Speaking in an exclusive interview with FNA, Paul Larudee said that "the most
effective way to defend Palestinian rights is by popular and civil
nongovernmental worldwide resistance, to make Israel, Israelis and Israeli
products and services unwelcome everywhere.”
Reacting to the shameless remarks by the US Ambassador to the UN who said "no
country would act with greater restraint than Israel,” Mr. Larudee talked about
the viciousness of the Zionists who like to kill every last Palestinian man,
woman and child. The activist further explained that it is with this brutal
mentality that they consider the recent killings in Gaza to have been done with
great restraint.
Paul Larudee is an academic, activist and former US government advisor. He is
also a human rights volunteer and a founder of the Free Gaza and Free Palestine
Movements. Mr. Larudee has shared his expert comments on many international news
outlets such as RT English and Press TV.
FNA has conducted an interview with Paul Larudee about Trump’s relocation of the
US embassy to Jerusalem Al-Quds and also the recent killings of Palestinian
protesters by Israeli army.
Below you will find the full text of the interview.
Q: Delivering on his campaign promise and in defiance of all global warnings,
Donald Trump moved the US embassy to Jerusalem al-Quds. Many believe that this
move by Trump has effectively killed fantasies that Washington is a neutral
party in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. How do you think that would play in
the current and future developments surrounding the issue?
A: The US embassy move has not killed the fantasy that Washington is a
neutral party because that fantasy died a half century ago. No one believes
that fantasy, least of all the Zionist agents that are trying to pretend that it
is still alive. The embassy move and the continuation of unquestioning US
support for Israel meant the project to empty Palestine of its Palestinians will
proceed with no signs of slowing down, demonstrating that the phrase "Never
again” meant to put an end to all genocide, has been replaced by "Again and
again.”
Q: Since the beginning of the protests dubbed as the "Great March of Return”,
Israeli forces have killed and wounded many Palestinian civilians, including the
protesters, members of the press and medical workers. It seems as if the regime
in Tel Aviv felt an atmosphere of impunity where it could act beyond all
international laws and conventions. Where do you think this feeling of immunity
comes from?
A: Why shouldn’t Israel feel free to kill and maim Palestinians? No one is
stopping them. They are quite justified in believing that they can commit
murder without any limits. If there are limits, no one has found them. Their
intention is to do to Palestinians what the North Americans did to Native
Americans, and until now, no one has done enough to stop them. Under these
circumstances, one would have to say that their arrogance is justified.
Q: The US Ambassador to the UN said "no country would act with greater
restraint than Israel” as the world was witnessing the rise in the toll of
Palestinian civilians killed and wounded by Israeli live fire. How do you
evaluate her words?
A: She is referring to countries that would like to exterminate every last
Palestinian man, woman and child, which is a view endorsed by a lot of Israelis
and Zionists, especially at the highest levels of government. In such a
country, killing on the scale of Gaza must be considered restraint, by
comparison. After the 2008-9 massacres of Palestinians in Gaza, I was invited to
speak at Clark University in the US. The Zionist student organization attended,
and I had a conversation with their faculty advisor. He thought that the deaths
of around 1400 Palestinians showed that Israel had exercised great restraint.
He said that a lot more could have been killed. I replied, that yes, Israel
could have killed all the Palestinians in Gaza. "Exactly,” he replied. "So if
Israel had killed a million and allowed the rest to live, would that be
restraint,” I asked? "You would have to say so,” he answered. This is not an
unusual way of thinking among Israelis and Zionists.
Q: Israel has rejected international calls for probes into recent killings
and insisted that its open-fire rules for Gaza will not change. Some Western
states, particularly the US and Britain, who call themselves champions of human
rights, have supported the Israeli crimes against Palestinians. The UN has also
failed to restore the rights of the people. What is your assessment? What role
can nations of the world play in protecting the rights of the oppressed people
of Palestine?
A: I’m not sure that governments can or will do much to protect
Palestinians, because those that defy the US and Israel will be subject to
regime change or total destruction, as with Iraq, Libya, Syria, Afghanistan and
other countries. The most effective way to defend Palestinian rights is by
popular and civil nongovernmental worldwide resistance, to make Israel, Israelis
and Israeli products and services unwelcome everywhere. BDS is an example, but
much stronger measures are needed.
Q: Saudi Arabia’s crown prince, Mohammad bin Salman, has recently said that
Israelis "have the right to have their own land” and that formal relations
between Tel Aviv and Riyadh could be mutually beneficial. The Saudi regime once,
at least seemingly, opposed Israel’s right to exist. What do you think has
changed in Riyadh to now come out as an apologist for the Zionist regime and
betray the Palestinian cause? How do you think would other fellow Arab and
Muslim nations think of the Kingdom?
A: Mohammad bin Salman is playing a dangerous game. His alliance with
Israel is not popular in his own country, much less in other Arab and Muslim
countries. He regards Iran as a greater threat than Israel, and an alliance
with the US and Israel as the means to a dominant role for Saudi Arabia in the
region, at the expense of Iran and its allies. Betraying the Palestinian cause
is a means of strengthening ties with the US and Israel. He sees the
Palestinians as an obstacle to his regional ambitions. Other Arab and Muslim
nations may despise him for this, but most of their governments will not say
anything because their leadership has been compromised. The ones that dare to
speak out, like Iran and Syria, are under constant threat.
Source: FNA