wow...intellectuall mashed potato
written by jaya wardene , January 04, 2009

I am sure that I a not alone in finding this piece totally lacking in style or substance. I will not even bother to ask what the author is trying to tell us as we watch this latest Israeli act of war crimes against unarmed civilians in Gaza.

Hamas has clearly failed the people of Palestine. Israel is most clearly guilty of crimes against humanity. Each of these parties is as guilty as the other and only the innocent will pay the price.

There has to be another way.

please explain
written by trr , January 04, 2009

Hamas has clearly failed the people of Palestine.

Israel drawn into Hamas fire
written by Kim G , January 05, 2009

Israel has done exactly what Hamas wanted them to do: get drawn into a ground battle. The resulting chaos in the Gaza Strip will result in mounting casualties on both sides, but more importantly, Israel cannot eliminate Hamas without inflicting heavy Palestinian casualties and causing a massive international backlash. Hezbollah did the same thing in Lebanon back in 2006 by kidnapping an Israeli soldier and firing rockets: they provoked an Israeli response which ended badly for the Israelis while leaving Hezbollah stronger. Well, Hamas isn't Hezbollah and it neither has the numbers nor the room for manouvre but even if Hamas is crushed, Israel won't bet any more secure.

I remember back in 2004, Israel was trying to "isolate" Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. They even sent soldiers to blockade him in his offices, effectively putting him in house arrest. Israel was warned that Arafat is the only person they'll ever get to negotiate a deal with the Palestinians and once he leaves the scene, there will be nobody to talk to. Well, Arafat died that same year and the more radical Hamas eventually won the Palestinian democratic elections. Israel once again decided to "isolate" Hamas and the results are what we see today.

Hamas has failed miserably
written by jaya wardene , January 05, 2009

Dear trr, In another forum at another time and place one would have quipped: There is no need to explain the obvious.

The death toll from the Israeli crimes against humanity in Gaza is over 500 and counting. Hamas has failed in its principal duty of safeguarding Palestinian lives and property. Each crude missile that they lob over the border may kill or injure a few Israeli civilians but in response Israel delivers death from the skies killing tens of innocent women and children with every strike.

Hamas militant leadership is as misguided as the silly advisers who told the Georgian leader, Mikheil Saakashvili, to take on the mighty Russians last summer. Just like here in Kenya the politicians plan, finance and carry out war but it is we.....watu wadogo who bear the brunt of it.

Hamas have foolishly played into the hands of the Israeli's who do not believe in any state of Palestian: who is left to negotiate with?

death is death
written by jaya wardene , January 05, 2009

It goes without saying that the actions of Hamas militants in targeting Israeli civilian populations over their border is similarly a war crime. Hamas deals death and destruction to civilians and goads Israel to retaliate. Some people outside the war zone call Israel's action dispropotionate. How silly!

now now Jaya
written by trr , January 05, 2009

First of all, it was not Hamas but Israel that broke the ceasefire. This is important to note, especially because the media pretends it was otherwise. Remember, it was the night of the US election?
Link from the Guardian. and here is a link from the Irish Times. I am sure you can find more if you google.

IN JUNE, Israel agreed a six-month ceasefire with Hamas. Until December 27th, no Israeli, civilian or military, was killed as a result of rocket or mortar fire from Gaza.

None. Not one. And there was very little rocket or mortar fire out of Gaza until Israel broke the ceasefire in early November.

Those key facts have been missing from most of the reporting of Israel's slaughter of nearly 300 Palestinians in Gaza, which began on December 27th.

Israel's claim that it had to act in order to protect Israeli civilians from being killed by rocket or mortar fire from Gaza is bogus.

More useful information. Haaretz reports that Barak had started preparing for this attack a whole six months ago. How is that Hamas' fault.

Also useful, Hamas was arresting rocket shooters, it was trying to keep its side of the bargain, trying to keep the truce. Here from YnetNews, and from the BBC herself.

From YNet, which is Israeli,

Despite having declared it would not play border guard for Israel, Hamas is dedicating considerable efforts to reining in the other armed groups. The Islamist group hopes to see all the border crossings opened over the next few days, save for the Rafah terminal, which remains at the center of Hamas' talks with Egypt.

A source from one of the other organizations told Ynet that Hamas forces are not patrolling the region to prevent the fire, but are instead trying to keep the other Gaza groups committed to the truce by having established an operations room with representation from all the various factions.

and this from the BBC link,

The al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, a Palestinian militant group, says three of its members have been detained by the larger rival group Hamas...........The al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades said it launched the rockets in retaliation for the Israeli army's killing of an unarmed member of the group as he tried to cross the Gaza-Israel border..........In Egypt, a senior Hamas leader, Moussa Abu Marzouk, said the group would continue to hold the truce with Israel and pledged to stop violators.

"Firing rockets is just an act by individuals and not by the resistance groups, and efforts are under way to put them under control," he said.....................One of the militant groups behind the salvoes, Islamic Jihad, said it had counted nine truce violations in three weeks, including opening fire on fishermen in Gazan waters.

I swear it took me all of three minutes to get all of this. We can agree to be tricked and lied to, or we can look up the truth.

Now think about this for a while. The terms of the truce obliged Israel to open the borders, lift the siege on Gaza, did you get told that this had happened at all? Should the Palestinians die off politely or what exactly would be the end result of their quietude?

Consider this also, Abbas in the West Bank is playing nice right? We all wish Hamas were more like him, right? But what is he getting from Israel? Are the people of the West Bank better off, is there a halt to the encroachment on Palestinian lands? Any better economic prospects there?

Want to call a spade by its name now? You see you would not even have known or cared about this conflict but for the mass murder of Palestinians. The world blames the victims, or roundly ignores them, so even in these deaths, the Palestinians are better off than in the acceptance of their oppressors' boots over their necks.

Thanks Trr
written by jaya wardene , January 06, 2009

Thank you kindly for your interesting references and resources.......I feel less than comfortable though with the trick you play when you describe googling as "looking up the truth" given that truth is such maligned word today; I imagine that even on speed-googling it is readily apparent how pro-Jew and pro Arab narratives of the same event will differ starkly. This distortion of truth seems to have prevented you from recognising that every dirty manipulative trick of deception and double-dealing carried out by Israeli politicians is matched in equal measure by Hamas and the other militant groups of Gaza as they struggle to keep the traumatised population under control in the face of the criminal Israeli blockade. I am sure that you could just as readily find resources suggesting the populations growing disenchantment with Hamas...... Would you dismiss them as Israeli propaganda or accept them as "the truth"?

There is no doubt that Israeli domestic politics is key to this current escalation in violence against the people of Gaza. The governing party must appear strong and willing to take decisive action to protect Israeli citizens. Here is a perfect campaigning opportunity and a chance to make ammends, in the publics eye, for the Lebanon debacle of 2006. Does Israel have an excuse for war?.......of course! Missile attacks on civillians by Hamas or by its affiliates. The rockets are fired from Gaza and quite simply Israel's responsibility to her civilian population is to destroy the launchers regardless of whether the bombers are seed merchants or genuine militants.

The world blames the victims many times and those who claim that Palestinians are paying the price for electing Hamas are wrong. There is no doubt in my mind that far from being victims The Hamas leadership exploits and manipulates the catastrophe falling on Gaza's civilian population for maximum benefit. They are playing the same game as the Israeli government and the governments of Egypt, Saudi Arabia and other Muslim League countries. It is a game of musical chairs as they await the next elections, ceasfires and talks.

jaya
written by trr , January 06, 2009

Did you see this story? Surprised that this would lead to people issuing rockets into Israel? Hmm? Palestianisn eating grass.

Anyone who thinks that the status quo in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is acceptable should talk to a doctor from Gaza. There is an acute shortage of all drugs, and a complete lack of all cancer and cystic fibrosis medication. The hospitals have generators, but often no fuel, and switching from mains to an emergency supply wrecks the equipment.

One of the strip’s three CT scanners is bust because of fluctuations in current. This also makes the temperature control of incubators for newborn babies unreliable. There have been some transfers of the sick to Israeli hospitals, but none to Egypt. According to one source, more than 230 patients died last year waiting for a permit to leave.

The list goes on: the majority of Gaza’s children present the symptoms of mild or severe post traumatic stress disorder. About 45 per cent of children under five have iron deficiency from lack of fruit and 18 per cent of children have stunted growth. There is one other statistic: 71 per cent of children interviewed at a school recently said they wanted to be a “martyr.”

A six-month ceasefire, or a period of “quiet” between Israel and Hamas, exists in name only.

The current volley of raids and rockets started on November 4 when Israel said it uncovered a tunnel Hamas was planning to use to capture soldiers. Israeli forces have killed at least 10 Hamas gunmen, and as the rockets rained down on Sderot and Ashkelon, the gates of Gaza were locked.

Finally, this from Michael Lerner (Rabbi) in the Times of London.

Hamas had respected the previously negotiated ceasefire except when Israel used it as cover to make assassination raids. Hamas argued that these raids were hardly a manifestation of a ceasefire, and so as symbolic protest it would allow the release of rocket fire (usually hitting no targets). But when the issue of continuing the ceasefire came up, Hamas wanted a guarantee that these assassination raids would stop. And it asked for more. With hundreds of thousands of Palestinians facing acute malnutrition, Hamas insists that the borders be opened so that food can arrive unimpeded. And in return for the captured Israeli soldier Gilad Schalit, it asks for the release of 1,000 Palestinians imprisoned in Israel.........It breaks my heart to see the terrible suffering in Gaza and in Israel. As a religious Jew I find it all the worse, because it confirms to me how easy it is to pervert the loving message of Judaism into a message of hatred and domination. I remain in mourning for the Jewish people, for Israel and for the world.

just saw your comment
written by trr , January 06, 2009

No, I have not given a single pro-Arab source. All the sources I have supplied are actually from traditionally anti-Muslim constituencies and established mainstream news organisations.

Please turn your television to Sky, or if you like even to Al Jazeera, and there is even some surprisingly candid reporting on CBS.

There is no doubt in my mind that far from being victims The Hamas leadership exploits and manipulates the catastrophe falling on Gaza's civilian population for maximum benefit.

WHat does this comment mean? What would you have Hamas do?

I will leave you with this, Moshe Sharett, Israel’s second Prime Minister, once asked:
“Do people consider that when military reactions
outstrip in their severity the events that caused them, grave processes are set in motion which widen the gulf and thrust our neighbors into the extremist camp? How can this deterioration be halted?”

Israel has already crossed that line
written by jaya wardene , January 06, 2009

There is clear irrefutable evidence that Israeli bombing is targeting innocent civilians. These people have nowhere to run for cover as even UN premises are legitimate targets. They cannot leave Gaza as Egypt has washed its hands.

Israel will find it difficult to resist comparisons between her own treatment Palestinian civilians and the dark days of 1930s Europe.