Israel enjoys US support to get away with crimes: Activist

Press TV has interviewed Roger Fowler, an international peace activist in Auckland, to discuss Tel Aviv's ban on the entry of all Palestinians into Israel.

A rough transcription of the interview appears below.

Press TV: I won’t forget what the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said when Tel Aviv had that attack happened just recently of which four people were killed. He said we were attacked and we will attack now. We have seen proposition for annexing Area C, cleanse all Palestinians from it, it has not happened yet and also now of course the immediate reaction was these permits, up to 80,000 of them to be revoked. Are we seeing an escalation more so of what was before in the occupied territories?

Fowler: Well yes it definitely seems to be an escalation over the last period of annexations and settlements and demolition of homes and attacks on Palestinians and even the National Security Advisor Susan Rice put out a statement just very recently criticizing the expansions and attacks on Palestinians but at the same time she on behalf of the United States government has announced an increased aid package for military aid to Israel, the biggest military aid in US history of 40 billion dollars and this is on top of the 30 billion dollars which they [dish out] every year for military aid. Now with that sort of support and lack of real criticism, Israel just thinks that it can get away with this, this bad behavior and it is time that the people around the world made a clear stand that this is totally unacceptable.  

Press TV: Well when this military aid gets mentioned from the US, it is somewhat of a misnomer because it is not that this just goes to the military but what it actually has done with the military forces. For example they are used to protect settlements from Palestinians, they are used to go into towns to detain people and these are all somewhat illegal, obviously not somewhat, they are illegal under international law, so all this military aid is contributing to all the illegal violations that are taking place, isn’t it?

Fowler: It is. It is actually enforcing it and as you say it is escalating.

Press TV: And what about the statements as you mentioned Susan Rice criticizing Israel and then we have for example the EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini who has just recently come out, just days ago, and said I think peace is out of reach right now. Well they keep condemning and then they do not do anything and then they come out and they say, ‘Well peace is out of reach.’ So what does that show on their part?

Fowler: Well just total hypocrisy and this is what I mean. It is really up to the people around the world to build up a strong movement which is happening. The Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaign, known as BDS, is growing and having a tremendous effect in putting on pressure on Israel to stop its belligerent activities.  

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