Radio garbage on Gaza

Written By: - Date published: 12:35 pm, November 20th, 2023 - 19 comments
Categories: gaza, israel, Zionism - Tags:

RNZ’s flagship Morning Report was particularly bad today, especially in this 8-minute item, titled on its website “UN expert on Palestinian rights cries for children killed.”

The headlined expert is Francesca Albanese, UN Special Rapporteur on Human rights.

However the first half of the clip involved Netanyahu adviser Mark Regev given free rein to assert that Hamas was hiding under hospitals without any intervention or questioning. The lead-in said  these assertions about Hamas tunnels under hospitals “cannot be independently verified.” So why publish them? Worse, why allow Israeli spokesman uncontested airtime to elaborate?

When it came to Francesca Albanese’s turn, Ingrid Hipkiss felt the need at the start to provide context to make sure that Albanese condemned Hamas October 7th raid, which of course she did, as she is a human rights lawyer. However she wasn’t about to allow Hipkiss to avoid Gaza’s pre-history of occupation. Hipkiss then wanted her to comment on the previous piece about the tunnels. Albanese responded;

In order to pursue with the destruction of these tunnels Israel is committing war crimes and potentially crimes against humanity and  we have warned against the risk of genocide

There is a call coming from Israeli political leaders, military leaders to erase Gaza, to flatten Gaza, to kill all Gazans because they are “terrorists” or “human animals” .. this is extremely dangerous because there are 12,000 people who have been killed, 5000 of whom are children. These numbers are shocking .. there is mass destruction of civilian infrastructure.. north Gaza largely flattened .. massive bombing of building scan this be. justified by military necessity absolutely not.

Hipkiss returned to the Israeli line that they had no options because of the hostages, and tried to move to safe ground,  the impossibility of doing anything. Albanese didn’t let her off the hook:

First of all I would like to go back to the question of the hostages that I have mentioned time and time again. The hostages face the same risk that Palestinians in Gaza face. How it’s possible that carpet bombing .. that living in Gaza without food water medicine .. how is it going to protect the hostages themselves ? They are put at risk by this fierce military operations..a ceasefire should have been declared weeks ago .. it is clear that the military response has never been the answer.

Hipkiss retired beaten, taking refuge in saying the issue was “complex”. Radio Garbage is not handling its Gaza coverage well; so-called balance has the thumb on the scale, and all sense of proportionality is lost. Bombs do not discriminate; too many innocents are being killed.

You can watch Francesca Albanese speaking to the National Press Club in Australia, where she explains the human rights and proportionality issues fully and also deals to similar questions from Australian media. She doesn’t use the Keating blowtorch, more a scalpel wielded with humour.

She will be speaking in Auckland at the Western Springs Community Garden at 7:30pm tonight, and in Wellington on Tuesday also at 7:30pm at St Andrews on the Terrace. I’ll be there.

 

 

 

19 comments on “Radio garbage on Gaza ”

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  1. Francesca 1
    20 November 2023 at 1:05 pm

    One would think that if the Israelis were truly concerned about the hostages they'd stop the indiscriminate bombing.Some of the hostages may need medical care, they definitely need food and water.Being non Palestinian doesn't give the hostages magic immunity from Israeli bombs or dehydration .Some have probably died already from "friendly"aka reckless fire.

    An Israeli police investigation into the Hamas attack on the Nova music festival near the Gaza border on 7 October revealed that an Israeli attack helicopter killed some of the attendees, Haaretz reported on 18 November.

    • Ghostwhowalks 1.1
      20 November 2023 at 2:35 pm

      Yes.

      Shades of the British Palestine Police and British Army military activities against the Jewish Terrorist militias in 1946

      https://www.nam.ac.uk/explore/conflict-Palestine

      "Despite this, the High Commissioner Sir Allan Cunningham decided to mount a major blow against the insurgents. On 28 June 1946, 17,000 British troops carried out Operation Agatha in Jerusalem. The Jewish Agency offices and other buildings were raided and arms caches discovered.

      A large number of Jews suspected of terrorism were arrested. Anti-terrorist operations were primarily the responsibility of the Palestine Police. The Army's job was to support them, cordoning off villages or sectors of towns, and helping the police search them."

      The Jewish Agency was political Wing of the jewish settlers headed by Ben Gurion the first PM. and its terrorist affiliated groups Irgun Zvai Leumi (National Military Organisation) – ultimately led by future Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin – and an even more militant organisation, Lohamey Heruth Israel (Fighters for the Freedom of Israel) or LHI/Stern Gang

      Jewish Agency can be compared to Hamas which like the Jewish Agency had military wing Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades

      • SPC 1.1.1
        20 November 2023 at 4:55 pm

        The British empire, the victim of nationalist terrorism … (they bombed people in Iraq in the 1920's).

        The British (once Norman kingdom of the Domesday Book) empire awarded itself custodian status in the area in a deal with fellow former Crusader nation France (Lebanon-Syria) and declared the Balfour Declaration to secure Jewish consent. The League of Nations recognised this and this transferred to the UN after 1945.

        In 1939 the British governments White Paper banned Jewish migration to Palestine and after 1945 the British interned in camps in Cyprus any holocaust survivor trying to get into Palestine.

        The British abstained in the1947 vote to set up two states in the Palestine territory and did nothing to prevent Arab armies entering Palestine territory to destroy the Jewish state at its foundation. In the end all they achieved was nakba and to prevent a Palestinian state being established.

        • Ghostwhowalks 1.1.1.1
          21 November 2023 at 8:56 am

          The Balfour declaration was merely a letter to Lord Rothschild – as you do- to gain Zionist support in the difficult part of WW1. The British also promised an 'arab state' covering the former Turkish territories from the Mediterranean sea to the border with Persia via their allies the Hashemite Kingdom of Hejaz ( based in Mecca)

          The British also were in secret negotiations with the ruling Pashas in Constantinople and had made promises – and payments !- of a sort semi independent status for the region but under the ottoman flag [ reflection how the dominions worked in their Empire]

          The UN general Assembly vote to partition Palestine mandate was rigged after the 2/3 majority wasnt achieved with Thailand who voted no , somehow recalled its delegation and changed their vote !
          https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations_Partition_Plan_for_Palestine#The_vote

          never any consent from the people of Palestine for the creation of a jewish state , mostly in Arab majority districts as only one district, Tel Aviv, was majority jewish ,, and that was rigged as the adjoining ancient Arab city of Jaffa was excised to be in the Arab partition. !

          None of this imposed partition by Europeans as a new colonialism was an outcome in the Balfour 'letter' as it was conditional on Arab support

          • SPC 1.1.1.1.1
            21 November 2023 at 1:28 pm

            The Balfour declaration was merely a letter …. The British also promised an 'arab state' …

            And what happened, the area was divided as per the English and French agreement at the League of Nations – Palestine (a mandate to prepare for a Jewish homeland), Jordan and Iraq (as Arab states) to the empire and Lebanon-Syria (as separate areas) to France to administer. Not one Arab state.

            As for the vote on the partition plan

            The UN vote was 33-13. Over 66% is 26-13 and 28-14. And Thailand abstained in the final vote.

            https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations_Partition_Plan_for_Palestine#The_vote

          • SPC 1.1.1.1.2
            21 November 2023 at 1:49 pm

            Just go down the link and see how they resolved the original 25-13 impasse by determining on a revised partition plan.

            never any consent from the people of Palestine

            The mandate at the League of Nations and onto the United Nations was for a Jewish homeland, Arab opposition to the migration of Jews into Palestine (which was occurring under Ottoman rule) is what made an area for a separate Jewish homeland state inevitable.

            None of this imposed partition by Europeans as a new colonialism was an outcome in the Balfour 'letter' as it was conditional on Arab support

            What was conditional on Arab support?

            The evidence of history is that the mandates at the two international organisations was for the creation of a Jewish homeland. And the BE was given the role of preparing the way for it, yet despite this chose to block Jewish migration to the area (after 1939) to keep Arabs happy during the war with Germany.

  3. Tiger Mountain 3
    20 November 2023 at 3:23 pm

    It is irresponsible to let an Israeli thug rattle on unquestioned. Those guys with their odd semi American accents are hard going at any time, but when they are openly enjoying themselves they are intolerable.

    RNZ journalism has deteriorated since they dispatched most of the old guard “reporters”and presenters several years ago. Backs were against the wall with sinking lid funding under the SirKey administration.

    When John Campbell worked news there it looked like they were operating in an underground bunker, trestle tables and all. Mind you Hosking, Plunkett, Maggie Barry and other tories who revealed their true colours show National Radio has not necessarily been a bastion of liberalism.

  4. Ed 4
    20 November 2023 at 7:05 pm

    Flagship show.

    Hipkiss and Dann.

    🤣🤣.

  5. Francesca 5
    20 November 2023 at 7:27 pm

    When even CNN is sickened by the carnage….

    Jake Tapper on some of the vile hateful talk coming from Israeli cabinet members

    • SPC 5.1
      20 November 2023 at 11:31 pm

      It's not a comment as per the Hamas attack and Israeli response.

      There are three things going on

      1. Saudi Arabia tried to respond to the extremist addition to Netanyahu's latest coalition with a recognition agreement. But not just to get American security but also to defend Palestinians on the West Bank from this latest development.

      Thus the extremist group is a problem to American interests in the region.

      2. Hamas planned the attack before this group joined the coalition government, it was for mine a revenge for the shootings at the fence (1948 nakba) protests. It was timed for the 50th of 1973 – as per a 1967 border state – but at heart for Hamas it has always been about 1948 and de-legitimising of the Israeli state rather than the two state peace process.

      This is why western governments are tolerant of the objective of removing Hamas from the equation of Palestine statehood.

      3. The extremist element in the government of Israel is not one that western governments supporting Israel vs Hamas have any time for. Tolerating it, is like openly supporting de facto annexation and ethnic cleansing the West Bank, yet western governments support a two state outcome.

      Given Gantz joined a national unity government without requiring the removal of the Finance, National Security and Heritage Ministers first, it seems that there is global pressure on BN to do so (he would have to hold new elections after the crisis is over). Failure to abide by that pressure could result in direction in how the Gaza campaign is run etc.

    • lprent 6.1
      21 November 2023 at 12:46 pm

      AS I understand it, they have CCTV of a few hostages going into hospital.
      What do people usually go into hospital for? Body repairs after injury like I did a few weeks ago.

      Did they look for video of them coming out of hospital?

      I was reading the BBC report last night about the Israeli claims and thinking that it read exactly like a factual report from someone like Cameron Slater or Dimwit Nottingham. As far as I can see there is exactly two facts asserted and supported by CCTV (neither of which have been verified by anyone apart from the IDF).

      That they had CCTV of two hostages entering the hospital, and that they had found a tunnel that they hadn’t investigated enough to say what it was. The 55 metres that they have investigated is a pretty short maintenance tunnel, separation doors are common in maintenance tunnels, and the video I looked at showed some kind of small maintenance tunnel. All hospitals have sewerage systems, reservoir systems, electrical sub-systems, and godknows what else. In a potential war zone, they will be underground as much as possible – just like in Tel Aviv.

      What was significant was what was left out in the IDF statements. Like the assertion that the Israeli soldier was shot in the hospital. Was completely unsubstantiated. In fact there were assertions that just sounded like an idiot making shit up.

      My take away from reading it was that the IDF were simply lying. It just reeks of a story like Cameron Slater would invent. A few unverified facts strewn with suppositions, large unsubstantiated leaps of logic, assertions of motivations, and a lot of clear bullshit to get cover for being arseholes.

      Reminds me of the WMD assertions by the US, UK and Aussie back in 2002/3. Each quoting the other’s intelligence speculations and then morphing it into being a ‘fact’ by repeating it over and over again.

      For instance

      The US has said it also has intelligence that Hamas has used hospitals in the Gaza Strip, including al-Shifa, as command centres and weapons stores.

      Israel has cited US intelligence to substantiate their claim of the existence of a major headquarters at the complex but the Americans’ use of the term “node” may suggest a smaller operation.

      Think about that

      From what I understand from reading US papers is that the US reports relate to previous conflicts from more than a decade ago. Notably 2009 and 2012. Even then the speculation is that those reports were actually derived originally from Israeli intelligence reports rather than their own sigint or human assets. That is why the US has the words “has used” in its statements about those intelligence reports and why it reads pretty vaguely.

      The Israelis have then bloated that up like cow on spring grass. This is exactly the same dumbarse recursive logic that the “coalition of willing” used to invade Iraq to search for WMD, to get into a nearly forever war, and to destabilise most of the middle-east for two decades. They never found any significant or active WMD. It was a completely mutual wankfest between intelligence agencies including Mossad and Aman

      In short, like much of the Israeli govt and IDF announcements – I am less inclined to believe anything that they say after reading it than I was before. I have seen this kind of lying before and it is pretty obvious if you aren’t a numpty who likes being fooled.

      It just reads like excuses to justify the IDF performing mass-murder of non-combatant children and civilians like they are the SS.

      • SPC 6.1.1
        21 November 2023 at 1:59 pm

        Considering Cameron Slater like narratives.

        Is the mass-murder of children and civilians at a higher rate than at Dresden, Hiroshima or Nagasaki?

        Were the Germans and Japanese basing their military under the urban areas?

  7. francesca 7
    21 November 2023 at 4:25 pm

    Why is all the onus on Hamas?

    Why have they got tunnels in the first place ?

    Originally for smuggling goods past a blockade.

    For God's sake, treat a people like rabid inmates "human animals" for 75 years you can't be surprised when they fight back any way they can