Moral clarity in Gaza

[mota bhai 2,675]

By Charles Krauthammer

July 17

Israel accepts an Egyptian-proposed Gaza cease-fire; Hamas keeps firing. Hamas deliberately aims rockets at civilians; Israel painstakingly tries to avoid them, actually telephoning civilians in the area and dropping warning charges, so-called roof knocking.

“Here’s the difference between us,” explains the Israeli prime minister. “We’re using missile defense to protect our civilians, and they’re using their civilians to protect their missiles.”

Rarely does international politics present a moment of such moral clarity. Yet we routinely hear this Israel-Gaza fighting described as a morally equivalent “cycle of violence.” This is absurd. What possible interest can Israel have in cross-border fighting? Everyone knows Hamas set off this mini-war. And everyone knows the proudly self-declared raison d’etre of Hamas: the eradication of Israel and its Jews.

Apologists for Hamas attribute the blood lust to the Israeli occupation and blockade. Occupation? Does no one remember anything? It was less than 10 years ago that worldwide television showed the Israeli army pulling die-hard settlers off synagogue roofs in Gaza as Israel uprooted its settlements, expelled its citizens, withdrew its military and turned every inch of Gaza over to the Palestinians. There was not a soldier, not a settler, not a single Israeli left in Gaza.

And there was no blockade. On the contrary. Israel wanted this new Palestinian state to succeed. To help the Gaza economy, Israel gave the Palestinians its 3,000 greenhouses that had produced fruit and flowers for export. It opened border crossings and encouraged commerce.

The whole idea was to establish the model for two states living peacefully and productively side by side. No one seems to remember that, simultaneous with the Gaza withdrawal, Israel dismantled four smaller settlements in the northern West Bank as a clear signal of Israel’s desire to leave the West Bank as well and thus achieve an amicable two-state solution.

This is not ancient history. This was nine years ago.

And how did the Gaza Palestinians react to being granted by the Israelis what no previous ruler, neither Egyptian, nor British, nor Turkish, had ever given them — an independent territory? First, they demolished the greenhouses. Then they elected Hamas.

Then, instead of building a state with its attendant political and economic institutions, they spent the better part of a decade turning Gaza into a massive military base, brimming with terror weapons, to make ceaseless war on Israel.

Where are the roads and rail, the industry and infrastructure of the new Palestinian state? Nowhere. Instead, they built mile upon mile of underground tunnels to hide their weapons and, when the going gets tough, their military commanders. They spent millions importing and producing rockets, launchers, mortars, small arms, even drones. They deliberately placed them in schools, hospitals, mosques and private homes to better expose their own civilians. (Just Thursday, the U.N. announced that it found 20 rockets in a Gaza school.) And from which they fire rockets at Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.

Why? The rockets can’t even inflict serious damage, being almost uniformly intercepted by Israel’s Iron Dome anti-missile system. Even West Bank leader Mahmoud Abbas has asked: “What are you trying to achieve by sending rockets?”

It makes no sense. Unless you understand, as Tuesday’s Post editorial explained, that the whole point is to draw Israeli counterfire. This produces dead Palestinians for international television. Which is why Hamas perversely urges its own people not to seek safety when Israel drops leaflets warning of an imminent attack.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/charles-krauthammer-moral-clarity-in-gaza/2014/07/17/0adabe0c-0de4-11e4-8c9a-923ecc0c7d23_story.html

[Jacque67 7,328]

Ah. The return of Krauthammer!!

[Expat1 971]

The dead women and children are on the Gaza side. Sort of hard to take the moral high ground in that case. Otherwise the article sounds nice.

No leaflets dropped when the bulldozers come in and demolish the homes. Where are those people going to seek shelter anyway? They are densely packed in a few square miles, said square miles get smaller and smaller by the year thanks to the generosity of the greenhouse-building Israelis. How generous.

Edited July 18, 2014 by Expat1

[mota bhai 2,675]

The dead women and children are on the Gaza side. Sort of hard to take the moral high ground in that case. Otherwise the article sounds nice.

I suppose Israel should just let the rockets rain down on them, then. That way there wouldn't be any casualties in Gaza and there would be a whole bunch of dead Jews. Win-win for people like you.

[Expat1 971]

I suppose Israel should just let the rockets rain down on them, then. That way there wouldn't be any casualties in Gaza and there would be a whole bunch of dead Jews. Win-win for people like you.

I'd rain all over you if you showed up at my home with a bulldozer and a group of buddies. Just sayin'

Edited July 18, 2014 by Expat1

[mota bhai 2,675]

I'd rain all over you if you showed up at my home with a bulldozer and a group of buddies. Just sayin'

Israel withdrew from Gaza 9 years ago. You should pick a book every now and then, and I don't mean mein kampf.

[Expat1 971]

Israel withdrew from Gaza 9 years ago. You should pick a book every now and then, and I don't mean mein kampf.

Never read Mein Kampf but I doubt there is anything in there about fair play and taking property that belongs to someone else without compensation. There is a lot about that in our founding documents though in case you ever get bored and need to read something.

Here's some more reading after you learn about fair play.

"In 2011, Haaretz revealed the Civil Administration's "Blue Line"-plan, written in January 2011, which aims to increase Israeli "state-ownership" of West Bank lands ("state lands") and settlement in strategic areas like the Jordan Valley and the Palestinian northern Dead Sea area. In March 2012, it was revealed that the Civil Administration over the years covertly allotted 10% of the West Bank for further settlement. Provisional names for future new settlements or settlement expansions were already assigned. The plan includes many Palestinian built-up sites in the Areas A and B"

Like I said, those square miles get smaller and smaller. Wanna play Double Jeopardy?

Edited July 18, 2014 by Expat1

[Jacque67 7,328]

Never read Mein Kampf but I doubt there is anything in there about fair play and taking property that belongs to someone else without compensation. There is a lot about that in our founding documents though in case you ever get bored and need to read something.

Here's some more reading after you learn about fair play.

"In 2011, Haaretz revealed the Civil Administration's "Blue Line"-plan, written in January 2011, which aims to increase Israeli "state-ownership" of West Bank lands ("state lands") and settlement in strategic areas like the Jordan Valley and the Palestinian northern Dead Sea area. In March 2012, it was revealed that the Civil Administration over the years covertly allotted 10% of the West Bank for further settlement. Provisional names for future new settlements or settlement expansions were already assigned. The plan includes many Palestinian built-up sites in the Areas A and B"

Like I said, those square miles get smaller and smaller. Wanna play Double Jeopardy?

+1 (run out)

[decocker 7,198]

more moral clarity from my fav bill maher.

[Jacque67 7,328]

more moral clarity from my fav bill maher.

Oh dear!

[decocker 7,198]

Oh dear!

bill maher is an idiot.

[Expat1 971]

+1 (run out)

The policy of the injuring party trading bandaids for natural gas reserves is really fun to talk about. Oil and gas is my business. This is a factual summary of why Israel is doing what they are doing.

Five years ago, Israel invaded Gaza under “Operation Cast Lead”.

The following article was first published by Global Research in January 2009 at the height of the Israeli bombing and invasion under Operation Cast Lead.

In the wake of the invasion, Palestinian gas fields were de facto confiscated by Israel in derogation of international law

A year following “Operation Cast Lead”, Tel Aviv announced the discovery of the Leviathan natural gas field in the Eastern Mediterranean “off the coast of Israel.”

At the time the gas field was: “ … the most prominent field ever found in the sub-explored area of the Levantine Basin, which covers about 83,000 square kilometres of the eastern Mediterranean region.” (i)

Coupled with Tamar field, in the same location, discovered in 2009, the prospects are for an energy bonanza for Israel, for Houston, Texas based Noble Energy and partners Delek Drilling, Avner Oil Exploration and Ratio Oil Exploration. (See Felicity Arbuthnot, Israel: Gas, Oil and Trouble in the Levant, Global Research, December 30, 2013

The Gazan gas fields are part of the broader Levant assessment area.

What is now unfolding is the integration of these adjoining gas fields including those belonging to Palestine into the orbit of Israel. (see map below).

It should be noted that the entire Eastern Mediterranean coastline extending from Egypt’s Sinai to Syria constitutes an area encompassing large gas as well as oil reserves.

http://www.globalresearch.ca/war-and-natural-gas-the-israeli-invasion-and-gaza-s-offshore-gas-fields/11680

Edited July 18, 2014 by Expat1

[Jacque67 7,328]

bill maher is an idiot.

Maybe his mother wants to retire there?

I like Bill Maher most of the time, but this was crass.

The policy of the injuring party trading bandaids for natural gas reserves is really fun to talk about. Oil and gas is my business. This is a factual summary of why Israel is doing what they are doing.

Five years ago, Israel invaded Gaza under Operation Cast Lead.

The following article was first published by Global Research in January 2009 at the height of the Israeli bombing and invasion under Operation Cast Lead.

In the wake of the invasion, Palestinian gas fields were de facto confiscated by Israel in derogation of international law

A year following Operation Cast Lead, Tel Aviv announced the discovery of the Leviathan natural gas field in the Eastern Mediterranean off the coast of Israel.

At the time the gas field was: the most prominent field ever found in the sub-explored area of the Levantine Basin, which covers about 83,000 square kilometres of the eastern Mediterranean region. (i)

Coupled with Tamar field, in the same location, discovered in 2009, the prospects are for an energy bonanza for Israel, for Houston, Texas based Noble Energy and partners Delek Drilling, Avner Oil Exploration and Ratio Oil Exploration. (See Felicity Arbuthnot, Israel: Gas, Oil and Trouble in the Levant, Global Research, December 30, 2013

The Gazan gas fields are part of the broader Levant assessment area.

What is now unfolding is the integration of these adjoining gas fields including those belonging to Palestine into the orbit of Israel. (see map below).

It should be noted that the entire Eastern Mediterranean coastline extending from Egypts Sinai to Syria constitutes an area encompassing large gas as well as oil reserves.

http://www.globalresearch.ca/war-and-natural-gas-the-israeli-invasion-and-gaza-s-offshore-gas-fields/11680

Watch out that your post isn't removed for being irrelevant

[Expat1 971]

Maybe his mother wants to retire there?

I like Bill Maher most of the time, but this was crass.

Watch out that your post isn't removed for being irrelevant

That post has everything to do with moral clarity in Gaza

[decocker 7,198]

Maybe his mother wants to retire there?

I like Bill Maher most of the time, but this was crass.

i think bill maher is hilarious and dead on concerning most topics. but his idiocy regarding israel negates all that for me.