Operation Guardian of the Walls and "Civilian Deaths"

After 11 days of hostilities, Operation Guardian of the Walls ended with a ceasefire at 0200 on May 21, 2021. The terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip continued firing rockets until shortly before the deadline, and since the ceasefire there has been a tense quiet in the Gaza Strip. Hamas spokesman Taher al-Nunu and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) leader Ziyad al-Nakhalah said they would adhere to the ceasefire as long as Israel did.

During the 11 days of Operation Guardian of the Walls more than 4,360 explosive laden rockets were fired at Israel, of which 3,573 fell inside Israeli territory, the other 787 falling either inside the Gaza Strip or into the sea.

The Iron Dome aerial defense system intercepted about 90% of the rockets. Eleven civilians were murdered in Israel by these explosive laden missiles:

-one a Philippine Nation and another a Thai.

Nine were Israelis;

Of these three were Arab-Israelis and one IDF soldier was killed by an anti-tank missile.

Several hundred people were injured and there was property damage to homes, schools, industry, commerce and agriculture.

The IDF attacked about 1,500 terrorist targets in the Gaza Strip. 

As soon as the ceasefire went into effect Gazans began began to realise the extent of the cost of destruction as a result of the firing of explosive laden rockets on Israel and the results of Israel’s response.

On May 21, 2021, the Hamas ministry of health in Gaza reported that all together 248 Gazans had been killed, 122 of those killed: 66 children, 39 women and 17 old people, and that 1,948 had been injured (ministry of health in Gaza Facebook page, May 21, 2021).

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)’s oPt | Situation Report No. 1 (21-27 May 2021), confirmed that:

the majority of those killed after seven days were members of Internationally recognized terrorist organizations.

"According to the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), up to 27 May, 256 Palestinians, including 66 children and 40 women were killed, of whom 128 were believed to be civilians."

By simple math if we deduct the 66 children and 40 females -who were not members of either FTO that totals 106. If we deduct 106 from the total of 128 civilians killed 22 were male adults.

And if we deduct the 91 confirmed killed by errant rockets that leaves 15 civilians whose deaths MAY have been caused by Israel actions.

The UN report based on the information from the Hamas controlled Ministry of Health in Gaza confirmed that 128 or 52% of the 256 Palestinians killed were members of Izz a-din Al-Qassem Brigades of Hamas or Islamic Jihad.

 

It is worthwhile noting that 91 of the 256 Palestinian killed were actually recorded as NOT being killed by Israel but by misfired Palestinian rockets, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs 

Because Islamic Jihad are the rivals of Hamas, the Ministry of Health in Gaza controlled by Hamas confirmed the reports of ONLY 11 deaths by misfired rockets.

Therefore, since Hamas fired many more of the 787 misfired explosive laden rockets, how many were murdered by their rockets -which are NOT reported!

During the first two days of Operation Guardians of the Walls. That report concluded the following:

16 (21%) were killed during the unsuccessful launch of rockets at Israel (including ten who were 18-years-old or less)

At least 41 (55%) were terrorists: 30 Hamas, 3 Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and 8 Fatah

17 (23%) were possibly civilian.

On May 21, 2021, the Ministry of Health in Gaza reported that 248 Gazans had been killed, including 66 children, 39 women and 17 old people, and that 1,948 had been injured (ministry of health in Gaza Facebook page, May 21, 2021).

The Palestinian Islamic Jihad military-terrorist wing issued a mourning notice for 19 of its operatives killed during the operation, the most important of whom was Husam Abu al-Rabid, commander of its northern brigade.

As in previous incidents Gazans were instructed to be more conscious of security and not transmit information about what had happened or the sites hit by Israeli attacks. They were also warned not to transmit information about operatives or their movements (Dunia al-Watan, May 22, 2021).

The Palestinians as per their usual "Blame Israel", reported serious infrastructure damage including;  water and sewage pipes, roads and communications networks.

Rebuilding the Gaza Strip began immediately after the ceasefire was announced. Unlike previous rounds of hostilities, Egypt has taken upon itself not only to send money, but to establish a mechanism for transferring the funds and for coordinating donations and the supplies entering the Gaza Strip. 

According to the Lebanese newspaper al-Akhbar, Egypt promised to transfer $500 million to rebuild the Gaza Strip and now fills a key position in its implementation. According to report, Egypt’s efforts will not be limited to delivering materials for construction but it will also determine how the $500 million will be used and coordinate donations and supplies that enter the Gaza Strip. Generally speaking the reconstruction project will be carried out by companies belonging to the Egyptian army, limiting the influence of Turkish companies and strengthening cooperation with the Gulf States, which will also send aid in the coming days. According to “sources,” Egypt wants to restore its relations with Hamas and the other “organizations” to the point where they will protect the interests of Egypt, which aspires to ensure the continuation of the lull (al-Akhbar, May 22, 2021). 

Hasan Abd al-Aziz, a member of the Egyptian contractors’ association, said that for Egyptian private and public companies the rebuilding of the Gaza Strip would be a national mission and not a profit-making operation. He said the funds Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi promised would be translated into projects, raw materials and materials for construction, and not cash donations (Sputnik, May 22, 2021). 

It was also reported that Egypt is making contacts to hold a conference in Cairo for rebuilding the Gaza Strip through international cooperation (al-Arabiya, May 21, 2021). Following instructions from the Egyptian president, a convoy of 130 trucks will arrive in the Gaza Strip bringing 2,500 tons of food, drugs, clothing, furniture and electrical appliances (Facebook page of the Egyptian president’s spokesman, May 22, 2021)

Hamas and PIJ spokesmen celebrated their “victory” and Israel’s “defeat.” According to the Hamas narrative, they attacked not for the Gaza Strip but rather for Jerusalem, al-Aqsa mosque and the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood in east Jerusalem.

Even though the enlistment of Judea, Samaria and east Jerusalem was only partial, the Hamas leadership continues claiming that all the Palestinians participated in the Hamas-led hostilities.

During the 11 days of the operation more than 4,360 explosive laden rockets and mortar shells were fired at Israel. Of which 3,573 penetrated Israeli airspace, about 680 fell inside the Gaza Strip and about 280 fell into the sea. The Iron Dome aerial defense system intercepted about 90% of the rocket fire.

Two anti-tank missiles were fired at Israel and several launches were prevented. One killed an IDF soldier when it hit his jeep, the other superficially injured an IDF soldier.

The joint operations room of the terrorist organizations in Gaza held a press conference where they claimed they had used “new technology” to fire rockets and that Israel had failed when it relied on “deception” to attack and destroy the “resistance” [i.e., terrorist] leaders and operatives. They also claimed they could have continued firing rockets in response to any Israeli “aggression” against the Palestinians (al-Aqsa, May 21, 2021).

Despite the massive barrages of rocket and mortar fire, relatively speaking Israeli casualties were few and there was relatively light property damage. Eleven Israeli civilians were directly killed by rocket and mortar fire. One soldier was killed when an anti-tank rocket hit his jeep. Two Israelis died when they ran for shelter. Several hundred people were injured, most of them superficially, and many had anxiety attacks.

The rocket fire disrupted routine daily life for people living as far north as Netanya, and Jewish-Arab coexistence in the mixed cities was severely damaged by riots that were influenced by the events in the Gaza Strip.
Israel’s Response During Operation Guardian of the Walls Israel destroyed more than 1,500 terrorist targets, severely damaging the strategic and tactical capabilities of Hamas and the PIJ.

Among the targets hit was the: Hamas’ tunnel system (the “metro”) in Gaza City, Rafah and Khan Yunis: The IDF destroyed more than 100 kilometers (60 miles) of tunnels used by the Hamas leadership and terrorist operatives as hideouts, and command and control centers. Several attack tunnels in the northern Gaza Strip were also hit.

During the fighting an estimated 50 senior Hamas and PIJ terrorist operatives were killed including brigade commanders, and about 20 lower-ranking commanders and about 200 terrorist operatives.

The IDF carried out some 340 attacks on high-trajectory rocket launchers, 230 attacks on surface-to-surface rocket launchers, and about 35 on mortar shell launchers.

The weapons-manufacturing and military- buildup capabilities of the terrorist organizations were hit hard, research and development operatives were killed, and small facilities for the manufacture of weapons, development centers and weapons storehouses were hit.

Dozens of administration offices, 11 buildings belonging the internal security forces, and five banks used to transfer funds for terrorist activities were attacked. A senior source in the Hamas police force said that between 15% and 25% of the police management offices and most of its headquarters were partially destroyed (al-Aqsa, May 22, 2021). The terrorist infrastructure: The Israeli Air Force attacked dozens of bases, posts, command centers and nine multistory buildings where terrorist activity was coordinated.

Terrorist invasions were prevented, as were attacks from anti-tank missile squads, seven aerial threats (armed UAVs) and two naval threats (including attacks by unmanned submarine vessels).

On May 21, 2021, the ministry of health in Gaza reported that 248 Gazans had been killed, including 66 children, 39 women and 17 old people, and that 1,948 had been injured (ministry of health in Gaza Facebook page, May 21, 2021). Hamas exploited the days following the ceasefire to remove the bodies of terrorist operatives from the tunnels.

On May 21, 2021, a mass funeral was held in Khan Yunis for Hamas operatives killed in the tunnels in the al-Fakhri and Soufa areas east of Khan Yunis. The bodies were wrapped in Hamas flags (Twitter account of journalist Hassan Aslih, May 21, 2021).

The PIJ’s military-terrorist wing issued a mourning notice for 19 of its operatives killed during the operation, the most important of whom was Husam Abu al-Rabid, commander of its northern brigade. During a press conference held by the police the names of police casualties were read (al-Mayadeen, May 22, 2021). 

It was not the first time serving policemen participated in hostilities as operatives in the military-terrorist wings. After the declaration of a ceasefire, Hamas’ internal security forces warned that Israeli security and intelligence forces were increasing their efforts to collect information to renew their bank of targets.

When the ceasefire went into effect Gazans began to understand the extent of the damage and destruction, reporting serious damage to the infrastructure, including water and sewage pipes, electric lines, roads and the communications networks. Iyad al-Buzum, spokesman for the ministry of the interior in Gaza, said that immediately after the ceasefire police and security forces were deployed to attack sites and to remove unexploded ordnance (Dunia al-Watan, May 21, 2021).

Naji Sirhan, deputy ministry for public works and housing in the Gaza Strip, said that at least 2,000 residences, four mosques and dozens of police stations had been destroyed. The UN reported that about 800 thousand Gazans had no access to clean water and that about half the water pipes had been destroyed, as were 53 schools, six hospitals and 11 public health centers (AP, May 22, 2021). 

Abd al-Hadi al-Agha, deputy ministry of Muslim endowments in the Gaza Strip, said about $5 million worth of damage had been done to mosques and cemeteries. He said three mosques had been completely destroyed and 40 others had been damaged. He claimed the IDF had attacked six cemeteries and the ministry of endowments building in the Ansar facility in Gaza City (al-Quds, May 23, 2021)

Know the Facts: Active Measures, SIG and The Ten Fundamental Principles Of "Dezinformatsiya"

The Ten Fundamental Principles Of "Dezinformatsiya" was part of the "Active Measures" program which began in the 1920s, as instituted by Lavrentiy Pavlovich Beria (29 March 1899 – 23 December 1953) who was a Georgian Bolshevik and Soviet politician, Marshal of the Soviet Union and state security administrator, chief of the Soviet security, and chief of the People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (NKVD). Beria was the longest-lived and most influential of Stalin's secret police chiefs, wielding his most substantial influence during and after World War II.

As early as 1923, Joseph Stalin ordered the creation of a "Special Disinformation Office", however, it should be noted that it was the general practice of Beria to work from the shadows and attribute his work to his superiors, as can be seen in his climb in party status from his other earlier works of deception.

It is therefore theorised by many historians, that Joseph Stalin himself coined the term “disinformation” in 1923 by giving it a French sounding name in order to deceive other nations into believing it was a practice invented in France, since the noun “disinformation” does not originate from Russian, it is a translation of the French word désinformation.

The objective of the "Active measures" program included offensive programs such as disinformation, propaganda, deception, sabotage, destabilization and espionage. These programs were based on foreign policy priorities of the Soviet Union. The purpose of "Active measures" was to influence the course of world events, abroad and domestically, in addition to collecting intelligence and producing revised assessments of it. "Active measures" ranged "from media manipulations the strategy of  "Dezinformatsiya" to special actions involving various degrees of violence".

As part of the Active Measures campaign in 1954 the KGB began organizing “peace” movements in the West by using well-meaning “useful idiots.” to weaken democracies through what was an international organization created in 1949 by the Cominform named the World Peace Council. The organization had the stated goals of advocating for universal disarmament, sovereignty, independence, peaceful co-existence, and campaigns against imperialism, weapons of mass destruction and all forms of discrimination.

The WPC currently states its goals as: Actions against imperialist wars and occupation of sovereign countries and nations; prohibition of all weapons of mass destruction; abolition of foreign military bases; universal disarmament under effective international control; elimination of all forms of colonialism, neo-colonialism, racism, sexism and other forms of discrimination; respect for the right of peoples to sovereignty and independence, essential for the establishment of peace; non-interference in the internal affairs of nations; peaceful co-existence between states with different political systems; negotiations instead of use of force in the settlement of differences between nations.

“In today’s world when nuclear arms have made mili-tary force obsolete, terrorism should become our main weapon” KGB General Aleksandr Sakharovsky (Pacepa, 2006.)

A former KGB agent Yuri Alexandrovich Bezmenov who defected to Canada in 1970 defined "... Active Measures or ideological subversion as:

“changing the perception of reality to such an extent that despite of the abundance of information no one is able to come to sensible conclusions.”

“A person who was demoralized is unable to assess true information. The facts tell nothing to him. Even if I shower him with information, with authentic proof, with documents, with pictures; he will refuse to believe it.”

"They are programmed to think and react to certain stimuli in a certain pattern [alluding to Pavlov]. You can not change their mind even if you expose them to authentic information. Even if you prove that white is white and black is black, you still can not change the basic perception and the logic of behavior."

Retired KGB Major General Oleg Kalugin, former head of Foreign Counterintelligence for the KGB (1973–1979), described the "active measures" program as "the heart and soul of Soviet intelligence":

"Not intelligence collection, but subversion: active measures to weaken the West, to drive wedges in the Western community alliances of all sorts, particularly NATO, to sow discord among allies, to weaken the United States in the eyes of the people of Europe, Asia, Africa, Latin America, and thus to prepare ground in case the war really occurs."

According to the Mitrokhin Archives, active measures was taught in the Andropov Institute of the KGB situated at Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) headquarters in Yasenevo District of Moscow. Vasili Nikitich Mitrokhin, was a major and senior archivist for the Soviet Union's foreign intelligence service, the First Chief Directorate of the KGB, copied documents certifying that the head of Soviet foreign intelligence. 

In light of the massive defeat of Arab armies, with their billions in Soviet Weaponry the Soviet Union in the 1956 Sinai and Six Day Wars, together with the withdrawal and lessing of sympathy for communism by Israelis, wanted to "repair the prestige" of "our Arab friends" at the hands of the Israelis.  Therefore, General Alexander Sakharovsky, who was head of the First Chief Directorate (foreign intelligence) of the KGB from 1955 until 1970 set out to destroy Israel through operation "SIG". 

He did so by helping them organize terrorist operations that would humiliate Israel through the use of the main KGB asset -- Yasser Arafat, who was the co-founder of Fatah. Yuri Andropov described Yasser Arafat to Pacepa as a; "devoted Marxist-Leninist since his days in the membership of the General Union of Palestinian Students (GUPS) from 1952 to 1956." .  

Lt. General Ion Mihai Pacepa described the operation "SIG" ("Zionist Governments") which was devised in 1972, to turn the whole Islamic world against Israel and the United States in his meeting with KGB chairman Yuri Andropov who stated:

"a billion adversaries could inflict far greater damage on America than could a few millions. We needed to instill a Nazi-style hatred for the Jews throughout the Islamic world, and to turn this weapon of the emotions into a terrorist bloodbath against Israel and its main supporter, the United States."

SIG is the Russian acronym for Sionistskiye Gosudarstva, or "Jewish (or Zionist) Government" which was a part of the KGB "Active Measures or ideological subversion campaign that was devised in 1967 to turn the Arab world against Israel and the United States and to disrupt the "Western Democracies". 

The KGB SIG mode of operation was to incite hatred and create chaos by the utilization of journalists to disseminate false information, as well as direct military support (funding, arms, training) to terrorist groups against the Jewish (Western Orientated Democracy) as means to create upheaval in their support of their "Client nations" in the Middle East and to replace (Negate) Israel with an Arab Muslim (PLO and Hamas) state. In order to achieve the overall goal of the campaign highly anti-Semitic conspiracy tropes from Western culture as well as vile anti-Zionist propaganda was incorporated  to spread the idea that the state of Israel was an oppressive, imperialist state which was built on unjust terms. operation “SIG” (“Zionist Governments”). 

Operation SIG has been as extremely successful KGB Soviet/Russian campaign to disrupt democracy by creating a subversion of Western Society and formenting a recurrence of deep anti-Israel/Zionism antisemitism, particularly on campuses in rallies, and even in some houses of worship, Jews are called the new Nazis

As an integral part of the KGB "Active Measures or ideological subversion campaign to disrupt the "Western Democracies" in the mid to late 1960's young college student activists on American campuses were enthusiastically following the North Vietnamese "line" in re-framing the Vietnam war from a Communist assault on the south to a struggle for national liberation.

“Progressive” activists on American campuses, enthusiastically following the line of North Vietnamese operatives, had succeeded in re-framing the Vietnam War from a Communist conquest of the South into a struggle for national liberation.

The KGB agents who created and led the KGB’s anti-Israel campaign, Operation SIG were Lt. Gen. Ion Mihai Pacepa, Major Anatoliy Mikhaylovich Golitsyn, Major Vasily Mitrokhin, Colonel Alexan-der Mikhailovich Orlov, and Czech Intelligence Officer Ladislav Bittman.

The Ten Fundamental Principles Of "Dezinformatsiya" 

1) The "Big Lie" - Always chose the greater lie at first over the lesser one, so that the masses (the listening or reading audience) can more readily accept it as fact and to make it harder for the real truth to be told.

2) Focus - Use one or two readily "acceptable"or"actual" events as the basis of "truth." 

3) Repetition - Always repeat the same line in your retelling of the event to to lend further credibility to hide the "lie".

4) Accusation - "Blame" be consistent in your libel of the "scapegoat". Do not leave room for doubt and use the three "D's"; Debase, Defame and Dehumanize." 

5) Issues - Critical or Crucial - events or concerns have no "gray areas" leaving no room for doubt regarding what immediate action should be taken. 

6) Terminology (Loaded language ) - Rhetoric used to influence an audience by using words and phrases with strong connotations associated with them in order to elicit an emotional response and/or exploit stereotypes. Provocative words like: "Genocide" "Apartheid" "Occupation".

7) Emotional triggers - the use of specific phrases or slogans that will induce an intense emotional reaction based on; memories, experiences, or events.

8) Denigrate - vilify, defame, denounce, malign, stigmatize and skewer your "scapegoat" as undesirables

9) Disregard Facts - Ignore intellectuals and reasonable arguments; target the least-able minded with powerful emotional pitches.

10) Unethical - be disingenuous, unscrupulous, amoral with no limitation -"The end justifies the means."  

Juneteenth and the Facts

Juneteenth originally termed "Jubilee Day", is described as a holiday celebrated on the 19th June to commemorate the emancipation of enslaved people in the US when Union General Gordon Granger arrived at Ashton Villa Galveston, Texas and issued General Order No.3. on June 19th 1865 more than a month after the formal end of the American Civil War. 

Because of the Order the holiday was first celebrated in Texas in 1865, on the aftermath of the Civil War. Slaves were declared free in General Order No. 3 under the terms of the Emancipation Proclamation, or Proclamation 95. 

In reality, freedom for those held in slavery did not come all at once upon the signing and publication of the Emancipation Proclamation. Regretfully it would take three more years until the Confederacy (The South) was defeated and those held in slavery in areas unoccupied by victorious Union forces could be freed. Because many parts of the Confederacy were undefeated in 1863, the enforcement of the Emancipation Proclamation was often delayed. 

Therefore three years after the original issuance of the Emancipation Proclamation when Union General Gordon Granger arrived at Ashton Villa Galveston, Texas,  after the formal end of the American Civil War he issued General Order No.3.

The following is the text of the official recorded version of the order:

Head Quarters District of Texas

Galveston Texas June 19th 1865.

General Orders No. 3.

The people of Texas are informed that, in accordance with a proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free. This involves an absolute equality of personal rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves, and the connection heretofore existing between them becomes that between employer and hired labor.

The freedmen are advised to remain quietly at their present homes and work for wages. They are informed that they will not be allowed to collect at military posts and that they will not be supported in idleness either there or elsewhere.

By order of Major General Granger

F.W. Emery

Major A.A. Genl.

To clarify, Proclamation 95 was a presidential proclamation and executive order issued by the then United States President Abraham Lincoln on September 22, 1862, during the Civil War. 

The Proclamation read:

"That on the first day of January in the year of our Lord, one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, all persons held as slaves within any State, or designated part of a State, the people whereof shall then be in rebellion against the United States shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free; and the executive government of the United States, including the military and naval authority thereof, will recognize and maintain the freedom of such persons, and will do no act or acts to repress such persons, or any of them, in any efforts they may make for their actual freedom."

Very few of those marking Juneteenth have acknowledged that the Emancipation was made plausible due to the sacrifice of MAINLY young "WHITE" Americans who fought to "preserve the Union"! 

On the left is an actual photo of citizens, soldiers and dignitaries with President Lincoln (indicated by the red arrow) during his famous speech delivered during the heighth of the American Civil War at the dedication of the Soldiers' National Cemetery in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, on the afternoon of November 19, 1863, four and a half months after the Union armies defeated those of the Confederacy at the Battle of Gettysburg

It is worth noting, in light of the divisions in America today, the words of President Abraham Lincoln.

Lincoln described the US as a nation; "...conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal," and described the Civil War-"as a test that would determine whether such a nation, the Union sundered by the secession crisis, could endure."

President Lincoln extolled the sacrifices of those who died at Gettysburg in defense of those principles, and exhorted his listeners to resolve:

"...that these dead shall not have died in vain—that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth."

Furthermore, to ensure the abolition of slavery in all of the U.S., it must be noted that Lincoln also insisted that Reconstruction plans for Southern states require abolition in new state laws (which occurred during the war in Tennessee, Arkansas, and Louisiana); 

Lincoln encouraged border states to adopt abolition (which occurred during the war in Maryland, Missouri, and West Virginia) and pushed for passage of the Thirteenth Amendment. Congress passed the 13th Amendment by the necessary two-thirds vote on January 31, 1865, and it was ratified by the states on December 6, 1865. The amendment made chattel slavery and indentured servitude illegal