The Electronic Intifada, 4 January 2009
In addition to bombs and missiles that have killed an ever increasing number of Palestinian civilians, Israel has dropped millions of flyers on the occupied, besieged Gaza Strip.
One such flyer, an image of which was sent to The Electronic Intifada, seeks to recruit Palestinian collaborators. Signed by the "Israel Defense Forces command," and addressed to the "the residents of the Gaza Strip," the flyer states: "You hold the responsibility for your own fate!" It invites Palestinians to call or email the Israeli army "to inform us about the location of rocket launching sites and the terrorist gangs that made you hostages of their actions." Because collaboration with an occupier is universally viewed as one of the worst forms of betrayal, the flyer warns "For your own safety, please maintain secrecy when you call us."
EI decided to call the number provided. What follows is a translation of the Arabic conversation between an EI editor and an Israeli officer who identifed himself using the Arabic name "Abu Ibrahim."
Israel has used cash, but has sometimes attempted to blackmail desperately sick Palestinians by witholding access to medical care unless they collaborate. Israel may also hope that the humanitarian catastrophe it has deliberately created in the Gaza Strip will make Palestinians more vulnerable to this kind of exploitation.
EI: I want to give you names of the biggest terrorist organizations, not just in Gaza, but in all Palestine.
Israeli officer: Ok, let's see
EI: Ok, the first one ...
Israeli officer: You mean to tell me they're all from Hamas?
EI: All of them are people ... you'll see. The first one, his name is Ehud Barak [Israeli minister of defense].Israeli officer: Ehud Barak? By God there's no one like you ...
EI: Second, Gabi Ashkenazi [Israeli army chief of staff]
Israeli officer: Do you know him?
EI: Of course. The third one is...
Israeli officer: Wait a minute, one at a time ...
EI: No write it down, I don't have time. The third one is called Ehud Olmert [Israeli prime minister].
Israeli officer: Look, just a minute ...
EI: You think that terrorists are only men? There are also women. Terrorist organizations have women too. The fourth is Tzipi Livni [Israeli foreign minister].
Israeli officer: First, I see that you're very clever and very experienced and you should ...
EI: And then the fifth's name is Yuval Diskin [head of Israel's "Shin Bet" death squads]. Write it down and record it my beloved. These are the names of the biggest terrorist leaders in the whole of Palestine and in the whole of the Middle East.
You can read the full transcript here.
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