FBI involvement, victim family involvement, and complete cover-up. It has ties to Omaha, Franklin Credit, crooked FBI, CIA Finders, Jordan, Minnesota’s pedo problem, and Minnesota Attorney General Skip Humphrey (Senator Hubert Humphrey’s crooked son). We interviewed a key witness together in this years ago.”


Via:
https://prepareforchange.net/2018/09/27/khazarian-mafia-seeks-chinese-protection-as-military-tribunals-loom/


Source:
https://benjaminfulford.net/2018/09/24/khazarian-mafia-seeks-chinese-protection-as-military-tribunals-loom/


https://benjaminfulford.net

“All people on Earth must live in peace. This cannot be altered. It is THE PLAN” Montague Keen 8-3-14

“All people on Earth must live in peace. This cannot be altered. It is THE PLAN”
Montague Keen 8-3-14… by Veronica Keen
Posted on 2014/08/03 ~ by kauilapele

This is a message with many heartening-for-humanity points. I especially enjoyed the part about “disappearing ships”. “Philadelphia Experiments” anyone?

    “…The plans of the Cabal have not been successful. They have not been allowed to start World War 3. Yes, dear, it is true that BATTLESHIPS have been LIFTED OFF PLANET EARTH and placed where they can do no harm. Ships from the US, the UK, Germany, and of course, Israel. They are at a loss as to where their ships have gone. No longer will they be allowed to wage war in their efforts to bring about world domination.

    “Many of you have donated to the fund that will help us to set up the Centres in your world. These will help you through the difficult times when all that you take for granted today will be no longer be available to you. You need to learn to be self-sufficient for a while, until you come together, create FREE ENERGY, and grow your food, etc. You need to learn to live without the things you take for granted today. This change is coming and you cannot hide from it, for it has already begun. Veronica is finding the right people, who have the knowledge necessary to advise you on all aspects of life in the light. Please assist whenever possible.

    “Wake up to the fact that all that you are told on TV and in the newspapers is designed to keep you asleep and in fear. You are in an US and THEM situation. 99% are being led by the nose to their destruction by the 1%. How can this be so?

    “You were surprised, this week, to find that the Roman Catholic Church is JEWISH. The Jesuits are Jewish also. So Jews have been hiding behind different labels for 2000 years. Ask yourselves what all the wars were about? The simple answer: it is the shedding of blood that is required. The energy of FEAR in war situations is the oxygen of life to those who control your world… The important thing you need to take on board is that THEY CANNOT DO IT WITHOUT YOU !

    “You are on the road to freedom and light. Prepare for it. Think about how you will survive when all the structures that you presently accept as part of your life, disappear. You will create new structures, but this will take time and patience. This guidance we hope to provide through our Centres. Both sides of life are working together to create a better world for all. We will not abandon you.”

————————————————

Montague’s Message for Sunday 3 August 2014
http://www.montaguekeen.com/page1470.html

Veronica, my dear, your work with Andrew [Bartzis] is proving very successful. It is releasing truth which explains all that has confused and puzzled people for years. I told you that August was the month for revelations. Soon, you will see the full picture. You will know what steps need to be taken in order to remove all that is dark and corrupt. The plans of the Cabal have not been successful. They have not been allowed to start World War 3. Yes, dear, it is true that BATTLESHIPS have been LIFTED OFF PLANET EARTH and placed where they can do no harm. Ships from the US, the UK, Germany, and of course, Israel. They are at a loss as to where their ships have gone. No longer will they be allowed to wage war in their efforts to bring about world domination.

I tell you now that NO ONE RACE WILL DOMINATE YOUR PLANET. It will not be allowed. All people on Earth must live in peace. This cannot be altered. It is THE PLAN.

There are some ETs supporting governments which have dark intent but they will not succeed. The Divine Plan stands: nothing can change it, and our work on both sides of life will ensure this.

Our grateful thanks go out to all those wonderful people who have become what we see as an Army of Light, who work on the ley lines to ensure that the energy is released. They will have their place in history and will deserve it. They are doing a sterling job. One day, they will see for themselves the importance of their work. Activating the ley lines is the most important work you can do at this time. You are rescuing your planet. What more important job could you do !

I am aware how distressed you are, my dear, as you see the slaughter of a noble and peaceful people [in Palestine]. What does this tell you about those in whom you were asked to place your trust? This is their plan to take over your world. All who keep silent and close their eyes to this slaughter are as guilty as those who drop the bombs. What is being rained down on these poor helpless people is PURE EVIL. Who will support you when they come calling on you? This is a takeover: they want it all, and that includes you !

Refuse to be part of it and make clear your feelings. Refuse to assist in the takeover of humanity. Refuse to be a HUMAN SACRIFICE. Do not buy into whatever package of FEAR they come up with next.

The ebola outbreak was carefully planned. It is intended to create FEAR, to allow them to remove more of you. Such ‘outbreaks’ are well planned in advance and timed so that you take your eyes off what they are doing. The unenlightened fall for it every time. Stop being SHEEP. Do your research and take responsibility. Such ploys worked in the past but you are aware of their games now.

Many of you have donated to the fund that will help us to set up the Centres in your world. These will help you through the difficult times when all that you take for granted today will be no longer be available to you. You need to learn to be self-sufficient for a while, until you come together, create FREE ENERGY, and grow your food, etc. You need to learn to live without the things you take for granted today. This change is coming and you cannot hide from it, for it has already begun. Veronica is finding the right people, who have the knowledge necessary to advise you on all aspects of life in the light. Please assist whenever possible.

Wake up to the fact that all that you are told on TV and in the newspapers is designed to keep you asleep and in fear. You are in an US and THEM situation. 99% are being led by the nose to their destruction by the 1%. How can this be so?

TV is their method of control. It draws you in and infects your mind. It controls your every thought and action. It shows you what you ‘need’ in your life, and what you cannot live without. It blinds you to who you are and what you are capable of. You become one of the HERD: all singing from the same hymn sheet. Like a mouse on a wheel, you constantly run but you never get anywhere.

When you wake up to who you are and what you are capable of, you will wonder how so few could have destroyed so much on Earth. Some of you are still falling for the lies, thus allowing them to dictate how your world should be run, in the mistaken belief that their puppets have your best interests at heart. But this is not so. It is time to stop being sheep.

You were surprised, this week, to find that the Roman Catholic Church is JEWISH. The Jesuits are Jewish also. So Jews have been hiding behind different labels for 2000 years. Ask yourselves what all the wars were about? The simple answer: it is the shedding of blood that is required. The energy of FEAR in war situations is the oxygen of life to those who control your world.

The important thing you need to take on board is that THEY CANNOT DO IT WITHOUT YOU !

Take back your power. This is your planet.

You are on the road to freedom and light. Prepare for it. Think about how you will survive when all the structures that you presently accept as part of your life, disappear. You will create new structures, but this will take time and patience. This guidance we hope to provide through our Centres. Both sides of life are working together to create a better world for all. We will not abandon you.

My dear, try to take time to rest. I ask all of you to send your love and protection to one who is being held by the dark.

My love is with you always. Your adoring, Monty.

Please watch the following video:

An Interview with Andrew Bartzis (Part 5)
http://www.montaguekeen.com/page122.html

as this contains important information."

The civilian death toll in Gaza is immoral and unacceptable — and it’s time to talk honestly about all of it

   Sat, July 19, 2014 - 10:50 PM

"Let us not be deceived – the Israeli massacre of innocent Palestinians, especially the precious children, is a crime against humanity! The rockets of Hamas indeed are morally wrong and politically ineffective......but these crimes pale in the face of the U.S. supported Israeli slaughters of innocent civilians." -Dr. Cornel West

WORDVIRUS: Jul18 by DJ Apollo:

The civilian death toll in Gaza is immoral and unacceptable — and it’s time to talk honestly about all of itCollective punishment or human shields? Israel’s military has no “moral superiority,” time for media to cover Gaza fairlyby Omar Baddar

How commonly is the alleged moral superiority of the Israeli military invoked? So commonly that if you type “the most moral army in the world” into Google, you’ll immediately get a bunch of articles discussing the Israeli “Defense” Forces. Just last week, Slate’s William Saletan argued that while Hamas fires rockets at civilians, Israel takes “pains” in its “exemplary” efforts to avoid harming Palestinian civilians. The New York Times’ Steven Erlanger didn’t “argue” that Israel takes major precautions to avoid harming civilians, he seemed to be taking it as a given when he wrote Gazans were anxious about airstrikes “no matter how carefully Israel tries to target them.”

Despite the fact that the Palestinians are an occupied, besieged and oppressed population that lacks the capability to defend itself against systemic and daily Israeli violence, Hamas’s insistence that Israeli civilians are legitimate targets is morally indefensible, and should be condemned by all people of conscience. But according to what evidence is Israel’s conduct better? And how can it possibly be better when Israel has advanced surveillance capability and laser-guided weaponry, but has still managed to kill more than 150 Palestinian civilians (including 40+ children) in Gaza, compared to just one Israeli death in this latest round of violence? Instead of taking Israel at its word, let’s look at the take of credible observers.

Human Rights Watch, on Israel’s Conduct

After conducting an investigation, Human Rights Watch (HRW) issued a report on Wednesday accusing Israel of carrying out “unlawful” strikes in Gaza, ones that “either did not attack a legitimate military target or attacked despite the likelihood of civilian casualties being disproportionate to the military gain.” It noted that “Such attacks committed deliberately or recklessly constitute war crimes.” HRW Middle East Director Sarah Leah Whitson also added that Israel’s actions raise “serious questions as to whether these attacks are intended to target civilians or wantonly destroy civilian property.”

The report also said that “Human Rights Watch has documented numerous serious violations of the laws of war by Israeli forces in the past decade, particularly indiscriminate attacks on civilians,” and criticized Israel’s preposterously inadequate efforts at “warning” civilians of impending strikes. Now, which part of all that fits with “exemplary” efforts at avoiding killing civilians? Still, some may buy into Israel’s allegation that Hamas’s use of human shields is what’s responsible for the high civilian death toll. Let’s look at the evidence.

Human Shields

While human rights organizations haven’t yet addressed “human shields” allegations in the ongoing round of Israel-Gaza violence, they did after the 2009 round when Israel killed at least 773 Palestinian civilians, compared to three Israeli civilian casualties (a ratio of 257:1), and used the same “human shields” argument to deflect responsibility for those deaths. When the dust settled, Amnesty International investigated the matter and concluded that there was “no evidence that [Palestinian] rockets were launched from residential houses or buildings while civilians were in these buildings.” More attention-worthy was the report’s note that, in the cases of [Israeli] precision missiles or tank shells which killed [Palestinian] civilians in their homes, no fighters were present in the houses that were struck and Amnesty International delegates found no indication that there had been any armed confrontations or other military activity in the immediate vicinity at the time of the attack.

Israel’s Use of Human Shields

By contrast, the same report found that “in several cases Israeli soldiers also used [Palestinian] civilians, including children, as ‘human shields’.” Going back in time just a little further to put this into context is important: when the Israeli Supreme Court ruled in 2005 that the Israeli military had to stop using Palestinian civilians as human shields, the Israeli “defense” establishment objected to the ruling. The appeal against the ruling failed, and the practice remains technically illegal, but Israel implicitly encourages it to continue by offering an “inadequate … slap on the wrist,” as Human Rights Watch put it, to Israeli soldiers caught using this reprehensible tactic.

This reveals two important things: the first is the moral hypocrisy and chutzpah on display when Israel ignores its own use of human shields as it accuses its enemies of using them. The second is Israel’s self-contradicting logic: If Palestinian militants had such disregard for Palestinian civilian lives, why was the Israeli military so invested in maintaining the ability to use Palestinians as shields? The fact that the Israeli army wants to use Palestinian human shields actually proves that they believe Palestinian militants prefer not to endanger their own civilians.

When Intentions Are Clearer

There may be more discipline among Israeli leaders in how they talk about the war on Gaza this time, but that wasn’t the case in previous conflagrations. In the 2012 assault, Israeli Interior Minister Eli Yishai said the “goal of the operation is to send Gaza back to the Middle Ages.” Gilad Sharon, son of former Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon, said “we need to flatten entire neighborhoods in Gaza. Flatten all of Gaza.” And if you think that’s just rhetoric, consider that Amnesty International previously documented Israel had “flattened … busy neighborhoods” into “moonscapes.”

And it wasn’t just human rights organizations that were exposing Israeli war crimes in Gaza, but Israeli soldiers whose conscience could not bear to remain silent about the atrocities they had committed were also coming forward. And in the 2006 assault on Lebanon, one Israeli commander referred to the dropping of more than a million cluster bomblets over Lebanon like this: “What we did was insane and monstrous, we covered entire towns in cluster bombs.” Is this the most moral army?

Imbalance of Power Shapes the Conflict

While the 2009 Amnesty International report found no evidence that Hamas used human shields, it did acknowledge the obvious reality that Hamas does operate in (and fire rockets from) residential areas, adding “although this would be difficult to avoid in the small and overcrowded Gaza Strip.” Beyond the size and overcrowding of Gaza, Hamas also has no real army which could confront Israel on a traditional battlefield. As Yousef Munayyer recently argued on MSNBC, “Palestinians would certainly prefer to have precision-guided missiles and F-16s, and the kind of defense establishment that an independent, sovereign state would have to defend itself.” But in the absence of such capabilities, any fighting militia would be forced to use guerilla tactics that involve operating in inhabited areas.

As Andrew Sullivan put it,

Yes, they conceal armaments and rockets and weapons in civilian areas — and that undoubtedly increases civilian deaths. But what alternative do they have exactly, if they wish to have any military capacity at all? Should they build clearly demarcated camps and barracks and munitions stores, where the IDF could just destroy them at will?

Violence against civilians does not suddenly become more legitimate just because it is carried out by a state actor, and one that doesn’t fit our biases and preconceptions of who commits terrorism. And leading human rights organizations get that, which is why they call for ending military support not just for Hamas and other militant groups, but also for Israel.

Israel’s ground incursion in Gaza is now underway, and while it will almost certainly cause more casualties and destruction, it won’t contribute to resolving the conflict in the long term. Ultimately, this conflict will only be solved when the side holding virtually all the power, the one imposing displacement, occupation, and apartheid on the other side, is pressured in a meaningful way to allow Palestinians to exercise self-determination. Heeding the calls for a suspension of military aid to Israel would be the beginning of such meaningful pressure, and through it we could hopefully see a process that puts us closer to the ending the needless killing of innocent Israelis and Palestinians.




Omar Baddar is a Middle East political analyst based in Washington, DC. You can follow him on Twitter at @OmarBaddar


http://www.salon.com/2014/0/18/israels_military_has_no_moral_superiority_and_its_time_the_media_covered_gaza_fairly/?source=newsletter