Burning baby to death by Israeli settlers act of terrorism: Activist

Press TV has interviewed Ryan Dawson, a human rights activist from Japan, to discuss the burning to death of an 18-month-old Palestinian toddler by Israeli settlers.

What follows is a rough transcript of the interview.

Press TV: Israeli officials have conceded that the toddler’s death was an act of terrorism. What should we call last summer’s war on the Gaza Strip, which left over 540 children dead?

Dawson: State terrorism. And you have to look at this in the greater context. Yes, it definitely was an act of terrorism. Burning a baby alive and setting the house on fire itself was an act of terrorism. And can you imagine what the reaction would be if a Jewish baby had been burned to death and their houses had been set on fire by a Palestinian? There would be war. I’m not saying that’s a proper reaction but when three settlers were captured before, they collectively punished Gaza Strip even though it didn’t happen in the West Bank. They went and murdered thousands of people and, yes, hundreds of people were killed in their homes, in their bedrooms. Those were children. It’s also terrorism to kill adults. Israel is… with state-sponsored terror. The fact that this happened in the settlement is in itself very telling. What is a settler anyway? These people live in racially-segregated cities… this is 2015 and they have Jewish-only cities protected by standing army. So it doesn’t surprise me at all that they would behave this way when they routinely are vandalizing and assaulting and beating people with the IDF looking on, protecting these settlers from any retaliation.

Press TV: Many critics feel strongly that Tel Aviv in fact emboldens the settlers to carry out such attacks through its own treatment of Palestinians. Your thoughts.

Dawson: There shouldn’t be settlements at all any way, rather they are being peaceful or violent or not. It’s a violent act to demolish someone’s home and use the military, use force, to take away private properties so you can set up your religious dream of God-ordained - you know - “God is a real-estate agent. He gave this land to us and our people and not you.” That in itself is apartheid and extremely racist and it’s supported not just by individual terrorists or…, but by the state, in the Knesset, by Israeli officials. They treat African migrants who are in concentration camps. They demolish homes of Palestinians and they murder them and … they will bomb Gaza and starve Gaza and attack the West Bank. So, there shouldn’t be settlements there at all.

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