Israel Plunges Gaza Into Darkness

[bhajishah 4]

uh oh is my account about to be disabled

yes bro arijit..the secret handshake brings out the special tobacco from our allies in afganistan

and it doesnt always involve the use age of the hands

wow cool, its looks like brother dean said it, thanks for taking the heat brother

[almaty 19]

uh oh is my account about to be disabled

yes bro arijit..the secret handshake brings out the special tobacco from our allies in afganistan

and it doesnt always involve the use age of the hands

wow cool, its looks like brother dean said it, thanks for taking the heat brother

no problem sister cindi...

[Chuckles 0]

Supply both the Palastinians and the Isrealis with a healthy supply of Nukes. The problem will take care of itself!

[46]

To secure the release of 1 captured soldier, Israel cuts power and water to 1.3 million people

Not quite. Let's recap. Palestinian terrorists dig a tunnel into Israel, climb out, murder two Israeli soldiers guarding their side of the border and kidnap a third.

Two dead, one kidnapped and threatened with death.

If this weren't enough, Hamas member Moussa Abu Marzouk releases a statement that the Palestinian people appreciate the crime and gives it the government's blessing.

"The resistance fighters have displayed moral and operational superiority over the Israeli army," aide Moussa Abu Marzouk told The Associated Press in an interview Wednesday. "They carried out an act that, I believe, the Palestinian people greatly appreciate."

In a statement, a copy of which was obtained by Aljazeera, Hamas said the capture of the Israeli soldier was a legitimate act since the operation targeted a military post and climaxed with the arrest of the Israeli soldier, which gives the resistance the right to demand the release of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.

Al Jazeera

So Israel shut off the power and tap-water, destroyed bridges, and invade a territory they only recently quit, to release their citizen and hope that this time an impoverished people will learn that it's against their interests to initiate murderous incursions.

Now, these fine, upstanding representitives of the Palestinian people have kidnapped an illegal Israeli settler and state he will be, "butchered in front of TV cameras."

The Guardian

Supply both the Palastinians and the Isrealis with a healthy supply of Nukes. The problem will take care of It simply itself!

Israel has a healthy supply of nukes.

[almaty 19]

To secure the release of 1 captured soldier, Israel cuts power and water to 1.3 million people

Not quite. Let's recap. Palestinian terrorists dig a tunnel into Israel, climb out, murder two Israeli soldiers guarding their side of the border and kidnap a third.

Two dead, one kidnapped and threatened with death.

If this weren't enough, Hamas member Moussa Abu Marzouk releases a statement that the Palestinian people appreciate the crime and gives it the government's blessing.

"The resistance fighters have displayed moral and operational superiority over the Israeli army," aide Moussa Abu Marzouk told The Associated Press in an interview Wednesday. "They carried out an act that, I believe, the Palestinian people greatly appreciate."

In a statement, a copy of which was obtained by Aljazeera, Hamas said the capture of the Israeli soldier was a legitimate act since the operation targeted a military post and climaxed with the arrest of the Israeli soldier, which gives the resistance the right to demand the release of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.

Al Jazeera

So Israel shut off the power and tap-water, destroyed bridges, and invade a territory they only recently quit, to release their citizen and hope that this time an impoverished people will learn that it's against their interests to initiate murderous incursions.

Now, these fine, upstanding representitives of the Palestinian people have kidnapped an illegal Israeli settler and state he will be, "butchered in front of TV cameras."

The Guardian

Supply both the Palastinians and the Isrealis with a healthy supply of Nukes. The problem will take care of It simply itself!

Israel has a healthy supply of nukes.

israel has all the nukes they will ever need...side note>>> i heard the israelli soldier was killed today....just wrong and sad

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

"Short sighted and stupid" is an apt description of both sides I think..

[Chuckles 0]

According to CNN the caputured settler was killed and not the soldier (yet). Isreal is starting to arrest Hamas leaders.

I was aware that Isreal had nukes, it was meant to be taken as a joke and metaphor for the hopelessness of the situation. I suppose once you have to explain that, it loses its meaning...

[MandR 0]

To secure the release of 1 captured soldier, Israel cuts power and water to 1.3 million people

Israel invades Gaza (27 June 2006)

Following a series of bloody June attacks on Gaza by Israeli forces, including the weekend shelling of a beach that killed 8 Palestinian civilians, including 7 members of the same family and injured a further 32 civilians, including 13 children (9 June); a missile attack on a Gazan highway that killed eleven and injured 30 (13 June); and another missile attack that killed 3 children and wounded 15 others (20 June), Palestinian militants carried out a raid on Israeli military positions near Gaza on June 25th

The raid resulted in the killing of two soldiers and the capture of one, Cpl Gilad Shalit. Israel had threatened an assault and the assassination of top Hamas leaders if the soldier was not freed, and has been deploying tanks along the border for several days. At 11:51PM* (Palestine time) on June 27th, Israel launched a large scale military assault on Gaza, as Israeli fighter planes carried out three airstrikes on Gazan bridges. Further strikes against Gazan power plants took place at 1:42AM, sending most of Gaza into darkness. At 2:24AM, Israeli forces began moving into Gaza to take control of the open areas east of Rafah.

At 5:08AM Israeli fighter planes began flying low over Gaza, causing intentional sonic booms. According to Israeli PM Ehud Olmert the aim of the invasion was "not to mete out punishment but rather to apply pressure so that the abducted soldier will be freed. We want to create a new equation — freeing the abducted soldier in return for lessening the pressure on the Palestinians."

http://electronicintifada.net/new.shtml

You've heard the saying "DON'T MESS WITH TEXAS"....... well DON'T MESS WITH ISRAEL

Be it one soldier of theirs or an entire batallion. IDF and IAF will take care of terrorist digging tunnels into Israel just as the U.S. would take care of terrorists digging tunnels accross our border from Canada or Mexico to launch an attack on us.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

To secure the release of 1 captured soldier, Israel cuts power and water to 1.3 million people

Israel invades Gaza (27 June 2006)

Following a series of bloody June attacks on Gaza by Israeli forces, including the weekend shelling of a beach that killed 8 Palestinian civilians, including 7 members of the same family and injured a further 32 civilians, including 13 children (9 June); a missile attack on a Gazan highway that killed eleven and injured 30 (13 June); and another missile attack that killed 3 children and wounded 15 others (20 June), Palestinian militants carried out a raid on Israeli military positions near Gaza on June 25th

The raid resulted in the killing of two soldiers and the capture of one, Cpl Gilad Shalit. Israel had threatened an assault and the assassination of top Hamas leaders if the soldier was not freed, and has been deploying tanks along the border for several days. At 11:51PM* (Palestine time) on June 27th, Israel launched a large scale military assault on Gaza, as Israeli fighter planes carried out three airstrikes on Gazan bridges. Further strikes against Gazan power plants took place at 1:42AM, sending most of Gaza into darkness. At 2:24AM, Israeli forces began moving into Gaza to take control of the open areas east of Rafah.

At 5:08AM Israeli fighter planes began flying low over Gaza, causing intentional sonic booms. According to Israeli PM Ehud Olmert the aim of the invasion was "not to mete out punishment but rather to apply pressure so that the abducted soldier will be freed. We want to create a new equation — freeing the abducted soldier in return for lessening the pressure on the Palestinians."

http://electronicintifada.net/new.shtml

You've heard the saying "DON'T MESS WITH TEXAS"....... well DON'T MESS WITH ISRAEL

Be it one soldier of theirs or an entire batallion. IDF and IAF will take care of terrorist digging tunnels into Israel just as the U.S. would take care of terrorists digging tunnels accross our border from Canada or Mexico to launch an attack on us.

As they should - but the US won't knock out the power in Guadalajara to do so

[Emo 0]

The mistake I think is thinking of Palestine as a united country - in reality their political set is rather more chaotic. The government clearly isn't in control of every extremist group, political group and 'man with a grudge', this wasn't helped by (for example) the Israeli army cutting off it's head by besieging Yasser Arafat's compound in Ramallah.

If a militant group acts up in the US our government goes after them. They don't really do that in Palestine. So they indirectly support the militants through their inaction.

The US has a rather better (and better organised) military and intelligence service I think...

What was the point kidnaping and killing???

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

The mistake I think is thinking of Palestine as a united country - in reality their political set is rather more chaotic. The government clearly isn't in control of every extremist group, political group and 'man with a grudge', this wasn't helped by (for example) the Israeli army cutting off it's head by besieging Yasser Arafat's compound in Ramallah.

If a militant group acts up in the US our government goes after them. They don't really do that in Palestine. So they indirectly support the militants through their inaction.

The US has a rather better (and better organised) military and intelligence service I think...

What was the point kidnaping and killing???

No point really - Centuries of unreasonable hate, and a clash of cultures. Short sighted and stupid.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

...just as the U.S. would take care of terrorists digging tunnels accross our border from Canada or Mexico to launch an attack on us.

Huh?

[PalestineMyHeart 1,897]

Why doesn't the Muslim world pour money into Palestine and create the 3rd most powerful army in the world? Don't get mad at the US for befriending Israel, get mad at the Muslim world for not helping Palestine.

Because any attempt to arm the Palestinians with an actual modern military force is considered by the U.S. and Israel as "funding terror," and subject their international bank accounts to being frozen. There is some money coming in from Saudi Arabia, Iran and some of the other wealthier Muslim countries, as well as from the European Union and even a few hundred million from the U.S.; however these monies are more tightly controlled and usually directed at rebuilding the infrastructure, providing humanitarian assistance, and (often) paying the salaries of employees of the Palestinian Authority.

Welll, given the track record of Palestinian terrorism and the stated goals of the current Palestinian government, don't you think the US & Europe might have a point there?

1.) Actually, both sides have a "track record" of stooping to terrorism to further their causes. Neither side's hands are clean in this conflict, but this is not only the fault of the Palestinians. And if you look at the body count, the Israelis are doing the lion's share of the killing:

Since the current Intifada ("uprising") began on Sept. 29, 2000, Palestinians have killed 1084 Israelis, including 121 innocent children. In the same time period, Israelis have killed 3964 Palestinians, including 734 innocent children. An additional 30,130 Palestinians have been wounded.

But if you get your news strictly from mainstream American media, you would have no idea of these facts; instead, because of the lopsided coverage, you might well think that Israeli victims far outnumber Palestinian ones.

2.) The current Palestinian government (including both the majority Hamas and the minority Fatah parties) has recognized Israel's right to exist within the pre-occupation (1967) borders.

The rival Hamas and Fatah movements agreed on a plan implicitly recognizing Israel, a top Palestinian official said Tuesday after weeks of acrimonious negotiations aiming to lift crippling international aid sanctions.

The plan calls for a Palestinian state alongside Israel and accepts a 2002 proposal endorsed by the Arab League, which offered the possibility of full diplomatic relations with Israel.

It also calls on militants to limit attacks to areas captured by Israel in the 1967 Mideast War and calls on the parties to work toward forming a Palestinian unity government.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060627/ap_on_...s_power_sharing

I had written a much longer response addressing some of the other realities of the conflict, but then I happened to see this article by Gideon Levy (in case you're not familiar with him -- he's an Israeli journalist for Ha'aretz newspaper in Israel.) What he has to say may surprise you.

Who is a terrorist?

By Gideon Levy

The scenes from Gaza are heartbreaking. Heartbreaking? That’s not for certain. The sight of the Aben family from Beit Lahiya mourning its 12-year-old daughter Hadil last week did not stir any particular shock in Israel. Nor did anyone take to the streets and protest over the sight of her wounded mother and little brother lying in shock on the floor of their shanty in Gaza.

On the day Hadil Aben was killed, Yedioth Aharonoth carried a story about Nelly, the dog from Kibbutz Zikim that died of heart failure from the booming noise of the Israeli artillery firing into Gaza.

Instead of expressions of sorrow at the death of children, the upper echelons of the defense establishment came out with a stream of strident statements. The defense minister said that the only thing to do was step up the pressure on the Palestinians. The deputy chief of staff spoke about a possible invasion of Gaza and the head of army operations added, “what we’ve seen so far are only the previews.” The IDF announced it would further reduce the “safety range” that is designed to avoid shells hitting the civilian population.

It was a chilling, united chorus. Israel is dropping thousands of bombs on towns and villages, on the “the launching pads” of the Qassams - another dubious term created by the defense establishment and blindly adopted by the press - and only the Palestinians, whose Qassam rockets haven’t killed anyone since the disengagement, are called “terrorists.”

Nor was there any substantive debate after a possible slip of the tongue by Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, in an interview to the BBC, in which she said that there was a difference between attacking civilians and attacking soldiers. Even though she did not resolutely stand by her own words in an interview with Channel 10, Livni dared to speak the truth: If harming civilians is a measure of terror, then Israel is a terror state. With 18 killed in Gaza alone in 12 days, three of them children, the absence of intent cannot suffice for us. Someone who uses artillery to shell population centers and says with horrific indifference that this is “just a preview,” as if it were another reality show on TV, cannot claim that he does not intend to kill children.

Those responsible for such bombings around the world are rightfully considered war criminals. That’s terror - just ask Livni. And when it is done in the name of a state, it is much worse than in those cases when the perpetrators are from rogue organizations.

Israel declares it is striving to apply pressure with its cannon on the Palestinian population, so that it will prevent the Qassam fire. That is a hollow argument. No Palestinian leader can promote a cease-fire while dozens of civilians are being hurt. No Palestinian, no matter how peaceable, can prevent with his body the launches from inside Palestinian Authority territory. Could Hadil Aben’s parents have done something? What exactly was the crime of these poor people? And how, exactly, will killing their daughter lead to a halt in the Qassams?

The continuing imprisonment of besieged Gaza is precisely the opposite policy that should be applied to serve Israeli interests. The current policy only strengthens support for the Hamas, just like the terror attacks within Israel always strengthen the Israeli right. A nation under siege, its leadership boycotted, will have far more determination and resolve to fight to its last drop of blood. It is impossible to break the spirit of a desperate people. Only a nation that sees a light at the end of its desperation will change its ways.

What would happen if Israel were to turn to the world and call upon it to enlist in the cause of support for the residents of Gaza, to donate and invest money to help them out of their utter poverty? If an Israeli prime minister did such a thing and at the same time called for a meeting with his elected Palestinian counterpart, it would create far more effective and positive pressure than any cannon fire.

If the Palestinians only saw for the first time in their lives that Israel also had their well-being in mind, which is not necessarily bad for Israel, they would have a lot more to lose and they would expel the Qassam launchers themselves. Only the Palestinians can do that, and sowing the seeds of hope is the only way to do so. And if, in the current situation, the artillery fire were to end, and they were to stop the Qassams, would Israel ease the siege, enable freedom of movement from Gaza to the West Bank, allow Palestinians to work in Israel, agree to the construction of a seaport and airport in besieged Gaza? Israel’s declarations prove that the answer to all these questions is an unequivocal no. Its current policy and the policies we have seen it adopt lead only to intensification of the violence on the part of the Palestinians.

No Qassam justifies the killing and terror that the shells sow in Gaza. Cannons are meant for war against an army. Using them against a helpless civilian population is supposed to be beyond the realm of the legitimate, without any ifs or buts about it. A state does not shell towns. Period. Just like in the war against crime that is also deadly and endangers state security, no end justifies all the means. Would it ever occur to the Israeli police to evacuate an entire neighborhood from which some murderers came? Would anyone decide to shell such a neighborhood, even if it would mean minimizing the crime coming out of it?

Those who really want to end the Qassam launches from Gaza, should turn Israeli policy upside down. To show restraint in the face of the Qassams, to lift the siege, to immediately meet with the elected Palestinian leadership and call on the world to stop withholding the funds from the Palestinian Authority. Only a free and secure and thriving Gaza will stop launching Qassams. Have we ever tried that?

And now it's time for bed. I will respond to more of the comments here tomorrow.

[incanada1234 0]

Good.

But of course you have to go to BBC to get the decent information, heaven forbid if the US Media ever portrayed Israelis ever killing anything.

Yeah, because the US media just ADORES Israel.

[PalestineMyHeart 1,897]

Well if they are in such a mess, maybe we shouldn't send them any more money either.

Why should we care more about their well-being than their stinky rich Arab neighbours?

Armed resistance brought nothing but misery to the Palestinian people. What goes

around in Tel-Aviv and Jerusalem, comes around in Gaza and the West Bank, only 70

times worse. They should look at how things were in 2000 and how they are now and

ask themselves, was it really worth it? And the answer is NO. Israel will NEVER go

back to the 1967 borders no matter how many soldiers they kidnap, so they might as

well just give up and accept whatever land Israel chooses to dole out. Seriously,

all this armed struggle is counterproductive.

"Stinky rich" Arab ? Perhaps you meant "stinking rich;" otherwise your line reads like a racist slur.

Your demand that the Palestinians obediently accept whatever crumbs Israel may or may not deign to offer, relenquishing their right to their own land and self-determination, and effectively marching their nation into the gas chamber of oblivion, is both arrogant and unreasonable. "Might" does not make "right." The Palestinian people have not only the will, but the clear right under international law to resist the illegal occupation and annexation of their land.

“Since 1967, millions of Palestinians have been under a military occupation, without any civil rights, and most lacking even the most basic human rights. The continuing circumstances of occupation and repression give them, by any measure, the right to resist that occupation with any means at their disposal and to rise up in violence against that occupation. This is a moral right inherent to natural law and international law.”

“The Palestinian right to resist the occupation is strengthened by the Fourth Geneva Convention’s ban on creating irreversible facts on the ground in occupied territories,” he continued, “and especially the ban on transferring populations from the occupying state to the territories it has conquered.”

-- Israeli sociologist Baruch Kimmerling, writing for Haaretz newspaper