by Mike Whitney, The Unz Review:
Good news! Israel has agreed to accept Biden’s ceasefire deal as long as it can keep fighting. This is from CNN:
Israeli statement on Tuesday indicated it was poised to formally sign up to the current ceasefire plan for Gaza, while at the same time maintaining the freedom to keep fighting. CNN
Can you see how absurd this is? It’s like the fat man who agrees to go on a diet as long as he can still eat as much as he wants. It’s nonsense.
A ceasefire is a ceasefire. It is the termination of hostilities and an end to the fighting. Period. Israeli’s lawyerly wordplay does not change the meaning of the word or twist it to fit Israel’s strategic agenda. It is semantical gymnastics intended to hoodwink the public.
TRUTH LIVES on at https://sgtreport.tv/
We shouldn’t have to point this out, but the media appears to be pressing the issue by carefully rephrasing Israel’s deliberate misunderstanding of what “ceasefire” means. Now –in the last 24 hours– they have slightly modified their approach again to better conceal their trickery. Now, instead of saying that a ceasefire allows them “the freedom to keep fighting”, they’re saying that “the ceasefire plan enables its war goals.”
There’s a subtle difference, but the meaning is the same. Israel wants to continue slaughtering civilians while saying they are in compliance with the ceasefire. It boggles the mind to think they’d put so much effort into finding a benign phrase for ‘continuing the killing’.
So, what’s really going on behind this misleading language?
That’s easy. Israel wants it to look like they’re cooperating with the Biden-backed ceasefire deal while continuing their military operation in Gaza. That’s it in a nutshell. Take a look at this Tuesday article at Newsweek:
Amid conflicting narratives over U.S. President Joe Biden’s latest push for a ceasefire… an Israeli official has told Newsweek that the U.S. proposal aligns with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s goal of inflicting a lasting, decisive defeat against the Palestinian movement.
“Israel will not end the war before achieving all its war objectives: destroying Hamas’ military and governing capabilities, freeing all the hostages and ensuring Gaza doesn’t pose a threat to Israel in the future,” the Israeli official told Newsweek on background.
“The proposal presented enables Israel to achieve these goals and Israel will indeed do so,” the Israeli official said. Israel Official Says Biden Ceasefire Plan Allows IDF to Destroy Hamas, Newsweek
Obviously, the ceasefire proposal does NOT align with Netanyahu’s plan to keep fighting or it wouldn’t be a ceasefire. Right?
But the foofaraw over the meaning of “ceasefire” is just one of many cringe-worthy particulars linked to Biden’s ham-fisted Gaza policy. There’s also the administration’s wacko messaging problem. For example, on Tuesday:
Joe Biden announced that the ceasefire resolution (approved by the Security Council on Monday) was “Israel’s proposal.”
Also, on Tuesday, Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said the ceasefire resolution was “Israel’s proposal.”
U.S. National Security Spokesperson John Kirby repeated the same claim that “This was an Israeli proposal.
And just to round it off, UN Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield said the same thing in an interview with Wolf Blitzer adding that “Israel has already accepted this deal.”
Naturally, their claims were uncritically reiterated in all the media: This was an Israeli proposal.
But none of it was true. It was all lies.
And, just hours after Blinken made his case to the media, Netanyahu’s office issued the following statement:
“The claim that Israel agreed to end the war before achieving all its goals is a total lie,” …
As you can see, Netanyahu had no interest in pulling his punches. He basically read Blinken the ‘riot act’ in what-amounts-to a humiliating slapdown.
Now, you’d assume that if you had just been exposed to the world as a liar, you might show a bit of shame or remorse. But not Blinken. Without missing a beat, the mercurial Secretary tweaked his talking-points from “This is Israel’s deal” to ‘it’s all Hamas’ fault’, which is the blame-shifting narrative he is prattling today. Here he is on Twitter:
