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ANNA . a man not known for sitting on the fence.
He passionately opposed the invasion of Iraq and now he feels
that Hizbollah is justified in attacking Israel. The "Respect"
M.P. for Bethnal Green is in our Central London studios. A very
good eveninggood morning rather to you Mr Galloway.
Anna: How can you justify your support for Hizbollah
and its leader Sheikh Hassen Nasrullah?
Galloway: What a preposterous way to introduce
an item! What a preposterous first question! Twenty-four years
ago, on the day my daughter was born and I have just celebrated
her 24th birthday, I had to dash at the maternity to see giving
birth, from a mass demonstration in London against the Israeli
invasion and occupation of Lebanon. Israel has been invading
and occupying Lebanon all of my 24 years of my daughter's life.
The Hezbollah are a prt of the Lebanese Resistance who are trying
to drive, having successfully driven most Israelis from their
land in 2000. Israel from the rest of their land and to get
back those thousands Lebanese prisoners who are kidnapped by
Israel under the term of their illegal occupation of Lebanon.
It's Israel that is invading Lebanon! It's Israel that is attacking
Lebanon, not Lebanon that's attacking Israel! You've just been
carrying a report "Ten Israeli Soldiers on the border getting
ready to invade Lebanon, and you ask us to mourn that operation
as if there were some kind of war crime! Israel is invading
Lebanon and has killed 30 times
Anna: . (Interruption by Anna)
(Galloway does not stop) more Lebanese civilians than
have died in Israel. So, it's you who should be justifying
the evident bias, which is written on every line of your face
and is in every nuance of your voice and is loaded in every question
that you ask.
Anna: Rightthe..you put your finger on the button,
didn't you when you said that the Hezbollah was set up back in
the 1980s in order to remove every Israeli soldiers from Lebanese
soil as YOU said had achieved that in 2000. This is a set back.
Galloway: No, they didn't! This is a key point
you are concealing from your viewers! Israel was forced out
of MOST of South Lebanon in 2000! It still occupies a part of
Lebanon since 2000
Anna: (Interruption by Anna).subject to this latest
UN draft resolutions
(Galloway does not stop) Thousandsthousands
of Lebanese prisoners have been kidnapped by Israel. Hezbollah
(Interruption by Anna who speaks
at the same time as Mr. Galloway)I spoke a moment ago
to the Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman who said that the three
Lebanese (Galloway does not stop and speaks at the same time
as the Broadcaster) and the Lebanese government want them to
be released.
(Anna continues) who
have beencaptured
(Galloway proceeds)
No, no! Not those! These are not the prisoners!
(Anna keeps on talking)
perhaps you would like to use that word
Galloway: No, oh, please! Have a slightly
longer memory than 4 weeks. I'm talking about the thousands
of prisoners taken during the Israeli occupation, illegal occupation
of South Lebanon. These are the prisoners that have to be released
in exchange of the Israeli soldiers that were captured in the
beginning of this wave of the crisis.
Anna: Can I ask you about a report that is in today's
Sunday Telegraph, which says that Iran has given Hezbollah long
range missiles capable of targeting any part of Israel. Iran,
according to this Iranian MP who helped found Hezbollah has also
said that Iran has given the organization, authorization rather,
to target Tel Aviv. Can you blame Israel for wanting to destroy
these missiles?
Galloway: America has given Israel missiles
that can target not just every city in Lebanon, but every city
in the Arab and Muslim world including Iran! Why should America
be allowed to give long range missiles to Israel including hundreds
of nuclear missiles, but
(Anna interrupts)
Because it's given it to a terrorist organization!
Galloway: But, they are not a terrorist organization!
Only in the mind of Rupert Murdoch's Sky and The Times and the
.
(Anna interrupts) I
wont, come on! I want to stop you there, Mr Galloway! Prescribed
terrorist organization.
Galloway: They are not a terrorist organization!
It's Israel who is the terrorist
(Anna continues talking
at the same time) One man's terrorist is another man's freedom
fighter. We know that perfectly well.
Galloway: (speaking at the same time) Precisely.
Precisley.
Anna: (speaking at the same time) In most people's
eyes they are deemed to be
(Galloway keeps on talking)
No, they are not! They are not!
(Anna continues her
interruption) They had a choice, let's understand thisthey have
a choicelike the IRAto take politics!
Galloway: (speaking at the same time) No, no,
no, they have nothing to do with the IRA! Listen Anna!
Anna: (not listening) I'm saying they have a choice
to absorb the idea of politics. They have two Hezbollah Cabinet
Ministers.
Galloway: Anna! You are right! Listen.
Anna: (keeps interrupting and talking at the same
time)
Galloway: Are we going to shout upon each other?
Anna! One man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter.
You are totally wrong in saying that in most people's eyes Hezbollah
are terrorists. In most people's eyes, Israel is a terrorist
state! The fact that you cannot comprehend that fact that leads
to the bias, which runs through all your reporting, and every
question you've been asking me in that interview.
Anna: Hn hn! Can I ask you one question. I was
relating to the IRA and Shin Fein who have decided to embrace
politics. Hezbollah had the chance to embrace politics. They've
already got two Cabinet ministers well respected in the South.
Galloway: They ARE the people of the South
of Lebanon!
Anna: If you listen to me, I'm saying they've got
two Cabinet Ministers already, they had a chance to do that,
why did they need to capture and kill Israeli soldiers on the
border.
Galloway: Because Israel occupied their country!
(Anna not listening
and continues) Surelythat sets backtheir ambition to be a political
inside a democratic Lebanon.
Galloway: Look, because Israel occupies their
country and holds thousands of their compatriots as kidnapped
hostages in their dungeons! It's really very simple except if
you think only in a clock that goes back four weeks. If you
know, and you are old enough to know better that this origins
of this conflict are not four weeks or four years or fourteen
years but are decades all. You want people to think that the
crisis started when the clock started ticking on Sky News.
Anna: I don't, I don't at all. I want to ask you
one, I want to ask you one final question. Do you think that
the the four weeks as we've seen that you've mention, the 28
days of this crisis, has set back Hezbollah's ambitionambitions,
not only on Israeli soldiers on the border
(Galloway tries to answer,
but is stopped by Anna.)Hezbollah is winning the waryou've
just reported
Let me finish! Let me finish!
Would you mind let me finish, please! Not only on Israeli soldiers
over the borders in sizable numbers but also there claims to
be a good political organization to help a democratic Lebanese
government with the Syrians who've also now left, an independent
state. That's also come to blows as well!
Galloway: What a silly question! What a silly
person you are! Hezbolah is winning the war, you could see on
the other half of the screen. Hezbollah is more populat today
Anna: (interrupts) That does not answer my question!
Galloway: Hezbollah is more popular today
in Lebanon amongst Christians, amongst Sunnis, amongst Shiite,
amongst all Arabs, amongst all Muslims that it has ever been!
It's Israel who's lost the war, and Bush and Blair for politically
organizing the war who've lost politically. This is a defeat
of Bush and Blair and Israel. Everybody but you can see it!
Anna: OK. Let me separate out that question then.
Is it a setback given that Hezbollah was set up in order to
get Israeli soldiers off Lebanese soil, but there are now more
Lebanese soldiers on Lebanese soil than there were 26 days ago?
Galloway: Well, they seem to be getting a
bloody good hiding on the other side of the screen I am watching,
May be you can't see it, but I'm watching them getting a bloody
good hiding! So, if that's a success, I'm not sure what failure
would look like! The reality is that this conflict would go
on. The United Nations resolutions solve nothing! Gives Lebanon
nothing! Gives prisoners in Israeli dungeons nothing! And as
(Anne Clewd) my erstwhile colleague was just saying, Israel has
just kidnapped even more Palestinian politicians, Cabinet Ministers,
Members of Parliament, and thousands of others held in Israeli
dungeons. This war will continue until the overall settlement
is reached. That settlement must mean Israel withdrawal from
all occupied territories that it currently hold since the war
in 1967, the release of all political prisoners, and a state
for the Palestinians with East Jerusalem as its Capital. No
justice, no peace! You're not going out as a newscaster in Jerusalem
anytime soon, believe me.
Anna: Well, as usual it prompted a huge email response
for and against you Mr Galloway, so we'll leave it there. I
have to say that some people might find it offensive when more
families are mourning their dead to hear you say that it was
a bloody good fight and so!
Galloway: You don't give a damn! You don't
even know about the Palestinian families! You don't even know
that they exist! Tell me the name of one member of the seven
members of the same family swatted on the beach in Gaza by an
Israeli warship! You don't even know their name, but you know
the name of every Israeli soldier who've been taken prisoner
in this conflict because you believe whether you know it or not
that Israeli blood is more valuable than that the blood of Lebanese
or Palestinian! That's the truth! And the discerning of your
viewers already know it!
Now
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from CounterPunch Books!
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Against Israel
By Michael Neumann
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