Who can forget John Kerry's overheard remark criticizing Israel's military operations, saying, "that's one hell of a pin-point operation?"
In the following opinion piece by Rachel Levy, published in The Jewish Press, we find the U.S. seems to be doing a mediocre job of avoiding civilian casualties, yet the public reaction so far is 99% less acerbic than the attacks on the IDF's operations in Gaza this year.
~~~~~~~~~~~
Perhaps Syrian lives are not as precious to the U.S. and its allies as those of Gaza Arabs. Or, maybe it’s just that the U.S. and its allies feel they don’t have to conduct themselves by the same standards they demand of others (read: Israel).
But late Sunday night, numerous Syrian civilians and a few militants were killed, and some wounded, as U.S.-led “precision” air strikes struck grain silos and other targets in territory controlled by the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) terror organization. No one said a word about it.
Aside from the fact that more civilians than militants were killed, the fact is that Syrians are in desperate need of food — and the U.S.-led forces have just deprived them of even more of it, with another harsh winter barely waiting in the wings.
According to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, it is believed the aircraft “may have mistaken the mills and grain storage areas in the northern Syrian town of Minbej for an ISIS base.”
But that’s pretty hard to swallow, given the accuracy of satellite imagery these days. It’s certainly not an excuse the United Nations Human Rights Commission would have accepted from the Israel Defense Forces had it been offered about an attack on a Gaza target.
Which is why the IDF so carefully documented every single attack it carried out during this past summer’s counter terror Operation Protective Edge, launched to silence the incessant rocket fire from Gaza aimed at southern Israeli communities on a daily basis.
As a matter of fact, according to Observatory head Rami Abdulrahman, the strikes in Minbej appeared only to have killed civilians, Lebanon’s Daily Star reported Monday.
In eastern Syria, U.S.-led Allied forces also bombed a gas plant controlled by ISIS, outside Deir al-Zor. Several militants were wounded in the strike on the Kuniko gas plant, which feeds a power station in Homs, according to the Observatory. But the price for wounding a few militants was high: Several provinces were robbed of electricity and power for the generators that keep their oil fields going.
Of course, the news is not all bad – nothing ever is. The U.S.-led forces also hit areas of Hasaka city in the northeast, and struck the outskirts of Raqqa in the north. Raqqa is the “capital” of the ISIS territory.
But it’s important to weigh the cost against the gain.
The IDF worked hard to minimize civilian casualties ahead of every attack – making phone calls to homes in each targeted area, sending text messages to cell phones in Arabic, and dropping leaflets from aircraft into the targeted neighborhoods days in advance, warning residents to leave for their own safety.
Funny but this writer did not see any sign of such precautions being taken on behalf of civilian safety by the U.S. or its allies in the Syrian targeted areas. Or in Iraq, for that matter.
So where’s the outrage from the UNHRC? Why don’t we hear screams of empathy from the High Commissioner, Navi Pillay, declaring she will initiate an investigation into the aggressive actions of the U.S. and its allies?
I’ll tell you a little secret. You know why there’s no outrage about any of this and why everyone instead was raising Cain about Israel’s self-defense moves in Gaza?
Because the U.S. and its allies are paying Navi Pillay’s salary, and because all of them – especially together — are much bigger and wealthier than the tiny state of Israel. (Not to mention the rampant anti-Semitism that exists in the world body — and for that matter, among some in the Obama administration as well. Shhhhh….)
If the U.S. were to pull out of the United Nations, or withdraw its funding for any reason, how long could that entity continue to function?
Right. Not long at all.
Would it matter at all if Israel walked away?
I suspect much of the UN would probably throw a party – at least until they realized they would have to find their own intelligence information to deal with the threat of terror in their nations and governments. Then they might come running. But you never know.
Sometimes might does indeed outweigh right, at least when backed by the dollar.
Monday, September 29, 2014
Monday, August 11, 2014
Hamas call to arms for Muslims beyond Gaza
For those who may still be harboring delusions that Hamas is not bent on simply killing Jews, I suggest you take a moment to listen to Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum.
Less than two weeks ago (30 Jul. 14), in an interview with Al-Quds TV in Lebanon, Barhoum called on Israeli Arabs and West Bank Palestinians to wage attacks "to avenge the blood of Gaza."
Here are a few choice excerpts:
The Palestinian people has no choice but to wage this battle in Gaza, in the West Bank, in Jerusalem, and in all the cities of occupied Palestine."
Let me say, loud and clear, to our people in the West Bank: Don't you have cars? Don't you have motorcycles? Don't you have knives? Don't you have clubs? Don't you have bulldozers? Don't you have trucks? Anyone who has a knife, a club, a weapon, or a car, yet does not use it to run over a Jew or a settler, and does not use it to kill dozens of Zionists, does not belong to Palestine.
Palestine says loud and clear: Real men are those who avenge the blood of Gaza. Real men are those who avenge the blood of the Gaza Strip. Real men will not sleep until they have avenged the blood of Gaza.
To our people within the Green Line, we say: It is time for you to declare a new phase in this struggle. Political and social considerations are worthless. Blood and martyrdom are the only considerations that matter. The Palestinian people has no choice but to wage this battle in Gaza, in the West Bank, in Jerusalem, and in all the cities of occupied Palestine.
Less than two weeks ago (30 Jul. 14), in an interview with Al-Quds TV in Lebanon, Barhoum called on Israeli Arabs and West Bank Palestinians to wage attacks "to avenge the blood of Gaza."
Here are a few choice excerpts:
The Palestinian people has no choice but to wage this battle in Gaza, in the West Bank, in Jerusalem, and in all the cities of occupied Palestine."
Let me say, loud and clear, to our people in the West Bank: Don't you have cars? Don't you have motorcycles? Don't you have knives? Don't you have clubs? Don't you have bulldozers? Don't you have trucks? Anyone who has a knife, a club, a weapon, or a car, yet does not use it to run over a Jew or a settler, and does not use it to kill dozens of Zionists, does not belong to Palestine.
Palestine says loud and clear: Real men are those who avenge the blood of Gaza. Real men are those who avenge the blood of the Gaza Strip. Real men will not sleep until they have avenged the blood of Gaza.
To our people within the Green Line, we say: It is time for you to declare a new phase in this struggle. Political and social considerations are worthless. Blood and martyrdom are the only considerations that matter. The Palestinian people has no choice but to wage this battle in Gaza, in the West Bank, in Jerusalem, and in all the cities of occupied Palestine.
Sunday, August 10, 2014
Why doesn't Gaza have bomb shelters?
the executive director of Amnesty International Israel
Yonatan Gher, executive director of Amnesty International Israel, whose brother is an IDF soldier currently fighting in Gaza, wrote an article arguing essentially that Israelis an numb to Palestinian deaths and suffering.
"Israel has one standard for the rest of the world, and another for itself," he writes. "Actions that amount to clear violations of human rights when another country commits them are coined 'political' when they happen here. And if you criticise those actions, you'll be accused of 'ignoring the context,' or 'being anti-Semitic.'"
Gher stated these claims as fact, without presenting any backing. He does not explain what he sees as "clear violations of human rights."
He then goes on to demonstrate that nobody has a conscience, making it difficult for him (a self-styled conscientious objector) to relate to his young son how terribly unfair life is for the children of Gaza.
At night, he writes, my son "asks me whether there are sirens in Gaza too. I explain that kids in Gaza have none. They don't have an Iron Dome either. 'What protects kids there?' he asks."
Gher then suggests that the solution is "the upholding of human rights." In other words Israel is to blame, and Israel should be taken to task.
War is an ugly, horrible thing. Blaming the Jews for the high number of civilian deaths is the easy way to respond. But anyone in Israel's shoes would send in their war planes and heavy artillery (minus the text message and phone calls to warn civilians). I have heard endless complaints about how Israel has conducted the war, but nobody is proposing viable alternatives.
Hamas has made it perfectly clear that their singular objective is to drive the Jews into the sea. And they have also made it clear that they are willing to "martyr" the people of Gaza to achieve this objective.
I wish next time Yonatan Gher's son asks where Gazan children go when the bombs fall that his father has the intellectual integrity to tell him the truth: It would be fabulous if the children of Gaza could go underground to the astonishing number of tunnels built by Hamas, but the problem is Hamas earmarked those tunnels for military activity and left all of Gazans civilians up on deck, knowing exactly what would happen. Why doesn't Gaza have bomb shelters? Because Hamas doesn't want them. Civilian suffering is an inherent part of Hamas strategy.
Gher then offers his solution: "I truly hope that more people around the world take action, to call on all fighting parties to stop targeting civilians, and on their own countries to utilise the International Criminal Court and to impose arms embargoes to keep us safe."
A lovely sentiment. But had the international community imposed an effective arms embargo on Gaza, none of this would have had to happen. Nobody would be dead. But you don't see people rising up in arms to keep Israel safe, so Israel had to do the job, primarily by imposing a maritime blockade.
As for Gher's suggestion that Israel be indicted by the ICC, he would do well to listen to the Palestinian ambassador to the United Nations, who himself said Gaza has no legitimate claim it could bring to the ICC.
Israel
has one standard for the rest of the world, and another for itself.
Actions that amount to clear violations of human rights when another
country commits them are coined "political" when they happen here. And
if you criticise those actions, you'll be accused of "ignoring the
context", or "being anti-Semitic".
Thursday, August 7, 2014
Moral blindness in the condemn Israel campaign
Abraham Foxman of the Anti-Defamation League wrote an excellent article on the lack of moral clarity in viewing the Israel-Hamas conflict and the growing anti-semitism, particularly in Europe.
It's popular to argue that "criticizing Israel is not anti-semitism," but recent events clearly demonstrate that the distinction is quite nebulous. The hatred spewing out of anti-Israel in Europe is partly a result of the large number of Muslims who now live in European countries, but it also points to old-fashioned anti-semitism coming to the surface.
CNN ran Foxman's article, but interestingly added a bold note at the top, rather than below the article, pointing out that the writer represents the Anti-Defamation League.
-----
When Israel is forced to defend its citizens from Palestinian terrorism originating from Gaza, we've come to expect outrage around the world. Critics are quick to condemn Israel's military actions -- some with such heavy-handed charges as "war crimes," "atrocities" and even "genocide," while remaining silent about the terrorists who started the conflict.
At anti-Israel protests around the world, violent anti-Semitism is on full display, thinly veiled as criticism of Israel. Demonstrators in Turkey have attacked Israeli embassies. In Germany, France, Italy and Spain and other European countries, the protests have led to anti-Semitic attacks on Jewish people, community centers and synagogues.
We've seen violence and incitement against Jews rising in Latin America as well.
It has been lost on no one that this pronounced anti-Semitism has its antecedents in Nazi Germany and the Holocaust. Fortunately, some responsible European leaders are standing up to the hatred and bigotry. But their words may not be enough, as Israel continues to be treated as the international community's whipping boy in the latest conflict.
It is time for moral clarity on Gaza. The facts bear repeating. Hamas intentionally started this conflict. Hamas militants built miles of underground tunnels -- at least 30 tunnels in all -- using about 600,000 tons of cement and other materials that could have built homes or schools for Palestinians. Instead, it went into a sickening subterranean network of tunnels designed to carry out surprise terrorist attacks across the border in Israel.
It has been said that the only real growth industries in Gaza are in rocket-building and tunnel construction. This unconscionable waste of resources has brought about the two crowning "cultural" achievements of Hamas: Thousands of rockets raining down on Israeli towns and cities and terrorists armed to the teeth emerging from holes in the ground, intent on kidnapping more Israeli soldiers and killing Israeli civilians. This culture of death is an essential part of Hamas' identity and ideology and has motivated the Hamas leaders for the more than eight years they have controlled Gaza.
The world knows that Hamas intentionally stores its rockets in homes, mosques, hospitals and schools. No matter how careful Israel tries to be in warning civilians before attacks, no matter how much restraint it exercises, Hamas has guaranteed that civilians will be victims. Children make up nearly half the population of Gaza, and so women and children are among those dying because of Hamas's maximalist strategy against Israel.
In Israel and Gaza, a war against peace
Israel did not want this war, and certainly does not want to see civilians killed. But no matter, the calumny continues to rain down on Israel. What hypocrisy this is.
Has anyone condemned Hamas for the death of over 160 children during the construction of the Gaza tunnels? The Institute for Palestinian Studies reports Hamas uses child labor to build its terror tunnels and prizes their nimbleness and work ethic.
On the news every day there is the macabre body count of how many civilians have lost their lives in Gaza, invariably accompanied by a comparison with the cost of life for Israeli soldiers and civilians. Counts vary, but most put the numbers of Palestinian deaths around 1,800 and Israeli deaths at 65.
All deaths that come about as a result of this conflict are tragic. But who is taking steps to limit casualties? Israel. Who is apologizing for the loss of life in Gaza? Israel. Hamas, on the other hand, tries at every opportunity to inflict as much pain as possible on Israel, trying to kill more Israeli civilians by firing rockets at large population centers, by sending suicide bombers across the border and sacrificing the lives of their own children. They make no apologies for their culture of death.
Look out at the world, there is no shortage of horrific violence and tragic death. Death by the thousands, by the tens of thousands in Syria; human destruction in Libya, in Afghanistan, in Iraq. Muslims slaughtering Muslims. And in Iraq, Muslims are killing Christians. Why have the voices of outrage in response to the more than 170,000 dead as a result of Syria's civil war gone silent?
There are no cameras out there, there are few editorials, and there are even fewer demonstrations in the streets of Paris, of Rome or London.
Here is where moral myopia verges on moral blindness. It seems the world wakes up only when Jews in their own defense -- defending their men, women and children -- are forced to kill Muslims and Palestinians. That's when the world demonstrates.
This is the true hypocrisy of the "condemn Israel" phenomenon.
And there can be no doubt that the anti-Israel campaign that is unfolding around the world is a function of the anti-Semitism that we know lurks just underneath the surface in some European societies and is all-but rampant across the Middle East.
It's popular to argue that "criticizing Israel is not anti-semitism," but recent events clearly demonstrate that the distinction is quite nebulous. The hatred spewing out of anti-Israel in Europe is partly a result of the large number of Muslims who now live in European countries, but it also points to old-fashioned anti-semitism coming to the surface.
CNN ran Foxman's article, but interestingly added a bold note at the top, rather than below the article, pointing out that the writer represents the Anti-Defamation League.
-----
When Israel is forced to defend its citizens from Palestinian terrorism originating from Gaza, we've come to expect outrage around the world. Critics are quick to condemn Israel's military actions -- some with such heavy-handed charges as "war crimes," "atrocities" and even "genocide," while remaining silent about the terrorists who started the conflict.
At anti-Israel protests around the world, violent anti-Semitism is on full display, thinly veiled as criticism of Israel. Demonstrators in Turkey have attacked Israeli embassies. In Germany, France, Italy and Spain and other European countries, the protests have led to anti-Semitic attacks on Jewish people, community centers and synagogues.
We've seen violence and incitement against Jews rising in Latin America as well.
It has been lost on no one that this pronounced anti-Semitism has its antecedents in Nazi Germany and the Holocaust. Fortunately, some responsible European leaders are standing up to the hatred and bigotry. But their words may not be enough, as Israel continues to be treated as the international community's whipping boy in the latest conflict.
It is time for moral clarity on Gaza. The facts bear repeating. Hamas intentionally started this conflict. Hamas militants built miles of underground tunnels -- at least 30 tunnels in all -- using about 600,000 tons of cement and other materials that could have built homes or schools for Palestinians. Instead, it went into a sickening subterranean network of tunnels designed to carry out surprise terrorist attacks across the border in Israel.
It has been said that the only real growth industries in Gaza are in rocket-building and tunnel construction. This unconscionable waste of resources has brought about the two crowning "cultural" achievements of Hamas: Thousands of rockets raining down on Israeli towns and cities and terrorists armed to the teeth emerging from holes in the ground, intent on kidnapping more Israeli soldiers and killing Israeli civilians. This culture of death is an essential part of Hamas' identity and ideology and has motivated the Hamas leaders for the more than eight years they have controlled Gaza.
The world knows that Hamas intentionally stores its rockets in homes, mosques, hospitals and schools. No matter how careful Israel tries to be in warning civilians before attacks, no matter how much restraint it exercises, Hamas has guaranteed that civilians will be victims. Children make up nearly half the population of Gaza, and so women and children are among those dying because of Hamas's maximalist strategy against Israel.
In Israel and Gaza, a war against peace
Israel did not want this war, and certainly does not want to see civilians killed. But no matter, the calumny continues to rain down on Israel. What hypocrisy this is.
Has anyone condemned Hamas for the death of over 160 children during the construction of the Gaza tunnels? The Institute for Palestinian Studies reports Hamas uses child labor to build its terror tunnels and prizes their nimbleness and work ethic.
On the news every day there is the macabre body count of how many civilians have lost their lives in Gaza, invariably accompanied by a comparison with the cost of life for Israeli soldiers and civilians. Counts vary, but most put the numbers of Palestinian deaths around 1,800 and Israeli deaths at 65.
All deaths that come about as a result of this conflict are tragic. But who is taking steps to limit casualties? Israel. Who is apologizing for the loss of life in Gaza? Israel. Hamas, on the other hand, tries at every opportunity to inflict as much pain as possible on Israel, trying to kill more Israeli civilians by firing rockets at large population centers, by sending suicide bombers across the border and sacrificing the lives of their own children. They make no apologies for their culture of death.
Look out at the world, there is no shortage of horrific violence and tragic death. Death by the thousands, by the tens of thousands in Syria; human destruction in Libya, in Afghanistan, in Iraq. Muslims slaughtering Muslims. And in Iraq, Muslims are killing Christians. Why have the voices of outrage in response to the more than 170,000 dead as a result of Syria's civil war gone silent?
There are no cameras out there, there are few editorials, and there are even fewer demonstrations in the streets of Paris, of Rome or London.
Here is where moral myopia verges on moral blindness. It seems the world wakes up only when Jews in their own defense -- defending their men, women and children -- are forced to kill Muslims and Palestinians. That's when the world demonstrates.
This is the true hypocrisy of the "condemn Israel" phenomenon.
And there can be no doubt that the anti-Israel campaign that is unfolding around the world is a function of the anti-Semitism that we know lurks just underneath the surface in some European societies and is all-but rampant across the Middle East.
Wednesday, August 6, 2014
Hamas demonstrates new tactics and capabilities; Will Hezbollah follow suit?
Avi Issacharoff is an excellent, seasoned military analyst who writes for The Times of Israel and the Israeli media. The following are some very valuable insights he wrote as the war was winding down.
Almost every soldier I talked to spoke about the unbelievable, even impossible reality that Israeli forces are dealing with in battle zones — an extensive network of tunnels, bunkers and caches, which allow Hamas to fight the Israel Defense Forces and inflict heavy losses with minimal exposure. The Hamas operatives move from one tunnel to another, emerging each time from a different hole, they fire, and then they disappear again.
One of the officers told me about a network of defensive tunnels the IDF faced in Hiz’aa, one of the southern towns in the Strip. He said that Hamas dug three tunnels along three streets, with numerous entrances and exits.
Every time they fired at us from a different place. Small squads of two of three people. We decided to put smoke into one of the shafts, and suddenly saw smoke rising from dozens of places along these three streets.”
Hamas’s fighting style in Gaza, those unconventional Vietcong-style guerrilla tactics, raises many difficult questions about the ability of a conventional army to deal with this new battlefield. Some infantry soldiers undergo training in underground fighting, but not on this scale.
As always, the army trains for the last war — Operation Cast Lead in this case. But since then, Hamas has dramatically improved its capabilities, at least in terms of the array of defensive and offensive tunnels in Gaza: The organization spent 40% of its budget on this project. The best proof of this is the minimal harm that Hamas’s senior leadership has suffered. From within these channels and tunnels, the military and political leadership continues to function, controlling the rocket launches and attacks into Israel.
Issacharoff also notes that Hezbollah invariably learned from Hamas' tactical innovations. Although the ground in the area of Israel's northern border is harder to excavate compared to that of Gaza, he notes, it's always safe to assume that "what Hamas does well, Hezbollah
does better."
So what is the IDF planning to do to confront this new set of Hamas and Hezbollah challenges? According to a report on Debka Files, the IDF is working on a buffer zone inside the Gaza Strip.
So what is the IDF planning to do to confront this new set of Hamas and Hezbollah challenges? According to a report on Debka Files, the IDF is working on a buffer zone inside the Gaza Strip.
The IDF is carving out a cordon sanitaire from Beit Hanoun to Khan Younis, to be controlled from the outside using special forces and armored units on round-the-clock alert. IDF troops withdrawn from Gaza are redeploying in positions that would enable them to cross back into Gaza for rapid response operations. The no-nonsense plan appears capable of preventing future flare-ups and unchecked rocket attacks, but also brings with it the possibility of a prolonged war of attrition.
Israel's short-term victory a long-term disaster?
In response to an i24 News analysis by Yossi Melman headlined "Israel's victorious withdrawal from Gaza," a commentor by the name of Wim Vincken brought up so many valid points for consideration, that we are re-posting his remarks here.
He took issue with the conclusion of the article, saying it looks like an Israeli defeat to him.
He pointed out that there are still plenty of rockets (apparently several thousand) and a few tunnels left intact, with Hamas operatives safe and sound in their underground bunkers.
Politically Israel will be hit by a big storm, "because they are going to start investigating if Israel performed war-crimes. And you know what? With so many civilians dead and the way they died, they might even have a point. Who, in his right mind, allows [bombing] an area with so many civilians, and allows the international press to monitor every aspect?
"Getting new friends like Egypt is nice, but they lost many current friends."
Vincken goes on to take issue with the IDF strategy of destroying property and killing civilians on a relatively large scale.
"If this is the end of the incursion, just like Lebanon II, this is the biggest defeat," he writes. "In Lebanon II, the political echelon was running the military campaign. It looks like this conflict suffered the same.
"Expectations have not been met. The world and the population in Israel expected to end the rockets fired to Israel. They 'suddenly' discovered the tunnels (which they knew existed) and claim to have them destroyed. Which is obviously not the case.
"Also prepare for the fallout after the conflict. If anyone wants to go on vacation in Europe, Far East, Africa, Australia, and South America (almost the whole world), they might get arrested because of suspicion of war crimes, especially the soldiers. The active hate against Israelis all over the world is slowly reaching its boiling point, meaning Israelis might not be safe anywhere, with a large risk of Israel being declared a pariah-state. If this happens, Israel won't be able to buy a single bullet.
"Then there's the political fallout. Investigations will start in Israel about the conduct of several parties involved here. This current administration will not survive that fallout."
Vincken concludes that Israel neglected the PR battle which will result in "chaos and upheaval in Israel and worldwide."
I find his predictions quite ominous because essentially he is saying the campaign will be the start of a major disaster for the Jewish people worldwide for years to come. And notice when the war came to an end: on Tisha B'Av.
He took issue with the conclusion of the article, saying it looks like an Israeli defeat to him.
He pointed out that there are still plenty of rockets (apparently several thousand) and a few tunnels left intact, with Hamas operatives safe and sound in their underground bunkers.
Politically Israel will be hit by a big storm, "because they are going to start investigating if Israel performed war-crimes. And you know what? With so many civilians dead and the way they died, they might even have a point. Who, in his right mind, allows [bombing] an area with so many civilians, and allows the international press to monitor every aspect?
"Getting new friends like Egypt is nice, but they lost many current friends."
Vincken goes on to take issue with the IDF strategy of destroying property and killing civilians on a relatively large scale.
"If this is the end of the incursion, just like Lebanon II, this is the biggest defeat," he writes. "In Lebanon II, the political echelon was running the military campaign. It looks like this conflict suffered the same.
"Expectations have not been met. The world and the population in Israel expected to end the rockets fired to Israel. They 'suddenly' discovered the tunnels (which they knew existed) and claim to have them destroyed. Which is obviously not the case.
"Also prepare for the fallout after the conflict. If anyone wants to go on vacation in Europe, Far East, Africa, Australia, and South America (almost the whole world), they might get arrested because of suspicion of war crimes, especially the soldiers. The active hate against Israelis all over the world is slowly reaching its boiling point, meaning Israelis might not be safe anywhere, with a large risk of Israel being declared a pariah-state. If this happens, Israel won't be able to buy a single bullet.
"Then there's the political fallout. Investigations will start in Israel about the conduct of several parties involved here. This current administration will not survive that fallout."
Vincken concludes that Israel neglected the PR battle which will result in "chaos and upheaval in Israel and worldwide."
I find his predictions quite ominous because essentially he is saying the campaign will be the start of a major disaster for the Jewish people worldwide for years to come. And notice when the war came to an end: on Tisha B'Av.
Tuesday, August 5, 2014
Those greedy Jews
A Pakistani journalist has now opened our eyes to the real reason behind the war against Hamas. It wasn't about 3,000 rockets or 30 sophisticated terror tunnels. What was the real reason? Natural gas. Those wicked Jews were out to deprive the poor Gazans of their natural gas resources.
What a beautiful conspiracy theory! The writer, Ms. Najma Sadeque, decided rather than submit her very original piece of research to Al-Jazeera or Iran's Press TV, she wanted it to be published by the western media. Who did the honor go to? The Nation.
In fact, she implies that Operation Cast Lead in 2008 also had nothing to do with eradicating Hamas terrorism.
Want a taste of Sadeque's spectacular investigative journalism and analysis? Enjoy.
What a beautiful conspiracy theory! The writer, Ms. Najma Sadeque, decided rather than submit her very original piece of research to Al-Jazeera or Iran's Press TV, she wanted it to be published by the western media. Who did the honor go to? The Nation.
In fact, she implies that Operation Cast Lead in 2008 also had nothing to do with eradicating Hamas terrorism.
Want a taste of Sadeque's spectacular investigative journalism and analysis? Enjoy.
The Israelis now wanted Gaza’s gas fields immediately to offset short supply – but without paying for it. For them, that meant getting rid of Hamas. Only a harsh military operation could possibly uproot them. An excuse was needed to start a war. There wasn’t any, so they simply provoked. Kidnappings and killings, even of their own kind, are old ‘false flags’ they could blame Hamas or anyone else for.
Sunday, August 3, 2014
Gaza death toll: A look beyond the numbers
The international media almost invariably includes the death toll prominently in any article on the war in Gaza. A typical casualty count looks like this:
The reason is painfully obvious, but needs to be reiterated at every opportunity. Hamas has been trying, unsuccessfully, to kill a large number of civilians in Israel.
Instead, they have only managed to kill IDF troops inside Gaza, using guerrilla warfare tactics. Their most effective fighting tactic has been to pop up out of labryinth tunnels in small squads, shoot and retreat back into the tunnel.
Hamas combatants are well protected, while Gaza civilians are left up on deck.
Meanwhile the Western media is obsessed with Gaza, although nothing comes close to the routine brutality of ISIS. As one Yazidi in Sinjar told the New Yorker, “I don’t see any attention from the rest of the world. In one day they killed more than 2,000 Yazidi in Sinjar, and the whole world says, ‘Save Gaza, save Gaza.’ ”
Palestinian casualty figures are likely to be inflated by the inclusion of natural deaths and Hamas executions of suspected collaborators and civilians killed by misfired Hamas rockets. According to Jane's Defence Weekly, at least 850 rockets fired by Hamas landed in the Gaza Strip.
In nearly four weeks of fighting, more than 1,700 Palestinians, mainly civilians, have been killed as well as nearly 70 Israelis, almost all soldiers. (The Toronto Star, 3 Aug. 14)Of course to a whole lot of readers these numbers look extremely lopsided, and are followed by the nagging thought: Hamas is killing IDF soldiers, while the IDF is killing civilians.
The reason is painfully obvious, but needs to be reiterated at every opportunity. Hamas has been trying, unsuccessfully, to kill a large number of civilians in Israel.
Instead, they have only managed to kill IDF troops inside Gaza, using guerrilla warfare tactics. Their most effective fighting tactic has been to pop up out of labryinth tunnels in small squads, shoot and retreat back into the tunnel.
Hamas combatants are well protected, while Gaza civilians are left up on deck.
Meanwhile the Western media is obsessed with Gaza, although nothing comes close to the routine brutality of ISIS. As one Yazidi in Sinjar told the New Yorker, “I don’t see any attention from the rest of the world. In one day they killed more than 2,000 Yazidi in Sinjar, and the whole world says, ‘Save Gaza, save Gaza.’ ”
Palestinian casualty figures are likely to be inflated by the inclusion of natural deaths and Hamas executions of suspected collaborators and civilians killed by misfired Hamas rockets. According to Jane's Defence Weekly, at least 850 rockets fired by Hamas landed in the Gaza Strip.
Saturday, August 2, 2014
Should the IDF target Al-Shifa Hospital?
The director of Al-Shifa Hospital categorically denied there were any weapons stored or used at the hospital. Sounds like he was lying.
Yesterday, a Finnish reporter confirmed rockets were being fired by Hamas next to the Al-Shifa Hospital. “Right in the back parking lot of Al Shifa Hospital, a rocket was launched, two o’clock in the morning,” she said. “Really, it happened right in the area, the sound of it was really loud,” she said. “It’s true that rockets are launched here from the Gazan side into Israel.”
Many foreign journalists have reported that Hamas was using the hospital as a headquarters, but typically their reports were withdrawn, deleted on social media or actually taken off their newspaper websites because of fears for their safety and Hamas retribution.
Perhaps the time has come for the UN to conduct inspections of this and other Gaza hospitals. Another idea would be to bring in Doctors Without Borders, a Nobel Prize winning organization whose charter states that it speaks out when hospitals are threatened. In the case of Al-Shifa, the Hamas is creating a threat to the hospital.
The organization issued a strong condemnation, which seemed to point a finger at Israel, making no mention of the hospital's alleged links to terrorist activities.
Meanwhile Wall Street Journal reporter Tamer El-Ghobashy posted a photo from the scene and tweeted that the “low level damage suggests Hamas misfire.” El-Ghobashy deleted and reposted the photo, this time with the message, “Unclear what the origin of the projectile is.”
Once it was established that Israel was not responsible, the media seemed to lose interest in the incident.
One day later a journalist reporting from the hospital is startled as a rocket is launched.
Yesterday, a Finnish reporter confirmed rockets were being fired by Hamas next to the Al-Shifa Hospital. “Right in the back parking lot of Al Shifa Hospital, a rocket was launched, two o’clock in the morning,” she said. “Really, it happened right in the area, the sound of it was really loud,” she said. “It’s true that rockets are launched here from the Gazan side into Israel.”
Many foreign journalists have reported that Hamas was using the hospital as a headquarters, but typically their reports were withdrawn, deleted on social media or actually taken off their newspaper websites because of fears for their safety and Hamas retribution.
Perhaps the time has come for the UN to conduct inspections of this and other Gaza hospitals. Another idea would be to bring in Doctors Without Borders, a Nobel Prize winning organization whose charter states that it speaks out when hospitals are threatened. In the case of Al-Shifa, the Hamas is creating a threat to the hospital.
When [Doctors Without Borders] witnesses extreme acts of violence against individuals or groups, the organization may speak out publicly. We may seek to bring attention to extreme need and unacceptable suffering when access to lifesaving medical care is hindered, when medical facilities come under threat, when crises are neglected, or when the provision of aid is inadequate or abused.
The organization issued a strong condemnation, which seemed to point a finger at Israel, making no mention of the hospital's alleged links to terrorist activities.
Meanwhile Wall Street Journal reporter Tamer El-Ghobashy posted a photo from the scene and tweeted that the “low level damage suggests Hamas misfire.” El-Ghobashy deleted and reposted the photo, this time with the message, “Unclear what the origin of the projectile is.”
Once it was established that Israel was not responsible, the media seemed to lose interest in the incident.
One day later a journalist reporting from the hospital is startled as a rocket is launched.
Thursday, July 31, 2014
Is it legitimate for the IDF to target mosques in Gaza?
Some observers feel a house of worship belonging to any religion is sacrosanct, and should not be targeted by a military attack under any circumstances.
Others argue that if a mosque is used to house weapons, it loses its sanctity.
Apparently the U.S. army sides with the latter opinion.
In 2004, in Fallouja, Iraq, U.S. forces were engaged in gunfire exchanges with Sunni Muslim insurgents, who had been using the mosque as a launch pad for attacks.
Following sniper fire from the rooftop of the mosque, the U.S. Marines called in a Cobra helicopter, which then shot a Hellfire missile at the complex, hitting a perimeter wall. An F-16, also brought in to assist the ground troops, then dropped a laser-guided bomb at the base of the building.
Marines said the decision to call in airpower was made after discovering insurgents had hidden weapons and fighters in the back of an ambulance. Sounds familiar.
"It was no longer a house of worship," Lt. Col. Brennan Byrne told The Los Angeles Times. "It was a military target. We had to protect our Marines."
I wonder what type of reaction we would see in the world press if an IDF spokesman were to issue a remark like that.
Hamas use of mosques for military purposes has been documented for years. As for as I am aware, the U.N. has yet to state any objections.
Others argue that if a mosque is used to house weapons, it loses its sanctity.
Apparently the U.S. army sides with the latter opinion.
In 2004, in Fallouja, Iraq, U.S. forces were engaged in gunfire exchanges with Sunni Muslim insurgents, who had been using the mosque as a launch pad for attacks.
Following sniper fire from the rooftop of the mosque, the U.S. Marines called in a Cobra helicopter, which then shot a Hellfire missile at the complex, hitting a perimeter wall. An F-16, also brought in to assist the ground troops, then dropped a laser-guided bomb at the base of the building.
Marines said the decision to call in airpower was made after discovering insurgents had hidden weapons and fighters in the back of an ambulance. Sounds familiar.
"It was no longer a house of worship," Lt. Col. Brennan Byrne told The Los Angeles Times. "It was a military target. We had to protect our Marines."
I wonder what type of reaction we would see in the world press if an IDF spokesman were to issue a remark like that.
Hamas use of mosques for military purposes has been documented for years. As for as I am aware, the U.N. has yet to state any objections.
Wednesday, July 30, 2014
Rockets found at UNRWA school for third time
I'm starting to feel sorry for the UNRWA. After rockets were found in one of their schools for the third time, they must be running out of excuses.
I don't envy the job of their spokesman, Chris Gunness. This time around he didn't mention the incident on his Twitter feed and the UNRWA didn't announce it on their website.
A press release said, "All the relevant parties have been notified." That's a bit murky.
Likewise, the press release did not mention how many rockets were found and where they are now.
"This is yet another flagrant violation of the neutrality of our premises," said the press release. But that claim of neutrality is starting to ring hollow.
Following the first discovery, UNRWA workers called Hamas to come remove the rocket stockpile. And although UNRWA confirmed the second discovery last week, it refused an Israeli request to provide photos of the munitions found.
One commentor referred to the UNRWA as the United Nations Rocket Works Agency.
In 2009, a video called Camp Jihad showed how Western countries are funding a summer camp program that teaches Gaza children how to
One 2009 article reports on an IDF video showing rockets being fired from an UNWRA facility, with Gunness admitting the school had been used for that purpose, but claiming that this was done without his knowledge and after it was deserted. "Allegations that UNRWA facilities are used by militants are always investigated and we will cooperate so our name can be cleared," Gunness stated.
After rockets were found at UNRWA schools for the third time, it's instructive to go back and take a look at how spokesman Chris Gunness defended his organization after the first time.
“UNRWA has strong, established procedures to maintain the neutrality of all its premises, including a strict no-weapons policy…UNRWA will uphold and further reinforce its procedures."
If the agency does indeed have a "strict no-weapons policy," that policy has failed dismally. Not only have the discoveries further eroded UN credibility and neutrality, but the agency is in effect endangering the lives of people seeking shelter.
I don't envy the job of their spokesman, Chris Gunness. This time around he didn't mention the incident on his Twitter feed and the UNRWA didn't announce it on their website.
A press release said, "All the relevant parties have been notified." That's a bit murky.
Likewise, the press release did not mention how many rockets were found and where they are now.
"This is yet another flagrant violation of the neutrality of our premises," said the press release. But that claim of neutrality is starting to ring hollow.
Following the first discovery, UNRWA workers called Hamas to come remove the rocket stockpile. And although UNRWA confirmed the second discovery last week, it refused an Israeli request to provide photos of the munitions found.
One commentor referred to the UNRWA as the United Nations Rocket Works Agency.
In 2009, a video called Camp Jihad showed how Western countries are funding a summer camp program that teaches Gaza children how to
One 2009 article reports on an IDF video showing rockets being fired from an UNWRA facility, with Gunness admitting the school had been used for that purpose, but claiming that this was done without his knowledge and after it was deserted. "Allegations that UNRWA facilities are used by militants are always investigated and we will cooperate so our name can be cleared," Gunness stated.
After rockets were found at UNRWA schools for the third time, it's instructive to go back and take a look at how spokesman Chris Gunness defended his organization after the first time.
“This
incident, which is the first of its kind in Gaza, endangered civilians
including staff and put at risk UNRWA’s vital mission to assist and
protect Palestine refugees in Gaza,” he said.
Asked what was being done to ensure those seeking shelter are not put in danger again, Gunness said the agency had begun an inquiry into the circumstances.
“UNRWA has strong, established procedures to maintain the neutrality of all its premises, including a strict no-weapons policy… UNRWA will uphold and further reinforce its procedures,” he said.
- See more at: http://www.msri.org.my/v5/archive/articles/gaza/gaza-nowhere-to-go/#sthash.ih9NaDuq.dpuf
“This incident, which is the first of its kind in Gaza, endangered civilians including staff and put at risk UNRWA’s vital mission to assist and protect Palestine refugees in Gaza,” he said, adding that the agency was launching an inquiry into the matter.Asked what was being done to ensure those seeking shelter are not put in danger again, Gunness said the agency had begun an inquiry into the circumstances.
“UNRWA has strong, established procedures to maintain the neutrality of all its premises, including a strict no-weapons policy… UNRWA will uphold and further reinforce its procedures,” he said.
- See more at: http://www.msri.org.my/v5/archive/articles/gaza/gaza-nowhere-to-go/#sthash.ih9NaDuq.dpuf
“UNRWA has strong, established procedures to maintain the neutrality of all its premises, including a strict no-weapons policy…UNRWA will uphold and further reinforce its procedures."
If the agency does indeed have a "strict no-weapons policy," that policy has failed dismally. Not only have the discoveries further eroded UN credibility and neutrality, but the agency is in effect endangering the lives of people seeking shelter.
“This
incident, which is the first of its kind in Gaza, endangered civilians
including staff and put at risk UNRWA’s vital mission to assist and
protect Palestine refugees in Gaza,” he said.
Asked what was being done to ensure those seeking shelter are not put in danger again, Gunness said the agency had begun an inquiry into the circumstances.
“UNRWA has strong, established procedures to maintain the neutrality of all its premises, including a strict no-weapons policy… UNRWA will uphold and further reinforce its procedures,” he said.
- See more at: http://www.msri.org.my/v5/archive/articles/gaza/gaza-nowhere-to-go/#sthash.ih9NaDuq.dpuf
Asked what was being done to ensure those seeking shelter are not put in danger again, Gunness said the agency had begun an inquiry into the circumstances.
“UNRWA has strong, established procedures to maintain the neutrality of all its premises, including a strict no-weapons policy… UNRWA will uphold and further reinforce its procedures,” he said.
- See more at: http://www.msri.org.my/v5/archive/articles/gaza/gaza-nowhere-to-go/#sthash.ih9NaDuq.dpuf
Monday, July 28, 2014
Pray for the Palestinians
I don't know how it happened, but somehow I found myself reading an incendiary, deceitful opinion piece on Al-Jazeera. And then instead of escaping the garbage they spew out, I started debating one of the commentors, an ardent pro-Palestinian who calls himself Anatole Pushkin. He wrote back to me as follows:
The thing is, I do pray for the Palestinians.
I pray that they be spared from the Hamas, who knew with absolutely certainty that if they continue firing rockets, eventually there would be a massive retaliation to put a stop to Hamas terror. Instead of building civilian bomb shelters, they took 800,000 tons of concrete and went about building terror tunnels, burrowing themselves out of reach and leaving Gaza's civilians exposed.
I pray that Gazans who are not bent on killing Israelis are able to speak out against Hamas, without fearing for their lives.
I pray that the Palestinians in Gaza make a decision to start making Gaza flourish, rather than blaming Israel for all their woes.
I pray that the IDF is successful in its extraordinary efforts to minimize civilian casualties, without compromising its offensive against Hamas terrorists.
And I'm not the only one praying for the Palestinians. Binyamin Netanyahu closed the last cabinet meeting with the following remarks:
"Please pray this will all end quickly. Please pray for calm to be restored. And please pray for mercy for Israelis and Palestinians. It is so painful to see the suffering and trauma on both sides. The Bible commands us to pray for peace — let us be faithful."
Tell that to the massacred Palestinian women and their infants.
I see with my own eyes what the Zionists have been doing...if you want peace, protect life. Pray for the Palestinians.
The thing is, I do pray for the Palestinians.
I pray that they be spared from the Hamas, who knew with absolutely certainty that if they continue firing rockets, eventually there would be a massive retaliation to put a stop to Hamas terror. Instead of building civilian bomb shelters, they took 800,000 tons of concrete and went about building terror tunnels, burrowing themselves out of reach and leaving Gaza's civilians exposed.
I pray that Gazans who are not bent on killing Israelis are able to speak out against Hamas, without fearing for their lives.
I pray that the Palestinians in Gaza make a decision to start making Gaza flourish, rather than blaming Israel for all their woes.
I pray that the IDF is successful in its extraordinary efforts to minimize civilian casualties, without compromising its offensive against Hamas terrorists.
And I'm not the only one praying for the Palestinians. Binyamin Netanyahu closed the last cabinet meeting with the following remarks:
"Please pray this will all end quickly. Please pray for calm to be restored. And please pray for mercy for Israelis and Palestinians. It is so painful to see the suffering and trauma on both sides. The Bible commands us to pray for peace — let us be faithful."
Sunday, July 27, 2014
Who is holding Gazans hostage: Israel, Egypt -- or Hamas?
Israel withdrew from the Gaza Strip nine years ago. The world was ready to shower Gaza with help. In fact, Jewish American donors provided $14 million to buy the
greenhouses Israeli had built in Gaza to shared with the Palestinians.
"The agricultural techniques Israelis developed could have made Gaza the Palestinian Riviera," wrote Gil Troy in The Toronto Star. "Had this experiment in Gaza nation-building succeeded, it could have encouraged a peaceful transition toward an independent West Bank state.
"Instead, claiming that not one inch of Palestinian land is free until all of it is freed, which means destroying Israel within pre-1948 borders, blinded by the totalitarian, anti-Semitic, anti-Zionist Islamist ideology articulated in Hamas’s charter and celebrated in mainstream Palestinian political culture and street culture, Palestinian extremists trashed the greenhouses within hours of receiving them. By 2007 Gaza had degenerated into Hamasistan, an Islamist thugocracy."
Somehow Hamas succeeded in convincing Palestinians that Hamas is in fact menacing its neighbors because Gaza remains “occupied,” rather than laying the blame on Hamas failures.
Today, headlines constantly focus on the death toll in Gaza, as if this is the sole parameter of the war, as journalists fail to report the extent to which Hamas sacrifices its own people to inflame world opinion. Sent halfway around the world, in many cases, they largely fail to provide in depth reporting, investigating the events leading up to various tragedies they see on the street.
They do a good job of finding images of blood and gore and destruction, and interview victims about their personal tragedies. But you rarely hear a reporter ask Gazans to what extent they hold Hamas responsible for their plight.
"The agricultural techniques Israelis developed could have made Gaza the Palestinian Riviera," wrote Gil Troy in The Toronto Star. "Had this experiment in Gaza nation-building succeeded, it could have encouraged a peaceful transition toward an independent West Bank state.
"Instead, claiming that not one inch of Palestinian land is free until all of it is freed, which means destroying Israel within pre-1948 borders, blinded by the totalitarian, anti-Semitic, anti-Zionist Islamist ideology articulated in Hamas’s charter and celebrated in mainstream Palestinian political culture and street culture, Palestinian extremists trashed the greenhouses within hours of receiving them. By 2007 Gaza had degenerated into Hamasistan, an Islamist thugocracy."
Somehow Hamas succeeded in convincing Palestinians that Hamas is in fact menacing its neighbors because Gaza remains “occupied,” rather than laying the blame on Hamas failures.
Today, headlines constantly focus on the death toll in Gaza, as if this is the sole parameter of the war, as journalists fail to report the extent to which Hamas sacrifices its own people to inflame world opinion. Sent halfway around the world, in many cases, they largely fail to provide in depth reporting, investigating the events leading up to various tragedies they see on the street.
They do a good job of finding images of blood and gore and destruction, and interview victims about their personal tragedies. But you rarely hear a reporter ask Gazans to what extent they hold Hamas responsible for their plight.
Palestinians receive medical treatment in Israel
One week ago the IDF set up a field hospital at the Erez Checkpoint,
along the northern Gaza border, providing a maternity ward and basic medical services for Gazans, including this abandoned elderly woman.
They won't be the first Palestinians to cross into Israel proper for medical treatment. About one month ago Amina Abbas, the wife of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, underwent minor foot surgery at a small hospital near Tel Aviv.
Add to the list Hamas leader Fathi Hamad, who sent his three-year-old daughter to Jordan for medical treatment. He was granted authorization to transport her through Israel via the Erez Checkpoint. From there she received initial medical treatment at Barzilai Hospital in Ashkelon. Barzilai needed to earmark NIS 150 million to fortify its emergency ward and other facilities against Gaza missiles.
On the day Operation Protective Edge began, seven Palestinian children arrived at Wolfson Medical Center in Holon for treatment.
"It does not matter what side of the political map you are on," said Dr. Akiva Tamir, head of pediatric cardiology at Wolfson. "The parents of these children want them to live – just like parents [in Israel]."
During the week of July 7, an NGO in Israel called Save a Child's Heart was treating 34 children with heart defects, including 22 from eastern Africa, 4 from Iraq, 3 from Syria and 5 from the Palestinian Authority.
According to a July 11 article in Hamodia, Palestinian patients from Gaza have mixed feelings. “On the one hand, they are in Israel and see the consequences of the actions of Hamas and how people get hurt on this side of the border," says Yazid Falah, the coordinator for Palestinian patients at the Rambam Health Care Campus. "On the other hand, their families in Gaza are under attack by the IDF and they fear for the lives of their loved ones."
“There are those who tell me they are ashamed of what Gaza is doing, and others say they are afraid of how people will talk and look at them here in the hospital," said Falah. "Other say they are afraid to return to Gaza.”
A 14-year-old Gazan underwent a very difficult kidney translant at Rambam Hospital in Haifa, where he spent eight months recovering.
In Oct. 2014, Prof. Richard Horton, editor of the prestigious medical journal Lancet, had a change of heart regarding his criticism of Israeli treatment of Arab patients after first-hand observation at Rambam Hospital in Haifa.
He expressed “deep regret for the unnecessary polarization” caused by the publication of a letter that included accusations of war crimes.
The IDF also runs a field hospital near the Syrian border, providing urgent medical care to victims of the ongoing conflict in Syria.
Post written by B. Slobodkin, who sells tallit and tzitzit to customers worldwide.
They won't be the first Palestinians to cross into Israel proper for medical treatment. About one month ago Amina Abbas, the wife of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, underwent minor foot surgery at a small hospital near Tel Aviv.
Add to the list Hamas leader Fathi Hamad, who sent his three-year-old daughter to Jordan for medical treatment. He was granted authorization to transport her through Israel via the Erez Checkpoint. From there she received initial medical treatment at Barzilai Hospital in Ashkelon. Barzilai needed to earmark NIS 150 million to fortify its emergency ward and other facilities against Gaza missiles.
On the day Operation Protective Edge began, seven Palestinian children arrived at Wolfson Medical Center in Holon for treatment.
"It does not matter what side of the political map you are on," said Dr. Akiva Tamir, head of pediatric cardiology at Wolfson. "The parents of these children want them to live – just like parents [in Israel]."
During the week of July 7, an NGO in Israel called Save a Child's Heart was treating 34 children with heart defects, including 22 from eastern Africa, 4 from Iraq, 3 from Syria and 5 from the Palestinian Authority.
According to a July 11 article in Hamodia, Palestinian patients from Gaza have mixed feelings. “On the one hand, they are in Israel and see the consequences of the actions of Hamas and how people get hurt on this side of the border," says Yazid Falah, the coordinator for Palestinian patients at the Rambam Health Care Campus. "On the other hand, their families in Gaza are under attack by the IDF and they fear for the lives of their loved ones."
“There are those who tell me they are ashamed of what Gaza is doing, and others say they are afraid of how people will talk and look at them here in the hospital," said Falah. "Other say they are afraid to return to Gaza.”
A 14-year-old Gazan underwent a very difficult kidney translant at Rambam Hospital in Haifa, where he spent eight months recovering.
In Oct. 2014, Prof. Richard Horton, editor of the prestigious medical journal Lancet, had a change of heart regarding his criticism of Israeli treatment of Arab patients after first-hand observation at Rambam Hospital in Haifa.
He expressed “deep regret for the unnecessary polarization” caused by the publication of a letter that included accusations of war crimes.
The IDF also runs a field hospital near the Syrian border, providing urgent medical care to victims of the ongoing conflict in Syria.
Post written by B. Slobodkin, who sells tallit and tzitzit to customers worldwide.
Hamas captives reveal plot for Rosh Hashana mega-attack
This upcoming humanitarian truce in honor of the three-day Eid al-Fitr holiday has a bit of irony to it: Just two days ago it was reported that Hamas was hatching a plot for a mega-attack in which it would send over 200 armed terrorists on multiple missions, creeping through the tunnels and emerging in nearby kibbutzim to kill Israeli civilians in their sleep and take as many hostages as possible.
And what day was this attacked scheduled to take place? On Rosh Hashana.
The plot was revealed through interrogations of several dozen Hamas fighters taken captive by the IDF. According to speculation, it could have resulted in thousands of Jewish casualties.
“Unlike tunnels that I had seen during the Iraq war that were designed for smuggling, this Hamas tunnel was designed for launching murder and kidnapping raids," retired general James T. Conway, USMC, back from a recent trip to Israel, told the Wall Street Journal, describing a Hamas tunnel he saw. "The 3-mile-long tunnel was reinforced with concrete, lined with telephone wires, and included cabins unnecessary for infiltration operations but useful for holding hostages.”
At this point it remains unclear whether the IDF will agree to the temporary ceasefire, but in either case IDF forces will continue Hamas tunnel demolition operations unabated.
And what day was this attacked scheduled to take place? On Rosh Hashana.
The plot was revealed through interrogations of several dozen Hamas fighters taken captive by the IDF. According to speculation, it could have resulted in thousands of Jewish casualties.
“Unlike tunnels that I had seen during the Iraq war that were designed for smuggling, this Hamas tunnel was designed for launching murder and kidnapping raids," retired general James T. Conway, USMC, back from a recent trip to Israel, told the Wall Street Journal, describing a Hamas tunnel he saw. "The 3-mile-long tunnel was reinforced with concrete, lined with telephone wires, and included cabins unnecessary for infiltration operations but useful for holding hostages.”
At this point it remains unclear whether the IDF will agree to the temporary ceasefire, but in either case IDF forces will continue Hamas tunnel demolition operations unabated.
Hamas Hasbara: 'Anyone martyred is to be called a civilian'
The IDF blog posted a report on the Hamas Interior Ministry urges Arab Facebook and Twitter users to join the propaganda campaign against the IDF and Israel.
I actually think that's fairly reasonable, just as I do not object to pro-Israel "hasbara." But I do object to instructing people to engage in lies and deceit. Here's a sampling of the Hamas Interior Ministry's guidelines and recommendations:
I can forgive Darren for his poor English, but not for poor thinking and a myopic perspective.
No, Darren, I wouldn't fire rockets at Israel. And certainly not if a blockade had only been imposed as a result of Hamas aggression.
Also, if I did agree with you that firing rockets at civilians is a legitimate tactic, I would ask myself why Hamas chose to fire 3,000 at Israel and 0 at Egypt, which has also imposed a blockage against Gaza.
Just four months ago a Hamas spokesman referred to Egypt's closing of the Rafah crossing point as "a crime against humanity by every criteria and a crime against the Palestinian people."
I think I might know the reason for the selective targeting. Were Hamas to direct 1% of its rockets south, I have a feeling Egypt would simply flatten half of Gaza within 24 hours. No flyers, no phone calls, no text messages and no "knocking on the roof."
I actually think that's fairly reasonable, just as I do not object to pro-Israel "hasbara." But I do object to instructing people to engage in lies and deceit. Here's a sampling of the Hamas Interior Ministry's guidelines and recommendations:
- Anyone killed or martyred is to be called a civilian from Gaza or Palestine, before we talk about his status in jihad or his military rank. Don’t forget to always add ‘innocent civilian’ or ‘innocent citizen’ in your description of those killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza.
- Begin [your reports of] news of resistance actions with the phrase ‘In response to the cruel Israeli attack,’ and conclude with the phrase ‘This many people have been martyred since Israel launched its aggression against Gaza.’ Be sure to always perpetuate the principle of the role of the occupation is attack, and we in Palestine are fulfilling [the role of] the reaction.
- Avoid publishing pictures of rockets fired into Israel from city centers. This [would] provide a pretext for attacking residential areas in the Gaza Strip. Do not publish or share photos or video clips showing rocket launching sites or the movement of resistance [forces] in Gaza.
- Avoid entering into a political argument with a Westerner aimed at convincing him that the Holocaust is a lie and deceit; instead, equate it with Israel’s crimes against Palestinian civilians.
- [When speaking] to an Arab friend, start with the number of martyrs. [But when speaking] to a Western friend, start with the number of wounded and dead.
I can forgive Darren for his poor English, but not for poor thinking and a myopic perspective.
No, Darren, I wouldn't fire rockets at Israel. And certainly not if a blockade had only been imposed as a result of Hamas aggression.
Also, if I did agree with you that firing rockets at civilians is a legitimate tactic, I would ask myself why Hamas chose to fire 3,000 at Israel and 0 at Egypt, which has also imposed a blockage against Gaza.
Just four months ago a Hamas spokesman referred to Egypt's closing of the Rafah crossing point as "a crime against humanity by every criteria and a crime against the Palestinian people."
I think I might know the reason for the selective targeting. Were Hamas to direct 1% of its rockets south, I have a feeling Egypt would simply flatten half of Gaza within 24 hours. No flyers, no phone calls, no text messages and no "knocking on the roof."
Palestinian Ambassador: Every rocket fired at Israel is 'a crime against humanity'
Palestinian Ambassador Ibrahim Khraishi acknowleded on Palestinian television
that every Palestinian missile launched against Israeli
civilians constitutes “a crime against humanity.”
Hard to believe? Just watch the first two minutes of the video.
"I am not a candidate in any Palestinian elections, so I don’t need to win popularity among the Palestinians," Khraishi said in a July 9 interview on Palestinian Authority television. "The missiles that are now being launched against Israel – each and every missile – constitutes a crime against humanity, whether it hits or misses, because it is directed at a civilian targets...targeting civilians – be it one civilian or a thousand – is considered a crime against humanity."
In the same interview, Khraishi also explicitly notes that in a number of instances Gazans chose not to heed IDF warnings that their homes were about to be bombed.
"Please note that many of our people in Gaza appeared on TV and said that the Israeli army warned them to evacuate their homes before the bombardment. In such a case, if someone is killed, the law considers it a mistake rather than an intentional killing, because [the IDF] followed the legal procedures.
"As for the missiles launched from our side… We never warn anyone about where these missiles are about to fall, or about the operations we carry out. Therefore, people should know more before they talk emotionally about appealing to the ICC. "
Hard to believe? Just watch the first two minutes of the video.
"I am not a candidate in any Palestinian elections, so I don’t need to win popularity among the Palestinians," Khraishi said in a July 9 interview on Palestinian Authority television. "The missiles that are now being launched against Israel – each and every missile – constitutes a crime against humanity, whether it hits or misses, because it is directed at a civilian targets...targeting civilians – be it one civilian or a thousand – is considered a crime against humanity."
In the same interview, Khraishi also explicitly notes that in a number of instances Gazans chose not to heed IDF warnings that their homes were about to be bombed.
"Please note that many of our people in Gaza appeared on TV and said that the Israeli army warned them to evacuate their homes before the bombardment. In such a case, if someone is killed, the law considers it a mistake rather than an intentional killing, because [the IDF] followed the legal procedures.
"As for the missiles launched from our side… We never warn anyone about where these missiles are about to fall, or about the operations we carry out. Therefore, people should know more before they talk emotionally about appealing to the ICC. "
Saturday, July 26, 2014
Gaza Combat: Anti-Tank Rockets Confront New Defense System
Strangely a report published by Globes last week has not drawn the interest of the world media. Israel is now making use in the field of a tank defense system no less impressive than Iron Dome.
IDF tanks and armored vehicles operating inside the Gaza Strip have debuted a first-of-its-kind active defense system for tanks and armored personnel carriers developed by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Ltd., which made the Iron Dome system.
Known as the Trophy system, it identifies RPG or anti-tank fire headed towards the tank or armored personnel carrier. Working automatically, the system calculates the rocket or missile’s trajectory, and if it presents a threat the system intercepts and detonates it at a safe distance. The system then informs the tank crew regarding the precise source of the missile or rocket launch, enabling the crew to return fire accurately and strike the target.
First used in 2011, the system has now been declared operational, and is installed on Merkava 4 tanks and the Namer APCs. According to one unconfirmed report, Hamas strategists are trying to buy time and are pressing Iran to help them formulate a strategy and bring in weapons to overcome the tank defense system.
Rafael spent 20 years working on the development of the groundbreaking system.
IDF tanks and armored vehicles operating inside the Gaza Strip have debuted a first-of-its-kind active defense system for tanks and armored personnel carriers developed by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Ltd., which made the Iron Dome system.
Known as the Trophy system, it identifies RPG or anti-tank fire headed towards the tank or armored personnel carrier. Working automatically, the system calculates the rocket or missile’s trajectory, and if it presents a threat the system intercepts and detonates it at a safe distance. The system then informs the tank crew regarding the precise source of the missile or rocket launch, enabling the crew to return fire accurately and strike the target.
First used in 2011, the system has now been declared operational, and is installed on Merkava 4 tanks and the Namer APCs. According to one unconfirmed report, Hamas strategists are trying to buy time and are pressing Iran to help them formulate a strategy and bring in weapons to overcome the tank defense system.
Rafael spent 20 years working on the development of the groundbreaking system.
Al-Wafa: Hospital or Hamas Military Compound?
The Al-Wafa rehabilitation center was used as a command center and anti-tank rockets were fired from it.
"Firing on our soldiers has grown in recent hours and endangered forces," said an IDF statement. "As a result, the IDF has decided to strike terrorists operating in the hospital complex." The patients and staff were all evacuated before the IDF launched its attack on the hospital.
Several access shafts led from the hospital to the Hamas tunnel network. The hospital director had initially refused to have the facility evacuated, denying any weapons were stored there.
"Firing on our soldiers has grown in recent hours and endangered forces," said an IDF statement. "As a result, the IDF has decided to strike terrorists operating in the hospital complex." The patients and staff were all evacuated before the IDF launched its attack on the hospital.
Several access shafts led from the hospital to the Hamas tunnel network. The hospital director had initially refused to have the facility evacuated, denying any weapons were stored there.
Thursday, July 24, 2014
Concrete in Gaza: The Hard Facts
Gazans have been griping about a severe concrete shortage for years. Now it's becoming clear why.
"Remember the complaints that the heartless Israelis were not allowing enough imports of concrete for schools and hospitals?" asks syndicated columnist Charles Krauthammer. "Well, now we know where the concrete went — into an astonishingly vast array of tunnels for infiltrating neighboring Israeli villages and killing civilians."
IDF soldiers now in Gaza have found at least 18 tunnels built by Hamas using an estimated 800,000 tons of concrete. For comparison it took 110,000 tons of concrete to build the world's tallest tower, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai.
In other words Hamas could have built seven enormous skyscrapers and had enough left over to build bomb shelters for kindergartens. And that's only the tunnels Israel has uncovered. Egypt recently claimed it has destroyed 1,370 tunnels. That’s a whole lot of concrete.
As Tablet notes, they used the concrete supplies to transform "a strip of coastal farmland into a giant concrete aircraft carrier that’s impossible for your enemy to sink." And then they left their civilian population up on the deck.
According to Dan Margalit, Hamas made little use of the enormous network of tunnels. He believes they were planning a mega-attack in which they would send out several terror squads simultaneously to capture Israeli children, dead or alive, from every Israeli town in the area.
"For the past 20 years, Israel has been asleep at the wheel," he writes. "The threat of the tunnels has not been taken seriously. It is nothing short of a miracle that we woke up at the last minute."
At the start of the week, Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon said it would take two or three days to neutralize the tunnels, but on Tuesday a senior officer said Israel would need one to two weeks.
"Remember the complaints that the heartless Israelis were not allowing enough imports of concrete for schools and hospitals?" asks syndicated columnist Charles Krauthammer. "Well, now we know where the concrete went — into an astonishingly vast array of tunnels for infiltrating neighboring Israeli villages and killing civilians."
IDF soldiers now in Gaza have found at least 18 tunnels built by Hamas using an estimated 800,000 tons of concrete. For comparison it took 110,000 tons of concrete to build the world's tallest tower, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai.
In other words Hamas could have built seven enormous skyscrapers and had enough left over to build bomb shelters for kindergartens. And that's only the tunnels Israel has uncovered. Egypt recently claimed it has destroyed 1,370 tunnels. That’s a whole lot of concrete.
As Tablet notes, they used the concrete supplies to transform "a strip of coastal farmland into a giant concrete aircraft carrier that’s impossible for your enemy to sink." And then they left their civilian population up on the deck.
According to Dan Margalit, Hamas made little use of the enormous network of tunnels. He believes they were planning a mega-attack in which they would send out several terror squads simultaneously to capture Israeli children, dead or alive, from every Israeli town in the area.
"For the past 20 years, Israel has been asleep at the wheel," he writes. "The threat of the tunnels has not been taken seriously. It is nothing short of a miracle that we woke up at the last minute."
At the start of the week, Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon said it would take two or three days to neutralize the tunnels, but on Tuesday a senior officer said Israel would need one to two weeks.
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