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Post by pieter on Nov 14, 2009 9:31:17 GMT -7
Hamas: Israel fabricating pretext for new Gaza war
Hamas on Saturday accused Israel of fabricating a pretext for a new offensive in the Gaza Strip, after Israel said the Islamist militant group had test-fired a rocket that could reach Tel Aviv.
"These claims are part of the Israeli lies to justify a new aggression on the Gaza Strip," said Fawzi Barhoum, Hamas' spokesman in Gaza, in a statement.
"Such threats are coming under the title of incitement and creating pretexts in order to commit more new crimes against Gaza and cover up the previous crimes that were committed during the last war." He was referring to the Israel Defense Forces' winter campaign against Hamas in Gaza, code-named Operation Cast Lead, whose stated goal was to halt cross-border rocket fire by militants in the coastal strip.
Maj. Gen. Amos Yadlin, director of Military Intelligence, announced last week that Hamas launched a rocket some 60 kilometers into the sea, apparently as an experiment.
Such a rocket, if fired from the northernmost point of the Gaza Strip, could strike the southern cities of the Gush Dan area - including Rishon Letzion, Holon and Bat Yam - and possibly reach as far as Tel Aviv itself.
In the statement on Saturday, Barhoum called on Arab and Islamic states to sever ties with Israel in response to the IDF officer's comments.
Barhoum's statement also came after the Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff, Lt. Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi, said Friday that the army would not hesitate to respond if Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip continued to fire rockets at Israel.
"We are prepared to contend with the whole arc of threats," Ashkenazi told students during a visit to a Be'er Sheva high school, citing both the local defense situation as well as Iran's contentious nuclear program.
Meanwhile, Abu Obeida, a spokesman for Hamas' armed wing, T]the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, has said he could not confirm or deny that the group had test-fired a rocket, "since such news come from the occupation [Israel]."
"These threats are an evidence that the Israeli occupation had failed in its last war on Gaza to achieve its goals," he said. "The occupation is trying to escape from the international condemnations by fabricating such lies."
Source: Haaretz
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Post by pieter on Nov 14, 2009 14:21:58 GMT -7
The Israeli side on the recent Gaza past
The Gaza War
MYTH
“Israel broke the cease-fire with Hamas.”
FACT
On June 17, 2008, after several months of indirect contacts between Israel and Hamas through Egyptian mediators, Hamas agreed to a cease-fire (tahadiya). Almost immediately afterward, terrorists fired rockets into southern Israel. Despite what it called a “gross violation” of the truce, Israel refrained from military action.1 In fact, during the six months the arrangement was supposed to be observed, 329 rockets and mortar shells were fired at Israel.2
While there were considerably fewer Palestinian assaults after the agreement than before, terror continued. Nevertheless, the IDF (Israel Defense Forces) did not respond to the provocations. On the contrary, Israel significantly increased the amount of goods delivered to the Gaza Strip.
During this period, Israel also expected to negotiate the release of Gilad Shalit, the Israeli soldier taken hostage by Hamas in June 2006. The group repeatedly increased its demands for the number of prisoners it wanted released in exchange for the lone Israeli captive, but never agreed to grant his freedom.
Violence escalated in early November after the IDF carried out a military operation close to the border security fence on the Gazan side that killed seven Hamas terrorists. Israel acted after discovering that Hamas had dug a tunnel under the fence and planned to abduct more Israeli soldiers. Hamas responded by shelling Israeli towns and has continued the rocket barrage ever since.
When the Hamas-imposed six-month deadline expired in December, Israel hoped an agreement could be reached to extend the cease-fire. Instead, Hamas began firing what would be hundreds of rockets into Israel.
Louis Michel, European Commissioner for Development and Humanitarian Aid, told reporters the years of terrorist rocket-fire on southern Israel was a “provocation.” He said, “At this time we have to also recall the overwhelming responsibility of Hamas.” Michel added, “I intentionally say this here - Hamas is a terrorist movement and it has to be denounced as such.”
When the bombardment began, it became apparent Hamas had used the lull to upgrade its arsenal with weapons that were too sophisticated to have been designed or built in Gaza. These advanced Qassam and Grad rockets, which have placed 1 in every 8 Israelis in mortal danger, originated in Iran. They were smuggled into Gaza in pieces, assembled, and fired from launch pads well-hidden and shielded in Palestinian population centers.
Story of Qassam Rocket
Grad Rocket Hits Ashqelon
BM-21 Grad rocket launcher
Once launched, hundreds of thousands of Israelis have as little as fifteen seconds to reach a bunker before a rocket detonates. Hamas has turned all of southern Israel into a place that more resembles a post-apocalyptic world, rather than a modern, civilized society. Imagine never being able to step outside without remaining in sprinting distance of a concrete bunker. Imagine having to dive into the safety of a bunker 30 times a day, everyday. Try to imagine the terror of the rocket whistling down, not knowing whether it will land a mile a way, or directly above your head. Can you imagine the sudden shock when you feel the impact, the relief that overcomes you that you are still alive and the immediate sorrow and concern that follows when you realize that others like – your family and friends – may not have been so lucky this time?
“I say in all honesty, we made contact with leaders in Hamas in the Gaza Strip. We spoke with them in all honesty and directly, and after that we spoke with them indirectly, through more than one Arab and non-Arab side... We spoke with them on the telephone and we said: 'We beg of you, we hope that you won't break [the ceasefire.] As the [Egyptian foreign] Minister said: 'Don't break the ceasefire, the ceasefire must continue and not stop.' In order to avoid [violence] that has happened. If only we had avoided it.”
— PA President Mahmoud Abbas
MYTH
“Israel has reacted to Hamas rocket fire with ‘disproportionate force.’”
FACT
Article 51 of the United Nations Charter reserves to every nation the right to engage in self-defense against armed attacks. As Professor Alan Dershowitz has also noted, “The claim that Israel has violated the principle of proportionality -- by killing more Hamas terrorists than the number of Israeli civilians killed by Hamas rockets -- is absurd. First, there is no legal equivalence between the deliberate killing of innocent civilians and the deliberate killings of Hamas combatants. Under the laws of war, any number of combatants can be killed to prevent the killing of even one innocent civilian. Second, proportionality is not measured by the number of civilians actually killed, but rather by the risk posed. This is illustrated by what happened on Tuesday (December 30, 2008), when a Hamas rocket hit a kindergarten in Beer Sheva, though no students were there at the time. Under international law, Israel is not required to allow Hamas to play Russian roulette with its children’s lives.”
As the London Times said in response to this charge during Israel's war with Hezbollah, this criticism “is lazy and facile in several ways, especially in implying a moral relativism between the two sides that does not exist. This is not the contest between misguided equals that many in the West seem to see. One is the region's lone democracy, which for much of its existence has faced a very real existential threat and would like, if possible, to live in peace with its neighbors. The other is a terrorist organization, bent on preventing such a future.”4
Furthermore, Since Hamas' stated objective is the destruction of Israel, isn't the appropriate response the destruction of Hamas? Wouldn't random missile strikes on Palestinian cities be proportionate to Hamas rocket attacks on southern Israel? Can you imagine any of Israel's critics accepting those responses?
When Palestinian terrorists plant bombs at Israeli shopping malls and kill and maims dozens of civilians, would the "proportionate response" be for Israelis to plant bombs in Palestinian malls? No one in Israel believes this would be a legitimate use of force. Thus, Israel is left with the need to take measured action against specific targets in an effort to either deter Palestinian violence or stop it.
What would America do if terrorists fired thousands of rockets targeting U.S. cities? After 9/11, we saw that America took the same type of action as Israel by launching military strikes against the terrorists. U.S. forces used overwhelming force and though they never targeted civilians, some were inadvertently killed. Americans believe in Colin Powell's doctrine, which holds that “America should enter fights with every bit of force available or not at all.”
The United States uses overwhelming force against its enemies, even though the threats are distant and pose no danger to the existence of the nation or the immediate security of its citizens. The threat Israel faces is immediate in time and physical proximity, and poses a direct danger to Israeli citizens. More than 6,000 rockets have now fallen on Israel's cities and now that Hamas has acquired long-range missiles, more than 900,000 civilians are in danger. Still, Israel has not used its full might as the Powell Doctrine dictates. The use of force has been judicious and precise.
Israeli soldiers do not deliberately target noncombatants. The murder of innocents is the goal of the Palestinian terrorists. In fact, what other army drops leaflets to warn people to leave an area they intend to attack even though it gives up the element of surprise and allows the bad guys to hide as well as the innocent to escape?
IDF activities are governed by an overriding policy of restraint and a determination to take all possible measures to prevent harm to innocent civilians.
No innocent Palestinians would be in any danger if the Palestinian Authority took steps to stop terrorism or if the international community, especially the Arab world, had pressured Hamas to stop attacking Israel.
No innocent Palestinians would be in danger if Hamas terrorists did not deliberately hide among them. If the peace-seeking Palestinians prevented the terrorists from living in their midst, Israel would have no reason to come to their neighborhoods.
It is a tragedy whenever innocent lives are lost, and Israelis have consistently expressed their sadness over Arab casualties. By contrast, when innocent Israelis are murdered by terrorists, Hamas holds rallies to celebrate the murders.
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Post by pieter on Nov 14, 2009 14:48:25 GMT -7
What are Israels intentions?
I have no idea if Israel has the intention to attack Gaza again. They have the means, the hawks in their government, political partiers and opposition in the Knesset, who could support the government with a majority. Kadima will support Likud, Labour and Yisrael Beiteinu of Lieberman, because Olmert and Livni were supported by Likud too.
But a new war will disturb even hard liner and rightwing hawk Netanyahu, in his effort of Peace negociations with Syria and the Palestinians. Even he knows that "Now is the time"!
Pieter
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