Leading Arab daily equates IDF to Nazi army
The only thing left is to send [Palestinians] to the gas chambers, says London-based paper in editorial
Elhanan Miller is the former Arab affairs reporter for The Times of Israel
A leading Arab daily equated Israel to Nazi Germany on Thursday, following publication of a report that Israel’s military calculated the calorie requirements of Gaza Strip residents.
The editorial, published by London-based daily Al-Quds Al-Arabi, was titled “The only thing left is to send them to the gas ovens.” The piece was unsigned, but a Twitter handle for editor-in-chief Abdel Bari Atwan appeared at the bottom.
‘The Israeli army, through its inhumane treatment of over two million Palestinians besieged by land, sea and air, reminds us of similar treatment by the Nazi army of Jewish inmates in the Nazi camps. The only difference is that the Israeli army hasn’t sent the Palestinians to the gas ovens, at least not yet’
One of the leading dailies in the Arab world, Al-Quds Al-Arabi focuses on Palestinian issues and is known for its confrontational stance toward Israel.
“The Israeli army, through its inhumane treatment of over two million Palestinians besieged by land, sea and air, reminds us of similar treatment by the Nazi army of Jewish inmates in the Nazi camps. The only difference is that the Israeli army hasn’t sent the Palestinians to the gas ovens, at least not yet,” wrote the editor, after reporting that an IDF document set the minimum caloric intake of Gaza residents at 2,279 calories a day.
An IDF spokesman said that the document, drafted in 2008 to prevent starvation in Gaza, was never used for operational purposes.
“The Gaza Strip has turned into a big prison, the keys of which are held by the Israeli army. This army’s level of sadism has reached the point of depriving [Gaza of] medicine, food and fuel, and bombarding it on a quasi-daily basis by airplanes to kill activists who oppose this inhumane behavior,” the article said.
“Israel’s army and its leadership take pleasure in torturing the Palestinian people and enjoy its moans of deprivation and suffering. They do this under the watchful eye of the democratic free world, reassured of no external intervention. For who can challenge Israel and protest this behavior?”
