It Is the Occupation, STUPID! That's Spreading Fire Around the World By Hassan El-Najjar

An Editorial Note From Al-Jazeerah: News articles may be reduced in size or slightly changed to conform to the Conflict Terminology guide adopted by Al-Jazeerah. Changes also include correcting Arabic names and editing. So, readers are advised that news articles may not represent their original form in verbatim or size, according to the mentioned original sources.

This is another call for editors, journalists, politicians, and average readers in the US and EU (where Israelis get their support). The Israeli occupation government does not care about Palestinian civilians, particularly targeting a whole family. Yesterday, it targeted the Selmiya family, just like the Ghaliya family before. The news from the Israeli air raids on Lebanon reported two whole families also massacred, one a family of ten and another a family of seven.

This is terrorism. We need to call it with what it is, enough of being apologetic to the atrocities of the Israeli expansionist occupation government. The US-EU support for Israelis will only make them more monstrous. It will not help bring the conflict to an end. It will not help peace in the Middle East and around the world.

Please condemn these Israeli terrorist raids targeting Palestinian and Lebanese families. It is terrorism and should be called terrorism.

In another note, I have observed very sadly that US-EU media call the "capture" of Israeli soldiers by Palestinian and Lebanese resistance fighters as "kidnapping" or "abduction."

These are terms used to describe what happens to civilians taken from their homes by force, like what Israeli occupation soldiers do to Palestinian civilians on daily basis.

These Israeli occupation soldiers were "captured" during fighting with the resistance fighters. They should be called "cuptured" or "Prisoners of War" and treated as such.

The best help the US-EU governments and the Zionist media can provide Israelis with is telling them that the occupation of Arab territories is wrong, it is causing this state of continuous conflict in the Middle East and around the world.

Tell them to release Palestinian and other Arab prisoners in Israeli occupation prisons, withdraw from all Arab occupied territories, allow Palestinians to establish their own state, and sit down for negotiations with them about the remaining issues like refugees.

Again, it is the occupation, which is causing all these miseries in the Middle East and worldwide.

When one nation allows itself to invade, occupy, and control another nation, it is also allowing death and destruction unabated to the occupied nation.

However, as we know, every action leads to a reaction, equal to it in force, and opposite to it in direction (the Archamedes Law). That's why there is resistance in every occupied land on Earth today.

This is why there is resistance to foreign occupation in Palestine, Lebanon, Iraq, Afghanistan, Chechnya, and Kashmir. All are Muslim lands.

The Zionist Empire propaganda machine will still maintain: It's the "War on Terror." But they know and we know that resistance (what they call terror) follows the occupation and it is a reaction to it. It did not precede it anywhere.

Palestinian medics reported today morning that six civilians were killed among them were two children as well as more than 35 were injured, in two separate air strikes targeted a house and car in Al Shaikh Radwan Neighborhood, west Gaza city.

Witnesses said that F-16 jetfighters fired three missiles at a house that belongs to Dr. Nabil Abu Selmiya, a member of Hamas and a lecturer at the Gaza Islamic University, devastating it. Simultaneously, two other missiles struck a car traveling on a street in Al-Shaikh Radwan , one of the most densely populated neighborhoods in Gaza City.

They also added that the targeted three-story house was destroyed on the heads of its residents, causing heavy casualties among Abu Selmiya family. Paramedics managed to pick some children and women under the rubble of the house.

The civil defense crew picked up from beneath the ruins eight members of the same family, including Dr. Abu Selmiya, his wife Salwa Matter, four of their sons and two babies.

The two elder sons of Abu Selmiya, Mohammed (21) and Awad (18) and a girl survived the Israeli terrorist airstrike.

Abu Obaida , key leader of Ezzuddin Al Qassam told Ma'an news agency that Mohmamd Deif, number one on the Israeli list of Palestinian resistance fighters sought for assassination, is okay and unscathed."

In the same connection, the founder of the military wing of the Popular Resistance, Committee Hesham Abu Nussair (38) was killed in an Israeli air raid during an Israel occupation assault on Al Qarara area, east Khan Younis, today morning.

Earlier, a soldier from PNA national forces was killed and three others were killed in armed clashes with special Israeli occupation troops backed by choppers infiltrated into Abu Al Ajeen area, close to Al-Matahen (Kosofim) crossing in Khan Younis and kidnapped some residents.

Our correspondent reported that the Israeli special forces infiltrated into the area under the escort of the gunfire of the helicopters towards the resident's houses and a facility of PNA national forces, a shootout erupted between the special force and soldiers of Palestinian national forces in which Zaid Abu Mughaiseib, 20, was killed and three others were wounded.

Witnesses said that the Israeli occupation tanks advanced deep about 700 meters in the direction of Kosofim crossing under a volley of fire and helicopter hovering over heads, bisecting the Gaza Strip into two halves.

IOF Special Forces, according to witnesses, infiltrated into the heart of Gaza Strip and started to search Abu Al AJeen and Abu Holy areas east of Dair El-Balah and held some residents.

The Israeli occupation army asserted that ground forces and armored vehicles advanced deep into the Gaza Strip today early morning, expanding the offensive.

The Israeli troops occupied a house belonging to the resident Mohammed Muhareb, in Abu Al-Ajeen area of Dair El-Balah .

The invading Israeli occupation troops held more than 30 people in a single room of the house.

Meanwhile, ten of arable dunums were razed in Al Qarara area, north Khan Younis city.

Two IOF caterpillar bulldozers bulldozed tens of dunum planted with olive, citrus and almond trees at the main road Salah Al din.