This evening in Israel [Archive] - Page 2 - The Project Avalon Community Forum

panopticon

29th July 2014, 02:07

Debunking Israel's 11 Main Myths About Gaza, Hamas and War Crimes (http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/mehdi-hasan/gaza-israel_b_5624401.html)
By Mehdi Hasan, 28/07/2014

[Links, images & video interview are available in Hasan's original article. It's good to see the points that I've been making since this thread began are appearing in the MSM -- Pan]

You've got to hand it to Israeli spinners like Mark Regev. They are masters of PR. In fact, as the Independent's Patrick Cockburn revealed over the weekend, "the playbook they are using is a professional, well-researched and confidential study on how to influence the media and public opinion in America and Europe".

Let's be clear: I'm no fan of Hamas, a brutal and anti-Semitic group which has been accused by Amnesty International and other NGOs of human rights abuses against the people of Gaza and of war crimes against the people of Israel. Firing rockets into civilian areas isn't justified under international law, even if it is framed as part of a (legitimate) struggle against foreign military occupation.

Having said that, however, in recent days I've been debating supporters of Israel's latest assault on Gaza on radio and on Twitter and I've been astonished not just by the sheer number of fact-free claims made by those supporters, but also by their confidence, slickness and sheer message discipline. According to the pro-Israel, pro-IDF crowd, Hamas is to blame for everything.

This, of course, is utter nonsense. To quote the late US senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan: "You are entitled to your opinion. But you are not entitled to your own facts."

So, in a Moynihanian spirit, here are fact-filled, evidence-based rebuttals to the 11 main myths, half-truths and self-serving 'talking points' that are repeatedly pushed by various Israeli spokespersons, both on the airwaves and on social media:

1) The Gaza Strip isn't occupied by Israel

Boston Globe: "Israeli-imposed buffer zones.. now absorb nearly 14 percent of Gaza's total land and at least 48 percent of total arable land. Similarly, the sea buffer zone covers 85 percent of the maritime area promised to Palestinians in the Oslo Accords, reducing 20 nautical miles to three." Human Rights Watch: "Israel also continues to control the population registry for residents of the Gaza Strip, years after it withdrew its ground forces and settlements there." B'Tselem, 2013: "Israel continues to maintain exclusive control of Gaza's airspace and the territorial waters, just as it has since it occupied the Gaza Strip in 1967."

2) Israel wants a ceasefire but Hamas doesn't

Al Jazeera: "Meshaal said Hamas wants the 'aggression to stop tomorrow, today, or even this minute. But [Israel must] lift the blockade with guarantees and not as a promise for future negotiations'. He added 'we will not shut the door in the face of any humanitarian ceasefire backed by a real aid programme'." Jerusalem Post: "One day after an Egyptian-brokered cease-fire accepted by Israel, but rejected by Hamas, fell through, the terrorist organization proposed a 10-year end to hostilities in return for its conditions being met by Israel, Channel 2 reported Wednesday.. Hamas's conditions were the release of re-arrested Palestinian prisoners who were let go in the Schalit deal, the opening of Gaza-Israel border crossings in order to allow citizens and goods to pass through, and international supervision of the Gazan seaport in place of the current Israeli blockade." BBC: "Israel's security cabinet has rejected a week-long Gaza ceasefire proposal put forward by US Secretary of State John Kerry 'as it stands'."

3) Israel, unlike Hamas, doesn't deliberately target civilians

The Guardian: "It was there that the second [Israeli] shell hit the beach, those firing apparently adjusting their fire to target the fleeing survivors. As it exploded, journalists standing by the terrace wall shouted: 'They are only children.'" UN high commissioner for human rights Navi Pillay: "A number of incidents, along with the high number of civilian deaths, belies the [Israeli] claim that all necessary precautions are being taken to protect civilian lives." United Nations Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict, 2009: "The tactics used by the Israeli armed forces in the Gaza offensive are consistent with previous practices, most recently during the Lebanon war in 2006. A concept known as the Dahiya doctrine emerged then, involving the application of disproportionate force and the causing of great damage and destruction to civilian property and infrastructure, and suffering to civilian populations. The Mission concludes from a review of the facts on the ground that it.. appears to have been precisely what was put into practice."

4) Only Hamas is guilty of war crimes, not Israel

Human Rights Watch: "Israeli forces may also have knowingly or recklessly attacked people who were clearly civilians, such as young boys, and civilian structures, including a hospital - laws-of-war violations that are indicative of war crimes." Amnesty International: "Deliberately attacking a civilian home is a war crime, and the overwhelming scale of destruction of civilian homes, in some cases with entire families inside them, points to a distressing pattern of repeated violations of the laws of war."

5) Hamas use the civilians of Gaza as 'human shields'

Jeremy Bowen, BBC Middle East editor: "I saw no evidence during my week in Gaza of Israel's accusation that Hamas uses Palestinians as human shields." The Guardian: "In the past week, the Guardian has seen large numbers of people fleeing different neighbourhoods.. and no evidence that Hamas had compelled them to stay." The Independent: "Some Gazans have admitted that they were afraid of criticizing Hamas, but none have said they had been forced by the organisation to stay in places of danger and become unwilling human-shields." Reuters, 2013: "A United Nations human rights body accused Israeli forces on Thursday of mistreating Palestinian children, including by torturing those in custody and using others as human shields."

6) This current Gaza conflict began with Hamas rocket fire on 30 June 2014

Times of Israel: "Hamas operatives were behind a large volley of rockets which slammed into Israel Monday morning, the first time in years the Islamist group has directly challenged the Jewish state, according to Israeli defense officials.. The security sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, assessed that Hamas had probably launched the barrage in revenge for an Israeli airstrike several hours earlier which killed one person and injured three more.. Hamas hasn't fired rockets into Israel since Operation Pillar of Defense ended in November 2012." The Nation: "During ten days of Operation Brother's Keeper in the West Bank , Israel arrested approximately 800 Palestinians without charge or trial, killed nine civilians and raided nearly 1,300 residential, commercial and public buildings. Its military operation targeted Hamas members released during the Gilad Shalit prisoner exchange in 2011."

[B]7) Hamas has never stopped firing rockets into Israel

Jewish Daily Forward: "Hamas hadn't fired a single rocket since [2012 Gaza conflict], and had largely suppressed fire by smaller jihadi groups. Rocket firings, averaging 240 per month in 2007, dropped to five per month in 2013." International Crisis Group: "Fewer rockets were fired from Gaza in 2013 than in any year since 2001, and nearly all those that were fired between the November 2012 ceasefire and the current crisis were launched by groups other than Hamas; the Israeli security establishment testified to the aggressive anti-rocket efforts made by the new police force Hamas established specifically for that purpose.. As Israel (and Egypt) rolled back the 2012 understandings - some of which were implemented spottily at best - so too did Hamas roll back its anti rocket efforts."

8) Hamas provoked Israel by kidnapping and killing three Israeli teenagers

Jewish Daily Forward: "The [Israeli] government had known almost from the beginning that the boys were dead. It maintained the fiction that it hoped to find them alive as a pretext to dismantle Hamas' West Bank operations.. Nor was that the only fib. It was clear from the beginning that the kidnappers weren't acting on orders from Hamas leadership in Gaza or Damascus. Hamas' Hebron branch -- more a crime family than a clandestine organization -- had a history of acting without the leaders' knowledge, sometimes against their interests." BBC correspondent Jon Donnison: "Israeli police MickeyRosenfeld tells me men who killed 3 Israeli teens def lone cell, hamas affiliated but not operating under leadership.. Seems to contradict the line from Netanyahu government."

9) Hamas rule, not Israel's blockade, is to blame for the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip

US State Department cable: "Israeli officials have confirmed to Embassy officials on multiple occasions that they intend to keep the Gazan economy functioning at the lowest level possible consistent with avoiding a humanitarian crisis.. Israeli officials have confirmed.. on multiple occasions that they intend to keep the Gazan economy on the brink of collapse without quite pushing it over the edge." The Guardian: "The Israeli military made precise calculations of Gaza's daily calorie needs to avoid malnutrition during a blockade imposed on the Palestinian territory between 2007 and mid-2010, according to files the defence ministry released on Wednesday under a court order.. The Israeli advocacy group Gisha.. waged a long court battle to release the document. Its members say Israel calculated the calorie needs for Gaza's population so as to restrict the quantity of food it allowed in."

10) The Israeli government, unlike Hamas, wants a two-state solution

Times of Israel: "[Netanyahu] made explicitly clear that he could never, ever, countenance a fully sovereign Palestinian state in the West Bank.. Amid the current conflict, he elaborated, 'I think the Israeli people understand now what I always say: that there cannot be a situation, under any agreement, in which we relinquish security control of the territory west of the River Jordan.'"

11) All serious analysts agree it was Hamas, and not Israel, that started this current conflict

Nathan Thrall, senior Mid East analyst at the International Crisis Group, writing in the New York Times: "The current escalation in Gaza is a direct result of the choice by Israel and the West to obstruct the implementation of the April 2014 Palestinian reconciliation agreement." Henry Siegman, former national director, American Jewish Congress, writing for Politico: "Israel's assault on Gaza.. was not triggered by Hamas' rockets directed at Israel but by Israel's determination to bring down the Palestinian unity government that was formed in early June, even though that government was committed to honoring all of the conditions imposed by the international community for recognition of its legitimacy."

Source (http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/mehdi-hasan/gaza-israel_b_5624401.html)

Tesseract

29th July 2014, 02:19

panopticon

29th July 2014, 08:44

Netanyahu's vision for Gaza: Internationally supervised demilitarization (http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/.premium-1.607768)
By Barak Ravid, July 29th, 2014

http://www.haaretz.com/polopoly_fs/1.607780.1406619038!/image/2829403830.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_640/2829403830.jpg

The prime minister is in talks with world leaders over a mechanism that would ensure that funds and materials allocated toward rebuilding Gaza don't sponsor terrorism, Israeli official says.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wants to establish an international framework for demilitarizing the Gaza Strip, supervising entry of people and goods into the enclave and preventing smuggling, a senior Israeli official said Monday. This mechanism will oversee the use of funds, building materials and arms in Gaza, in order to ensure that they are not used for terror.

According to the official, Netanyahu asked several foreign leaders for ideas on how the international community could assist in implementing these goals.

“Dismantling the tunnels is a first and necessary step toward demilitarizing the Strip,” Netanyahu said in a statement to the media on Monday. “A mechanism for preventing the rearmament of terror organizations and a demilitarization of Gaza has to be part of any solution. The international community should forcefully insist on this.”

Netanyahu delineated three areas in which international supervision can be involved. The first addresses Israel's concerns that when hostilities cease, an international fund will be established, through which billions of dollars will be channeled from Arab states and Western countries toward rebuilding Gaza.

Netanyahu supports international efforts to rebuild Gaza, with investments in its economy and infrastructure, but demands strict supervision of the money transferred, to ensure that it does not fall into the hands of Hamas or other terror organizations.

The second area addresses construction. Netanyahu wants tight supervision over materials that enter Gaza for the purpose of rebuilding after the battles end.

Netanyahu believes that international supervision is required for shipments of concrete, cement, iron and other materials, so they do not serve for construction of more tunnels from Gaza into Israel to replace those destroyed by the IDF during the present operation.

In recent years, intense international pressure led Israel to renew shipments of building materials into Gaza through the Kerem Shalom crossing. Israel did so despite concerns that these would be diverted to Hamas for building bunkers for its military wing operatives. The discovery of numerous tunnels over the last two weeks, in which hundreds of tons of concrete were used, affirmed Israel’s concerns.

The third and final area touches on Hamas' weapons. Netanyahu doesn’t believe that the group will agree to disarm and hand over the thousands of rockets, anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles it holds.

Nevertheless, he wants augmented supervision over Gaza’s borders, particularly with Egypt, in order to ensure that Hamas does not rearm or upgrade its capabilities.

Netanyahu also wants to see international supervision over dual-purpose materials entering Gaza, which could be used by Hamas to produce its own rockets.

The prime minister also wants to place the issue of Hamas rockets on the international agenda, in order to increase diplomatic pressure on the organization.

The declaration by European Union foreign ministers last week, calling for the disarmament of Hamas and other terror organizations in the Strip, is a first step in this direction.

A senior official said that Netanyahu has raised these issues in talks with several foreign leaders since the campaign began. These include U.S. President Barack Obama, Secretary of State John Kerry, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, and others. This official said that Netanyahu does not yet have a clear idea of what this supervisory mechanism might look like or what it might include, but he is asking foreign leaders for ideas.

Kerry clarified on Monday that any cease-fire agreement must address the demilitarization issue. “We also believe that any process to resolve the crisis in Gaza in a lasting and meaningful way must lead to the disarmament of Hamas and all terrorist groups. And we will work closely with Israel and regional partners and the international community in support of this goal," he said.

Source (http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/.premium-1.607768)

panopticon

29th July 2014, 08:54

What it feels like to be under Israeli fire (http://blogs.channel4.com/paul-mason-blog/feels-israeli-fire/1506)
By Paul Mason, 29th July 2014

Some Gazans are tweeting that this was the worst night of bombardment that the city and the Strip have ever witnessed. I can’t go out and verify yet but local agencies are saying 11 Palestinians are dead. I suspect it is more.

Meanwhile the Israeli army says it lost five dead after Hamas infiltrated through tunnels to Nahal Oz, inside Israel.

I will just describe what it felt like to be under sustained bombardment.

http://blogs.channel4.com/paul-mason-blog/wp-content/uploads/sites/72/2014/07/29_gaza_r_w.jpg

For the first three hours there was constant use of exploding flares, mainly fired from artillery. These are not standard illumination flares but bang very loud. They emit orange light so the typical thing you see in your darkened bedroom is shadows creeping up the wall. It frightened the 5-year-old in me, and must have terrified Gaza’s children. Whatever military purpose these flares have, using them in a sustained barrage against a civilian area had the effect of causing mass fear.

Punctuating that is artillery fire in the distance, where the two sides’ clash on the ground.

But the most devastating and terrifying things are the strikes. This is not a “barrage” – these are strikes with single weapons against single targets. But they are massive. They shake the ground, blowing the windows out of blocks facing them. Reports suggest among the targets was the pro-Hamas TV and radio station Al-Aqsa.

Though these are laser and satellite guided weapons, they create huge impacts, much bigger for example than the standard iron bomb the Germans dropped on London in WW2.

Those in any building hit like this are most likely going to die, and there is a high risk of death or injury to anybody nearby. In addition, since nobody is aware of what is being struck, or why, this too creates the impression that anything, or anybody, can be struck at any time.

Sleep is impossible and these earth-shaking impacts must also create the risk, and fear, of nearby apartment buildings collapsing.

If you have knowledge of hi-tech military hardware it is possible to rationalise these strikes as “pinpoint”. However the effect on the population in the midst of them is to create terror and disorientation.

For me “modern” life consists in knowing that if I get suddenly sick I can call an ambulance; that if somebody robs me I can call the police etc. Here, you have to go to bed at night knowing there is nobody with any power to move or help you, and lucky if you have electricity.

We will go out and assess the damage soon.

I have just lived through the first space-enabled bombardment of a modern city. The air attack on Baghdad in 2003, though massive, was aimed at a state and a military; this one was aimed at a state woven into shops and pharmacies, and in extremely dense, low-quality mid-rise housing, with very poor infrastructure to start with.

Source (http://blogs.channel4.com/paul-mason-blog/feels-israeli-fire/1506)

panopticon

29th July 2014, 09:21

Chris Gunness spokesperson for UNRWA in Palestine reports that there are over 182,000 people living in UNRWA shelters.

That is 10% of the population.

There are also a large number, not included in this figure, who are living with family and friends.

Also, it is being reported by Reuters (http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/07/29/mideast-gaza-powerstation-idINKBN0FY0P320140729) that Israel tank fire shelled the Gaza Strips power plant over night and to quote the article:

"The power plant is finished," said its director, Mohammed al-Sharif.

He said the local fire brigade was not equipped to extinguish the blaze.
Source (http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/07/29/mideast-gaza-powerstation-idINKBN0FY0P320140729)

http://s2.reutersmedia.net/resources/r/?m=02&d=20140729&t=2&i=950815116&w=580&fh=&fw=&ll=&pl=&r=LYNXMPEA6S0AB

-- Pan

panopticon

29th July 2014, 10:16

For those who may have seen this image quoting Jeremy Bowen:

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Bts8E-XCEAAcbWR.jpg

The quote is from an article he wrote that is viewable in the New Statesman:

Jeremy Bowen's Gaza notebook: I saw no evidence of Hamas using Palestinians as human shields (http://www.newstatesman.com/world-affairs/2014/07/jeremy-bowens-gaza-notebook-i-saw-no-evidence-hamas-using-palestinians-human)

-- Pan

Observer1964

29th July 2014, 10:27

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=329926350501151&fref=nf

normally things like this should be funny
but this is saddning, becoz it feels very close to the truth.

panopticon

29th July 2014, 10:29

Picture of Gaza's power station after being shelled by Israeli tanks:

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BttBBWGCMAEBppJ.jpg

(Image AFP)

-- Pan

panopticon

29th July 2014, 10:44

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=329926350501151&fref=nf

Amazing how well the author edited that together. Of course it isn't really what was said.

From 2012 (found in the facebook comments):

13RrastK23U
-- Pan

Cidersomerset

29th July 2014, 11:09

Expel Palestinians, populate Gaza with Jews, says Knesset deputy speaker

new Tuesday 29th July 2014 at 06:14 By david-icke

http://www.davidicke.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/get-attachment-325-587x396.jpg

‘Israel must attack Gaza even more mercilessly, expel the population and resettle the
territory with Jews, the deputy speaker of Israel’s parliament, the Knesset, has said.

Moshe Feiglin, a member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s ruling Likud Party,
makes the call in an article for the Israeli news website Arutz Sheva.

Feiglin demands that Israel launch attacks “throughout Gaza with the IDF’s [Israeli army’s]
maximum force (and not a tiny fraction of it) with all the conventional means at its disposal.”‘

Read more: Expel Palestinians, populate Gaza with Jews, says Knesset deputy speaker

http://uruknet.info/?p=m108576&hd=&size=1&l=e

http://www.davidicke.com/headlines/

Cidersomerset

29th July 2014, 11:16

Israeli military destroyed el-Wafa hospital even though it knew there were no weapons inside

new Tuesday 29th July 2014 at 06:11 By david-icke

http://www.davidicke.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/get-attachment33-587x330.jpg

‘The Israeli army targeted and destroyed the Gaza strip’s only rehabilitation hospital even though
Israeli authorities said they did not believe weapons were inside of the facility. El-Wafa Rehabilitation
Hospital, which treats long-term injuries and physical disabilities, was heavily shelled Thursday
evening causing an emergency evacuation of all staff and patients. El-Wafa Rehabilitation Hospital
treats long-term injuries and physical disabilities. All of the patients have some degree of paralysis,
require around the clock care and many are on oxygen support and feeding tubes.

“We’ve seen a lot of launches of rockets that came from exactly near the hospital, 100 meters
near,” said a spokesperson for the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), continuing, “Obviously the target
was not the hospital.”‘

Read more: Israeli military destroyed el-Wafa hospital even though it knew there were no weapons inside

http://mondoweiss.net/2014/07/military-destroyed-hospital.html

http://www.davidicke.com/headlines/

Cidersomerset

29th July 2014, 11:27

The heart of the problem with Israel: The mass expulsion of the Palestinian people

Tuesday 29th July 2014 at 06:07 By david-icke

http://www.davidicke.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/pic22.jpg

‘As Israeli government violence against the Palestinians in Gaza intensifies (the latest news
being an aggressive ground invasion), I saw a discussion on-line about whether Israel has
become more brutal or the brutality has simply become more visible to the public.

I remembered listening to Benjamin Netanyahu when he was at MIT in the 1970’s. He called
himself Bibi Nitai and said he was in self-exile until the Labor Party, which he despised, was
out of power. He spoke contemptuously about Arabs, and predicted he would be the leader
of Israel someday and would protect the Jewish state in the way it deserved. The immediate
response many of us had was: “Heaven help us all if he ever gets into power in Israel.”‘

Read more: The heart of the problem with Israel: The mass expulsion of the Palestinian people

http://uruknet.info/?p=m108581&hd=&size=1&l=e

http://www.davidicke.com/headlines/

Cidersomerset

29th July 2014, 11:39

10 Israeli soldiers killed east of Shujaiyya

Tuesday 29th July 2014 at 06:01 By david-icke

http://www.davidicke.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/373159_Israel-forces-tanks.jpg

‘At least 10 Israeli soldiers have been killed in a fighting with Palestinian resistance fighters as the
Israeli onslaught on the besieged Gaza Strip lingers on.

Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, said in a statement which was issued on Monday
that Palestinian resistance fighters killed the Israeli soldiers east of Shujaiyya.

The military wing of Hamas further noted that its fighters infiltrated “behind enemy lines” and
killed the soldiers.’

The Israeli army also issued a statement following the incident, saying Hamas fighters infiltrated
into Israel through a tunnel and opened fire on Israeli soldiers.

Elsewhere, in the city of Eshkol, at least four Israelis were killed and nearly a dozen others injured
after Palestinian rockets hit the city.

The Israeli army has confirmed the casualties, which brings to over 50, the total number of Israelis
killed since the beginning of the war on Gaza. Over 140 other soldiers were also wounded.

Palestinian fighters, however, say they have killed over a hundred Israeli troopers alone.

Read more: 10 Israeli soldiers killed east of Shujaiyya

http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2014/07/28/373159/10-israeli-soldiers-killed-in-gaza/

===================================================================

Israel in urgent need of more US money for war on Gaza: Harry Reid

Tuesday 29th July 2014 at 05:52 By david-icke

http://www.davidicke.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/get-attachment-720-587x390.jpg

‘US Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid says Israel urgently needs more financial aid from the United States for its
offensive against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

On Monday afternoon, Reid, a member of the Democratic Party, warned that the Obama administration’s $225
million request to aid Israel during its current war may not be enough, as the Zionist regime continues to
massacre Palestinians in Gaza.

Israel has been relentlessly pounding the besieged territory for 21 days. More than 1,050 Palestinians have been
killed and thousands wounded, including women and children. In retaliation, Palestinian resistance fighters have
fired rockets into Israel.’

Read more: Israel in urgent need of more US money for war on Gaza: Harry Reid

http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2014/07/28/373165/israel-in-urgent-need-of-money-from-us-reid/

http://www.davidicke.com/headlines/

panopticon

29th July 2014, 11:44

Here's footage of the ongoing fire @ Gaza's power station after the Israeli tank shelling:

fqKpeU5oivs

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BttKLcTCAAEh5sA.jpg

Source of footage:
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-28539664

-- Pan

Cidersomerset

29th July 2014, 11:56

http://www.davidicke.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/get-attachment-159-587x416.jpg

International Jewish Congress: ‘We are looking at the beginnings of a Holocaust’

new Tuesday 29th July 2014 at 10:44 By david-icke

http://www.davidicke.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/get-attachment-893-587x391.jpg

‘The situation facing European Jewry is “simply intolerable, unacceptable and inexcusable,”
Israeli Jewish Congress president Vladimir Sloutsker told MKs and foreign diplomats at a
special session of the Knesset Immigration Absorption and Diaspora Affairs Committee on Monday.

Calling the rise in anti-Semitic incidents accompanying Israel’s invasion of Gaza an “SOS situation,”
Sloutsker warned that if left unchecked, such behavior could lead to another European genocide.

“Never before since the Holocaust, have we seen such a situation as today,” he said, referring
to the continent-wide demonstrations by pro-Palestinian activists, a number of which have
degenerated into violence and many of which have featured racist rhetoric. “We are potentially
looking at the beginning of another Holocaust now.’

Read more: International Jewish Congress: 'We are looking at the beginnings of a Holocaust'

http://www.jpost.com/Jewish-World/Jewish-News/We-are-looking-at-the-beginnings-of-a-Holocaust-369165

http://www.davidicke.com/headlines/

Cidersomerset

29th July 2014, 12:08

Israel pounds Gaza after Netanyahu promises prolonged battle

new Tuesday 29th July 2014 at 10:47 By david-icke

http://www.davidicke.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/get-attachment-1215-587x485.jpg

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

THE GUARDIAN......

GvLQxrBOUv0

‘Gaza endured a night of relentless bombardment that brought some
of the heaviest pounding since the start of the conflict three weeks ago,
in the hours after the Israeli political and military leadership warned of
a protracted offensive.

Palestinian officials say more than 110 people have been killed in Gaza
in the past 24 hours.

Israeli forces targeted key strategic targets, including the home of the
Hamas leader in Gaza, Ismail Haniyeh, and a building housing
Hamas-controlled broadcast outlets.’

Read more: Israel pounds Gaza after Netanyahu promises prolonged battle

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jul/29/israel-pounds-gaza-after-netanyahu-promises-prolonged-battle

http://www.davidicke.com/headlines/

==============================================
==============================================

http://www.davidicke.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/get-attachment-1411-587x390.jpg

panopticon

29th July 2014, 13:14

I thought I'd already posted this Channel 4 interview with Mark Regev but I can't seem to find it so here it is:

D89PMaZJCis
Reminder on one of Regev's talking points:

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Bts8E-XCEAAcbWR.jpg
Bowen's article here (http://www.newstatesman.com/world-affairs/2014/07/jeremy-bowens-gaza-notebook-i-saw-no-evidence-hamas-using-palestinians-human).

In addition, and in case it was missed from an earlier post, it was Israel who had to discipline its soldiers because they were using children as "human shields". There was an uproar about it back back in 2010 because the 2 sergeants convicted only received a demotion... More here (http://www.hrw.org/news/2010/11/26/israel-soldiers-punishment-using-boy-human-shield-inadequate), here (http://www.islamweb.net/emainpage/articles/162593/israeli-soldiers-walk-free-in-gaza-human-shield-case) and here (http://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/nov/21/israeli-soldiers-human-shield-avoid-jail). Why is this case so important? It is the only case, that I am aware of, where the Israeli Government and IDF admitted that this behaviour had been going on. There were many more allegations but at least they admitted to this one.

-- Pan

panopticon

29th July 2014, 13:23

Palestinian Health Minister reports over 100 dead from the intense Israeli bombing overnight.

Israel has rejected a 24 hour proposed by a PLO spokesman with Regev saying that they want to hear it from Hamas.

IDF Spokesperson's explanation for bombing mosques, radio stations, finance ministry, UN schools, civilian residences and at least one hospital overnight.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BtsiUMKIcAAFvKU.jpg

-- Pan

panopticon

29th July 2014, 14:01

Video of some of the damage from shelling by IDF on Gaza (Al Jazeera).

WlfD1dCKTUQ
PLO official Yasser Abed Rabbo confirms that a delegation comprised of all factions, including Hamas and Islamic Jihad, will head to Cairo and that a 24 hour extendible to 72 hours has been agreed to by all. Hamas says that part of a long term ceasefire is that there are International agreements to stop the sanctions. Also said that Rabbo had no authority/authorisation to speak for Hamas.

Israel's Mark Regev (Netanyahu's spokesperson) has evidently said: No.

More to come...

Chinese hackers "liberated" (:P) the plans for Israel's "Iron Dome" missile defence system back in 2011/2012 (source (http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/jul/29/chinese-hackers-steal-israel-iron-dome-missile-data)).

panopticon

29th July 2014, 14:07

Report from Harry Fear on last nights IDF assault on Gaza:

eaiN18hS3d8
-- Pan

panopticon

29th July 2014, 14:41

Allegations have evidently been made (in the US) that Reuters, AP & NYT have been using fake/staged photos.

I am only posting this so I have a reference for later (it seems unimportant atm but who knows).

Rebut article on allegations Reuters used staged victim photos (may be disturbing to some viewers pan#):

David Frum Accuses NYT and Reuters of Staging Gaza Hospital Photos (http://www.bagnewsnotes.com/2014/07/david-frum-accuses-nyt-and-reuters-of-staging-gaza-hospital-photos/)

panopticon

29th July 2014, 15:10

Gaza War will not hurt the economy -- Deputy Governor of Israel's central bank

If we can learn anything from similar occurrences in the past, and hoping that the current event doesn't stretch so much longer, we don't expect it to have much impact on economic activity.
Source (http://www.cnbc.com/id/101875854#.)

Maybe not...

http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2014/7/29/1406644327097/31dd6455-114d-4fb0-9dab-199c6469582b-460x276.jpeg

http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2014/7/29/1406644236011/f3281b2e-0f76-4321-84cd-1e82f81e9536-460x276.jpeg

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Btt0GjLIcAAbK11.png

http://activestills.org/gallery/lightbox/ActiveStills1406625440mxaeh.lightbox.jpg

http://activestills.org/gallery/lightbox/ActiveStills1406625541ah0ru.lightbox.jpg

http://www.activestills.org/gallery/lightbox/ActiveStills140662554783acl.lightbox.jpg

http://www.activestills.org/gallery/lightbox/ActiveStills1406625538da8fo.lightbox.jpg

http://activestills.org/gallery/lightbox/ActiveStills1406625429371bw.lightbox.jpg

http://activestills.org/gallery/lightbox/ActiveStills1406625435kr99q.lightbox.jpg

-- Pan

panopticon

29th July 2014, 15:32

Article on 24hr ceasefire deal for Gaza-Israel proposed by PLO. (Article from Al Jazeera)

###

Palestinian truce offer hangs in balance (http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2014/07/palestinians-offer-24-hour-truce-gaza-2014729123737270157.html)
By Dalia Hatuqa, 29 Jul 2014

[Embedded video in original article]

PLO says it agrees plan with Hamas for 24-hour ceasefire, a statement Hamas says depends on the agreement of Israel.

The PLO has said that all Palestinian factions, including Hamas and Islamic Jihad, have united to offer a 24-hour ceasefire in Gaza, a move Hamas however insisted must be guaranteed by Israel for it to work.

Yasser Abed Rabbo, a member of the PLO executive committee, said on Tuesday that a 24-hour truce offer was agreed and that a unified delegation could be sent to Cairo to talk about the next steps.

The UN and diplomats have over the last week tried to broker a temporary halt to violence in Gaza, in order to create conditions for talks in Cairo between all parties for a full ceasefire.

"The factions, including Hamas and Jihad, are prepared for a 24-hour truce and Israel will be held the responsible if it doesn't accept the truce as well," he said.

"There is a proposal from the UN to extend the truce to 72 hours. And we look favorably upon that. This is more proof that we have a unified Palestinian stand. "

However Osama Hamdan, a Hamas spokesman in Beirut, Lebanon, said that the organisation welcomed the idea of a ceasefire "but we need a guarantee that the Israelis will not violate that".

Israel's government spokesman Mark Regev told the AP news agency that the offer was "not serious" until Israel heard from Hamas directly.

The Israeli security cabinet meanwhile was due to meet at about 4pm GMT on Tuesday - a meeting that could prove crucial to the offer.

Israel continues to pound the Gaza Strip. At least 100 Palestinians were killed on Tuesday, according to Gaza officials. The total Palestinian death toll in more than three weeks of Israel-Hamas fighting has surpassed 1,165.

On the Israeli side, 56 people have been killed, most of them soldiers.

Source (http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2014/07/palestinians-offer-24-hour-truce-gaza-2014729123737270157.html)

panopticon

29th July 2014, 16:21

So the US is sending $225 million to Israel. It's being reported as "aid" superficially but its for Israel to boost the capacity of its Iron Dome missile defense system.

Article from AP: LAWMAKERS TRY TO SEAL $225M AID PACKAGE FOR ISRAEL (http://bigstory.ap.org/article/israel-war-us-lawmakers-give-full-support)

It's not surprising given the power of the Israeli Lobby in the US (AIPAC, CUI, Conference of Presidents etc) and the fact Kerry supposedly promised Gaza $47 million dollars in aid for rebuilding ($10 million was already going to Gaza for humanitarian infrastructure construction)...

There again, I'm probably just jaded.

-- Pan

panopticon

29th July 2014, 16:39

This is a bit like "ground hog day"...

Unilateral ceasefire is being reported as having been agreed to (Channel 2 Israel).
Others are reporting that senior Israeli officials are saying that this is wrong and that there is no agreement (i24News, Haaretz).

Evidently Egypt is still trying to get deal arranged but it hasn't been finalised.

Israeli cabinet meeting soon & Bibi will get a smack from his mates if there is a deal...

-- Pan

Channel 2 have now retracted their report.
Still looks like there's a possibility that there might be something in the wind...

Bibi has postponed his spanking... Cabinet meeting moved to tomorrow. I don't know what to make of that... It was actually supposed to start and then postponed... Gaining/gauging support for a ceasefire or increase to assault?
It was reported earlier today that a high ranking IDF spokesperson said that the cabinet needed to make up its mind either in or out.

Right that's enough for me. It's 3am and this is going to probably be protracted negotiations and politicking.

I shall sleep with the thought in mind that a ceasefire is being arranged. :sleep:

Cidersomerset

29th July 2014, 16:50

Israel intensifies Gaza attacks after Netanyahu warning

new Tuesday 29th July 2014 at 16:16 By david-icke

http://www.davidicke.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/n-GAZA-POWER-PLANT-ATTACKED-large.jpg

‘More than 100 Palestinians are said to have been killed after Israel intensified its
bombardment of Gaza and warned of a long conflict ahead.

Gaza’s only power plant caught fire as Israel carried out 60 air strikes, targeting
sites associated with Hamas, the Islamist group which controls Gaza.

UN staff members are said to be among those killed. An Israeli military spokesman
said the strikes signalled a “gradual increase in the pressure” on Hamas.’

Read more: Israel intensifies Gaza attacks after Netanyahu warning

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-28539528

Cidersomerset

29th July 2014, 16:56

Israel Creates ‘No Man’s Land’ in Gaza, Shrinking Strip by 40 Percent

new Tuesday 29th July 2014 at 16:20 By david-icke

http://www.davidicke.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/get-attachment-2241-587x415.jpg

‘This narrow strip of land that used to be called “the Gaza Strip,” already one of the more densely
populated places on Earth, is growing dramatically smaller. The Israeli military, relentlessly and
methodically, is driving people out of the 3-kilometer (1.8 mile) buffer zone it says it needs to
protect against Hamas rockets and tunnels. According to the United Nations Office for the
Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the buffer zone eats up about 44 percent of Gaza’s territory.

What that means on the ground is scenes of extraordinary devastation in places like the
Al Shajaya district approaching Gaza’s eastern frontier, and Beit Hanoun in the north. These
were crowded neighborhoods less than three weeks ago. Now they have been literally
depopulated, the residents joining more than 160,000 internally displaced people in refuges
and makeshift shelters. Apartment blocks are fields of rubble, and as I move through this
hostile landscape the phrase that keeps ringing in my head is “scorched earth.”’

http://cdn.thedailybeast.com/content/dailybeast/articles/2014/07/28/as-israel-enforces-its-buffer-zone-gaza-shrinks-by-40-per-cent/jcr:content/body/inlineimage.img.800.jpg/1406580014914.cached.jpg

Read more: Israel Creates ‘No Man’s Land’ in Gaza, Shrinking Strip by 40 Percent

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/07/28/as-israel-enforces-its-buffer-zone-gaza-shrinks-by-40-per-cent.html

http://www.davidicke.com/headlines/

Observer1964

29th July 2014, 17:13

Bob

29th July 2014, 18:46

The Gaza power plant has now been effectively rendered inert.

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/183470

"Israel's Channel 2 said that Gaza's electricity supply has been reduced by 90% since the start of the military campaign there.

"Gaza's sole power plant has stopped working due to Israeli shelling last night, which damaged the steam generator and later hit the fuel tanks which set them on fire," Fathi al-Sheikh Khalil told AFP.

An AFP reporter saw huge fires raging near the plant Tuesday morning, noting that fire department vehicles were still unable to reach the area.

The damage of the power plant exacerbated the heavy damage to civilian infrastructure in Gaza already inflicted."

You know what it is like when food goes bad, no food, no water, no electricity.. Israel humanitarian we think not.

Before:

http://imemc.org/attachments/may2010/gaza20foto0027wo0.jpg

After:

http://cdn.timesofisrael.com/uploads/2014/07/000_Nic6355715-635x357.jpg

Meanwhile on US media, sympathetic talking heads from Israel are telling the US people that Israel and US are ONE.. "we are you and you are us".. It went from BeeBee saying imagine from New York to Colorado being attacked by enemies, now imagine 80% of your country now attacked by enemies to now, Israel and the US are one.. Pretty interesting spin trying to get people to believe the programming..

dianna

29th July 2014, 22:05

From Snordster …

Gaza's Real-Life Apocolypto

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qtOQWKsQKiU

This video uses the current crisis to promote an anti-semitic message. I would remind people, as others have, that Zionists were a minority of Jews prior to the creation of Israel, and that politically the Jewish people sided with the more social, compassionate sides of politics. And, just because there are some nasty passages in the Torah, it does not mean that modern Jews subscribe to modern-day extensions of such passages. Nor does it for any other religion. I ask that people recognise this kind of material for what it is, and to not post such material in this thread or elsewhere on avalon.

I beg to differ as I did not find this anti-Semitic at all … anti religion maybe … and anti agenda/establishment … and interesting comparison … that was my interpretation …

To quote Mencken:

Uncle Sam and Auntie semite; … 'The most dangerous man, to any government, is the man who is able to think things out for himself without regard to the prevailing superstitions and taboos."Every normal man must be tempted, at times, to spit on his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin slitting throats..

<8>

29th July 2014, 22:18

"PaleIsrael"

I just had a few things on my mind and I hope it would fit in on this thread.:)
I did not do a spell check. But I hope you get the gist of it.

The people of Israel and the Palestinian people are shaped in a history of fear.
They are lost and scared and they feel that there is no other way than to use violence.
Fear have taken a hold of them and they lack love in their lives.
When a person think they have the right to kill an other life for any reason, they are scared.

A person filled with love will allways find the healing solution, for peace and harmony.
The Palestinian people are equally scared and when you are lost in fear, you can't see a clear way out of the situation.
In fear the Palestinian people are lashing out in desperation, but there is no salvation around the corner.

Only a truthful and total surrender from either parties, would solve this situation in a heart beat.
I personally solved a situation there I only could see violence in the horizon.

Over a year a person kept terrorising me in every single way and even circling outside my home at night.
I did the one thing and only thing that truley could solve a situation like this peacefully.
I gave the guy a call and told him that I like to meet him and that it would be on his terms.
But I would love to buy him a cake and just sit down and have a talk to solve the situation.
I never heard from this guy again.

A honest light of love will light up a dark place and change your view in a instant.
I hear people who claims it's a complicated situation and I agree, if you try to solve this from a place of fear.
Einstein said, You cannot solve a problem from the same consciousness that created it.

I would say, if you are not conscious of that you are in a state of fear. it's hard to find a peaceful solution.

peace be upon you all

Tesseract

30th July 2014, 03:10

Report has come out that IDF approved attacks on civilians (well, is this even news?):

http://www.telesurtv.net/english/news/Israeli-Revenge-Attacks-Against-Gazan-Civilians-20140729-0027.html

In a release published online, Efrati said that this was ordered “to enable the soldiers to take out their frustrations and pain at losing their fellow soldiers, out on the Palestinian refugees in the neighborhood. Under the pretext of the so-called “security threat” soldiers were directed to carry out a pre-planned attack of revenge on Palestinian civilians.”

“After the shooting on the Israeli armored personnel carriers, which killed seven soldiers of the Golani Brigade, the Israeli army carried out a massacre in Shuja’eyya neighborhood,” according to Efrati.

panopticon

30th July 2014, 06:09

Came across a Russell Brand video discussing a Hannity attack on Yousef Munayyer in my wanders:

V_m98GAdqKM
A number of things that Brand says has been mentioned in this thread.

The fact he starts talking about the history of the region and power imbalances/control mechanisms leading to civil resistance is exceptional.

The history has been covered well and it is incredibly difficult for anyone to argue, in a sustained manner, when the facts are presented clearly, that the Palestinians are doing anything other than resisting.

Gandhi said this before the creation of Israel in 1938 and you can't find someone more against violent revolution than him:

I am not defending the Arab excesses. I wish they had chosen the way of non-violence in resisting what they rightly regarded as an unwarrantable encroachment upon their country. But according to the accepted canons of right and wrong, nothing can be said against the Arab resistance in the face of overwhelming odds.
Source (http://www.gandhiserve.org/e/information/writings_online/articles/gandhi_jews_palestine.htm#'The Jews', by Gandhi - From Harijan, November 26, 1938)

In 1947 Gandhi was asked in a interview 'What do you feel is the most acceptable solution to the Palestine problem?' his response was:

The abandonment wholly by the Jews of terrorism and other forms of violence.
Source (http://www.gandhiserve.org/e/information/writings_online/articles/gandhi_jews_palestine.htm)

So, enough history, back to Brand's comments and accusations made in the interview.

There is no evidence that Hamas & co have used "human shields". Though it is well known that IDF soldiers have in the past:

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Bts8E-XCEAAcbWR.jpg
Bowen's article here (http://www.newstatesman.com/world-affairs/2014/07/jeremy-bowens-gaza-notebook-i-saw-no-evidence-hamas-using-palestinians-human).

In addition, and in case it was missed from an earlier post, it was Israel who had to discipline its soldiers because they were using children as "human shields". There was an uproar about it back back in 2010 because the 2 sergeants convicted only received a demotion... More here (http://www.hrw.org/news/2010/11/26/israel-soldiers-punishment-using-boy-human-shield-inadequate), here (http://www.islamweb.net/emainpage/articles/162593/israeli-soldiers-walk-free-in-gaza-human-shield-case) and here (http://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/nov/21/israeli-soldiers-human-shield-avoid-jail). Why is this case so important? It is the only case, that I am aware of, where the Israeli Government and IDF admitted that this behaviour had been going on. There were many more allegations but at least they admitted to this one.

Also, it is good to know that there will be no problems for the Israeli economy if the assault doesn't go on too long:

Gaza War will not hurt the economy -- Deputy Governor of Israel's central bank

If we can learn anything from similar occurrences in the past, and hoping that the current event doesn't stretch so much longer, we don't expect it to have much impact on economic activity.
Source (http://www.cnbc.com/id/101875854#.)

Plus war is good business. The US sends money to Israel so Israel can buy rockets from the US... Tell me that makes sense.

So the US is sending $225 million to Israel. It's being reported as "aid" superficially but its for Israel to boost the capacity of its Iron Dome missile defense system.

Article from AP: LAWMAKERS TRY TO SEAL $225M AID PACKAGE FOR ISRAEL (http://bigstory.ap.org/article/israel-war-us-lawmakers-give-full-support)

Given that the Gaza power plant has been made inoperable and there is massive infrastructure and structural damage not to mention the destruction of civil organisations (dead UN workers for example) then it is hardly surprising to think that the Quartet's plan for development in the Gaza Strip will be welcomed.

For information on the Quartet's plan for development in Gaza & Occupied Territories see:

The Initiative for the Palestinian Economy - An Overview (http://www.quartetrep.org/quartet/news-entry/ipe-overview/)

I wonder whether it will be under the protection of the United Nations, after all that has been mooted by Netanyahu as a precursor to a permanent ceasefire agreement:

Netanyahu's vision for Gaza: Internationally supervised demilitarization (http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/.premium-1.607768)

-- Pan

panopticon

30th July 2014, 06:51

At least 15 dead, 70 injured as UN housing for 3300 displaced refugees @ Jabalia in Gaza hit by shelling (source (http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/07/30/us-mideast-gaza-idUSKBN0FV04A20140730)).

The Israeli Governments manipulation of their population via media continues:

'Over 90% of Jewish Israelis say Gaza op justified: Fewer than 4% of this month’s Peace Index poll participants think Operation Protective Edge is disproportionate (http://www.timesofisrael.com/over-90-of-jewish-israelis-say-gaza-op-justified/)'

How hard is it to say 'no' when you are told everyone else is saying yes?

I feel a lot of respect for those in Israel who are not only willing to say 'no' but actively protest against it.

-- Pan

panopticon

30th July 2014, 07:02

CNN report saying no evidence that 3 Israeli-Jewish teenagers slaughtered by Hamas:

88eNhCQ9pPk
-- Pan

panopticon

30th July 2014, 08:46

I know the exact moment when I started to truly examine the Israeli Governments occupation of Palestine.
I had been well aware of it and the history of it prior to that but a deep investigation didn't happen until the end of the 2nd Intifada/Disengagement Plan.
I was watching a series of talks by IDF troops and I came across Yehuda Shaul giving a talk.

His simple heart felt description of what was occurring and how the IDF troops are used really made it clear how intimidation was used.

Sometimes it isn't the obvious beatings, detentions, restrictions that remove power.

I think it was in his testimony that I heard a simple story that illustrates this clearly.

A soldier serving in the West Bank (during one of the periods when the IDF took over Palestinian houses as observation points) is not given binoculars.

Harmless sounding isn't it.

Just to repeat: A soldier serving in the West Bank is not given binoculars.

Maybe they don't have enough binoculars to give to their troops? Maybe it's an oversight?
Easy to think of lots of reasons why this could be until you realise that it was not isolated to 1 or 2 cases.

Now, imagine you are a 19 year old soldier looking out the window of the second story building you are occupying. Maybe you're sitting around with your mates or in a room by yourself. You're bored or maybe you're duty is to keep an eye out on the street below.
Remember: Most of battle is long periods of boredom interspersed with intermittent moments of terror...

http://img.thesun.co.uk/aidemitlum/archive/01566/Sniper_01_1566291a.jpg

How do you see clearly down the road?

You raise your rifle and look through the scope on the barrel.

http://amazingdata.com/mediadata35/Image/hot_weird_funny_amazing_cool8_snipers-rifles-scope-photos-9_2009073023262611389.jpg

Now imagine you are a Palestinian on the street.

You look up at the window and see an Israeli pointing a gun at you, or maybe it's your mother or sister walking down the road that you see the gun is pointing at.

How do you feel?

http://apanopticview.drivehq.com/images/al-arrub-soldier-on-the-roof.jpg

That is intimidation.

This is designed to terrorise the Palestinians.

I realised that it wasn't really the soldiers who were doing it.
It was systemic.
It was by design.

The more I listened, the more it was confirmed.
The more talks by former IDF soldiers I listened to, the more I understood.

Here is a 2013 talk given by Yehuda Shaul:

JxHE4KrLvj0
-- Pan

panopticon

30th July 2014, 09:40

Foreign Ministry proposes Israeli Security Council resolution for end to war (http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/.premium-1.607936)
By Barak Ravid, 30.07.14

http://www.haaretz.com/polopoly_fs/1.606726.1406079441!/image/2227819771.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_640/2227819771.jpg

Diplomatic initiative to end the fighting via a Security Council resolution is similar to the way the Second Lebanon War was ended

The Foreign Ministry has advised Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to initiate the drafting of a United Nations Security Council resolution on the terms for ending the war in the Gaza Strip, a senior Israeli official said on Tuesday.

He said the ministry believes such a move would minimize Hamas’ international legitimacy and advance Israeli interests, such as disarming Gaza and returning the Palestinian Authority to the Strip.

The ministry’s director general, Nissim Ben Shetrit, sent a document to National Security Advisor Yossi Cohen last week in which he proposed a “diplomatic exit plan” from the conflict in Gaza. The document was drafted by a ministry task force comprised of representatives from the diplomatic planning department, the international affairs department and the political research department. The senior official said the document was sent to Netanyahu for his perusal.

In the document, the ministry proposed an Israeli diplomatic initiative to end the fighting via a Security Council resolution, similar to the way the Second Lebanon War of 2006 was ended. Resolution 1701, which ended that war, called for southern Lebanon to be disarmed of all rockets and heavy weaponry, stated that the Lebanese army, which answers to the government in Beirut, would be the only legal military force south of the Litani River, and significantly expanded UNIFIL, the UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon.

The ministry suggested two ways of advancing a similar Security Council resolution on Gaza. The first is to reach an agreement on Gaza with several countries that have interests in common with Israel, such as Egypt, the United States, the major European countries and the Palestinian Authority, and then bring it to the Security Council for approval. This is similar to how the agreement to disarm Syria of its chemical weapons was reached.

The second option is simply to draft a Security Council resolution together with the United States, Britain, France and other friendly council members.

The Israeli official said the Foreign Ministry believes that if Israel initiates such a move and acts in coordination with the U.S., Egypt and the PA, it can advance several of its diplomatic interests: first, setting up an international mechanism to disarm Gaza and supervise the entry of building materials, money and arms into the Strip; second, returning the Palestinian Authority to Gaza and stationing security forces loyal to PA President Mahmoud Abbas at the border crossings; and third, strengthening the alliance with Egypt.

The idea of using a Security Council resolution to end the war in Gaza was raised by several ministers during meetings of the diplomatic-security cabinet, including Justice Minister Tzipi Livni and Communications Minister Gilad Erdan. Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon is also studying this idea as one possible way of ending the war. Ya’alon believes that if efforts to reach a cease-fire via Egyptian mediation fail, America should take the lead in passing a Security Council resolution.

Source (http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/.premium-1.607936)

panopticon

30th July 2014, 10:50

Channel 4 news report from Gaza by Paul Mason on 29th July (youtube channel (https://www.youtube.com/user/Channel4News/videos)):

eH7gRFKTZ8g
-- Pan

panopticon

30th July 2014, 11:12

Israeli cabinet meeting is under way after being postponed last night.
We'll know soon where this is going to be taken.

-- Pan

panopticon

30th July 2014, 11:33

The story that Hamas kidnapped 3 Israeli-Jewish youths and then slaughtered them is gradually being challenged by Israeli Police & Intelligence officers.

I've previously mentioned that there was no evidence to link Hamas in Gaza to the kidnapping/slaughter and now there have been at least 2 sources mentioned in the media clearly saying the same.

Beside the Israeli police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld saying this, now an Israeli intelligence officer has confirmed the same thing in an interview with Buzzfeed (source (http://www.buzzfeed.com/sheerafrenkel/israeli-intelligence-officers-doubt-hamas-involvement-in-inc)):

But one Israeli intelligence officer who works in the West Bank and is intimately involved in investigating the case spoke to BuzzFeed on condition of anonymity and said he felt the kidnapping had been used by politicians trying to promote their own agenda.
“That announcement was premature,” the intelligence officer said. “If there was an order, from any of the senior Hamas leadership in Gaza or abroad, this would be an easier case to investigate. We would have that intelligence data. But there is no data, so we have come to conclude that these men were acting on their own.”
Source (http://www.buzzfeed.com/sheerafrenkel/israeli-intelligence-officers-doubt-hamas-involvement-in-inc)
That's right: we have come to conclude that these men were acting on their own.

This is the same technique used in the build-up to the invasion of Iraq.

-- Pan

panopticon

30th July 2014, 11:52

The IDF has announced a 4 hour humanitarian ceasefire in areas where there is no active fighting. This will start @ 15:00 Gaza local time (10 minutes from this post).

In other words the IDF is going to stop shelling what they classify as areas with no combatants fighting them.

Is this to wait and see whether the Cabinet will decide to expand the operation, maintain present operations or implement a withdraw plan?

Remember that an IDF spokesperson said yesterday that the cabinet should either expand the operation or withdraw. Those were the options.

-- Pan

panopticon

30th July 2014, 12:09

Photo's taken by NBC report Ayman Mohyeldin of the UN school that was allegedly shelled by the IDF:

July 30, 2014 | Jabalya, Gaza. A mother with her son, and a young girl holding her brothers hand walk by the badly damaged entrance to the Abu Hussien School that has been converted into a shelter. The UN's initial investigation says israeli shells landed in the school killing more than a dozen Palestinians and injuring close to a hundred more earlier today. Eye witnesses say there were no rockets or fighting taking place at the time of the attack which happened in the early hours of this morning. More than 3000 people were taking refuge at the school, many sleeping in the courtyard and the hallways of the school because the classrooms were too crowded. They thought they would be safe at the school, they were wrong.

http://photos-f.ak.instagram.com/hphotos-ak-xpa1/927403_740861875952045_1025007141_n.jpg
Source (http://instagram.com/p/rEpzEBnEA6/)

A Palestinian man rests his head in grief outside the classroom at the Abu Hussien school where this morning more than a dozen internally displaced Palestinians were killed in what an initial UN investigation says was an Israeli attack. Above him, in Arabic, an inscription that says "every human has the right to live freely".

http://photos-b.ak.instagram.com/hphotos-ak-xap1/1208370_332583693565481_734587357_n.jpg
Source (http://instagram.com/p/rEr8igHEDb/)

A Palestinian man holds up a blood soaked blanket where a refugee was sleeping when, according to an initial UN investigation, Israeli shells hit the school killing more than a dozen Palestinian and injuring close to a hundred. More than 200,000 Palestinians, 10% of Gaza's population have been displaced from their homes, some forever after their entire neighborhoods were destroyed. Even the places where people thought they were safe turned out to be in the killing zone.

http://photos-c.ak.instagram.com/hphotos-ak-xfa1/1209664_1400766196850514_1601024304_n.jpg
Source (http://instagram.com/p/rEpB1qnEP8)

Images from other sources:

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BtyRbXoCAAEGdp9.jpg

http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2014/7/30/1406701445339/90c2ca56-4049-4160-aa6e-eedf0811edfc-460x276.jpeg

http://static01.nyt.com/images/2014/07/31/world/31israel01/31israel01-master675.jpg

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Btywc-VCMAIG1_X.jpg

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BtyvK77CQAEaFpc.jpg

jhRxbpJQF6U

This just looks like Gaza Screaming:

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BtxvN_uIgAEX5Rr.jpg

-- Pan

panopticon

30th July 2014, 13:08

Collective Punishment in Gaza (http://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/collective-punishment-gaza)
By Rashid Khalidi July 29th, 2014

http://www.newyorker.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/Collective-Punishment-Gaza-690.jpg

Three days after the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu launched the current war in Gaza, he held a press conference in Tel Aviv during which he said, in Hebrew, according to the Times of Israel, “I think the Israeli people understand now what I always say: that there cannot be a situation, under any agreement, in which we relinquish security control of the territory west of the River Jordan.”

It’s worth listening carefully when Netanyahu speaks to the Israeli people. What is going on in Palestine today is not really about Hamas. It is not about rockets. It is not about “human shields” or terrorism or tunnels. It is about Israel’s permanent control over Palestinian land and Palestinian lives. That is what Netanyahu is really saying, and that is what he now admits he has “always” talked about. It is about an unswerving, decades-long Israeli policy of denying Palestine self-determination, freedom, and sovereignty.

What Israel is doing in Gaza now is collective punishment. It is punishment for Gaza’s refusal to be a docile ghetto. It is punishment for the gall of Palestinians in unifying, and of Hamas and other factions in responding to Israel’s siege and its provocations with resistance, armed or otherwise, after Israel repeatedly reacted to unarmed protest with crushing force. Despite years of ceasefires and truces, the siege of Gaza has never been lifted.

As Netanyahu’s own words show, however, Israel will accept nothing short of the acquiescence of Palestinians to their own subordination. It will accept only a Palestinian “state” that is stripped of all the attributes of a real state: control over security, borders, airspace, maritime limits, contiguity, and, therefore, sovereignty. The twenty-three-year charade of the “peace process” has shown that this is all Israel is offering, with the full approval of Washington. Whenever the Palestinians have resisted that pathetic fate (as any nation would), Israel has punished them for their insolence. This is not new.

Punishing Palestinians for existing has a long history. It was Israel’s policy before Hamas and its rudimentary rockets were Israel’s boogeyman of the moment, and before Israel turned Gaza into an open-air prison, punching bag, and weapons laboratory. In 1948, Israel killed thousands of innocents, and terrorized and displaced hundreds of thousands more, in the name of creating a Jewish-majority state in a land that was then sixty-five per cent Arab. In 1967, it displaced hundreds of thousands of Palestinians again, occupying territory that it still largely controls, forty-seven years later.

In 1982, in a quest to expel the Palestine Liberation Organization and extinguish Palestinian nationalism, Israel invaded Lebanon, killing seventeen thousand people, mostly civilians. Since the late nineteen-eighties, when Palestinians under occupation rose up, mostly by throwing stones and staging general strikes, Israel has arrested tens of thousands of Palestinians: over seven hundred and fifty thousand people have spent time in Israeli prisons since 1967, a number that amounts to forty per cent of the adult male population today. They have emerged with accounts of torture, which are substantiated by human-rights groups like B’tselem. During the second intifada, which began in 2000, Israel reinvaded the West Bank (it had never fully left). The occupation and colonization of Palestinian land continued unabated throughout the “peace process” of the nineteen-nineties, and continues to this day. And yet, in America, the discussion ignores this crucial, constantly oppressive context, and is instead too often limited to Israeli “self-defense” and the Palestinians’ supposed responsibility for their own suffering.

In the past seven or more years, Israel has besieged, tormented, and regularly attacked the Gaza Strip. The pretexts change: they elected Hamas; they refused to be docile; they refused to recognize Israel; they fired rockets; they built tunnels to circumvent the siege; and on and on. But each pretext is a red herring, because the truth of ghettos—what happens when you imprison 1.8 million people in a hundred and forty square miles, about a third of the area of New York City, with no control of borders, almost no access to the sea for fishermen (three out of the twenty kilometres allowed by the Oslo accords), no real way in or out, and with drones buzzing overhead night and day—is that, eventually, the ghetto will fight back. It was true in Soweto and Belfast, and it is true in Gaza. We might not like Hamas or some of its methods, but that is not the same as accepting the proposition that Palestinians should supinely accept the denial of their right to exist as a free people in their ancestral homeland.

This is precisely why the United States’ support of current Israeli policy is folly. Peace was achieved in Northern Ireland and in South Africa because the United States and the world realized that they had to put pressure on the stronger party, holding it accountable and ending its impunity. Northern Ireland and South Africa are far from perfect examples, but it is worth remembering that, to achieve a just outcome, it was necessary for the United States to deal with groups like the Irish Republican Army and the African National Congress, which engaged in guerrilla war and even terrorism. That was the only way to embark on a road toward true peace and reconciliation. The case of Palestine is not fundamentally different.

Instead, the United States puts its thumb on the scales in favor of the stronger party. In this surreal, upside-down vision of the world, it almost seems as if it is the Israelis who are occupied by the Palestinians, and not the other way around. In this skewed universe, the inmates of an open-air prison are besieging a nuclear-armed power with one of the most sophisticated militaries in the world.

If we are to move away from this unreality, the U.S. must either reverse its policies or abandon its claim of being an “honest broker.” If the U.S. government wants to fund and arm Israel and parrot its talking points that fly in the face of reason and international law, so be it. But it should not claim the moral high ground and intone solemnly about peace. And it should certainly not insult Palestinians by saying that it cares about them or their children, who are dying in Gaza today.

Rashid Khalidi is the Edward Said Professor of Arab Studies at Columbia University and the editor of the Journal of Palestine Studies, and was an adviser to the Palestinian delegation at the Madrid-Washington Palestinian-Israeli negotiations of 1991-93. His most recent book is “Brokers of Deceit.”

Source (http://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/collective-punishment-gaza)

panopticon

30th July 2014, 13:17

62% of British public says Israel committing war crimes, as polls show sympathy for Palestinians (http://www.middleeastmonitor.com/news/europe/13114-62-of-british-public-says-israel-committing-war-crimes-as-polls-show-sympathy-for-palestinians)
30th July 2014

Almost two thirds of the British public (62%) believe that the Israeli government is committing war crimes, a new YouGov poll has revealed.

The survey, conducted 27-28 July, comes days after a separate poll carried out on behalf of The Sunday Times showed that 52% of the British public sees Israel's bombing of the Gaza Strip as "unjustified". Questioned about their attitude to the conflict more generally, 27% said their sympathies lie more with the Palestinians, while 14% said their sympathies lay more with the Israelis.

Polling data from the U.S. indicates Israel's growing image problem, even amongst the citizens of its closest ally. A new Pew Research Center poll shows that among 18 to 29-year old Americans, 29% blame Israel more for the current violence, while 21% blame Hamas. Meanwhile, a Gallup poll last week showed that a majority of nonwhite Americans under-50 view Israel's assault as "unjustified".

In a CNN poll conducted July 18-20, only 57% of respondents said Israel's actions in 'Operation Protective Edge' are justified.

Meanwhile, a survey of UK Christians commissioned by charity Embrace the Middle East has revealed that 35.4% sympathise more with the Palestinians, while 16.9% sympathise more with Israel. The research was conducted before Israel's attack on Gaza, which charity head Jeremy Moodey said would likely only increase support for the Palestinians in UK churches.

Source (http://www.middleeastmonitor.com/news/europe/13114-62-of-british-public-says-israel-committing-war-crimes-as-polls-show-sympathy-for-palestinians)

panopticon

30th July 2014, 13:23

UNRWA STRONGLY CONDEMNS ISRAELI SHELLING OF ITS SCHOOL IN GAZA AS A SERIOUS VIOLATION OF INTERNATIONAL LAW (http://www.unrwa.org/newsroom/official-statements/unrwa-strongly-condemns-israeli-shelling-its-school-gaza-serious)
30 July 2014

http://www.unrwa.org/sites/default/files/styles/487x295/public/content/news_articles/news_article_7346_13096_1406720394.jpg

STATEMENT BY UNRWA COMMISSIONER-GENERAL PIERRE KRÄHENBÜHL

Jerusalem

Last night, children were killed as they slept next to their parents on the floor of a classroom in a UN designated shelter in Gaza. Children killed in their sleep; this is an affront to all of us, a source of universal shame. Today the world stands disgraced.

We have visited the site and gathered evidence. We have analysed fragments, examined craters and other damage. Our initial assessment is that it was Israeli artillery that hit our school, in which 3,300 people had sought refuge. We believe there were at least three impacts. It is too early to give a confirmed official death toll. But we know that there were multiple civilian deaths and injuries including of women and children and the UNRWA guard who was trying to protect the site. These are people who were instructed to leave their homes by the Israeli army.

The precise location of the Jabalia Elementary Girls School and the fact that it was housing thousands of internally displaced people was communicated to the Israeli army seventeen times, to ensure its protection; the last being at ten to nine last night, just hours before the fatal shelling.

I condemn in the strongest possible terms this serious violation of international law by Israeli forces.

This is the sixth time that one of our schools has been struck. Our staff, the very people leading the humanitarian response are being killed. Our shelters are overflowing. Tens of thousands may soon be stranded in the streets of Gaza, without food, water and shelter if attacks on these areas continue.

We have moved beyond the realm of humanitarian action alone. We are in the realm of accountability. I call on the international community to take deliberate international political action to put an immediate end to the continuing carnage.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

UNRWA is a United Nations agency established by the General Assembly in 1949 and is mandated to provide assistance and protection to a population of some 5 million registered Palestine refugees. Its mission is to help Palestine refugees in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, West Bank and the Gaza Strip to achieve their full potential in human development, pending a just solution to their plight. UNRWA’s services encompass education, health care, relief and social services, camp infrastructure and improvement, and microfinance.

Financial support to UNRWA has not kept pace with an increased demand for services caused by growing numbers of registered refugees, expanding need, and deepening poverty. As a result, the Agency's General Fund (GF), supporting UNRWA’s core activities and 97 per cent reliant on voluntary contributions, has begun each year with a large projected deficit. Currently the deficit stands at US$ 69 million.

Source (http://www.unrwa.org/newsroom/official-statements/unrwa-strongly-condemns-israeli-shelling-its-school-gaza-serious)

panopticon

30th July 2014, 14:24

An incredibly good article that dissects other areas of the US/Israeli propaganda and comes to the conclusion that many of the problems that led to the current situation are the result of Israel not co-operating with moderates in PA & Gaza.

The article gives the clearest explanation for the eventual destruction of the greenhouses I've ever read.

Take away from article:

The point is to show—contrary to the establishment American Jewish narrative—that Israel has repeatedly played into Hamas’ hands by not strengthening those Palestinians willing to pursue statehood through nonviolence and mutual recognition. Israel played into Hamas’ hands when Sharon refused to seriously entertain the Arab and Geneva peace plans. Israel played into Hamas’ hands when it refused to support a Palestinian unity government that could have given Abbas the democratic legitimacy that would have strengthened his ability to cut a two state deal. And Israel played into Hamas’ hands when it responded to the group’s takeover of Gaza with a blockade that—although it has some legitimate security features—has destroyed Gaza’s economy, breeding the hatred and despair on which Hamas thrives.

In the ten years since Jewish settlers left, Israeli policy toward Gaza has been as militarily resourceful as it has been politically blind. Tragically, that remains the case during this war. Yet tragically, the American Jewish establishment keeps cheering Israel on.

###

Gaza myths and facts: what American Jewish leaders won't tell you (http://www.haaretz.com/opinion/.premium-1.608008)
By Peter Beinart 30.07.14

http://www.haaretz.com/polopoly_fs/1.607474.1406483722!/image/3904821742.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_640/3904821742.jpg

Myth: Gaza is free. Fact: it has been under Israeli occupation since 1967 to this very day.

If you’ve been anywhere near the American Jewish community over the past few weeks, you’ve heard the following morality tale: Israel left the Gaza Strip in 2005, hoping the newly independent country would become the Singapore of the Middle East. Instead, Hamas seized power, ransacked greenhouses, threw its opponents off rooftops and began launching thousands of rockets at Israel.

American Jewish leaders use this narrative to justify their skepticism of a Palestinian state in the West Bank. But in crucial ways, it’s wrong. And without understanding why it’s wrong, you can’t understand why this war is wrong too.

Let’s take the claims in turn.

Israel Left Gaza

It’s true that in 2005, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon withdrew Israel’s more than 8,000 settlers from Gaza. (At America’s urging, he also dismantled four small settlements in the West Bank). But at no point did Gaza become its own country. Had Gaza become its own country, it would have gained control over its borders. It never did. Even before the election of Hamas, Israel controlled whether Gazans could enter or exit the Strip. Israel controlled the population registry through which Gazans were issued identification cards. Upon evacuating its settlers and soldiers from Gaza, Israel even created a security perimeter inside the Strip from which Gazans were barred from entry. (Unfortunately for Gazans, this perimeter included some of the Strip’s best farmland).

“Pro-Israel” commentators claim Israel had legitimate security reasons for all this. But that concedes the point. A necessary occupation is still an occupation. That’s why it’s silly to analogize Hamas’ rockets—repugnant as they are—to Mexico or Canada attacking the United States. The United States is not occupying Mexico or Canada. Israel — according to the United States government — has been occupying Gaza without interruption since 1967.

To grasp the perversity of using Gaza as an explanation for why Israel can’t risk a Palestinian state, it helps to realize that Sharon withdrew Gaza’s settlers in large measure because he didn’t want a Palestinian state. By 2004, when Sharon announced the Gaza withdrawal, the Road Map for Peace that he had signed with Mahmoud Abbas was going nowhere. Into the void came two international proposals for a two state solution. The first was the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative, in which every member of the Arab League offered to recognize Israel if it returned to the 1967 lines and found a “just” and “agreed upon” solution to the problem of Palestinian refugees. The second was the 2003 Geneva Initiative, in which former Israeli and Palestinian negotiators publicly agreed upon the details of a two state plan. As the political scientists Jonathan Rynhold and Dov Waxman have detailed, Sharon feared the United States would get behind one or both plans, and pressure Israel to accept a Palestinian state near the 1967 lines. “Only an Israeli initiative,” Sharon argued, “will keep us from being dragged into dangerous initiatives like the Geneva and Saudi initiatives.”

Sharon saw several advantages to withdrawing settlers from Gaza. First, it would save money, since in Gaza Israel was deploying a disproportionately high number of soldiers to protect a relatively small number of settlers. Second, by (supposedly) ridding Israel of its responsibility for millions of Palestinians, the withdrawal would leave Israel and the West Bank with a larger Jewish majority. Third, the withdrawal would prevent the administration of George W. Bush from embracing the Saudi or Geneva plans, and pushing hard—as Bill Clinton had done—for a Palestinian state. Sharon’s chief of staff, Dov Weisglass, put it bluntly: “The significance of the disengagement plan is the freezing of the peace process. And when you freeze that process, you prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state, and you prevent a discussion on the refugees, the borders and Jerusalem. Effectively, this whole package called the Palestinian state, with all that it entails, has been removed indefinitely from our agenda. And all this with authority and permission. All with a presidential blessing and the ratification of both houses of Congress.”

It’s no surprise, therefore, that the Gaza withdrawal did not meet minimal Palestinian demands. Not even the most moderate Palestinian leader would have accepted a long-term arrangement in which Israel withdrew its settlers from Gaza while maintaining control of the Strip’s borders and deepening Israeli control of the West Bank. (Even in the 2005, the year Sharon withdrew from Gaza, the overall settler population rose, in part because some Gazan settlers relocated to the West Bank).

In fact, Sharon’s advisors did not expect withdrawing Gaza’s settlers to satisfy the Palestinians. Nor did not they expect it to end Palestinian terrorism. Ehud Olmert, a key figure in the disengagement plan (and someone who himself later embraced Palestinian statehood), acknowledged that “terror will continue” after the removal of Gaza’s settlers. The key word is “continue.” Contrary to the American Jewish narrative, militants in Gaza didn’t start launching rockets at Israel after the settlers left. They began a half-decade earlier, at the start of the second intifada. The Gaza disengagement did not stop this rocket fire. But it did not cause it either.

Hamas Seized Power

I can already hear the objections. Even if withdrawing settlers from Gaza didn’t give the Palestinians a state, it might have made Israelis more willing to support one in the future - if only Hamas had not seized power and turned Gaza into a citadel of terror.

But Hamas didn’t seize power. It won an election. In January 2006, four months after the last settlers left, Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem chose representatives to the Palestinian Authority’s parliament. (The previous year, they had separately elected Abbas to be the Palestinian Authority’s President). Hamas won a plurality of the vote - forty-five percent - but because of the PA’s voting system, and Fatah’s idiotic decision to run more than one candidate in several districts, Hamas garnered 58 percent of the seats in parliament.

To the extent American Jewish leaders acknowledge that Hamas won an election (as opposed to taking power by force), they usually chalk its victory up to Palestinian enthusiasm for the organization’s 1988 charter, which calls for Israel’s destruction. But that’s almost certainly not the reason Hamas won. For starters, Hamas didn’t make Israel’s destruction a major theme of its election campaign. In its 2006 campaign manifesto, the group actually fudged the question by saying only that it wanted an “independent state whose capital is Jerusalem” plus fulfillment of the right of return.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not suggesting that by 2006 Hamas had embraced the two state solution. Only that Hamas recognized that running against the two state solution was not the best way to win Palestinian votes. The polling bears this out. According to exit polls conducted by the prominent Palestinian pollster Khalil Shikaki, 75 percent of Palestinian voters—and a remarkable 60 percent of Hamas voters—said they supported a Palestinian unity government dedicated to achieving a two state solution.

So why did Hamas win? Because, according to Shikaki, only fifteen percent of voters called the peace process their most important issue. A full two-thirds cited either corruption or law and order. It’s vital to remember that 2006 was the first Palestinian election in more than ten years. During the previous decade, Palestinians had grown increasingly frustrated by Fatah’s unaccountable, lawless and incompetent rule. According to exit polls, 85 percent of voters called Fatah corrupt. Hamas, by contrast, because it had never wielded power and because its charitable arm effectively delivered social services, enjoyed a reputation for competence and honesty.

Hamas won, in other words, for the same reason voters all across the world boot out parties that have grown unresponsive and self-interested after years in power. That’s not just Shikaki’s judgment. It’s also Bill Clinton’s. As Clinton explained in 2009, “a lot of Palestinians were upset that they [Fatah] were not delivering the services. They didn’t think it [Fatah] was an entirely honest operation and a lot of people were going to vote for Hamas not because they wanted terrorist tactics…but because they thought they might get better service, better government…They [also] won because Fatah carelessly and foolishly ran both its slates in too many parliamentary seats.”

This doesn’t change the fact that Hamas’ election confronted Israel and the United States with a serious problem. After its victory, Hamas called for a national unity government with Fatah “for the purpose of ending the occupation and settlements and achieving a complete withdrawal from the lands occupied in 1967, including Jerusalem, so that the region enjoys calm and stability during this phase.” But those final words—“this phase”—made Israelis understandably skeptical that Hamas had changed its long-term goals. The organization still refused to recognize Israel, and given that Israel had refused to talk to the PLO until it formally accepted Israel’s right to exist in 1993, it’s not surprising that Israel demanded Hamas meet the same standard.

Still, Israel and the U.S. would have been wiser to follow the counsel of former Mossad chief Efraim Halevy, who called for Sharon to try to forge a long-term truce with Hamas. Israel could also have pushed Hamas to pledge that if Abbas—who remained PA president—negotiated a deal with Israel, Hamas would accept the will of the Palestinian people as expressed in a referendum, something the group’s leaders have subsequently promised to do.

Instead, the Bush administration—suddenly less enamored of Middle Eastern democracy--pressured Abbas to dissolve the Palestinian parliament and rule by emergency decree. Israel, which also wanted Abbas to defy the election results, withheld the tax and customs revenue it had collected on the Palestinian Authority’s behalf. Knowing Hamas would resist Abbas’ efforts to annul the election, especially in Gaza, where it was strong on the ground, the Bushies also began urging Abbas’ former national security advisor, a Gazan named Mohammed Dahlan, to seize power in the Strip by force. As David Rose later detailed in an extraordinary article in Vanity Fair, Condoleezza Rice pushed Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to buy weapons for Dahlan, and for Israel to allow them to enter Gaza. As General Mark Dayton, US security coordinator for the Palestinians, told Dahlan in November 2006, “We also need you to build up your forces in order to take on Hamas.”

Unfortunately for the Bush administration, Dahlan’s forces were weaker than they looked. And when the battle for Gaza began, Hamas won it easily, and brutally. In response, Abbas declared emergency rule in the West Bank.

So yes, members of Hamas did throw their Fatah opponents off rooftops. Some of that may have been payback because Dahlan was widely believed to have overseen the torture of Hamas members in the 1990s. Regardless, in winning the battle for Gaza, Hamas—which had already shed much Israeli blood - shed Palestinian blood too.

But to suggest that Hamas “seized power” - as American Jewish leaders often do - ignores the fact that Hamas’ brutal takeover occurred in response to an attempted Fatah coup backed by the United States and Israel. In the words of David Wurmser, who resigned as Dick Cheney’s Middle East advisor a month after Hamas’ takeover, “what happened wasn’t so much a coup by Hamas but an attempted coup by Fatah that was pre-empted before it could happen.”

[B]The Greenhouses

Israel responded to Hamas’ election victory by further restricting access in and out of Gaza. As it happens, these restrictions played a key role in explaining why Gaza’s greenhouses did not help it become Singapore. American Jewish leaders usually tell the story this way: When the settlers left, Israel handed over their greenhouses to the Palestinians, hoping they would use them to create jobs. Instead, Palestinians tore them down in an anti-Jewish rage.

But one person who does not endorse that narrative is the prime mover behind the greenhouse deal, Australian-Jewish businessman James Wolfensohn, who served as the Quartet’s Special Envoy for Gaza Disengagement. In his memoir, Wolfensohn notes that “some damage was done to the greenhouses [as the result of post-disengagement looting] but they came through essentially intact” and were subsequently guarded by Palestinian Authority police. What really doomed the greenhouse initiative, Wolfensohn argues, were Israeli restrictions on Gazan exports. “In early December [2005], he writes, “the much-awaited first harvest of quality cash crops—strawberries, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, sweet peppers and flowers—began. These crops were intended for export via Israel for Europe. But their success relied upon the Karni crossing [between Gaza and Israel], which, beginning in mid-January 2006, was closed more than not. The Palestine Economic Development Corporation, which was managing the greenhouses taken over from the settlers, said that it was experiencing losses in excess of $120,000 per day…It was excruciating. This lost harvest was the most recognizable sign of Gaza’s declining fortunes and the biggest personal disappointment during my mandate.”

The point of dredging up this history is not to suggest that Israel deserves all the blame for its long and bitter conflict with Hamas. It does not. Hamas bears the blame for every rocket it fires, and those rockets have not only left Israelis scarred and disillusioned. They have also badly undermined the Palestinian cause.

The point is to show—contrary to the establishment American Jewish narrative—that Israel has repeatedly played into Hamas’ hands by not strengthening those Palestinians willing to pursue statehood through nonviolence and mutual recognition. Israel played into Hamas’ hands when Sharon refused to seriously entertain the Arab and Geneva peace plans. Israel played into Hamas’ hands when it refused to support a Palestinian unity government that could have given Abbas the democratic legitimacy that would have strengthened his ability to cut a two state deal. And Israel played into Hamas’ hands when it responded to the group’s takeover of Gaza with a blockade that—although it has some legitimate security features—has destroyed Gaza’s economy, breeding the hatred and despair on which Hamas thrives.

In the ten years since Jewish settlers left, Israeli policy toward Gaza has been as militarily resourceful as it has been politically blind. Tragically, that remains the case during this war. Yet tragically, the American Jewish establishment keeps cheering Israel on.

Source (http://www.haaretz.com/opinion/.premium-1.608008)

panopticon

30th July 2014, 14:49

I just came across a really good site called NewsDiffs (http://newsdiffs.org/) that tracks changes made to articles @ nytimes.com, cnn.com, politico.com, washingtonpost.com and bbc.co.uk.

Very cool example of a major change to a NYT article: http://newsdiffs.org/diff/629916/630097/www.nytimes.com/2014/07/31/world/middleeast/israel-gaza.html

BTW almost 4 hours since the Israeli Cabinet went in...

-- Pan

panopticon

30th July 2014, 15:28

Report of an explosion @ Shajaia market. Palestinian doctor (at Shifa hospital) saying at least 160 injured and 17 dead (source (https://twitter.com/DrBasselAbuward)).

JRS

30th July 2014, 15:41

I wonder what Uri Geller is up to these days? Does he still carry the rock from John Lennon in his pocket? I wonder what John would think of all this?

panopticon

30th July 2014, 16:29

Reports from the Shifa hospital indicate that many of the 160 persons injured arrived with amputated limbs and are in critical condition.

Still no news as to what caused the explosion. Palestinian officials are claiming it was Israeli. Maybe Israel didn't think the market was a non-combatant zone.

One Palestinian journalist was killed in the explosion. His helmet didn't protect him.

Reports that Hamas are saying they are going to respond to the "Shajaia Massacre".

Another doctor at Shifa reported that they received 100+ patients in minutes "it's a massacre" (source (https://twitter.com/Belalmd12)).

I don't know what happened to the rock JRS.

Israeli Cabinet has just come out. Notice timing.

-- Pan

panopticon

30th July 2014, 16:46

Appears that the cabinet has decided to continue on, talk remains around destroying remaining "terror tunnels". Waiting for more detail.

Reminded me of this interesting analysis I read by Dan Perry.

###

AP ANALYSIS: AMID WAR, ENDGAMES IN GAZA EMERGE (http://bigstory.ap.org/article/ap-analysis-amid-war-endgames-gaza-emerge)
By Dan Perry, July 30th, 2014.

http://binaryapi.ap.org/4284566e8dcf49fea350c4aa355338be/460x.jpg
Smoke rises in the skyline from Israeli strikes in eastern Gaza City, early Wednesday, July 30, 2014, amid Israel's heaviest air and artillery assault in more than three weeks of Israel-Hamas fighting.
(AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — The savage fighting between Israel and Hamas is escalating in Gaza, cease-fire efforts take on elements of farce, and bravado rules the public discourse. But even through the fog of war, a few endgame scenarios can nonetheless be glimpsed.

For the moment, the deadlock is well-entrenched: As long as the crippling blockade of Gaza remains in place, Hamas says it will continue firing rockets at Israel — terrifying but mostly ineffectual, thanks to the "Iron Dome" defense system. Israel says the blockade must stay to stop a terrorist government from importing yet more weapons.

There is not much pressure on either side to stop — even in Gaza, where more than 1,200 people, mainly civilians, have been killed, amid widespread devastation. An Egyptian-led cease-fire plan more than two weeks ago, which Israel accepted and was a straight return to the status quo before this current round — was rejected by Hamas, and there was little criticism of that decision in Gaza. Such is the hatred of the air, land and sea blockade in the strip — in addition, perhaps, to the fear of Hamas.

Last week's mediation effort led by John Kerry fizzled amid a most undiplomatic frenzy of criticism in Israel of the U.S. secretary of state. He had dared suggest Hamas' blockade-ending demands be on the table. He also had ignored Israel's new demands — probably long-term at best — that the militant group be disarmed.

While it is too early to say how all this will end, quiet diplomacy continues. There also is a growing sense that it can't go on much longer — but then again, it might.

Here are some ways it could play out:

ISRAEL DECLARES VICTORY AND LEAVES

If you listen carefully, Israeli leaders generally describe the ground operation in Gaza as intended to destroy the Hamas-built tunnels leading into Israel, almost certainly for purposes of attack. The military says it has found and is destroying more than 20 tunnels and believes there are a few more. Once that job is done, Israel could well pull out and try to declare victory or even a unilateral cease-fire. The hope would be that the respite from the devastation visited on Gaza would compel Hamas to think again and quietly accept a return to the way it was: no rocket fire on Israel; no airstrikes and shelling of Gaza. This probably wouldn't work. Hamas has put Gazans through so much that they certainly feel they must have something to show for their efforts in the form of an easing of the blockade. Rocket fire would continue and the hostilities would swiftly resume.

Despite huge reservations, Israel may just end up reoccupying the strip, even at the cost of hundreds of soldiers and then being saddled with nearly 2 million Gazans to rule. If the situation becomes bad enough, more fantastical scenarios suggest themselves: perhaps even a NATO force to pacify and rebuild the traumatized strip. It probably won't be necessary. Hamas will run out of rockets eventually. But for now, it's believed to have thousands more, Israel will continue to strike back, and the destruction will be harrowing for weeks.

THE PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY TAKES OVER THE BORDER WITH EGYPT

Hamas wants an end to the blockade that was imposed by Israel after the militants won the 2006 Palestinian parliament election, were sidelined by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, and then seized Gaza in 2007. Some minor things are conceivable, like a small extension of the rights of fishermen to venture out to sea. But Israel will not allow true sea access or an airport as long as Hamas controls the strip. The concern is that even bigger rockets and weapons would stream in. Israel also won't soon open its borders to Gazans, remembering too well the suicide bombings of a decade ago.

There is one plausible way to greatly ease the siege: Open the southern border near the town of Rafah leading to Egypt, and put the Gaza side not under the control of Hamas but under the Palestinian Authority. Cairo has been extremely cool to the idea of opening the frontier but not to the PA taking it over, in line with the tough Egypt-first policy of new President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi. Egypt seems little inclined to help Hamas against Israel, views Gaza as someone else's problem, and fears Gaza's militants trickling in and compounding its own jihadi problems in Sinai. But the PA on the border could be spun as a win for everyone: Hamas broke the siege; the PA is back in business in the strip; Israel didn't give up much under fire; the Gazans feel relief; and Egypt is the hero. When the dust finally settles, don't be surprised if this is the face-saving way out.

THE PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY TAKES OVER GAZA

Somehow forgotten in the current discourse is that the blockade was imposed after the Hamas takeover. It was probably intended both to be punitive — an incentive to the people to rebel, which has proven impractical under the militants — and to prevent Hamas from arming further. At this point, it is mainly about this latter goal of reining in Hamas. Alternatively, Hamas could call the world's bluff by accepting the conditions presented to it by the world community: recognize Israel, adhere to previous agreements, renounce violence. Acquiescence here would also probably eliminate the blockade. But no one expects Hamas to do this; it would cease to be Hamas. Either way, the principle's the same: No Hamas — no blockade.

West Bank-based Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas signed a "unity government" deal two months ago that would have actually achieved this on paper — but few seriously expected Hamas to give up its control of Gaza. Israel fought vehemently against the deal, lobbying the world to shun even Abbas — part of a series of events that culminated in the current fight. Essentially the "unity government" was stillborn — but the war could give the arrangement new and genuine life, especially if this comes with serious relief on the blockade. Hamas would find it especially hard to oppose this if major financial incentives were added, like billions in aid from the Gulf and the West, conditioned on the PA being in charge. After all, the support it finds among ordinary Gazans is about improving life for the people, not fighting Israel to the death. Last week, both the German and French foreign ministers said re-involving the PA in the administration of Gaza was the only way to guarantee a long-term cease-fire. Given Hamas' relative unpopularity in the region at the moment, and its money crunch, it's not inconceivable.

A challenge for Israel, therefore: It will have to go along with such a game-changing ambitions to a degree. But what if militants from an Abbas-run Gaza still find a way to fire rockets? It may actually rue the day Hamas melted away, removing with it Israel's near-impunity to hit back as hard as the past month has seen.

Dan Perry has covered the Middle East since the 1990s and currently leads Associated Press' text coverage in the region.

Source (http://bigstory.ap.org/article/ap-analysis-amid-war-endgames-gaza-emerge)

panopticon

30th July 2014, 17:22

It appears that the markets @ Shajaia were not classified by the IDF as a non-combat zone.

This is part of the problem, the IDF declare a ceasefire and then say "oh, by the way, not where we're fighting".

That makes it very difficult for civilians to know if it is actually safe to go to the markets or not.

In this case at least 17 people died and 160 injured. Many are reportedly children.

The rhetoric being reported from Israeli Cabinet ministers is still about "terror tunnels", "demilitarisation" & "damaging Hamas".

It seems, and I say that with a great deal of caution, that there is no hurry from Israel, PA, Hamas, IJ or the factions to have a ceasefire.

Israel wants the rocket attacks to stop. Hamas/IJ want at least the border restrictions loosened. Abbas wants to save face. The US wants to show moral outrage and sell weapons. El-Sisi wants, well that's a long story...

No one wants to blink first.

Meanwhile Israeli deaths have reached 59 (56 IDF and 3 civilians) while the Palestinian death toll exceeds 1300.

As I've said on a number of occasions: there are no winners in war, only survivors.

-- Pan

panopticon

30th July 2014, 18:05

I wonder what Uri Geller is up to these days? Does he still carry the rock from John Lennon in his pocket? I wonder what John would think of all this?

If you'd posted that a few days ago you could have asked this person (http://124andy.blogspot.com.au/2014/07/weatherspoons-in-henley.html) to find out for you if he was home.

Back in march he was searching for MH370 (http://www.express.co.uk/news/world/465028/Uri-Geller-asked-to-help-find-missing-Malaysia-Flight-MH370) (remember that plane?).

He was also on Red Ice Radio:
phogjTdghVQ
In May he had his Spoon-Gorilla (http://metro.co.uk/2014/05/18/uri-gellers-12ft-gorilla-spoon-statue-finally-unveiled-4731915/) delivered:

YFxrlr_pt5c
Uri's website is here:
http://site.uri-geller.com/

His twitter is here:
https://twitter.com/gelleruri

From there he was in Israel on the 10th July.

His twitpic account is here:
http://twitpic.com/photos/gelleruri

Facebook here:
https://www.facebook.com/uri.geller.7

From there he was still in Israel on the 19th July.

He was reported as being in London yesterday here (https://twitter.com/Salt_PaulAnnis/status/493864058148651009) from this feed collator (http://smarp.com/event/IA1089201/-Uri-Geller-in-London-UK).

Still no news on the egg er, um, rock. :)

I'll keep looking if you don't ask him via one of the above.

BTW thank you JRS for the 20 minute diversion. ;)

-- Pan

panopticon

30th July 2014, 18:27

I've watched this bloke Chris Gunness from UNRWA for quite a while and I am certain that this wasn't staged.
It looks like it's from a pre-recorded interview out-take (from Al Jazeera).

The intro is in Arabic (I think) and then Chris Gunness starts talking in English about the bombing of the UN school in which 10 "displaced refugees" died.
Remember he's had people die that he has worked with for years in the last week and seen children shredded...

71H7nLPzpRs
-- Pan

Article on this here (http://thinkprogress.org/world/2014/07/30/3465866/un-spokesman-breaks-down-sobbing-over-palestinian-children-killed-in-shelling/).

panopticon

30th July 2014, 18:56

Reports that US has authorised the transfer of mortars, grenades and other weapons from US bunkers to IDF.

Reports that Israel envoy has arrived in Egypy to discuss ceasefire.

Also, there's a couple of reports that '6 Egyptian soldiers were killed in an Israeli airstrike that hit the Egyptian-Palestinian border'. I bet it was Hamas' airforce, aka paramilitary gliders...

BTW, Tony Blair is evidently back in the region after having a knees up at his over the weekend for "er in doors".

Article from Amnesty international condemning the attack on the UN school at Jabalia in Gaza (which had 3300 displaced persons staying there) that resulted in 20 deaths and a dozens injured. This was the 6th such attack on UN schools.

###

Israel/Gaza: Attack on UN school in Gaza a potential war crime that must be investigated (http://www.amnesty.org/en/news/israelgaza-attack-un-school-gaza-potential-war-crime-must-be-investigated-2014-07-30)
30 July 2014.

http://www.amnesty.org/sites/impact.amnesty.org/files/imagecache/news-highlight/197953_UN_school_in_Gaza_Strip_caught_in_airstrikes.jpg

An attack overnight on the Jabaliya elementary school in Gaza, where more than 3,000 displaced civilians had sought refuge, is a possible war crime and should be independently investigated, said Amnesty International today. The attack killed at least 20 people and injured dozens more at the school, which is located inside the very densely populated Jabaliya Refugee Camp.

An initial assessment by UNRWA – the UN relief agency for displaced Palestinians and refugees - who analysed fragments and damage at the site, indicates the school was hit by Israeli artillery despite the fact that UNRWA shared its coordinates with the Israeli army 17 times. The strike is the sixth attack on a UN-run school in Gaza since Operation “Protective Edge” began on 8 July.

“If the strike on this school was the result of Israeli artillery fire it would constitute an indiscriminate attack and a likely war crime. Artillery should never be used against targets in crowded civilian areas and its use in such a manner would never be considered a ‘surgical’ strike,” said Philip Luther, Director of the Middle East and North Africa Programme at Amnesty International.

“As the civilian death toll continues to mount at an alarming rate, Israel has an obligation to take all feasible precautions to protect civilians from harm. It is appalling that civilians who have heeded Israeli warnings to flee their homes have been killed and injured overnight in the presumed sanctuary of a UN school.”

It is inevitable that the repeated use of artillery in densely populated civilian neighbourhoods will lead to the unlawful killing and injury of civilians and destruction and damage to civilian buildings, regardless of the intended target. Israeli forces have used such reckless tactics before, including in Operation "Cast Lead" in 2008/9, when some 1,400 Palestinians were killed, the majority of them civilians.

On three occasions in recent weeks UNRWA has reported finding stockpiles of Palestinian rockets at schools which were not at the time being used as shelters. Amnesty International calls on Hamas and all Palestinian armed groups not to endanger civilians by storing ammunition in UN facilities and other civilian buildings.

The attack on the UN school came a day after the Gaza Strip’s sole power plant was struck and badly damaged. It is likely to take at least a year to repair.

“The strike on the power plant, which cut off electricity and running water to Gaza’s 1.8 million residents and numerous hospitals has catastrophic humanitarian implications and is very likely to amount to a war crime. There can be no justification for targeting a civilian structure that provides crucial services to so many civilians. The scale of the consequences of this attack are devastating and could amount to collective punishment of Gaza’s population,” said Philip Luther.

“The UN Human Rights Council last week established a commission of inquiry to investigate violations of international law in the current conflict. In stark contrast to the experience after previous conflicts in Gaza, their work into these and other possible war crimes must, this time, lead to those responsible for crimes under international law being brought to justice.”

Source (http://www.amnesty.org/en/news/israelgaza-attack-un-school-gaza-potential-war-crime-must-be-investigated-2014-07-30)

panopticon

30th July 2014, 20:14

Bolivia has declared Israel a terrorist state:

President Evo Morales announced the move during a talk with a group of educators in the city of Cochabamba. It "means, in other words, we are declaring (Israel) a terrorist state," he said.

The treaty has allowed Israelis to travel freely to Bolivia without a visa since 1972. Morales said the Gaza offensive shows "that Israel is not a guarantor of the principles of respect for life and the elementary precepts of rights that govern the peaceful and harmonious coexistence of our international community."
(source (http://www.dailysabah.com/americas/2014/07/30/bolivia-declares-israel-a-terrorist-state-30-years-of-visa-free-travel-called-off))

Following the deaths of the sleeping children in Jabaliya yesterday the UN has said that it condemns the attack on a UN run facility and that the 'world stands disgraced' (source (http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jul/30/world-disgrace-gaza-un-shelter-school-israel)).

I couldn't agree more.

From part of a CNN article here's a bit on the US ordnance resupply of Israel (btw the video in this article, talking about the effect on children in Shajaia market of the attack, was definitely different to what I expected from US TV, very good):

U.S. resupplies Israeli ammo

The United States, meanwhile, agreed to Israel's request to resupply it with several types of ammunition.
It's not an emergency sale, a U.S. defense official told CNN.
Among the items being bought are 120mm mortar rounds and 40mm ammunition for grenade launchers, officials said. Those will come from a stockpile the United States keeps in Israel, which is worth more than $1 billion.
Source (http://edition.cnn.com/2014/07/30/world/meast/mideast-crisis/)
So, while the rest of the world is saying that the attacks on Gaza are bad and condemning them in the sternest manner possible (largely without actually doing anything) the US has decided that the best way to protest the death of sleeping children in a UN shelter is to sell more weapons to the IDF and give them $225 million dollars in "aid" to buy some more bits for the Iron Dome (source (http://bigstory.ap.org/article/israel-war-us-lawmakers-give-full-support)).

Maybe it should be called "Irony Dome"...

Astounding. :twitch:

As I said the other day: Don't listen to their words, watch what they do.

-- Pan

Barak Obama, Nobel Peace Prize...

panopticon

30th July 2014, 20:37

I have no words for what I just saw.

It was video from Shajaia market before, during and after it was shelled.

People were saying constantly "allahu akbar" ("God is great").

Evidently it is what a muslim should say as they die, it should the the last thing on their lips...

If I relate any more I'd be describing horror and there are no words to adequately describe what I just saw.

-- Pan

Mutchie

30th July 2014, 20:45

Such a tragic event REAL PEOPLE ARE DYING WILL IT EVER END !!!:(

panopticon

30th July 2014, 20:56

I came across this from the Jewish Voice for Peace (http://jewishvoiceforpeace.org/) earlier and since I wont post what I saw earlier I'll post this instead.

pxDYiBls99w
-- Pan

panopticon

30th July 2014, 21:08

Rumours that Abbas is off to sign the Rome Statute (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/States_parties_to_the_Rome_Statute_of_the_International_Criminal_Court) so Palestine can have Israel investigated for war crime by the ICC.
I don't even know if that is possible. Isn't there a whole bun fight over State-hood & Palestine? (-- Yes there is, I went to the ICC page on Palestine here (http://www.icc-cpi.int/en_menus/icc/structure%20of%20the%20court/office%20of%20the%20prosecutor/comm%20and%20ref/pe-cdnp/palestine/Pages/palestine.aspx) to check and there doesn't seem to have been any changes)

Only appearing in the Palestinian arabic written media so could be a bluff (its been done before). -- Source (http://arabic.pnn.ps/index.php/policy/94454-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%82%D9%8A%D8%A7%D8%AF%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%81%D9%84%D8%B3%D8%B7%D9%8A%D9%86%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D8%AA%D9%82%D8%B1%D8%B1-%D8%AA%D9%88%D9%82%D9%8A%D8%B9-%D8%A7%D8%AA%D9%81%D8%A7%D9%82%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D8%B1%D9%88%D9%85%D8%A7-%D9%88%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AA%D9%88%D8%AC%D9%87-%D9%84%D9%84%D8%AC%D9%86%D8%A7%D9%8A%D8%A7%D8%AA-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AF%D9%88%D9%84%D9%8A%D8%A9)

Cidersomerset

30th July 2014, 21:40

A montage of articles on Davids site today, that sums up
the sheer stupidity of it all, this is a massacre and where
are the UN. The US invaded Iraq and one of the secondary
reasons was Saddam gassing of a Kurdish villages, which
was a war crime and Iraq was backed by the west against
its struggle with Iran at the time..

Its time Israel was hauled up in front of the international
courts......

--------------------------------------------------------------------

Israelis Shell Another School, Kill At Least 20 More

Wednesday 30th July 2014 at 10:40 By david-icke

http://www.davidicke.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/get-attachment-1216-587x401.jpg

‘Twenty people have been killed after a shell hit the Palestinian
refugee agency (UNRWA) girls’ school in Jabalia refugee camp,
emergency services say.

A UN official confirmed the shelling, saying that the missile hit
a bathroom and two classrooms in the school, AFP reported.’

Read more: Israelis Shell Another School, Kill At Least 20 More
http://rt.com/news/176576-gaza-un-school-strike/

http://www.davidicke.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/get-attachment-1315-587x391.jpg

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Palestinians have nothing.....

GaRIA-5e9Ws

=================================================

Irael Has.....

A war to market the Iron Dome

http://www.davidicke.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/201472911844720734_20.jpg

‘Reporting on the Dome has provided near-real time televised war coverage.
The media has repeated statistics demonstrating its success rates – although
there appears to have been a reluctance to scrutinise official Israeli figures and
an absence of voices from those who might question its effectiveness.

It is understandable that Israeli officials would want to promote the idea of the
Dome’s success. It gives the Israeli public a sense of safety and security. It
demonstrates that the state is fulfilling one of its commitments to its citizens
– the duty to protect.

But it is undeniable that this unquestioning tone helps provide a certain marketing message.’

Read more …

http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2014/07/war-market-iron-dome-201472911136812616.html

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

‘What shall we do with our 200,000 refugees?’ Irael has made homeless !!

UN begs for international help after ANOTHER Gaza school is blitzed, killing
15 Palestinians and injuring 90

Wednesday 30th July 2014 at 10:48 By david-icke

http://www.davidicke.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/Untitled1-587x392.jpg

‘The United Nations today begged the international community for help
with the humanitarian crisis in Gaza after another school serving as a
refugee shelter was bombed, killing 16 Palestinians and injuring 90 others.

Some 200,000 displaced Gazans have sought refuge in UN schools following
calls by Israel to evacuate their homes ahead of military operations only to
find themselves under attack anyway.

For many Palestinians, the feeling of helplessness living in a densely populated
enclave under a seven-year blockade with nowhere to run or hide has left them
on the brink of despair.’

Read more: 'What shall we do with our 200,000 refugees?' UN begs for
international help after ANOTHER Gaza school is blitzed, killing 15
Palestinians and injuring 90

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2710397/15-Palestinians-killed-90-injured-Israeli-tank-shell-attack-UN-school-used-refugee-shelter.html

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

London Protest Against Israel’s Attacks on Gaza – Free Palestine!

Wednesday 30th July 2014 at 10:47 By david-icke

http://www.davidicke.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/get-attachment-1412-587x280.jpg

Get more details here …
http://www.palestinecampaign.org/events/london-protest-israels-attacks-gaza-free-palestine/

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Citing Holocaust, Israel Demands ‘Strict Regulation’ of Antiwar Protests in Europe

Wednesday 30th July 2014 at 10:35 By david-icke

http://www.davidicke.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/get-attachment-1117-587x395.jpg

‘A new Holocaust is imminent, if one is to believe Israeli MPs, who spent the afternoon
berating European officials about the growing antiwar protests across their countries,
centered on criticizing the Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip.

Officials blamed “one-sided” media reports on the large number of dead civilians in
Israel’s attack, and demanded the European Union impose “strict regulations on the
format and content” of antiwar demonstrations going forward.’

Read more: Citing Holocaust, Israel Demands ‘Strict Regulation’ of Antiwar Protests in Europe

http://news.antiwar.com/2014/07/28/citing-holocaust-israel-demands-strict-regulation-of-antiwar-protests-in-europe/

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hamas military wing rejects truce with Israel

Wednesday 30th July 2014 at 10:46 By david-icke

http://www.davidicke.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/373313_Palestine-Qassam-fighters.jpg

Hamas was created by Israel – see Remember Who You Are and my recent videocasts.
Every time Israel is ready for another assault on Gaza rockets are fired into Israel to
give them the excuse.

Coincidence? Not a chance.

‘The military wing of the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas has rejected a ceasefire
with Israel unless the seven-year blockade on the Gaza Strip is removed.

Mohammad Deif, the commander of the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, made the remarks
in an audiotape broadcast on the al-Aqsa television network on Tuesday.

“There will be no ceasefire without lifting of the siege,” Deif said, adding, “Victory will be ours.”

The Israeli regime will never feel secure as long as the Palestinians are in pain, the
Palestinian commander noted.’

Read more: Hamas military wing rejects truce with Israel

http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2014/07/30/373313/qassam-rejects-truce-with-israel/

Cidersomerset

30th July 2014, 21:51

Humanitarian crisis swells in Gaza

3GfdeGU0SmU

Published on 30 Jul 2014

Power, water and other necessary resources are becoming increasingly
inaccessible to many Gaza residents as Israel continues its assault on
the small territory. Experts do not expect the growing humanitarian
crisis to lessen anytime soon, and they warn the situation may grow
even worse. RT’s Manila Chan learns more by speaking with Khalil
Alwazer, a human rights attorney in Gaza.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Devastation: Gaza shelter & aftermath of IDF assaults (GRAPHIC

https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=36_F59fawxU&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Published on 30 Jul 2014

Israel bombed the UN shelter Jabalia Preparatory Girls School, killing 20 and is
intensifying its attacks on Gaza as part of Operation Protective Edge. Over 1,200
Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s latest offensive, including over 200 children. Israel has lost 53 soldiers and three civilians.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Erasing Gaza? Israel shell hits another UN school

9QtkzGrUZls

Published on 29 Jul 2014

At least 13 people have been killed after a shell hit the Palestinian refugee agency
(UNRWA) girls' school in Jabalia refugee camp, emergency services say. READ
MORE: http://on.rt.com/wbpjap

Cidersomerset

30th July 2014, 22:09

Is Israel Using it’s Genocide in Gaza as a Marketing Exercise for Sales of it’s Drone Technology and Iron Dome Systems?

Wednesday 30th July 2014 at 18:49 By david-icke

http://www.davidicke.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/get-attachment-241-587x589.jpg

Yes, of course, it doesn't miss a trick, but its prime focus is to kill and expel the Palestinians from
their land and steal what is left of it.

http://electronicintifada.net/sites/electronicintifada.net/files/styles/large/public/bodies.jpg
Bodies of Palestinians killed in an Israeli air strike on the floor of a hospital in Khan Younis, Gaza, earlier

‘As Israel ruthlessly destroys the besieged Gaza Strip, its largest developer of military technology, Elbit
Systems, is benefitting from the bloodshed.

US-traded shares of Elbit have climbed 6.1 percent since 8 July, when Israel began its latest offensive
against the Gaza Strip.

According to Bloomberg BusinessWeek, Israel’s three-week long massacre of 1,200 Palestinians in Gaza,
including nearly 300 children, “has pushed [Elbit’s] stock close to the highest level since 2010 while its
valuation on a price-to-earnings basis is near the most expensive in five years.”

The rising stock is driven by speculation that the Haifa-based company will see increasing demand for its
products from both the Israeli and foreign governments impressed by the performance of Elbit’s
blood-soaked performance in Gaza.’

Read more …

http://electronicintifada.net/blogs/rania-khalek/stocks-rise-israeli-drone-maker-gaza-slaughter-continues

Wind

31st July 2014, 00:17

037qrCT0nEY

Cidersomerset

31st July 2014, 16:58

The Israeli spokes person ,sorry Washington spokes person trying to defend the indefencible !!!!

This woman is one of the most annoying I've heard , she does not seem
to have watchad any news reports in Gaza, and its the same when she
talks about Ukraine. Her answers are I'll check , I'll Check ,I'll check,
or we stand by Israel whatever ! 'waffle' waffle'....which is fine to a
point , but its like talking to a robot on automatic response mode ......

She must know this is a one sided massacre, if not she is lying or incompetent.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

State Dept grilled by press corp offensive over Gaza

TSDyQN6N5EU

Published on 31 Jul 2014

State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf condemned the deadly shelling of a
United Nations school in Gaza on Wednesday. She called for a "full and prompt"
investigation into the incident, but declined to immediately place the blame on
Israel.

Artillery shells hit the UN school crowded with refugees, while Israeli airstrikes hit a group of rescue
workers and onlookers who had rushed to the scene of a previous attack in a busy shopping area -
READ MORE http://on.rt.com/wbpjap

====================================================

Satellite footage: Gaza destruction before & after Israel's bombs

90wFV9AqOI4
Published on 31 Jul 2014

At least 15 Palestinians, including a journalist and two paramedics, were killed
when Israeli airstrikes hit a busy market place in Gaza. The shopping area was busy
because Israel's 4-hour humanitarian ceasefire was supposed to have been in force.
Israel's four week bombardment has claimed more than 1300 Palestinian lives, the
majority were civilians.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The view from inside Gaza as Israel increases attacks | Channel 4 News

eH7gRFKTZ8g

https://yt3.ggpht.com/-3481FOdiSDE/AAAAAAAAAAI/AAAAAAAAAAA/Ni8N8DV1qHM/s88-c-k-no/photo.jpg

Published on 29 Jul 2014

It has been the fiercest bombardment of this 3 week conflict: scores of Palestinians
killed as Israeli forces pounded targets across Gaza from the air, from land and
from sea. Paul Mason reports.

Sign up for Snowmail, your daily preview of what is on Channel 4 News, sent
straight to your inbox, here: http://mailing.channel4.com/public/sn...

panopticon

2nd August 2014, 08:15

'What we've got here, is failure to communicate', the Khuzaa Massacre and the case of the incredible disappearing ceasefire.

V2f-MZ2HRHQ
The above excerpt from Cool Hand Luke may seem glib however that is not the intent of this post. For anyone who has been reading my posts in this thread it is fairly clear that this is the essence of the problems faced in the Israel-Gaza conflict. There is a failure to communicate. This detail sometimes gets sidelined by those who would rather concentrate on that gory tally of death and destruction so central to much of the main stream media's reporting/narrative. While I've mentioned this horrific tally, and unashamedly presented non-graphic images to show what happens when we accept the lies told, I've mainly concentrated on the use of language to change the perception of actions. I've also tried to show the way control & power has been used to frame the operation as well as the understanding/perception of it in the general public of Israel and elsewhere.

Just remember, not only is there a failure to communicate between the various Nation-State representatives and factions but there is also a failure to communicate accurate information. That is the propaganda of war. Truth is always the first victim. It takes quite a while to move through the spin/propaganda until we can stare at what might be a kernel of truth.

The use of terms like "kidnapped" and "abducted" in some media reports, to describe the capture of an elite soldier by a Palestinian faction, shows how ridiculous the propaganda being used often is. If given a moments thought it should be obvious why this propaganda is encouraged by the Israeli Government and promulgated in the media, largely unchallenged, by their various "talking head" spokespersons.

The narrative follows a simple story, "we are good, they are bad". It is very similar to the satirically advice given by Harold Pinter on speech writing tips for Bush Junior:

God is good. God is great. God is good. My God is good. Bin Laden's God is bad. His is a bad God. Saddam's God was bad, except he didn't have one. He was a barbarian. We are not barbarians. We don't chop people's heads off. We believe in freedom. So does God. I am not a barbarian. I am the democratically elected leader of a freedom-loving democracy. We are a compassionate society. We give compassionate electrocution and compassionate lethal injection. We are a great nation. I am not a dictator. He is. I am not a barbarian. He is. And he is. They all are. I possess moral authority. You see this fist? This is my moral authority. And don't you forget it.
(Video source (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PH96tuRA3L0). Transcript in thread (http://projectavalon.net/forum4/showthread.php?36586-It-Is-Essential-That-People-Remain-Ignorant-Harold-Pinter&p=377267&viewfull=1#post377267)

The recent breakdown of the 72 hour UN/US backed ceasefire is an example of how perceptions around this assault have been framed. Before looking at that however, I'll quickly mention an Israeli protocol that has received some coverage but may have been missed by those not following closely and a reported massacre allegedly committed by IDF soldiers in the early part of their ground operation.

During Operation Cast Lead (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaza_War_(2008%E2%80%9309)) (2008-2009) a policy was developed that described what a soldier should do if captured by "militants". This is referred to as the Hannibal Directive (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hannibal_Directive). The following is translated from Hebrew into English from the 'audio of the IDF Commander of Golani Troop 51 briefing his troops' on the eve of Operation Cast Lead (audio source (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BvlP6yM15ws), translation source (http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Peace/2014/08/01/Did-Kidnapped-Israeli-Soldier-Follow-IDF-Hannibal-Protocol-Blow-Himself-and-Kidnappers-Up)).

"The strategic weapon, the 'Judgment Day Weapon' that Hamas wants to acquire, is to capture a soldier. But no soldier in Battalion 51 will be kidnapped at any price.

At any price. Under any condition. Even if it means that he blows himself with his own grenade together with those trying to capture him. Also, even if it means that now his unit has to fire a barrage at the car that they are trying to take him away in.

There is no situation. No situation that they will have this weapon."
Source (http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Peace/2014/08/01/Did-Kidnapped-Israeli-Soldier-Follow-IDF-Hannibal-Protocol-Blow-Himself-and-Kidnappers-Up)

The Givati brigade (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Givati_Brigade), to which the soldier who was kidnapped belonged, is an infantry brigade that has a long history in Gaza Strip operations. The heavy bombardment of Southern Gaza near Rafah may be as a way of restricting the movement of those detaining the Israeli soldier or, as has been suggested by a number of commentators & analysts, it might be an implementation of the Hannibal Directive (source (http://www.imra.org.il/story.php3?id=64553)) if Goldin did not successfully implement the primary protocol himself (source (http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Peace/2014/08/01/Did-Kidnapped-Israeli-Soldier-Follow-IDF-Hannibal-Protocol-Blow-Himself-and-Kidnappers-Up)). If recent reports from Hamas are to be believed then both Goldin and his captures perished in the IDF bombardment on Rafah, so maybe the secondary policy was enacted.

Now to a very nasty story I came across that has just begun to get media attention but I'm certain will disappear until after this assault has finished. That of a reported massacre, committed by either IDF troops or Hamas/factions (possibly on persons viewed as collaborators), in the town of Khuzaa on the edge of Khan Younis in Southern Gaza. There is not a great deal available but the evidence that the IDF might have committed this massacre is because of the presence of a large number of bullet casings with IDF markings in the rooms with the bodies. Article on it here (http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/08/01/who-is-behind-gaza-s-mass-execution.html).

It is very important to remember that there are a large number of reasons motivating a soldiers actions. It is easy as an external observer or in hindsight to be critical of them. That is not my point in mentioning these things. Why I mention them is because of the frenzy created by the media and Israeli Government prior to Operation Protective Edge. The culture in the IDF changed before/during Operation Cast Lead (see the previously posted Yousef Shaul talk @ time 1:15:42 (http://youtu.be/JxHE4KrLvj0?t=1h15m42s)-1:20:00) and this may well be reflected in the present Israeli operation.

Soldiers can be seen, to some extent at the very least, as the product of the propaganda that surrounds them. They are the living embodiment of the Nation-States discursive process and can be used to illustrate how it is modified and changed during times of National/societal distress. Here is a short 2011 report from Channel 4 News that shows how different young reserve soldiers reacted to the order during Operation Cast Lead to "cleanse" neighbourhoods in Gaza.

_Pw8m4azLcg
Finally, a little on the recent breakdown of the UN/US backed 72 hour ceasefire.

There are conflicting stories being told on both sides. There are observations from the ground that don't match either sides "grand narrative". It seems fairly obvious that someone is not telling the truth.

We have a claim from Hamas that a ground operation was started by the IDF an hour prior to the ceasefire. Hamas resisted this operation with force. There were reports on the ground of fierce fighting near Rafah in the hour prior to the ceasefire that continued on after it (related: AP (http://bigstory.ap.org/article/three-day-gaza-cease-fire-goes-effect-after-heavy-israel-hamas-fighting) AP1 (https://twitter.com/AP/status/495071855506911232) &AP2 (https://twitter.com/AP/status/495079106653196288)). This is in line with the statement made by an IDF Spokesperson that while a ceasefire was going to be observed by Israel, the destruction of tunnels would continue in areas occupied by Israel and if attacked IDF troops would fight back (source (https://twitter.com/IDFSpokesperson/status/495059890143248384)).

Now, re-read what I've just written.

The IDF's comments meant that it was continuing with its operation but was going to stop bombing in non-IDF occupied civilian areas for 72 hours (this was referred to using language similar to "within our lines" as opposed to "within Gaza's borders") and would continue to fight any opposition found within its "lines". The reported push by the IDF, an hour or so before the ceasefire, appears to have been aimed at occupying a town near Rafah. This would mean that if successful the occupied town could be classified as "within IDF lines" and any assault on troops occupying would be viewed as a violation of the ceasefire.

The ceasefire came into effect at 8:00am. Hamas reported that the suicide bombers commenced their operation (ie to attack the IDF troops) at 6:30am. The IDF reports that the suicide attack was responded to at 9:30am (source (https://twitter.com/IDFSpokesperson/status/495178781963735040)) -- which later changed to 9:00am without explanation (AP (http://bigstory.ap.org/article/three-day-gaza-cease-fire-goes-effect-after-heavy-israel-hamas-fighting)). There is around a 3 hour discrepancy in these reports so who do we believe? Let's look again at what has been reported.

Hamas said operation commenced at 6:30 with Goldin being captured @ 7:00 (source (http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/08/02/us-mideast-gaza-idUSKBN0G008720140802)). IDF said they realised Goldin was missing @ 9:30 (later revised to 9:00). Both sides could well be telling the truth. Also, it should be fairly obvious that due to the fighting near Rafah when Goldin was captured that it was part of a legitimate operation. While I deplore suicide bombers in civilian areas that kill mainly innocent people I am not so sure about a suicide attack in a war zone by a soldier on their enemy in the heat of battle. How is that different from using a bullet, mortar or grenade? One way of killing the enemy in a war is somehow legitimate while the other isn't? Many films depict the "final stand" with the doomed hero pulling the pin from the grenade as a final act of valour to destroy their enemy (think of some popular sci-fi films for easy examples). Why is the Hannibal Directive suicide all right for an Israeli soldier but a suicide attack by an Hamas soldier not?

Ignoring that digression, if the Hamas operation started at 6:30 and captured Goldin @ 7:00, but didn't get noticed by Israel until after 9:30 why were they already extensively bombing near Rafah at 8:45 am. I think that the Israeli report is padded to give them legitimacy. I also think that the Hamas operation may well have occurred closer to 8:00 (rather than the 7:00 reported by the Qassam Brigades [source (http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/08/02/us-mideast-gaza-idUSKBN0G008720140802)]) but there is no way to be certain. Knowing that a command to bomb Rafah would have to have gone through the command chain it is likely that at least a half hour passed between action on the ground and the decision to retaliate or implement the Hannibal Directive.

I finish this post with the end of Pinter's 2005 Nobel speech:

When we look into a mirror we think the image that confronts us is accurate. But move a millimetre and the image changes. We are actually looking at a never-ending range of reflections. But sometimes a writer has to smash the mirror - for it is on the other side of that mirror that the truth stares at us.

I believe that despite the enormous odds which exist, unflinching, unswerving, fierce intellectual determination, as citizens, to define the real truth of our lives and our societies is a crucial obligation which devolves upon us all. It is in fact mandatory.

If such a determination is not embodied in our political vision we have no hope of restoring what is so nearly lost to us - the dignity of man.
Video: source (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PH96tuRA3L0), Transcript: thread (http://projectavalon.net/forum4/showthread.php?36586-It-Is-Essential-That-People-Remain-Ignorant-Harold-Pinter&p=377267&viewfull=1#post377267)

Watch what they do, not what they say.

-- Pan

panopticon

2nd August 2014, 09:25

So, Israel said a few days ago that it would take a few days to destroy the remaining "terror tunnels"...

XPY1ITT2Dsg
Does that mean the Quartet can start making its money now?

-- Pan

panopticon

2nd August 2014, 12:32

Predictably the Israeli Government has decided to not negotiate with Hamas (shock horror) and has decided to finish its present destruction of the "terror tunnels" then focus on a deterrence strategy with Egypt (remember Israel & el-Sisi are BFF now).

No, Israel is not sending a delegation to Cairo for the negotiations that are scheduled for today/tomorrow. If they did they might actually have to negotiate.

No surprise really, because as I've documented in this thread they have at no stage actually been part of a ceasefire process.

Initially Egypt allegedly "fooled" Israel into thinking they were negotiating with Hamas etc.

After that Israel simply called unilateral ceasefire after ceasefire with conditions that would not be agreeable to by any reasonable party under similar circumstances. Then when Hamas said "No" to the ceasefire they viewed as unreasonable and fired on IDF soldiers demolishing civilian infrastructure, Israel would say "Look Hamas can't be trusted they violated the ceasefire!"

The US was complicit in this through its silence at the very least.

The final UN, US, EU ceasefire was again set up to fail following Israel's aggressive attempt to take territory in the final hour leading up to the 8 o'clock commencement time resulting in the death of 4 Palestinian civilians from Israeli fire after the ceasefire was supposed to have come into effect (source (http://english.wafa.ps/index.php?action=detail&id=26091)).

I am not surprised at this turn of events as it was always Israel's plan to destroy the Fatah-Hamas unity government which had essentially forced Hamas to recognise the legitimacy of Israel's claim as a Nation-State. This recognition essentially removed, as pointed out by Kucinich on Fox New (US) yesterday (http://video.foxnews.com/v/3708068276001/kucinich-urges-washington-to-negotiate-with-hamas/#sp=show-clips), the last reason for Israel & the US to not negotiate with Hamas.

A number of contributors to this thread have said: "Give peace a chance"...

Pretty hard when Israel are doing this:

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BuBtQkMCEAAoxiW.jpg

Please notice: The simple act of Israel engaging in an assault in the final hour before a ceasefire to gain ground and one of the IDF soldiers being taken prisoner has led to US rhetoric going 180 degrees. The US went from condemning Israel for killing Palestinian children to condemning Hamas for a legitimate attack by armed soldiers on armed soldiers in a conflict zone (source (http://bigstory.ap.org/article/netanyahu-us-dont-second-guess-me-hamas))...

The IDF has just informed residents in the North of Gaza that they can return to their homes. You know, the ones I posted pictures of that were rubble...

Evidently the new strategy for the time being is Israel will withdraw and return fire when fired upon. Though there are probably plans to do wider sweeps for rockets and see if they can find Goldin if he's still alive.

Probably only a day left for the destruction of the "terror tunnels" and then we'll see what Bibi & his BFF el-Sisi have planned.

-- Pan

panopticon

2nd August 2014, 15:44

There have been some very disturbing articles coming out of the Israeli main stream media over the last little while.

Questions around genocide of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip yesterday by a blogger for the Times of Israel and this little gem from last weeks Jerusalem Post.

This is why I say it's important to examine the fringe because that way we can understand how the mainstream gets formed. If we aren't aware of the fringe then we are surprised when an Israeli author writes questioning whether Palestinian Genocide is permissible (source (http://mondoweiss.net/2014/08/yochanan-genocide-permissible.html) for copy of deleted article) or, as in the below article, posits that:

The only durable solution requires dismantling Gaza, humanitarian relocation of the non-belligerent Arab population, and extension of Israeli sovereignty over the region.
So Sherman proposes relocating 'the non-belligerent Arab population'.

I will leave it up to the reader to work out what he wants to do with those who are part of the belligerent Arab population that "will not comply"...

Maybe a little yellow crescent moon to wear on their shirt so they can be identified easily... :tsk:

###

Into the fray: Why Gaza must go (http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Columnists/Into-the-fray-Why-Gaza-must-go-368862)
By Martin Sherman 24th July, 2014

http://www.jpost.com/HttpHandlers/ShowImage.ashx?id=250161&h=236&w=370
Givati brigade in Gaza Photo: IDF SPOKESMAN'S OFFICE

The only durable solution requires dismantling Gaza, humanitarian relocation of the non-belligerent Arab population, and extension of Israeli sovereignty over the region.

We have before us an ordeal of the most grievous kind.... You ask, what is our policy? I will say: It is to wage war, by sea, land and air, with all our might and with all the strength that God can give us; to wage war against a monstrous tyranny... That is our policy. You ask, what is our aim? I can answer in one word: victory; victory at all costs, victory in spite of all terror, victory, however long and hard the road may be; for without victory, there is no survival.

– Winston Churchill, May 13, 1940

We cannot solve our problems with the same level of thinking that created them.

– Albert Einstein

At the time of writing this column, ground operations in Gaza were still going on and reports of increasing casualties were coming in with depressing frequency. This should, therefore, be a time for national cohesion and solidarity, with unity and support for the war effort, and criticism of the government suspended.

Sadly, however, the government has given the public little coherent indication of its aims, or of the realities it is striving to create.

Ill-defined and inadequate objectives

Worse, not only is there no clear indication of where the country is going, there seems to be little willingness to recognize how we got here.

In the third week of Operation Protective Edge, the government is still waffling on its objectives. These keep morphing from one vague, vacuous formulation to another, as developments on the battlefield make each succeeding definition of the operation’s goals appear abysmally inadequate and ineffectual.

Initially, the government declared that all it aspired to was to “restore calm” – i.e.

to reinstate the status quo – and if Hamas would cease fire, so would Israel.

Just how myopic that would have been is starkly underscored by what has become chillingly apparent during the operation – the devastating potential of an elaborate tunnel system developed by the terror organizations in Gaza.

Had a cease-fire been implemented in such circumstances, Hamas would have been free to continue developing its deadly subterranean potential, which it could activate at a moment of its choosing.

This appalling prospect makes deeply disturbing questions, regarding the competence and/or judgment of the nation’s leadership, unavoidable, even as the battles rage on. Unless the reasons for the current predicament are understood, no effective remedy can be found.

Deeply disturbing questions

We must weigh the only two possibilities before us: (a) either the government was aware of the deadly menace posed by the network of tunnels; or (b) it wasn’t.

If it was, then willingness to agree to a cease-fire before the danger was eliminated reflects a disturbing readiness to reconcile itself to the dangers and expose the country’s civilian population to murderous consequences in the future.

If it was oblivious to these dangers, this reflects a grave ignorance of deadly threats facing the country, a sign of just how out of touch the leadership of the nation has been with the ominous reality we inhabit.

Although I rarely find occasion to quote Haaretz as a corroborating source, my eye could not help catching the pungent title of a piece written by veteran defense correspondent Amos Harel: “Hamas’ terror tunnels – a national strategic failure for Israel”.

Harel points out: “A week ago, Israel announced its willingness to accept a cease-fire in Gaza... This means one of two things. Either the ministers and generals were willing last week to let these tunnels, every one a ticking bomb, tick softly under kibbutz dining rooms until the next escalation, or they weren’t aware of the seriousness of the risk.”

He continues: “So either they were taking a calculated risk of unusual [read “gigantic” – M.S.] dimensions, or they didn’t have enough intelligence before the operation (which doesn’t quite square with a senior officer’s claim...

that ‘never before has the army had such quality intelligence before an operation’).”

Prescient prediction

It is difficult to accept that the government was totally unaware of Hamas’s tunneling endeavor. As early as 2006, Hamas used a tunnel to abduct Gilad Schalit and kill two of his comrades near Kerem Shalom, eventually attaining the liberation of 1,027 convicted terrorists. Last October, the discovery of an almost 2-km.-long tunnel near Kibbutz Ein Hashlosha was widely reported, and according to several sources, its objective was a kindergarten, located close to its exit point, 300 meters inside Israel.

The threat imminent in Hamas’s burrowing enterprise, and the conditions under which it might be employed, were presciently predicted 10 months ago by Harel. In an article, carrying the ominous headline: “Hamas’ strategic tunnels: Millions of dollars to spirit kidnapped Israelis into Gaza” (October 13, 2013), he warned of the likely reaction of Hamas should it feel weakened, precisely what Israeli politicians were crowing about just prior to the current round of violence. He cautioned: “... if Hamas decides to try to overcome its present distress by reigniting the front against Israel, using the tunnels to launch an attack could be one of its main options.”

His prediction proved chillingly precise.

Figuring the flaccidity factor: Impotence not ignorance

Given that it is highly implausible that the government was unaware of the danger looming under its very nose (or rather, feet), how are we to account for the flaccidity of its response – which, but for good fortune, could have precipitated outcomes of unthinkable tragedy.

Former Jerusalem Post Editor in Chief Bret Stephens, in a recent Wall Street Journal piece (July 14), provides a partial explanation for the phenomenon, suggesting that Israel’s “real weakness is a certain kind of vanity that confuses stainlessness with virtue, favors moral self-regard over normal self-interest, and believes in politics as an exercise not in power but in self-examination.”

For all its admirable eloquence, Stephens’s diagnosis relates more to the symptoms of the malaise, rather than its causes.

In numerous columns, I have been at pains to explain the roots of this enervating phenomenon (which I have designated “The Limousine Theory of Israeli politics”) and warned of the ruinous results it will inevitably wreak upon us.

The underlying reason for the inadequate responses to clearly apparent dangers is that Israel’s leaders have been cowered into this moralistic masochism by an aggressive and intolerant triad of left-wing civil society elites (in the legal establishment, the mainstream media and academe), who, through their unelected position of privilege and power, have taken control of the political discourse in the country.

The political discourse determines the elected political leadership’s perception of policy constraints and policy possibilities.

Through dominance of the discourse, these elites can control the parameters of Israeli policy-making and impose their worldview of political appeasement and territorial concessions on it.

Sacrificing lives for a ‘two-state deity’

These elites have, to a large degree, mortgaged their personal prestige and professional positions, and much of their livelihood, to the two-state concept and the land-for-peace doctrine on which it rests.

Were this doctrine to be discredited, all these benefits – material and otherwise – would be jeopardized. They, therefore, have a vested interest in preserving a perception that it is valid – no matter how incongruent with reality and rationality it proves – and must endeavor to prevent the adoption of any policy measures that put paid to the two-state formula.

Since the attainment of strategic victory in Gaza calls for measures that preclude any agreement on a Palestinian state, the policy-relevant discourse, which these elites mold, has been devoted to ridiculing such measures as impractical or infeasible, and to promoting measures that can only bring about a temporary respite to the fighting. These respites have always been exploited by the enemy to enhance its capabilities for the inevitable next round – and the next inevitable batch of casualties.

Oblivious to facts, and impervious to reason, in a desperate attempt to sustain an unworkable paradigm, Israeli left-wing elites perpetuate bout after escalating bout of violence, callously sacrificing ever more lives on the altar of the false deity of twostates- for-two-peoples.

‘Mowing the lawn’ won’t cut it

The reluctance to face unpalatable realities has spawned new terminology to paper over intellectual surrender, and mask unwillingness to accept the need for regrettably harsh but essential policies.

First, we were told that since there was “no solution” to the Israel-Arab conflict, we should adopt an approach of “conflict management” rather than “conflict resolution.”

Now we have a new term in the professional jargon to convey a similar perspective: “mowing the grass.” This is the name for an approach that entails a new round of fighting every time the Palestinian violence reaches levels Israel finds unacceptable.

Its “rationale” – for want of a better term – was recently articulated by Efraim Inbar and Eitan Shamir of the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies, Bar-Ilan University, as: “The use of force, not intended to attain impossible political goals, but rather [as a] long-term strategy of attrition designed primarily to debilitate the enemy capabilities.”

Sadly, what we have seen is that far from “debilitating the enemy capabilities,” because said enemy keeps reappearing, spoiling for a fight, ever bolder with ever-greater capabilities.

It is an open question just how many more rounds of “mowing” the residents of southern Israel will endure before losing confidence that the government will provide adequate protection and choose to evacuate the area.

No, periodically mowing the lawn is not a policy that can endure for long – it simply will not cut it. The grass needs to be uprooted – once and for all.

Gaza: What would Einstein say?

Albert Einstein famously said that one could not solve a problem with the level of thinking that created it.

Clearly, the problem of Gaza was created by the belief that land could be transferred to the Palestinian Arabs to provide them a viable opportunity for self-governance.

Equally clearly, then, the problem of Gaza cannot be solved by persisting with ideas that created it – i.e. persisting with a plan for Israel to provide the Palestinian Arabs with land for self-governance.

The problem can only be solved by entirely abandoning the concept that Gaza should be governed by Palestinian Arabs. Any effective solution must follow this new line of reasoning.

Any other outcome will merely prolong the problem. If Hamas comes out stronger from this round of fighting, it will be only a matter of time before the next, probably more deadly, round breaks out.

If Hamas comes out weaker from this round of fighting, it is only a matter of time before it will be replaced by an even more violent extremist-successor – and thus, once more, only a matter of time until the next, probably more deadly, round breaks out.

The only durable solution requires dismantling Gaza, humanitarian relocation of the non-belligerent Arab population, and extension of Israeli sovereignty over the region.

That is the only approach that can solve the problem of Gaza.

That is the only approach that will eliminate the threat to Israel continually issuing from Gaza.

That is the only approach that will extricate the non-belligerent Palestinians from the clutches of the cruel, corrupt cliques who led them astray for decades.

That is the only approach that will preclude a need for Israel to “rule over another people.”

Gaza: What would Herbert Hoover say?

Former US President Herbert Hoover, dubbed the “Great Humanitarian” for his efforts to relieve famine in Europe after WWI, wrote in The Problems of Lasting Peace: “Consideration should be given even to the heroic remedy of transfer of populations...the hardship of moving is great, but it is [still] less than the constant suffering of minorities and the constant recurrence of war.”

How could anyone, with any degree of compassion and humanity, disagree?

[I]Martin Sherman (www.martinsherman.org) is the founder and executive director of the Israel Institute for Strategic Studies.www.martinsherman.net

Source (http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Columnists/Into-the-fray-Why-Gaza-must-go-368862)

panopticon

2nd August 2014, 16:04

The UNRWA has just announced that 460,000 people are now classified as "displaced" in Gaza. This means that a quarter of the population are not living in their home.

UNRWA have also said that over 60,000 people have no home to go back to and that 'even if a permanent ceasefire is reached, reconstruction is not feasible under the current access regime imposed by Israel.' They also report that all their 90 shelters are severely overcrowded with 'the average shelter hosting 2,800 displaced people. One shelter in Jabalia has almost 10,000.'

There are at least 254,188 displaced Palestinians reliant on UNRWA shelters.

-- Pan

Realeyes

2nd August 2014, 17:25

Not sure if this has already been posted. George makes some very good pure reasoning points in his speech - well worth listening to.

Published on 26 Jul 2014 - George Galloway speaking in Bolivar Hall on the Gaza/Israel conflict.

H72HMpgnX6E

Tesseract

2nd August 2014, 18:05

Nelson Mandela answering some questions about his support for the Palestinian cause:

OWWovVReSeU

panopticon

3rd August 2014, 04:31

Israel has done this before. This is nothing new.

Why I carefully examine the wording & timing of Israeli reports is I remember that in the past there have been many reports that have been "inaccurate". The tactics used by Israel in this assault is not much changed from those in the past.

Israel bombs somewhere claiming a "right to self defence" and the West is "outraged". People protest against Israel's use of force on civilians while political "leaders" in the West condemn in the "strongest manner possible" Israel's actions (all while getting a pat on the back from the Israeli lobby, and promises of future campaign funding etc, for doing very little).

In the modern age (with all its social media, instant updates and live video feeds) there is a way to examine what is happening as it is happening. What is said, as it is being said. Trained reporters can write what they actually think on their personal feeds/websites without editorial re-writes. In addition to trained reporters there are also now a new breed: The "citizen reporter".

The citizen reporter writes what they see and posts personal photographs of things they are witness to. While their reporting is not anywhere near objective, it can be an important tool for examining the veracity of official reports. For example: a report from an official State spokesperson, as to the timing & reasons for an "incident", can be contextualised within reports from individuals who were posting "on the ground" what they saw in the lead-up to the "incident".

While it is possible for an individual to say "There is massive bombing in my neighbourhood" 2 hours before the official timing of an event occurred it is less likely that 20 apparently unrelated people, from different areas within the conflict zone, can conspire to report the same or similar things. It is possible, though less likely, that a carefully crafted propaganda machine could construct that sort representation. However, in the instance of citizens reporting in an active conflict zone, it is more likely that the State actor is misrepresenting the facts of a situation for propaganda or tactical reasons.

This instant "on the ground reporting" never existed in the past. Now we can look back on history and see what similarities there are in the reporting of the present assault to those of the past. We can use all these different things as a gauge when examining what is the truth of a matter being presented.

Back in 1982 Israel behaved exactly the same and from an equally flimsy starting point. So in comparison to Nobel Peace Prize winner Barak Obama's response Reagan in 1982 was down right militant:

In early July, Reagan pressed Israel to lift the blockade of West Beirut and to restore water and electricity. In late July, he put a hold on cluster bombs sent to Israel. On July 31st, Robert Dillon, the American Ambassador to Lebanon, angrily cabled Washington, “Simply put, tonight’s saturation shelling was as intense as anything we have seen. There was no ‘pinpoint accuracy’ against targets in ‘open spaces.’ It was not a response to Palestinian fire. This was a blitz against West Beirut. Our 21:00 ceasefire announced in advance over local radio stations was transformed instead into a massive Israeli escalation.”
...
At the meeting the next day, the President told Shamir, “When P.L.O. sniper fire is followed by fourteen hours of Israeli bombardment, that is stretching the definition of defensive action too far.” Both men were noticeably grim-faced in the official photographs.
Source (http://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/another-summer-another-siege-israels-war-p-l-o)
Have a look at the UN resolutions, in relation to Israel-Lebanon, from 1982 (they aren't very long). They will give an idea of how ineffectual the UN was/is in relation to violent conflict (which of course we know given the number of slaughters their "peace keepers" have just watched happen over the years [eg Rowanda (http://www.rwandanstories.org/genocide/role_of_the_west.html), Bosnia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Srebrenica_massacre)]):
http://www.un.org/docs/scres/try/scres82.htm

Anyway, here's the article from The New Yorker that the above Lebanon quotes came from.

-- Pan

###

Another Siege: Israel’s War on the P.L.O. (http://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/another-summer-another-siege-israels-war-p-l-o)
By Robin Wright, August 2, 2014

http://www.newyorker.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/PAR103899-690.jpg

For forty years, my mother kept every article and letter I wrote from war zones, revolutions, and uprisings on five continents. She collated them, with her notes from our telephone conversations, in bulbous legal binders. I now have a hundred and twenty-six of them stored, floor to ceiling, in two closets that have been converted into bookshelves. This week, as the events in Gaza dominated the news, I pulled out the volumes from the summer of 1982.

I returned to Beirut, off a turbulent flight from the Gulf, just as Israeli warplanes began bombing Palestinian sites near the airport on June 5, 1982. Amid the deafening blasts and sirens that followed, the few of us on the plane scrambled across the tarmac to seek cover in the terminal.

Yasir Arafat’s Palestine Liberation Organization had moved its headquarters from Jordan to Beirut twelve years earlier, and Lebanon had been Israel’s biggest threat ever since. Palestinian rockets landed on Israeli settlements in the northern Galilee. A fragile ceasefire, brokered by the United States, had held for almost a year, with only one violation. But a sense of looming confrontation had been building since Israel’s annexation of the Golan Heights the previous December. All it needed was a spark.

Two days before I arrived, a Jordanian gunman shot Shlomo Argov, the Israeli Ambassador in London, as he left a diplomatic banquet at the Dorchester Hotel. Israel blamed the P.L.O. (Britain subsequently tied the attack to the Abu Nidal Organization, a radical group named after a renegade who had turned against Arafat. Its goal was apparently to discredit the P.L.O., which had been gaining acceptance in Europe, amid a peace initiative proposed by the Saudis. Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher later said that a hit list, uncovered in the investigation of Abu Nidal’s London cell, included the P.L.O. representative in London.)

Israeli warplanes immediately pummelled Palestinian targets across Lebanon, especially in the warren of refugee camps near the airport. On the day I landed, President Reagan, pledging to increase U.S. diplomatic efforts to resolve the conflict, urgently appealed to Israel’s Prime Minister, Menachem Begin, for restraint along the border.

The next day, twenty-five thousand Israeli troops invaded Lebanon by land, sea, and air. Three long columns of tanks barrelled across a thirty-three-mile frontier, blitzing past seven thousand U.N. peacekeepers in a border buffer zone and through the olive and orange groves of southern Lebanon, on a mission to destroy Palestinian positions concealed in caves, wadis, and refugee camps. Begin assured Reagan that Operation Peace for Galilee sought only to push the Palestinians back twenty-five miles, beyond rocket range of the Galilee. “The bloodthirsty aggressor against us is on our doorstep,” he wrote. “Do we not have the inherent right to self-defense?”

Over the next week, Israeli troops, under the command of General Ariel Sharon, penetrated twice as far, capturing about a third of Lebanon and encircling the capital. The siege of West Beirut had begun.

About a half million people lived in the Muslim-dominated half of the capital, a densely packed area of about ten square miles that was home to both the P.L.O. and the American University of Beirut. The Israelis dropped hundreds of thousands of leaflets—white one day, pink, blue, or yellow on other days—that warned the Lebanese against sheltering guerrillas and advised civilians to leave. I remember thinking that it looked, in the middle of the torrid summer heat, as if snow were falling on Beirut. I found one of the pink leaflets in my mother’s volumes.

Lebanon had already endured seven years of sporadic civil war, largely street battles with vintage weaponry. The Israeli invasion, with its battleships, advanced U.S.-made bombers, and high-tech tanks, was far more serious. The smell of war’s detritus—the bitter cordite and stench of decaying bodies, mixed with uncollected garbage—was inescapable. I’d covered many conflicts by then, but the bombs and sonic booms from warplanes rupturing the night scared me.

“The windows (now crisscrossed with masking tape to lessen the implosion of glass from bombs) began to rattle from the rockets landing nearby from Israeli gunboats,” I wrote to my parents. “I can’t decide which is worse: the thunder and shaking from shelling or the whizzing rumble of warplanes as they dive on us to offload their bombs.”

It was a summer of chaos and fear, often without water, electricity, or phones, and with dwindling food stocks. I used to go to fetch water from a UNICEF pump and then carry it up seven flights to my apartment. The siege went on week after week, ceasefire after broken ceasefire.

At one point, I reported, “Many private wells are now dry, including the one at Red Cross headquarters,” where officials warned that the cutoff of electricity and fuel for emergency generators threatened all of West Beirut’s hospitals with imminent closure. The local UNICEF director was particularly frustrated by his inability to get permission from the Israelis to bring in baby food, milk, and basic drugs to deal with rampant gastroenteritis among children.

Senior Israeli military officers repeatedly insisted that their mandate was to destroy the enemy while avoiding civilian casualties. I did see Palestinian fighters among the dead and wounded, but the P.L.O. had hidden its fighters, as well as tons of war matériel—rockets, mortars, howitzer shells, ammunition, and more—in an extensive network of tunnels. The subterranean corridors, which I toured after the war, were reinforced with concrete and included a conference center, showers, and a kitchen. One tunnel had three floors. Some storage areas were large enough to conceal small trucks. I saw thirty rooms and still didn’t see them all. Palestinian commanders had reportedly visited Vietnam in the nineteen-seventies and modelled their network on the tunnels used by the Vietcong fighting the Americans.

The civilian toll far exceeded the damage to either the P.L.O. forces or the organization’s infrastructure. The Israeli use of U.S.-made cluster bombs, which explode mid-air, unleashing many smaller grenade-size explosives, was particularly lethal among children. Phosphorous bombs were equally deadly—and controversial. “The bombardment has become more and more indiscriminate, killing hundreds of civilians,” I reported. “Famous landmarks have been erased. Buildings have been reduced to mass graves. … Among the facilities hit by Israel over the past nine weeks are five UN buildings, 134 embassies or diplomatic residences, six hospitals or clinics, one mental institute, the Central Bank, five hotels, the Red Cross, Lebanese and foreign media outlets and innumerable private homes and office blocks. While some of these may conceivably have been used as cover for the PLO, what is much more striking is how many undeniable PLO facilities have remained intact.”

Washington condemned the P.L.O. repeatedly, but, as the siege dragged on, relations between the United States and Israel grew increasingly testy over the plight of civilians. In early July, Reagan pressed Israel to lift the blockade of West Beirut and to restore water and electricity. In late July, he put a hold on cluster bombs sent to Israel. On July 31st, Robert Dillon, the American Ambassador to Lebanon, angrily cabled Washington, “Simply put, tonight’s saturation shelling was as intense as anything we have seen. There was no ‘pinpoint accuracy’ against targets in ‘open spaces.’ It was not a response to Palestinian fire. This was a blitz against West Beirut. Our 21:00 ceasefire announced in advance over local radio stations was transformed instead into a massive Israeli escalation.”

On August 1st, on the eve of a meeting with Israel’s foreign minister, Yitzhak Shamir, Reagan told reporters, “The bloodshed must stop,” adding that he would make sure that the Israelis “understand exactly how we feel about this.” Pressed on whether he was losing patience, Reagan replied, “I lost patience a long time ago.”

At the meeting the next day, the President told Shamir, “When P.L.O. sniper fire is followed by fourteen hours of Israeli bombardment, that is stretching the definition of defensive action too far.” Both men were noticeably grim-faced in the official photographs.

Reagan had begun to feel repercussions at home and abroad. The American media savaged his Administration as weak and without direction. Time’s Walter Isaacson wrote,

Israeli attacks on West Beirut reinforced the impression that the U.S. is a helpless giant that can neither influence Israeli actions nor come to grips with events in the Middle East. Signs of U.S. ineffectualness in the current crisis have been conspicuous since the day in June when Reagan sent a well-publicized message from the Western economic summit meeting at Versailles urging Begin not to invade Lebanon. Begin sent his troops in the next day. … The stability of the Middle East and the credibility of American diplomacy hinge on whether words or rockets settle the status of the PLO in West Beirut.

The siege lasted ten weeks. More than seventeen thousand Lebanese and Palestinians died; most were civilians. Lebanese officials claimed that a quarter of them were under fifteen years old. Israel lost more than three hundred and sixty troops. In the end, Israel got some of what it wanted. The P.L.O. was badly battered; Arafat and three-fourths of his fighters were forced into exile. I watched while they fired final rounds from their Kalashnikovs as they marched to ships waiting to divvy them up in eight distant lands. Signs along the road exhorted, “Palestine or Bust” and “This is not Goodbye.”

The Israeli campaign did little, however, to solve the problem of rival nationalisms vying for land to call their own. And its consequences triggered an entirely new set of challenges. The Arab world had given only lip service to the P.L.O. during the siege. Iran was the only country to step in, dispatching eighteen hundred Revolutionary Guards to Lebanon’s eastern Bekaa Valley. They did not engage Israel—they quietly fostered, funded, and armed the embryo of what became Hezbollah. After the P.L.O. departed, Hezbollah launched its first suicide bomb—then a novel tactic—against Israeli military targets. On April 18, 1983, a car bomber attacked the American Embassy in Beirut, killing sixty-three people. Six months later, suicide bombers blew up a barracks housing U.S. Marines who had deployed to oversee the Palestinian withdrawal. Two hundred and forty-one American servicemen died.

In 1985, Israel’s defense minister, Yitzhak Rabin, looked back on the war and reflected,

I believe that, among the many surprises, and most of them not for the good, that came out of the war in Lebanon, the most dangerous is that the war let the Shiites out of the bottle. No one predicted it; I couldn’t find it in any intelligence report. … If, as a result of the war in Lebanon, we replace P.L.O. terrorism in southern Lebanon with Shiite terrorism, we have done the worst [thing] in our struggle against terrorism. In twenty years of P.L.O. terrorism, no one P.L.O. terrorist made himself a live bomb. … In my opinion, the Shiites have the potential for a kind of terrorism that we have not yet experienced.

Israel ended up lingering in Lebanon, at various troops strengths, for nearly two decades. It even made peace with Arafat, temporarily, before finally withdrawing, in 2000, under pressure from Hezbollah. It was the first time that Israel withdrew unilaterally from territory it occupied—without a peace treaty or any tangible political gain.

Source (http://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/another-summer-another-siege-israels-war-p-l-o)

panopticon

3rd August 2014, 04:52

Al-Qassam Brigades statement about 1st August ceasefire breakdown and Goldin's capture.

###

http://occupiedpalestine.files.wordpress.com/2014/08/statement-qassam-hamas-head-big.jpg?w=588

Ezzedeen Al-Qassam Brigades

Statement Clarifying the Zionist Enemy’s Violation of the Humanitarian Ceasefire, the Claim of the Disappearance of One Soldier, and the Clashes East of Rafah

The Zionist Enemy violated the humanitarian ceasefire yesterday, Friday, 1 August 2014, by moving forces to the East of Rafah, the continued artillery shelling, and the deployment of snipers on many fronts in the Gaza Strip. In addition, Enemy Forces committed a terrible massacre against civilians in Rafah, killing dozens; and the killing of Palestinian civilians continues. The Zionist Enemy claims the disappearance of one soldier. In this regard, Ezzedeen Al-Qassam Brigades, after conducting an internal review in the relevant circumstances, affirms the following:

Zionist Enemy Forces used the talks about a humanitarian ceasefire to advance troops more than two kilometers inside the Gaze Strip to the east of Rafah. Our assessment is that one of our deployed ambushes clashed with the advancing troops. The clash started around 7:00 a.m., before the humanitarian ceasefire. Enemy artillery and air force directed its fire on civilians after 10:00 a.m. in a flagrant violation of the ceasefire, under the pretext of searching for a missing soldier.
We lost contact with the troops deployed in the ambush; and assess that these troops were probably killed by enemy bombardment, including the solider said to be missing, presuming that our troops took him prisoner during the clash.
Ezzedeen Al-Qassam Brigades has no information till this moment about the missing soldier, his place, or the circumstances of his disappearance.
We informed the mediators who participated in arranging the humanitarian ceasefire of our agreement to cease fire against Zionist cities and settlements; and that we cannot operationally cease fire against troops inside the Gaza Strip that conduct operations and move continuously. These Enemy Forces could easily come in contact with our deployed ambushes, which will lead to a clash.

panopticon

3rd August 2014, 05:41

The head of Israel's Military Rabbinate has announced that the Israeli soldier, Lt. Hadar Goldin, has been 'officially listed as a fallen IDF soldier whose burial place is unknown'.

###

Soldier Hadar Goldin is dead, not kidnapped, IDF tells family (http://www.timesofisrael.com/kidnapped-soldier-hadar-goldin-is-dead-idf-tells-family/)
By Times Of Israel Staff, August 3, 2014, 2:42 am

http://cdn.timesofisrael.com/uploads/2014/08/Mideast-Israel-Palest_Horo-13-635x357.jpg

Army’s chief rabbi, defense minister bring the bitter tidings to Givati officer’s parents, siblings and fiancee, as large crowd mourns outside

Israeli soldier Lt. Hadar Goldin was killed in Gaza on Friday morning, the IDF’s Chief Rabbi Rafi Peretz and other officials told his family late Saturday night.

The family said it accepted the news with deep sorrow. Goldin is officially listed as a fallen IDF soldier whose burial place is unknown.

The military said in a statement that “findings in the field” were such that it could be established that Goldin was dead. Peretz headed a special panel that confirmed Goldin’s death late Saturday night.

According to Israel Radio, Goldin, an officer in the Givati Brigade, was part of a group of soldiers who had found a Hamas tunnel in a rural area near Rafah overnight Thursday-Friday, and they were working on decommissioning it when they were attacked on Friday morning.

Goldin’s group was targeted, and two other soldiers close to him, Benaya Sarel and Liel Gidoni, were killed in an explosion, apparently detonated by a Hamas suicide bomber.

Goldin was seized by other gunmen, and other soldiers who reached the scene tried to chase after the kidnappers, into the tunnel, but they were unable to thwart the kidnapping.

IDF troops had been searching throughout Friday and Saturday for Goldin in the Rafah area.

Hamas denied it had any information on a kidnapped soldier.

http://cdn.timesofisrael.com/uploads/2014/08/goldin1-635x357.jpg

The family said it accepted the news with deep sorrow. Goldin is officially listed as a fallen IDF soldier whose burial place is unknown.

The military said in a statement that “findings in the field” were such that it could be established that Goldin was dead. Peretz headed a special panel that confirmed Goldin’s death late Saturday night.

According to Israel Radio, Goldin, an officer in the Givati Brigade, was part of a group of soldiers who had found a Hamas tunnel in a rural area near Rafah overnight Thursday-Friday, and they were working on decommissioning it when they were attacked on Friday morning.

Goldin’s group was targeted, and two other soldiers close to him, Benaya Sarel and Liel Gidoni, were killed in an explosion, apparently detonated by a Hamas suicide bomber.

Goldin was seized by other gunmen, and other soldiers who reached the scene tried to chase after the kidnappers, into the tunnel, but they were unable to thwart the kidnapping.

IDF troops had been searching throughout Friday and Saturday for Goldin in the Rafah area.

Hamas denied it had any information on a kidnapped soldier.

Earlier on Saturday night, hours before the family heard the news, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had been evasive about the case, saying that he empathized with the Goldin family, and that “the State of Israel will continue to do its utmost to bring home its MIAs.”

He said he would speak to the family later in the evening.

Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon, Peretz, and IDF Manpower chief Orna Barbivai delivered the news of Goldin’s death to the family.

Outside, a large crowd had gathered, and was praying and singing in solidarity with the family, hoping that Goldin was still alive. When the news of his death was reported, many in the crowd broke down in tears.

Shortly after the end of Shabbat, and before Netanyahu’s press conference, the Goldin family had reacted to news that the IDF was partially withdrawing from Gaza by pleading that Israel not leave Goldin behind.

At an emotional press conference outside their home in Kfar Saba, the family, which is religious and did not listen to news during the Sabbath, said they were taken by complete surprise when they heard some troops were leaving Gaza. They said they had not heard from Netanyahu, though they said this was probably because tShabbat was only just over.

Hadar’s father Dr. Simha Goldin said he could not “imagine that the IDF will abandon its combat soldier.”

“I am a reserve battalion commander. I did reserve duty until age 50… my personal commander was [IDF chief of staff] Benny Gantz and I know it’s impossible that he would give an order to leave [the Gaza Strip] while there’s a soldier inside…I know Givati Brigade Commander Ofer Winter. I can’t believe he would forsake an officer anywhere,” said Simha Goldin.

“The soldiers we sent… my sons …went out to protect the people of the Gaza periphery,” Simha said. “I can’t believe the people of the Gaza periphery will lend a hand to the abandonment of a soldier in the field, who went out there to protect them.”

Goldin’s mother Hedva, said: “I demand that the state of Israel not leave Gaza until they bring my son back home.”

“He’s our smile,” Hedva said. “He’s the child who saw the good in everything.”

Goldin’s older sister, Ayelet, said that “if a captive soldier is left in Gaza, it’s a defeat,” and called for Goldin’s return. “It’s important to say this… Hadar was sent by the country and was abducted by a terror organization and he’s alive. He’s alive now and I will not allow for any other terminology to enter the lexicon,” Ayelet said.

Hadar’s fiancée Edna addressed him directly, saying: “I love you and I miss you. I’m waiting for you, waiting to dance at our wedding.”

Goldin’s father told the press that the military knew what it needed to do — bring his son home. “We’ve done more complicated things. We made it to Entebbe,” he said, referring to the 1976 rescue operation in Uganda which brought back 102 Israeli hostages.

“Hadar’s alive,” his twin brother Tzur said. “He went in alive, he’ll leave alive.”

“I will do everything for you,” said his brother Menahem, echoing the declaration that to leave him would be a defeat.

IDF sources had stressed earlier on Saturday, discouragingly, that Goldin was very close to the other two soldiers who were killed — Major Benaya Sarel, 26, from Kiryat Arba, and 1st.-Sgt. Liel Gidoni, 20, from Jerusalem.

Goldin, 23, one of four children, was raised for part of his childhood in England while his parents taught at Cambridge University. He got engaged just weeks before Operation Protective Edge sent him to the Gaza Strip.

Goldin’s family is reportedly distantly related to Defense Minister Ya’alon. The family raised Goldin to love his people and his country, he told Israel National News in an October 2013 interview upon finishing his officer’s training — which he completed along with twin brother, Tzur.

“In life, you can choose to do things for yourself and you can choose to do great things,” Hadar said of his motivation to become an officer.

He added that both his grandfathers were Holocaust survivors who participated in Israel’s War of Independence in 1948.

The twins, Hadar and Tzur, went to school in Kfar Saba together, studied together for exams, attended the Beit David premilitary academy in Eli together, became combat soldiers at the same time — although they didn’t serve in the same unit — and later were trained as officers together.

“We think everyone should know how to give of oneself, not necessarily in combat but in any area,” they said in the joint October interview. “You must always be prepared to carry the stretcher together (in other words, to shoulder the burden), out of a commitment to the people and the country.”

Source (http://www.timesofisrael.com/kidnapped-soldier-hadar-goldin-is-dead-idf-tells-family/)

naste.de.lumina

3rd August 2014, 07:24

Hilltop Spectators

http://www.zengardner.com/wp-content/uploads/hilltop-spectators-700x466.jpg

By freefall

Contributor

I’ve been waiting for this for awhile now. It’s another key indicator of a degenerate society on its way out. With the cage matches currently going on in America, I figured that they would be the first. I was wrong.

Israel has now created a spectator sport of watching Palestinians die.

Granted, they still haven’t quite reached the level of ancient Rome. The distance is too great as they can mostly only see the bombs going off. The close-up of watching Netanyahu giving the thumbs down to an Israeli soldier waiting to cut the throat of a small child has yet to be attained. I suppose that is coming soon.

This behavior coupled with organ harvesting has turned Israel into the Hannibal Lecter of the planet. It makes one wonder if the soldiers are now being trained how to kill Palestinians without damaging vital organs. I suppose that the ghosts of John Wayne Gacy, Jeffrey Dahmer and Ted Bundy are now wondering why such a fuss was ever made over them.

I don’t generally watch the nightly news anymore on television, but somehow I doubt that much has been said regarding the “Hilltop Spectators.” For all I know, they may even have “The Dancing Israelis” performing during periods of ceasefire.

One thing that many of these creatures watching the show fail to realize is that their conscription for duty will soon be expanded until the end of their lives. The world has had enough of this Predator State.

I suppose that the book worshippers must be having a difficult time of it these days. “God’s Chosen People” have now brought their vampiric ways fully into the light of day. This is as it should be. Choices must be made regarding whom to serve and the illusion of behavioral compatibility with blind faith has now been revealed. Such is the way of things at the end of an age.

But in this story, the vampire has shoved a stake in the heart of the one country that should have stopped this horror. Israel is a parasite that has fed upon its host for so long that it will end up killing it off along with itself.

The Christians in America are about to be thrown to the proverbial lions after the next Mossad-inspired false flag hits. But I’m not seeing many protests of outrage coming from other countries when this occurs.

This is not going to end well; not for any of us. We have allowed evil to flourish for far too long. A return to balance is coming. If enough of us pursue this balance both inside and out, the amount of suffering could still be diminished greatly.

All will be revealed before this is over. We need only follow the path that continues to be illuminated in front of us.

Source: http://www.zengardner.com/hilltop-spectators/

panopticon

3rd August 2014, 07:29

IDF Spokesperson Lt Col Lerner said that he 'didn't feel the need to' provide evidence to back up the Israeli version of events in relation to the capture/death of Lt. Goldin (source (https://twitter.com/YousefMunayyer/status/495803335048708096)).

In the following news statement Lt Col Lerner clearly is lead by the hand by the commentator who makes use of the "within Israel's lines" point I made yesterday. Be aware that the commentator, Wolf Blitzer, is a former Israeli journalist & AIPAC editor (source (http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/1990/feb/01/territory-of-lies/?pagination=false)). In addition, given that the Military Rabbinate has now said that Goldin is dead (ie there must have been some form of evidence to support this from the beginning), why did the IDF bomb Rafah so heavily in response to the alleged capture of Lt. Goldin? If the IDF wasn't aware of the capture of Lt Goldin prior to 9:30 (later revised to 9:00) why had they already started their heavy bombing campaign of Rafah by at least 8:45? Given that there would have needed to be a "chain of command" decision making process in relation to appropriate action to take in the instance of a soldier having been capture by enemy combatants, why had the IDF already started bombing at least 15 minutes before they knew Lt Goldin had been captured and before any "chain of command" decision process could have been undertaken?

OD960971mNM

14 people were arrested during a peaceful anti-war rally in Tel-Aviv because the protest lacked a permit... The protesters were then redirected to a park where they continued their protest unhampered (source (http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/1.608514)).

Clear statements that are easy to understand from the UN (I'm shocked too):

0yq9h88X5Xg

-- Pan

panopticon

3rd August 2014, 08:43

Here are a few incident from March that illustrate some of the problems faced by both sides:

March 1st:
Israeli forces shoot, kill Palestinian woman in southern Gaza (http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=677575)

A 57 year old mentally disturbed Palestinian women was shot and killed by IDF soldiers as she approached the border fence. Ambulance crews were not permitted to assist.

March 5th:
Israeli forces demolish Bedouin homes in Negev (http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=678834)

IDF soldiers use a bulldozer to destroy houses in an Israeli-Bedouin village. These villages (predating "Israel") are not recognised by Israel and receive no infrastructure assistance (electricity, roads, water, sanitation etc).

Egypt ban on Hamas could lead to 'Israeli attack on Gaza' (http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=679530)

Timely warning from Khalil al-Hayya. Might explain to some Egypt's role in the "ceasefire" non-negotiation talks.

March 10th:
Israeli forces shoot dead Palestinian at Allenby Bridge crossing (http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=680151)

A 38 year old Palestinian Judge was shot dead by Israeli troops at a crossing check point. He had no militant ties yet supposedly attempted to "seize the weapon of an Israeli soldier" and was shot. After he had been shot he attacked the soldiers with a metal bar he had (somehow) grabbed from one of the soldiers. The soldiers used deadly force because of the attack...

March 28th:

Israeli forces shoot, injure man in northern Gaza (http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=685518)

Soldiers fired on protesters who approached the border fence near Jabalia shooting one in the leg. 'He was taken to Kamal Adwan hospital with moderate injuries.'

There are a lot more than these few just for March.

This is not a simple situation for either side.

-- Pan

panopticon

3rd August 2014, 09:39

Another Israeli air strike on a school housing 3000 "displaced refugees" leaves at least 10 dead and 30 injured (multiple sources). Reported that the missile hit the schools entrance.

Please tell me this wasn't so that Hamas resumed rocket fire (which they have) and so the peace talks in Cairo will falter...

###

Israeli air strike hits UN school in Gaza (http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/aug/03/israel-air-strike-un-school-gaza-rafah)

Ten people killed and dozens wounded in new missile attack on UN-run school in Rafah, according to witnesses

An Israeli air strike has killed at least 10 people and wounded about 30 others in a UN-run school in the southern Gaza Strip, witnesses and medics said, as dozens died in renewed Israeli shelling of the enclave.

The Israeli military declined immediate comment on the attack, the second to hit a UN school in less than a week.

A missile launched by an aircraft struck the entrance to the school in Rafah, the witnesses and medics said.

Witnesses said there was an explosion at about 10.30am just outside the gates of the Rafah Preparatory A Boys school.

A group of children and some adults were buying sweets and biscuits from hawkers.

There have been a considerable number of air strikes in the area overnight and on Sunday morning. About eight metres from the school gates there was a deep hole in the ground that witnesses say is new, and blood on the floor that is being cleaned up.

More than 2,000 people were thought to be seeking refuge in the school, many of them from the east of Rafah where there has been very heavy bombing since Friday, with at least 100 people thought to have been killed in the last few days.

Last Wednesday, at least 15 Palestinians who sought refuge in a UN-run school in Jabalya refugee camp were killed during fighting, and the UN said it appeared that Israeli artillery had hit the building.

The Israeli military said gunmen had fired mortar bombs from near the school and it returned fire in response.

Earlier on Sunday, Israeli shelling killed at least 30 people in Gaza, a day after the prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, vowed to keep up pressure on Hamas even after the army completes its core mission of destroying a tunnel network that extends into Israel.

Source (http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/aug/03/israel-air-strike-un-school-gaza-rafah)

panopticon

3rd August 2014, 10:53

Health system collapse expected in Gaza over the next few days.

Channel 4 News' Paul Mason reports from Gaza that with the break down in infrastructure (electricity/water/sewage), in conjunction with a medical system almost at breaking point , Dr Ghassan Abu-sitta says that it has only days until it collapses.
JlqQq3PN5uU

panopticon

3rd August 2014, 12:32

Ksk3Q7gu0BI
EhmRfRzeBqg

panopticon

3rd August 2014, 12:54

Article from a reporter who can't take being objective any more.

NZ News presenter Rachel Smalley says Israel is a 'callus anti-Palestinian killing machine' that 'put[s] no value on a Palestinian life.'

She even did the unimaginable: Mentioned Israel committing war crimes.

Good one Rachel (oh, and kiwi chicks are heifers? You got a death wish saying that in NZ, even if you think the mike is off!)

###

Rachel Smalley: Israel a 'killer regime' (http://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/auckland/shows/earlyedition/highlights/rachel-smalley-1aug2014)
By Rachel Smalley, 1st August 2014

http://arntrnassets.mediaspanonline.com/radio/n00/1478421/A-child-sits-outside-Abu-Hussein-School-in-Gaza-which-was-sheltering-hundreds-of-displaced-Palestinian-refugees-for-the-UN-when-it-was-bombed--30jul2014--Getty-Images.jpg

I can’t sit on the political fence anymore on the Israel-Palestine situation. It has always been a difficult conflict to report on, to balance the position of both sides. There is no place for judgement.

Well, not anymore. Not for me.

I can’t report the situation in Gaza with balance anymore because there simply is none. Israel’s actions are abhorrent. The killing, the targeting of civilians, the toddlers and the babies who are dying every day. It reveals the Israeli regime for what it is - a callus anti-Palestinian killing machine.

Israel’s conflict should be with Hamas, but it’s not. It’s with the Palestinians. Almost two million people who live in the Gaza Strip, entrapped and caged in an area that is 40 kilometres long by ten kilometres wide. The bombardment of Gaza is akin to caged lion hunting in South Africa. There is no escape - only terror as bombs and bullets rain down.

The Israelis say they ‘regret’ when a civilian is killed. Rubbish! They regret nothing. They put no value on a Palestinian life.

And then there is the latest war crime - the bombing of a school.

The UN says it gave the school's co-ordinates to Israel 17 times. 17 times it gave Israel the co-ordinates and said the building was housing children and displaced civilians. And yet Israel bombed it. They bombed it and killed every civilian inside.

Ban Ki-moon, the UN Secretary General, is clearly angry. “It is outrageous,” he says. “It is unjustifiable. This demands accountability and justice."

How has Israel responded? It has responded by calling up another 16,000 reservists. Is there a more arrogant and antagonistic administration in the world today?

So what are we doing about? John Key has said the killings are a “blot on the world”. The killings are not a blot on the world - they are a gaping wound in the side of humanity. And we should, we must take a much stronger position.

I say send the Israeli ambassador home. Send Yosef Livne home. Send him back with a message for Benjamin Netanyahu that New Zealand does not sanction the killing of civilians and children. That New Zealand does not condone the bombing of schools. That you can't indiscriminately kill and maim. That is the position our government should take today. Call Yosef Livne to a meeting today and tell him he's going back to Israel.

Israel can no longer claim to be defending itself. It's not. It's a killer regime that right now is unstoppable.

Source (http://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/auckland/shows/earlyedition/highlights/rachel-smalley-1aug2014)

Observer1964

3rd August 2014, 13:39

https://scontent-b-ams.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xap1/v/t1.0-9/s526x296/10525956_806816896029066_1114095144871221788_n.jpg?oh=6b8808def156eeda59495311e6e7ce1e&oe=5436B041

panopticon

3rd August 2014, 14:51

UN warns of 'rapidly unfolding' health disaster in Gaza (http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=48395)
2nd August, 2014

http://static.un.org/News/dh/photos/large/2014/July/07-24-unicef-girl.jpg

Weeks of intense fighting has left medical services and facilities in the Gaza Strip “on the verge of collapse,” according to senior United Nations officials in the region who today warned that a health disaster of widespread proportions is rapidly unfolding as the conflict grinds on.

“We are now looking at a health and humanitarian disaster”, warned James W. Rawley, the UN Humanitarian Coordinator in the occupied Palestinian territory, adding: “The fighting must stop immediately.”

This latest warning comes in the wake of the collapse yesterday of a humanitarian ceasefire brokered by the United Nations and the United States, which led a “profoundly shocked and disappointed” Secretary-General Ban Ki moon to state that: “Instead of giving both sides, especially Gazan civilians, a much needed reprieve to let them attend to their injured, bury their dead and repair vital infrastructure, this breach of the ceasefire is now leading to a renewed escalation.”

Joining Mr. Rawley in sounding the alarm today about the looming health catastrophe as a result of the ongoing violence are Robert Turner, Director of Operations in the Gaza Strip for the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), and Dr. Ambrogio Manenti, acting Head of Office of the UN World Health Organization (WHO) operations in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

In a joint press release, the officials also expressed grave concern regarding the lack of protection for medical staff and facilities, and the deteriorating access to emergency health services for the 1.8 million Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

After more than three weeks of intense conflict, Gaza's medical services and facilities are on the verge of collapse. One third of hospitals, 14 primary healthcare clinics and 29 Palestinian Red Crescent and Ministry of Health ambulances have been damaged in the fighting.

According to the United Nations, at least five medical staff have been killed in the line of duty and tens of others have been injured. At least 40 per cent of medical staff are unable to get to their places of work such as clinics and hospitals due to widespread violence and at least half of all public health primary care clinics are closed.

In addition, in the last 24 hours, anonymous calls were made to staff at both the Najjar Hospital in Rafah and Al Shifa Hospital in Gaza City warning of imminent attacks, causing major panic and chaos among patients and staff. Najjar Hospital was evacuated and remains closed due to fighting nearby.

The hospitals and clinics that are still functioning are overwhelmed: since 7 July, more that 8,000 people have reportedly been injured, many seriously. Critical supplies of medicines and disposables are almost depleted and damage and destruction of power supplies has left hospitals dependent on unreliable back-up generators, says the press release.

Al Shifa, the main referral hospital in the Gaza Strip, is inundated with casualties and people seeking safety in its grounds. “The ability to provide necessary healthcare is being severely compromised. This puts the lives of thousands of Palestinians in needless danger”, said Dr. Manenti.

Compounding this already-grave situation, an estimated 460,000 people have been displaced and are now living in overcrowded conditions in schools, with relatives or in makeshift shelters. This, coupled with lack of inadequate water and sanitation, poses serious risks of outbreak of water-borne and communicable diseases. “Hundreds of thousands of people are sheltering in terrible conditions, pushing UNRWA's coping capacity to the edge”, said Mr. Turner.

Mr. Rawley stressed that “international law sets out clear obligations on the parties to the conflict to respect the status of hospitals and medical facilities as protected objects, to respect the status of and ensure the protection of medical personnel, to ensure the protection of civilians and to respect the fundamental human right to health."

The three officials also paid tribute to Gaza's medical staff for working tirelessly in dangerous and difficult conditions to continue to provide urgently needed healthcare.

Yesterday, Mr. Rawley, along with the Minister of Social Affairs and Agriculture of the State of Palestine, Shawqi Issa, appealed for $369 million to meet urgent needs in Gaza.

Source (http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=48395)

###

"You can't be Neutral on a moving train" -- Howard Zinn documentary (excerpt)

aCn2mZRvfYo

panopticon

3rd August 2014, 14:59

Troops ordered to pull back in Gaza, but the killing didn’t stop (http://blogs.channel4.com/paul-mason-blog/troops-ordered-pull-backbut-killing-stop/2058)
by Paul Mason 3rd August, 2014

Last night, Binyamin Netanyahu thanked his allies, Britain and America, and ordered a pullback of Israeli troops.

But the killing didn’t stop.

Rafah, the border town that is home to the smuggling tunnels that keep Gaza alive, has been sealed off since yesterday morning.

This was the area where Lt Hadar Goldin was alleged to have been captured on Friday. This was the area where farmers were shot down in their fields as the Israelis frantically searched for him.

But as much of the world’s news media reported, without qualification, the Israeli claim of his capture, it turned out Lt Goldin was dead (http://www.channel4.com/news/gaza-israel-soldier-hadar-goldin-raid-ceasefire).

And so are around 20 people in Rafah, killed in an Israeli bombardment overnight, on top of maybe 60 killed in the Rafah-Khan Younis area yesterday.

Rafah’s acute hospital is evacuated. By phone we heard there are maybe 400 injured. We headed south to get there but only got as far as Khan Younis, approx 7km away.

As we tried to go down the road to Rafah, local people told us “Are you mad?”

Israel imposed a curfew. Then, amid the targeting of homes full of civilians - a drone strike hit a motorcycle passing the entrance to the UNRWRA school in Rafah. At least seven are dead (http://www.channel4.com/news/deadly-israeli-strike-hits-un-school-in-rafah-gaza-video).

I spoke to witnesses in Khan Younis hospital. The ICU there is full so they have set up a makeshift one.

Let me describe a makeshift ICU: three beds, three pathetic antiquated heart monitors, three drips and a doctor on the verge of tears.

One man moans intermittently, another lifts his head to talk: one side of his body is ripped by shrapnel. The third occupant is two years old. She will live but the doctors believe her entire close family were wiped out.

The IDF’s Rafah operation is a different kind of war.

Surrounding a town, allowing only serious casualties out and no civilian traffic in; refusing to give any information to us when we call to ask for a safe route in; bombing relentlessly; forcing a hospital to close.

Nowhere else have we seen this yet in this three-week Gaza conflict.

I’ve heard Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond has an email inbox full of concern from Brits over “what they’re seeing on TV”. I can tell you they will be concerned some more when they see what is happening in Rafah.

Whatever the British government is getting in return for “unshakeable” support for Israel, it is not restraint.

Source (http://blogs.channel4.com/paul-mason-blog/troops-ordered-pull-backbut-killing-stop/2058)

panopticon

3rd August 2014, 15:26

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BuHyw-TCcAA5HJU.jpg

Notice no pressure on Egypt. Hard for el-Sisi to justify saying no.
Also notice the use of the title 'Hamas-Palestinian Unity Government'.
My belief is that part of the reason this all started was to ram a wedge between Hamas & Fatah's formation of a Unity Government (interim formed early June)...
Ball in Bibi's court...

Continuation of ground & air assault with reports that the IDF were finished destroying "terror tunnels" being changed as the IDF is now saying they have found at least 2 more.

Remember: Lt Goldin's alleged capture allowed the Israeli Government to shift International sentiment in their favour. Hamas never said they had captured an IDF soldier, only that their troops had been engaged in fierce combat in the hours leading up the ceasefire as Israel tried to push their line forward East of Rafah. The shift in International sentiment is now moving away from Israel again with the latest UN shelter shelling (reported from a drone). Especially as the UN has said that the IDF had been given the coordinates of the UN emergency facility 33 times. One of those times was an hour before the drone strike that left at least 10 dead and 30 wounded.

BTW Chris Gunness is reporting that there are '269,793 displaced people in 90 UNRWA schools across Gaza, an average shelter population of 2,998' (source (https://twitter.com/ChrisGunness/status/495945242781028352)).

-- Pan

panopticon

3rd August 2014, 15:59

U.N. chief calls Gaza school attack a 'criminal act' (http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/08/03/us-mideast-gaza-un-ban-idUSKBN0G30JR20140803)
United Nations, August 3rd, 2014

(Reuters) - U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon described a deadly attack on a U.N. school on Sunday as a "moral outrage and a criminal act" and called for those responsible for the "gross violation of international humanitarian law" to be held accountable.

In a statement, Ban strongly condemned the shelling of the school in Rafah in southern Gaza that killed at least 10 civilians. The school was sheltering 3,000 displaced persons and Ban said the "Israel Defense Forces have been repeatedly informed of the location of these sites."

Source (http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/08/03/us-mideast-gaza-un-ban-idUSKBN0G30JR20140803)

###

UN CHIEF: ATTACK AT SCHOOL IN GAZA 'CRIMINAL ACT' (http://bigstory.ap.org/article/un-chief-attack-school-gaza-criminal-act)
United Nations, August 3rd, 2014

NEW YORK (AP) — U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says an attack that killed 10 people at a U.N. school in the Gaza Strip is a "moral outrage and a criminal act."

Ban says the attack Sunday "is yet another gross violation of international humanitarian law, which clearly requires protection by both parties of Palestinian civilians, U.N. staff and U.N. premises, among other civilian facilities."

In a statement, the U.N. chief said the attack "must be swiftly investigated and those responsible held accountable. It is a moral outrage and a criminal act."

Source (http://bigstory.ap.org/article/un-chief-attack-school-gaza-criminal-act)

Observer1964

3rd August 2014, 16:14

https://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/507x373q90/109/palestineu.jpg

Palestine before 1948

JGBoGKPZlQE

panopticon

3rd August 2014, 16:16

So there I was minding my own bees wax and I followed a link about the US condemning Israel's attack on Gaza.

I thought to myself "well, the nobel peace prize might not have been a complete waste of time then".

I was further heartened when I started to read the article:

Israel condemned by US for killing civilians

The United States last night led international criticism of Israel's air strike that killed 14 civilians, including nine children, and a Hamas military commander.

The White House said the bombing of a building in a crowded neighbourhood of the Gaza Strip on Monday night was a "heavy-handed action that is not consistent with dedication to peace in the Middle East".

It was the strongest criticism of Israel for several months from President Bush.
Source (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/israel/1402421/Israel-condemned-by-US-for-killing-civilians.html)
WTF? President Basil Brush? Sounding almost like a centrist?

Then I checked the date... 24th July 2002...

Shows how much things have changed that Bush Jr sounds reasonable!!!

I'm sure it's deliberate... :frusty:

-- Pan

panopticon

3rd August 2014, 17:06

https://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/507x373q90/109/palestineu.jpg

Palestine before 1948

JGBoGKPZlQE

Good video Observer1964.

It's important to remember that there were people living in the land that is now called Israel prior to the Nation-States creation.

Those people were Muslim, Christian and Jewish. They were black, white and all the colours in between.

As Gandhi wrote in November 1938:

But my sympathy does not blind me to the requirements of justice. The cry for the national home for the Jews does not make much appeal to me. The sanction for it is sought in the Bible and the tenacity with which the Jews have hankered after return to Palestine. Why should they not, like other peoples of the earth, make that country their home where they are born and where they earn their livelihood?

Palestine belongs to the Arabs in the same sense that England belongs to the English or France to the French. It is wrong and inhuman to impose the Jews on the Arabs. What is going on in Palestine today cannot be justified by any moral code of conduct. The mandates have no sanction but that of the last war. Surely it would be a crime against humanity to reduce the proud Arabs so that Palestine can be restored to the Jews partly or wholly as their national home.

...

And now a word to the Jews in Palestine. I have no doubt that they are going about it in the wrong way. The Palestine of the Biblical conception is not a geographical tract. It is in their hearts. But if they must look to the Palestine of geography as their national home, it is wrong to enter it under the shadow of the British gun. A religious act cannot be performed with the aid of the bayonet or the bomb. They can settle in Palestine only by the goodwill of the Arabs. They should seek to convert the Arab heart. The same God rules the Arab heart who rules the Jewish heart. They can offer satyagraha in front of the Arabs and offer themselves to be shot or thrown into the Dead Sea without raising a little finger against them. They will find the world opinion in their favour in their religious aspiration. There are hundreds of ways of reasoning with the Arabs, if they will only discard the help of the British bayonet. As it is, they are co-shares with the British in despoiling a people who have done no wrong to them.

I am not defending the Arab excesses. I wish they had chosen the way of non-violence in resisting what they rightly regarded as an unwarrantable encroachment upon their country. But according to the accepted canons of right and wrong, nothing can be said against the Arab resistance in the face of overwhelming odds.

Source (http://www.gandhiserve.org/e/information/writings_online/articles/gandhi_jews_palestine.htm#'The Jews', by Gandhi - From Harijan, November 26, 1938)
Prior to the creation of the Nation-State of Israel there were many Jews that had moved to Palestine. I've read many accounts of how lots of the Jewish population got along extremely well with the Arab population who were already there. The first Kibbutzim were created during this time and I have studied their practices, successes and failures because of my interest in Permaculture. The present day Kibbutzim are a pale shadow that largely rely on Jewish children from the US in search of their roots as a low paid workforce and the Israeli Governments financial support for continued operation (though privatisation is of course now the buzzword even there). It is sad that such a vibrant and interesting experiment has been destroyed by greed, power and slothfulness (example source1 (http://forward.com/articles/127122/what-actually-undermined-the-kibbutz/) source2 (http://www.haaretz.com/weekend/week-s-end/from-kibbutz-secretary-to-board-chairman-1.213738)).

After this came the British and the Jewish civil defence group Haganah (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haganah). From Haganah sprang the Jewish terrorist group Irgun (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irgun) from which the later splinter faction Lehi (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lehi_(group)) (aka The Stern Gang) emerged...

Uhumm, sorry for the regale, thank you again for the video.

-- Pan

jerry

3rd August 2014, 19:18

Recently I read somewhere ISIS has put Israel in their crosshairs for the attacks on Palestine .
The following at least tells us where Obama stands
“I will stand with the Muslims should the political winds shift in an ugly direction.” The quote comes from page 261 of the paperback edition of “The Audacity of Hope

Tesseract

3rd August 2014, 19:50

Frederick Jackson

3rd August 2014, 20:46

I have noticed for some time here in PA a disturbing anti Israel sentiment, even what may be an anti-Jewish sentiment. You see words like Zionist bandied about like we were in 30s Germany. See the new post on "Zionist owned Fox News". You all do recall reading about the the (phony) Protocols of Zion, do you not? And the Holocaust this kind of propaganda produced? Israel may not be hosting a Sunday picnic, but would you if you were having missiles lobbed on you daily?

Enough here on PA is whacky. This kind of stuff makes me want to quit PA. I am seriously thinking about it. It is beginning to outlive it's usefulness for me.

I will note that if Israel does not have the best interests of all humanity in mind in the Middle East, that is quite understandable as it is a matter of survival. US policy in the Middle East is another matter. I see no excuse whatever for US policy in the Middle East; see for what I see as a great take on this:

http://syriangirlpartisan.blogspot.mx/

For an Israeli take on Western opinion, be it from bleeding heart liberal types (eg NY Times) or just plain anti "semites" (hey, ISIS will rename the Holy Land Shem, or Sem or whatever) I post the following:

It’s Okay. Don’t Cry for Us Israelis

By Naomi Ragen

I’m sitting here in Jerusalem after a week of heartbreak over three murdered teens, followed by two weeks of sirens, bomb blasts, and finally, the funerals of young IDF soldiers, of whom one-third are students who should be taking their final exams, instead of risking their lives. I’m reading on the internet about what a horrible person I am as an Israeli and as a Jew, and what a terrible, immoral country I live in.

All this criticism comes mainly from the European press: The Guardian, the BBC, papers in Italy, Norway, France, and don’t forget America: The New York Times, CNN. And I’m thinking: gee, the British should understand. After all, they lived through the blitz, Nazis raining bombs indiscriminately down on them, the way Hamas is raining bombs down on us. And when the brave pilots of the RAF aimed their bombs at Dresden killing 300,000 men, women and children, they didn’t throw down leaflets telling people to politely evacuate; didn’t send their soldiers to knock on doors to see if they’d followed the leaflets instructions (as CNN complained Israel failed to do at an UNRWA school, which was probably hit by a Hamas bomb anyway.)

And I think of the rest of Europe, who rounded up our grandparents and great-grandparents, and relatives – men, women and children—and sent them off to be gassed, no questions asked. And I think: they are now the moral arbiters of the free world? They are telling the descendants of the people they murdered how to behave when other anti-Semites want to kill them?

As for Americans, represented by the New York Times, that bastion of high-minded hypocrisy and mediocre journalism parading as the “newspaper of record,” one has only to read the article by Professor Auerbach in the New York Observer (Two Weeks of Shallow, Facile Moral Equivalency From the New York Times) to see how Jodi Rudoren and other Times apparatchiks have learned to close their minds and love Hamas. After all, there are CHILDREN DYING. It doesn’t matter that the Palestinians have educated an entire generation to be little Nazi-wannabes, who worship death and hate Jews, murdering their souls, and are now callously putting their bodies in harm’s way to use for touching photo ops. We shouldn’t be shocked by this omission by the Times. After all, The New York Times was one of the last news outlets to bring to the attention of the reading public the Nazi atrocities in Europe. Read the Times during the nightmare years, and see if you can’t find a pattern here.

And so, as an Israeli, brought up with Jewish values, and an American, taught to love freedom, justice, democracy and fair play, I have to tell all of you - Europeans, Americans, and last of all Muslim terrorist sympathizers and barbarians, that what you are saying no longer moves anyone of good moral judgment and intelligence. The current crisis in Gaza is so morally clear-cut, so absolutely a case of self-defense, that I must say to you, as someone finally said to Senator McCarthy: “Sir, have you no shame?” I prefer that you - writers of these lies and libels -- hate me and my country, if it means that you can save your tears for other peoples dead. We aren’t greedy for sympathy. After all, we got so much after the Holocaust, we prefer other people to have their share now. These days, we prefer to live, rather than have people cry over us and the injustices done to us.

So by all means, cry for the Palestinian people - men women and children - whose duly elected leadership has callously left them without protection from just retribution for their terrorist crimes. Who took their aid money and are living in Qatar in five star hotels building shopping centers for themselves. Who built terrorist tunnels under their homes, mosques, hospitals and schools, and recruited their sons to die for Allah, while they sit in bunkers waiting for the U.N. to rescue them.

PS Britain did warn Germany to quit using the Dresden rail nexus for military traffic or is would bomb the city. And Hamas expected no Israeli response? I suspect this is exactly what Hamas wanted, the deaths of civilians to help stir up anti Israel sentiment. :clap2:

PPS I do not like the way Israel is handling the Jewish settlement issue in the West Bank, making a serpentine border just to grab and pull in good land for Israeli colonies. Yep, it is not all one sided. Either way. :ohwell:

Tesseract

4th August 2014, 02:37

When people act as if Hamas (Or Fatah, or Hezbollah, or PLO depending on the time and the place) is the instigator of every flare-up, they either don't follow the news (and one has to go to the minor web sites) during the periods between, or they are knowingly trying to mislead people. The mainstream presentation is that it is always the kidnapping of an Israeli, or the firing of a volley or rockets which is touted as the opening of hostilities. Previous kidnapping of Palestinians (in greater numbers) or firing of Israeli missiles (with greater damage) is never cited by these people. Panopticon has posted some instances above, to make the same point. I used to bookmark all instances of Israeli attacks on Palestinians (starting in late 2010) - but there were so many, it was taking up too much of my time. The Palestinian Center for Human Rights gives regular updates here:

http://www.pchrgaza.org/portal/en/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&id=84&Itemid=183

There is nothing wrong with using the word Zionist or Zionism.

As for Naomi Ragen, whose failed polemic only highlights the moral poverty of her own position, and who identifies herself as an Israeli and an American; maybe in her next article she can write about the day she stepped off the plane into Israel and instantly had more rights than a Palestinian who was born there. That is the problem with Israel. It is a state with a policy of Palestinians out, Jews in. All over the world, conscientious people are recognising the insidiousness of this program and are rejecting it. I am sure you are a reasonable person, and it's your choice to leave or stay with Avalon, but I dare say it won't spare you from future exposure to anti-Israel sentiment.

Tesseract

4th August 2014, 02:47

And some more (unverified at this stage) from the Knesset deputy speaker:

Feiglin writes that the Israeli army must “designate certain open areas on the Sinai border, adjacent to the sea, in which the civilian population will be concentrated, far from the built-up areas that are used for launches and tunneling. In these areas, tent encampments will be established, until relevant emigration destinations are determined.”

“Tent encampments,” where the Palestinian civilian population would be “concentrated,” are simply concentration camps.

“The supply of electricity and water to the formerly populated areas will be disconnected,” he adds.

He then calls for the “formerly populated areas” to be “shelled with maximum fire power. The entire civilian and military infrastructure of Hamas, its means of communication and of logistics, will be destroyed entirely, down to their foundations.”

The Israeli army would then “exterminate nests of resistance, in the event that any should remain.”

Expulsion

“Israel will start searching for emigration destinations and quotas for the refugees from Gaza,” Feiglin writes, but “those who insist on staying, if they can be proven to have no affiliation with Hamas, will be required to publicly sign a declaration of loyalty to Israel, and receive a blue ID card similar to that of the Arabs of East Jerusalem.”

From:

http://electronicintifada.net/blogs/ali-abunimah/concentrate-and-exterminate-israel-parliament-deputy-speakers-gaza-genocide-plan

Tesseract

4th August 2014, 02:55

panopticon

4th August 2014, 05:38

ISIS want to create an expanding fascist Islamic state in the Levant, just as Israel is an expanding fascist Jewish state in the South West Levant. ISIS are not supporters of the Palestinian cause, which is one of achieving equal rights. I hope people understand this.

Here is ISIS burning the Palestinian flag:

IPkbNhOgWvE

I agree with you Tesseract.

This is one of the overarching problems in discussions concerning the siege of Gaza: It's Middle Eastern context.

The difficulty is that Israeli's and Palestinians are right to be concerned about Islamic extremism.
I know I am!

A quick look at the history of violence during the 2nd Intifada and the Islamic States numerous slaughters shows this is not a misplaced fear for Israeli's.

Unfortunately looking at it through this lens focuses attention on extremists and not the vast majority who are moderates, these are the people who are being killed in their homes and UN emergency shelters.

This present assault is more about a Nation-State legitimising its use of force on a civilian population through propaganda and early socialisation/training of its citizens than achieving a solution to a long running problem.

To divorce the siege of Gaza from the history that led to its inception and the complex interrelated political machination (with its to and fro of non-negotiation) does not explain why Gaza is under siege, why Israeli authors are able to write about genocide and expulsion (remember these are in the English versions of their media outlets, not just the Hebrew), why nationalist sentiments are so high and how there is complicity from the media (in Israel & beyond) to push a nationalist agenda that is extreme.

It is a quagmire we have been negotiating in this thread quite well (I hope)...

I have noticed for some time here in PA a disturbing anti Israel sentiment, even what may be an anti-Jewish sentiment. You see words like Zionist bandied about like we were in 30s Germany. See the new post on "Zionist owned Fox News". You all do recall reading about the the (phony) Protocols of Zion, do you not? And the Holocaust this kind of propaganda produced? Israel may not be hosting a Sunday picnic, but would you if you were having missiles lobbed on you daily?

Enough here on PA is whacky. This kind of stuff makes me want to quit PA. I am seriously thinking about it. It is beginning to outlive it's usefulness for me.

I agree Fred. There have been many in the neo-Nazi right that have made use of the term "zionist" as a sort of almost acceptable codeword for "Jew". It's part of the suggested phraseology that is promoted by Stormfront & other anti-Semitic groups (and yes I use the term anti-Semitic to include a whole spectrum of people not just "Arab Jews" because the propaganda from Stormfront et al is anti-Semitic, anti-Islamic, "pro-white" racist extremism -- which was the reason I was so surprised to see an Israeli nationalist wearing a shirt with one of their emblems on [see here (http://projectavalon.net/forum4/showthread.php?72897-This-evening-in-Israel&p=854049&viewfull=1#post854049)]). I try to avoid the terms use because of that very reason however Zionism is a major part of Israeli society and an underling aspect of the Nation-States historical creation. Sometimes it is difficult to have a discussion without at least eluding to it as it is a major part of the political discourse and explains why Nationalist sentiment was so easily bought to the front in the lead up to this present assault.

Your quote from Ragen is a very good example of how the Nationalist discourse has been carefully constructed and controlled:

I’m sitting here in Jerusalem after a week of heartbreak over three murdered teens, followed by two weeks of sirens, bomb blasts, and finally, the funerals of young IDF soldiers, of whom one-third are students who should be taking their final exams, instead of risking their lives.
I have said from my first post (http://projectavalon.net/forum4/showthread.php?72897-This-evening-in-Israel&p=853373#post853373) in this thread that there is no evidence whatsoever that the 3 Israeli-Jewish youths were slaughtered by Hamas. This is not to say that Hamas wouldn't do an act like this, merely that there was and still is no evidence that they did. Netanyahu, Israeli Cabinet Ministers and the media repeatedly stated that it was Hamas. To this day there is no evidence that it was Hamas and there is ample evidence that even if the men accused of this horrific act did do it (which is debatable) they would not have been doing it under instruction from Hamas' leadership.

The entire reason that Israel is attacking Gaza at the moment stems back to that one thing. If that was false the rest falls into place like a complex jig-saw puzzle.

3 Israeli- Jewish Youths slaughtered.
Hamas blamed.
Operation Brothers Keeper enacted to detain 550 Hamas supporters (including politicians in the newly formed Palestinian Unity Government).
Hamas retaliates by removing policing of factional rocket teams.
Hamas' Qassam Brigade eventually starts firing rockets (from memory after the 2012-ceasefire agreement has been made null-and-void by Israel but I'm not certain of this).
Israel launches aerial bombardment & drones.
Discourse moves from 3 youths slaughtered to rockets threat.
Egypt brokers ceasefire deal with Israel & Israel (Hamas and/or its representatives not included in negotiations) which Hamas has not agreed to.
Israel launches ground assault.
Discourse changes from Rockets to "terror tunnels".
Last tunnel announced destroyed
Discourse changes to one of "containment" with assistance from Egypt & possibly UN.

I could go on but it is well documented from the beginning of this thread.

So, why?

There are varying hypotheses that have been proposed but I view there is no one singe answer to that question. The interim Palestinian Unity Government's formation definitely was a motivator. Gas/oil on and off-shore of Gaza another. The Quartets March 2014 proposal for Palestinian development (http://www.quartetrep.org/quartet/news-entry/ipe-overview/) is another (nothing like a bit of Disaster Capitalism - I'll post the summary in the next post). I could go on but I hope that I have covered that there is at least reason for suspicion of the motivations behind the Israeli & other International Governments actions.

I view that the discourse has been carefully constructed and controlled to funnel Israeli public opinion to one conclusion. This is why polls are showing such a high support for the "War".

I am definitely not anti-Jewish and as an anarchist I am always anti-State so in that respect I don't support either the one or two state solutions that are talked about.

I do support individuals and groups being allowed to live fulfilling lives and that is not the case in either Gaza or the occupied West Bank.

In that sense I support the Palestinian cause against the Israeli Nation-State.

I do not support anti-Jewish sentiment nor Statist control of discourse to promote an agenda.

Of course I know that the problems (and there are many of them) are complex.

Locking up 1.8 million people and radicalising them through created disadvantage and periodic assaults is not a solution.

-- Pan

panopticon

4th August 2014, 05:53

As promised here is the March 7th Quartet plan for the Palestinians. Please notice that these are all to encourage/compliment the "peace process". The formation of the interim Palestinian Unity Government created difficulties for all non-Palestinian parties and I don't think it was part of the plan.

###

The Initiative for the Palestinian Economy - An Overview (http://www.quartetrep.org/quartet/news-entry/ipe-overview/)
Friday, Mar 07, 2014 in Office of the Quartet Representative

http://tonyblairoffice.org/page/-/images/news-graphics/tonyblair.jpg

The Initiative for the Palestinian Economy (IPE) is designed to effect transformative change and substantial growth in the Palestinian economy and create hundreds of thousands of new jobs. It is a complementary process to the political negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA), led by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, and is not a substitute for it.

Download a detailed summary of the Initiative for the Palestinian Economy (http://www.tonyblairoffice.org/page/-/quartet/documents/IPE%20Summary.pdf)

The ambitious plan was drafted by a team of policy advisors, external economic analysts and international domain experts under the leadership of Quartet Representative Tony Blair in support of renewed Palestinian-Israeli negotiations.

The initiative focuses on catalysing private sector-led growth in the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem. The success of the IPE relies heavily on the inflow of new financing into the Palestinian economy, in particular from the private sector, continued and significantly expanded Israeli easing measures and boosted institutional capacity within the PA.

The plan:

Is a focused, multi-year project covering eight key sectors to support the Middle East Peace Process;
Aims to achieve a significant reduction in unemployment, a substantial increase in average Palestinian household income, a large surge in investment flows - both domestic and foreign - and a significant decline in PA reliance on direct budgetary assistance;
Is underpinned by in-depth sector analyses and project proposals, which include mechanisms to deliver and finance the projects;
Is tied to a clear set of regulatory and economic enablers that are pre-requisites to the success of the economic plan;
Takes into account the interdependency of the different sectors (e.g. water and agriculture), requiring thoughtful coordination to execute successfully;
Leverages the resources of the local and international private sector to finance the economic plan.

Key Sectors as Catalysts for Growth

Eight sectors are included in the IPE. These were chosen based on their private sector orientation, relative contribution to GDP and employment figures, their potential for economic growth and their potential as enablers for other sectors (such as water and energy).

The IPE centres on:

Agriculture: This sector already makes a relatively large contribution to GDP, but it could deliver significantly more to the Palestinian economy, including through better economies of scale, bringing more land into production, and access for Gazan produce to the Israeli and West Bank markets.
Construction: Expanding construction in housing is a central part of the Initiative as we aim to better meet the huge demand for affordable housing. The IPE envisions the construction of different types of housing to address the various demographic and geographic segments across the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza - including on available land in city centers, around the urban periphery, and in new locations.
Tourism: Boosting tourism is vital to long-term Palestinian economic growth. The West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Gaza are immensely rich in historical and ecological attractions. We will focus on two tracks: a short-term track concentrating on strategic marketing of the Holy Land in certain target markets, and a medium-term track aimed at the development of five tourism hubs within the West Bank and Gaza.
Information and communication technology (ICT): This is a critically-important and growing service sector in the Palestinian economy, and the IPE aims to attract both domestic and international investment in specific IT services. The goal is to leverage the quality and relative wage competitiveness of the Palestinian labour force, create opportunities for multinational corporations and encourage investment in IT incubators and trade promotion agencies to create a platform around which start-ups can grow and attract more funds.
Light manufacturing: The potential for growth in this sector hinges on the competitive wages of a young and educated Palestinian workforce, low operating costs and a positive investment climate. The IPE foresees the scaling up of investment in several sub-sectors with high growth potential (e.g. domestic appliances, motor vehicle parts, pharmaceuticals). Multi-national companies (MNCs) would be a key driver for this sector, and target important export markets in the region. By enhancing existing local small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to supply complementary products to the MNCs, exports and transfers can be furthered expanded in certain sub-sectors.
Building materials: Expanding this sector will help unlock the economic potential of other sectors, with the Initiative focusing on increasing domestic production capacity, diversifying import sources and improving capabilities.
Energy: Reliable energy supply is critical for all sectors of the Palestinian economy. The goal is an increase of the supply of electricity from third-party power producers, and at the same time, expansion of capacity for local electricity generation through local power plants These plants will need to be fueled by natural gas, and so the development of the Palestinian Gaza Marine gas field, as well as gas pipeline infrastructure will play an important part in these efforts. In addition, the development of a robust renewable energy sector will help increase the supply of electricity in the West Bank and Gaza.
Water: To match the ever growing need for water by Palestinian households and business, major efforts in infrastructure are required to generate new sources of water. The development of waste water treatment facilities in the West Bank and in Gaza are important not only for health and sanitation - but also to enable the re-use of treated water for agricultural irrigation.

Next Steps

The Office of the Quartet Representative (OQR) is working closely with the Palestinian Authority and the Israeli government on implementation of the initiative, and on ensuring that the necessary enablers are in place to safeguard the success of the plan. Furthermore, the OQR is involved in focused outreach efforts with donors and investors to secure financing support, in conjunction with key stakeholders.

In addition over the coming months, the Office of the Quartet Representative will:

Work with the PA on outreach to donors on the public financing aspects of the plan and supporting the PA in attracting private sector investments, both domestic and overseas;
Participate in a series of high-level conferences and meetings that will bring together potential investors and unveil the Initiative's specific proposals and projects.
Support the Palestinian private sector and, where relevant, PA, to implement specific projects (e.g., development of a cement mill in the West Bank) within the context of the IPE;
Continue discussions with the Government of Israel – at all levels – on the next steps (enablers) necessary for the implementation of the IPE;
Engage with the PA and the Government of Israel on ensuring high-level implementation and monitoring arrangements for the IPE.

Source (http://www.quartetrep.org/quartet/news-entry/ipe-overview/)

panopticon

4th August 2014, 06:22

For those with time to watch it; a recent investigation of Israel's abduction, imprisonment and torture of Palestinian children:

tpxCM_-DakA

Very eye opening if you are not already aware of these terrible practices.

Excellent link Tesseract.

This a report from the respected ABC current affairs program Four Corners (Australia's longest running current affairs program starting back in 1961).

The episodes webpage is available (link below) and the documentary is still viewable (geo-blocked). There is also a transcript of the program at the bottom of the linked page:
http://www.abc.net.au/4corners/stories/2014/02/10/3939266.htm

###

Stone Cold Justice (http://www.abc.net.au/4corners/stories/2014/02/10/3939266.htm)
By John Lyons, Janine Cohen and Sylvie Le Clezio
A SPECIAL FOUR CORNERS / THE AUSTRALIAN NEWSPAPER INVESTIGATION
Monday 10 February 2014

http://www.abc.net.au/reslib/201402/r1233525_16285218.jpg

The Israeli army is both respected and feared as a fighting force. But now the country's military is facing a backlash at home and abroad for its treatment of children in the West Bank, occupied territory.

Coming up, a joint investigation by Four Corners and The Australian newspaper reveals evidence that shows the army is targeting Palestinian boys for arrest and detention. Reporter John Lyons travels to the West Bank to hear the story of children who claim they have been taken into custody, ruthlessly questioned and then allegedly forced to sign confessions before being taken to court for sentencing.

He meets Australian lawyer Gerard Horton, who's trying to help the boys who are arrested, and talks to senior Israeli officials to examine what's driving the army's strategy.

The program focuses on the stories of three boys. In two cases the army came for the children in the middle of the night, before taking them to unknown locations where they are questioned. A mother of one of the boys described the scene:

"Every soldier stood at the door of a room. I was telling him 'What do you want with him?' He said 'Shut up woman.' And then they started hitting him and pulling him out of bed."

"They started kicking me with their boots in my stomach, slaps on my face. They pulled me up by my t-shirt and took me out of bed." Arrested boy

Is this, as many Israelis suggest, simply part of the drive to maintain security? Or is it, as Palestinians claim, part of a much wider plan to make life in the West Bank intolerable for them?

"I think that they want to kick us out of here and drive us away because they don't want Arabs in this area."

It's a claim that's dismissed out of hand by Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs:

"Let me say this very clearly. There is no such policy. A policy to create fear? There is no such thing. The only policy is to maintain law and order, that's all. If there's no violence, there's no law enforcement." Yigal Palmor

The United Nations children's agency (UNICEF) has been investigating these claims and last year released a scathing report finding that "children have been threatened with death, physical violence, solitary confinement and sexual assault."

As Four Corners discovered, though, Palestinian children have more to fear than the Israeli army. Reporter John Lyons shows clear evidence that Israeli settlers in the West Bank regularly attack Palestinian school children, knowing the authorities will not intervene. He also discovers there are two legal systems operating. One for Israeli children and one for young Palestinians. It's an impossible situation that may provide temporary security for Israel, but in the long term may well breed a new generation of Palestinians prepared to do anything to gain retribution.

Source (http://www.abc.net.au/4corners/stories/2014/02/10/3939266.htm)

panopticon

4th August 2014, 06:35

I have no words for this video from the Israeli Foreign Affairs Ministry:

kQU_SieVOG0
-- Pan :tsk:

panopticon

4th August 2014, 06:54

10 minutes to the latest Israeli promoted Humanitarian Ceasefire.

Maybe this is to do with the Palestinian/Egyptian negotiations in Cairo?

Remember this is one of the "kind of" ceasefires the IDF has instigated in the past.
They are still in Rafah and elsewhere doing "operations".

If Hamas engages with IDF soldiers (eg on the battlefield in a face to face engagement) then this is a reason for the IDF to claim that the ceasefire "agreement" has been breached.

Hamas & the factions have repeatedly said in the past that if their soldiers have to engage with IDF troops they will (as would the IDF troops if they came across Hamas & co troops).

-- Pan

panopticon

4th August 2014, 07:00

New documents from Snowden released today 'shed substantial new light on how the U.S. and its partners directly enable Israel’s military assaults'.

Article is very informative:

Cash, Weapons and Surveillance: the U.S. is a Key Party to Every Israeli Attack (https://firstlook.org/theintercept/2014/08/04/cash-weapons-surveillance/) By Glenn Greenwald, 4 Aug 2014

panopticon

4th August 2014, 07:44

Article I came across just now that reflects some of what I've said above about the framing of the grounds and continuing justification for the assault.

Mr Netanyahu’s messaging to his own public on the war has been fluid: it began in concert with his calls for vengeance on Hamas for the three teenage settlers slain in the West Bank in June (even though many in Israel’s security establishment have concluded that the perpetrators were not acting under orders from the Hamas leadership); then it was cast as an effort to neutralise Hamas’s capacity to fire rockets at Israel’s cities, and later as a drive to shut down the tunnels through which Hamas sent fighters into Israeli territory.

Finally, however, the primary goal was recast as the familiar “restoring Israel’s deterrent” – or “mowing the lawn”, as it is called in Israel’s security establishment – by periodically inflicting massive destruction on Gaza as punishment for Hamas continuing to bear arms against Israel.

###

Realities in Gaza undermined Netanyahu’s flawed narrative (http://www.thenational.ae/opinion/comment/realities-in-gaza-undermined-netanyahus-flawed-narrative#full)
By Tony Karon, August 3, 2014 Updated: August 4, 2014

http://www.thenational.ae/storyimage/AB/20140803/OPINION/140809837/AR/0/&MaxW=640&imageVersion=default&AR-140809837.jpg

‘Sources familiar with conversations between Netanyahu and senior US officials, including secretary of state John Kerry say the Israeli leader advised the Obama administration ‘not to ever second guess me again’ on the matter (of seeking a truce in Gaza),” the Associated Press reported on Saturday, adding that Mr Netanyahu expected the trust of his allies in the matter of Hamas.

An educated guess says the sources leaking this account of these high-level conversations were Israeli, since it’s hard to see why their American counterparts would want to publicise the spectacle of US officials being scolded like errant children by Mr Netanyahu. The Israeli leader, on the other hand, mindful of the challenge from rivals in his cabinet who have staked out more hawkish positions on how to end Operation Protective Edge – and are more hostile to the idea of a new ceasefire – needs to spin the inconclusive outcome of his Gaza operation as a singular triumph.

Thus Saturday’s reports that Israel would no longer engage in ceasefire talks, and would instead dial down the Gaza operation on its own terms, keeping the option of continued shelling and bombing even as it pulled back ground troops from the potential quagmire into which they were being drawn. Israel lost 64 soldiers in the first two weeks of the ground war, which is a high figure for an Israeli public more accustomed to cost-free pummeling of Gaza.

Mr Netanyahu’s messaging to his own public on the war has been fluid: it began in concert with his calls for vengeance on Hamas for the three teenage settlers slain in the West Bank in June (even though many in Israel’s security establishment have concluded that the perpetrators were not acting under orders from the Hamas leadership); then it was cast as an effort to neutralise Hamas’s capacity to fire rockets at Israel’s cities, and later as a drive to shut down the tunnels through which Hamas sent fighters into Israeli territory.

Finally, however, the primary goal was recast as the familiar “restoring Israel’s deterrent” – or “mowing the lawn”, as it is called in Israel’s security establishment – by periodically inflicting massive destruction on Gaza as punishment for Hamas continuing to bear arms against Israel.

Mr Netanyahu’s aversion to a formal ceasefire is not hard to understand. Any plausible truce would, inevitably, share the key characteristics of the November 2012 ceasefire brokered by Egypt, which would be a win for Hamas. That’s because the previous truce required an end to the crippling economic siege that Israel, with help from Egypt, has imposed on Gaza for the past seven years. Hamas made reopening the border crossings, extending fishing limits and farmers’ access to land in areas unilaterally branded “buffer zones” by Israel the focus of its current demands – which even many Israeli commentators branded as perfectly reasonable.

When the US sought a ceasefire, it naturally defaulted to the parameters of the November 2012 one, at which the Israelis baulked.

Mr Netanyahu had taken extensive criticism from within a coalition moving steadily to the right for failing to destroy Hamas in the 2012 campaign, and for the prisoner swap that achieved the release of soldier Gilad Shalit. A ceasefire that Hamas would claim as a victory, and his coalition partners would scorn as a failure, held no appeal for the Israeli leader. Nor could Israel afford the cost in both the lives of its soldiers and the international isolation that would follow a reoccupation of Gaza, from which an exit would be increasingly difficult.

Even destroying the Hamas leadership in Gaza held perils – Israel’s generals and securocrats have long warned that Israel needs Hamas to police the more radical factions, being fully aware that if Hamas was destroyed in Gaza its successor would be more like the Islamic State than the Palestinian Authority.

What had been a war of choice for Mr Netanyahu – Hamas had signalled publicly at the outset that it was willing to fight, but preferred to avoid a confrontation – has achieved dubious political results. Hamas, which had been struggling for its political life as a result of the regional political tide turning sharply against it, has been reinvigorated, its difficulty governing now overshadowed by its reclaimed mantle of “resistance”. Indeed, the earlier Israeli demand that the crossings into Gaza be policed by PA security would still have been a win for Hamas, since that’s what it had agreed to in the Palestinian reconciliation deal months earlier.

Mr Netanyahu had opted for a fight in which Hamas proved capable of inflicting heavier military casualties on Israel than anyone had expected, and it also struck the psychologically powerful blow of forcing a two-day refusal by major western airlines to fly into Ben Gurion Airport.

The scale of civilian casualties in Gaza turned the tide of international public opinion sharply against Israel, serving to widen the appeal in western civil society of the movement to pressure Israel via economic and cultural boycotts. Closer to home, the Gaza events and the crackdown that preceded them have set the tinder for a new surge of protest in the West Bank.

The Gaza war has also heralded the collapse of the narrative that has sustained Mr Netanyahu’s tenure since 2009 – his claim to have delivered security “calm” despite the steady expansion of the occupation, and despite abandoning any pretence of seeking to resolve the conflict through the creation of an independent Palestinian state.

These are long term trends which thatt be easily reversed. Months of turmoil lie ahead, following a conflict that has laid bare the fallacy of the assumptions that a “peace process” remains underway that will resolve the occupation by the creation of a Palestinian state. Whatever Mr Netanyahu believes events in Gaza have demonstrated, it’s unlikely they’ve made a case for western governments to trust that his method of dealing with Hamas is either viable or sustainable.

[I]Tony Karon teaches in the graduate programme in international affairs at the New School in New York

Source (http://www.thenational.ae/opinion/comment/realities-in-gaza-undermined-netanyahus-flawed-narrative#full)

panopticon

4th August 2014, 09:20

Reports that IDF has broken its own ceasefire after bombing a house in the Al-Shati refugee camp (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Shati_(camp)), Northern Gaza, injuring more than 15 (some reports indicate as many as 30), IDF officials said to be investigating these reports (source (http://www.thedailystar.net/palestinians-accuse-israel-of-breaking-7hr-gaza-truce-35715)). Bets anyone it will be found by Israel to be a misfired Hamas rocket?

-- Pan

panopticon

4th August 2014, 09:53

More of what I've been saying being reported: Hannibal Directive, Palestinian deaths.

Notice that now the "suicide bomber" who was wearing a "suicide vest" is now a militant shooting his rifle...

the inquiry concluded that the terrorist who came nearest the three soldiers wasn’t wearing a suicide belt, but simply continued firing his rifle until he was killed.
So the earlier reports were what? Inaccurate? Mistaken?

How about:
Propaganda? Emotive dehumanisation for the purpose of justifying killing 130 civilians?

-- Pan

###

Dozens of innocents killed in IDF's 'Hannibal' protocol (http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/.premium-1.608715)
By Gili Cohen, 04.08.14

http://www.haaretz.com/polopoly_fs/7.1168791.1407106256!/image/1784858842.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_640/1784858842.jpg

The protocol – involving massive use of force in an effort to rescue a captured soldier, even at risk to his life – was employed in the rescue attempt of 2nd Lt Hadar Goldin. Palestinians say more than 130 people were killed.

After Friday’s abduction of 2nd Lt. Hadar Goldin in the Gaza Strip, the Israel Defense Forces executed in full its “Hannibal procedure,” a protocol that calls for the massive use of force in an effort to rescue a captured soldier, even at risk to his life. As a result of the heavy fire in the Rafah area, dozens of innocent civilians were killed.

A senior General Staff officer said Sunday that “a great deal of fire was used in the area, and targets were attacked” in order to isolate it.

According to Palestinian reports, more than 130 Palestinians were killed in this onslaught, with some of the bodies located only in the days after it happened. Palestinians also accused the IDF of attacking vehicles en route to the Rafah hospital, including several ambulances.

IDF sources said that senior commanders in the field ordered the procedure implemented in full. The army knows that innocents were hurt as a result of the massive use of force after the soldier's capture.

An IDF inquiry concluded that about 75 minutes after a cease-fire was to have taken effect on Friday morning, a Givati Brigade patrol came under heavy fire while moving toward a building where a tunnel shaft was located. Company commander Maj. Benaya Sarel and his communications officer, Staff Sgt. Liel Gidoni, were killed. The IDF now believes Goldin, a squad commander, was also killed in the incident.

Contrary to earlier reports, however, the inquiry concluded that the terrorist who came nearest the three soldiers wasn’t wearing a suicide belt, but simply continued firing his rifle until he was killed.

When other soldiers from the company arrived at the scene a few minutes later, they found three bodies, those of Sarel, Gidoni and a Hamas operative wearing an IDF uniform. They then realized that Goldin was missing. The company’s deputy commander, 1st Lt. Eitan, decided to take some of his men into the tunnel to search for Goldin, in violation of protocol.

A few hundred meters into the tunnel, the troops found some of Goldin’s personal effects, which later helped the IDF to establish that he had been killed. The tunnel itself had several branches, some of them blocked. One led into a mosque, which the soldiers searched, but it was empty. Another led to a Hamas outpost.

The IDF then sent additional forces to the area, including aircraft and observation equipment. According to an IDF source, virtually all the firepower in the south-central region of the Gaza Strip were sent to the Rafah sector, where the incident took place, on orders from Givati Brigade commander Col. Ofer Winter. This included a tank battalion and an infantry battalion, which helped search for additional tunnel shafts. These forces also laid down heavy fire “from all directions,” including tank shells, artillery bombardments and air strikes, in an effort to isolate the area where Goldin was thought to be, block all access routes to and from it and thereby ensure that nobody could either enter or leave without the soldiers noticing, the IDF source said. This was in line with the Hannibal procedure, which one senior officer said is meant to ensure that “every effort to locate the kidnapped [soldier] and the kidnappers” is made.

Source (http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/.premium-1.608715)

panopticon

4th August 2014, 11:08

Lieberman suggests UN take control of Gaza Strip (http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/.premium-1.608766)
By Jonathan Lis, 4th August 2014

http://www.haaretz.com/polopoly_fs/1.562225.1407143982!/image/2326547470.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_640/2326547470.jpg

Foreign Minister cites British Mandate over Palestine and UN mandates in East Timor and Kosovo as examples.

Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said Monday that Israel and the Palestinian Authority should consider transferring control of Gaza to the UN.

"Everyone is asking, what happens after the operation ends? Suppose Israel defeats Hamas. There are a few options. International control of Gaza, by the UN, should certainly be considered."

Speaking at the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, Lieberman cited the British Mandate over Palestine and the UN mandates in East Timor and Kosovo as examples.

"We saw it works quite well there," he said. "… It requires an agreement between us and the Palestinian Authority. It doesn't require consent from the UN, just from the parties involved – Israel and the PA."

"The latest news from Cairo and the demands from the gangs running Gaza, it's clear that this is a non-starter," Lieberman said. "We need to think about how to achieve the targets: Quiet for the settlements around Gaza, eliminating the rocket threat and preventing a strengthening of Hamas."

Lieberman added: "We face three clear options: An agreement, defeating Hamas or limbo, meaning they fire and we don't respond. The third option, limbo, is irrelevant - that way you leave Hamas with the initiative of when to open fire. It controls the height of the flames and you just respond."

Lieberman also criticized the foreign journalists broadcasting from Gaza. "The media inside Gaza is in many ways cooperating with Hamas," he said. "You won't see pictures of Hamas shooting protesters… you won't see terrorists grouping together and shooting from schools, hospitals and mosques. When you see how the media is reporting from inside the Strip, it's not being true to its job."

"We are facing several simultaneous attempts to damage the legitimacy of our self-determination," Lieberman said. "There is a wave of anti-Semitism that was unleashed in light of this conflict… we have organized many interviews in the media, organized protests. It's true that on screen they first show civilian casualties, and unfortunately there are civilian casualties, but [they also show] the Israeli narrative, that terror organizations are using the population as a human shield. Whoever thought that the media would show a one-sided picture, a knock-out - it doesn't exist in the world media. We're managing to bring the Israeli side."

Lieberman said that today, Israel has significant international backing to continue to act militarily against Hamas. "I want to stress [the issue] of political credit," he said. "In the fourth week of the operation, the IDF is free to act despite the international pressures. The UN Security Council, the first [forum] that discusses international crises, has not made any decisions so far, aside from press releases. It should also be honestly stated that this situation is possible thanks to the cooperation with the U.S. The U.S. is a decisive factor, but it's also thanks to a lot of work from our diplomats."

Source (http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/.premium-1.608766)

panopticon

4th August 2014, 12:06

A bus has been turned over by an excavator in Jerusalem resulting in at least one death on the bus (update: the death was a pedestrian who was injured by the excavator, no-one was on the bus).
The driver of the excavator is also dead and was shot multiple times by police (update: he was shot at least 23 times! [source (http://www.timesofisrael.com/day-28-hamas-wants-egypt-to-press-israel-on-ceasefire-demands-hadar-goldin-laid-to-rest/#liveblog-entry-1042208)]).

I've seen both long distance mobile phone video of the event and close-up footage of after the bus was turned over (including the police shooting the excavator operator).

This is a very, very strange "terrorist attack"...

The bus was empty...

Evidently the excavator operator was "known to security services" (there again every Arab who works in Jerusalem is) and his 2nd cousin had his house demolished a couple of weeks ago (again, almost random, lots of Arabs could be said to have had something like that happen to a relative over the last month).

Initial reports were that the 'driver may have attempted to run over those waiting at the bus stop' (source (http://www.timesofisrael.com/day-28-hamas-wants-egypt-to-press-israel-on-ceasefire-demands-hadar-goldin-laid-to-rest/#liveblog-entry-1042113)). His name and photo have been published so I'm sure a narrative will unfold soon enough.

The footage of the full assault I've seen seems to look like an excavator operator trying to move either into or out of the way of a bus and gun shots are heard. This is when the arm/bucket swings and repeatedly hits the bus in what seems to be an attempt to force it over on its side.

I can not work out whether the excavator operator was shooting at the bus, someone was shooting at him or someone else was shooting at the bus. (Update: I've come across no reports that the excavator operator was armed other than with the excavator itself so where did the shots come from before the bus gets side swiped/toppled?).

It is very grainy (https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10204284748383933&permPage=1) so hard to make out (close up of police actions and firing on excavator operator after bus turned on it side available on youtube here (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yIUTrJc2uHU) -- not embedding video or images that may be unsuitable).

Another attack in Jeruslaem:
IDF soldier wounded in ride-by in Jerusalem (critical condition).

Reports of random attacks on Arabs in Jerusalem.

Reports of Palestinians rioting in East Jerusalem:

Dozens of Palestinians riot against police in Isawiya neighborhood of East Jerusalem
by Noam 'Dabul' Dvir, 08.04.14

Several dozens of masked Palestinians began throwing rocket and Molotov cocktails at police forces in the Isawiya neighborhood in East Jerusalem. Police pushed the rioters back through the streets by using crowd control measures.

Source (http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4554787,00.html)

Hopefully not a sign of things to come...

-- Pan

panopticon

4th August 2014, 14:50

Ban Ki-moon statement 'This madness must stop' it is 'a moral outrage and a criminal act' via spokesperson on the ongoing shelling by Israel of UNRWA emergency shelters.

Wow. Stop, or I'll say stop again...

###

New York, 3 August 2014 - Statement attributable to the Spokesman for the Secretary-General on attack outside UNRWA shelter (http://www.un.org/sg/statements/index.asp?nid=7904)

The Secretary-General strongly condemns the killing today of at least 10 Palestinian civilians in shelling outside of an UNRWA school in Rafah providing shelter to thousands of civilians. The attack is yet another gross violation of international humanitarian law, which clearly requires protection by both parties of Palestinian civilians, UN staff and UN premises, among other civilian facilities.

United Nations shelters must be safe zones not combat zones. The Israel Defence Forces have been repeatedly informed of the location of these sites. This attack, along with other breaches of international law, must be swiftly investigated and those responsible held accountable. It is a moral outrage and a criminal act.

The Secretary-General is profoundly dismayed over the appalling escalation of violence and loss of hundreds of Palestinian civilian lives since the breach of the humanitarian ceasefire on 1 August. The resurgence in fighting has only exacerbated the man-made humanitarian and health crisis wreaking havoc in Gaza. Restoring calm can be achieved through resumption of the ceasefire and negotiations by the parties in Cairo to address the underlying issues.

The Secretary-General repeats his demand to the parties to immediately end the fighting and return to the path of peace. This madness must stop.

Source (http://www.un.org/sg/statements/index.asp?nid=7904)

panopticon

4th August 2014, 15:11

Very insightful analysis by Daniel Nisman in Haaretz.

###

Gaza endgame: Whom will Israel crown victor? (http://www.haaretz.com/opinion/.premium-1.608785)
By Daniel Nisman, 4th August 2014

http://www.haaretz.com/polopoly_fs/1.608788.1407153470!/image/3490577200.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_640/3490577200.jpg

To prevent an ongoing war of attrition, Israel will have to make concessions during the Egyptian-brokered ceasefire negotiations. But to whom: Hamas or Mahmoud Abbas?

One of the most destructive periods in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict appears to be nearing its end. Israeli ground forces have unilaterally disengaged from all but two fronts inside Gaza, Egyptian mediation efforts are back underway, and both leaderships have begun cautiously presenting their case for victory.

But despite the tragic toll on human life and physical destruction, hugely disproportionate to the Palestinian side, the conditions aren’t ripe for calm in Gaza. Hamas’ tangible goals for this conflict have not yet been met, and Israel has thus far failed in deterring Palestinian factions from continuing to fire rockets. Most importantly, the two main roots for conflict over the past six years are still deeply entrenched in the sand of Gaza: The blockade and Palestinian militarization.

Consider the original objectives of each side at the outset of the conflict. Israel’s goals are primarily security-oriented. Taking a lesson from the Second Lebanon War, Netanyahu was careful not to raise expectations of ousting Hamas. From the beginning, his goals were to vaguely “deliver a blow” to the group that would “restore calm to the south,” or in other words, reset the deterrence clock. As the conflict progressed however, Israel’s goals evolved to destroying Hamas’ attack tunnel network. The Israeli government had also begun to demand from the international community that Palestinian groups be disarmed in exchange for lifting the blockade.

Hamas’ goals were primarily political and economic, seeking tangible concessions from Israel and Egypt regarding an easing of the blockade and prisoner releases, while demanding the Palestinian Authority pay the salaries of 42,000 unpaid civil servants in Gaza. As the conflict intensified, Hamas floated other demands, such as the building of an international seaport and airport, international assurances for rebuilding Gaza, and guarantees from Israel that targeted assassination bids on their leaders would stop.

But the past 48 hours have witnessed a notably shift in Hamas’ strategy. Meeting in Cairo, Hamas shelved its demands from Egypt and the Palestinian Authority. Together, Hamas, Fatah and the Islamic Jihad formulated a list of eight demands which are aimed entirely at Israel. Egypt is set to present a proposal to Israel in the coming days that includes four of these demands. With Israel unable to say no to its most important regional ally, serious truce negotiations will then begin for the first time in the conflict.

From here, three scenarios could transpire which will determine whether or not Operation Protective Edge is the last of its kind or another just another round in the cycle of violence:

War of Attrition

Israel’s decision to disengage unilaterally had initially delivered a blow to Hamas’ strategy, and quite possibly forced them to throw in their lot with Fatah and Egypt in order to corner Jerusalem and force its negotiators back to Cairo.

The gaps, however, between Israel and Hamas are still wide. Negotiations risk hitting a snag on nearly every issue regarding the blockade – particularly with regard to de-militarization and which Palestinian faction controls Gaza’s border crossings. Netanyahu is also knows that acquiescing to demands by both Fatah and Hamas to release prisoners would amount to political suicide.

It is clear that fighting will continue during these negotiations, with Egypt suddenly backing down from its initial plan which called for both sides to stop shooting first and then start talking. With its thousands of remaining rockets and command-and-control structure still intact, Hamas can continue fighting for several weeks in the hopes forcing Israeli concessions at the negotiating table. This fighting would involve a “drizzle” of rocket fire, including to Tel Aviv over the coming weeks, in an effort to divide Israeli public opinion and provoke Israel into internationally costly disproportionate retaliation.

Hamas wins

Israel has already begun to downplay concerns that it will be dragged into a war of attrition, warning that it will not hesitate to enter Gaza once again to stop the rocket fire. But behind the scenes, it is well understood that no military option will stop the rocket fire without a huge toll on human life and Israel’s political capital. Eventually, concessions will need to be made during these negotiations. The question remains, to whom: Hamas or Mahmoud Abbas.

The more concessions Israel provides directly to Hamas, particularly regarding an easing of the blockade, the more Hamas will be afforded a crucial victory that may reverse its political demise. By matching its perceived military successes, or so-called “victory images” of commando incursions and long-range rocket attacks, with tangible economic concessions, Hamas’ popularity would increase substantially at the expense of its Fatah rivals in the West Bank, setting the stage for the next round of violence.

Abbas returns to Gaza

As Israelis cynically say, “Abbas cannot ride back into Gaza on IDF tanks.” Yet this last scenario is becoming increasingly prevalent in the rhetoric of Israel’s centrist and leftist politicians, and is ultimately the endgame of Egypt’s chokehold on Hamas.

Even with the Palestinian unity government still in place, the Palestinian Authority, with Abbas at its head, will only be able to restore full control in Gaza if Hamas’ militia is unable to re-arm.

To enable these conditions, the international community will need to remain steadfast in demands that Hamas and other Palestinian militants disarm in exchange for a lifting of the blockade, while staking a position that all such concessions go through the Palestinian Authority - granting Abbas the position of sole Palestinian power broker, and empowering him to gradually re-implement the security arrangements of the Oslo accords in Gaza once again.

It is no coincidence that this last scenario is the hardest to achieve. Empowering moderates is the only way to uproot those two main factors of conflict in Gaza, the blockade and militarization. For Netanyahu, accepting Abbas as a partner in Gaza will inevitably mean accepting Abbas as a partner in the West Bank, something which could tear apart his political coalition. But with rocket fire spreading across Israel with each passing round of fighting in Gaza, perhaps the current Israeli government will realize that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict can no-longer be ‘managed’: A political solution must be reached while moderates in the Middle East are – still - on Israel’s side.

Daniel Nisman is President of the Levantine Group, a geopolitical risk and research consultancy based in Tel Aviv.

Source (http://www.haaretz.com/opinion/.premium-1.608785)

panopticon

4th August 2014, 15:52

Cameron must be getting ready for the next election. Got to be seen to be doing something even if it is a: review of the current position in relation to the possible examination of future measures taken without any need for a binding agreement on proposals defined within the review &/or analysis stage of the proposed agreed upon licences evaluation. :cool:

Or maybe he just didn't want to be seen to be getting outdone by the French & Argentinians...

Still, better than the Australian position (which I am ashamed of)...

In a worrying side note, this is about the 10th article I've seen today (in the main stream media) that has Israel described as "the Jewish state".

I find that unsettlingly close to "the Islamic State"...

What bought that on? :twitch:

###

Britain says reviewing arms exports to Israel over Gaza conflict (http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/08/04/us-mideast-gaza-britain-idUSKBN0G40YZ20140804)
LONDON Mon Aug 4, 2014

(Reuters) - Britain is reviewing all arms export licenses to Israel in response to the Jewish state's escalating conflict with Hamas in Gaza, a government spokeswoman said on Monday.

Israel launched an offensive against Hamas almost four weeks ago following a surge in cross-border rocket salvoes. Gaza officials say 1,797 Palestinians, most of them civilians, have been killed, while Israel has lost 64 soldiers in combat and three civilians to Palestinian shelling. [ID:nL6N0Q91CL]

"We are currently reviewing all export licenses to Israel to confirm that we think they are appropriate," a spokeswoman for Prime Minister David Cameron told reporters. The decision to conduct the review was taken last week, she said.

According to a report by a British parliamentary committee last month, outstanding government-approved contracts for export of dual use or military goods to Israel are worth more than 7.8 billion pounds ($13.12 billion). These include contracts to supply body armor, drone components, and missile parts.

"Clearly the current situation has changed compared to when some licenses will have been granted, and we're reviewing those existing licenses against the current situation but no decisions have been taken beyond going back again and reviewing," the spokeswoman said.

Britain's opposition Labour party has accused Cameron of not condemning Israel's behavior forcefully enough, a charge he rejects.

($1 = 0.5944 British Pounds)

Source (http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/08/04/us-mideast-gaza-britain-idUSKBN0G40YZ20140804)

panopticon

4th August 2014, 16:27

HRW preliminary on the fighting in Khuza’a and claims about some IDF soldiers actions (long and has some mildly disturbing details so not posted only linked to). (pan#)

Gaza: Israeli Soldiers Shoot and Kill Fleeing Civilians (http://www.hrw.org/news/2014/08/04/gaza-israeli-soldiers-shoot-and-kill-fleeing-civilians)
Fighting in Khuza’a Shows Grave Dangers to Families Seeking Safety
4th August, 2014

panopticon

4th August 2014, 17:18

Finally Netanyahu speaking candidly back during the 2nd Intifada explaining how he manipulated everybody and would use the "Israel is defending itself" to justify any attack the IDF undertook.

Woman: Wait a moment, but then the world will say "how come you're conquering again?"

Netanyahu: the world won't say a thing. The world will say we're defending.

Woman: Aren't you afraid of the world, Bibi?

Netanyahu: Especially today, with America. I know what America is. America is something that can easily be moved. Moved to the right direction.

Child: They say they're for us, but, it's like...

Netanyahu: They won't get in our way. They won't get in our way.

(Full transcript below)

This is from a newscast on Israeli TV in 2010 (source (http://news.nana10.co.il/Article/?ArticleId=731025&sid=126)).

English translations of Netanyahu's conversation start at ~3:00 (green box)

z6KLFrye9Xk
Below is a Washington Post article on same.

###

Netanyahu: 'America is a thing you can move very easily' (http://voices.washingtonpost.com/checkpoint-washington/2010/07/netanyahu_america_is_a_thing_y.html)
By Glenn Kessler, July 16, 2010

The United States and Israel have made a huge effort this month to patch up the sometimes difficult relationship between President Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu. But a newly released video of Netanyahu, speaking in an unvarnished manner in 2001 about relations with the United States and the peace process, may cause some heartburn at the White House.

"I know what America is," Netanyahu told a group of terror victims, apparently not knowing his words were being recorded. "America is a thing you can move very easily, move it in the right direction. They won't get in their way."

Netanyahu also bragged how he undercut the peace process when he was prime minister during the Clinton administration. "They asked me before the election if I'd honor [the Oslo accords]," he said. "I said I would, but ... I'm going to interpret the accords in such a way that would allow me to put an end to this galloping forward to the '67 borders. How did we do it? Nobody said what defined military zones were. Defined military zones are security zones; as far as I'm concerned, the entire Jordan Valley is a defined military zone. Go argue."

Gideon Levy, a left-leaning columnist for Haaretz newspaper, declared: "This video should have been banned for broadcast to minors. This video should have been shown in every home in Israel, then sent to Washington and Ramallah. Banned for viewing by children so as not to corrupt them, and distributed around the country and the world so that everyone will know who leads the government of Israel."

Of course, the video is from nearly ten years ago. Opinions change, based on circumstances and experience. But who knows what leaders are really saying when they think the cameras aren't filming?

Source (http://voices.washingtonpost.com/checkpoint-washington/2010/07/netanyahu_america_is_a_thing_y.html)

###

Transcript (from here (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JaIQHWfj5f4)):

Bibi:...The Arabs are currently focusing on a war of terror and they think it will break us. The main thing, first of all, is to hit them. Not just one blow, but blows that are so painful that the price will be too heavy to be borne. The price is not too heavy to be borne, now. A broad attack on the Palestinian Authority. To bring them to the point of being afraid that everything is collapsing...

Woman: Wait a moment, but then the world will say "how come you're conquering again?"

Netanyahu: the world won't say a thing. The world will say we're defending.

Woman: Aren't you afraid of the world, Bibi?

Netanyahu: Especially today, with America. I know what America is. America is something that can easily be moved. Moved to the right direction.

Child: They say they're for us, but, it's like...

Netanyahu: They won't get in our way. They won't get in our way.

Child: On the other hand, if we do some something, then they...

Netanyahu: So let's say they say something. So they said it! They said it! 80% of the Americans support us. It's absurd. We have that kind of support and we say "what will we do with the..." Look. That administration [Clinton] was extremely pro-Palestinian. I wasn't afraid to maneuver there. I was not afraid to clash with Clinton. I was not afraid to clash with the United Nations. I was paying the price anyway, I preferred to receive the value. Value for the price.

In the following segment, Bibi boasts about how he emptied the Oslo Accords of meaning by an interpretation that made a mockery of them:

Woman: The Oslo Accords are a disaster.

Netanyahu: Yes. You know that and I knew that...The people [nation] has to know...

What were the Oslo Accords? The Oslo Accords, which the Knesset signed, I was asked, before the elections: "Will you act according to them?" and I answered: "yes, subject to mutuality and limiting the retreats." "But how do you intend to limit the retreats?" "I'll give such interpretation to the Accords that will make it possible for me to stop this galloping to the '67 [armistice] lines. How did we do it?

Narrator: The Oslo Accords stated at the time that Israel would gradually hand over territories to the Palestinians in three different pulses, unless the territories in question had settlements or military sites. This is where Netanyahu found a loophole.

Netanyahu: No one said what defined military sites. Defined military sites, I said, were security zones. As far as I'm concerned, the Jordan Valley is a defined military site.

Woman: Right [laughs]...The Beit She'an Valley.

Netanyahu: How can you tell. How can you tell? But then the question came up of just who would define what Defined Military Sites were. I received a letter -- to me and to Arafat, at the same time -- which said that Israel, and only Israel, would be the one to define what those are, the location of those military sites and their size. Now, they did not want to give me that letter, so I did not give the Hebron Agreement. I stopped the government meeting, I said: "I'm not signing." Only when the letter came, in the course of the meeting, to me and to Arafat, only then did I sign the Hebron Agreement. Or rather, ratify it, it had already been signed. Why does this matter? Because at that moment I actually stopped the Oslo Accord.

Woman: And despite that, one of our own people, excuse me, who knew it was a swindle, and that we were going to commit suicide with the Oslo Accord, gives them -- for example -- Hebron...

Netanyahu: Indeed, Hebron hurts. It hurts. It's the thing that hurts. One of the famous rabbis, whom I very much respect, a rabbi of Eretz Yisrael, he said to me: "What would your father say?" I went to my father. Do you know a little about my father's position?

...He's not exactly a lily-white dove, as they say. So my father heard the question and said: "Tell the rabbi that your grandfather, Rabbi Natan Milikowski, was a smart Jew. Tell him it would be better to give two percent than to give a hundred percent. And that's the choice here. You gave two percent and in that way you stopped the withdrawal. Instead of a hundred percent." The trick is not to be there and be broken. The trick is to be there and pay a minimal price."

djonesowens1writes: At a point in the middle of the video Netanayhu asks the camera man to stop taping, but he continues... Netanyahu says what he really thinks for the first time: He brags about how easy is to manipulate the USA and he proudly explains how he sabotaged the Oslo process.

panopticon

4th August 2014, 17:34

Report from Channel 4 news Paul Mason about the latest assault on a UN emergency shelter and the IDF's Rafah operation (mildly graphic images):

JYSuD-LnpAI
GPzjKZtPI1E
-- Pan

panopticon

4th August 2014, 18:06

Reports that Hamas & factions have agreed to the Egyptian ceasefire proposals.

Israeli Government saves face after announcing all tunnels destroyed (just announced last tunnel destroyed -- mission complete?).

Hamas saves face after troops withdrew and whatever is in the ceasefire agreement (siege left, fishing extension, money from international community etc)
France wins because, well they're the French ( :) ) and their foreign minister only just had a little hissy fit @ Israel (source (http://rt.com/news/177796-gaza-ceasefire-israel-accused/)).

Some reports that a 72 hours ceasefire will come into effect tomorrow @ 8:00 am (Gaza time). That would be 11 hours time if accurate.

All depends if the Israeli Government can sell the ceasefire to the public after all the build-up to war they went through.

I think if this continues on for much longer the Israeli Government will lose control (especially after the 2 attacks in Jerusalem today) and they'd be in the 3rd Intifada...

Time for some moderates to come forward and stop the madness (interesting, not much chatter about this coming from Israeli commentators... Maybe waiting for confirmation or possibly don't want to say anything because of public sentiment).

Anyway, 8:00 am would be the morning of Tisha B'av.

-- Pan

Observer1964

4th August 2014, 18:10

Senator David Norrisl Israel bombs first and weeps later.

keS-LDl_ewA

Billy

4th August 2014, 22:15

[QUOTE=Observer1964;861222]Senator David Norrisl Israel bombs first and weeps later.

Well said that man. http://oireachtasdebates.oireachtas.ie/debates%20authoring/debateswebpack.nsf/takes/seanad2014073100015?opendocument

peace

panopticon

5th August 2014, 04:53

Looks like Israel is serious about this ceasefire.

They've withdrawn troops.
Rebuilding Gaza's internment fences.
Been only intermittent bombing from the IDF.

Hamas & factions seem serious too with only a few rockets being launched over night.

72 hour ceasefire comes into effect in around 5 minutes.

Maybe if there'd been proper negotiations at the beginning (or even three weeks ago) more than 1800 Palestinians wouldn't be dead, 10,000 injured, 1000's of homes destroyed and $5 billion dollars worth of damage caused.

El-Sisi & Egypt has some questions to answer about that...

-- Pan

panopticon

5th August 2014, 07:51

Palestinian foreign minister to push for Israel war crimes case at ICC (http://www.trust.org/item/20140805065645-t173h/)
By Jussi Rosendahl, August 5th, 2014

THE HAGUE, Aug 5 (Reuters) - Palestinian Foreign Minister Riad al-Malki will on Tuesday visit the International Criminal Court in the Netherlands as he pushes for a war crimes case against Israel after nearly a month of fighting in the Gaza Strip.

The visit takes place shortly after Israeli and the Islamist Hamas movement entered a 72-hour truce mediated by Egypt in an effort to pave the way for an extended ceasefire.

Israel and the Palestinians have traded allegations of war crimes during the Gaza assault, while defending their own actions as consistent with the international law.

Malki asked the United Nations last month to end what he called Israel's impunity and said it "must be held accountable for its crimes."

Last week, the United Nations launched an inquiry into human rights violations and crimes alleged to have been committed by Israel during the offensive, amid a far higher civilian death toll on the Palestinian side.

The ICC, created more than a decade ago to prosecute individuals for war crimes, is a court of last resort, meaning that it will only intervene when a country is found to be unwilling or unable to carry out its own investigation.

Israel is not a member of the ICC and the court therefore has no jurisdiction to investigate. Jurisdiction could be granted in a UN Security Council resolution, but Israel's ally the United States would have the power to block any such proposal.

Gaza officials say 1,834 Palestinians, most of them civilians, have been killed in the war. Israel has countered that almost half those killed have been militants.

Israel says 64 of its soldiers and three civilians have been killed since fighting began on July 8, after a surge in Palestinian rocket launches.

Amnesty International on Monday appealed to the United States to halt transfers of fuel shipments to the Israeli military. It said there was mounting evidence of war crimes from both Israel and the Palestinians, adding that an ICC investigation was crucial in stopping the cycle of violations.

In the Netherlands, Malki is due to visit the ICC in the morning, the Palestinian delegation in The Hague said. He will later meet with Dutch Foreign Minister Frans Timmermans and give a news conference. (Editing by Anthony Deutsch and John Stonestreet)

Source (http://www.trust.org/item/20140805065645-t173h/)

panopticon

5th August 2014, 08:35

Democracy Now! interview with Chris Gunness from UNRWA talking about the IDF attack resulting in multiple dead and wounded at an UN emergency shelter:

x0WAWfdI3wA
-- Pan

panopticon

5th August 2014, 09:33

UK Politician resigns because she can no longer support the Governments policy on Gaza which she see's as being 'morally indefensible'.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BuQ6UUhCYAAmEmc.png

###

Baroness Warsi quits as Foreign Office minister over Gaza (http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-28656874)
August 5th, 2014

http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/76746000/jpg/_76746401_76745797.jpg

Foreign Office minister Baroness Warsi has resigned from the government, saying she can "no longer support" its policy on Gaza.

She wrote on her Twitter feed that she was leaving with "deep regret".

Lady Warsi, who was previously chairman of the Conservative Party, became the first female Muslim cabinet minister when David Cameron took office in 2010.

She grew up in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, and worked as a solicitor before entering politics.

Lady Warsi was demoted from the cabinet to a middle-ranking Foreign Office post in 2012. She was made minister for faith and communities at the same time.

She wrote on Twitter on Tuesday: "With deep regret I have this morning written to the Prime Minister & tendered my resignation. I can no longer support Govt policy on #Gaza."

One of five daughters of Pakistani immigrants, Lady Warsi studied at Leeds University, later working for the Crown Prosecution Service before setting up her own legal practice.

Israel launched Operation Protective Edge on 8 July with the stated aim of ending rocket attacks and destroying tunnels used by Palestinian militants.

Gaza officials say the four-week conflict has killed 1,800 Palestinians. Some 67 Israelis have also died.

Lady Warsi has called on Twitter for more international action to end the crisis.

On 21 July, she wrote: "The killing of innocent civilians must stop. Need immediate ceasefire in #Gaza. Leadership required on both sides to stop this suffering."

Three days later she added: "Can people stop trying to justify the killing of children. Whatever our politics there can never be justification, surely only regret #Gaza."

Backbench Conservative MPs have been calling on David Cameron to take a more robust line with Israel amid concerns its actions are disproportionate.

Source (http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-28656874)

panopticon

5th August 2014, 13:53

So, ceasefire is still holding. Israel did what Hamas wanted as a pre-cursor to a ceasefire agreement -- withdrew.

Now talks are under way in Cairo to see if a more permanent solution can be found. Will Netanyahu & his merry group be willing to reduce the blockade? Will the Lieberman solution (http://projectavalon.net/forum4/showthread.php?72897-This-evening-in-Israel&p=861098&viewfull=1#post861098) be taken into consideration? Will they let fishermen fish? Will Gaza's power plant be rebuilt/refurnished?

The Israeli cabinet is meeting in about ten minutes and I can only imagine that there will be some kicking going on... I just hope it isn't a can down the road...

If the IDF were to suddenly renew the assault, which I doubt, sunset is at 7:35 (Gaza time -- so just under 3 hours from this post time). That will end Tisha B'av this year.

Articles of interest:

Under American Bombs in Gaza (http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/08/04/under-american-bombs-in-gaza.html)
IDF troops leaving Gaza: 'We'll be back again' (http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4554564,00.html)
Lieberman slams plan to involve Mahmoud Abbas in Gaza (http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/1.608970)
In Gaza, there is no such thing as 'innocent civilians' (http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4554583,00.html)
Gaza Strip: 'Gazans to Blame Just like Germans for Electing Hitler' Says Israeli Ex-General (http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/gaza-crisis-gazans-blame-just-like-germans-electing-hitler-says-israeli-ex-general-1459751)
If the Gaza Truce Holds, What Then? 5 Possible Outcomes (http://time.com/3080670/gaza-truce-israel-cease-fire-cairo/)
Gaza war may just be a taste of what’s to come (http://blogs.reuters.com/john-lloyd/2014/08/04/gaza-war-may-just-be-a-taste-of-whats-to-come/)
Egypt plans to dig new Suez Canal costing $4 billion (http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/08/05/us-egypt-suezcanal-project-idUSKBN0G50OH20140805) -- Note: McKinsey & Co.

Finally, the Gaza Crisis Appeal provided this graph showing displaced persons in Gaza's UNRWA emergency shelters as of 31 July 2014:

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BuRRLpGIcAANMes.png
Source document from UNOCHA (http://www.ochaopt.org/documents/Gaza_Crisis_Appeal_2014.pdf)

As noted in the above image, there are a quarter of a million people in UNRWA emergency shelters. 92 shelters are operational and capable of handling 1000 persons. At present they are assisting 3 times that amount on average (ie 3000 persons).

In addition the UN updated estimates are that another quarter of a million displaced people were living with friends or family.

This means that at least a quarter of the 1.8 million people living in Gaza are now displaced.

Maybe they can return home soon, if they have a home to go to.

-- Pan

panopticon

6th August 2014, 00:07

The re-education program is about to begin.

What we saw didn't happen. What I've presented in this thread wasn't real.

How do I know that there is about to be a massive pro-Israel media campaign?

I look to history and some newly released polls data (http://www.jta.org/2014/08/05/news-opinion/politics/ebbing-support-for-israel-among-key-groups-stirring-alarm) that has come out in the US showing that support for Israel in this assault was not there amongst the young.

Amongst Republican youth the sheer number of civilian casualties (http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/06/world/middleeast/un-reports-dire-impact-on-children-in-gaza-strip.html), economic hardship and destruction of, well, everything has made it impossible for many to support the Israeli Governments use of force.

Wait for FOX news & co to come out with a re-spun "truth".

The UNRWA will be made to look like it deserved to be bombed and those inside were terrorists or collaborators.

All the dead children will be made to look like unfortunate collateral damage as a result of terrorists using them as human shields.

It has already started with reports asking why Hamas didn't agree to the terms presented by Egypt weeks ago.

Memories are short it seems and need to be "taught the truth" before the reality of it takes hold...

I said this "conflict" wouldn't last much beyond 4 weeks. The economic toll for Israel would be too high, as would the political capital. It's also important to notice that the longer this assault continued the more the "truth" which was being spun by vested interests began to fall apart.

Netanyahu, Israel & the US do not negotiate with terrorists. Seems they did a pretty good job of looking like they did though.

As Barak Ravid puts it:

It won’t matter how anyone tries to whitewash the talks in Cairo, the reality is that Benjamin Netanyahu is on the verge of his third diplomatic agreement with Hamas in five-and-a-half years as prime minister.
Source (http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/.premium-1.609066)

As I said, wait, we are about to be told the new truth...

-- Pan

Swan

6th August 2014, 11:46

Two ways to support the people of Gaza:

http://onefamily4gaza.wordpress.com/english-2/

http://shiptogaza.se/en

Billy

6th August 2014, 12:20

Why US and Israel wants to ban this video.

Ch5XlEZoi1c

Video description.

Published on Jul 18, 2014

This nice Jewish American speaks truth about her experience in occupied Palestine... It will make you cry...

panopticon

6th August 2014, 16:10

KeQreXngtwo
From Youtube description:

The Dividing Line, is an independent film by Jeff Stewart. Filmed in Palestine in 2009 and 2010. Jeff interviewed dozens of people for this film, including some of the poorest and most oppressed, to some of the most influential people in Palestine, including ministers to President Mahmoud Abbas, and Dr. Mustafa Barghouti former minister to Yasser Arafat, and now world renowned Palestinian human rights activist (nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize in 2010) Jeff logged in more than 600 miles on foot,1500 miles by car, and spent hundreds of hours of research to make The Dividing Line. This film is perhaps the most comprehensive and down to earth look at what life is really like for Palestinian citizens to date.

panopticon

6th August 2014, 17:17

Notice how after the 72 hour ceasefire agreement and IDF troop withdrawal the Israeli Government announced that back on July 11th they'd caught the mastermind of the Hamas financed (Gaza based leadership no less) kidnapping ring? (Tie that bow, draw that string)

Evidently his name is Hossam Kawasmeh and he's confessed to everything.

Of course this contradicts everything that had been found out previously and spoken candidly about on the record by police investigating the case and information ISA (Shin Bet) agents reported relating anonymously.

It also contradicts what Diskin said in his Spiegel interview:

Diskin: Hamas didn't want this war at first either. But as things often are in the Middle East, things happened differently. It began with the kidnapping of three Israeli teenagers in the West Bank. From what I read and from what I know about how Hamas operates, I think that the Hamas political bureau was taken by surprise. It seems as though it was not coordinated or directed by them.

SPIEGEL: Netanyahu, though, claimed that it was and used it as a justification for the harsh measures against Hamas in the West Bank, measures that also targeted the joint Hamas-Fatah government.

Diskin: Following the kidnapping of the teenagers, Hamas immediately understood that they had a problem. As the army operation in the West Bank expanded, radicals in the Gaza Strip started launching rockets into Israel and the air force flew raids into Gaza. Hamas didn't try to stop the rockets as they had in the past. Then there was the kidnapping and murder of the Palestinian boy in Jerusalem and this gave them more legitimacy to attack Israel themselves.
Source (http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/interview-with-former-israeli-security-chief-yuval-diskin-a-982094.html)

Like I said, the re-write in is progress...

-- Pan

Bob

6th August 2014, 19:38

panopticon

7th August 2014, 05:25

BeeBee (a small round piece of metal) is saying "it is all hamas's fault, they killed the children", over and over on those networks, Fox carrying the primary feeds.

G'day Bob,

Thanks for the confirmation on Fox etc.

It is so obvious what is going to happen that I don't need to explain any further.

What I will explain though is the reason I know it will happen.

There is a well known process whereby children learn how to see the world, how to understand what is going on around them and their place within that society.

Different theorists describe this in different ways depending on their underlying opinion of what explains the social world, their "grand narrative".

Anyway, almost every person is taught from an early age that they belong. They belong to a family, to a country, maybe to a religion. The list goes on. It helps us all understand who we are. Our individual identity is largely constructed through this process and our values formed from it. They can alter later in life but in general our underlying understanding of the world, our habitus, comes from this period.

That is why I know there will be a re-write.

We are told that the Nation-State is good. US citizens are told the their Natiom-State is good. British citizens are told their's is good. Australian, Israeli, Norwegian etc., all are told their Nation-State is good. Sometimes mistakes are admitted to and there is a whole lot of belly staring that goes on within the media etc about why these things happened. Usually this progresses/encourages the construction of the "Nation-State is good" narrative because "surely only a good country can admit to and then look at its faults so we can rectify them. This proves we are a good country."

What is happening now in Israel and the US (to a lesser extent elsewhere) is this narrative. The controlled examination via politicians and media talking heads of this story. It is being deconstructed before our eyes and a new narrative will be constructed to replace it.

For this new story to take root it needs to be carefully tended, ground work must be done and it must be trained in just the "right way" to gain acceptance.

There must be reasons given to explain actions taken.
The Nation-State must be shown to be "good".
Voices saying "this is not right" must be accepted or marginalised depending on how dominant they are within society.

This is the reconstruction process around the identity of "citizen".

It bolsters and encourages the "Nation-State as Country" narrative.
It constructs the story of "Country before ethnicity" and, to a lesser extent, the "Country before religious belief" story amongst many more. These stories can marginalise some segments of a society leading to Othering of those segments (I wont go into this but Othering helps in understanding the construction of an individuals identity as well as understanding criminalisation, bigotry, racism, sexism, bullying, marginalisation etc).

My belief is that the Nation-State narrative is a destructive one that is deliberately made divisive. This is done to increase/manipulate money/currency, control and power within segments of the political/economic/corporate etc "ecosystem".

It is also important to note that the way I view this process comes from my understandings of Permaculture processes. When I use the word "construct" it presents an underlying control narrative in the mind of the reader. That human's "construct" their society. Historically, that has been largely poppy-cock.

We are part of a process, a social ecosystem if you will, that involves many different voices all constructing the narratives of their segments of society. Historically this has been largely an organic process trained in a particular way by the elite of a society (often through violence). Within our present society, since the industrial revolution took hold, many of these stories have been constructed with the assistance of various media outlets.

Now we enter a new period where it is just possible that this will not be so much a construction process but an organic one. Where individual voices rise and construct the new identity within the social. Where "I" changes in meaning and no-longer can identity be constructed around "Nation-State is good" stories. Look at the stories from social media talking about Arab and Jewish couples refusing to be enemies. Here are some pictures:

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2014/07/23/article-2702674-1FE3E55E00000578-419_634x631.jpg

http://cdn29.elitedaily.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/BtOOZelCEAAYLlS.jpg

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2014/07/23/article-2702674-1FE3E57800000578-433_634x478.jpg

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2014/07/23/article-2702674-1FE68D4700000578-472_634x631.jpg

Compare that with the introduction of a "hotline" by an extremist group in Israel who last year 'opened a hotline enabling members of the public to inform on women so that they can be persuaded to end the relationship' and that 'the service is meant to “save the daughters of Israel”' (source (http://www.timesofisrael.com/hotline-lets-callers-inform-on-jewish-arab-couples/)). I may be a bit weird but I don't like this at all.

I have hope that we will all be part of the construction of a new society based more on the first option (people getting along) than the second.

Let us watch this new story unfold.

-- Pan

panopticon

7th August 2014, 15:41

There is still no long term ceasefire agreement.

Various reports indicate that Hamas are not moving from some of their more extreme demands (eg airport) while Egypt is evidently back to not really acting as mediators (they're just saying no to requests by Hamas & factions without consulting the Israeli delegation for suggestions etc).

It was reported that in the Israeli Cabinet meeting the other day Netanyahu presented a very hard-line case to the ministers saying that a full ground invasion would cost the lives of 100's of IDF soldiers (source (http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/1.609152)).

Anyway, IJ has been reported as saying that there will be an outcome in a few hours. What that means who knows.

I did say that Abbas learnt the diplomatic game from the best so is a bit predictable. Hamas & co are no where near that and it is equally likely that they'll call for rockets to start launching again and turn it into a battle of attrition...

Egypt is the one evidently causing the real problems. Looks like the Europeans are going to have to step in and do the negotiating (paywalled article from earlier today on that here (http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/.premium-1.609310)).

Next thing they'll be suggesting the Quartet reconstruction/rehabilitation plan...

Who knows if this is pantomime or high drama. With Hamas etc in the mix no-one can be certain.

-- Pan

Bob

7th August 2014, 16:23

-- Pan - what you said above is EXACTLY precisely to the "T" what was pushed last nite on Fox, scripted out - there were Israeli kids playing table tennis this nice sweet chickie you would think with pigtails if that was in fashion again, saying how much the family is important how much the state takes care of everything, i thought i was going to vomit it was so sweet and so scripted.. This thread and how things progressed exactly details the war-crimes, the spins. I would think anything from off-site, should be downloaded and archived before IT is made to evaporate in the "new story". This typifies exactly how history is re-written by those with the bigger guns, the larger oppression. It is a lesson to understand how psyops works.

This is one of those MUST READ priority threads. It is about understanding how the systems work, how people are kept slaves. At least imho ..

There is a well known process whereby children learn how to see the world, how to understand what is going on around them and their place within that society.

Different theorists describe this in different ways depending on their underlying opinion of what explains the social world, their "grand narrative".

Anyway, almost every person is taught from an early age that they belong. They belong to a family, to a country, maybe to a religion. The list goes on.

It helps us all understand who we are. Our individual identity is largely constructed through this process and our values formed from it. They can alter later in life but in general our underlying understanding of the world, our habitus, comes from this period.

That is why I know there will be a re-write.

We are told that the Nation-State is good. US citizens are told the their Natiom-State is good. British citizens are told their's is good. Australian, Israeli, Norwegian etc., all are told their Nation-State is good. Sometimes mistakes are admitted to and there is a whole lot of belly staring that goes on within the media etc about why these things happened.

Usually this progresses/encourages the construction of the "Nation-State is good" narrative because "surely only a good country can admit to and then look at its faults so we can rectify them. This proves we are a good country."

What is happening now in Israel and the US (to a lesser extent elsewhere) is this narrative. The controlled examination via politicians and media talking heads of this story.

It is being deconstructed before our eyes and a new narrative will be constructed to replace it.

For this new story to take root it needs to be carefully tended, ground work must be done and it must be trained in just the "right way" to gain acceptance.

There must be reasons given to explain actions taken.

The Nation-State must be shown to be "good".

Voices saying "this is not right" must be accepted or marginalised depending on how dominant they are within society.

(reference original Post here: http://projectavalon.net/forum4/showthread.php?72897-This-evening-in-Israel&p=862060&viewfull=1#post862060 )

panopticon

8th August 2014, 04:23

SENIOR OFFICIAL SAYS HAMAS NOT EXTENDING TRUCE (http://bigstory.ap.org/article/israeli-army-says-2-rockets-fired-gaza)
By MOHAMMED DARAGHMEH, August 7th, 2014

http://binaryapi.ap.org/1cfb9dbce21a4fd5b8b8b0560697e6cb/460x.jpg

CAIRO (AP) — A senior official says Hamas has decided not to extend a 72-hour cease-fire with Israel because Israel has rejected all of the group's demands in indirect talks in Cairo.

The cease-fire is to end at 0800 (0500 GMT) Friday.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was en route to informing Egyptian mediators of the decision.

The official says the Hamas delegation met for several hours early Friday with Egyptian officials. He says that in exchange for extending the truce, Hamas had demanded that Israel agree in principle to end Gaza's border closure and allow the rebuilding of Gaza.

He says Hamas was told by Egypt that Israel rejected those demands.

Earlier, two rockets were fired from Gaza at Israel, landing in empty fields.

Source (http://bigstory.ap.org/article/israeli-army-says-2-rockets-fired-gaza)

panopticon

8th August 2014, 04:37

Detainee "fell during interrogation, and died later on" -- Israel Govt

A Jordanian man who was detained after participating in a pro-Palestine protest in Israel died due to multiple injuries allegedly inflicted while being held by the Israeli Prison Administration.

Take away:

A Jordanian security source said Jordan formed a committee to oversee the autopsy that would be performed at a Jordanian Hospital, adding that initial examination shows clear bruises, and fractures, in the head, chest and several other body parts.

It also revealed that a sharp blow to the head caused brain hemorrhage, that eventually led to death. An official report will be issued at a later stage.

Israel alleges Wa’el “fell during interrogation, and died later on”

###

Jordanian Family: “Israel Tortured Our Son To Death” (http://www.imemc.org/article/68776)
by Saed Bannoura, August 07, 2014

A Jordanian family is accusing Israel of arresting and torturing their son to death, after detaining him during a protest, in Tel Aviv, in solidarity with the Palestinians in Gaza.

The family in Ein Abous in Zarqa – Jordan told Aal-Balad News Agency in Jordan that Wa’el Salim Mustafa, 39, was detained by the Israeli police during a protest against the Israeli war on Gaza, was subject to extreme torture by Israeli interrogators, and died around a week ago, on the third day out the Muslim feast of al-Fitr.

His brother, Qotaiba, stated that the Israeli Authorities contacted the family asking them to come over and sign documents permitting Israeli doctors “to perform a needed surgery”, but once the family arrived in Tel Aviv, they were told he was dead.

Qotaiba added that the body of his brother showed clear marks of extreme torture, and also had a swollen face, swollen eye sockets, several broken ribs, and various cuts and bruises all over his body.

On April 5, the al-Balad said that Jordanian Legislator Mohammad Thahrawi, conducted enormous efforts that led moving the body of Mustafa to Amman, where the legislator and hundreds of family members and citizens gathered across the border.

Jordanian Ministers and security devices also helped in the coordinated efforts that led to moving the body of Mustafa back to Jordan.

His funeral was held Thursday, August 7..

[EDIT: Video in original article not included in post -- follow article link to view]

Transcript of video: …. Reporter: What’s the name of the martyr?
“Wa’el. Wa’el”
Reporter: “Wa’el what?”
“Wa’el Salim Mahmoud Mustafa”…
Reporter: martyrWa’el Salim Mahmoud Mustafa, todays date August 7 2014, This is the funeral of martyr Wa’el Salim… Mahmoud Mustafa”. Where is her from?
“Ein Abous, al-Jawaz”. (Zarqa’ Jordan)

Mustafa left Jordan around 18 months ago, and travelled to Tel Aviv and Haifa, where we worked construction jobs.

Israel is refusing to provide further details on the issue, while the family has filed an official complaint against Israel and the Israeli Prison Administration, and is asking for another autopsy to reveal the causes of death.

A Jordanian security source said Jordan formed a committee to oversee the autopsy that would be performed at a Jordanian Hospital, adding that initial examination shows clear bruises, and fractures, in the head, chest and several other body parts.

It also revealed that a sharp blow to the head caused brain hemorrhage, that eventually led to death. An official report will be issued at a later stage.

Israel alleges Wa’el “fell during interrogation, and died later on”.

Israel and Jordan signed a peace agreement in 1994. Despite the fact that all Israelis can travel to Jordan, most Jordanian males are not allowed to travel to Tel Aviv, and are forced to go through the Arab side of the border terminal with Jordan, thus, are “granted” access to the West Bank and not to historic Palestine, including Jerusalem.

Source (http://www.imemc.org/article/68776)

panopticon

8th August 2014, 05:23

Wasn't going to bother posting this as it will be fairly well known by the time anyone reads this but at exactly 8:00 (Gaza time) rockets were launched from Gaza.

There were reports that earlier a few rockets had been launched before the end of the ceasefire but Hamas denied responsibility.

Israeli military planes are over Gaza and reports of a possible drone strike in Northern Gaza.

This is early stages so may just be Hamas trying to get the negotiations moving along in Cairo...

Sabre rattling from Israeli Government 'Minister Uri Ariel: Israel can't let a terror organization set the rules. Cabinet must order the IDF to topple the Hamas regime in Gaza' (source (https://twitter.com/BarakRavid/status/497610810059808768))

-- Pan

Ulyse30

8th August 2014, 05:32

Vive l'Écosse,!!!! Et tout les autres pays avec du bon sens,pour aider ceux qui sont dans le pétrin,!!!!

panopticon

8th August 2014, 07:00

Evaluation of timing around the capture of Lt Goldin, Rafah bombardment and the timing of the ceasefire from Haaretz.

Would appear my projected timing of it all was fairly accurate (though some of the other things in this article I do not agree with).

I do think that the timing of the Hamas operation that led to the capture of Lt Goldin was earlier than the IDF records show. Unlike Haaretz I'm not running things past the Military Censor so I can say that it is possible for those records to have been altered. Remember, it's not what is said it's the context in which it's placed. Haaretz mentioning that it would be difficult for the records to be altered needs to be viewed through that contextual lens.

-- Pan#

###

What happened in Gaza's Rafah on 'Black Friday'? (http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/.premium-1.609533)
By Amos Harel and Gili Cohen, August 8th, 2014

http://www.haaretz.com/polopoly_fs/1.609554.1407459447!/image/1758242977.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_640/1758242977.jpg
A Palestinian man looks out over destruction in part of Gaza City's al-Tufah neighbourhood in Gaza, August 6, 2014.
Photo by AFP

Israeli attempts to stop the capture of 2nd Lt. Hadar Goldin are likely to be a major focus of international efforts to determine if the army acted appropriately during Gaza conflict.

The information available is patchy when it comes to the dramatic events in south Gaza on August 1, in which three soldiers and at least 130 Palestinians were killed in Israeli efforts to thwart the abduction of an officer. The incident, however, is likely to draw international attention in the coming weeks.

The efforts to stop the capture of 2nd Lt. Hadar Goldin raise many issues: Who breached the humanitarian cease-fire that collapsed following the incident in Rafah, the many Palestinian dead — figures range between 130 and 150, mostly civilians — and the IDF debate on the so-called Hannibal procedure – permission to risk the life of a captured soldier to stop the abduction itself.

These are likely to be a major focus of international agencies trying to determine if the Israel Defense Forces acted appropriately during its four-week Gaza offensive.

The information available to Haaretz on the events is partial and based on sources from the Israeli side only. Realizing the possibility of legal proceedings abroad, the IDF is in no hurry to volunteer all the details.

The humanitarian cease-fire, brokered by the United States and the United Nations, was to begin at 8 A.M. Friday August 1. Israel interpreted the understanding as permission to continue operating against Hamas tunnels in territory it had taken over.

On Thursday night it emerged that a tunnel had not been destroyed on the northeastern edge of Rafah. Soldiers from the Givati Brigade’s reconnaissance force, under the command of Maj. Benaya Sarel, were told to advance a few hundred meters to look for the entrance shaft. According to a senior officer, the force finished its task at about 5 A.M.

After 8 A.M., Sarel noticed a suspicious movement inside a building. He consulted with his commanders and according to one version, which has not been confirmed, was told to check the structure.

Sarel checked the structure with the team’s commander, Goldin, and the company commander’s radio operator, Staff. Sgt. Liel Gidoni. The rest of the force was under the command of the deputy company commander, whose name has been given as Lt. Eitan. These troops remained a few dozen meters away behind a building. Sarel, Goldin and Gidoni were killed on the spot by Hamas fire.

Because of the firing, time lapsed before other troops reached the scene and found the three dead. A few minutes later they realized that one of them was a Hamas militant wearing an Israeli uniform, according to one version.

At that point it was unclear whether Goldin had been taken alive. The soldiers also spotted the opening to the tunnel through which Goldin had been taken. Eitan has told the daily Yedioth Ahronoth that he decided to enter the tunnel to find Goldin, but permission to do so was denied at first.

Eitan’s decision to enter the tunnel went against procedure due to fears that tunnels may be booby-trapped. “I knew the risk but I decided to act,” he said.

Eitan and two soldiers entered the tunnel after Col. Ofer Winter, commander of the Givati Brigade, told Eitan to throw a grenade into the shaft before entering. The three soldiers moved ahead hundreds of meters in almost complete darkness. They discovered that the tunnel ended in a mosque and found gear belonging Goldin that suggested he had been mortally wounded.

According to the IDF, Sarel’s force was fired on at 9:16 A.M., about an hour and a quarter after the cease-fire began. American reporters suggested that the Israelis might be lying about the timing of the incident — that it had taken place about 30 minutes before the cease-fire, based on tweets from accounts linked to Hamas that reported an assault on Israeli soldiers east of Rafah.

But based on the information available to Haaretz, the IDF’s version seems correct. The official report on the incident appears on computerized operational systems, which would be difficult to falsify due to the many soldiers with access.

At first Hamas’ political wing proudly announced the capture of a soldier. But it then retracted the claim amid concerns about the diplomatic fallout. It then said the members of the Hamas force and the soldier had been killed by an Israeli strike.

The IDF believes that the abduction attempt was a local initiative at a low-level of command. When the Hamas fighters realized that the force under Sarel had entered the tunnel, they opened fire and then fled with Goldin’s body.

The Givati command headquarters near Rafah then used the Hannibal procedure to find Goldin. They did so without the immediate authorization of the Gaza Division and Southern Command.

This was the most aggressive action of its type ever carried out by the IDF, military sources said. In addition to the use of special forces, an armored column moved quickly about one kilometer into Rafah’s built-up area. The mosque was searched, as was a nearby Hamas command post firing to prevent the removal of Goldin. Israeli air support was also called in.

This procedure takes a risk with the life of a captured soldier to stop the abduction. But officers in the General Staff said this week the procedure does not permit the killing of a captured soldier to thwart the abduction. Still, some soldiers and junior officers might believe the killing of the abductee is preferable to an abduction.

The extreme measures to thwart the abduction apparently stemmed from Israelis’ shock in the last decade over the release of hundreds of security prisoners in exchange for abducted soldiers. An abduction is often considered something to be avoided at almost at any cost.

Thus, in this incident, many civilians were killed because of the heavy fire the IDF laid to thwart the abduction. Under the Hannibal procedure, there was no time to warn them to leave their homes.

Source (http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/.premium-1.609533)

panopticon

8th August 2014, 08:19

Israeli delegation left Cairo an hour before the ceasefire was to end (ie 07:00).

This means that there was no breaking of the ceasefire. It simply ended and IJ/PCR started firing again (notice Al Qassam reportedly didn't).

Netanyahu & Yaalon order IDF to retaliate and retaliate they do.

Shelling reported in Gaza.

PA reports negotiations to continue in Cairo...

-- Pan

panopticon

8th August 2014, 14:08

Gaza Tension Stoked by Unlikely Alliance Between Israel and Egypt (http://online.wsj.com/articles/unlikely-alliance-between-israel-and-egypt-stoked-gaza-tension-1407379093)
By Adam Entous in Jerusalem and Nicholas Casey in Gaza, August 6th, 2014

qXPS9aLTkCk
The plan was simple: Israel and the new military-led government in Egypt would work together to ratchet up pressure on their shared enemy in the Gaza Strip - Hamas. But their miscalculations triggered a crisis. WSJ's Adam Entous joins the News Hub to discuss. Photo: Getty

Strategy of Squeezing Hamas Was Effective, but Helped Lead to Open Warfare, Officials Believe

Israel and Egypt quietly agreed to work in concert to squeeze Hamas after Egypt's military coup in 2013, a strategy that proved effective but which some Israeli and U.S. officials now believe stoked tensions that helped spur open warfare in Gaza.

When former military chief Abdel Fattah Al Sisi rose to power in Egypt after leading the overthrow of Islamist President Mohammed Morsi, Israel found the two countries had a common interest in suppressing the Islamist group that ruled Gaza. They worked to bring pressure on their shared enemy.

But a reconstruction of events leading up to the conflict over the past month found that in their determination to hem in Hamas, Israeli and Egyptian officials ignored warning signs of an impending explosion, U.S., Israeli and U.N. officials said.

http://si.wsj.net/public/resources/images/WO-AT290_BARGAI_G_20140806175123.jpg
A Palestinian enters a smuggling tunnel beneath the border between Egypt and Gaza in September. Zuma Press

The U.S. encouraged Israel and Egypt to forge a close security partnership. What Washington never anticipated was that the two countries would come to trust each other more than the Americans, who would watch events in Gaza unfold largely from the sidelines as the Israelis and the Egyptians planned out their next steps. (See an hour-by-hour breakdown on cease-fires in Gaza (http://graphics.wsj.com/gaza-cease-fire/?standalone=1).)

The seeds of the latest Israel-Hamas conflict were sown in 2012, when Hamas broke ranks with longtime allies Syria, Iran and Lebanon's Hezbollah and threw its support behind the rebels fighting to unseat President Bashar al-Assad in Syria's civil war.

http://si.wsj.net/public/resources/images/OG-AC233_gazace_D_20140806192156.jpg (http://graphics.wsj.com/gaza-cease-fire/)

Hamas, which ruled Gaza for the past seven years, came to rely on cash supplied by Qatar transferred through Egypt, with the assent of Mr. Morsi, and on revenue from smuggling goods through tunnels reaching into Egypt. As long as Hamas controlled cross-border attacks, Israel tolerated the Islamist movement at its southern doorstep, Israeli officials said.

That pressure got dialed up when Mr. Morsi was deposed and Mr. Sisi rose to power. Israeli officials knew Egypt was as committed as they were to reining in Hamas when Mr. Sisi sent word earlier this year that his forces had completely destroyed 95% of the tunnels under Egypt's border with Gaza.

At first, Israeli intelligence officials said they didn't know what to make of Mr. Sisi, a devout Muslim who in previous posts treated his Israeli counterparts coldly, a senior Israeli official said. As Mr. Sisi moved to take control of the government, Israeli intelligence analysts pored over his public statements, writings and private musings, Israeli and U.S. officials said.

The Israeli intelligence community's conclusion: Mr. Sisi genuinely believed that he was on a "mission from God" to save the Egyptian state, the senior Israeli official said.

Moreover, as an Egyptian nationalist, he saw Mr. Morsi's Islamist group, the Muslim Brotherhood, and its Palestinian offshoot, Hamas, as threats to the state that needed to be suppressed with a heavy hand, the Israeli official said.

Israeli intelligence analysts interpreted Mr. Sisi's comments about keeping the peace with Israel and ridding Egypt of Islamists as a "personal realization that we—Israel—were on his side," the Israeli official said.

The revelation that Hamas was equally abhorrent to Mr. Sisi as it was to the Israeli government spurred efforts to reward him. Israel used its clout in Washington to lobby the Obama administration and Congress on his behalf, in particular arguing against a U.S. decision to cut off military aid to Egypt, Israeli officials said.

Mr. Sisi followed Israel's lobbying effort closely and was appreciative, the Israeli official said.

"It came at a very formative time for him" and helped cement a trusting relationship between friends who realized they were vital to each others' national security, he said.

Cooperation with Israel is highly sensitive in Egypt and Egyptian officials declined to discuss in detail the partnership between the neighbors against Hamas.

In Gaza, there was shock at the events unfolding in Cairo.

Under the protective umbrella of Mr. Morsi's Islamist-led government, Hamas had imported large quantities of arms from Libya and Sudan, as well as money to pay the salaries of government officials and members of their armed wing, Israeli and U.S. officials said. His successor abruptly changed that.

"One day we had been sitting having great conversations with Morsi and his government and then suddenly, the door was shut," Ghazi Hamad, Hamas's deputy foreign minister, said in an interview last month.

From having contact at "every level" of the Egyptian government under Mr. Morsi, now Hamas's only contact with Cairo was a military intelligence officer handling the Hamas brief who was more anti-Hamas than the Egyptian leader, U.S. officials said.

Washington was sympathetic to Mr. Sisi's concern that the tunnel trade along Gaza's southern border with Egypt was creating a warlord-style economy directly benefiting hard-line Islamist groups.

But U.S. officials didn't agree with what they saw as Mr. Sisi's "conspiracy theories" about Hamas threatening the Egyptian state. They feared his heavy hand against Islamists in Egypt would drive them underground and might set off a civil war. The criticism only deepened the bond between Mr. Sisi and Israel, U.S. and Israeli officials said.

Egypt secretly coordinated with senior Israeli officials led by Maj. Gen. (Res.) Amos Gilad, the director of the political-military affairs bureau at Israel's Defense Ministry, who is known in the Israeli security establishment as the "granddaddy" of the Israeli-Egyptian channel, Israeli officials said.

Mr. Gilad and other Israeli officials shuttled between Israel and Egypt and spoke to their Egyptian counterparts by phone. Officials said the two sides spoke every day, more often during crises. Although there were disagreements, Mr. Gilad forged a personal relationship with the Egyptian leader, officials said.

http://si.wsj.net/public/resources/images/WO-AT291_BARGAI_G_20140806175125.jpg
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi in Cairo in July Egyptian Presidency handout/Reuters

A senior Israeli official said the two governments wanted to advance their shared interests and increase pressure on Hamas. But he insisted there was no master plan to squeeze it to the point that "something would explode."

Yet when Mr. Sisi closed nearly all of the tunnels along Egypt's border with Gaza but didn't compensate for the loss of those avenues by allowing the passage above ground of needed supplies, some Israeli officials said they privately began to raise alarm bells about the severity of Cairo's decisions.

"They actually were suffocating Gaza too much," one Israeli official said.

In Gaza, the situation grew desperate.

At the start of the year, Hamas realized that Egypt's campaign to destroy the tunnels was edging it toward bankruptcy.

In April, Hamas abruptly agreed to form a government of technocrats under Western-backed Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, reconciling with the group that governed the West Bank after years of rivalry.

The growing dangers about Hamas's precarious position were flagged to Washington by the U.S. Consul General in Jerusalem, Michael Ratney. He saw the pressures building in the spring and concluded that Hamas was in desperate straits, unable to pay salaries to its 40,000 government workers in Gaza, and was now reaching out to the Palestinian Authority to try to relieve the pressure.

Mr. Abbas privately told diplomats afterward that he never expected Hamas to agree to the unity deal.

Mahmoud Zahar, a top Hamas leader in Gaza, said the group's inability to cover its monthly payroll forced it to reach out to the Palestinian Authority and Qatar, which pledged $60 million for three months. But U.S. and Israeli officials said Arab banks wouldn't make the transfer.

At the height of Hamas's distress, three Israeli teenagers were kidnapped in the West Bank in June and subsequently found dead. Israel quickly concluded that Hamas was responsible and rounded up its activists in the West Bank, infuriating the group's armed wing in Gaza.

After the abduction, which U.S. officials believe was carried out by Hamas members without the approval of their leaders in Gaza, Israeli intelligence officials warned policy makers that "overly pressuring Hamas will lead to a conflagration," according to another senior Israeli official.

Palestinian officials told diplomats they were making a last-ditch effort to get the money for salaries to Gaza, believing that doing so might help defuse tensions but nothing came of it, diplomats said.

Rocket fire from Gaza escalated, and Israel began to respond with airstrikes.

U.S. officials, who tried to intervene in the initial days after the conflict broke out on July 8 to try to find a negotiated solution, soon realized that Mr. Netanyahu's office wanted to run the show with Egypt and to keep the Americans at a distance, according to U.S., European and Israeli officials.

The Americans, in turn, felt betrayed by what they saw as a series of "mean spirited" leaks, which they interpreted as a message from Mr. Netanyahu that U.S. involvement was neither welcomed nor needed.

Reflecting Egypt's importance, Mr. Gilad and other officials took Mr. Sisi's "temperature" every day during the war to make sure he was comfortable with the military operation as it intensified. Israeli officials knew television pictures of dead Palestinians would at some point bring Cairo to urge Israel to stop.

"We knew we could not do something that went beyond what they could digest," a senior Israeli official said of the Egyptians. Egypt's view mattered more than America's, Israeli officials said.

When a tentative deal finally came together in Cairo to stop the fighting, Washington found itself outside looking in on the Israeli-Egyptian partnership once again.

The Obama administration knew from Palestinian contacts earlier this week that representatives of Israel, Egypt and the Palestinians were working on a new cease-fire proposal but didn't know details because they were left largely out of the discussions. (Compare cease-fires proposed and broken since the most recent conflict began in Gaza (http://graphics.wsj.com/gaza-cease-fire/).)

Key American officials said they first heard about the breakthrough from Twitter and the media, rather than from their Israeli or Egyptian counterparts.

Source (http://online.wsj.com/articles/unlikely-alliance-between-israel-and-egypt-stoked-gaza-tension-1407379093)

panopticon

8th August 2014, 15:49

Reports that a new ceasefire might come into effect @ 20:00 (Gaza time) which is in around 70 minutes from now. Difficult to know if this is going to be another 72 hour ceasefire or more limited (if it happens at all -- once bitten twice shy).

While Bibi made a big deal out of his public directive to the IDF that they should retaliate hard.
The reality was quite limited though still resulted in the death of at least one child and injuries to a number of other non-combatants.

Israeli Government officials have reportedly said they will not negotiate while Israel is under fire.
Seems like more game playing as Israeli government representatives had walked away from the negotiations at least an hour before the end of the last ceasefire.
This prompted IJ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palestinian_Islamic_Jihad) & PRC (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Popular_Resistance_Committees) to fire off rockets (30+) after the ceasefire ended.

Reports of progress of the ceasefire talks vary by who is reporting.
Egypt is saying that most points are agreed on just a few remaining to be done and that the agreement is almost done (sounds familiar doesn't it)...
The Israel Government is saying, well not much except: stop firing rockets.
Palestinian delegates(Fatah-Hamas PA govt & factions) are saying that Israeli Government negotiators have rejected all their proposals...

IDF hasn't remobilised reservists so at least that's something...

Protests have been on-going in the West Bank & occupied territories.

-- Pan

panopticon

9th August 2014, 14:45

Massive pro-Palestine rallies around the world today.

200,000 marched in South Africa and tens of thousands marched in London.

Really not much news out of Israel today (it is the Sabbath after all).

Israel is bombing/shelling Gaza, Hamas &/or factions are firing rockets into Israel, large protests after Friday prayers in the West Bank with a number wounded and some killed in clashes with IDF etc.

Sabbath ends in about 3 hours so maybe there'll be some sort of negotiations start again in Cairo.

There have been reports from Palestinian media that a temporary ceasefire has been agreed to by Hamas & co but Israel is denying it (hopefully that is just political posturing).

Good evaluation from yesterday by Daniel Nisman (Al Jazeera interview). Notice how Nisman brings in the Suez Canal extension I was muttering about the other day? That's a big deal (Billions of USD) and having any form of instability in the region is something that Egypt does not want as it might increase costs & construction time while also possibly reducing the final projects short-term profitability. Plus, el-Sisi is in a fight against any form of Islamic fundamentalism which matches up nicely with many of the US & Israeli interests (this might also explain to some extent why Israel & US are allowing Egypt to act as a non-negotiator and not complaining about it very much, if at all):

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x233xzy_analysis-hamas-fighting-both-egypt-and-israel_news
Source: http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x233xzy_analysis-hamas-fighting-both-egypt-and-israel_news

-- Pan

panopticon

9th August 2014, 14:58

Article about 4 Israeli's arrested for counterfeiting $77 million in US $100 bills since 1999 (there were 13 people arrested all up in relation to the ring).

Feds arrest 4 Israelis for manufacturing $77 million in fake bills (http://www.haaretz.com/news/world/1.609706)

Also, here's an article on South Africa's announcement that it might start prosecution of "its" citizens who are serving in the IDF:

South Africa warns citizens it may prosecute those serving in the IDF (http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/1.609646)

-- Pan

panopticon

9th August 2014, 15:51

War crime allegations in shooting of unarmed man in Shajaia (20th July) made against IDF:

fv9rpGHMPx8
-- Pan

panopticon

10th August 2014, 05:05

Palestinian negotiator: Palestinians to quit Gaza war talks Sunday unless Israeli team returns (AP (http://bigstory.ap.org/article/palestinians-quit-gaza-talks-if-israel-no-show))

Testimony taken by B'Tselem ('The Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories') from paramedic shot by IDF on the targeting of ambulances by line of sight tank shelling & machine gun fire:
Testimony: Ambulance driver Rami 'Ali recounts attacks that killed paramedic 'Aaed al-Bura'i and injured team sent to rescue him, both despite coordination with Red Crescent (http://www.btselem.org/testimonies/20140727_gaza_ambulance_driver_rami_ali)

panopticon

10th August 2014, 08:49

It seems fairly certain that the Israeli assault will continue.

No Israeli Government representative @ Cairo talks.
Palestinian delegation about to leave.
All Israeli Ministers are saying is: finish Hamas.
Netanyahu saying it will take time...

-- Pan :tsk:

###

Netanyahu: Israel shunning truce talks until fire from Gaza stops (http://www.trust.org/item/20140810080730-w02sk/)
Reuters - 10th August, 2014

JERUSALEM, Aug 10 (Reuters) - Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that Israel would stay away from Egyptian-mediated truce talks with Hamas as long as Palestinian rocket and mortar attacks from the Gaza Strip continued.

"Israel will not negotiate under fire," Netanyahu said in broadcast remarks at the weekly meeting of his cabinet, in Tel Aviv.

"At no stage did we declare (Israel's military offensive) was over," he said. "The operation will continue until its objective - the restoration of quiet over a protraced period - is achieved. I said at the beginning and throughout the operation - it will take time, and stamina is required."

(Writing by Jeffrey Heller; Editing by Dan Williams)

Source (http://www.trust.org/item/20140810080730-w02sk/)

panopticon

10th August 2014, 11:23

Gaza talks: Hamas says Israel not serious about Cairo summit (http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/aug/10/gaza-talks-hamas-israel-serious-cairo)
Patrick Kingsley in Cairo and agencies, Sunday 10th August 2014

http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2014/8/10/1407666163349/Hamas-negotiator-Moussa-A-011.jpg
Hamas negotiator Moussa Abu Marzouk in Cairo. Israel has been accused of not taking the talks seriously.
Photograph: Asmaa Waguih/Reuters

Negotiations mediated by Egypt in chaos as Israelis accused of going through motions and Palestinians threaten to leave

Attempts at talks between Palestinians and Israelis aimed at ending the Gaza conflict look in danger of breaking down following warnings from both sides.

Hamas's lead negotiator said the Palestinians may abandon the Cairo-based negotiations if Israel does not take them more seriously, and says that the Islamist group may continue its war of attrition if its demands are not met. Israel said it would not return to the talks as long as Palestinian militants in Gaza kept up cross-border rocket and mortar fire.

In an interview with the Guardian Hamas's deputy chairman, Moussa Abu Marzouk, said that the Palestinian delegation would decide on Sunday whether or not to leave Cairo – where they have negotiated indirectly with their Israeli counterparts for a week.

"There will be a meeting in order to decide if we are going to continue the talks or not – because there is no seriousness from the Israeli side about the talks," Marzouk said late on Saturday night, in the hotel where negotiations have centred.

Israel's prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, said on Sunday: "Israel will not negotiate under fire. At no stage did we declare (Israel's military offensive) was over.

"The operation will continue until its objective – the restoration of quiet over a protracted period – is achieved. I said at the beginning and throughout the operation – it will take time, and stamina is required." Israeli air strikes and shelling killed three Palestinians in Gaza on Sunday, including a boy of 14 and a woman, medics said, in a third day of renewed fighting that has jeopardised international efforts to end the conflict.

Hamas has complained that throughout negotiations – conducted via Egyptian intermediaries – the Israelis had never formally responded to any Palestinian demands, which centre on ending an eight-year blockade of the Gaza strip. Marzouk also claimed that the Israeli delegation had made no attempt to negotiate since the end of a temporary ceasefire on Friday morning, when the Israeli team flew back to Jerusalem to observe the Jewish sabbath, and did not return. "They don't talk about peace or ceasefire during their religious ceremonies," said Marzouk. "But they can kill and destroy as they did in Gaza on Saturday. It's open season for killing."

Marzouk said Hamas had not made a final decision about escalating its own attacks on Israel, should the talks fail – but claimed that "all the options are available to the Palestinian people in order to them to gain their rights." He said: "If we don't have justice and rights, we will keep resisting our enemies until we get them … If they don't give us our rights today, we will continue the battle."

Marzouk said the concession Hamas most wanted from Israel was the right to build a port and airport in Gaza, facilities promised to the Palestinians under the Oslo peace deal. In return, he said Hamas had no problem with relinquishing power to a Palestinian Authority-led unity government that "should control everything in Gaza", including its border crossings.

But he said Hamas would not agree to disarm while the Gaza strip was still occupied. "Disarming is out of the question. There is no discussion. It's not on the negotiation table. There is no force that can take away from the Palestinian resistance their right to resistance, nor their tools to resist."

Marzouk also denied that Hamas should down its arms in order to protect innocent lives in Gaza, saying that it was Israel's responsibility to stop bombing civilians. He also denied that Hamas fighters endanger civilians by firing rockets from civilian areas.

"I cannot understand how [Hamas's critics] always blame the weak, the party that gets attacked. Who started the battle? … Did Israel really have to kill all this number in order to get their targets? To demolish all these houses in order to achieve their goals? The ones who should be blamed are the Israelis."

Marzouk said it was hard for Hamas fighters to avoid civilian areas in such a densely populated tract of land as Gaza, and argued that Israel had the sophisticated military equipment necessary to avoid killing any civilians. "Why do they keep killing all these civilians even though they have these weapons, these delicate weapons? They don't miss the target even by a few centimetres … The fact is unquestionable. They kill for the sake of killing."

Source (http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/aug/10/gaza-talks-hamas-israel-serious-cairo)

panopticon

10th August 2014, 11:42

Just as an aside, evidently Egyptian reps are saying that a 72 hour ceasefire will come into force when the Israeli delegation arrives in Cairo...

Of course nothing has been announced officially so probably yet another attempt to manipulate the "negotiations"...

Anyway the Palestinians are in Cairo to meet with the Arab League so we'll see what happens.

I don't think any of this has gone to plan as Netanyahu was really pushing for a ceasefire (can't take over Gaza - costs in IDF live & money too high) but can't be seen to be backing down.

Meanwhile all the right wingers (Bennett etc) are happily screaming from their fringe position that the only solution is to invade.

Meanwhile Hamas and co (as well as some non-aligned Palestinians in Gaza) are saying better a fast death than a slow one from the siege.

Very, very messy.

Oh and I missed this earlier, the Kerem Shalom border crossing (the only crossing where aid gets into Gaza from Israel) was closed by the IDF this morning due to security concerns (source (http://www.jewishpress.com/news/breaking-news/kerem-shalom-closed-due-to-rain-of-mortars/2014/08/10/)) so no humanitarian aid got into Gaza today.

###

Palestinians to stay in Cairo for Arab League meeting on Gaza (http://www.trust.org/item/20140810101141-n7eej/)
Reuters - 10th August 2014

CAIRO, Aug 10 (Reuters) - Palestinian negotiators will remain in Cairo for an urgent meeting with the Arab League on Monday to discuss the Gaza crisis, Egypt's state MENA news agency said.

The Palestinian delegation had said it was likely to abandon Egyptian-mediated talks on Sunday unless Israel agreed to return to the table without pre-conditions.

Israel has said it will not take part in truce talks while violence is ongoing. Palestinian factions in Cairo for the negotiations declined to extend a 72-hour ceasefire that expired on Friday, saying Israel had refused to accept demands including an end to the blockade of Gaza and the opening of a seaport. (Writing by Lin Noueihed; Editing by Catherine Evans)

Source (http://www.trust.org/item/20140810101141-n7eej/)

panopticon

10th August 2014, 12:23

Palestinians Accept New 72-Hour Cease-fire Offer (http://bigstory.ap.org/article/palestinians-quit-gaza-talks-if-israel-no-show)
By Mohammed Daraghmeh and Karin Laub, August 10th, 2014

CAIRO (AP) — Palestinian negotiators in Cairo say they have accepted an Egyptian proposal for a new, three-day cease-fire with Israel.

The decision aims to clear the way for renewed negotiations with Israel on a long-term truce arrangement in the Gaza Strip.

The officials, representing various Palestinian factions, spoke on condition of anonymity because they were discussing sensitive negotiations.

Israel walked away from negotiations over the weekend after rocket fire resumed, saying it would not negotiate under fire.

Heavy fighting between Israel and Gaza militants has killed more than 1,900 Palestinians, as well as 67 people on the Israeli side.

Source (http://bigstory.ap.org/article/palestinians-quit-gaza-talks-if-israel-no-show)

panopticon

11th August 2014, 04:19

The Greenhouse propaganda—How Gazan history is being rewritten to dehumanize Palestinians (http://mondoweiss.net/2014/08/propaganda-dehumanize-palestinians.html)
By Justin Schwegel, August 10th, 2014

http://f8wee1vvia32pdxo527grujy61.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/fleurs2-580x377.jpg
Gazan workers harvest carnations in one of the enclave’s huge greenhouses. (Photo via palstreet.blogspot.com)

Erase memory and you wash away the blood from the perpetrator’s hands, you undo the done deed, make it disappear from history. Erase memories of atrocities and you tempt future perpetrators with immunity - Miraslov Volf

In recent weeks, as Israeli bombs and artillery have slammed into the tiny strip of land that is home to nearly 2 million Palestinians in Gaza, the propaganda war has been raging with equal vigor. Israeli spokespersons have consistently denied any blame for civilian victims and even claimed that civilians are acting as human shields for Hamas operations, blaming the victims of this humanitarian catastrophe for their own suffering.

While it will take time and independent investigation to determine if the Israeli Defense Forces’ claims that Hamas is using civilians as human shields turn out to be as baseless as past IDF human shielding allegations against Hamas and Hezbollah, other claims made by Israel supporters can be easily dispelled now.

Pro-Israel politicians and pundits have rewritten the history of the demise of an agricultural project in the Gaza Strip to blame the victims of an economic tragedy for their own hopeless situation. During the past few weeks, several pro-Israel political pundits including Ezra Levant, Charles Krauthammer, Richard Chesnoff, Jeffrey Goldberg and Alan Dershowitz have taken this line of victim-blaming. Notably, Hillary Clinton also advanced the Israeli effort to rewrite history.

According to the history being written by Clinton and Krauthammer, Ariel Sharon made the decision to pull out of Gaza as a goodwill gesture toward peace and left the greenhouses behind so that Palestinians in Gaza could prosper. Palestinians decided to destroy the greenhouses because, according to Clinton “the leadership said, We don’t want anything left from Israel, [and they] destroyed it all.” Her version, which is by no means the most extreme, implies Palestinians destroyed the greenhouses in a self-destructive, anti-Semitic rage. This version of events is far removed from historical reality.

Why did Israel withdraw from Gaza?

Israel apologists view the 2005 withdrawal from Gaza as an altruistic act. In reality there is not much land nor many natural resources in Gaza, aside from a couple of offshore natural gas reservoirs. Prime Minister Ariel Sharon knew that allowing settlers to remain in the Gaza strip posed a massive “demographic threat,” an Israeli term for the threat that Palestinians might become the majority in Israel thereby making it impossible for Israel to be both Jewish and democratic. There were about 1.5 million Palestinians at the time who would have become Israeli if Israel had tried to swallow Gaza whole. The demographic threat was the reason for the withdrawal, and the reason for Gaza’s being quarantined from the outside world, not the hope that Gaza would become peaceful and prosperous.

What really happened to the greenhouses?

According to the New York Times, two months prior to the withdrawal, in July of 2005, Israeli settlers demolished about half of the greenhouses, “creating significant doubts that the greenhouses could be handed over to the Palestinians as ‘a living business.’” There are other reports that rather than leave their greenhouses behind for the Palestinians some settlers decided to burn them to the ground.
Notwithstanding the destruction that had already been wrought, wealthy American philanthropists led by the Gates foundation and James Wolfensohn, the US Special Envoy for Gaza Disengagement, bought the remaining greenhouses from the Israeli settlers on behalf of the Palestinians in Gaza for $14 million. Wolfensohn contributed $500,000 of his own money.

Admittedly, Palestinian looters took to the greenhouses when they were transferred to Palestinian control in mid-September 2005, hauling away some of the irrigation pipes, water pumps, plastic sheeting and glass, but leaving the greenhouses themselves structurally intact.

Bassil Jabir was the CEO of the Palestine Economic Development Company (PED), the organization founded by the Palestinian Authority to take charge of the greenhouse project after it was turned over to the Palestinians. The PED invested more than $20 million into the project. Jabir said that as a result of the destruction by Israeli settlers and Palestinian looters the PED had to invest an additional $5 million into the greenhouse project to revive it.

Despite the initial setbacks, the greenhouses were up and running by mid-October. By late November, the New York Times reported that the Palestinians were preparing to harvest a crop of peppers, strawberries, tomatoes and herbs worth $20 million. Presciently, in the same article, Palestinians expressed concern that if Israel did not keep the Karni border crossing open, it could result in the demise of the greenhouse project.

In mid-December, the greenhouses made their first export of 8 tons of peppers. Speaking to the Associated Press about the success of the project, Jabir said, “It makes us proud. This land was a symbol of occupation and many people were doubting our ability to rehabilitate [it], but now we have proven that we, as Palestinians, are able to manage our lives, to farm our land and to do our own business.”

That hope and pride soon turned to despair. According to Jabir, in order for the project to be successful, it would require moving at least 25 truckloads of produce a day through the Karni crossing. On rare days when the Karni crossing was functioning smoothly he was only able to move 3 truckloads. A crossing that was supposed to be open 24/7, per an international agreement to which Israel was party, was only open sporadically and unpredictably. Israel cited security concerns. The Palestine Economic Development Corporation and its Israeli distribution partner Adafresh were losing hundreds of thousands of dollars every week.

By February 2006, the BBC reported that because the farmers could not get their produce through the crossing, trucks were dumping perfect, ripe produce onto a wasteland to be eaten by goats. Bassil Jabir joked that because cows were eating their strawberries after they had rotted in the harsh sun next to the checkpoint, they had developed perfectly natural strawberry-flavored milk. According to Special Envoy Wolfensohn, “Instead of hope, the Palestinians saw that they were put back in prison.”

The BBC reported in February 2006, “Palestinians were convinced that Gaza was being deliberately strangled.” In March, Israeli daily Haaretz quoted the Commander of the IDF’s Gaza Division and the head of the Southern Command as stating there was no security-related reason for the closure of the Karni crossing. The Israeli Defense Minister ordered the closures to continue. Speaking to the BBC about Israeli border closures, Mr. Jabir stated, “This is a message to every investor: ‘Don’t come – there’s no hope of any investment flourishing.’” According to a PED report in early March made to Special Envoy Wolfensohn, the closures had cost the greenhouse project $5.4 million in the first two and a half months of 2006.

By April 2006, after months of border closures, there was no money left to pay the agricultural workers, and the project was shut down. Bassil Jabir quit as CEO of the Palestine Economic Development Company in 2006 and left the Gaza Strip in frustration.

During Israel’s June 2006 “Operation Summer Rains,” the United Nations Development Programme estimated that Israel inflicted $23.5 million in damage on Gaza’s agriculture, including damage to the greenhouses. Due to lack of project funds, no crop was planted that fall. During the next harvest season Israel kept the crossings open despite no noticeable change in security threat. Tentative plans were made to lease the greenhouses to independent farmers the next season, but when Israel and Egypt officially began the Gaza siege in 2007, the export-driven project was dead with no hope for revival.

At the beginning of 2008, Hamas militiamen blew a hole in the wall separating Gaza from Egypt. Many Gazans crossed into the Sinai to purchase goods and sell what they could. Farmers who had been prohibited from exporting their agricultural produce for years sold these same greenhouses to Sinai farmers who were not faced with similar export constraints and were happy to have them. Some greenhouses remained. Many were deliberately destroyed by the IDF during operation Cast Lead, which caused nearly $16 million in damage to Gaza greenhouses. Others have been destroyed by the most recent bombardment.

What does the lie accomplish?

The answer to this question depends on context. Hillary Clinton used the lie in a non sequitur to rebut Jon Stewart’s question of why Gazans cannot look to Hamas as their “freedom fighters.” Ezra Levant used it to argue that Palestinians are anti-Semites.

One of the Palestinians’ demands as a condition for a ceasefire during the present conflict is an end to the economically devastating siege and access to a UN-monitored seaport. If pro-Israel pundits admit that Israel killed the Gaza greenhouse project (and the rest of the Gaza economy) through border closures they might also have to admit that this request is reasonable.

The foundation of the lie inevitably denies Israel’s responsibility for destroying a lucrative business while simultaneously implying that Palestinians would rather engage in self-destructive sabotage than build a functioning economy. Indeed, the logic goes, if Palestinians cannot be trusted to keep a profitable greenhouse project running, how could we ever expect them to run a State?

The greenhouses are just one example of an industry choked to death by the Israeli siege. There are hundreds of others.

I caught up with Bassil Jabir this week, and he was not hesitant about what killed the greenhouse project. “All the problems I told you about were problems that we could handle or had handled. If we could have exported our produce we would have made $25 million after recovering our investment. [It was] not what the Israeli settlers did, not what the Palestinian looters did. Yes, it was bad, yes, it was costly, but if we got to export our produce we would have recovered in our first year. The closure [of the Karni crossing] was the evil from which we could not recover…It was my dream project and it was destroyed in front of me.”

The Greenhouse project is dead and with it died the dreams of many Palestinian farmers. Eight years ago the BBC reported on a murder by strangulation. Thanks to American revisionists like Hillary Clinton and Charles Krauthammer, it is now being portrayed as a suicide.

Source (http://mondoweiss.net/2014/08/propaganda-dehumanize-palestinians.html) -- Links contained in original article

panopticon

11th August 2014, 05:28

Tell me again this assault is about anything other than Money, Control & Power...

Just as the West Bank is a testing zone for anti-protest equipment Gaza is an R&D/demonstration site for new military equipment:

Image aside, for several years IMI has very quietly been developing more sophisticated products than bullets, rifles or hand grenades. For example, its new, super-smart MPR-500 multipurpose rigid bomb, which is designed to penetrate reinforced concrete structures and other difficult targets, was first used operationally in Protective Edge. Today, back orders for the bomb total 5.6 billion shekels.
That's $1.6 billion (USD) from this single bomb!

Why is this important?

IMI is looking at being privatised next year so getting sales up and a higher successful profile is good for the Israeli Governments bottom line...

Defense Update tells us about the MPR-500:

As a blast fragmentation warhead, the MPR packs 26,000 fragments, sending a dense curtain affecting an area of 2,200 square meters around the impact point for maximum lethality.

Nevertheless, this lethality effect is focused to a small area, limiting collateral damage to 60-100 meters. In fact, the effect of the current MPR 500 is comparable to that of Mk84 general-purpose bomb, whose use in urban setting is limited, due to the large collateral damage radius of the Mk84, which covers hundreds of meters, limiting its use in support close to friendly forces.
Source (http://defense-update.com/20140212_imi-expands-mpr-multi-purpose-bomb-line.html)
Let me repeat that: 'use in urban setting is limited, due to the large collateral damage radius.'

IMI's page on the MPR-500 here (http://www.imi-israel.com/home/doc.aspx?mCatID=66598).

http://www.imi-israel.com/sysvault/photoalbum/img634762222673234310.jpg

:tsk:

###

For Israel’s arms makers, Gaza war is their top salesman (http://www.haaretz.com/news/1.609919)
By Shuki Sadeh, August 11, 2014

http://www.haaretz.com/polopoly_fs/1.609926.1407717627!/image/2011867995.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_640/2011867995.jpg
Israeli soldiers from the armoured corps gestures atop tanks after returning to Israel from Gaza August 5, 2014. Photo by Reuters

Factories worked around the clock turning out munitions as the army tested their newest systems against a real enemy. Now, they are expecting their battle-tested products will win them new customers.

Far from the fighting in the Gaza Strip and the rocket attacks that have pummeled Israel from south to the Sharon, some 300 employees of Israel Military Industries in Nazareth haven’t left their assembly lines for a minute in the past four weeks. They have been working in shifts, 24 hours a day, to ensure a regular supply of 5.56 mm bullets to Israel Defense Forces soldiers. Others have been hard at work turning out highly sophisticated Kalanit and Hatzav tank shells for the Artillery Corps. The shells, which are fired above the heads of militants armed with anti-tank weapons, exploding in midair above them and releasing shrapnel, were both used on a massive scale for the first time in Operation Protective Edge.

For some years now the state-owned IMI has had an image problem, in part due to it enormous debts and management’s cozy ties with the union locals and the political establishment. Next to the two other big government-owned defense companies, Rafael Advanced Defense Systems and Israel Aerospace Industries, until recently IMI looked decided dowdy, low-tech and crony-ridden. Three months ago the state signed a recovery accord with IMI, which offered a generous severance package of 1.3 million shekels ($370,000) to any employee who took voluntary early retirement. Early next year the government plans to hold a tender to privatize the company, and by early 2016 IMI should be in private hands.

Image aside, for several years IMI has very quietly been developing more sophisticated products than bullets, rifles or hand grenades. For example, its new, super-smart MPR-500 multipurpose rigid bomb, which is designed to penetrate reinforced concrete structures and other difficult targets, was first used operationally in Protective Edge. Today, back orders for the bomb total 5.6 billion shekels.

IMI has built the foundations for a more successful business, and in a market where violence erupts every few years a new round of violence erupts, a dependable customer with the IDF and a classroom to test its equipment.

“IMI cooperates with the IDF and the defense establishment in adapting quick solutions for changing needs,” says UMI chairman Maj. Gen. (res.) Udi Adam. “The defense industry is in a perpetual learning mode together with the IDF and the Defense Ministry to examine the weapons systems that were introduced for initial operational use in Operation Protective Edge, as well as weapons systems that have been in operational use for a long time.”

One unit of IMI has already been privatized. Israel Weapon Industries, which makes the Tavor assault rifle that is used today by most of the infantry, is owned by Samy Katsav and is considered one of the world’s six leading light-weapons manufactures. The SK Group comprises several companies that supply the IDF.

Israel Shipyards, for example, makes missile boats and the Shaldag patrol boat for the Israeli military, while Meprolight manufactures sights for sniper rifles and night-vision equipment. As is the case for all companies in the group, Meprolight’s most important customer is the IDF, even if 90% of the company’s sales are to foreign countries,.

“After every campaign of the kind that is now taking place in Gaza, we see an increase in the number of customers from abroad,” says Meprolight CEO Eli Gold, adding, “Of course, we marketing abroad aggressively, but IDF operations definitely affect marketing activity.”

Protective Edge’s marketing edge

“Battle-tested” is the best marketing slogan for defense industries the world over, so for Israeli military manufactures Operation Protective Edge has yielded a major competitive edge.

“For the defense industries this campaign is like drinking a very strong energy drink — it simply gives them tremendous forward momentum,” says Barbara Opall-Rome, Israel bureau chief for the U.S. magazine Defense News. “Combat is like the highest seal of approval when it comes to the international markets. What has proven itself in battle is much easier to sell. Immediately after the operation, and perhaps even during, all kinds of delegations arrive here from countries that appreciate Israel’s technological capabilities and are interested in testing the new products.”

That was also the opinion of veteran military correspondent Amir Rapaport, editor of Israel Defense, which covers the local defense industry. “From a business point of view, the operation was an outstanding thing for the defense industries,” he says. “There are two main reasons for that. First, the cloud of budget cuts and project cancellations has been lifted. I believe that after the operation, Israel’s defense budget will be increased and projects that were frozen will be revived. Second, during the weeks of the war, new products were introduced for the army’s use. The war is an opportunity to cut red tape. Weapons systems that have long been under development suddenly became operational during the course of the fighting.

Operation Protective Edge saw many weapons systems and other technology that had been under development since the time of the Second Lebanon War in 2006 enter the field of battle, for instance a unique communications system designed to link air, sea and ground forces to the same infrastructure. “It’s very difficult to defeat an enemy like Hamas, which is a guerrilla organization, but in terms of technology the victory is quite clear,” says Rapaport.

“The operation has a potential to promote defense exports, mainly systems that have proven themselves,” says Maj. Gen. (res.) Danny Yatom, who now deals in defense equipment and other business. “The industry will also benefits as the [Israeli] defense establishment rebuilds inventories. Also, in this war we saw that the army has new needs, especially in regards to tunnels. In my opinion, there will now be an accelerated process of development for that. There’s a financial incentive both for the developers and the manufacturers.”

Yatom contends that the course of Operation Protective Edge shows that future weapons systems must be designed to combat guerrilla organizations rather than conventional armies. One example of the likely change is increased demand for thermal-imaging night-vision equipment, rather than the Starlight technology, based on available light, that is currently more common in the IDF. “Thermal-imaging night-vision equipment is not affected by glow of bombs and by urban lighting, so it makes identification easier,” he explains.

Gold confirms that the army is already thinking about this issue. “During the war the IDF took an interest in this subject,” he says. “But still it’s hard to estimate how things will turn out, because the IDF has yet to formulate a view on the matter. The product itself is not new, and we’ve already sold it to various armies worldwide.”

On the other hand, not everyone thinks that a successful campaign means an increase in defense exports. Maj. Gen. (res.) Isaac Ben Yisrael, a former director of the Defense Ministry’s Research and Development Directorate, cautions that the success in Israel of a certain military system does not necessarily carry over to foreign sales.

“Iron Dome, for example, is one of the main developments in this war,” he says, “but there’s no demand for it in the world, because other countries don’t face a similar threat. Besides, after the war most of the money channeled into the defense budget will be used for restocking inventories, so that the money that would normally be directed toward developing combat systems will decrease.”

He says that despite the criticism being heard about the size of the defense budget, Israel has no choice but to increase the army’s R&D spending. That should be done by channeling profits from the government defense industries into the IDF’s R&D units, he says, rather than handing them over to the Finance Ministry, which funnels this money into the general state budget.

Source (http://www.haaretz.com/news/1.609919)

avid

11th August 2014, 08:35

http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2014/08/09/374680/israel-pm-fears-war-crime-charges/

"Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is afraid of a possible international lawsuit by Palestinians against the Zionist regime to face war crime charges, an analyst tells Press TV.

In an interview with Press TV on Friday, Jim W. Dean said Netanyahu is appealing to US lawmakers to dodge war crime charges over Israel’s onslaught on Gaza.

“By doing this and putting a show on doing it publicly, he is showing that they are really afraid of this…,” Dean added.

The analyst stated that Netanyahu is seeking the help of US Congressmen to assist Tel Aviv avert war crime charges and, thus, continue its war on Gaza.

“What he is asking the Congress to do is to aid and abet Israel getting away with these war crimes that they have been committing, which basically is giving them the potential to continue to do these,” he said.

Dean added that “all supporters” of Israel must be also sued in international courts for helping the Tel Aviv regime with its crimes.

The Israeli military aggression against Gaza, which began on July 8, has claimed lives of more than 1,900 Palestinians, including more than 400 children, and injured over 10,000 others.

A 72-hour truce in Gaza ended Friday morning without any agreement to extend it. Shortly after the expiry of the truce, the Israeli regime resumed pounding the Gaza Strip and Israeli tanks were redeployed to their previous positions during the Gaza war.

Meanwhile, Netanyahu reportedly met with US officials on Wednesday, asking them to ensure that Palestinians’ bid to go to ICC does not succeed after Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki met with ICC officials in The Hague earlier this week to file a complaint detailing war crimes committed by the Israeli army over the past few weeks in Palestine."

video of interview on above link

panopticon

11th August 2014, 09:41

Israel to declare Gaza 'enemy territory' to avoid payouts to inhabitants (http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/.premium-1.609531)
By Barak Ravid, August 7th, 2014

Decision would mean Israel would not be liable for damage incurred to residents of the Strip as a result of Israeli actions during Operation Protective Edge.

The cabinet is expected to declare the Gaza Strip as enemy territory. A senior Israeli official said the decision would mean that Israel would not be liable for damage incurred to residents of the Strip as a result of Israeli actions during Operation Protective Edge.

The resolution on the decision was posted to the website of the Prime Minister’s Office Thursday afternoon, but a few hours later it was decided that it would not be brought for a vote at the weekly cabinet meeting on Sunday.

In 2007, three months after Hamas came to power in the Gaza Strip, the cabinet declared the area hostile territory, instituting restrictions on movement by its inhabitants and of merchandise and fuel into the area.

The proposal states that the decision is intended “to give additional legal expression to the status of the Gaza Strip in keeping with the law on civil damages.”

The Defense Ministry’s legal advisor, Ahaz Ben-Ari, wrote in an opinion appended to the proposal that “a difficulty exists on the international level in that the declaration will be perceived mistakenly as an attempt by the State of Israel to evade its responsibility to examine claims of breaching of the rules of armed conflict.” Ben-Ari said the preamble of the draft law would resolve this difficulty.

The preamble states that the declaration “will not affect the obligation of the State of Israel to investigate claims of ostensible breaches of the rules of armed conflict. The decision detracts not at all from this obligation.”

According to the Defense Ministry, such a decision would greatly reduce the resources needed to deal with suits that might be brought by Palestinians because of damage done by the Israel Defense Forces as well as by future IDF action. Ben- Ari wrote that “most of these suits are in any case rejected as they are the outcome of actions of war.”

Ben-Ari also wrote that the damage by the IDF “stemmed from the actions of Hamas which places its command posts, weapons stores and rocket-launching sites in built up areas in the Gaza Strip, hiding behind innocent civilians and preventing them from leaving their homes.”

Source (http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/.premium-1.609531)

Observer1964

11th August 2014, 11:08

panopticon

11th August 2014, 14:09

Jewish Lobby got journalist fired over a ‘Gaza Cartoon’http://rehmat1.files.wordpress.com/2014/08/remotecontrolbombingofgaza1.jpg?w=500&h=269
Mike Carlton, 68, Australia’s veteran journalist and author, has resigned after his employer Sydney Morning Herald suspended him under pressure from country’s powerful Jewish Lobby.

Australian Jewish groups had slammed the newspaper over Carlton’s July 26 column in which he accused the Zionist entity of “waging its own war of terror on the entire Gaza population”. The column was accompanied by a cartoon (shown above), which was widely condemned as “anti-Jew” by leaders of country’s organized Jewry which also threatened to take legal action against the newspaper under country’s “Hate Law”.

Initially, the newspaper defended the cartoon, explaining that Le Lievre’s drawing was inspired by “news photographs of Israeli Jews seated in chairs and lounges, observing the Israeli shelling of Gaza.”

But then, as expected, the Jewish Lobby invoked the “Six Million Died” smoking gun to demonize the newspaper. The Australian Jewish News wrote: “Not only were we treated to baseless accusations of ‘genocide’ and ‘ethnic cleansing’ on Israel’s part, but then there was a subtle shift. These were crimes being committed by ‘a people with a proud liberal tradition of scholarship and culture, who hold the Warsaw Ghetto and the six million dead of the Holocaust at the centre of their race memory.’ “This column was no longer about a country, this was about a people and a race – a people and a race who should know better because of what they themselves went through. In short, you Jews are the same as the Nazis, worse perhaps because you choose to ignore the lessons of your own history.”

If I were Carlton, I would have responded: “If the shoes fit, wear them.”

However, in order to avoid further backlash from the Jewish community and the ...
Continue--> (http://rehmat1.com/2014/08/07/jewish-lobby-got-journalist-fired-over-a-gaza-cartoon/)

That's causing all sorts of reverberations in Australia.

Short story: After being abused for over a week (via email, social media, phone etc) about a cartoon used in an article he wrote (he didn't have editorial on cartoon selection btw so nothing to do with him) he told a few of those calling for his untimely death to "f*ck off" (his words).

That is what the complaint was that got him suspended which led to him resigning.

As he said: Confirming I have quit the SMH, sad that a once great newspaper has buckled to the bullies. Thanks for your support...maintain the rage (source (https://twitter.com/MikeCarlton01/status/496807430966095872)).

He also said:

Yep, gmail account is getting a denial of service attack from 3 separate international IPs. Shutting it down.Can't imagine who'd be doing it

Gmail account shut down. Pleased, really.. Ends the torrent of foul abuse from demented Likudniks: "You're killing my kids, Nazi!"

Very hyperactive reaction from the Murdoch media about this resulted in them having to apologise for this photo shop chop job:
http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2014/8/8/1407463081735/bd161899-7b5e-4644-b9e6-68404a649f92-460x276.jpeg

The image on the right has Carlton's head added with Palestinian head gear and a background of exploding buildings.

The body is from the Boston Marathon bombing (picture on the left)... :tsk:

Article from the Australian Guardian Online about it:
http://www.theguardian.com/media/2014/aug/08/daily-telegraph-sorry-for-using-boston-bombing-image-to-mock-mike-carlton

Carlton was targeted by the Murdoch press and the powerful Israeli Lobby (eg The B’nai B’rith Anti-Defamation Commission Inc. (ADC) (http://www.antidef.org.au/), The Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council (AIJAC (http://www.aijac.org.au/)) & The Executive Council of Australian Jewry Inc. (http://www.ecaj.org.au/)) as his views were based in fact and first hand experience in battle zones (he spent years covering the Vietnam War for the Australian Broadcasting Commission (http://www.awm.gov.au/collection/F10542/)).

The claim he is an anti-Semite is laughable as his "much loved" son-in-law is Jewish as are many of his friends (who all jumped to his defence).

Of course none of that stops those who have an agenda from attacking with all sorts of venom (Andrew Bolt etc). Read Carlton's feed (https://twitter.com/MikeCarlton01) to see some he's re-tweeted (along with lots of support for him)...

If a person complains about Hamas digging tunnels and shooting rockets then it's all right. That's good because Israel is a democracy and democracy's don't do anything bad, they never lie to their citizens, they never back terrorist organisations to topple/destabilise elected governments or torture detainees (I just realised haven't even gone beyond the 1970's with those!)... Mention that Palestinian civilians are being killed, that the Israeli Governments story doesn't check out or any number of critiques of the official Israeli Government/media line and you are automatically branded as an "anti-Semite".

That, to me at least, is a sure sign that something is wrong and needs to be examined.

-- Pan

panopticon

11th August 2014, 14:50

By the way, there's an article @ 972mag.com (http://972mag.com/were-gaza-tunnels-built-to-harm-israeli-civilians/95279/) about the untruths surrounding the reporting of the "Hamas Terror Tunnels".

Since I don't speak Hebrew or Arabic I have a bit of trouble (read as: it's impossible) when something is only said in Hebrew or Arabic as I can't translate it using software (when are those Universal Translators coming out?).

As a result I rely on articles written by people citing English translations of things said in Hebrew.

Anyway, onto the "Terror Tunnels"...

One of the things that came out pretty quick was that the IDF & "Intelligence" services said they weren't aware of the extent of the tunnel network. I find that a bit hard to believe as it would be a massive intelligence failure that I can't see having happened, but let's just ignore that for now...

As a result of this "new" intelligence, Operation Protective Edge was reconceptualised around the destruction of the "Terror Tunnels"...

Now I've read some pretty interesting allegations from the IDF about these tunnels and it is interesting that now many of these have been shown to be fantasy.

Just a two quotes from this one article:

Was there a plan to simultaneously send 200 terrorists from dozens of tunnels to six Israeli towns on the border of Gaza on Jewish New Year? Was it only prevented by the kidnapping of the three Israeli youths and Operation Protective Edge, as Ariel Kahane claimed in his article on NRG [Hebrew]?

No. Not only does this story make no sense – if Hamas had such a genius plan, why didn’t they hold off on shooting rockets for another three months? Eventually the “plot” was revealed to be a rumor that gained traction in the ultra-Orthodox press that got some traction, with intelligence personnel denying the claim [Hebrew]. If such a horrific story was realized, it would have been a terrible disaster. But contrary to the nonsense Avri Gilad wrote in his Facebook post [Hebrew], with a similar story that got hundreds of thousands of views, Israel did not “face its first threat to its existence since the 1948 war” much like the U.S. did not face a threat to its existence on 9/11.
Source (http://972mag.com/were-gaza-tunnels-built-to-harm-israeli-civilians/95279/)

This is not saying that there was/is no threat from the tunnels. That is far from the case. You'd have to be naive to believe that. Just the story of an uncovered plan to massacre Jewish Settlers & their children while they slept was made up.

Again, not saying that it couldn't happen. What I'm saying is that the certainty that it was expressed and the way it was pushed as "truth" in the media led to my belief that it needed further investigation (though I thought that would be months if not years after the assault was completed).

But if they didn’t want to hurt communities, why did they dig tunnels under dining halls and kindergartens inside those communities?

Here’s the thing: they didn’t. It turns out that there were no tunnels into the communities. The tunnel into the Kisufim dining hall? That was an old sewer line [Hebrew] mistakenly identified as a tunnel shaft.

Spokeswomen for two of the regional municipalities adjacent to Gaza published a letter to military reporters, in which they asked them to ensure accurate reporting and stop claiming that there were infiltrations into the communities: “the fact is that most of these incidents occur far from the community and, fortunately, not inside any civilian area. Reality is tough and scary enough as it is; we ask you to think of the residents as they sit in their locked homes and to stick to the facts. We are aware of the needs of both the IDF as well as journalists to illustrate the scope of the danger and the importance of uncovering a tunnel. But associating that with a name of a specific community only increases anxiety levels among residents and their immediate environment.

One of spokeswomen, who appeared on Israel’s educational channel, said that the tunnel which was ostensibly aimed at a kindergarten in Ein Hashlosha, reached about 2.5 kilometers from the community, and its exit shafts were near an IDF security path.
Source (http://972mag.com/were-gaza-tunnels-built-to-harm-israeli-civilians/95279/)
That's right.

All that talk about tunnels coming out in the middle of Settlements...

Poppycock...
Balderdash...
Rubbish...

It's like you just can't believe the propaganda any more...

-- Pan

panopticon

12th August 2014, 04:17

Unofficial reports are that a truce is on the cards with both the Israeli Government and PA/Hamas/factions making concessions.

Israeli cabinet meets in around 5 hours to discuss the proposals (from what I've read that involves Netanyahu & Ya'alon saying what's going to happen [Haaretz (http://t.co/BYvb0X8e36)]).

Anyway, reports indicate that Palestinian negotiators have taken the airport & sea port off the table in return for Israel not pushing for their demilitarisation.

Also reports that Israel will release the 100's of Palestinians taken prisoner in Operation Brothers Keeper (remember, back when this was supposed to be about the 3 Israeli-Jewish youths slaughtered).

PA would be in charge of Gaza & crossings with Hamas in charge of... ???

Paying of 42000 Palestinian municipal workers etc in Gaza will finally be allowed...

Lifting of Israeli blockade on Gaza/Israel crossings (no news about Rafah/Egypt) and extension of fishing zone.

We'll know in a few hours whether this is another smoke screen or real...

My thoughts are with those working for solutions & an end to the violence and lies on both sides.

-- Pan

Update:

Israeli cabinet meeting cancelled.
Egypt says: 95% there.
PA/Hamas & factions say: almost there but will walk away if Israel doesn't [insert demand]...
Israel says: there are points of contention.

Typical :tsk:

panopticon

12th August 2014, 10:38

One of the reports from earlier today referring to some of the concessions/negotiations (report is prior to the Israeli Cabinet meeting being cancelled/postponed).

###

Israel prepared to ease conditions in Gaza to reach truce (http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/.premium-1.610061)
By Barak Ravid and Zvi Bar'el, August 12th, 2014

http://www.haaretz.com/polopoly_fs/1.609153.1407318461!/image/306154085.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_640/306154085.jpg
Members of Israel's security cabinet during the Gaza hostilities. Photo by Moti Milrod

An expanded fishing zone, easier passage for people and goods between Gaza and Israel and other concessions have been offered, a senior Israeli official says.

Israel has agreed to ease conditions in the Gaza Strip during the Cairo cease-fire talks, a senior official in Jerusalem said yesterday.

While no final agreement has been reached, Israel is prepared to ease conditions in a number of areas beyond those agreed to after Operation Pillar of Defense in 2012, Israeli officials said.

They include:

Expanding the fishing zone off Gaza from three nautical miles to six. Israel made clear that if security conditions allow in the future it will consider expanding the zone to 12 nautical miles, as Hamas demands.

Easing passage for people from the Gaza Strip to Israel and the West Bank and increasing the number of permits given each month to 5,000.

Significantly increasing the number of trucks with various merchandise that can enter Israel via the Kerem Shalom crossing.

Israel is prepared to allow money to be brought into the Gaza Strip to pay the salaries of Hamas officials through a third country that is not Qatar or through the United Nations. The transfer of the funds will be monitored so it is not used to finance terror.

The official said Israel is not prepared to discuss Hamas demands to build a seaport or airport in Gaza. He said during the talks on easing the siege, the issue came up of returning the bodies of IDF Staff Sgt. Oron Shaul and 2nd Lt. Hadar Goldin, which Hamas is holding. Israel would be prepared to release a few dozen prisoners arrested during the Gaza operation in exchange for the bodies.

As for Israel’s demand to demilitarize the Gaza Strip, no breakthrough is expected. In Jerusalem. Talk on this matter turned last week to preventing rearmament or preventing Hamas from growing stronger, rather than disarmament of the Strip.

The security cabinet is to meet this afternoon in the prime minister’s bureau in Jerusalem to discuss progress in the Egyptian-brokered negotiations in Cairo for a long-term stable cease-fire between Israel and the Palestinian factions.

The Israeli delegation to the Cairo talks spent yesterday in Cairo and returned to Israel in the evening, at which point they reported to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon on the details of the talks.

Netanyahu and Ya’alon are managing the negotiations by themselves. The security cabinet meeting that is to take place today, the first in a week, will be the first chance ministers will have to hear details of the talks. A few of the ministers said yesterday that they do not know if a done deal will be brought to the meeting for a vote or whether they can still influence the components of the agreement in discussion.

At this point Israel is preparing for the 72-hour cease-fire to expire on Wednesday night and that without an agreement firing from the Gaza Strip will begin again. “If this happens we will respond more forcefully and it may even be decided to expand the operation and go back to a ground action,” a senior official said in Jerusalem.

Netanyahu and Ya’alon are said to be hoping that in light of Egypt’s tough stand against the tunnels in Rafah, Hamas will have difficulty obtaining the materials it needs to rebuilt the tunnels and manufacture weapons.

Meanwhile, an Egyptian source was reported saying that 95 percent of the problems raised in negotiations over a cease-fire with Gaza have been solved. The remaining 5 percent have to do with the construction of a seaport and airport, which Israel has rejected, arguing that these matters are linked to a final diplomatic solution between Israel and the Palestinians.

According to the Egyptian source, who spoke to the Egyptian daily Al-Shuruq, the Palestinian delegation also demanded the release of the fourth group of prisoners jailed since before the signing of the Oslo Accords – which was to have taken place in March under the terms of the Kerry talks – but Israel also rejected this demand. However, Palestinian sources said Israel had agreed in principle to release prisoners who had been part of the Shalit swap and were re-arrested after the kidnapping of the three teenage boys in June. But this agreement in principle, if indeed it exists, still does not appear in the drafts that are moving between the parties.

With regard to the border crossings, Egyptian sources say it has been agreed that all crossings between Israel and Gaza will be opened. However, how they will be monitored has yet to be settled – it has not been decided if monitors from the European Union would join inspectors to be appointed by the Palestinian reconciliation government. The Rafah border with Egypt will be discussed separately between the Palestinians and the Egyptians. Cairo has meanwhile announced that it intends to open the Rafah crossing for three days running, beginning today, to allow the passage of the wounded and the sick as well as foreigners.

Qais Abd al-Karim, deputy secretary general of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine, said yesterday that a proposal was on the table to station 1,000 members of the Palestinian Presidential Guard along the border between Gaza and Egypt, and it seems that Hamas does not object. At the same time, Hamas political chief Khaled Meshal told the BBC that the cease-fire is a tactical step only, to allow assistance and medications to reach civilians in Gaza, and that if the talks fail, the “resistance” will act against Israel.

These reports indicate that the parties have not yet reached an agreement on the details of lifting the siege on the Gaza Strip, or on what kind and how much merchandise will be allowed in and out of the Strip. Nor is there agreement on overland passage between Gaza and the West Bank.

Source (http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/.premium-1.610061)

KiwiElf

12th August 2014, 10:53

I'm wondering if these so-called "terror tunnels" are actually Ancient (rediscovered) tunnels leading to something much more "valuable"? (Hint: like the tunnels under the Giza Pyramids?) - something so important that Israel/US/=CABAL would do anything to get control of?

panopticon

12th August 2014, 11:22

Human Rights Watch report on Egypt's 2013 Rab’a Massacre is called 'All According To Plan' and is available here (http://www.hrw.org/node/127942).

In an article, titled 'Egypt: Rab’a Killings Likely Crimes against Humanity', HRW says:

In the August 14 dispersal of the Rab’a al-Adawiya sit-in alone, security forces, following a plan that envisioned several thousand deaths, killed a minimum of 817 people and more likely at least 1,000.
...
“In Rab'a Square, Egyptian security forces carried out one of the world’s largest killings of demonstrators in a single day in recent history,” said Kenneth Roth, executive director of Human Rights Watch. “This wasn’t merely a case of excessive force or poor training. It was a violent crackdown planned at the highest levels of the Egyptian government. Many of the same officials are still in power in Egypt, and have a lot to answer for.”
...
Since the events of July and August 2013, in addition to continuing to open fire on demonstrators, Egyptian authorities have engaged in repression in a scale unprecedented in recent years, including imposing extensive restrictions on freedom of association, expression, and assembly, carrying out mass arbitrary arrests and torture, depriving detainees, including at least 22,000 Muslim Brotherhood supporters, of basic due process rights, and handing down mass, long-term jail and death sentences to opponents.
Source (http://www.hrw.org/node/128069)
Just a reminder of who is mediating the Israel-Palestine negotiations...

-- Pan

panopticon

12th August 2014, 13:50

Video of Egyptian crimes as documented by Human Rights Watch in the report mentioned in the previous post (Warning: viewer discretion, dead bodies, wounded, disturbing images, do not watch with children).

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Why is this important to know?

El-Sisi has been called by the Israeli ambassador in Cairo a national hero to "Jews in Israel and around the globe" (source (https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/news/middle-east/6617-israeli-ambassador-calls-al-sisi-a-qnational-hero-for-all-jewsq)).

El-Sisi was deeply involved in the events leading up to and planning of the suppression of dissent at various site in Egypt July/August 2013.

These sites included the Rab’a al-Adawiya square and the HRW allegations of Egyptian forces massacring 817 largely peaceful protesters.

El-Sisi's Government & negotiators are behind many of the ceasefire failures between Israeli & Palestinian negotiators. Egypt's policies under el-Sisi set this entire ball rolling with the destruction of the supply tunnels in Southern Gaza and the ending of Government to Government relations with Hamas.

There is a lot of this that is to do with Egyptian money, control & power in the region (remember the billions in US dollars for the Suez Canal upgrade starting next year, the undersea natural gas pipelines from Israel?).

That's what this has to do with the Israeli Government & IDF assault on Gaza...

-- Pan

panopticon

13th August 2014, 02:49

The We Believe In Israel "Toolkit" for pro-Israeli activism at the grassroot level:

This toolkit is intended to give pro-Israel campaigners the essential information and advice needed to campaign for Israel both all-year-round and in the event of a crisis when Israel hits the headlines.

It consists of “how to” guides setting out the basics of each kind of campaign activity and fact sheets about key aspects of Israel’s case.

The absolute key to us shifting opinions on Israel is to develop individual personal relationships with people. This will make us better placed to influence them.

https://web.archive.org/web/20140804070705/http://www.webelieveinisrael.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/WBII-toolkit.pdf
Source (https://web.archive.org/web/20140804070705/http://www.webelieveinisrael.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/WBII-toolkit.pdf)

Additional quick guide to contacting media & online social networks here (https://web.archive.org/web/20140813032551/http://www.webelieveinisrael.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/media-guide.pdf).

-- Pan

panopticon

13th August 2014, 05:23

IDF 3rd naval shelling event during ceasefire occurred ~ 4:30 am (Gaza Time).
Previous ones aimed at boats within appropriate designation area (Israeli reports state that fishing boats were moving near buffer zone so fired "warning shells").

Note that fishing zone was reduced from 6 nm provisioned under 2012 agreement and has been enforced by both Israeli & Egyptian Navy's (source (http://www.madamasr.com/content/egyptian-navy-arrests-three-gazan-fishermen)) and Israel constantly manipulates the approved zone (source (http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2013/03/gaza-fisherman-israel-restrictions.html)).

This manipulation is probably to punish fishers just as the harassment in the West Bank is intended to -- ie control actions through fear.

###

Israeli Navy Breaks the Ceasefire (http://www.telesurtv.net/english/contenidos/2014/08/12/noticia_0032.html)
August 12th 2014

The Israeli Navy fires on Palestinian fishing boats on the coast of Rafah.

The Israeli navy broke the three-day humanitarian ceasefire, Tuesday, near Rafah, when they fired on Palestinian fishing boats, even though the Palestinians were fishing close to the coast.

The Israeli navy has often attacked fishing boats over the past few years, killed and arrested fishermen and destroyed boats.

Under current Israeli law, Palestinians are only allowed to fish three nautical miles from the coast. In November 2012, Israel had agreed that Palestinians could fish up to six nautical miles, and then last May they rescinded that agreement.

Israeli and Palestinian representatives are currently in negotiations over a long-term ceasefire to end the month of Israeli aggression against the Gaza people. One of the main points that Hamas, the Palestinian Authority, and other Palestinian political parties are demanding is: establishing an international seaport that would be under U.N. supervision, and increasing the permitted fishing zone to 6 miles.

panopticon

13th August 2014, 11:40

Israeli soldiers filmed in the West Bank shooting a Palestinian youth in the leg and laughing and joking about it (this was not in Gaza but is in the occupied territories on the 9th August 2014):

r5T-hKpDSrg
Canadian activist for ISM, who videoed the shooting, took this photo of the IDF soldiers after the shooting:

http://cdn.palsolidarity.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/2-600x449.jpg

For more information see this article:
Video: Israeli soldiers celebrate shooting an 18-year-old (http://palsolidarity.org/2014/08/video-israeli-soldiers-celebrate-shooting-an-18-year-old/)

-- Pan

panopticon

13th August 2014, 15:42

Yousef Munayyer thanks Russell Brand for critique of Hannity's insane interview on Fox:

Thank You Sean Hannity (and Russell Brand) (http://blog.thejerusalemfund.org/2014/08/thank-you-sean-hannity-and-russell-brand.html)

Here are the video's for those who might have missed them:

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V_m98GAdqKM
x4bvXqtOHhE
-v5WlY8Uf5U
Finally a few responses from Russell Brand to some criticisms he's received.

wxFwtaWsR6E
-- Pan

panopticon

13th August 2014, 16:22

IDF reservists are being called up and troops moved toward the "buffer zone" in preparation for the ceasefire to end in just over 4 and a half hours.

No news on whether it will be renewed...

While there hasn't been much extra information released on how the negotiations are preceding the head of the Qassam Brigade is reportedly going to speak in an hour or so. Also, Hamas called for protests in the West Bank tomorrow and the IDF has increased its program of late night raids leading to arrest/detention if Palestinians in the West Bank (particularly Jerusalem [source (http://www.worldbulletin.net/headlines/142426/israel-detains-60-palestinians-in-east-jerusalem)]).

Reportedly Netanyahu just called Obama to tell him about the Gaza talks. No news what was said (source (http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/1.610283)).

Remember a little while back I was saying that when certain Israeli commentators are quiet then there's probably something in the wind.

They're quiet at the moment... Only the TV talking heads are spouting that a "deal is almost there"...

As I said, just over 4 and a half hours 'til ceasefire ends. Now I sleep, perchance to dream.

-- Pan

Bob

13th August 2014, 20:14

This was touched on a while back, particular war crimes, the last war when Israel attacked Gaza.. no doubt such would be able to be tracked earlier (search on Israel white phosphorus)

White phosphorus bombs are criminal, declared weapons of warcrimes.. white phosphorus is very poisonous: a dose of 50-100 milligrams is lethal to the average human.

White phosphorus has been used, and documented. It continues to burn when it touches flesh, leaving the most horrendous most painful wounds. It is the bomb that keeps on "giving" long after it has blasted it's way into its targets.

Source (http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/munitions/wp.htm)

It should be pointed out White phosphorus is not banned by any treaty to which the United States is a signatory.

White phosphorus results in painful chemical burn injuries. The resultant burn typically appears as a necrotic area with a yellowish color and characteristic garliclike odor. White phosphorus is highly lipid soluble and as such, is believed to have rapid dermal penetration once particles are embedded under the skin. Because of its enhanced lipid solubility, many have believed that these injuries result in delayed wound healing. This has not been well studied; therefore, all that can be stated is that white phosphorus burns represent a small subsegment of chemical burns, all of which typically result in delayed wound healing.

Incandescent particles of WP may produce extensive burns. Phosphorus burns on the skin are deep and painful; a firm eschar is produced and is surrounded by vesiculation. The burns usually are multiple, deep, and variable in size. The solid in the eye produces severe injury. The particles continue to burn unless deprived of atmospheric oxygen. Contact with these particles can cause local burns. These weapons are particularly nasty because white phosphorus continues to burn until it disappears. If service members are hit by pieces of white phosphorus, it could burn right down to the bone. Burns usually are limited to areas of exposed skin (upper extremities, face). Burns frequently are second and third degree because of the rapid ignition and highly lipophilic properties of white phosphorus.

These weapons were used by Israel on the people they attacked. They claim it is not in violation of any treaties.

Others beg to differ:

Source (http://stopwar.org.uk/news/the-terror-weapons-israel-is-using-in-its-war-crimes-against-civilians-in-gaza)

White Phosphorous is a poisonous, combustible non-metal is referred to in the US military as 'Shake 'n Bake'. It ignites spontaneously, glows in the dark and removes oxygen from the air while emitting highly toxic fumes.

The effect is death by asphyxiation and/or by inhaling poison.

White phosphorus is outlawed under the 1925 Geneva Protocol which prohibits “the use in war of asphyxiating, poisonous or other gases”, by Protocol III of the 1980 Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons which “prohibits or restricts the use of Incendiary Weapons” and The Battle Book, published by the US Command and General Staff College states, “It is against the law of land warfare to employ white phosphorus against personnel targets.”

Below is a picture of white phosphorus being used on the attacked school.. Also are other images of what white phosphorus bombs look like when lit off.

Examples of White Phosphorus explosions:

http://hwaairfan.files.wordpress.com/2011/10/white-phosphorus.jpg

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a9/Phosphorus_explosion.gif

As to GENOCIDE - the white phosphorus weapon charge used on Civilians is about as dastardly as it gets for a weapon that "keeps on giving" after it strikes human flesh. It burns continually, creating a toxic reaction inside the body, (the forever burning, is absolutely a war-crime).. When it finally burns itself out the wound are extraordinarily painful. It is EVIL and CRIMINAL to use such war crime weapons on Civilians.

http://ajmacdonaldjr.files.wordpress.com/2012/04/46061574_007651442-1.jpg

This image below is from the Attack on the School in Gaza (again a white phosphorus component)

http://www.vtjp.org/images/eiimage004a.jpg

This image is from a young (civilian) child in Afghanistan who was hit with a white phosphorus bomb's debris (burning white phosphorus remained in her skin during the surgery in the hospital, causing the attendant doctor and nurses, to exclaim - careful with the oxygen as the flames were exuding from her body, as oxygen would increase the burning...)

http://media4.s-nbcnews.com/j/MSNBC/Components/Photo/2009/May/090514/090623-razia-white-phosphorous-bcol-11a.grid-6x2.jpg

That is the "gift" that the Israeli military wishes on the People. Are they kind? Are they seeking peace? You tell me with weapons like that being used.. War crimes is an understatement..

http://www.veteransnewsnow.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/Sabrosky-14.gif

panopticon

14th August 2014, 08:48

How Israel Outflanks the White House on Gaza (http://online.wsj.com/articles/u-s-sway-over-israel-on-gaza-at-a-low-1407979365)
By Adam Entous, August 13th, 2014

http://si.wsj.net/public/resources/images/P1-BR012_BREAKD_G_20140813163352.jpg
Benjamin Netanyahu, left, looks on as President Barack Obama speaks at the White House in March. Bloomberg News

White House Now Scrutinizing Israeli Requests for Ammunition

JERUSALEM—White House and State Department officials who were leading U.S. efforts to rein in Israel's military campaign in the Gaza Strip were caught off guard last month when they learned that the Israeli military had been quietly securing supplies of ammunition from the Pentagon without their approval.

Since then the Obama administration has tightened its control on arms transfers to Israel. But Israeli and U.S. officials say that the adroit bureaucratic maneuvering made it plain how little influence the White House and State Department have with the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu —and that both sides know it.

The munitions surprise and previously unreported U.S. response added to a string of slights and arguments that have bubbled behind the scenes during the Gaza conflict, according to events related by senior American, Palestinian and Israeli officials involved.

In addition, current and former American officials say, U.S.-Israel ties have been hurt by leaks that they believe were meant to undercut the administration's standing by mischaracterizing its position and delay a cease-fire. The battles have driven U.S.-Israeli relations to the lowest point since President Barack Obama took office.

Now, as Egyptian officials shuttle between representatives of Israel and Hamas seeking a long-term deal to end the fighting, U.S. officials are bystanders instead of in their historic role as mediators. The White House finds itself largely on the outside looking in.

U.S. officials said Mr. Obama had a particularly combative phone call on Wednesday with Mr. Netanyahu, who they say has pushed the administration aside but wants it to provide Israel with security assurances in exchange for signing onto a long-term deal.

As a 72-hour pause in the fighting expired at midnight Wednesday, a senior Hamas official said negotiators agreed to another cease-fire, this one of five days. There was no immediate confirmation from Israel or Egypt.

The frayed relations raise questions about whether Mr. Obama and Mr. Netanyahu can effectively work together. Relations between them have long been strained over other issues, including Mr. Obama's outreach to Iran and U.S.-backed peace talks with the Palestinians.

Today, many administration officials say the Gaza conflict—the third between Israel and Hamas in under six years—has persuaded them that Mr. Netanyahu and his national security team are both reckless and untrustworthy.

Israeli officials, in turn, describe the Obama administration as weak and naive, and are doing as much as they can to bypass the White House in favor of allies in Congress and elsewhere in the administration.

While Israeli officials have privately told their U.S. counterparts the poor state of relations isn't in Israel's interest long term, they also said they believed Mr. Netanyahu wasn't too worried about the tensions. The reason is that he can rely on the firmness of Israeli support in Congress, even if he doesn't have the White House's full approval for his policies. The prime minister thinks he can simply wait out the current administration, they say.

"The allegations are unfounded," said Israel's ambassador to the U.S., Ron Dermer. "Israel deeply appreciates the support we have received during the recent conflict in Gaza from both the Obama administration and the Congress for Israel's right to defend itself and for increased funding of Iron Dome."

http://si.wsj.net/public/resources/images/P1-BR013_BREAKD_G_20140813164028.jpg
Israeli soldiers fire a mortar toward the Gaza Strip. Reuters

A senior Obama administration official said the White House didn't intend to get into a "tit for tat" with the Israelis when the war broke out in Gaza. "We have many, many friends around the world. The United States is their strongest friend," the official said. "The notion that they are playing the United States, or that they're manipulating us publicly, completely miscalculates their place in the world."

American officials say they believe they have been able to exert at least some influence over Mr. Netanyahu during the Gaza conflict. But they admit their influence has been weakened as he has used his sway in Washington, from the Pentagon and Congress to lobby groups, to defuse U.S. diplomatic pressure on his government over the past month.

Tensions really started to flare after Israel launched Gaza ground operations July 17 and the civilian death toll started to rise sharply, prompting U.S. officials to complain that Israel wasn't showing enough restraint. Israeli officials rejected that notion, saying Hamas was using civilians as human shields.

U.S. officials say Mr. Netanyahu told them he was interested in a cease-fire from the start, but the two sides clashed over the process of achieving one and the players who would take part.

Bracing for a longer military campaign than expected, Israel approached the Defense Department within days of the start of the ground fighting to request money for more interceptors for the Iron Dome, which shoots down rockets aimed at population centers.

After consulting with the White House, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel told aides to submit a proposal to Congress for $225 million.

Within the administration, the request was deemed noncontroversial because the Iron Dome was defensive and couldn't be used in Gaza ground fighting, U.S. officials said.

In meetings at the Pentagon, the State Department and the White House, Israeli officials told the Americans Israel had enough Iron Dome interceptors for the current Gaza operation, but wanted to replenish its stocks, according to U.S. officials who attended. So with Israel's consent, the administration didn't seek immediate emergency funding, Pentagon officials said, adding that they expected Congress to approve the request sometime in the fall.

Unknown to many policy makers, Israel was moving on separate tracks to replenish supplies of lethal munitions being used in Gaza and to expedite approval of the Iron Dome funds on Capitol Hill.

On July 20, Israel's defense ministry asked the U.S. military for a range of munitions, including 120-mm mortar shells and 40-mm illuminating rounds, which were already kept stored at a pre-positioned weapons stockpile in Israel.

The request was approved through military channels three days later but not made public. Under the terms of the deal, the Israelis used U.S. financing to pay for $3 million in tank rounds. No presidential approval or signoff by the secretary of state was required or sought, according to officials.

A U.S. defense official said the standard review process was properly followed.

While the military-to-military relationship between Israel and the U.S. was operating normally, ties on the diplomatic front were imploding. For the Americans, they worsened dramatically on July 25, when aides to Secretary of State John Kerry sent a draft of a confidential cease-fire paper to Mr. Netanyahu's advisers for feedback.

The Americans wanted the Israelis to propose changes. The U.S. didn't intend or expect the draft paper to be presented to the Israeli cabinet, but that was what Mr. Netanyahu did. U.S. officials say Mr. Netanyahu's office breached protocol by sending back no comments and presenting the paper to the cabinet for a vote.

The paper was also leaked to the Israeli media. U.S. officials say they believe the Israeli government publicly mischaracterized Mr. Kerry's ideas with the intent of buying more time to prosecute the fight against Hamas because Israeli officials were angry over outreach by Mr. Kerry to Qatar and Turkey.

Israel and Egypt had sought to sideline Qatar and Turkey—two countries that backed Hamas—rather than increase their influence. U.S. officials say Mr. Kerry reached out to the two because they had leverage with Hamas that would be critical to getting the group to agree to another cease-fire.

From Israel's perspective, Mr. Kerry's cease-fire draft reflected an approach "completely out of sync with Israel, not just on a governmental level but on a societal level," said Michael Oren, a former Israeli ambassador to the U.S. under Mr. Netanyahu.

"The best thing that Kerry can do is stay out... We need time to do the job, we need to inflict a painful and unequivocal blow on Hamas. Anything less would be a Hamas victory," Mr. Oren said.

The watershed moment came in the early morning in Gaza July 30. An Israeli shell struck a United Nations school in Jabaliya that sheltered about 3,000 people. Later that day, it was reported in the U.S. that the 120-mm and 40-mm rounds had been released to the Israeli military.

"We were blindsided," one U.S. diplomat said.

White House and State Department officials had already become increasingly disturbed by what they saw as heavy-handed battlefield tactics that they believed risked a humanitarian catastrophe capable of harming regional stability and Israel's interests.

They were especially concerned that Israel was using artillery, instead of more precision-guided munitions, in densely populated areas. The realization that munitions transfers had been made without their knowledge came as a shock.

"There was no intent to blindside anyone. The process for this transfer was followed precisely along the lines that it should have," another U.S. defense official said.

Then the officials learned that, in addition to asking for tank shells and other munitions, Israel had submitted a request through military-to-military channels for a large number of Hellfire missiles, according to Israeli and American officials.

The Pentagon's Defense Security Cooperation Agency, or DSCA, was about to release an initial batch of the Hellfires, according to Israeli and congressional officials. It was immediately put on hold by the Pentagon, and top officials at the White House instructed the DSCA, the U.S. military's European Command and other agencies to consult with policy makers at the White House and the State Department before approving any additional requests.

A senior Obama administration official said the weapons transfers shouldn't have been a routine "check-the-box approval" process, given the context. The official said the decision to scrutinize future transfers at the highest levels amounted to "the United States saying 'The buck stops here. Wait a second…It's not OK anymore.' "

White House and State Department officials were worried about public reaction.

The Palestinians, in particular, were angry, according to U.S. diplomats.

"The U.S. is a partner in this crime," Jibril Rajoub, a leader in Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's Western-backed Fatah party, said of the decision to provide arms to Israel during the conflict.

Even as tensions with the White House and the State Department were spilling over, Israeli officials worked to expedite the Iron Dome money on Capitol Hill.

Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona said Israeli officials told lawmakers the money was urgently needed because they were running out of interceptors and couldn't hold out for a month or more.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican, said Congress's goal in approving the money quickly on Aug. 1 was to send a message to the administration to stop calling Israel out about civilian casualties.

A senior Republican congressional aide said Israeli officials told senators they wanted the money sooner rather than later. He said Israel's main purpose in accelerating the vote in Congress to before legislators' August recess was to provide an overwhelming "show of support" for the military operation.

The last straw for many U.S. diplomats came on Aug. 2 when they say Israeli officials leaked to the media that Mr. Netanyahu had told the U.S. ambassador to Israel, Dan Shapiro, that the Obama administration was "not to ever second-guess me again" about how to deal with Hamas.

The White House and State Department have sought to regain greater control over U.S.-Israeli policy. They decided to require White House and State Department approval for even routine munitions requests by Israel, officials say.

Instead of being handled as a military-to-military matter, each case is now subject to review—slowing the approval process and signaling to Israel that military assistance once taken for granted is now under closer scrutiny.

A senior U.S. official said the U.S. and Israel clashed mainly because the U.S. wanted a cease-fire before Mr. Netanyahu was ready to accept one. "Now we both want one," one of the officials said.

A top Israeli official said the rift runs deeper than that. "We've been there before with a lot of tension with us and Washington. What we have now, on top of that, is mistrust and a collision of different perspectives on the Middle East," the official said. "It's become very personal."

-Joshua Mitnick contributed to this article.

Source (http://online.wsj.com/articles/u-s-sway-over-israel-on-gaza-at-a-low-1407979365)

panopticon

14th August 2014, 10:01

The reports from the last day of rockets launching out of Gaza seem to have been incorrect (bit confusing this one) as now Israeli Govt & IDF officials are saying that the warnings were false alarms...

This despite their having said where the rockets landed in Southern Israel & giving locations...

So, were only some of these false alarms? I'm a tad confused but don't have time to investigate each alleged rocket launch atm. (Update: rockets were launched out of Gaza at the end of the ceasefire [midnight Gaza time] by smaller factions as there had been no acknowledgement of a ceasefire continuation at that time, the later reports in the mid-morning [Gaza time] were false alarms).

IDF Navy once again "warning shelling" Palestinian fishers off the Gaza coast within the area designated for them to fish (allegation is that they are trying to sneek into Egyptian waters to bring back ordinance).

5-day ceasefire holding.

I hope it keeps going and a reasonable truce is arranged that creates an environment where Gaza, West Bank & Israeli residents can prosper.

-- Pan

panopticon

14th August 2014, 14:10

Israeli Governments Security Cabinet meeting just starting now.

Main topics of "discussion" will undoubtedly be

Gaza,
West Bank,
US relations (or lack of them),
Bibi's reasons for starting this in the first place (given the present negotiations seem to be about the same place as before and if he'd just worked with the new interim Palestinian Unity Government with Abbas then they'd be in about the same position just without the death/destruction) and
Where to go from here.

Cool quote:

Labor leader Isaac Herzog, the leader of the Knesset opposition, accused the Israeli government of completely losing its diplomatic senses.

"Every day another front is opened against our friends in the world," he said. "There is total lack of faith between Netanyahu and President Obama, [Foreign Minister Avigdor] Lieberman long ago forgot that he is supposed to be a foreign minister, and [Finance Minister Yair] hands out marks like a commentator."

"Ties with the U.S. are an economic and strategic asset for Israeli citizens and this government has managed to destroy those too. The stones that government ministers are throwing even a thousand wise men couldn't extract from a well. We are not obligated to agree with the U.S. on every matter, there are serious issues that Israel has full right to determine for itself, and there are issues of style and protocol. This government has consistently failed at both."
Source (http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/1.610467)
-- Pan

panopticon

14th August 2014, 15:25

Old article from 2011 that explains the amount of armour/equipment on troopers in Ferguson (note: Fitch is not a member of the Ferguson polite).

###

St. Louis County chief will travel to Israel (http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/metro/article_9b614430-5679-11e0-999b-0017a4a78c22.html)
BY Patrick M. O'Connell, March 24th, 2011

St. Louis County police chief Tim Fitch will be traveling to Israel next month to learn how Israeli police, intelligence and security forces work to prevent terrorist attacks.

Fitch will visit for a week with other law enforcement officials from across the United States, including representatives of the FBI and Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The trip is part of the Anti-Defamation League's National Counter-Terrorism seminar.

Fitch and the others will visit Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and Tiberias, among other cities. The Israel National Police and senior officials from Israel's defense forces, intelligence and security organizations will meet with the Americans.

St. Louis County police houses the region's anti-terrorism center.

Source (http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/metro/article_9b614430-5679-11e0-999b-0017a4a78c22.html)

panopticon

14th August 2014, 16:24

PM Netanyahu Meets with New York Governor Andrew Cuomo

bMQgvuXK8bY
-- Pan

panopticon

14th August 2014, 16:50

Here's the press release announcing Obama's conversation with Netanyahu.

Good to know that there are no problems in the US-Israel relationship. Especially given the revelations in the Wall Street Journal article I linked earlier.

Stunningly informative bit of prose this...

-- Pan

###

Readout of the President’s Call with Prime Minister Netanyahu of Israel

President Obama and Prime Minister Netanyahu discussed today by phone the ongoing negotiations in Cairo to achieve a sustainable ceasefire agreement. The President reaffirmed the United States’ support for Egypt’s mediation efforts and underscored the importance of achieving a sustainable outcome that ensures Israel’s security and addresses Gaza’s humanitarian crisis.

Source (http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2014/08/13/readout-president-s-call-prime-minister-netanyahu-israel)

Bob

14th August 2014, 16:50

panopticon

14th August 2014, 18:12

How Israel Outflanks the White House on Gaza (http://online.wsj.com/articles/u-s-sway-over-israel-on-gaza-at-a-low-1407979365)
By Adam Entous, August 13th, 2014

[..]

White House Now Scrutinizing Israeli Requests for Ammunition

JERUSALEM—White House and State Department officials who were leading U.S. efforts to rein in Israel's military campaign in the Gaza Strip were caught off guard last month when they learned that the Israeli military had been quietly securing supplies of ammunition from the Pentagon without their approval.

Since then the Obama administration has tightened its control on arms transfers to Israel. But Israeli and U.S. officials say that the adroit bureaucratic maneuvering made it plain how little influence the White House and State Department have with the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu —and that both sides know it.

[..]

I wonder if the White-Phosphorus bombs are on that "obtained without approval". The US has had such devices in its arsenal for years.. As pointed out above "Shake and Bake" is the slang for the white phosphorus weapons..

Both sides claim it is for "identification purposes" and not used against "civilians", but civilians are being hit...

To target civilians with a horrendous weapon is inhumane. (AND AN ABUSE of the definition of "legal use" of smoke and illumination chemical devices).
What is being violated is "Protocol III of The Convention on Prohibition or Restrictions on the Use of Certain Conventional Weapons Which May be Deemed to be Excessively Injurious or to Have Indiscriminate Effects (CCW) "

Knowing that such weapons WILL create damage to life (bodily harm) is the issue.. The weapons deployers know and are fully culpable what the effects are. Such was documented when the US used such weapons on Afghanistans (http://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/29/opinion/29tue1.html?_r=0).

They (both the US and Israel) claim, the incindiaries are not worrisome cause they illuminate targets, or cause obscuring smoke.. the issue is the particles are toxic, and there is NO WAY to prevent populations from being harmed by their use, the particles BURN FLESH, targeting humans with an "excuse" (smoke and illumination) is abhorrent.

Any rational person would say such, and that is the argument about such uses of weapons "wrongly and deliberately against a population" absolutely unequivocally being a war crime.

To request US assistance to help clear up "war crime" claims is logical in the Israeli military mind (and political keepers minds), because the US has NOT SIGNED (http://fas.org/programs/ssp/bio/factsheets/whitephosphorusfactsheet.html) the documents and treaties agreeing that it is WRONG to flagrantly use such weapons in areas where innocents are living or seeking shelter.. Nor has Israel agreed to the Chemical/Biological/Nuclear arms treaties to prohibit said use in the World. (they reserve the right to commit obscene terror against ANY AND ALL in the guise of "defending itself". (War crimes in other words are perfectly OK for Israel in the excuse of self-defence)..

Has Israel used such weapons illegally obtained from the US arsenal?

http://warisacrime.org/sites/afterdowningstreet.org/files/images/White%20Phosphorus%20Shells%20in%20Gaza%2002232009.jpg

In this image below, it is neither NIGHT requiring "illumination for targeting", nor "SMOKE" requiring obscuring a tank or brigade.. It is a targeted USE of a banned weapon against a civilian population, a war crime.. Multiple instances of said uses and situations have been recorded by the observers in Gaza.

http://mycatbirdseat.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Cook-Gaza-102.jpg

http://www.infiniteunknown.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/Gaza-Under-Attack.jpg

Important Note: The image above has been cropped in other articles circulating on the internet saying ISRAEL has beam weapons (disinformation), the image above shows the full picture of a white-phosphorus bomb attack.

What other arms has Israel obtained illegally from the US arsenal?

G'day Bob,

I know. Imagine it. Military to military arms trading...
What's that, M2M?
Are Obama & Bibi going to start up some weird rap group?

What's the first single "Oversight is for chumps Homez" & a flip of "Sisi ain't no mufthas beyatch"...

It's all very scary. :censored:

I've not come across much evidence that White Phosphorous (WP) has been used in Operation Protective Edge (OPE) outside of a few comments from doctors about amputations and extensive burns coming out of the North. I've not seen conclusive photographic evidence of its use (unlike in 2009 when it was pretty obvious).

The first image in your post is from Operation Cast Lead (OCL) 2009.

The second image is also from 2009 and clearly shows the float/illuminate pattern that is characteristic of WP.

The third image I think comes from here (http://www.voanews.com/content/israel-continues-gaza-offensive-world-leaders-urge-restraint/1960155.html) and I'm not really convinced that it is WP (though it could be).

There are so many old images from '09 that are getting rehashed as new.

It just makes it difficult to sort out what is from OPE & what's from OCL.

Have you come across any WP photos that are definitely from OPE?

Mads Gilbert was saying that he's seen lots of evidence of DIME weapon injuries at al-Shifa (source (http://electronicintifada.net/blogs/rania-khalek/israel-firing-experimental-weapons-gazas-civilians-say-doctors)). The damage those weapons cause is, well, they cause alot.

There are lots of horrific photos of people with burnt/melted skin and amputations from bombing etc. But, fragmentation could easily produce the amputations (as I posted earlier about the MPR-500 trials (http://projectavalon.net/forum4/showthread.php?72897-This-evening-in-Israel&p=863317&viewfull=1#post863317)) and the burns are not really outside of what would be expected from DIME weapons.

Without conclusive photographic or empirical evidence of the use of WP it's really all hearsay and that's not enough.

I personally believe that the IDF has acted outside of the conventions of war and not abided by their responsibility as an occupying force. They have deliberately targeted areas where they knew that there would be a high civilian casualty rate as part of a "shock & awe" campaign. For some IDF spokespersons to then turn around and say "well the US had a higher civilian casualty rate in Iraq" beggars belief. As if killing less civilians than the US is supposed to make everything alright...

:tsk:

-- Pan

Bob

14th August 2014, 18:27

Without conclusive photographic or empirical evidence of the use of WP it's really all hearsay and that's not enough.

It will take a simple FTIR analysis (Fast Fourier Transform Infra-red Analyser) on small sized samples of bomb fragments. (couple quid to do a test in labor)..

Putting a call out for folks in Gaza to gather up small bomb fragments, for forensic analysis can be done with minimal effort to document. IF Bibi is worried about "war crimes", obviously somebody has chemical evidence that such weapons are still being used. A Human rights group could get involved to do said testing.

What is pointed out is what a white phosphorus detonation looks like from the air and ground. I'll additionally check for more images and suggest others look.

And what is pointed out (in your post) that Israel has been obtaining US arms without Pentagon permission, how we can only ask.. Vendors supplying under the table? (in that M2M club) http://projectavalon.net/forum4/images/smilies/censored.gif Possibly..

Update - I put in a request to Human Rights Watch (http://www.hrw.org/news/2009/03/25/israel-white-phosphorus-use-evidence-war-crimes) to ask them about supporting analysis of bomb fragments. The apparatus to analyse such (a portable version) is shown here (http://www.thermoscientific.com/en/product/trudefender-ftx-handheld-ftir-chemical-identification.html), and accepted as a documentation device, so no witness reports, "anecdotal" hearsay observations need be considered. It is used by first responders, forensic analysis labs world wide.

http://www.thermoscientific.com/content/dam/tfs/ATG/CAD/CAD%20Product%20Images/Handheld%20Chemical%20Identification/F202194.jpg/jcr:content/renditions/cq5dam.thumbnail.450.450.png

(Note: the above is also called a "scanner", and is manufactured in Minnesota by ThermoScientific (known also as Nicolet), I have used the Nicolet advanced FTIR's back in 2000 to look at UXO (unexploded ordinance samples) and the technology works admirably for even microgram sized samples..)

panopticon

14th August 2014, 19:15

Update - I put in a request to Human Rights Watch (http://www.hrw.org/news/2009/03/25/israel-white-phosphorus-use-evidence-war-crimes) to ask them about supporting analysis of bomb fragments. The apparatus to analyse such (a portable version) is shown here (http://www.thermoscientific.com/en/product/trudefender-ftx-handheld-ftir-chemical-identification.html), and accepted as a documentation device, so no witness reports, "anecdotal" hearsay observations need be considered. It is used by first responders, forensic analysis labs world wide.

http://www.thermoscientific.com/content/dam/tfs/ATG/CAD/CAD%20Product%20Images/Handheld%20Chemical%20Identification/F202194.jpg/jcr:content/renditions/cq5dam.thumbnail.450.450.png

(Note: the above is also called a "scanner", and is manufactured in Minnesota by ThermoScientific (known also as Nicolet), I have used the Nicolet advanced FTIR's back in 2000 to look at UXO (unexploded ordinance samples) and the technology works admirably for even microgram sized samples..)

Now that Bob was good thinking.

It really warms the heart to think that a simple conversation here might have broader consequences and real world implications.

-- Pan :yo:

Bob

15th August 2014, 00:16

Has this policy and behaviour ever changed?

Source (https://web.archive.org/web/20140701100550/http://www.mediamonitors.net/khodr49.html) (various data are pieced together on that page)

On October 3, 2001, I.A.P. News reported that according to Israel Radio (in Hebrew) Kol Yisrael an acrimonious argument erupted during the Israeli cabinet weekly session last week between Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and his foreign Minister Shimon Peres.

Peres warned Sharon that refusing to heed incessant American requests for a cease-fire with the Palestinians would endanger Israeli interests and "turn the US against us. "Sharon reportedly yelled at Peres, saying "don't worry about American pressure, we the Jewish people control America."

"The Israelis control the policy in the Congress and the Senate."

-- Senator Fullbright, Chair of Senate Foreign Relations Committee: 10/07/1973 on CBS' "Face the Nation".

"I am aware how almost impossible it is in this country to carry out a foreign policy [in the Middle East] not approved by the Jews..... terrific control the Jews have over the news media and the barrage the Jews have built up on congressmen ....

I am very much concerned over the fact that the Jewish influence here is completely dominating the scene and making it almost impossible to get congress to do anything they don't approve of. The Israeli embassy is practically dictating to the congress through influential Jewish people in the country"

-----Sec. of State John Foster Dulles quoted on p.99 of Fallen Pillars by Donald Neff

The long history of bipartisan Congressional support for Israel led former Secretary of State James Baker to call the Congress "The Little Knesset" (http://www.rense.com/general91/nnet.htm) after Israel's Knesset (parliament) in Jerusalem. Congress's embarrassing and unpatriotic display of allegiance to a foreign country that is dependent on American largesse and support is the unknown scandal to the American people.

It started wayyyyyy back when:

U.S. CONGRESS ENDORSES BALFOUR DECLARATION (http://history1900s.about.com/cs/holocaust/p/balfourdeclare.htm): SEPTEMBER 21, 1922

Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress Assembled.

That the United States of America favors the establishment in Palestine of "A" national home for the Jewish people, it being clearly understood that nothing shall be done which will prejudice the civil and religious rights of Christian and all other non-Jewish communities in Palestine, and that the holy places and religious buildings and sites in Palestine shall be adequately protected.

(Public Resolution No. 73, 67th Congress, Second Session).

When did it change that the original premise was to be VIOLATED, that PALESTINE should/will be destroyed, and Israel, given free reign?

How is Israel then able to gain so much influence over Congress and Senators?

Little known data - (Source (http://whatreallyhappened.com/WRHARTICLES/spyring.php))

"Prior to 9/11, the FBI had discovered the presence of a massive spy ring inside the United States run by the government of Israel (http://sjlendman.blogspot.com/2012/07/cia-calls-israel-main-us-regional-spy.html). This seems a harsh gratitude from a nation which obtains 10% of its annual budget from the American taxpayer, $3+ billion a year. "

Purpose? Gain data that can be used to ensure a "desired level" of status quo and continue dialog with key parties, so that "interests" are maintained.

"Israel has done in return was to set up government subsidized telecommunications companies which operate here in the United States. One of these companies is Amdocs (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amdocs), which provides billing and directory assistance for 90% of the phone companies in the USA. Amdocs' main computer center for billing is actually in Israel and allows those with access to do what intelligence agencies call "traffic analysis"; a picture of someone's activities based on a pattern of who they are calling and when.

"Another Israeli telecom company is Comverse Infosys (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comverse_Technology), which subcontracts the installation of the automatic tapping equipment now built into every phone system in America. Comverse maintains its own connections to all this phone tapping equipment, insisting that it is for maintenance purposes only. However, Converse has been named as the most likely source for leaked information regarding telephone calls by law enforcement that derailed several investigations into not only espionage, but drug running as well. (subsequently restructured, assets transferred/acquired to its subsidiaries (one being Verint Systems (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Verint_Systems)) who currently "run things". For many years, Comverse, also known as Comverse Network Systems, was part of Comverse Technology, which had several wholly or partly owned subsidiaries; Comverse became a fully independent company in 2013.)

Verint Systems (NASDAQ: VRNT) is a company providing analytic software and hardware for the security, surveillance, and business intelligence markets. Their products are aimed to support government and enterprises in making sense of the vast information they collect to meet performance and security goals. Verint solutions are used by more than 10,000 organizations in 150 countries. Verint is headquartered in Melville, New York, with offices worldwide and some 2,800 employees around the globe. Verint was for many years a majority-owned subsidiary of Comverse Technology and it was formerly known as Comverse Infosys. As with Comverse, approximately half of Verint's employees have been located in Israel. (what a web!)

"Yet another Israeli telecom company is Odigo (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Odigo_Messenger), which provides the core message passing system for all the "Instant Message" services. Two hours before the attacks on the World Trade Towers, Odigo employees received a warning (http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/odigo-says-workers-were-warned-of-attack-1.70579). Odigo has an office 2 blocks from the former location of the World Trade Towers.

(Was purchased by Comverse Technology in 2002. Comverse leveraged Odigo server software for instant messaging solutions in cell phones. However, since Comverse had no real interest in maintaining a generic IM service, it eventually shut down the free service in 2004, abandoning millions of loyal users.)

"This actually happened. The Ken Starr report on Whitewater describes how Bill Clinton informed Monica Lewinsky that their phone sex conversations had been recorded. At the same time, Clinton ordered the FBI to cease the hunt for an Israeli mole (http://100777.com/node/84) known to be operating inside the White House itself!

"So here we have a foreign nation able to listen in on most phones at will, using taps that cannot be found because they are built into the phone system itself, and willing to use the information gleaned from those calls to blackmail Americans into any desired course of action. This may well be what Ariel Sharon meant when he stated that the Jewish people control America.

"That the information gleaned from these phone taps is being used to coerce the behavior of key individuals in the US Government and media is illustrated by the manner in which the government and the media have handled this scandal of the largest spy ring ever uncovered inside the United States, and of phone taps on all of our phones. They are downplaying it. Actually, burying it is a better word."

additional ref: Verint Systems - http://www.israeldefense.com/?CategoryID=412&ArticleID=96&CounterType=0

33 Maskit St., Herzliya 46733, Israel
Phone:972-9-9624119
Fax:972-9-9624747

"Verint Systems Ltd Verint Systems is a key developer of communications solutions intended to help clients deal with threats from both criminals and terrorists capable of exploiting today's exceedingly accessible electronic networks. Verint offers solutions such as interception solutions [..]"

Meanwhile over in Israel,
Israel Today (web) reports that Obama is WEAK and Naive..
Obama holds up arms shipments to Israel
Thursday, August 14, 2014

(Source (http://www.israeltoday.co.il/NewsItem/tabid/178/nid/24847/Default.aspx))

(wonder if that includes white phosphorus "shake and bakes..")

http://www.israeltoday.co.il/Portals/0//news/130909_obama.jpg

"Israeli officials responding to the latest pressure from US President Barack Obama said the American leader is weak and naive, suggesting that Washington, which today has little leverage anywhere else in the Middle East, is trying to strong-arm the Jewish state.

"The Wall Street Journal on Wednesday reported that the Obama Administration had held up a delivery of missiles to Israel during its war against Gaza’s Hamas terrorist infrastructure."

"But the Israeli press was unimpressed by the denials, and news of the “deepening rift” between America and the Jewish state was the leading headline on nearly every Israeli media outlet Thursday morning.

http://www.rense.com/general91/Netanyahu.JPG

"Many speculated that Netanyahu knows well the workings (http://www.wrmea.org/wrmea-archives/161-washington-report-archives-1994-1999/april-may-1995/7775-the-other-side-of-deception-a-rogue-agent-exposes-the-mossads-secret-agenda.html) of the American government, and is content to wait out a hostile Obama White House knowing that Congress will shield Israel from any truly severe measures."

Anything change? reiterating..

panopticon

15th August 2014, 08:57

Islamic Jihad: Truce to be signed after 5-day ceasefire (http://maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=720771)
August 15th 2014

http://maannews.net/images/345x230/292192_345x230.jpg

GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- A truce agreement will be signed with Israel once the five-day ceasefire ends, an Islamic Jihad spokesman said Friday.

Yousef al-Hasayneh told Ma'an that the Palestinian side agreed to a five-day truce to give Egypt more time to remove some "technical issues" hindering a final agreement.

"We expect a complete truce agreement to be signed right as the five-day ceasefire ends," al-Hasayneh said. "The delegation has made much progress in ending the siege and the offensive on Palestinians."

The agreement will end Israel's military offensive, ease the siege, expand the fishing zone and increase imports into Gaza, especially construction materials, the Jihad official said.

Construction of an airport and seaport will be discussed a month after signing the agreement.

"Egypt is the sponsor for the agreement, but there is a more important sponsor, which is the resistance," al-Hasayneh said.

"We, as the Islamic Jihad, are not interested in American sponsorship because we do not trust the United States, the partner of Israel, who supplies them with arms and money."

He stressed that any Islamic Jihad would respond to any Israeli attack.

A day earlier, deputy secretary-general of Islamic Jihad, Ziad al-Nakhaala, said "great progress" had been made in the talks and an agreement would be announced soon.

More than 1,950 Palestinians -- the vast majority civilians -- have been killed in the five-week Israeli assault on the Gaza Strip, which the UN said destroyed or severely damaged the homes of more than 100,000 Gazans.

Source (http://maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=720771)

panopticon

15th August 2014, 10:11

This is a powerful yet sad story from a man whose family first paid for saving Jews from the Nazis and then, over 70 years later, was bombed by the IDF killing 6 more.

Respect. :sad:

###

Dutch nonagenarian returns Righteous Among the Nations medal after six relatives killed in Gaza (http://www.haaretz.com/news/.premium-1.610682)
By Amira Hass, August 15th 2014

http://www.haaretz.com/polopoly_fs/1.610737.1408084953!/image/1888619110.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_640/1888619110.jpg
Henk Zanoli. / Photo by courtesy

Henk Zanoli, who helped save a Jewish child from deportation to concentration camps, said holding on to the medal would be an 'insult to the family.'

A 91-year-old Dutch man who was declared a Righteous Among the Nations for saving a Jew during the German occupation on Thursday returned his medal and certificate because six of his relatives were killed by an Israeli bombing in the Gaza Strip last month.

In 2011, the Yad Vashem Holocaust museum declared Henk Zanoli and his late mother, Johana Zanoli-Smit, Righteous Among the Nations for having saved a Jewish child, Elhanan Pinto, during the Nazi occupation of Holland. Pinto, born in 1932, was hidden by the Zanoli family from the spring of 1943 until the Allies liberated Holland in 1945. His parents perished in Nazi death camps.

http://www.haaretz.com/polopoly_fs/1.610743.1408081806!/image/1815847677.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_640/1815847677.jpg
Muftiya Ziada, the family matriarch. / Photo by courtesy

In hiding a Jewish child, the Zanoli family took a double risk, because it was already under Nazi scrutiny for having opposed the German occupation. Zanoli’s father was sent to the Dachau concentration camp in 1941 due to his opposition to the occupation, and he subsequently died at the Mauthausen concentration camp in February 1945. Henk Zanoli’s brother-in-law was executed because of his involvement in the Dutch resistance, and one of his brothers had a Jewish fiancée, who was also killed by the Nazis.

Zanoli’s great-niece, Angelique Eijpe, is a Dutch diplomat who currently serves as deputy head of her country’s diplomatic mission in Oman. Her husband, economist Isma’il Ziadah, was born in the al-Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza. The couple has three children. Ziadah’s parents were born in Fallujah, on whose lands the town of Kiryat Gat now sits. His father died in 1987.

On Sunday, July 20, an Israeli fighter jet dropped a bomb on the Ziadah family’s home in al-Bureij. The bomb killed the family matriarch, Muftiyah, 70; three of her sons, Jamil, Omar and Youssef; Jamil’s wife, Bayan; and their 12-year-old son, Shaaban. The bombing thus orphaned Jamal and Bayan’s other five children, four daughters and a son, while bereaving Omar’s two sons and Youssef’s three sons and a daughter of their fathers. The bombing also killed Mohammed Maqadmeh, who happened to be visiting the family that day.

Zanoli, an attorney by profession, heard about the killing of the Ziadah family from his niece. As a way of expressing his shock and pain, he decided to return the medal and certificate that were awarded to him and his mother (posthumously) as Righteous Among the Nations. Because of his age and poor health, he did not do so in person, but sent them by messenger to the Israeli Embassy in The Hague – the same place where he received them in an official ceremony three years ago.

In the accompanying letter, addressed to Ambassador Haim Davon, Zanoli began by describing the price his family paid for resisting the Nazis and their successful effort to save a Jewish child.

“Against this background it is particularly shocking and tragic that today, four generations on, our family is faced with the murder of our kin in Gaza. Murder carried out by the State of Israel,” he wrote.

“The great- great grandchildren of my mother have lost their [Palestinian] grandmother, three uncles, an aunt and a cousin at the hands of the Israeli army ... For me to hold on to the honour granted by the State of Israel, under these circumstances, will be both an insult to the memory of my courageous mother who risked her life and that of her children fighting against suppression and for the preservation of human life as well as an insult to those in my family, four generations on, who lost no less than six of their relatives in Gaza at the hands of the State of Israel.”

Noting that Israel’s actions in Gaza “have already resulted in serious accusations of war crimes and crimes against humanity,” he continued, “as a retired lawyer it would be no surprise to me that these accusations could lead to possible convictions if true and unpoliticized justice is able to have its course. What happened to our kin in Gaza will no doubt be brought to the table at such a time as well.”

The Israel Defense Forces Spokesperson’s Unit did not answer Haaretz’s questions as to whether the Ziadah home was bombed by mistake, or if not, who in the house was a target and whether the IDF’s legal department considers the death of six civilians to be legitimate collateral damage. Its response said merely that the IDF invests great efforts in trying to avoid civilian casualties, is currently working to investigate all allegations of irregular incidents and will publish its conclusions after this investigation is completed.

Source (http://www.haaretz.com/news/.premium-1.610682)

panopticon

15th August 2014, 10:43

Signs of fascism in Israel reached new peak during Gaza op, says renowned scholar (http://www.haaretz.com/news/.premium-1.610368)
By Gidi Weitz, August 13th, 2014

http://www.haaretz.com/polopoly_fs/1.610372.1407941013!/image/1132530536.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_640/1132530536.jpg
Prof. Zeev Sternhell / Photo by Yanai Yechiel

Israel Prize laureate and renowned scholar Zeev Sternhell fears the collapse of Israeli democracy, and compares the current atmosphere with that of 1940s’ France. The time we have left to reverse this frightening trend is running out, he warns

At 1 A.M. on a day in September 2008, Prof. Zeev Sternhell opened the door of his home on Agnon Street in Jerusalem, intending to enter an inner courtyard. As he turned the handle, a thunderous explosion rocked the building. Sternhell, who a few months earlier had received the Israel Prize in political science, was lightly wounded by a bomb hidden in a potted plant.

A year later, the police apprehended the perpetrator of the attack: Yaakov (Jack) Teitel, a resident of a West Bank settlement. At one time, Teitel was an informer for the Jewish Department of the Shin Bet security service. In his interrogation, it turned out that his crimes included the murder of two Palestinians.

“I chose Sternhell as a target because he is held in high regard, he’s a left-wing professor,” Teitel told the interrogators. “I didn’t want to kill him, because that would turn him into a martyr. I wanted to make a statement.” Teitel was sentenced to two life terms. After the assault, Sternhell said in the hospital that “the act in itself reveals the fragility of Israeli democracy.”

I asked Sternhell now whether he thinks that very soon, we will no longer be able to claim that we are the only democracy in the Middle East.

“Indeed, we will no longer be able to say that,” he replied, adding, “There is no doubt that the main state authorities do not act with the same determination against the right and against the left, or on the eastern side of the Green Line and on the western side. All in all, these bodies view themselves as much closer to the settlement project’s aims than to the goal of Israel having a Jewish majority and a democracy that grants equality to everyone. The danger is that in good periods, when everything is ostensibly normal, the situation is glossed over. But in a crisis, like we have now, anyone critical of the ‘normal’ order is absolutely afraid to go out in the street.”

Zeev Sternhell was born in Poland in 1935. His father died during World War II; his mother and sister were murdered by the Nazis. Sternhell hid in the home of relatives in the ghetto who, to protect themselves, adopted a new identity as Catholics thanks to false identity papers. He maintained his assumed identity in the postwar period, and was baptized. In 1946, he reached France on a Red Cross train from Poland. He learned French quickly and steeped himself in the republic’s culture and history, but still felt like an outsider. In 1951, at age 16, he decided to immigrate to the fledgling Jewish state completely on his own.

Sternhell did his army service in the Golani infantry brigade and fought as an officer in the 1956 Sinai War. As an Armored Corps officer in the reserves, he also saw action in the 1967 Six-Day War, the 1973 Yom Kippur War and the first Lebanon war, in 1982. In the meantime, his international academic career took off. Sternhell studied the collapse of the 20th century’s modern liberal democratic order, and also reconceptualized fascism, viewing the phenomenon not as a random accident that occurred after World War I, but as an ideological approach originating in the 19th century.

In 1983, his book “Neither Right Nor Left: Fascist Ideology in France” (published originally in French) stirred a furor in France. Sternhell’s thesis was that the Vichy regime, which helped hunt down Jews, was not forced upon the French, but sprang from an ideological stream that reflected the hidden wishes of the masses. Fascism, he argued, was actually born in France, not Italy. His book, since revised and expanded, continues to be controversial in France and elsewhere.

In 1977, with the ascent of Menachem Begin and the Likud to power in Israel, Sternhell joined a circle of intellectuals who sought to persuade the rival Labor Party to adopt a dovish stance. For years he has been outspokenly critical of the settlement project and an advocate of the urgent need for the establishment of a Palestinian state. Those views, uttered by a public figure of his prominence, led Teitel to single him out in an act that would “make a statement.”

Eroded democracy

Have you seen signs of a budding fascism in Israel in the past month or two?

“First, let me say that there are worse things than fascism, and that not everything that is bad is fascist. In Italy under Mussolini, which is the prototype of fascism, probably no more than a few dozen people were murdered by the regime. There were no concentration camps. Art and culture flourished. Before the war, life was highly tolerable, including the life of the Jews, until the promulgation of the race laws in 1938. The percentage of Jews in the Fascist Party was higher than their percentage in the population. And the Italians were not actually responsible for the downturn that occurred afterward in the life of the Jews – not like in France, where the fate of the Jews is totally the historic responsibility of the French, even if they decline to acknowledge it.

“As I say, there are worse things than fascism. You don’t need that exact definition. For example, people say that if there isn’t a one-party regime, it’s not fascism. That’s nonsense. A party is a means for achieving power, not a means of rule in itself. What needs to be examined in this context is the resilience of the democracy – and Israeli democracy has become increasingly eroded, until it reached a new nadir in the current war. The indicators [of fascism] you asked about definitely exist here.”

Of all the phenomena you’ve encountered here, which do you find ugliest?

“What we’ve seen here in the past few weeks is absolute conformism on the part of most of Israel’s intellectuals. They’ve just followed the herd. By intellectuals I mean professors and journalists. The intellectual bankruptcy of the mass media in this war is total. It’s not easy to go against the herd, you can easily be trampled. But the role of the intellectual and the journalist is not to applaud the government. Democracy crumbles when the intellectuals, the educated classes, toe the line of the thugs or look at them with a smile. People here say, ‘It’s not so terrible, it’s nothing like fascism – we have free elections and parties and a parliament.’ Yet, we reached a crisis in this war, in which, without anyone asking them to do so, all kinds of university bodies are suddenly demanding that the entire academic community roll back its criticism.”

Do you think it’s due to fear?

“Fear of the authorities, fear of possible budgetary sanctions and fear of pressure from the street. The personification of shame and disgrace occurred when the dean of the law faculty of Bar-Ilan University threatened sanctions against one of his colleagues because the latter added a couple of sentences to an announcement about exam dates in which he expressed sorrow at the killing and loss of life on both sides. To grieve for the loss of life on both sides is already a subversive act, treason. We are arriving at a situation of purely formal democracy, which keeps sinking to ever lower levels.”

When will we cross the line in which democracy implodes?

“Democracy rarely falls in a revolution. Not in Italy, not in Germany and not in France with the Vichy regime – which is a crucial thing, because France was a democratic country that fell into the hands of the right wing with the support of the vast majority of the population. It was not the fall of France that generated this ideology. It was the result of a gradual process in which an extreme nationalist ideology took shape, a radical approach that perceives the nation as an organic body. Like a tree on which human individuals are the leaves and the branches – in other words, people exist only thanks to the tree. The nation is a living body.

“In Israel, the religious factor strengthens the national singularity. It’s not a matter of belief, but of identity; religion bolsters your distinctive identity. It’s essential to understand that without this radical nationalism there is no fascism. I also distinguish between fascism and Nazism, because fascism does not necessarily carry a race doctrine. Let me put it in no uncertain terms: Fascism is a war against enlightenment and against universal values; Nazism was a war against the human race.”

Do you see a negation of universal values in Israel and a war against enlightenment in recent years?

“It cries out to heaven. Israel is an extraordinary laboratory in which one sees the gradual erosion of enlightenment values, namely the universal values I mentioned. You see the negation, which always existed on the fringes, slowly impinging, until one day it dominates the center.”

The case of France

“Consider the nationhood law submitted by [Likud MK] Zeev Elkin [which would define Israel as the state of the Jewish people only]; the campaign against the Supreme Court, a body based on the idea that there are norms that transcend governmental power; the [proposed] law against the left-wing NGOs, which is a brutal and violent erosion of freedom of speech; and the various manifestations of a witch hunt here, when a journalist like [Haaretz’s] Gideon Levy needs a bodyguard.

“Consider Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s demand that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas recognize Israel as the Jewish state. That is to force the Palestinians to acknowledge that they are historically inferior, as though to say: ‘You lost the country in 1948-49, it’s not yours. You live here because we are not expelling you, but this is a Jewish state.’ The Arabs are citizens, but it’s not their country. In other words, a distinction is made between nationhood and citizenship. Anyone can be a citizen, but we are the masters.

“Why is the case of France so interesting? Because that’s what was done to the Jews there in 1940, even though some had lived there for hundreds of years. They were told: ‘You received an ID card and a passport; now I am revoking them. I cannot annul the Frenchness of a Frenchman, but you are not French, and the citizenship category is artificial.’ That was done to an uncle of mine who immigrated to France in 1929, together with my aunt, in order to study medicine. It was the same in Germany.

“This is exactly what we are saying to the Arabs today. The potential for the annulment of citizenship exists here, too. Why throw the Jewish state like mud in the face of these Israeli citizens? In fact, their behavior has been perfectly fine, considering the problems they face, with families in the West Bank and Gaza, and the pressures they are under. For my part, I don’t know of any Israeli-Arab spy ring. It’s true that they don’t sing the national anthem and don’t fly the flag and aren’t members of the World Zionist Organization, but as citizens they are fulfilling their obligations.”

What is your horror scenario for the end of Israeli democracy?

“Democracy is not defined by the right to vote every few years. It is tested every day in terms of human rights. All the rest is secondary, because you can easily, by casting a ballot, establish a dictatorial regime here, or vote to kick the Arabs out of the Knesset. You have to remember that democracy ceased to exist in the territories long ago. The Palestinians there have no human rights, you rule them by force, and after three [Jewish] boys are murdered you can make the life of the population hell, because you can do as you please. That has been the case for decades, and it corrupts.

“Those norms are already here, inside the Green Line, because our children and grandchildren spend most of their army service in the territories. There’s a colonial police force there, in the form of the Kfir Brigade and the Border Police, but that’s not enough. Kfir and the Border Police weren’t even sent into Gaza, because they no longer know how to engage in combat. They are no longer soldiers. The Paratroops were brought from training on the Golan Heights to search for the three kidnapped boys – not to search, actually, because it was already known that they weren’t alive, but to make the lives of the local population miserable and show them who’s boss. What goes on there constantly leaks into Israel. Democracies don’t collapse suddenly, they encounter a serious crisis. We could find ourselves in a serious crisis in which the whole shebang will go up in smoke.”

To be followed by the rise of a dictator?

“Not necessarily, not at all. The government will continue to rule, resting on the Knesset majority by force of edicts and creation of clear segregation between Jews and non-Jews, imposing censorship, intimidating dissidents, the media, the universities – all supposedly autonomous bodies.”

But you say it’s already happening now.

“Of course it’s happening now, but it could reach a boiling point. The water is already very hot. It hasn’t yet boiled, but it could do so tomorrow morning. It’s on the brink of boiling over.”

Do you agree that Operation Protective Edge was a war of no choice?

“It was a war of complete choice, chaotic and sloppy, and that too will be investigated. Something should have been done as soon as they [Hamas] started shooting. First of all, there was no need to humiliate the population and arrest the 500 people who were released in the Shalit deal ... Hamas also took advantage of the opportunity to demonstrate that it is the only fighting force and that Abbas is a ‘collaborator.’ The rockets had to be responded to. Could that have been done without the massive use of the air force? I don’t know, I don’t have enough information. But this war, entry of ground forces, was a war of choice.”

What about the threat of the attack tunnels?

“No one mentioned that beforehand, that was not the aim of the war. The aim was to achieve quiet in return for quiet. The government didn’t want the ground entry. It was already a rolling operation. There was right-wing pressure on the government. Maybe if Bibi hadn’t gone in, his status as prime minister would have been weakened immensely. Any reasonable person would now exploit the gap in ability between us and them to launch a process toward a comprehensive solution of the conflict.”

‘Carrot and stick’

But how can you reach a situation of negotiating with a fundamentalist, religiously extremist organization?

“In principle, I think we should talk with everyone, if it can lead to results. I think Israel should have taken advantage of the formation of the joint Fatah-Hamas government and given it an incentive, something it could work with. We gave them nothing, only the demand to recognize Israel as the Jewish state.

“Hamas is Gaza; Hamas is no longer only a terrorist organization. It established a province, a region under its rule. It invested all its efforts in the war against Israel, but one has to be fair about this whole story. I try to be as objective as possible. It’s true that Hamas is an extreme fundamentalist organization, a murderous organization of shahids [martyrs] – but we are going to have to live with those people. We need the carrot-and-stick method. We used the stick plentifully, but I didn’t see the carrot. Abbas is dying for us to give him something. Maybe we can reach a settlement now, as part of Gaza’s rehabilitation. There’s no need to demand that Hamas raise the white flag. We need a long-range perspective that will include an element of generosity toward the Palestinians. Could it be the policy of blockade and creating intolerable conditions that nourishes Hamas? We need to do something concrete in our relations with the Palestinians and with the Arabs as a whole.”

Such as what?

“The first thing is to stop deepening the Jewish presence in the territories. Then to show them that we genuinely aspire to two states. And as a means of demonstrating our seriousness, to lift the blockade of Gaza, with supervision, with Abbas’ people at the transit points, and to let the population breathe. And also to forge relations in which the people there are treated as human beings on an equal footing with us.”

Will a government that’s not capable of removing three mobile homes in the West Bank be able to remove whole settlements?

“The settlements are a cancer. If our society is unable to muster sufficient strength, political power and mental fortitude to remove some of the settlements, that will signal that the Israeli story is finished, that the story of Zionism as we understand it, as I understand it, is over.”

How long do we have until the end of the story?

“A few years. Israel is now the last colonial country in the West. How long will that continue? If not for the memory of the Holocaust and the fear of being accused of anti-Semitism, Europe would have long since boycotted the settlements. I would begin by evacuating Ariel University, because it’s easy to do. It’s easier to remove a university than it is to remove three trailers. It’s a symbolic act. That wretched college was made a university in order to demonstrate something.

“Why do I so much want a border between the two countries? To prevent the emergence of one state here, because with one state there will be an apartheid regime. After all, no one here is playing with the idea that there will be civic equality between Nablus and Tel Aviv. There will be a civil war here, in the best case, and in the worst case there will be an apartheid state in which we will rule the Arabs without the dimension of transience that is still attached to the territories – even though it’s obvious to anyone with eyes in his head that the transience has long since vanished and that there is an apartheid situation in the West Bank.”

‘Their tragedy and ours’

You’ve elaborated on our blame for the deterioration. What blame attaches to the Palestinians?

“The editors of an Arab journal recently asked me about the right of return. I told them it’s dead, a destructive illusion. ‘Why not leave the refugees some hope?’ they asked me. I replied, ‘That hope will block any agreement.’ A few years ago, in a meeting with Arab intellectuals in Haifa, we agreed on pretty well everything until we came to the right of return. One of them said, ‘Are you in effect asking me to tell my relative, who once lived on this street and is now a refugee in Sidon, that he can never return here?’ That’s exactly your role, I replied, to tell them that they will never return to Haifa or Ramle or Jaffa. As long as they cling to the notion of the right of return, they are preventing the majority of the Jews in Israel, who want to put an end to all this, from fighting for an agreement. That millstone, which they cannot cast off, is their tragedy and ours.”

But the Palestinians’ attitude sometimes looks like obsessive rejection.

“It’s true that the Palestinians don’t have the strength, the leadership, the necessary elite, the mental fortitude to recognize the fact that 1949 was the end of the process. They don’t have to see it as just, but they need to understand that it’s the end. They don’t have the strength to grasp that, and we are rubbing salt into their wounds by making more and more demands and creating an intolerable situation in the territories. We are cultivating their hostility.”

After the brief episode involving the Labor Party intellectuals, Sternhell and others tried to form a social-democratic party along the lines of Meretz. When their efforts failed, he ended his brief flirtation with Israeli politics for good.

Is there anyone in Israeli politics who scares you?

“The group led by [Naftali] Bennett and [Uri] Ariel scares me – I think they are extremely dangerous. I think that [Avigdor] Lieberman is a little less dangerous, because he lacks religious fervor. But they and the right-wing branch of Likud are truly dangerous people, because they really don’t understand what democracy is, what human rights are, and they truly and deeply hate the Arabs in a way that doesn’t allow for coexistence here. You ask whether there are similarities between Marine Le Pen in France and Bennett – of course there are. In some ways she is a dangerous left-winger compared to him. If Netanyahu really wants to enter the history books, he needs to dismantle the partnership with the right, split Likud and establish a centrist government with the support of the left, and not be ashamed to rely on the Arabs’ votes.”

Is Netanyahu capable of replicating de Gaulle and returning the territories?

“When de Gaulle returned Algeria, he was already out of the history books. Netanyahu hasn’t yet come out of the comic books. It’s a very problematic comparison. But if Netanyahu doesn’t do something on a grand scale, what will he leave behind?”

Do you define yourself as a Zionist?

“I have remained a Zionist, certainly. Maybe foolishly. The aim of Zionism was to create a safe home for the Jews, but for many years we have been living in the most unsafe place in the world for Jews. Zionism aimed to build a safe home for the Jews. But also a home worthy of the name, a decent home that one can be proud of, a home in which you don’t step on anyone’s back or suppress anyone. Already in the 1920s it was understood that the Arabs don’t want us and that the fulfillment of Zionism cannot be dependent on their good will. We arrived at a state of war, we won the war and that was the end of that chapter and the start of a new one.

“To go on with it for decades after the state’s establishment is the ruination of Zionism. What’s happening now in the territories is not Zionism, it’s a nightmare of Zionism. If the result is one state here, between the sea and the Jordan River, there will either be a devastating civil war or an apartheid state. In both cases, the Zionist state as I understand it and as I want it, will not exist. There will be something else here. My consolation is that I will not be around to see it.”

Given the current public atmosphere and your personal experience, aren’t you afraid to speak out like this?

“If I need to be afraid to say what I have said here, and to say it publicly to people’s faces, then our story here is over.”

Source (http://www.haaretz.com/news/.premium-1.610368)

panopticon

15th August 2014, 11:01

Archbishop Desmond Tutu tells Israeli's to 'Liberate yourselves by liberating Palestine'.

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My plea to the people of Israel: Liberate yourselves by liberating Palestine (http://www.haaretz.com/opinion/.premium-1.610687)
By Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu, August 14th, 2014

http://www.haaretz.com/polopoly_fs/7.1176491.1407605784!/image/1583417048.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_640/1583417048.jpg
A child next to a picture of Nelson Mandela at a pro-Palestinian rally in Cape Town. August 9, 2014 Photo by AP

Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu, in an exclusive article for Haaretz, calls for a global boycott of Israel and urges Israelis and Palestinians to look beyond their leaders for a sustainable solution to the crisis in the Holy Land.

The past weeks have witnessed unprecedented action by members of civil society across the world against the injustice of Israel’s disproportionately brutal response to the firing of missiles from Palestine.

If you add together all the people who gathered over the past weekend to demand justice in Israel and Palestine – in Cape Town, Washington, D.C., New York, New Delhi, London, Dublin and Sydney, and all the other cities – this was arguably the largest active outcry by citizens around a single cause ever in the history of the world.

A quarter of a century ago, I participated in some well-attended demonstrations against apartheid. I never imagined we’d see demonstrations of that size again, but last Saturday’s turnout in Cape Town was as big if not bigger. Participants included young and old, Muslims, Christians, Jews, Hindus, Buddhists, agnostics, atheists, blacks, whites, reds and greens ... as one would expect from a vibrant, tolerant, multicultural nation.

I asked the crowd to chant with me: “We are opposed to the injustice of the illegal occupation of Palestine. We are opposed to the indiscriminate killing in Gaza. We are opposed to the indignity meted out to Palestinians at checkpoints and roadblocks. We are opposed to violence perpetrated by all parties. But we are not opposed to Jews.”

Earlier in the week, I called for the suspension of Israel from the International Union of Architects, which was meeting in South Africa.

I appealed to Israeli sisters and brothers present at the conference to actively disassociate themselves and their profession from the design and construction of infrastructure related to perpetuating injustice, including the separation barrier, the security terminals and checkpoints, and the settlements built on occupied Palestinian land.

“I implore you to take this message home: Please turn the tide against violence and hatred by joining the nonviolent movement for justice for all people of the region,” I said.

Over the past few weeks, more than 1.6 million people across the world have signed onto this movement by joining an Avaaz campaign calling on corporations profiting from the Israeli occupation and/or implicated in the abuse and repression of Palestinians to pull out. The campaign specifically targets Dutch pension fund ABP; Barclays Bank; security systems supplier G4S; French transport company Veolia; computer company Hewlett-Packard; and bulldozer supplier Caterpillar.

Last month, 17 EU governments urged their citizens to avoid doing business in or investing in illegal Israeli settlements.

We have also recently witnessed the withdrawal by Dutch pension fund PGGM of tens of millions of euros from Israeli banks; the divestment from G4S by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation; and the U.S. Presbyterian Church divested an estimated $21 million from HP, Motorola Solutions and Caterpillar.

It is a movement that is gathering pace.

Violence begets violence and hatred, that only begets more violence and hatred.

We South Africans know about violence and hatred. We understand the pain of being the polecat of the world; when it seems nobody understands or is even willing to listen to our perspective. It is where we come from.

We also know the benefits that dialogue between our leaders eventually brought us; when organizations labeled “terrorist” were unbanned and their leaders, including Nelson Mandela, were released from imprisonment, banishment and exile.

We know that when our leaders began to speak to each other, the rationale for the violence that had wracked our society dissipated and disappeared. Acts of terrorism perpetrated after the talks began – such as attacks on a church and a pub – were almost universally condemned, and the party held responsible snubbed at the ballot box.

The exhilaration that followed our voting together for the first time was not the preserve of black South Africans alone. The real triumph of our peaceful settlement was that all felt included. And later, when we unveiled a constitution so tolerant, compassionate and inclusive that it would make God proud, we all felt liberated.

Of course, it helped that we had a cadre of extraordinary leaders.

But what ultimately forced these leaders together around the negotiating table was the cocktail of persuasive, nonviolent tools that had been developed to isolate South Africa, economically, academically, culturally and psychologically.

At a certain point – the tipping point – the then-government realized that the cost of attempting to preserve apartheid outweighed the benefits.

The withdrawal of trade with South Africa by multinational corporations with a conscience in the 1980s was ultimately one of the key levers that brought the apartheid state – bloodlessly – to its knees. Those corporations understood that by contributing to South Africa’s economy, they were contributing to the retention of an unjust status quo.

Those who continue to do business with Israel, who contribute to a sense of “normalcy” in Israeli society, are doing the people of Israel and Palestine a disservice. They are contributing to the perpetuation of a profoundly unjust status quo.

Those who contribute to Israel’s temporary isolation are saying that Israelis and Palestinians are equally entitled to dignity and peace.

Ultimately, events in Gaza over the past month or so are going to test who believes in the worth of human beings.

It is becoming more and more clear that politicians and diplomats are failing to come up with answers, and that responsibility for brokering a sustainable solution to the crisis in the Holy Land rests with civil society and the people of Israel and Palestine themselves.

Besides the recent devastation of Gaza, decent human beings everywhere – including many in Israel – are profoundly disturbed by the daily violations of human dignity and freedom of movement Palestinians are subjected to at checkpoints and roadblocks. And Israel’s policies of illegal occupation and the construction of buffer-zone settlements on occupied land compound the difficulty of achieving an agreementsettlement in the future that is acceptable for all.

The State of Israel is behaving as if there is no tomorrow. Its people will not live the peaceful and secure lives they crave – and are entitled to – as long as their leaders perpetuate conditions that sustain the conflict.

I have condemned those in Palestine responsible for firing missiles and rockets at Israel. They are fanning the flames of hatred. I am opposed to all manifestations of violence.

But we must be very clear that the people of Palestine have every right to struggle for their dignity and freedom. It is a struggle that has the support of many around the world.

No human-made problems are intractable when humans put their heads together with the earnest desire to overcome them. No peace is impossible when people are determined to achieve it.

Peace requires the people of Israel and Palestine to recognize the human being in themselves and each other; to understand their interdependence.

Missiles, bombs and crude invective are not part of the solution. There is no military solution.

The solution is more likely to come from that nonviolent toolbox we developed in South Africa in the 1980s, to persuade the government of the necessity of altering its policies.

The reason these tools – boycott, sanctions and divestment – ultimately proved effective was because they had a critical mass of support, both inside and outside the country. The kind of support we have witnessed across the world in recent weeks, in respect of Palestine.

My plea to the people of Israel is to see beyond the moment, to see beyond the anger at feeling perpetually under siege, to see a world in which Israel and Palestine can coexist – a world in which mutual dignity and respect reign.

It requires a mind-set shift. A mind-set shift that recognizes that attempting to perpetuate the current status quo is to damn future generations to violence and insecurity. A mind-set shift that stops regarding legitimate criticism of a state’s policies as an attack on Judaism. A mind-set shift that begins at home and ripples out across communities and nations and regions – to the Diaspora scattered across the world we share. The only world we share.

People united in pursuit of a righteous cause are unstoppable. God does not interfere in the affairs of people, hoping we will grow and learn through resolving our difficulties and differences ourselves. But God is not asleep. The Jewish scriptures tell us that God is biased on the side of the weak, the dispossessed, the widow, the orphan, the alien who set slaves free on an exodus to a Promised Land. It was the prophet Amos who said we should let righteousness flow like a river.

Goodness prevails in the end. The pursuit of freedom for the people of Palestine from humiliation and persecution by the policies of Israel is a righteous cause. It is a cause that the people of Israel should support.

Nelson Mandela famously said that South Africans would not feel free until Palestinians were free.

He might have added that the liberation of Palestine will liberate Israel, too.

Source (http://www.haaretz.com/opinion/.premium-1.610687)

panopticon

15th August 2014, 13:11

Shooting in West Bank of Palestinian Social Worker who protected children.

###

A bullet through the heart of a Palestinian man - and an entire community (http://www.haaretz.com/weekend/twilight-zone/.premium-1.610619)
By Gideon Levy and Alex Levac, August 15th, 2014

http://www.haaretz.com/polopoly_fs/1.610723.1408077873!/image/3299009073.gif_gen/derivatives/landscape_640/3299009073.gif
Prof. Yusuf Abu Maria, Hashem’s brother, and Hashem’s daughters in Beit Ummar this week. Photo by Alex Levac

A social worker and father of three, Hashem Abu Maria was killed by an IDF sharpshooter during a protest against the Gaza war. Two others were also shot to death.

Ayham awoke and phoned his father, Hashem, who told his son that he would be home soon to finish building a new cage for the ducks in the garden. About 10 minutes later, an Israel Defense Forces sharpshooter fired a bullet into Hashem’s heart, killing him on the spot. The sharpshooter then took his rifle and left the balcony of the house from which he had shot Hashem, according to the family who own the apartment which the soldiers had taken over.

“The soldier completed his mission and got out,” says the family of the deceased.

Afterward, soldiers fired two more live rounds of ammunition, killing two more demonstrators who had assembled on the street below, in the center of Beit Ummar, a town between Bethlehem and Hebron. This happened three weeks ago, in the midst of the war in the Gaza Strip.

Hashem Abu Maria, 45 years old and the father of three, worked for the Geneva-based NGO Defense for Children International. He was a social worker who devoted his life to the protection of Palestinian children. On the day of his death, eyewitnesses and family members say, Abu Maria joined a solidarity march with the victims of the Gaza fighting, which set out from the main mosque in Beit Ummar. His aim was to protect the local children and prevent them from following their usual custom of throwing stones at the Israeli troops who raided the town.

He stood at the back of the group of protestors, not in front, shooing the children away. Some people heard him tell them, “Go home, this is dangerous. It’s not for you. You are children – demonstrations are for adults. Go home and play with your computers.”

That was the role he assumed in such protests. But a moment later, the sharpshooter’s bullet pierced his heart, exited from his back and struck another demonstrator, lightly wounding him. Abu Maria collapsed, then managed to lift himself up for an instant and call out, “They killed me,” before dying.

Two IDF soldiers in a jeep were at the entrance to Beit Ummar this week, too, when we got there. We drove past them in the car of Prof. Yusuf Abu Maria, Hashem’s brother, who teaches psychology at Al-Quds Open University. Also with us was Riad Arar, Hashem’s colleague at DCI.

Hashem Abu Maria was killed on Friday, July 25, on the main street of his town, next to the carpentry shop of the Al-Alami family. A photograph of their son, Tareq, is pasted on the door of the shop; he was killed in March 2004 while on his way to pick mint leaves from his garden.

The day Abu Maria was killed, hundreds of people turned out after the Ramadan Friday prayers to demonstrate against Israel’s Operation Protective Edge in the Gaza Strip. They threw stones and burned tires. That morning, recalls his widow, Samira, he had watched the news from Gaza on Al Jazeera and wept. His colleague, Riad Arar, relates that at work, too, Abu Maria constantly watched television broadcasts from Gaza. He also repeatedly wrote on his Facebook page, “Stop killing the children in Gaza.”

After watching the scenes from Gaza that fateful morning, he went out to the garden and spent some time looking at the view. He performed the ablutions ahead of the noontime prayers and arranged to meet at 4 P.M. with his brother Mahmoud – who himself was seriously wounded by IDF fire in the past – in order to continue building the duck cage.

We sit in the garden of the family’s handsome two-story home. With its grove of fruit trees and doves, ducks and peacocks, the garden was Abu Maria’s “kingdom,” his family says. Located at the western edge of Beit Ummar, the house has two kitchens and four bathrooms. It is perched on a hill with a view that almost goes as far as the sea.

Mourning notices now drape the house, together with banners of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, the organization in which Abu Maria was active politically. His family say he loved life and loved his home. He wanted to take his son, Ayham, to the Friday prayers, but fortunately the boy was sleeping and his father decided not to wake him. Ten-year-old Ayham has two sisters: Majdal, 14, and Siba, 6. Before Hashem was killed he told Ayham on the phone that he was standing next to the carpentry shop, and that the demonstration would soon be over and he would return home. Just minutes later, on local television, the boy saw his father killed.

Immediately afterward, Israeli soldiers shot and killed Abdul Hamid Bregeith, a 32-year-old father of three, and Sultan Zaqiq, 29, a father of two.

The IDF Spokesman’s Office stated in response this week: “An investigation by the Military Police has been opened into the circumstances surrounding the incident, and upon its completion the findings will be transferred to the office of the military advocate general for examination. The incident took place during violent and illegal disturbances in Beit Ummar, during which stones and firebombs were thrown at IDF troops.”

Abu Maria’s family says that Beit Ummar is still in shock: Why did the Israelis kill Hashem, the residents ask. Did they deliberately target him – the man who all his life wanted only to protect children?

DCI, which placed a mourning notice in Haaretz, is now trying to conduct its own investigation and is demanding answers from the IDF about the killing of its employee. According to the organization’s website, Abu Maria was the coordinator of DCI-Palestine’s community mobilization unit, most recently focusing its efforts on Palestinian teens, and on monitoring and documenting violations of children’s rights in Hebron.

After his brother’s death, Yusuf Abu Maria watched the Israeli news broadcasts, expecting to hear something about the events in Beit Ummar. But there was nothing. Not one word, he says, about the killing of three demonstrators, one of them his brother.

A duck quacks in the garden of the house in which we sit, and a rooster crows. The family will finish building the duck cage without Hashem.

Source (http://www.haaretz.com/weekend/twilight-zone/.premium-1.610619)

panopticon

15th August 2014, 15:06

Open the Erez border crossing, immediately (http://www.haaretz.com/news/.premium-1.609278)
By Amira Hass 7th August 2014

http://www.haaretz.com/polopoly_fs/7.1168801.1405968696!/image/970158600.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_640/970158600.jpg

People and merchandise must be able to move freely.

Here’s an urgent request for the Palestinian delegation in Cairo: Don’t let the Israelis pull the wool over your eyes and the whole world’s eyes with the arrangements to operate the Rafah border pass, the color of uniforms worn by Mahmoud Abbas’ soldiers, the number of units and the manner of their salute.

At this point don’t insist on an airport and seaport in Gaza. Focus on rehabilitating the essential, natural, logical connection between the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. Insist that the free movement of Palestinians (not only a few senior officials and traders) between them is resumed immediately. This should be your main mission.

Israel's establishment, commentators and most of its public see the demand to connect the Strip and West Bank as "ridiculous." This word embodies Israel’s aggressive arrogance. Egypt is justly afraid of Israel’s intention to push the Strip and its residents and problems back to it. Take advantage of that fear. This is what Israel has been striving toward since 1990 — to create Palestinian enclaves, isolate them and turn the Strip into a separate political entity.

Israel’s success has so far appeared considerable, aided by the sectarian selfishness of the Palestinian organizations. The Palestinian leaderships have neglected the basic demand to respect the right for freedom of movement. The Palestinian Authority’s senior officials made do with the privileges that enabled them to go through the Erez checkpoint. The leaders of the political-religious movement forgot the Erez checkpoint and the West Bank because they knew they wouldn’t get permits, and if they did, they’d be arrested.

The reconciliation government that was formed in Abbas’ image — bereft of inspiration and voluntarily paralyzed — nonetheless shows that Israel’s success in the separation has cracked. The rupture between the Strip and the West Bank is revocable.

This is the idea that must direct you in Cairo and guide all the Palestinians and those who oppose the occupation. Did anyone believe any Palestinian organization could plan a military campaign that would so confuse the No. 1 drone exporter? Who imagined that a Palestinian organization could learn from its mistakes in 2008-2009 and defy Israel's military power?

All your military surprises, Hamas, are worthless unless they are converted to a change in your civilian thinking. You rediscovered the West Bank after your channels to Egypt were blocked. So you fled to the reconciliation government. Israel’s wholesale killing of Gaza residents returned them to the awareness of the PLO and West Bank Palestinians. This is the moment to demand: Open the Erez Crossing. Israel will, as usual, scream "SOS security." Let it scream. There cannot be security for Israelis as long as they do not recognize Palestinians' right to life, and to live in dignity.

PLO delegates, Hamas and Islamic Jihad representatives: Rectify the criminal negligence that characterized your treatment of Gaza residents. Demand that the world pay the bill for its declarations. Pull out all the World Bank, IMF and EU reports. There's no rebuilding the Palestinian economy, no rebuilding of Gaza — no life at all — unless people and merchandise can move freely. This includes exports from Gaza, studying in universities, praying in Al-Aqsa and eating hummus in the Old City. It includes a trip from Nablus to the Beit Lahia beach.

The Gaza Strip will cease to be a large concentration camp only when it and the West Bank are again an hour’s drive apart, 32 shekels there and back, with a discount for children and large families.

Source (http://www.haaretz.com/news/.premium-1.609278)

panopticon

15th August 2014, 15:30

There are accusations that IDF troops have been shooting into residences within the buffer zone.

If true this is a violation of the ceasefire.

Hamas have complained to the IDF and the IDF deny knowledge of it having occurred.

On the ceasefire...

The Israeli Cabinet meets in about 2 hours to discuss the negotiations etc.

IJ, PA & Hamas all seem quite up-beat (well as up-beat as they get anyway) about it all.

There is talk that if the truce holds a month then there will be talks about a seaport etc.

Seems like a lot of talks & intended talks.

Save us from the bureaucrats!

Talking about bureaucrats here's the difference in how the IDF & Palestinians in Gaza see Operation Protective Edge...

Palestinians talk about this:
Gaza counts the cost of war: 'Whole families smashed under the rubble' (http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/aug/15/-sp-gaza-counts-cost-of-war-whole-families-smashed-under-the-rubble).

The IDF talk about this:
Protective Edge, in numbers (http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4558916,00.html).

Now that's a bit of a difference...

-- Pan

panopticon

15th August 2014, 16:51

Where is the rage over the brutal murder (http://electronicintifada.net/content/football-fan-slain-israel-predicted-he-would-be-next-martyr/13755) of a Palestinian protester by Settlers in the West Bank?

Here's a short article (http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/08/15/us-mideast-gaza-shots-idUSKBN0GF1DE20140815) on the Hamas claims of ceasefire violation. In it the anti-ceasefire protests (I'm not willing to call them pro-War protests) in Tel-Aviv are mentioned:

The Palestinian Interior Ministry in Gaza accused Israel on Friday of a cross-border shooting in violation of a truce that has largely held since getting off to a shaky start on Thursday.

An Israeli military spokeswoman said: "We have no knowledge of such an incident."

The Palestinian ministry in the coastal territory dominated by Hamas Islamists said Israeli troops shot at houses east of the town of Khan Younis.
[...]
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's security cabinet debated the emerging deal at a meeting held behind closed-doors on Friday, after a protest by 10,000 Israelis in Tel Aviv, angry at the war's inconclusive results and the prospect of facing more rocket fire from Gaza once the truce comes to an end.
Source (http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/08/15/us-mideast-gaza-shots-idUSKBN0GF1DE20140815)

-- Pan

panopticon

16th August 2014, 04:43

Sometimes cartoons tell the story just so well.

Here's First Dog On The Moon explaining the Arms Cycle :)

http://apanopticview.drivehq.com/images/armsCycle--LastDog.jpg
Source (http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/cartoon/2014/aug/15/the-arms-trade-life-cycle)

To see what first dog's up to click here (https://twitter.com/firstdogonmoon) (Anarcho-Marsupialist's are cool! OK!).

-- Pan

panopticon

16th August 2014, 13:48

Israeli police's war against Arab protesters (http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/.premium-1.610828)
By Nir Hasson and Yaniv Kubovich, August 16th, 2014

http://www.haaretz.com/polopoly_fs/1.610829.1408172716!/image/2145021126.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_640/2145021126.jpg
Man arrested at a protest in Nazareth against the Israeli operation in Gaza, July 21, 2014. Photo by Gil Eliahu

Some 350 demonstrators have been charged since the unrest began early in July; none are Jewish.

On a Friday afternoon, about a month ago, Aya Salame arrived in Haifa with her husband and three kids to break the Ramadan fast at one of the city's restaurants. They arrived early and Salame, 38, a biology teacher in a Kalansua high school and a student of Chinese medicine, decided to spend the time remaining before the meal touring the German Colony and the Bahá'í Gardens. Drawn by curiosity, she approached a crowd of anti-war protesters, but quickly made her way to leave – only to be blocked by police officers.

"I told the policeman that I wanted to join my husband and leave," she says. "I never attended a protest. I felt like I was in a movie. They wouldn't let me leave for an hour and a half or an hour."

When she noticed that a man standing beside her was bleeding from his mouth she demanded that a police officer on the scene give the injured man assistance, but her pleas were ignored. "I asked whether he wasn't ashamed of himself," she said. "Honestly I was shouting at him." At this point a group of riot police officers surrounded her. "One officer, I felt that he was grabbing me by the chest in order to insult me. Another grabbed me by the hair, and yet another slapped me in the face."

Salame, who spent the day fasting, was taken to a police car and was left there until midnight without food or drink. At the police station she fainted and was taken to the hospital. The next day she was released by the court under restriction. She and her family were barred from entering Haifa for two months.

Zecharia Mahrab, 39, a construction company manager from Lod, went to Haifa to attend the protests that began following the murder of a Palestinian teen, Mohammed Abu Khdeir, in the East Jerusalem last month. "We walked down the street in a row," he recounts. "Pushing began. Suddenly I saw police all around me. They pulled me out and told me I was arrested. They took as many as they could, without any reason, just to cause the demonstration to disperse. On Saturday evening they took me to see a judge, who ordered that I remain in prison until Monday. On Sunday they took us to be interrogated. We heard that they were too busy and that they wouldn't interrogate us. On Monday we were at the court again and the judge gave them until Wednesday. I was interrogated on Tuesday. They claimed that I assaulted a police officer; they didn't say which officer, only that they had photos of me pointing at a police officer, and that counts as a threat. They arrested us only to intimidate us and to punish us for protesting."

Arabs are charged, Jews aren't

Salame and Mahrab were lucky – no charges were pressed against them. According to a police spokesman, "Since the civil unrest began, the police arrested 1,471 suspects across Israel, and 350 are being prosecuted, mostly by the State Prosecutor's Office, for disturbing public order, unlawful gatherings, rioting and violence against people and property."

The incidents in question took place during protests that followed the murder of Abu Khdeir on July 2, and which escalated after Israel launched Operation Protective Edge in the Gaza Strip. Thousands of citizens, mostly Arabs, went out to protest the destruction and killing in the enclave. This reaction was expected, but the number of arrests and new criminal records opened, and the mass arraignment of protesters, indicate a loss of control and discrimination on the part of the police. No charges have been pressed against Jewish protesters from either the left or right ends of the political spectrum – not even those who acted violently.

A year before the murder of Abu Khdeir, Police Commissioner Yohanan Danino said in an interview with "Uvdah," a Channel 2 newsmagazine show, that he opposed the prosecution of Daphne Leef and other social activists, saying, "I wouldn't like to see Daphne Leef convicted of criminal charges…or punished for starting a protest movement." After the attorney general ordered the charges against her dropped, Commissioner Danino asked that the cases brought against Leef's fellow activists be reviewed and that only those few that warranted a trial be pursued.

It is doubtful whether Danino will order the closing of unwarranted cases brought against Arab protesters. Some 1,500 protesters were arrested between July 2 and August 6. Over 650 criminal records were opened and more than 350 people were charged. In one month, hundreds of requests to remand protesters until the end of the legal proceedings against them were filed. Danino apparently doesn't see anything wrong with this. In more than one occasion he has stated that the Israel Police would continue to crack down on protesters as it sees fit.

Some "1,500 arrests and hundreds of arraignments are numbers that are more befitting of Egypt than the State of Israel," says Prof. Shimon Shamir, a member of the Or commission, an inquiry into the clashes between the security forces and Arab Israelis in October 2000. According to him, this mainly points to a panic in the police. "I would have expected to hear Yohanan Danino telling the Arab protesters the same things he said to the protesters of Rothschild Boulevard."

'Arabs seen as potential enemy'

The protests in East Jerusalem were naturally less organized and more violent, including rock throwing and fire bombs, and it is clear why the police saw these incidents as riots. The police in the capital boasted – and rightfully so – their success in containing these protests and that there were no fatalities or serious injuries. There, too, protesters were arrested, and nightly raids took place.

The demonstrations that took place in Israeli towns and cities within the Green Line were organized and mostly non-violent, and were attended by members of parliament and dignitaries. But the police didn't view them this way. The Israel Police's official website stated that "while the civilian front of Operation Protective Edge is being managed, the fight against violent riots across the country continues," as if the protests were another front on which the war in Gaza is being waged.

"The wave of arrests is intended to silence and crush the right of Arab citizens to protest, via police violence and hostility," says attorney Suhad Bishara from the Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel – Adalah, who represented many of the detained demonstrators. "The Israel Police treats the Arab community as a potential enemy, and unfortunately, the court approved many of the police's requests for extended remand, even when there was no ground for this."

In the last month, the police hauled hundreds of protesters to court every day, and mostly received the courts' backing for their arrests. In her ruling regarding arrests of protesters in Haifa, District Court Judge Rivka Fuchs wrote: "The incident took place during Operation Protective Edge when the entire nation was is on edge and helping with the difficult undertaking that involves the civilian home front. Under these circumstances I believe that protesting is legitimate but that this protest must be within the limits of the law."

No judge may accept violation of the law, but the judge's words suggest that during the operation, the law should be enforced more harshly, allowing the police to fill holding cells with demonstrators, most of whom don't have a criminal record.

Knesset Member Mohammad Barakeh (Hadash) participated in a rally in Nazareth with his son. When the protesters began to disperse, he says, police officers walked up to his son and arrested him. "He was arrested just because he took part in the protest," MK Barakeh says. "In the remand hearing they said he tried to run away from the police officers, but that is nonsense – he was in his vehicle and wasn't going anywhere. Afterwards they said he was holding something in his hand, possibly a stone, but found that it wasn't a stone. They just took people that were finishing the protest, they weren't chasing those that threw stones and ran away."

In another case, defense attorneys brought to the court a video showing police beating a demonstrator who was later arrested for assaulting an officer. His remand was extended as per the police's request.

"The judges don’t want to see this video," says Barakeh. "The police have become the government's political arm. We must restore sanity; these are young men who were pained to see what is happening in Gaza."

Rewards for arrests

Since Commissioner Danino took office, the Israel Police has been rewarding commanders for high numbers of arraignments and extended remands, so it is possible that officers are taking advantage of the unrest to get ahead professionally.

"Most of the detainees were arrested for attending protests," says Knesset Member Dov Khenin (Hadash). "Those who threw stones and should stand trial for violence fled. Those who were arrested were apprehended because they stood around and didn't run...

"These are young, educated people who are supposed to be leaders in the future," Khenin says of the protesters who now have a criminal record. "Looking at the number of charges pressed for assaulting police officers, you would think that the hospitals are full of wounded cops, and I don't remember there being any."

Criminal or terrorist?

Even when violence is involved, discrimination against Arabs is apparent.

Public defender Haim Yitzhaki, who represented a youth who allegedly threw a firebomb at a protest, was surprised to learn that his client's charges have been classified as a security case, and that it is being handled by the Shin Bet.

"When a Haredi throws rocks at a protest in Jaffa or Jerusalem, it is considered a criminal case, but when a guy from Taibeh throws a rock, it's a security issue," Yitzkhai says. "My client is a young man who will now be placed in the security wing in prison, and he now has to inform the Israel Prison Service which terror organization he belongs to and whether he prefers to serve his sentence with Hamas, the Islamic Jihad, Fatah or any other group, when it is clear he has nothing to do with any terror organization, and at most lost control at a protest."

The Israel Police said in response that while it respects the freedom of speech and protest, and has made efforts to communicate with local leaders, it has a zero tolerance for rioting.

The police are "enforcing disturbances to public order in an equal manner while making informed use of special means of crowd control with the purpose of maintaining the calm and security on the street," a spokesman said.

An indication that the tide might be turning came from the Haifa District Court last Thursday when a judge reviewing a request to extend a demonstrator's remand questioned whether the bid was warranted.

"While there is no doubt that the actions … are grave and harbor a risk that may constitute reason for arrest, the alleged evidence is weak," wrote Judge Bettina Tauber. "I think that these considerations lead to the conclusion that the order to change the terms of release was unjustified."

Source (http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/.premium-1.610828)

Bob

16th August 2014, 15:44

Thank you for sharing that Pan, again it begs one to ask, why would anyone who is of Jewish heritage want to go live in the motherland ("fatherland"?) so as to be "free"..

panopticon

16th August 2014, 19:01

Bob

16th August 2014, 20:11

Thank you for sharing that Pan, again it begs one to ask, why would anyone who is of Jewish heritage want to go live in the motherland ("fatherland"?) so as to be "free"..

No worries Bob,

I reckon that's outside of my purview there Bob. I don't understand why anyone would want to create a Nation-State in the first place so it's all beyond me...

[..]

Just as an aside, at the moment there is a pro-Palestine protest in Tel-Aviv with over 10,000 in attendance.

[..]

Good to see the red & black waving strong! :)

-- Pan

Agreed. A State that arrests protesters even if they are not a protester, just some bystander passing thru, lumped into the "group".. held, interrogated.. a police state, fascist? worse? i can't find the adjectives to define the abhorrent contradictions spiritually.. they are gonna have their hands full with 10,000 folks.. what are they gonna do gas them? hmmm ugh..

panopticon

18th August 2014, 09:09

225 Jewish Survivors of Nazi Genocide Condemn the Massacre of Palestinians (http://telesurtv.net/english/news/225-Jewish-Survivors-of-Nazi-Genocide-Condemn-the-Massacre-of-Palestinians-20140817-0013.html)
August 17th, 2014

http://telesurtv.net/__export/1408287278661/sites/telesur/img/news/2014/08/17/11711.jpeg_1718483346.jpeg

225 Jewish survivors and descendents of Jewish survivors of the Nazi genocide have signed a letter condemning Israel’s massacre in Gaza and calling for an end to the genocide of the Palestinian people. In the letter, they also speak out against the abuse of their histories to promote the dehumanization of Palestinians.

The survivors further condemned "the United States for providing Israel with the funding to carry out the attack, and Western states more generally for using their diplomatic muscle to protect Israel from condemnation."

"Genocide begins with the silence of the world," they wrote.

The survivors wrote that they were "alarmed" by the dehumanization of Palestinians in the Israeli media, "which has reached a fever-pitch. In Israel, politicians and pundits in The Times of Israel and The Jerusalem Post have called openly for genocide of Palestinians and right-wing Israelis are adopting Neo-Nazi insignia."

Finally, the survivors criticized ads placed by Elie Weisel in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, and the Guardian, which they allege "abuses" their history, "to promote blatant falsehoods used to justify the unjustifiable: Israel’s wholesale effort to destroy Gaza and the murder of nearly 2,000 Palestinians, including many hundreds of children."

The full letter and the list of survivors and their descendents who have signed it can be seen here http://ijsn.net/gaza/survivors_and_descendents-letter/.
[Letter included below, go to site to donate for it's use as advertisement in NYT]

Source (http://telesurtv.net/english/news/225-Jewish-Survivors-of-Nazi-Genocide-Condemn-the-Massacre-of-Palestinians-20140817-0013.html)

###

Jewish survivors and descendents of survivors of Nazi genocide unequivocally condemn the massacre of Palestinians in Gaza (http://ijsn.net/gaza/survivors_and_descendents-letter/)

As Jewish survivors and descendents of survivors of the Nazi genocide we unequivocally condemn the massacre of Palestinians in Gaza and the ongoing occupation and colonization of historic Palestine. We further condemn the United States for providing Israel with the funding to carry out the attack, and Western states more generally for using their diplomatic muscle to protect Israel from condemnation. Genocide begins with the silence of the world.

We are alarmed by the extreme, racist dehumanization of Palestinians in Israeli society, which has reached a fever-pitch. In Israel, politicians and pundits in The Times of Israel and The Jerusalem Post have called openly for genocide of Palestinians and right-wing Israelis are adopting Neo-Nazi insignia.

Furthermore, we are disgusted and outraged by Elie Wiesel’s abuse of our history in these pages to promote blatant falsehoods used to justify the unjustifiable: Israel’s wholesale effort to destroy Gaza and the murder of nearly 2,000 Palestinians, including many hundreds of children. Nothing can justify bombing UN shelters, homes, hospitals and universities. Nothing can justify depriving people of electricity and water.

We must raise our collective voices and use our collective power to bring about an end to all forms of racism, including the ongoing genocide of Palestinian people. We call for an immediate end to the siege against and blockade of Gaza. We call for the full economic, cultural and academic boycott of Israel. “Never again” must mean NEVER AGAIN FOR ANYONE!

Signed,

Survivors [list of names etc not included in post]

Source (http://ijsn.net/gaza/survivors_and_descendents-letter/)

panopticon

18th August 2014, 10:09

Hague court under western pressure not to open Gaza war crimes inquiry (http://www.theguardian.com/law/2014/aug/18/hague-court-western-pressure-gaza-inquiry)
By Julian Borger, 18th August 2014

http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2014/8/17/1408290178177/Fatou-Bensouda-011.jpg
Fatou Bensouda, the international criminal court prosecutor. Photograph: Michael Kooren/AFP/Getty Images

Potential ICC investigation into actions of both the IDF and Hamas in Gaza has become a fraught political battlefield

The international criminal court has persistently avoided opening an investigation into alleged war crimes in Gaza as a result of US and other western pressure, former court officials and lawyers claim.

In recent days, a potential ICC investigation into the actions of both the Israel Defence Forces and Hamas in Gaza has become a fraught political battlefield and a key negotiating issue at ceasefire talks in Cairo. But the question of whether the ICC could or should mount an investigation has also divided the Hague-based court itself.

An ICC investigation could have a far-reaching impact. It would not just examine alleged war crimes by the Israeli military, Hamas and other Islamist militants in the course of recent fighting in Gaza that left about 2,000 people dead, including women and children. It could also address the issue of Israeli settlements in the Palestinian territories, for which the Israeli leadership would be responsible.

The ICC's founding charter, the 1998 Rome statute (pdf (http://www.icc-cpi.int/nr/rdonlyres/ea9aeff7-5752-4f84-be94-0a655eb30e16/0/rome_statute_english.pdf)), describes as a war crime "the transfer, directly or indirectly, by the occupying power of parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies".

Also at stake is the future of the ICC itself, an experiment in international justice that occupies a fragile position with no superpower backing. Russia, China and India have refused to sign up to it. The US and Israel signed the accord in 2000 but later withdrew.

Some international lawyers argue that by trying to duck an investigation, the ICC is not living up to the ideals expressed in the Rome statute that "the most serious crimes of concern to the international community as a whole must not go unpunished".

John Dugard, a professor of international law at the University of Leiden, in the Netherlands, and a longstanding critic of Israel's human rights record, said: "I think the prosecutor could easily exercise jurisdiction. Law is a choice. There are competing legal arguments, but she should look at the preamble to the ICC statute which says the purpose of the court is to prevent impunity."

In an exchange of letters in the last few days, lawyers for the Palestinians have insisted that the ICC prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, has all the legal authority she needs to launch an investigation, based on a Palestinian request in 2009. However, Bensouda is insisting on a new Palestinian declaration, which would require achieving elusive consensus among political factions such as Hamas, who would face scrutiny themselves alongside the Israeli government. There is strong US and Israeli pressure on the Palestinian leader, Mahmoud Abbas, not to pursue an ICC investigation.

Western pressure on the ICC to stay away from the issue has caused deep rifts within the prosecutor's office. Some former officials say the Palestinians were misled in 2009 into thinking their request for a war crimes investigation – in the wake of an earlier Israeli offensive on Gaza, named Cast Lead – would remain open pending confirmation of statehood. That confirmation came in November 2012 when the UN general assembly (UNGA) voted to award Palestine the status of non-member observer state, but no investigation was launched.

Bensouda initially appeared open to reviewing the standing Palestinian request, but the following year issued a controversial statement (pdf) saying the UNGA vote made no difference to the "legal invalidity" of the 2009 request.

Luis Moreno Ocampo, who was prosecutor at the time of the Palestinian 2009 declaration, backed Bensouda, saying in an email to the Guardian: "If Palestine wants to accept jurisdiction, it has to submit a new declaration."

But another former official from the ICC prosecutor's office who dealt with the Palestinian declaration strongly disagreed. "They are trying to hiding behind legal jargon to disguise what is a political decision, to rule out competence and not get involved," the official said.

Dugard said Bensouda was under heavy pressure from the US and its European allies. "For her it's a hard choice and she's not prepared to make it," he argued. "But this affects the credibility of the ICC. Africans complain that she doesn't hesitate to open an investigation on their continent."

Moreno Ocampo took three years to make a decision on the status of the 2009 Palestinian request for an investigation, during which time he was lobbied by the US and Israel to keep away. According to a book on the ICC published this year, American officials warned the prosecutor that the future of the court was in the balance.

According to the book, Rough Justice: the International Criminal Court in a World of Power Politics, by David Bosco, the Americans suggested that a Palestine investigation "might be too much political weight for the institution to bear. They made clear that proceeding with the case would be a major blow to the institution."

Although the US does not provide funding for the ICC, "Washington's enormous diplomatic, economic and military power can be a huge boon for the court when it periodically deployed in support of the court's work," writes Bosco, an assistant professor of international politics at American University.

In his book, Bosco reports that Israeli officials held several unpublicised meetings with Moreno Ocampo in The Hague, including a dinner at the Israeli ambassador's residence, to lobby against an investigation.

A former ICC official who was involved in the Palestinian dossier said: "It was clear from the beginning that Moreno Ocampo did not want to get involved. He said that the Palestinians were not really willing to launch the investigation, but it was clear they were serious. They sent a delegation with two ministers and supporting lawyers in August 2010 who stayed for two days to discuss their request. But Moreno Ocampo was aware that any involvement would spoil his efforts to get closer to the US."

Moreno Ocampo denied that he had been influenced by US pressure. "I was very firm on treating this issue impartially, but at the same time respecting the legal limits," he said in an email on Sunday. "I heard all the arguments. I received different Oxford professors who were explaining the different and many times opposing arguments, and I concluded that the process should … go first to the UN. They should decide what entity should be considered a state."

He added: "Palestine was using the threat to accept jurisdiction to negotiate with Israel. Someone said that if you have nine enemies surrounding you and one bullet, you don't shoot, you try to use your bullet to create leverage."

A spokeswoman for his successor, Fatou Bensouda, rejected allegations of bias in the prosecutor's choice of investigations. "The ICC is guided by the Rome statute and nothing else," she said. "Strict rules about jurisdiction, about where and when ICC can intervene should be not be deliberately misrepresented … Geographical and political consideration will thus never form part of any decision making by the office."

The French lawyer representing the Palestinians, Gilles Devers, argued that it was for the court's preliminary chamber, not the ICC's prosecutor, to decide on the court's jurisdiction in the Palestinian territories. Devers said negotiations were continuing among the Palestinian parties on whether to file a new request for an investigation, even though he believed it to be unnecessary in legal terms. Ultimately, he said, the outcome would be determinedly politically.

"There is enormous pressure not to proceed with an investigation. This pressure has been exerted on Fatah and Hamas, but also on the office of the prosecutor," Devers said. "In both cases, it takes the form of threats to the financial subsidies, to Palestine and to the international criminal court."

Among the biggest contributors to the ICC budget are the UK and France, which have both sought to persuade the Palestinians to forego a war crimes investigation.

Source (http://www.theguardian.com/law/2014/aug/18/hague-court-western-pressure-gaza-inquiry)

panopticon

18th August 2014, 23:30

Ceasefire has been extended 24 hours.

Shows a willingness on Israeli Govt (from what I've read lots of this is Netanyahu) & Hamas/IJ/factions/Fatah to come to an agreed truce.

I still reckon that it was originally supposed to be only til the 5th August.

Seems like things got away from Bibi/Ya'alon etc and Hamas etc didn't want to play ball (imagine that).

The longer this goes on for the harder the "we are only defending ourselves" rhetoric is to defend on the world stage.

Plus, as I said previously, beyond the 4 week engagement period it starts to have a negative impact on their economy. Less than 4 weeks and it has been shown it is a definite positive ($billions) to the economy.

-- Pan

BTW well worth noting the massive Pakistan marches in solidarity with Palestine:

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BvW5o8lCQAA_gob.jpg

panopticon

19th August 2014, 14:09

Ceasefire has collapsed following 3 explosions in Israel (alleged to be rockets but I've not seen any confirmation reports outside of the IDF and no-one has claimed responsibility yet) and IDF air strike on 2 targets in the North of Gaza in response.

Bibi has called delegation back from Cairo & back to "tit for tat" of a week ago.

-- Pan

panopticon

21st August 2014, 14:02

Israeli media has been declaring loudly that one of Hamas' leaders in exile, Salach al-Aruri, was caught on video at an Islamic Scholars conference saying that Hamas undertook the abduction of the 3 Israeli-Jewish youths.

Their abduction and slaughter was used as the catalyst for everything that followed.

The kidnapping sparked an extensive Israeli crackdown on Hamas in the West Bank.

"It has been said that it is an Israeli conspiracy, and I say it isn't," Aruri states.

"The al-Qassam's mujahedeen were the ones to carry out [the abduction] in show of support for the prisoners' hunger strike," he adds, referring to Palestinian inmates held in Israel.

The remarks were made during an event organized by the World Association of Muslim Scholars.

So far Hamas has refrained from taking responsibility for the abduction and murder, even though it had expressed support for the attack.
Source (http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/1.611676)

The problem is that al-Aruri actually didn't tell us anything we didn't already think was a possibility (that's if we ignore the possibility that he was grandstanding for the audience).

In the recording he is talking about the hypothesis that Israeli operatives did the slaughter of the youths.

He is not saying that he organised it. He is saying that Hamas operatives did the abduction & slaughter.

Now, step back. This is exactly what has been reported for over a month. That the participants were allegedly from the Qawasmeh tribe (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qawasameh_tribe) which dominates an opposition faction within Hamas from Hebron in the West Bank.

They are not associated with Hamas in the Gaza Strip & are in direct competition with the Gaza Strip factions.

The Israeli media are rampant because they see this as justification and the final proof. Again, I've not said that it isn't the case just that there hasn't been any evidence to support the hypothesis that Hamas from Gaza Strip organised or had anything to do with the abductions. The evidence, so far anyway, is to that not being the case.

The fact that a competing family/Hamas faction has been repeatedly accused of it (not by me but by the Jerusalem Police & Israeli Security Service officers) seems to have been lost on the Israeli media.

My guess as to why they can't make the connection is because they have been directed to a conclusion by their leaders. This conclusion is that Hamas in Gaza organised and undertook the slaughter of 3 children.

There is still no evidence that Hamas organised the abduction/slaughter as al-Aruri may well have been playing for the crowd. This is being ignored of course because it fits the pre-written narrative that Bibi etc has pushed for months now...

Now don't get me wrong, Hamas is very capable of this sort of attack. That is not my point. They are not innocents in all this and they have blood on their hands. I just don't understand how abducting and then murdering 3 youths can be seen as a Hamas tactic. However, keeping the youths and negotiating their release would be and I just can't see the abduction/slaughter narrative being accurate. Maybe the kidnappers panicked when they realised one of the 3 youths had called emergency services but again there are holes in that narrative too. Big holes that a truck can drive through...

Meanwhile, the Israeli cabinet has just authorised the calling up of 10,000 reservists.

Looks like the resumption of a ground offensive may be getting threatened.

-- Pan

panopticon

21st August 2014, 15:49

Interesting article claiming IDF troops used human shields once again:

Israeli forces use Palestinian child as human shield in Gaza (http://dci-palestine.org/documents/israeli-forces-use-palestinian-child-human-shield-gaza)

-- Pan

panopticon

22nd August 2014, 08:43

Reports of multiple executions being undertaken by Hamas/Qassam against alleged collaborators following the IDF assassination of a number of prominent Hamas/Qassam commanders.

These reported executions are said to be taking place in public.

I know this is more than a bit obvious but these assassinations/executions, if they have occurred, would be as a means of maintaining control, exerted through power, to retain a variety of different capital.

Never forget that Hamas isn't a Hippy collective. They are a violent revolutionary force that has been cornered. Their actions are defined by their position and what they represent within their society.

Their reported actions have been reasonable under these circumstances UP TO THIS TIME.

If they have been executing suspected collaborators "in the public square" then they have moved away from expected norms in these circumstance.

This could be interpreted as desperation at the loss of an important part of their hierarchy.

-- Pan

panopticon

22nd August 2014, 09:20

HAMAS KILLS 11 SUSPECTED INFORMERS FOR ISRAEL (http://bigstory.ap.org/article/israel-palestinians-trade-fire-2-killed-gaza)
By Ibrahim Barzak, August 22nd, 2014

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — A Gaza security official says Hamas has killed 11 suspected informers for Israel.

Friday's killings came a day after Israel killed three top Hamas military commanders in an airstrike on a house in southern Gaza Strip.

Hamas has vowed revenge for the targeting of its leaders.

The security official says the 11 suspected informers were killed early Friday at the Gaza City police headquarters. He says the 11 men had previously been sentenced by Gaza courts.

He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss incident with reporters. The killings of the 11 were also reported by Al Rai and Al Majd, two websites linked to Hamas.

Israel's intelligence services rely, in part, on informers to pinpoint the whereabouts of Hamas leaders.

Source (http://bigstory.ap.org/article/israel-palestinians-trade-fire-2-killed-gaza)

panopticon

22nd August 2014, 10:57

How a troll was caught spreading vile comments on numerous websites.

Anyone who doesn't think that this kind of stuff happens is badly mistaken.

Imagine choosing an avatar like the below image. Really.

Just a sick little boy who seriously needs psychiatric assistance.

The Common Dream article on their investigation is well worth a read and available here (http://www.commondreams.org/hambaconeggs).

Below is an article from Mondoweiss briefly discussing it.

The depths some people will go to to stymie discussion.

-- Pan :tsk:

###

‘Common Dreams’ website traps Hasbara troll spewing anti-Semitism (http://mondoweiss.net/2014/08/hasbara-spewing-semitism.html)
Annie Robbins on August 21, 2014

http://f8wee1vvia32pdxo527grujy61.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/the_happy_merchant_by_567a45-d6lbzsg-405x580.jpg
Anti-Semitic icon chosen by Jewish Harvard Grad “Jason Beck” posting as a Jew-hater under the alias of “DeShawn Williams”

A Jewish student posting virulently anti-Semitic comments at various internet forums, allegedly “to gauge how pervasive anti-Semitism” is online, has been busted by the progressive website Common Dreams (CD).

Investigative journalist Lance Tapley leaves few stones unturned in his report “The Double Identity of an ‘Anti-Semitic’ Commenter” (http://www.commondreams.org/hambaconeggs) except the identity of the culprit. “Let’s call the student Jason Beck”, Tapley says, protecting the perpetrator.

Beck, a Harvard graduate now a grad student at a midwestern university, created literally dozens of online personas to support his true objective: poisoning online discourse critical of Israel. So if evidence of anti-Semitism wasn’t there, he’d create it himself.

His posting on Common Dreams illustrates the susceptibility of website comment threads to massive manipulation.

And what was the goal of this pollution? Common Dreams says the hate speech undermined fundraising efforts, and was intended to do so.

The website’s executive director, Craig Brown, was personally appalled at the anti-Semitic comments–and had a financial motivation to block these commenters. One generous funder had told him, he said, referring to the stream of anti-Semitism, “I gave you five thousand dollars last year, but I’m not doing it again.”

“We’ve had hundreds of donors say similar things,” Brown added. “People are right to be offended by the anti-Semitism, and it has a serious impact on our reputation and our fundraising.” But when Common Dreams tried to block [Beck handles] DeShawn, HamBaconEggs, et al, they kept coming back.

Here’s how Beck jumpstarted the comment thread at the base of Max Blumenthal’s The Desert of Israeli Democracy (http://www.commondreams.org/views/2013/10/14/desert-israeli-democracy#comment-1081873396) on CD:

Just imagine how many millions of people would have been saved from the scourge of Judeo-imperialist wars and Jewish financial predations had Hitler actually finished the job.

After years and years of spewing classic vile Jew-hatred all over the internet fate caught up with him because he was using the university’s computers.

Interviewed by Common Dreams, the man, in his thirties, conceded he has a “psychological obsession” with trolling. A “tic”. So he came up with multiple personas, including a “JewishProgressive” who trails his other personas expressing his disgust at the viciousness he’s just penned, and then launches into a diatribe on the pervasiveness of anti-Semitism online. These lectures dominated, poisoned and diverted online discussions.

So why grant him another anonymous handle? Common Dreams says it feared that disclosing his identity could put his life in danger; contributors to hate sites he frequented might seek revenge, having discovered he was himself Jewish.

Described by the professor in charge of his academic unit as “the sweetest guy you can imagine,” the man claims he became “frustrated” by what he perceived as “the blurring of criticism [of] Israel and anti-Semitism”.

Beck adamantly claims he was a “lone-wolf” acting alone all these years but curiously, when Common Dreams confronted Beck after tracking him down at the university, Beck stated he had been “ill-advised”. Yes but ill-advised by whom?

Should any of this surprise us? Heck no! Millions have been invested in shutting down discussion of Israel online, and what better way to do it than close down progressive websites that host discussion of Israel.

When Common Dreams examined hundreds of posts in this ugly charade, the aim appeared clear-cut: to cast a deep shadow on, and drive support from, one of the largest and oldest progressive-news websites.

http://f8wee1vvia32pdxo527grujy61.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/mkultra-banner-580x83.jpg
Some of Michael K Ultra’s other DISQUS profile avatars: (L to R) the dissenter, Tillotson, Adenoid Fynkel, Avaritia, Johnny Warbucks, Father_Touch_M_McFeelems, el Bandido (Graphic: Common Dreams)

The next time you see radical profiles online, think who benefits. Because it’s sure not progressives. Ask yourself, is “Jason Beck” unique in his duplicity? It’s unlikely.

(Initially his article mistakenly claimed the troll “Jason Beck” a Harvard graduate, was currently a student at Harvard. He is not, nor is the professor in charge of Beck’s academic unit quoted in the article a Harvard professor. Apologies to Common Dreams, Lance Tapley, and our readers~A.R.)

Source (http://mondoweiss.net/2014/08/hasbara-spewing-semitism.html)

panopticon

22nd August 2014, 13:18

I saw this yesterday but forgot to mention it in this thread.

Remember there have been a number of discussions in this thread and a few others (notably Bob's thread on the subject) about oil & gas reserves as well as pipelines in relation to the Israel/Gaza Strip/Egypt nexus?

As I've previously pointed out, since Woodside pulled out of it's deal (http://www.haaretz.com/business/1.591887) with Noble, Delek etc (http://www.2b1stconsulting.com/woodside-joins-noble-energy-in-israel-leviathan-gas-field/), the off-shore liquification platform that had been talked about for Leviathan (http://www.jpost.com/Enviro-Tech/Woodside-CEO-Offshore-LNG-export-likely-for-Leviathan-341913) as the most likely LNG option for ship transportation has been ostensibly removed.

This only left the sea and overland pipelines that have been discussed to some extent in various threads.

Here's an interesting piece from Bloomberg's on this which also talks about the possibility for an improved Israel-Egypt gas deal.

-- Pan

###

Israel Nears Gas Sales to Egypt as Mideast Unrest Flares (http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-08-20/israeli-gas-to-reach-global-market-via-pipelines-to-egypt.html)
By Shoshanna Solomon, August 21st, 2014

In the midst of some of the worst Middle East tensions in a decade, one-time enemies Egypt and Israel are negotiating deals that may mean the sale of $60 billion in Israeli natural gas to liquefaction plants in Egypt.

The talks come as Israel resumes air strikes on Gaza after Hamas, which the U.S. and the European Union classify as a terrorist group, fired rockets following a breakdown in Egypt’s efforts to broker a cease-fire. The move is all the more improbable because Egypt -- little more than a year ago -- was under the sway of the Muslim Brotherhood, which had begun to steer the country away from viewing Israel as a trading partner.

Noble Energy Inc. (NBL) and units of Israel’s Delek Group Ltd. (DLEKG) plan to deliver as much as 6.25 trillion cubic feet of gas from the Tamar and Leviathan offshore fields to LNG facilities in Egypt’s Damietta port and the coastal town of Idku. Executives said this week they expect to finalize the agreements by year-end.

With Cairo peace talks to end the war in the Gaza Strip faltering, the trade agreements offer the potential to strengthen relations between the region’s largest economy and its most populous. The two offshore fields have more than enough gas to supply Israel for decades. The country is seeking a way to export the excess, and shipping it to Egypt will be faster than building LNG plants.

“From these LNG plants in Egypt, Israeli gas can reach European and Asian markets,” said David Shrem, a Tel Aviv-based portfolio manager at Sphera Funds Management Ltd. The deals “are the first significant ones for regional exports.”

Mediterranean Pipelines

Noble, based in Houston, and the Delek units Delek Drilling-LP and Avner Oil Exploration LP (AVNRL), expect to send gas through pipelines under the Mediterranean Sea. They signed a non-binding agreement in June to deliver the fuel to BG Group Plc (BG/)’s LNG plant in Idku, and reached a similar deal in May to sell gas to Spain-based Union Fenosa Gas SA’s Damietta plant.

Delek’s units expect those deals to be finalized by year-end, as per company filings, according to an e-mailed statement Aug. 17. That echoes comments made by Noble’s president and chief operating officer David Stover in July. Tamar started production last year and Leviathan is scheduled to begin output in 2018.

Delek Group declined an eighth day, closing down 0.3 percent, and Delek Drilling fell a seventh day to close 0.1 percent lower in Tel Aviv.

The two accords provide for sales of as much as 6.25 trillion cubic feet of gas over 15 years, Noble and its Israeli partners said. That would be worth more than $60 billion at current prices in the U.K.

Export Revenue

The agreements would bring billions of dollars a year of export revenue to Israel. Exporting by pipeline would be faster than developing its own liquefying infrastructure, said Guil Bashan, an analyst at Tel Aviv-based IBI-Israel Brokerage & Investments Ltd., as building LNG plants would take years, cost billions of dollars and entail a long regulatory process.

Under Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi, the former army chief who led the military’s removal of the Muslim Brotherhood last year, Egypt’s relations with Israel have improved. That’s opened a window for gas-export agreements as Israel’s prolonged conflict with Hamas fighters continues in the Gaza Strip.

The Union Fenosa and BG plants in Egypt have been unable to fulfill long-term contractual commitments to European and Asian buyers as the country diverts gas to supply domestic consumers. That means Israeli gas would help achieve two important goals: meeting the country’s growing energy demands and maintaining public support, said Michael Leigh, a senior adviser to the German Marshall Fund of the United States.

Gas Reversal

The agreements would be a reversal from the past. Egypt used to export gas to Israel until a series of bombings against the Sinai supply pipeline led to its closing in 2012. Relations between Israel and Egypt deteriorated after former President Hosni Mubarak was overthrown in 2011, and his eventual replacement by Muslim Brotherhood leader Mohamed Mursi.

The ouster of Mursi in July 2013 has led to better ties with Israel. Egypt helped broker cease-fire agreements between Israel and Hamas.

Egypt’s Minister of Petroleum & Mineral Resources Sherif Ismail said Aug. 13 that no agreement has been reached regarding Israeli gas imports. Maya Etzioni, a spokeswoman for Israel’s Ministry of National Infrastructures, Energy and Water Resources, declined to comment.

Turkey, another potential export destination, no longer appears to be an option.

The strain on relations with Israel because of Gaza has negatively affected energy projects, Turkish Energy Minister Taner Yildiz said in Ankara today.

There could be no “economic feasibility” without political reconciliation, he said. “I’m sure the private sector has, in its mind, suspended projects regarding Israel.”

‘Turkey Option’

“A pipeline to Turkey will not be built under current political conditions,” Leigh said. “The Turkey option faces serious political and economic constraints.”

Israel has other export options. Noble and its Leviathan partners, Delek, Avner and Ratio Oil Exploration 1992 LP (RATIL), are considering a pipeline to Cyprus, according to an April investor presentation from Delek Drilling. And the Tamar partners signed an accord in February to supply Jordan-based Arab Potash Co. with fuel, starting in 2016.

Guenther Oettinger, who leads European energy policy as a commissioner at the European Commission, said last month that the EU wants to encourage the development of Mediterranean oil and gas resources to secure sustainable and affordable energy. Israel’s island neighbor Cyprus has also made major gas discoveries under its seabed.

“Recent developments concerning Russia and Ukraine have made energy security a top priority for Europe and the EU is scrutinizing all potential sources,” said Leigh, a former director general in the European Commission. “Greater attention will probably be focused on the Eastern Mediterranean and Israeli gas as a result.”

Source (http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-08-20/israeli-gas-to-reach-global-market-via-pipelines-to-egypt.html)

panopticon

22nd August 2014, 16:22

Remember I was saying 4 weeks was the amount of time that in past IDF operations had been shown to be economically feasible? Past then problems start to occur for the Israeli Governments budget leading to possible impacts on their economy.

Well, that time has passed.

###

The cost of Israel’s Gaza op: $60 million a day (http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/.premium-1.611930)
By Moti Bassok, August 22nd, 2014

http://www.haaretz.com/polopoly_fs/1.611931.1408660353!/image/158158135.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_640/158158135.jpg
Reserve soldiers returning to Israel from Gaza Strip. Right now some 60,000 reserve soldiers have been called up, costing the government 30 million shekels a day. Photo by AP

Overall cost of Operation Protective Edge has passed $2.5 billion after 41 days of fighting, leaving big hole in state budget.

Is Operation Protective Edge going to be Israel’s most expensive war of the decade?

It depends whom you ask. Defense officials said that as of Wednesday at midnight, the cost of Protective Edge had passed 9 billion shekels ($2.5 billion) after 41 days of fighting, exceeding the bill of the 34-day Second Lebanon War in 2006 by some 800 million shekels – and Protective Edge isn’t over yet. On the other hand, the army has spent less per day battling Hamas than Hezbollah: Spending on the Lebanon War averaged 240 million shekels a day (based on the shekel’s value at the time) while Protective Edge has averaged 210 million shekels daily.

In any case, treasury officials are not convinced the costs are that high, and say the real spending to date on Protective Edge is nearer 7 billion shekels. In any case, sources in both the finance and defense establishments say the daily cost has dropped since Israel withdrew its troops from Gaza.

Defense sources told TheMarker that the discrepancies between the cost estimates are apparently because their estimate includes the cost of repairing damaged military systems, as well as for restoring units to full battle-readiness before being stored away for the next emergency. That alone will run to more than a billion shekels. There’s also the cost of caring for the wounded and the families of soldiers who died in battle. The army suspects that the Finance Ministry’s calculations leave out all of that.

Moreover, even after Israel ended ground operations, the army has been spending heavily on reserves and logistics. Putting one soldier on reserve duty costs the government about 500 shekels a day on average, and that’s without including his “military” costs. Right now some 60,000 reserve soldiers have been called up, which is costing the government 30 million shekels a day. Over a month, that comes to almost a billion shekels.

The final cost of the war is more than a matter for the Guinness Book of World Records. The issue of defense spending was already a matter of serious dispute before the fighting broke out, with the army demanding an extra 10 billion shekels for its budget in 2015, jacking up its total net budget to 62 billion for the year. Its gross budget, which includes “income-contingent items” such as income from arms sales, would have passed 70 billion shekels.

Subjugated to defense?

The army’s spending demands are so big that treasury officials fear that the budgets over the next three years will be subjugated to military needs at the expense of civilian spending. The problem is made worse by concerns that tax revenues will be smaller than expected amid signs that the economy is slowing. Those concerns become all the more acute if Israel enters into a war of attrition with Hamas, which would both debilitate the economy and increase defense costs.

Finance Ministry sources say they can’t possibly beef up the defense budget by as much as the army is demanding. They say the defense establishment has to streamline and undertake structural changes that altogether should yield savings equal to the extra spending it wants. The defense establishment says Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will have to mediate, which should work in its favor.

Finance Ministry sources say that if the defense establishment really does get a big budget increase next year, the money will have to come from deep, painful cuts in education, health care, welfare and infrastructure because there are no reserves in the budget. In other words, the entire budget would take a back seat to defense. And it could well be that the bite out of civilian budgets won’t end in 2014 and 2015, but continue into 2016, they say.

The Finance Ministry is wrapping up its 2015 budget proposal to present to the prime minister next week. The cabinet will start discussing it in early September, two months behind schedule.

Treasury officials are thinking of bringing back the old cap on how much the budget may grow from year to year, as was done for the 2013 and 2014 budgets. Under the present cap, the 2015 budget may grow by 2.6%, compared with the 2014 budget, but under the old one, it could grow by 3.5%. The difference works out to 10 billion shekels, which would greatly help treasury officials finalize the budget for 2015. It remains to be seen whether Finance Minister Yair Lapid will accept the old cap, which had been set under his predecessor, Yuval Steinitz.

The treasury is also fretting about a collapse in tax revenues if the fight with Hamas turns into a war of attrition. The ministry has already lowered its tax revenues estimate for 2014 from between 273 billion and 276 billion to 268 billion, and will probably lower it again.

Moreover, in the face of wall-to-wall opposition from the Finance Ministry and Bank of Israel economists, Lapid is insisting on going ahead with his plan to eliminate the value-added tax on new homes purchased by eligible buyers, even though it will reduce tax income by 3 billion shekels next year.

In the meantime, treasury officials have come up with an alternative to raising taxes – which Lapid has vowed not to do – namely, to raise the 2015 deficit target from 2.5% of gross domestic product not to, say, 2.95% or even 3%, as the treasury had planned to do anyway, but to 3.5%. That would give the ministry another 10 billion shekels to work with. The Bank of Israel won’t say a word against the idea, on condition that their analysis shows the budget deficit being cyclical, not entrenched.

Another source of income for the government would come from canceling or at least scaling back tax breaks, which reached 44.3 billion shekels in 2014, or 19% of anticipated tax revenues this year. It’s also equivalent to 4.5% of Israel’s GDP. A courageous political move backed by the coalition could reduce that sum by more than 10 billion shekels.

Source (http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/.premium-1.611930)

panopticon

22nd August 2014, 19:16

Interesting report from Michael Ben-Yair (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Ben-Yair) a former Israeli Attorney General and Supreme Court Judge claiming that the IDF staged the Hamas ceasefire breakdown (ie the 3 rockets allegedly fired):
Former Attorney General: "Israel staged ceasefire" (http://www.nrg.co.il/online/1/ART2/610/630.html?hp=1&cat=402&loc=59) (in Hebrew so I google translated -- may have inconsistencies due to this so I didn't post the translation).

As I said previously, there was no confirmation from Qassam/factions and there were no observed rockets fired from Gaza.

Also no fragments were reportedly shown in the media after the IDF report (which is evidently usual practice in Israel).

-- Pan

PathWalker

23rd August 2014, 14:20

_Ugsv5u-sW0

Akasha

23rd August 2014, 14:58

_Ugsv5u-sW0

1HabBb9Uka8

panopticon

23rd August 2014, 15:33

_Ugsv5u-sW0

Thanks for posting the video Pathwalker.

It's always good to have a variety of views expressed.

He raises some interesting points and also some of the problems that are associated with the "2 state solution".

I didn't hear a solution offered but can only assume from his rant that he is an advocate, much as Lieberman et al, of the removal of all Arabs from the State of Israel or of a 1 State solution with all people having free movement.

I have no problem with the 1 State solution but it would be difficult to remove check points and access areas in the territiories/settlements.

I don't think that anyone outside of a very small extremist group advocate for the removal of all Arabs/Bedouin. As I understand general sentiment in Israel has moved further to the right, but still forcible removal would be hard given the number of 2 religion families (despite Lehava's (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lehava) best efforts).

That being said, it isn't my place to judge how Israel plan to move from their assault phase into something else.

Abbas is pushing for an ICC investigation (though there's a lot of problems given the last time that the PA attempted that) and has had Fatah forces crack down on Hamas etc in the WB (after the overthrow plot came out he was understandably peeved).

Meanwhile, he's been meeting in Doha with Meshaal trying to get the UN interested in a timetable for ending the occupation (source (http://news.yahoo.com/abbas-hamas-chief-hold-second-day-talks-qatar-003805388.html)).

Pat can complain all he likes about progressives, and I tend to agree with him on almost everything he has said, but it doesn't make what has happened any different.

Just as an aside in reference to Pat's video, I do exactly the same thing in relation to IS/factions and Syria/Iraq as I have in relation to Israel/Hamas and factions.

It's just there is an interest in Gaza/Israel that isn't there for Syria/Iraq/IS/al-Nusra/Lebanon/Hezbollah.

The fact that Foley's death (did you see Netanyahu make use of that?) made news headlines yet almost 200,000 people having died in the Syrian conflict since 2011 is just a footnote really is beyond annoying. It beggars belief. No less so when it's seemingly ignored by leaders in Muslim countries that Muslim's are killing Muslims.

People never cease to amaze me.

But yes, Pat raises some very good points.

-- Pan

Akasha

23rd August 2014, 15:38

Extensive RT interview with Jewish professor, author and activist, Norman Finkelstein on Gaza from a couple of weeks ago:

JvBZhe7nU2M

panopticon

23rd August 2014, 17:33

Egypt calls for Gaza ceasefire as fighting rages (http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/08/23/us-mideast-gaza-idUSKBN0GM11320140823)
By Nidal Al-Mughrabi And Yasmine Saleh, August 23rd, 2014

http://s1.reutersmedia.net/resources/r/?m=02&d=20140822&t=2&i=966201152&w=&fh=&fw=&ll=700&pl=378&r=LYNXMPEA7L0N2

(Reuters) - Egypt called on Israel and the Palestinians on Saturday to halt fire and resume ceasefire talks, but violence continued unabated with Israeli air strikes in the Gaza Strip and Hamas militants firing rockets at the Jewish state.

A senior Egyptian diplomat said Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas had informed Sisi that Hamas was prepared to come to Cairo for further talks, but Hamas did not immediately confirm the report. Israel also had no immediate comment.

Gaza health officials said five people, including two children, were killed in an Israeli strike on a house in central Gaza. Four more Palestinians were killed in other strikes.

The Israeli military said it bombed about 20 targets across the Hamas-dominated strip, including rocket launchers and weapon caches. It said Gaza militants had fired more than 40 rockets at Israel and no Israeli casualties were reported.

Indirect ceasefire talks mediated by Egypt to end the deadly six-week conflict collapsed on Tuesday after rockets were fired from Gaza during a truce and Israel responded with air strikes.

The Egyptian Foreign Ministry issued a short statement on Saturday calling on both sides to resume talks. Palestinian President Abbas, in Cairo after meeting President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, also urged swift resumption of negotiations.

The Egyptian diplomat said Cairo expected to receive responses from both Israel and Hamas, the Islamist militant group which dominates Gaza, by Monday.

Hamas has said it will not stop fighting until the Israeli-Egyptian blockade on Gaza is lifted.

Both Israel and Egypt view Hamas as a security threat and are reluctant to make sweeping concessions without guarantees weapons will not enter the economically-crippled enclave.

ICC BID

The Israeli military said Palestinian gunmen had fired almost 500 rockets at Israel since the talks broke down and Gaza health officials said 65 Palestinians had been killed in Israeli air strikes since then.

The Cairo talks had aimed to secure a lasting deal that would open the way for reconstruction aid to flow into the Gaza territory of 1.8 million people, where thousands of homes have been destroyed.

"My main goal is for the truce talks to resume in Egypt as soon as possible to avoid more casualties," Abbas told a news conference in Cairo.

Palestinian health officials say 2,080 people, most of them civilians, have been killed in the small, densely populated coastal enclave since July 8, when Israel launched an offensive with the declared aim of ending rocket fire into its territory.

Saturday's violence came a day after a four-year-old Israeli boy was killed by a mortar attack from Gaza, leading Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to threaten to escalate the fight against Hamas, vowing the group would "pay a heavy price".

The boy was the first Israeli child to have died in the conflict, bringing to four the number of civilians killed in Israel. Sixty-four Israeli soldiers have also been killed.

The Israeli military had said on Friday the mortar was fired from a school serving as a U.N. shelter, but later retracted that statement, saying the shelter was run by Hamas.

On Friday, Israel's military spokesman Brig. Gen. Motti Almoz warned Palestinians near weapons stockpiles in Gaza to leave their homes. "We are intensifying our attacks," he said, adding that Israel was "preparing for possible ground action".

Israel pulled ground forces out of Gaza more than two weeks ago after saying it had destroyed a network of Hamas tunnels used for cross-border ambushes. But Netanyahu last week granted provisional approval for the call-up of 10,000 army reservists, signalling the possibility of heightened military action.

The United Nations says about 400,000 Gazans have been displaced and more than 400 children killed in the longest and deadliest violence between Israel and the Palestinians since the second Intifada, or Palestinian uprising, a decade ago.

Hamas leaders said on Saturday they have signed off on Abbas's bid to join the International Criminal Court (ICC), a move that could open up both Israel and the militant group to war crime probes over the Gaza conflict.

If the Palestinians were to sign the ICC's founding treaty, the Rome Statute, the court would have jurisdiction over crimes committed in the Palestinian territories. An investigation could then examine events as far back as mid-2002.

Israel and Hamas have traded allegations of war crimes and both defend their military operations as consistent with international law.

Source (http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/08/23/us-mideast-gaza-idUSKBN0GM11320140823)

avid

23rd August 2014, 18:04

Re: Pat Condell's views....
He's not playing on a level field here, making too many assumptions, disappointed in Pat Condell - he is usually quite funny. In fact - he is biased! I'm unsubscribing from his usually witty videos. He is blinkered, obviously pro-Israeli, and has stated many untruths in this tirade of nonsense. I feel sorry for people like these, who are so ill-informed they stick their necks on the public opinion block and execute themselves. Pat Condell - you are a misinformed bombastic idiot.

Rollo

23rd August 2014, 22:23

Deleted post...

panopticon

24th August 2014, 05:28

PathWalker

24th August 2014, 05:32

4XmjDPYGR4Y

Wolf Wisdom

An old Cherokee told his grandson
about a battle that goes on inside people.

He said, "My son, the battle is between two "wolves" inside us all.

One is Evil.
It is anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance,
self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies,
false pride, superiority and ego.

The other is Good.
It is Joy, Peace, Love, Hope, Serenity, Humility, Kindness, Benevolence, Empathy, Generosity, Truth, Compassion and Faith."

The grandson thought about it for a minute
and then asked his grandfather:

"Which wolf wins?"

The old Cherokee simply replied, "The one you feed."

panopticon

24th August 2014, 05:49

4XmjDPYGR4Y

Hehehe. Good one PW.

That's almost as good as the anti-Abbas video's put out by the Israeli Embassy in the US:

rKxcz5m4OZ4
OPD1EwbPc1s
Or the Israeli Foreign Affair's Ministry's 'Welcome To Gaza Heights':
kQU_SieVOG0
Classic. :)

-- Pan

PathWalker

24th August 2014, 05:55

Why The Middle East Conflict Continues To Exist
By: Joel Bainerman (http://www.joelbainerman.info/429/)

This collection of observations was compiled to help Jews and Arabs understand why the Middle East conflict continues to fester. The intention is to promote the realization that these two peoples are not each other’s worst enemy; a third player, the Foreign Elite (FE), is why the Middle East remains unstable.

A truly objective analysis of this subject, without the baggage Jews and Arabs have been fed via their national leaderships, reveals that the Middle East conflict would have ended decades ago had foreigners not kept it alive. The continuation of the conflict serves their interests- i.e., oil supplies, recycling petrodollars, or multi-billion dollar weapons sales. The Palestinian-Israeli “situation” is thus merely a fig leaf for the FE, allowing their other agendas can be pursued undetected.

We need to devise a solution based on the actual cause for the continuation of the conflict, and not accept solutions presented via the mainstream media.

The hatred between the two peoples doesn’t come from the hearts of Middle Eastern Arabs and Jews; it is created and stoked from abroad. Arabs and Jews must see through the propaganda and understand that this conflict is being created for them. Every time it looks like it is coming to an end, foreigners breathe new life into it by insisting that they have a “new peace initiative” which they claim will bring peace. It never does.

The FE’s intervention in the affairs of the Middle East has been a tragedy for the Arab peoples – socially, economically, and politically. Arabs and Jews of the Middle Eastneed to admit that they are both victims of the foreigners. By working together, they can remove the cancer of foreign intervention that keeps the conflict alive.
.....
keep reading here (http://www.joelbainerman.info/429/).

PathWalker

24th August 2014, 06:15

Quote from Golda Meir (https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Golda_Meir)

Peace will come when the Arabs will love their children more than they hate Jews.

And PathWalker adds the insights from Joel Bainerman. The conflict will end when the locals will re-own responsibility for their business from TPTB.

The recent conflict is a brilliant classic diversion by Hamas to refinance its power.
Hammas got what they wanted, they won the political round. No matter the expense, Hamamas is never responsible.

panopticon

24th August 2014, 06:46

Israeli Airstrike Levels 7-Story Building In Gaza (http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/M/ML_ISRAEL_PALESTINIANS)
By Ibrahim Barzak and Peter Enav, August 24th, 2014

http://hosted.ap.org/photos/6/62b7803d-6267-4b89-a2eb-dcd53529309e-big.jpg
(Image source (http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/files/photos/6/62b7803d-6267-4b89-a2eb-dcd53529309e.html))

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) -- Israeli airstrikes leveled a seven-floor office building and severely damaged a two-story shopping center in the Gaza Strip early Sunday, signaling a new escalation in seven weeks of fighting with Hamas.

The strikes in the southern town of Rafah came just hours after Israel bombed an apartment tower in Gaza City, collapsing the 12-story building with 44 apartments.

The targeting of large buildings appears to be part of a new military tactic by Israel. Over the weekend, the army began warning Gaza residents in automated phone calls that it would target buildings harboring "terrorist infrastructure" and that they should stay away.

A senior military official confirmed that Israel has a policy of striking at buildings containing Hamas operational centers or those from which military activities are launched. The official said each strike required prior approval from military lawyers and is carried out only after the local population is warned.

However, he said, there was now a widening of locations that the military can target. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not permitted to discuss the matter with reporters.

Meanwhile, Gaza militants continued to fire rockets and mortar shells at Israel, including at least 10 on Sunday, the military said. That was in addition to more than 100 on Saturday, most aimed at southern Israel.

Elsewhere, five rockets were fired from Syria and fell in open areas in northern Israel. It was not immediately clear whether they were fired by pro-government forces or rebel groups.

Amid persistent violence, Egypt has urged Israel and the Palestinians to resume indirect talks in Cairo on a durable cease-fire, but stopped short of issuing invitations.

Several rounds of indirect talks between Israel and Hamas have collapsed, along with temporary cease-fires that accompanied them. The gaps between Israel and the Islamic militant group on a new border deal for blockaded Gaza remain vast, and there's no sign either is willing to budge.

The Israeli military said it had carried out some 20 strikes on Gaza since midnight Saturday.

In Rafah, Israeli aircraft bombed the seven-story Zourab building, which houses an office of the Hamas-run Interior Ministry. Witnesses said the building was leveled and that the strikes caused severe damage to nearby shops, homes and cars.

Another strike hit a nearby shopping center with dozens of shops, sparking a fire that gutted the two-story building. After daybreak Sunday, smoke was still rising from the site as shop owners inspected the damage. Windows and doors had been blown out in nearby buildings.

The military said the two buildings were attacked because they housed facilities linked to militants, but did not provide details. The Gaza City apartment tower toppled Saturday was targeted because a Hamas command center operated from there, the army said.

Palestinian health official Ashraf Al Kidra said two people were killed in a pair of airstrikes near a coastal road on Sunday, including one on a group of people coming out of a mosque after morning prayers. Two more fatalities were registered when a motorcycle following a car evacuating the wounded from the strikes was targeted.

The U.N. estimates that more than 17,000 homes have been destroyed or damaged beyond repair since the war began on July 8. In some of the attacks, family homes with three or four floors were pulverized.

However, the weekend strikes marked the first time large buildings were toppled.

Since the fighting began, Israel has launched some 5,000 airstrikes at Gaza, while Gaza militants have fired close to 4,000 rockets and mortars, according to the Israeli military.

More than 2,100 Palestinians, including close to 500 children, have been killed, according to Palestinian health officials and U.N. figures. Israel has lost 64 soldiers and four civilians.

Israel says it is targeting sites linked to militants, including rocket launchers, command centers and weapons depots. The U.N. says about three-fourths of the Palestinians killed have been civilians.

Source (http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/M/ML_ISRAEL_PALESTINIANS)

panopticon

24th August 2014, 07:07

The recent conflict is a brilliant classic diversion by Hamas to refinance its power.
Hamas got what they wanted, they won the political round. No matter the expense, Hamas is never responsible.

No I disagree. Hamas is most definitely responsible for the managing of the factions. Every time there is a rocket fired from Gaza & Hamas is unable to stop the faction responsible from firing it (if it isn't from Qassam) then they are responsible for that launch.

Also, Hamas hasn't won the political round. If anything the Hamas factions in the WB (that are alleged to have organised the slaughter of the 3 Israeli-Jewish youths) have achieved the destabilisation of the Hamas leadership in Gaza that they were after.

Look at the (Israeli media) reported coup attempt on Fatah/PA in the West Bank and the crack down by PA forces on Hamas in the WB because of it.

There is no way that I can see this as Hamas trying to 'refinance its power'.

Israel & Egypt stopped Hamas' revenue stream from the tunnels last year (after Morsi was removed) and that is the reason that Hamas was forced to form a unity government with the PA. Remember 43,000 municipal workers (ie Hamas public servants) haven't been paid in quite a long time.

The formation of a Palestinian Unity Government was something the Israeli Government didn't want (remember Netanyahu giving speeches on it?) and then everything "goes to hell in a hand basket".

So, no, I don't see this as 'a brilliant classic diversion by Hamas'.

At least not the Hamas factions in the Gaza Strip...

-- Pan

panopticon

24th August 2014, 11:57

Israeli teens’ kidnappers evaded army, hid in cesspool after murders (http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/.premium-1.612132)
By Chaim Levinson, August 24th, 2014

http://www.haaretz.com/polopoly_fs/1.601589.1408863309!/image/91415585.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_640/91415585.jpg
On the left: Marwan Qawasmeh and Amer Abu Aisheh. On the right: kidnapped teens Naftali Fraenkel, Gilad Shaar and Eyal Yifrah Photo by Reuters

Indictment against captured collaborators reveals details of how kidnapping was planned and how the two main suspects avoided capture.

Marwan Qawasmeh and Amer Abu Aisheh, the suspected kidnappers and murderers of three Israeli teens in the West Bank in June, managed to change their hiding place undetected five days after the kidnapping, despite the presence of large military forces in the area, according to an indictment presented to a military court last week.

The Israel Defense Forces and Shin Bet security service are still searching for the two suspects, some two-and-a-half months after the kidnapping. Their capture is a major goal of the IDF Central Command, both in order to bring them to justice and out of a concern that they will strike again. Others involved in the kidnapping have been apprehended and are standing trial. Those proceedings, in open court, have shed some light on the kidnapping.

Even though it was first thought that the kidnappers were professionals who had left no trace, the investigation shows that they were amateurs who made many mistakes. This only sharpens the puzzle of how they are managing to elude capture, despite the enormous resources invested in their apprehension.

Following the arrest of Hussam Qawasmeh, who organized and funded the kidnapping, security officials learned that the kidnappers had intended to kill the teenagers all along. A plot of land had been purchased and Hussam, together with Abu Aisheh, transferred the bodies there for burial, in Hussam’s car, after the shooting. Marwan, meanwhile, burned the vehicle used to kidnap the abductees.

The men prepared a hiding place before they carried out the kidnapping. Marwan had spoken with someone a week earlier about needing a refuge, saying that the authorities were looking for him, and an old house beside a field in the village of Tufah was prepared in advance. The owner of the house was notified two days beforehand that the hiding place would be needed, and at 5 A.M. after the kidnapping Abu Aisha showed up. Marwan showed up later but had to wait until that evening before going into hiding. Hussam didn’t go into hiding.

Both Marwan Qawasmeh and Amer Abu Aisheh hid in an unused cesspool, which was covered in earth and furnished with a small breathing pipe. Marwan’s late arrival indicates that he was active after the murder, and thus quicker action by search teams may have led to his early capture.

The two emerged after five days, sleeping unobserved under a tree. Then they disappeared, despite the presence of several IDF battalions and special units in the vicinity. Security forces estimate that they are still in the area, armed and desperate.

After the bodies of the three teenagers were found, Hussam Qawasmeh went into hiding, fearing that he would be betrayed if the two were caught. He went to Jericho in an attempt to flee to Jordan but was apprehended by special police forces.

Source (http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/.premium-1.612132)

panopticon

24th August 2014, 14:24

Manipulation and bad acting with the corpses in Gaza. This is insane and very amateurish, like we have seen in Boston, Sandy Hook, 9-11 etc.
So called "special" agents can't even make people stay without moving for one minute.

11A7X4QXUIU
OMG! That is shocking! I wonder where that was taken? When was it done? Who are the people?

Let's see where this comes from.

Why, the story originates here (which has since been removed for copy-write infringement):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OdYa-lnSgaE

So what is this mysterious جريدة البديل. that owns the copy-write?

Look, it's an Egyptian media outlet... http://elbadil.com/

So where did Pamela get the story from?

Why here:

bJhYaF-xxOo
This is not a funeral in Gaza. It is a protest against the overthrow of Morsi from back in October last year by students in Egypt.

It has absolutely nothing to do with the present assault nor even with Gaza!

At least we can see that the conservatives (yeah, that's at you Geller) have not been trying to mislead people.

There have been some obviously staged photos (for example a collection of teddy bears facing the camera on a childs bed covered in rubble) but that is really minor in comparison to the Israeli PR machine.

When people have their childs corpse in photos it is almost always grief being shown. The photographer captures that powerful yet horrible moment.

Do the research.

-- Pan

Hahahaha,

I point out it's tosh and within 8 hours it's "removed by user".

Good one.

Also, the first reference to this I can find is from that well known moderate Pamela Geller.

In her twitter feed she posted:

http://apanopticview.drivehq.com/images/PamelaGeller--TwitterStatus--20140814.png

Source (https://twitter.com/PamelaGeller/status/499689068397993985)

Which was in relation to her youtube account:

http://apanopticview.drivehq.com/images/PamelaGeller-20140814--HamasFuneralISeeDeadPeople-Move.png

Source (https://web.archive.org/web/20140814123704/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OdYa-lnSgaE)

Why is it that people feel the need to either lie about these sorts of things or just make crap up?

Do they really think that it wont be discovered?

The comments that were associated with this ridiculous rubbish were typical racist kankar.

It beggars belief...

-- Pan

panopticon

24th August 2014, 16:54

Statement in relation to the Meshaal interview confirming that the Hebron Hamas were responsible for the Abduction of the 3 Israeli-Jewish youth and that the Hamas leadership in Gaza was not aware of the plan
(source (https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=932197306794744&id=917619741585834) -- in arabic).

Excerpt from Yahoo News interview:

Meshaal acknowledged for the first time that Hamas members — but not the group's political leadership — were behind the slaying of three Israeli settlers on the West Bank in June. But he defended the murders as a legitimate action against Israeli "illegal" occupation.

"We were not aware of this action taken by this group of Hamas members in advance," he said. "But we understand people are frustrated under the occupation and the oppression, and they take all kinds of action."

When asked directly whether Hamas members carried out the abduction of the Israeli teens, Meshaal said: "We learned about these confessions from the Israeli investigation … Hamas political leadership was not aware of all these details. We learned about it later on
Source (http://news.yahoo.com/hamas-leader--don-t-compare-us-to-isil-193125056.html)
This matches up with all the information and reports that were available a month ago.

It is even the same as what Diskin (former director of Israel's internal security service Shin Bet) said a month ago:

Hamas didn't want this war at first either. But as things often are in the Middle East, things happened differently. It began with the kidnapping of three Israeli teenagers in the West Bank. From what I read and from what I know about how Hamas operates, I think that the Hamas political bureau was taken by surprise. It seems as though it was not coordinated or directed by them.
Source (http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/interview-with-former-israeli-security-chief-yuval-diskin-a-982094.html)
I reckon he probably knows what he's talking about.

Then there's the reported interview that Israeli police spokesman Mickey Rosenfeld had with Jon Donnison, from the BBC, in which Rosenfeld is alleged to have said that the Hamas cell was working alone (later denied by Rosenfeld, but given the probable pressure that isn't very surprising).

Let us await our new truths.

-- Pan

panopticon

25th August 2014, 06:45

Evidently Abbas is planning on going to the UN with some sort of plan to get international assistance in enforcing the 1967 borders. Bypassing the US if necessary:
Abbas to ask UN to set timetable for Palestinian state along 1967 lines (http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/1.612264)

Don't know what to make of this. Seems like bringing back the Unity government rhetoric. But including Hamas & IJ after the coup attempt?

Need more information.

There have been extensive bombing runs by the IDF since the last ceasefire ended and the Israeli Governments rhetoric has increasingly been moving towards another ground incursion. This is in response to increased rockets fired from Gaza by Qassam and the factions.

There are increasing reports of incoming rocket "false alarms" in areas away from the Gaza Strip buffer zone (eg Tel-Aviv). Increased sense of fear being promoted before ground incursion decision announcement (for public sentiment)? Pressure on Hamas etc to give in to Bibi/Ya'alon ceasefire demands?

There have also been reports from IJ that there is a ceasefire agreement going to come into affect soon. This is denied by everybody else.

Just a note on the 19th August ceasefire ending.

The IDF reported that 3 rockets were fired from Gaza, within 20 minutes IDF ordered to recommence firing, within an hour IDF bombings had recommenced on Gaza & 6 hours later missiles dropped on the family of on of Hamas commanders. Did the Israeli Secret Service have information in relation to the location that Deif was going to be before the report of the 3 rockets being fired?

-- Pan

Rocky_Shorz

25th August 2014, 08:38

i've had 3 posts right to the point of finished, blown away on a restart, blue dude and Squatch are back

panopticon

25th August 2014, 09:40

Behind the IDF shooting of a 10-year-old boy (http://www.haaretz.com/news/.premium-1.611856)
By Gideon Levy and Alex Levac, August 21st, 2014

http://www.haaretz.com/polopoly_fs/1.611855.1408626398!/image/381235586.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_640/381235586.jpg
Mohammed Anati with his younger son, this week. Khalil was about to enter sixth grade. / Photo by Alex Levac

It's not clear why an Israeli soldier shot Khalil Anati in the Al-Fawar refugee camp. What is clear is that the shooter didn't stay around long enough to offer assistance, or to watch the boy die.

The picture on the mourning poster shows the beautiful, sad face of a boy, his head wrapped in a keffiyeh, his skin sallow, his eyes wide open. In the photograph, one of two images used for the posters, the boy is already dead. Only his open eyes give the impression of life. In the other poster, the eyes are already closed for all time.

Khalil Anati was 10 years and eight months old and came from the Al-Fawar refugee camp, south of Hebron in the West Bank, when he was killed. An Israeli soldier had opened the door of his armored jeep, picked up his rifle, aimed it at the upper body of the boy, who was running with his back to the soldier, and cut him down with one bullet, fired from a distance of a few dozen meters.

It was early morning on Sunday, August 10. The street was almost empty – the idleness, the unemployment and the heat in this squalid refugee camp leave people in their beds late – and the soldiers were apparently in no danger. According to testimony, there were only another three or four young children in the street; they were throwing stones at the jeep. There were no “riots” and no mass “disturbances.”

Khalil tried to advance another few meters after the bullet lodged in his lower back, before falling to the ground in the middle of the narrow alley, its width about that of a person, that ascends to his home. Someone heard him shout, in Arabic: “The bastards shot me.” By the time he arrived at the hospital in Hebron – he had been transported in a private vehicle since the camp does not have an ambulance – he was dead from loss of blood.

The soldier who shot him quickly shut the door of the jeep and hightailed it out of the camp, together with his buddies. Mission accomplished.

The bereaved father, Mohammed, asks now with dry eyes why the soldier who killed him did not at least offer his son first aid, or summon help. “If they are human beings, that is what they should have done. Why didn’t they do that?”

We sat this week in front of the Anatis’ ramshackle home, a few meters from the scene of the crime. No other refugee camp is comparable to Al-Fawar, in terms of wretchedness and forlornness. A putrid stench wafts from the bursting garbage bins, which no one empties, and from the sewage that flows unchecked through the alleys. An Israeli who has never been here cannot begin to imagine what it’s like. It’s also a tough place, which the army rarely enters.

But on that fateful Sunday two army jeeps, one of them flying a huge Israeli flag, drove in, escorting a vehicle of Mekorot, the national water company, which had apparently come to check the pipes connecting to the camp’s wells.

Khalil was shot to death at about 9:30 in the morning. His father, a scrap peddler, was still asleep. Only the boy’s uncle, Mahmoud Anati, peering out of his window which overlooks the narrow alley, saw what was going on and spotted the jeep. He rushed to his 80-year-old father, Ahmed Anati, Khalil’s grandfather, who was at that moment on the roof of a house that is being built as part of a special United Nations Refugee Agency project, for the camp’s old people.

Mahmoud told his father to come inside, for fear of the soldiers; from experience he knows that the troops are quick to fire teargas in order to disperse the children. He hustled his aged father into the house, but is today consumed with feelings of guilt for not having done the same for his nephew.

The street, Mahmoud recalls, was quiet. Then he suddenly heard a single shot ring out and his nephew shout. He rushed into the alley. A construction worker at the site of the home for the aged had already picked up the bleeding boy and was running with him toward the main street, in order to flag down a car to take him to the hospital.

At one point, Khalil fell from the worker’s hands. He and Mahmoud picked him up and put him the car of a Bedouin man who was visiting in the camp. They shouted to people to call an ambulance, but knew that would take precious time, so they sped in the private car to Al Ahli Hospital in Hebron.

As the car left the camp, Khalil stopped moving, and by the time they reached the hospital, he was no longer breathing. Mahmoud tried to staunch the bleeding with his hands. The boy’s last words to his uncle were, “Don’t be afraid.”

The uncle had hoped there would be soldiers at the pillbox – the guard tower at the edge of the camp – who could summon aid, but it was deserted. He remembered that a few days earlier, there had been a road accident nearby in which Israelis were involved, and the army had called in a helicopter to evacuate them.

As the uncle recalls the events of that day, the father sits by his side, silently. Mohammed goes to the cemetery every day now, to visit his son.

Musa Abu Hashhash, a veteran field worker for the Israeli human rights organization B’Tselem, arrived at Al Ahli at about 10:30 A.M. the day the boy was killed, and saw his body in the hospital morgue. Abu Hashhash, who has already seen a great deal in his work, was especially shocked by this incident. He published an article about it on the website of the Palestinian news agency Ma’an under the headline, “The Coward,” referring to the soldier who killed the boy and fled.

Immediately after the event, the Israel Defense Forces’ Spokesperson’s Unit published a statement on its website, stating (in a rare instance) that the IDF “regrets” the boy’s death.

The spokesperson’s unit also provided the following response to an inquiry from Haaretz: “During routine activity by IDF forces, which were providing security for work being carried out by the water authority in the vicinity of Al-Fawar, violent disturbances erupted, during which the force opened fire. The IDF regrets the death of the Palestinian minor who was killed in said incident. In accordance with standard policy, the Military Police’s investigatory unit has launched an inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the incident. At the conclusion of the inquiry, the findings will be passed on to the Military Advocate General’s office for examination and for decisions on any further action.”

During our visit, we saw a few children were playing in the local “community center” – a shabby, tattered room in the heart of the camp, with three old computers and a tabletop soccer game – its walls covered with pictures of their deceased friend, Khalil. Yakub Nasser entered the room in his electric wheelchair. Now 19, he too was shot here by soldiers, in 2009, when he was 14. Since then his legs have been paralyzed and he’s been confined to a wheelchair.

As for Khalil, he was supposed to have attended a local day camp during the final days of the summer vacation, and was also getting ready to enter the sixth grade. He had been accompanying his father as he sold used clothing and old television sets; he buys them from a dealer in nearby Halhoul and offers them for sale to the camp’s residents.

Two days before his death, neighbors had collected donations for residents of the Gaza Strip. Khalil stole a blanket from home and brought it to the local mosque as his contribution to his brethren in Strip.

Source (http://www.haaretz.com/news/.premium-1.611856)

PathWalker

25th August 2014, 18:59

The recent conflict is a brilliant classic diversion by Hamas to refinance its power.
Hamas got what they wanted, they won the political round. No matter the expense, Hamas is never responsible.

Israel & Egypt stopped Hamas' revenue stream from the tunnels last year (after Morsi was removed) and that is the reason that Hamas was forced to form a unity government with the PA. Remember 43,000 municipal workers (ie Hamas public servants) haven't been paid in quite a long time.

So, no, I don't see this as 'a brilliant classic diversion by Hamas'.

-- Pan

Hamas was utterly and politically destroyed before the current war. I agree.
Now it is excreting its political muscle (what left of it), paid its 43,000 workers and paid its 10,000 soldiers. Received the funds in order to agree for the previous 3 days ceasefire.

Without the current war, Hamas would have been self imploded. History has many tales of desperate regimes revived by war.
As said, Hamas is politically much better now then before the current war.
In addition Hamas has improved its terrorizing grip on the local Gazzans. One can read that in the Arab anti Hamas media.

Do not get me wrong, Israel needs the Hamas and will not let it fail. The Israeli regime requires a solid enemy to focus its wars. Israel cannot wage war on dispersed unrelated armed militias (Israeli experience in Lebanon mud 1982 to 1993).

The war lords need the war. The locals are cheap perishable.

PathWalker

25th August 2014, 19:09

Excerpt from Yahoo News interview:

It is even the same as what Diskin (former director of Israel's internal security service Shin Bet) said a month ago:

Hamas didn't want this war at first either. But as things often are in the Middle East, things happened differently. It began with the kidnapping of three Israeli teenagers in the West Bank. From what I read and from what I know about how Hamas operates, I think that the Hamas political bureau was taken by surprise. It seems as though it was not coordinated or directed by them.
Source (http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/interview-with-former-israeli-security-chief-yuval-diskin-a-982094.html)
I reckon he probably knows what he's talking about.

Then there's the reported interview that Israeli police spokesman Mickey Rosenfeld had with Jon Donnison, from the BBC, in which Rosenfeld is alleged to have said that the Hamas cell was working alone (later denied by Rosenfeld, but given the probable pressure that isn't very surprising).

Let us await our new truths.

-- Pan
The kidnapping has strong smell of false flag attack, organized and financed by TPTB secret service.
The perpetrators are not secret service agents, they are hateful terrorists playing to their cloaked-master's flute.

panopticon

26th August 2014, 15:29

There are multiple reports of a long term ceasefire being almost ready to be announced. [UPDATE: to start at 21:00 GMT/Midnight Gaza Local Time -- ~5 and a half hours from the update time on this post]

Hamas & Islamic Jihad are both saying that the terms are similar to the 2012 agreement (source (https://news.yahoo.com/israel-destroys-2-gaza-high-rises-escalation-052338846.html)). There are also reports that other smaller factions are also reporting the same.

Terms include rockets not being fired from Gaza and restrictions being lifted by Israel & Egypt on border crossing and blockade.

Airport & seaport are said to be set for a later time.

Egypt is reported to be preparing to announce the ceasefire while Israel has not commented.

Israeli strikes have destroyed or severely damaged more than 17,000 Gaza homes, according to U.N. estimates, leaving about 100,000 people homeless. The number of dead has also been rising steadily, reaching at least 2,138 by Tuesday, with more than 11,000 Gazans wounded since July 8.

On the Israeli side, 68 people have been killed, all but four of them soldiers. Thousands of Israelis living near Gaza have fled their homes, including in recent days when Gaza militants stepped up mortar fire on southern Israel.

In Gaza, Israel also escalated its strikes, toppling five high-rise buildings housing offices, apartments and shops since this weekend.
source (https://news.yahoo.com/israel-destroys-2-gaza-high-rises-escalation-052338846.html)

Also it is reported that the latest Israeli assaults have been directed at the middle-class in Gaza (who have been less affected up until now) in a possible attempt at pressuring Hamas etc.

In a side note, and I don't know if it's just me, but I've had a bit of a strange thing happen with Google search.

I've been use the search pattern "current time in Gaza" to get local time (quickly shown at the top of the search page) for years. It is the same pattern I use for every other time zone (ie I also use "current time in St Louis" for Ferguson time) only today it isn't working the same for Gaza.

Everywhere else it's fine but Gaza goes to a full search page (ie I have to choose a web page to show me the local time there instead of it being displayed straight away).

If I do a search for "current time in Israel" or even "current time in Palestine" it comes up as expected. Just another way to make Gaza a little more difficult to follow.

Very weird change from Google.

Anyway, ceasefire announcement soon hopefully.

-- Pan

panopticon

26th August 2014, 16:10

Ceasefire has come into effect. It was widely reported earlier to be at 21:00 GMT but Egypt has just announced that it was to start at 16:00 GMT (about 10 minutes ago).

More details here:
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-28939350
http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/08/26/us-mideast-gaza-ceasefire-start-idUSKBN0GQ1KC20140826

Reports that Israeli Security cabinet were informed about the ceasefire (no vote).

Easing of restrictions on borders etc:
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/M/ML_ISRAEL_PALESTINIANS

Evidently Mashaal was forced into agreement by Abbas (remember the attempted coup?).

Also firing is still coming out of Gaza.

Might be due to the conflicting times reported for the ceasefire commencement...

-- Pan

panopticon

26th August 2014, 17:15

Just a note on the 19th August ceasefire ending.

The IDF reported that 3 rockets were fired from Gaza, within 20 minutes IDF ordered to recommence firing, within an hour IDF bombings had recommenced on Gaza & 6 hours later missiles dropped on the family of on of Hamas commanders. Did the Israeli Secret Service have information in relation to the location that Deif was going to be before the report of the 3 rockets being fired?

-- Pan

Why, look what I found in amongst everything else:

New information was revealed on Sunday in relation to the assassination attempt on Hamas's "military wing" Al-Qassam Brigades chief Mohammed Deif, in which his wife, son and daughter were killed last Tuesday.

While it was earlier reported that a phone call from Hamas politburo leader Khaled Mashaal in Qatar gave away Deif's location, Channel 10 reported on Sunday night that in fact his position was known three full days in advance of the strike.
[...]
Israel's political echelon last week was presented with incriminating, irrefutable evidence that Deif had taken advantage of the ceasefire to visit his wife and children in a building in the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood in northwest Gaza, the report claims.

They were asked to make a decision whether to give a strike on the building the go-ahead or to block the rare opportunity to assassinate the slippery arch-terrorist responsible for planning numerous lethal attacks; they chose the latter option.

When Hamas breached the ceasefire last Tuesday with a three-rocket salvo on Be'er Sheva, Israel went ahead and attacked Deif's location that night. It remains uncertain whether the strike ended his life or not, as conflicting reports have surfaced with Hamas claiming he survived.
Source (http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/184372)
Well that's interesting.

Also it appears that discussion about events leading up to Operation Protracted Edge are not to be discussed (as part of the ceasefire/truce agreement). (source (http://gate.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/13/71/529752/%D8%A3%D8%AE%D8%A8%D8%A7%D8%B1/%D8%B9%D8%B1%D8%A8-%D9%88%D8%B9%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85/%D9%86%D9%86%D8%B4%D8%B1-%D8%A8%D9%86%D9%88%D8%AF-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A7%D8%AA%D9%81%D8%A7%D9%82-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%86%D9%87%D8%A7%D8%A6%D9%8A-%D8%AD%D9%88%D9%84-%D9%88%D9%82%D9%81-%D8%A5%D8%B7%D9%84%D8%A7%D9%82-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%86%D8%A7%D8%B1-%D8%A8%D8%BA%D8%B2%D8%A9.aspx) -- Arabic)

Wonder what that actually means...

Netanyahu appears to have been out manoeuvred by the Israeli Cabinet and his political fortunes are not looking that rosy.

Given that Israel has taken a step to the right, could we be about to see Prime Minister Naftali Bennett (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naftali_Bennett)? He was the only one (reportedly) who requested a vote on the ceasefire proposal (no ceasefire vote was taken by the Israeli Security Cabinet).

-- Pan

panopticon

27th August 2014, 16:37

All I can say about this article is wow. Talk about scathing.

People are starting to ask why?

Israeli's are starting to come back from the fervour they had been worked into during Operation Brothers Keeper and Operation Protective Edge and are asking questions.

Some of those questions might be very uncomfortable.

For example, why did the Israeli Government not just accept the Palestinian Unity Government in the first place and start some form of negotiation with it?

There's more, but that is the one I've been asking for months now and it's starting to be asked within Israel quietly too. I wonder if it will become a roar?

###

Netanyahu saw his chance to run away from Gaza, and he took it (http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/.premium-1.612637)
By Barak Ravid, August 26th, 2014

http://www.haaretz.com/polopoly_fs/1.612646.1409092978!/image/6788139.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_640/6788139.jpg
Benjamin Netanyahu and Moshe Ya'alon during a press conference at the IDF headquarters in Tel Aviv, August 20, 2014. Photo by Ofer Vaknin

All Israel's prime minister wanted in the end - after all the promises, and the rhetoric - was to achieve a cease-fire with Hamas at just about any price.

Without a formal discussion, without a vote, in laconic telephone updates with members of the security cabinet – that is how the government of Israel under Benjamin Netanyahu in August 2014 approved a cease-fire agreement with a terror organization. The same Benjamin Netanyahu who ran for election five years ago, after Operation Cast Lead, on the platform that the mission had not been accomplished, that Hamas rule had to be destroyed and that he was the only one who could do it.

Netanyahu's conduct during the 50 days of fighting in Gaza highlighted the gap between his statements and promises and the reality. The prime minister, who was the most strident in his statement against Hamas, ended the confrontation with the organization in the weakest position. All he wanted was to achieve a cease-fire at just about any price. When the opportunity came, he simply grabbed it and ran.

The Egyptian cease-fire proposal that Israel accepted on Tuesday did not deliver a single achievement. The only thing that the prime minister's spokesmen could boast about on Tuesday was the denial of achievements to Hamas, such as the dissolution of its demands for a sea port, an airport and salary payments. But all those demands will be raised during the negotiations with Hamas that will resume in Cairo next week.

In return for unlimited quiet, Israel agreed to immediately open the border crossings with Gaza to humanitarian aid and to extend the fishing zone to a distance of six nautical miles. Israel also agreed to the immediate entry of construction materials for the rebuilding of Gaza, without any guarantee from either Egypt or Hamas for the establishment of a monitoring mechanism to ensure that the cement and concrete is not used for the rehabilitation of the tunnels project.

The Egyptian proposal didn't include any statement, not even a hint, regarding Israel's security demands. There was nothing about the demilitarization of the strip, the re-arming or the issue of the tunnels. When reading the thin Egyptian document to which Benjamin Netanyahu agreed, John Kerry's draft – which was rejected by the cabinet with a disdain that bordered on humiliation of the secretary of state – suddenly looks like the proposal of the year.

The third agreement that Netanyahu has signed with Hamas since he entered office in 2009 does not even return Israel to the starting point with Gaza. Netanyahu just wanted to return to the status quo that has become a personal ideology, but the reality is that Israel has regressed.

That regression is encapsulated in the 69 Israeli fatalities, 2,000 Palestinian fatalities, the bulk of them innocent civilians, thousands of projectiles on the communities in the south, hundreds of missiles on the center of the country, deserted communities, the loss of trust in the IDF and the government among the residents of the south, economic damage amounting to billions and diplomatic and PR damage that is impossible to quantify.

In addition to repeating the many failures in decision-making that successive inquiries have revealed after previous wars, Netanyahu consistently and systematically kept his cabinet ministers away from the cease-fire negotiations in Egypt. At least four of them, Bennett, Lieberman, Aharonovich and Erdan, made clear to the prime minister that they would not stand behind the cease-fire proposal. Netanyahu understood that if he brought the proposal to a vote he was liable to find himself in the minority.

That said, most of the members of the security cabinet, if not all of them, are not really mourning the fact that Netanyahu exempted them from the need to vote. Ministers Lapid and Livni would have had to reconcile their doubts about the proposal with their desire to end the war. Bennett, Lieberman and the other opponents would have had to deal with the political repercussions of a frontal dispute with the prime minister. Now they can enjoy the best of both worlds; they can shout from the gallery while remaining in their deerskin seats around the cabinet table..

Source (http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/.premium-1.612637)

panopticon

27th August 2014, 16:45

Opposition to cease-fire comes from across political spectrum (http://www.jpost.com/Arab-Israeli-Conflict/Opposition-to-ceasefire-comes-from-across-political-spectrum-372437)
By Lahav Harkov 26th August, 2014

http://www.jpost.com/HttpHandlers/ShowImage.ashx?id=253166&h=236&w=370

Eshkol chairman tells residents not to come home, because there is not a "real cease-fire;" half of the cabinet ministers, many in coalition opposed to cease-fire.

Murmurs of dissatisfaction rose from the political Left and Right Tuesday night, after Israel agreed to a ceasefire with Hamas.

Meanwhile, Eshkol Regional Council head Haim Yellin indicated that he does not trust the truce will last, saying residents of his constituency who evacuated should not return to their homes.

“It doesn’t interest me what the government or Hamas say. I will only call on residents to return when I feel like there’s a real ceasefire,” Yellin told Channel 10 News.

Yellin also called on cabinet ministers to stay in the Eshkol region and make their decisions from there, not Jerusalem.

Just as half of the cabinet ministers were opposed to the cease-fire, many in the coalition expressed similar opinions.

Construction and Housing Minister Uri Ariel (Bayit Yehudi) said “any agreement that doesn’t include eliminating the rocket threat on residents of Israel and demilitarizing the Gaza Strip is less than half of what is necessary.

“In this reality, the defense establishment will have no choice but to prepare for the next round, which will be soon,” Ariel added.

According to MK Danny Danon (Likud), in the Middle East, restraint is seen as weakness.

“Despite the heavy price Hamas paid, we did not defeat Hamas,” he said. “Fifty days of fighting, 64 soldiers killed, five civilians killed, 82,000 reservists called up, and in the end we’re back to the agreement from Operation Pillar of Defense.”

Danon said a defeat was necessary to broadcast to the whole Middle East, including Hezbollah, Islamic State and Iran, that “they should not mess with the people of Israel.”

“I am concerned we did not succeed enough. Now is the time for national introspection. The policy of restraint and hesitation hurt Israel’s deterrence,” he added.

MK Eli Yishai (Shas) said that a cease-fire without Gaza being demilitarized means Israel may as well pencil in the next round of fighting in its calendar.

“This will be time for Hamas to resupply itself with weaponry to use against Israel,” he said. “Not demilitarizing Gaza will bring Israel to another round of fighting that will be even worse.”

On the Left, lawmakers called for the government to take initiative and launch diplomatic negotiations.

Meretz chairwoman Zehava Gal-On said “this cease-fire comes too late, and its conditions prove, finally, that Operation Protective Edge is [Prime Minister Binyamin] Netanyahu’s strategic failure, as he went to war without goals and finished [it] letting Hamas gain on the backs of residents of the South.”

According to Gal-On, the same agreement could have been reached months ago with moderate elements in the Palestinian Authority, not under fire, and without going to war.

“In recent months, the prime minister made every diplomatic mistake possible, and he should pay the price and go home,” she said.

Gal-On also posited that the suffering residents of the South underwent in recent weeks came without any long-term planning by an “irresponsible” government.

“Netanyahu’s resounding failure in understanding the severity of Gaza border town residents’ situation is equal to his continuing failure in preventing rounds of violence in the Gaza Strip and this war in particular,” she said.

MK Shelly Yacimovich (Labor) said a cease-fire is a positive thing, but it must come with “active and courageous initiative toward a diplomatic agreement.”

“We lost our best sons in this war and we cannot accept bloody rounds [of fighting] as necessary,” she said. “A historic axis of moderates was created in the Middle East, with Arab powers that share interests with Israel, and we cannot miss this opportunity.”

Like Finance Minister Yair Lapid (Yesh Atid), Yacimovich called for an international summit to bring a peace treaty with the Palestinians.

Source (http://www.jpost.com/Arab-Israeli-Conflict/Opposition-to-ceasefire-comes-from-across-political-spectrum-372437)

panopticon

27th August 2014, 17:02

Anti-war academics hold conference at Tel Aviv University (http://www.haaretz.com/news/.premium-1.612622)
By Yarden Skop, 27th August, 2014

http://www.haaretz.com/polopoly_fs/1.514498.1409079091!/image/1739992470.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_640/1739992470.jpg
Students at Tel Aviv University. / Photo by David Bachar

Hundreds attend 'How to think about the war,’ organized in response to administration’s warning letter.

In response to Tel Aviv University’s recent letter “embrac[ing] the security forces” and threatening disciplinary action against students and employees expressing “hurtful and extremist statements” in social media, the university’s social science department held a conference before a packed hall this week titled, “How to think about the war.”

“We have to make an effort and cleanse the area of the endless security-oriented and patriotic talk, not only because we are sick and tired of it, but because it is designed to shut down and prevent thinking. Thinking is the most urgent thing in this war, and the most lacking. Many institutions are working to block it, like the media, for example,” said the Hebrew Culture Department’s Prof. Ishay Rosen-Zvi, who initiated the conference.

He told Haaretz, “After the letter from the university administration, we felt that we were being silenced. In addition, the public discourse in the media was uniform and monotonous, and we felt that we were being lied to all the time.”

During Operation Protective Edge, the administration sent out a letter stating, “Tel Aviv University embraces the security forces and condemns hurtful reactions on the social networks,” and “strongly condemns hurtful and extremist statements which are being disseminated these days on the social networks, and which have no place in the public discourse.” The letter also warned that the administration “will operate according to the disciplinary regulations applying to students and employees, in every case of a violation.”

Hundreds of students, lecturers and auditors attended the conference, which was notable since this is summer vacation, and because the event was not publicized in mainstream media, only by word of mouth and on social networks.

‘Very frightening’

In his speech, Rosen-Zvi said, “I want to single out two things that seem new and very frightening to me. First, the death of soldiers no longer creates the same public pressure as in the past. It’s a new mechanism and different from what we knew, when coffins created a sense of revulsion that led to criticism and media pressure. It seems that now death creates togetherness and at the same time invites more death in order to justify it.

“Second,” he said, “I want to single out the normality of violence against the left. At anti-war demonstrations in which I participated there were Kahanist gangs walking around shouting ‘death to Arabs and leftists,’ and chasing demonstrators to beat them up, and they did beat them up. People were afraid to disperse and avoided walking home alone. Nobody was shocked and they aren’t now either, the condemnations were against extremism of all types, from both right and left, as though right-wing journalists also walk around with bodyguards.” This last was a reference to Haaretz columnist Gideon Levy, who hired a bodyguard after receiving numerous threats over his critical writing and interviews about the war.

Dr. Raif Zarik of TAU’s Minerva Center for Humanities spoke out against Israel’s killing of innocents in Gaza. “It’s hard for me to be persuaded that the harming of civilians is undesirable in the eyes of many Israelis, when the air is thick with slogans of ‘death to the Arabs.’ It’s hard to be persuaded that this is unwanted collateral damage. I have every reason, although I have no proof, to think that this war is a war against our people.”

Prof. Menachem Lorberbaum, chairman of the graduate school of philosophy, criticized Givati Brigade commander Col. Ofer Winter, who reportedly justified the massive civilian casualties resulting from the assault on the Rafah area following the abduction of 2nd Lt. Hadar Goldin, who was later declared dead by Israeli authorities. Lorberbaum quoted Winter saying that “whoever kidnaps has to know that he will pay a price. It was not revenge. They simply started up with the wrong brigade. ... This population is hostage, but I think that it’s also a partner. ... I’m not absolving them of responsibility so quickly.”

‘Killing civilians is Givati’s glory?’

Said Lorberbaum: “These are very harsh words. Is there a difference between ‘revenge’ and starting up with ‘the wrong brigade’? Does the glory of the Givati Brigade lie in the terrible killing of all the civilians? Didn’t they stop being civilians the moment the brigade commander declared that the population is a partner? And who allowed him to do that? And who exactly among them [is a partner]? The children and infants? The women?”

Source (http://www.haaretz.com/news/.premium-1.612622)