"One of the most enduring popular movements of 2018 has been the ongoing Great March of Return in the besieged Gaza Strip. Since 30 March, thousands of Palestinians in the small coastal territory have demonstrated along the boundary with Israel, demanding the implementation of Palestinian refugees' right of return and an end to the crippling 11-year siege of Gaza.
"But such high-scale mobilisation has come at a high cost: according to Middle East Eye's calculations, 190 Palestinians were killed by Israeli forces within the scope of the demonstrations between 30 march and 30 November - equivalent to one Palestinian killed every 31 hours in eight months. The numbers exclude more than 50 victims of air strikes or other Israeli military actions when demonstrations were not taking place.The death toll peaked on 14 May - the day the US opened its embassy in Jerusalem - when 68 people were killed.
"During that same time frame, more than 25,000 Palestinians were wounded by Israeli forces in Gaza, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. One Israeli soldier was killed within the context of the March." (from Gaza: The Palestinians who died during the Great March of Return, Ahmad Nafi and Chloe Benoist, middleeasteye.net, 28/12/18)
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As you know, MERC, I believe a great deal of responsibility for this needs to be assigned to our media. If western media reported these Palestinian deaths with the same level of importance they attach to the deaths of westerners (and Israelis) then it would stop.
It takes me a lot of effort these days to look at Australian media's reporting of any international news, and so I don't know if the Australian media reported the attack by the IAF on Syria on Christmas Day and, if they did, how. This outrageous attack endangered two civilian passenger airplanes coming in to land in Damascus, effectively used as human shields. Surely this must count as one of the most arrogant and disgusting of their recent actions. It is basically saying "We can get away with anything because we control what the western media will say. And we will do it on one of the most holy days in the Christian calendar because we don't care." The hubris is astounding.
Totally agree GRAPPLER! Meanwhile, western media was/is diverted by the drone fiasco at Gatwick Airport. 'Look over there, nothing to see here!' Strange, how events in Britain or France always seem to draw attention or obfuscate the stark realities playing out in the Middle East. MSM, do your job!
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