The Gaza Cease Fire - Merely a "Lull"

Hamas: Member wounded in Israeli air strike - USA Today

The MSM, reporting from Gaza City is once again showing its bias against Israel. By reporting an Israeli reaction to an act of violence at the beginning of an article, the intent is to cast the IDF and Israel in the worst possible light. The roadside bomb which killed an Israeli soldier and wounded three others, mentioned initially in the second paragraph without explanation and then in the third paragraph where you finally see for the first time that the air strike, the lead idea in the report, was in response to an attack on an Israeli patrol.

The writer of the article then attempts to place a few doubts in the reader's mind as to the true nature of the exchange. First, the reader is told that Israel threatened responses to violations of the cease fire. This is written specifically to label one party "Israel" and not label the other party so that the accountability falls on Israel. Since withdrawing its troops, Israel has threatened to retaliate hard for any violations of the truce. Notice the way that a fact {Israel withdrew her military and will try to enforce the cease fire} is mangled into a statement breeding mistrust - a play on the sneaky Jew mythology. It seems to say, "those Israelis are just looking for an excuse to attack".

The reader then moves on to ...Gazans struggle to resume normal.... The reader is supposed to think, if only the Israelis would leave alone the peace loving arabians in Gaza, they would be able to re-build their homes and cities that were shattered by Israeli bombardment. No mention is made of Israeli cities trying to recover from bombings and shellings. Renewed warfare would return a wave of rockets into Israel.

After an attempt to rehabilitate Hamas as a reputable organization that would never think of confiscating money sent by donors to relieve the non-combatant population {never mind this was going on during the conflict} a minuscule attempt to remind the reader that Hamas is a terrorist organization with a wanted leader (Ismail Haniyeh) is easily overlooked given the drama of the article itself.

The writer's bias is on display as an attempt to sub-consciously remind the reader of the slant that Israel used "dis-proportionate" force is found in the next part of the report

After Tuesday's bomb blast, heavy gunfire was heard along the border in central Gaza and Israeli helicopters hovered in the air firing machine gun bursts, Palestinian witnesses said. An Israeli jet set off a loud sonic boom over Gaza City not long afterward, possibly as a warning.

For one measly little road side bomb, an IED after all, the IDF responds with overwhelming force and executes collective punishment. Oh, those evil Jews.

Its one thing to write the normally biased report and to write badly. Its another to report half facts and to ignore facts.

In the days immediately following the cease-fire there was shelling by Israeli gunboats and some gunfire along the border — including the killing of two men Palestinian officials identified as farmers — but there were no serious clashes until Tuesday.

Somehow forgotten was Hamas rocket attacks against Israel after the cease fire. See also Israel Matzav report and video.

Moving right along the reporter makes no effort to tell the reader that he is about to quote a major arabian death cultist. We are just supposed to assume he is another member of the respected and beloved religion of peace:

Although there was no claim of responsibility, Mushir al-Masri, a Hamas leader, said Israel was to blame for continuing to fire into Gaza. Al-Masri said his group had not agreed to a full cease-fire but only to a "lull" in fighting.
"The Zionists are responsible for any aggression," he said.

Masri believes the cease-fire is a hudna. Hamas just needs some time to catch its breath, reload, rearm and rest a little while the international world gleefully rests on it laurels of once again interfering with the Israeli right of self-defense.

Masri is merely labeled "a Hamas leader" in the McPaper article. In a December 2007 article he is quoted as reported by JihadWatch as speaking to a Hamas rally,

In another speech to the rally, senior Hamas official Mushir al-Masri warned Israel to expect many casualties if troops invade the coastal territory in an attempt to stop almost daily rocket firing by militants into Israel.

"Jews, go back, because we have already dug graves for you," Masri said. Israel carries out regular raids on Gaza and has killed dozens of militants in the past month.

Finally, we have the summary paragraph:

Israel wants an end to Hamas rocket attacks and guarantees that Hamas will be prevented from smuggling weapons into Gaza from Egypt. Hamas has demanded that Israel and Egypt reopen Gaza's border crossings, which have been largely closed since Hamas took power. The crossings are Gaza's economic lifeline.

See the problem? Hamas, the terrorist organization with stated goals to kill Jews and destroy Israel has had it's border crossings legitimately shut off by Israel(not necessarily so successfully). The crossings are Gaza's economic lifeline. Since when has Hamas attempted to build any economic system? The first thing that happened when Israel withdrew from Gaza was the destruction of the business infrastructure that existed. Yet, this "factoid" in the article remains unquestioned. Worse, this false statement is meant to be the fulcrum's center point against Israel's demand that cities inside Israel should be free of random rocket and mortar fire. The writer is attempting to equate denial of weapons to terrorists with the use of those same weapons against civilian populations. In the mind of the antiJew, the Jews are just as guilty as their harassers - moral equivalency must reign. Both sides must come to terms.

---

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — The Islamic Hamas movement says one of its members has been wounded in an Israeli airstrike in the southern Gaza Strip.
Tuesday's violence is the worst since the sides declared a cease-fire last week.

Hamas says the militant was struck as he was riding a motorcycle in the southern Gaza town of Khan Younis. Residents say Israeli tanks and bulldozers have also entered the area where the roadside bombing took place and are leveling some farmland.

The airstrike comes hours after a roadside bomb along Israel's border with Gaza killed an Israeli soldier and wounded three others.

Palestinian militants detonated a bomb next to an Israeli army patrol along the border with Gaza on Tuesday, killing one soldier and wounding three in the first serious clash since a cease-fire went into effect more than a week ago.

Israeli soldiers briefly crossed the border in search of the attackers, and Israel's defense minister, Ehud Barak, called an urgent meeting of Israel's top defense officers, saying Israel "cannot accept" the attack.

"We will respond, but there is no point in elaborating," Barak said in comments released by his office.

The explosion jolted the calm that has largely prevailed since Israel ended a devastating three-week offensive on Jan. 17. Since withdrawing its troops, Israel has threatened to retaliate hard for any violations of the truce.

The flare-up came as Gazans struggle to resume normal life after the fighting, and as international donors discuss how best to help the territory rebuild. Gaza's Hamas leader said Tuesday the group — which is boycotted as a terrorist organization by the U.S. and European Union — would not try to claim any of the reconstruction funds, an announcement that appeared aimed at clearing the way for money to start flowing.

The announcement from Ismail Haniyeh, who remains in hiding because of fears he could be assassinated by Israel, appeared directed at donors who concerned their funds could end up in Hamas' hands.

"Our aim now is to ease the suffering of our people and to remove the aftermath of the aggression in Gaza," the statement said. "Therefore we emphasize that we are not concerned to receive the money for rebuilding Gaza and we are not seeking that."

After Tuesday's bomb blast, heavy gunfire was heard along the border in central Gaza and Israeli helicopters hovered in the air firing machine gun bursts, Palestinian witnesses said. An Israeli jet set off a loud sonic boom over Gaza City not long afterward, possibly as a warning.

The Israeli military said the bomb targeted an Israeli patrol near the border community of Kissufim. It was not clear if it was planted after the cease-fire, or whether it was an older device. There was no claim of responsibility.

Not long after the bombing, a 27-year-old Gaza farmer was killed by Israeli gunfire along the border several miles away, according to Dr. Moaiya Hassanain of Gaza's Health Ministry. Two other Palestinians were wounded. The military had no immediate comment, and it was unclear if the two incidents were related.

Israel closed its crossings into Gaza to humanitarian aid traffic after briefly opening them Tuesday morning. Gaza border official Raed Fattouh said Israeli officials informed him the closure was due to the attack.

Israel and Gaza militants have been holding their fire since Israel ended its offensive, which was aimed at halting rocket fire from the territory. Israel announced a unilateral cease-fire on Jan. 17, and that was followed by a similar announcement from Gaza militants.

In the days immediately following the cease-fire there was shelling by Israeli gunboats and some gunfire along the border — including the killing of two men Palestinian officials identified as farmers — but there were no serious clashes until Tuesday.

Although there was no claim of responsibility, Mushir al-Masri, a Hamas leader, said Israel was to blame for continuing to fire into Gaza. Al-Masri said his group had not agreed to a full cease-fire but only to a "lull" in fighting.

"The Zionists are responsible for any aggression," he said.

Egypt is currently trying to negotiate a longer-term arrangement to allow quiet in the coastal territory of 1.4 million people, which has been ruled by the Islamic militants of Hamas since June 2007. Local experts believe the fighting caused some $2billion in damage.

Israel wants an end to Hamas rocket attacks and guarantees that Hamas will be prevented from smuggling weapons into Gaza from Egypt. Hamas has demanded that Israel and Egypt reopen Gaza's border crossings, which have been largely closed since Hamas took power. The crossings are Gaza's economic lifeline.

The Israeli offensive killed 1,285 Palestinians, more than half of them civilians, according to records kept by the Palestinian Center for Human Rights. Thirteen Israelis, including three civilians, were also killed during the fighting.

Israel Rally in Nashville - Event Coverage

APRPEH reporting from Legislative Plaza - from Sunday 11 January 2009

On a blustery Sunday, January 11 with temperatures falling through the 30s, the Christian and Jewish communities of middle Tennessee came together to support Israel in her war with the Hamas Islamic terrorists. Proclaiming Justice to the Nations (PJTN) and the local Jewish community organized the rally held at Legislative Plaza adjacent to Capitol Hill which overlooks the plaza. With no barriers to prevent the wind from whipping through, a bone chilled but warm hearted crowd, most of which stayed for the entire program listened to speaker after speaker explain why Americans should support Israel and her Cast Lead operation to inflict maximum damage on Hamas and stop the rocket fire into Israel from Gaza.

The attendance, before the cold weather reduced the numbers is estimated (by me) to have been between 250 - 300 people (75% not Jewish). Supportive signs and waved Israeli flags were only eclipsed by an over sized flag of Israel draped over the steps to Legislative Plaza held by some of the children in attendance. Although invited and on the schedule to speak, none of the cities non-Orthodox Rabbis attended the second of the day’s pro-Israel gatherings. An earlier gathering at one of Nashville’s Reform congregations included the Conservative and Reform Rabbis both as speakers and attendees.

more pictures here
The rally began with an invocation and inspiring talk by PJTN President
Laurie Cardoza Moore
Laurie Cardoza Moore laid the groundwork for one of the main themes echoed throughout the day, challenging the institutionalized double standard and disproportional force arguments regularly targeted against Israel and the Jewish people (vis a vis the barbarians who try to harm them) and assumed by world leaders. This bias is strengthened by the international pro-Arabian media and serves to complicate understanding Israel's true situation.

“It is acceptable after all, because it is just the Jewish people” Ms. Moore stated as a hypothetical answer to the world’s lack of concern over “Hamas’s disproportionate response to Israel over the last three years as thousands of rockets rained down on innocent civilians daily including men, women and children”, “where were the protesters?” “where was the outcry for the Jewish people?”

Laurie Cardoza Moore's Remarks:

Powered by Podbean.com

After Ms. Moore completed her remarks, and following remarks by Steven Edelstein (see Newschannel 5 coverage at the bottom), Executive Director of the Jewish Federation of Nashville and Middle Tennessee, Rabbi Saul Strosberg of Congregation Sherith Israel spoke.

Comparing the Jewish people to Judah Ben Yaakov Avinu (the Biblical patriarch), Rabbi Strosberg said

“Judah stood up when he sensed injustice, Judah stood up for his family, Judah stood up and so do we stand up for Israel. As Jewish people each day we wake up with a mission. Our mission is to follow the ways of G-d and to do justice and mercy. And this is not an easy mission. Sometimes, we have to go against the stream. Sometimes we’re criticized. Sometimes, we realize that we will never be accepted. That certain people in the world don’t want us to be alive. And I know this is hard to accept, but that is the truth. So together with Laurie and Proclaiming Justice to the Nations, we gather to stand up for our brothers and sisters in Israel. Yes, we must stand up. And if we don’t stand up for Israel who will? Who stood up for us 60 years ago in Europe? Who stood up for us then? And as recently as this past Thursday night, who stood up for us and stood against the United Nations resolution calling on Israel to cease its operation of breaking down the terrorist infrastructure in Gaza? No one. No one stood up. Not even our own United States. And throughout history we have stood alone. And if we do not stand up for ourselves who else will? If we don’t stand up what will our children think?

Rabbi Saul Strosberg

Rabbi Strosberg charged the Jewish and Christian communities to counter the inaccuracies about Israel’s offensive and not to accept the “moral equivalency” arguments which claim Israel and Hamas are equal. Such beliefs, Rabbi Strosberg went on to say will not lead to peace.

Rabbi Strosberg's Remarks:

Powered by Podbean.com

Vatican Cardinal Invokes Holocaust Imagery to Criticize Israel

The Jew or Israeli being described in imagery designed to stir up visions of Nazi Germany or Gestapo soldiers is usually confined to the channels of antiJew publications or websites. The first time I recall seeing a Jew as Nazi image was in an editorial cartoon accompanying a Pat Buchanan column in 1988 which ran in a local newspaper. Arabian newspapers are filled with this antiJew propaganda. The pictures below are of arabian origin and are found on the Fraud Factor website.

























Certainly, Cardinal Renato Raffaele Martino knows that this new mythology exists? He must be aware that these false comparisons have been around for many years?

For the record Cardinal, the 'concentration camp' of Gaza is made that way by the arabians who have complete control of it. It is they who force civilian women and children to stay in the line of fire and use buildings in which those women and children reside as locations to launch rockets and shoot at soldiers.

If conditions were bad in Gaza before, it is because the ruling Hamas thugs did nothing to improve those conditions. Jews in Europe, by comparison had everything taken away from them, were forced into their living quarters by the Nazis not because other Jews thought they would make good pawns and provide good photo ops. Real concentration camps are run by ruthless single minded barbarians. Wait, that's Gaza too! But it is the arabians, not the Jews who are the barbarians who have brought Gaza to warfare.

Additional coverage of this story is below. Note the lame, not very informative version presented by the New York Times in comparison to the UPI, JPOST and Reuters coverage. The NYT doesn't seem to want anything but the mildest criticism of the Cardinal.

---

Vatican official: Gaza resembles ‘concentration camp’ - JTA
January 7, 2009

ROME (JTA) -- A senior Vatican official said the conditions in Gaza "resembled ever more a big concentration camp."

Cardinal Renato Raffaele Martino, the president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, called for dialogue to end the conflict between Israel and Hamas in an interview with an online Italian daily. Martino said "violence does not resolve problems, and history is full of confirmations of this."

At the root of the conflict, he said, is the fact that "no one sees the interests of the other but only its own." The consequences of such egoism, the cardinal said, were "hatred for the other, poverty and injustice. The ones who pay the price are always innocent populations."

ADL blasts Holocaust imagery in anti-Israel protests - JPOST
Jan. 6, 2009
Etgar Lefkovits , THE JERUSALEM POST
The comparisons of Israel to Nazi Germany being made at protests worldwide against the IDF's Gaza operation are a "cynical perversion" of history that has no place in civil societies, the New York-based Anti Defamation League said Tuesday.

"Comparisons of Israel to the Nazis are a deeply cynical perversion of history, an attempt to turn the tragedy that befell the Jewish people into a bludgeon against Israel," said Abraham H. Foxman, ADL national director and a Holocaust survivor.

Foxman particularly deplored the fact that this comparison was being heard at demonstrations in the United States.

"While we have come to expect to see such and hear this type of inflammatory rhetoric in Arab and Muslim capitals overseas, it is deeply disturbing that it is appearing in anti-Israel demonstrations at home," Foxman said.

"Offensive Holocaust comparisons and the use of Nazi imagery are deeply offensive and have no place in a civil society such as ours."

The anti-Israel demonstrations in major American cities have included expressions of support for Hamas, which is designated by the State Department as a foreign terror organization, as well as inflammatory anti-Israel and anti-Semitic rhetoric, the ADL said.

A January 3 mass rally in New York's Times Square, which was endorsed by Al-Awda, the Muslim American Society, and the Islamic Circle of North America, included signs that read "Israel: The Fourth Reich;" "Holocaust by Holocaust Survivors;" "Stop Israel's Holocaust;" "Holocaust in Gaza;" and "Stop the Zionist Genocide in Gaza.

One sign juxtaposed gruesome images of Holocaust victims and Gazans and read, "Nazi Genocide, Israeli Genocide."

Similar anti-Israel protests using Nazi imagery were held in Chicago, Los Angeles, Tampa and San Diego.

Israel Condemns Vatican’s ‘Concentration Camp’ Remarks - NYT
January 9, 2009

By RACHEL DONADIO
ROME — Tensions rose between the Vatican and Israel on Thursday after Israel condemned a high-ranking Vatican official for comparing the Gaza Strip to “a concentration camp.”

"Look at the conditions in Gaza: more and more, it resembles a big concentration camp,” Cardinal Renato Martino, the president of the Council for Justice and Peace, said in an interview published Wednesday in an online publication.

He defended his comments in the center-left daily newspaper La Repubblica on Thursday. While noting that Hamas rockets into Israel were “certainly not sugared almonds,” he called the situation in Gaza “horrific” and said conditions there went “against human dignity.”

Israel on Thursday harshly condemned the cardinal’s use of World War Two imagery. “We are astounded that a spiritual dignitary would have such words, that are so far removed from truth and dignity,” said Yigal Palmor, a spokesman for the Israeli Foreign Ministry.

He added that it was “shocking to hear the vocabulary of Hamas propaganda coming from a member of the church.” But he denied that it would cause a diplomatic crisis. It “doesn’t change the nature of relations between Israel and the Holy See,” Mr. Palmor said.

The Vatican sought to downplay the cardinal’s remarks. The Vatican spokesman, Rev. Federico Lombardi, called Cardinal Martino’s choice of words “inopportune,” and said they created “irritation and confusion” more than illumination.

While calling the cardinal “an authoritative person,” Rev. Lombardi added that “The more authoritative voice and line would be that of the pope.”

Indeed, the cardinal’s remarks overshadowed an important discourse that Pope Benedict XVI delivered on Thursday, in which he called for a ceasefire in Gaza and decried “a renewed outbreak of violence provoking immense damage and suffering for the civilian population.”

“Once again I would repeat that military options are no solution and that violence, wherever it comes from and whatever form it takes, must be firmly condemned,” he told diplomats accredited to the Vatican.

In unusually direct remarks, the pope looked ahead to “crucial elections” coming up in the Middle East and called for dialogue between Israel and Syria, the “strengthening of institutions” in Lebanon and a “negotiated solution” to “the controversy surrounding” Iran’s nuclear program.

Israel’s ambassador to the Vatican, Mordechay Lewy, said events Gaza had “no connection” to plans underway for Benedict to visit Israel, the West Bank and Jordan this spring. The Vatican has not yet officially announced the trip.

In the past, some Jews have seen the Vatican’s approach as more sympathetic to Palestinian suffering than Israeli security. Mr. Lewy called the pope’s speech “equivocal.”

“The language and the expectations of the Holy Father and the scope of his interests are different from those of a politician,” Mr. Lewy said. “In practical politics, I’m sure Israel wouldn’t have existed if we would have acted without any force.”

Vatican-Israel ties tense over cardinal's camps comment - Reuters
Thu Jan 8, 2009 7:11pm GMT
By Philip Pullella

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Relations between the Vatican and Israel grew tense on Thursday when the Jewish state condemned an aide to Pope Benedict for calling Gaza "a big concentration camp."

Israel criticised Cardinal Renato Martino as the pope delivered a speech to diplomats in which he spoke out against the use of violence by both Israel and Hamas Islamists in Gaza.

On Wednesday, Martino, president of the Vatican's Council for Justice and Peace, delivered the Vatican's toughest criticism of Israel since its offensive in the Palestinian-ruled enclave, calling Gaza a "big concentration camp."

"We are astounded to hear from a spiritual dignitary words that are so far removed from truth and dignity," Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor told Reuters.

"The vocabulary of Hamas propaganda, coming from a member of the College of Cardinals, is a shocking and disappointing phenomenon," he said.

Jewish leaders around the world also condemned Martino.

"His comments are offensive and an insult to the memory of the Holocaust and survivors worldwide," said Elan Steinberg, vice president of the American Gathering of Jewish Holocaust Survivors and their Descendants.

"He is either trying to nefariously disseminate anti-Israeli propaganda or he doesn't have the faintest clue about the murderous conditions inside a concentration camp," Stephan Kramer, general secretary of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, told Handelsblatt newspaper.

"These remarks are untrue, distort the memory of the Holocaust and are only used against Israel by terrorist organisations and Holocaust deniers," said Rabbi Marvin Hier, dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Centre.

SHADOW OVER POPE'S HOLY LAND TRIP

The row over Martino's remark as well as Israel's bombing of Gaza have cast a shadow over negotiations for the pope to visit the Holy Land in May, a trip some diplomats say is now in doubt.

The exchange of accusations heated up as the pope delivered his yearly "state of the world" speech to diplomats in which he seemed at pains to be even-handed following the furore over Martino's remarks.

The pontiff lamented "a renewed outbreak of violence provoking immense damage and suffering for the civilian population" in Gaza and Israel and urged "the rejection of hatred, acts of provocation and the use of arms."

"Violence, wherever it comes from and whatever form it takes, must be firmly condemned."

More than 750 Palestinians have been killed since Israel started bombarding Gaza on December 27 with the aim of halting Hamas rocket attacks. At least eleven Israelis have been killed, eight of them soldiers, since the offensive began.

In a follow-up interview in Italy's La Repubblica newspaper on Thursday, Martino defended his comments, saying the people of Gaza "are surrounded by a wall that is difficult to breach, in conditions that go against human dignity."

Martino said "certainly, the rockets of Hamas are not confetti. I condemn them" but forcefully criticised Israel for an attack on a U.N. school.

(Additional reporting by Erik Kirschbaum in Berlin)


ADL: Nazi imagery abound at anti-Israel rallies - YNET

Comparisons of Israel’s actions to those of Hitler, signs altering Jewish Star of David into swastika a recurring feature at many rallies across US
Ynetnews

Of all of the recriminations aimed at Israel at scores of demonstrations held across the country in response to its military operation against Hamas, none has been more consistently or emphatically employed than comparisons of Israel to the Nazis, or the situation in Gaza to a “Holocaust", the Anti-Defamation League said Tuesday.

According to a statement issued by ADL, in-your-face comparisons of Israel’s actions to those of Hitler, or signs altering the Jewish Star of David into a swastika, have been a recurring feature at many rallies across the country, including protests held over the past weekend in several major US cities.

Some demonstrations have included expressions of support for Hamas, a US-designated terrorist organization, or for terrorism against Israel in general, ADL said. And some protesters at rallies have spewed inflammatory anti-Israel and anti-Semitic rhetoric.

In New York City’s Times Square, six city blocks were filled Saturday with anti-Israel demonstrators holding signs that read “Israel: The Fourth Reich;” “Holocaust by Holocaust Survivors;” “Stop Israel’s Holocaust;” “Holocaust in Gaza;” and “Stop the Zionist Genocide in Gaza.”

One sign juxtaposed gruesome images of Holocaust victims and Gazans and read, “Nazi Genocide, Israeli Genocide.”

'A deeply cynical perversion of history'

On December 30, demonstrators gathered at the Israeli Consulate in Los Angeles waving Palestinian flags and holding signs, including ones that read, “Every Israeli committing the genocide in Gaza is a 'Hitler'.”

One sign depicted an image of the Israeli flag with the Star of David replaced by a swastika and above the flag, the words, “Upgrade to Holocaust Version 2.0.”

The same day, hundreds of demonstrators gathered in Tampa, Florida carrying signs that compared Israel to Nazi Germany and calling for the dissolution of Israel. One sign declared, “Zionism is Cancer; Radiate it,” and other signs featured the word “Nazi” written over an Israeli flag with a swastika.

“Freedom of speech is not just a right, it is also a responsibility,” said Abraham H. Foxman, ADL national director and a Holocaust survivor. “Comparisons of Israel to the Nazis are a deeply cynical perversion of history, an attempt to turn the tragedy that befell the Jewish people into a bludgeon against Israel.

“While we have come to expect to see such and hear this type of inflammatory rhetoric in Arab and Muslim capitals overseas, it is deeply disturbing that it is appearing in anti-Israel demonstrations at home,” said Foxman. “Offensive Holocaust comparisons and the use of Nazi imagery are deeply offensive and have no place in a civil society such as ours.”

Nazi Imagery, Anti-Semitism Rampant In Arab Media As Gaza Crisis Unfolds - ADL Press Release

Roseanne Barr: Israel is a 'Nazi state' - JPOST

Urban Dictionary definition of "Jewish Nazi"

What Should Be Israel's Goal in Gaza?

The best evidence that a very quick final status treaty may well follow an Israeli victory over Hamas is the attempt by Hamas to move against the internal opposition. Fatah, which ironically can condemn the attack (a false show of solidarity) on one hand and be a significant beneficiary on the other will be enhanced both politically and strategically in Gaza even if Hamas is not destroyed. From a pure tactical perspective, destroying Hamas is not in Israel's interest. Balancing out the facts on the ground between Hamas and Fatah is. Hamas's does not count in its goals a political victory against Israel, only one soaked in Jewish blood chas v'shalom.

Fatah's support amongst Gazan arabians will increase as Hamas will be seen as bringing the wrath of the IDF upon Gaza. In the end, a scenario where Fatah and Hamas are engaged in an internal conflict benefits Israel provided that the unspoken goal of population reduction through masses of arabians fleeing Gaza (presumably into Egypt) due to the violence and human rights abuses by Hamas (which will try to force the civilian population to stay in place) does not occur.

What Israel has to do is destroy the ability of Hamas to produce or procure long range rockets and prevent additional terror rocket attacks at shorter range while all the while damaging Hamas's legitimacy. Not doing so will be seen as a dramatic failure to meet the stated objectives of the conflict. The goal of destroying Hamas is misinformation by Israel. I just do not see the current government believing this is possible even though by doing so, the left's goal of a final settlement would be possible.

Going public with this understanding would damage the credibility of the war effort in the eye's of the few friends Israel has. One justification from the ruling Israeli government for building up Fatah and damaging Hamas (since the government of Israel lacks the will to destroy Hamas) will be that only Fatah {in their mind} can prevent rocket fire on Israel originating from Gaza. This is of course, the same failed logic of Oslo.

The only way to successfully meet the war objectives is to capture and hold territory in Gaza where immediate response to rocket launches can be dealt out. This is a daunting task given the current rocket ranges and past Lebanon experience.

Therefore, in theory rolling back the rocket ranges to June 2008 should be a primary goal of the conflict and holding a zone of territory in Gaza which would make launching rockets into Israel not very easy and thereby not feasible. Longer range rocket launches will have to be dealt with severely.

In truth, there is fundamentally no difference between Hamas and Fatah in their goals of eventual victory over Israel, only style. Having said that, there should be no change in the nationalist goal of eventual Jewish control over all territory held at this time by arabians which is within the borders of Israel. The above outcome is a considerably better one than a rushed treaty with Fatah for a split Gaza-Yosh state, two state disaster legitimizing a pali state for the time being, until Fatah loses control to Hamas's successor.

Hamas moves on Fatah 'collaborators'

Is the real target Hamas rule?

Shin Bet Says Hamas Feeling the Pain, Looking for Way Out

Gaza Bombing Proves Israel is Right

Ha'aretz's Amira Hass pulls out the stiletto to take up the case of a poor, innocent Gaza resident, Ahmed Samur, who lost his son and business due to what Hass wants the reader to think is questionable targeting or error. Hass's information comes from 'B'tselem and the Mazan center for human rights'. There is a video of this strike which has been seen by many on YouTube (linked below and in the Ha'aretz article) which according to the IDF shows Gazans loading Grad rockets into a truck. Hass, citing the "human rights" organizations say Samur, his son and other workers were loading welding equipment into trucks to remove it from his shop which was next door to a building that had been bombed. {Why YouTube didn't pull this video unlike other IAF bombing videos remains a mystery).

The article details the account as recalled by Samur. What is the reader supposed to think? Poor fellow. Bad Jew. Evil Israeli. Incompetent military. Cowboy pilot. Lost his son for nothing. Gaza operation out of control. Is it worth the price?

It isn't until the very end of the article, the third to last and second to last paragraphs where someone wanting to accuse the IDF of foul play or turn others sour on the operation - a part of the article which might be missed we find this printed:

Haaretz asked the IDF spokesperson if the video depicts the truck in question, and was told "the truck's contents were taken from a building that was housing ammunition and rockets."

No one in Gaza has denied that the building is used for the construction and firing of Qassam rockets, but there are many targets hit by the IAF whose military importance is unclear at best. For instance, a small, empty building in the middle of a playground in the Shabura refugee camp in Rafah which was blown up by the IAF two days ago, in an attack that left two dead.

Uhm, what was that? You mean the building next to the workshop was a Qassam factory and launching base? You mean Hamas placed a Qassam factory and fired rockets next door to a non-combatant's workshop (provided he, Samur, is really non-combatant)? I would think that next door to a pipe welding shop would be a very convenient location for a Qassam factory.

Be that as it may, it seems, Ha'aretz missed the story (surprise). Here we have a first hand account of Israel's accusation that the Hamas barbarians are committing a crime against humanity and intentionally trying to cause "civilian" casualties. The use of civilians as human shields is an act of barbarism. The Hass story inadvertently is the best evidence as to why Israel must not only destroy Hamas from the air but root it out, in a massive door to door ground offensive. The Hass story should be heralded all over the world as a pro-war article. Hamas is abusing its own people and we have 'B'tselem and the Mazan center for human rights' to thank for the just cause argument.
See Charles Krauthammer - The Necessity of Israel for more background.

---

Amira Hass / Did the IAF bomb a Gazan welding truck or a Hamas Grad transport?
By Amir Hass, Haaretz Correspondent

Just before midnight, on December 29, the Israel Defense Forces Spokesman's Office posted an urgent headline on its Web site: Truck packed with weapons attacked near Jabalya.

The subheadline went on to read: "At around 6 P.M., the Israel Air Force attacked a Hamas truck carrying dozens of Grad rockets."

According to the article, the rockets in the truck caused a secondary explosion, shooting pieces of weaponry in all directions. The rockets were being transferred, said the article, due to militants' fear that their present storehouse would be attacked by the IAF, as well as to be put to use for launching at Israel.

The article was accompanied by a video just over 2 minutes showing the IAF's perspective from the sky, until just a moment before the explosion. The video shows 15 white figures casually milling between two vehicles. Three long black objects appear between their hands and the white figures lay these objects down on what seems to be a truck. The second vehicle takes off at a certain point and suddenly an explosion sounds and flames cover the screen. An eyewitness said the explosion was caused by an overhead drone.

Human rights groups' investigations, however, present a different testimony altogether.

According to B'tselem and the Mazan center for human rights, the truck belongs to Ahmed Samur, 55, and is still standing, burnt, beside his workshop in the Jabaliya refugee camp. Next to it hang scorched oxygen balloons, a blade and cables. Nobody dares move the truck or the accompanying accoutrements for fear that the UAVs filming every detail from above will bomb whoever approaches.

"Everything is still there on the ground," said Samur on Thursday. "We only moved the dead."

Just three hours before the attack, Samur's daughter told him that she had heard on the local radio that a house next to his workship had been bombed.

He immediately got into his Mercedes truck, along with his son and a few neighbors and relatives, and went to the workshop to see the damage.

They were shocked to discover that the neighboring house had collapsed onto his workshop and decided to pack up the expensive tools and take them home before they could be looted.

On the first round, they brought home a drill, a welding torch, a scale, other tools and a gas balloon for cooking. Then they went back to the workshop to pack up the rest: three of six oxygen balloons used for welding, two jerrycans filled with benzene and two filled with diesel.

As Samir's son Imad organized the tools in the truck, his brother-in-law packed his own smaller car with 50 packages of welding electrodes, 4 kilograms each, and drove off.

Samur himself stood on the other side of the street to keep the dust particles from the burning nearby house from flying into his lungs. He looked at the youths packing the truck and was reminded of working bees in a honeycomb - this was just before 5 P.M., he estimates.

"Suddenly I saw a flash of light next to my truck and then it caught fire and I heard the sound of an explosion. I started to run toward the blast, and when I got close and the smoke cleared, I saw bodies, one of them belonging to my son Imad. I fainted. When I woke up they told me that Imad and the seven other young people who were helping him had been killed," he recounted.

Speaking to Haaretz by phone, Samur said: "These were not Hamas, they were our children, and I will tell you their names. Imad Samur, 32; Ashraf al-Dabar, 30; Mahmoud Rabayan, 15; Rami Rabayan, 23; Ahmed Hila, 19; Mohammed Mahdi, 17; Wissam Eid, 14; Mohammed Haber, 20. Four others were hurt, two of them seriously: Bilal Rabayan, 19 and his brother Baha, 16.

"You have experts and smart people in Israel," he said. "They should come and check my truck and the oxygen balloons. They should see that they were not Grad missiles and they were not anything else. You people are saying they burnt a big truck filled with Grads. Well come and see for yourself."

Haaretz asked the IDF spokesperson if the video depicts the truck in question, and was told "the truck's contents were taken from a building that was housing ammunition and rockets."

No one in Gaza has denied that the building is used for the construction and firing of Qassam rockets, but there are many targets hit by the IAF whose military importance is unclear at best. For instance, a small, empty building in the middle of a playground in the Shabura refugee camp in Rafah which was blown up by the IAF two days ago, in an attack that left two dead.

Mazan said the unending IAF attacks have made it very difficult to determine how many of the targets hit were military and which were civilian.

Jews Chill Out - Zbigniew Brzezinski : Rockets Were "Provocative, Harrasing, Annoying But Not Lethal"

There are few antiJews in the world such as Zbigniew Brzezinski who can speak from one side of their mouth, stating the obvious that Hamas "provoked" Israel into the current offensive and has "harassed" Israel with rockets and then almost immediately thereafter do a logical flip - toss in the proportional force argument along with a moral equivalence claim. ZB thinks that because Israel has done significant damage to Hamas "does that mean punishment has to be on that scale? 400 killed 1,400 wounded? (Scarborough asks: What would you recommend) I would recommend a process by which you limit such casualties and limit them very significantly." In other words, you Jews must not seek to deter those who want to kill you. Extend your necks like your ancestors did in the old days.

Zbig went on to engage in historical revisionism to defend Arafat at Camp David, glorify Clinton and blame Bush for failure to "exert" US diplomatic strength in the conflict. Zbig believes Condi Rice did too little to engage in the peace process. I wonder where all those photos with Abu Mazen came from?

Zbig thinks that the US should be at the forefront in forcing a peace process and states in the interview that the middle east "political consequences and moral consequences" are impacted by Israel's response. (I guess that means that Hamas and Hezbollah do not need to worry about political and moral consequences. Maybe ZB is correct here. Barbarians aren't held accountable to political and moral consequences).

But alas, its Israel's fault for defending herself. Zbig recalls that the 2,000 missile, rocket, and mortar attacks have been "provocative, harassing, annoying but not lethal". Not lethal, and therefore presumably not intended to be in his antiJew mind. It was of course game playing really. We send a rocket and you send a jet fighter while CNN keeps score.

While the entire interview is breathtakingly absurd, at 6:02 Joe Scarborough asks "What do we do the next time Israel is attacked from an outside force? What do we do at that point?"

ZB: That's the wrong question.
JS: No ,that's not the wrong question because... because...
ZB: That's not the question I am trying to answer(mumbles....)
JS: We never get the condemnation of Hamas or Hezbollah its always after Israel responds to defending itself .....
ZB: No its not... The problem is that this conflict has lasted for years and the US has been largely passive. The right question is not what do we do when things breakdown. the right question is what do we do to avoid a breakdown by being engaged seriously in the peace process. And for the last eight years we haven't been, and that's why we have the mess like we have right now on our hands.

Here is classical antiJew speak. The problem, the conflict, needs to be addressed by the US with the prestige of the president since both sides are guilty. Zbig began the interview by pointing out that both sides are suffering by making reference to the front page of the Washington Post, (grieving arab woman - lost 5 daughters: grieving Israeli woman because Hamas rocket hit town where she lives _ZB interpretation).

Zbig is calling for Obama to inject himself directly and with all his might into the conflict. Remember that Zbig was/is an advisor to Obama. Is this why the president-elect has been silent during the conflict, not to play his hand so soon?

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Israel Attacks Hamas: Euphoria Matured - Reality Settling In

Of course the attack on Gaza was the proper course of action. It is the moral thing to do when you are being fired upon indiscriminately to stop the ability of the one firing on you to continue doing so. The situation had become untenable. It is too much to ask border towns to “just deal with it”. Too much to ask school children, easily frightened into inaction and elderly unable to react with vigor to take cover in 15 seconds for mortars (up to 90 seconds for rockets) after the tseva adom siren.(Color Red/Red Dawn). Find shelter the alarm says, anywhere – incoming. More importantly it is a mitzvah to preserve innocent life even by taking the life of the rodef. Is anything more important? It does not matter that most of the rockets and mortars failed to kill or maim. They were supposed to. Most military objectives are multi-faceted. If you don’t kill anyone, that’s okay the launcher thinks. Terrorize them, make us look important. Make them fear us. Challenge them to find us, come and get us.

All but the most steadfast antiJew would have to sympathize with the plight of innocents under fire, even president-elect Obama as Bibi Netanyahu has explained now to the American media would not tolerate such a life for his girls – or so he said during his visit to S’derot.

Transitioning from desire and righteousness of acting to goals of acting is not quite so easy. It now is becoming quite clear that the year plus build up of anticipating an attack on Iran’s nuclear program was merely a diversion to shield spying eyes from the true target of the Israeli security apparatus – Hamas in Gaza. I suppose in terms of immediate threats, it was a good call. No one could have any doubt after the destruction of Israeli Gaza – Gush Katif- and villages of chalutzim in Yosh that Israel rarely considers morality in policy making. Otherwise one would have to ask “why did it take so long to act?” Taking years under fire to react in a legitimate way, one that could be interpreted by an observer to proclaim 'Jewish life has value'is a little extreme in the wrong direction. Was it really necessary to prove beyond that much shadow of a doubt that continued bombardment of innocents would not be tolerated?

Well, at least one benefit can be discerned from the inaction, a negative turned into a positive to Israel’s advantage. How many “toothless tiger” allegations have been made in recent years? How many Israeli warnings of a pending assault have been filed under “lost credibility” or more precisely “lost balance of power deterrent”? What causes armed conflict – on paper that is? It is a perception that the opponent will not or cannot fight back. This classically is understood as a failure of deterrence.

Israel was clearly guilty of the offense of failing in deterrence – for failing to utilize the powerful assets at its disposal in a meaningful way and thus create either balance of power or a perception that attacking Israel will result in an overwhelmingly strong response. How many times did you read stories within the last year that Israeli military officials were hinting or pointing toward a Gaza operation? How many times did Ehud Barak make threats to that effect? Yet, none were believable. Too many “toothless tiger” times in the past the threats were merely words not followed up with a significant action. One could claim that the 2006 Lebanon war was a result of “toothless tiger syndrome”. Yet this time, the presumption of Israeli inaction worked in Israel’s favor. Hamas seems to have been caught off guard. The best evidence is the large number of bombings and casualties on the first day of Operation Cast Lead.

But what now? Back to our earlier idea – what is victory and what does it look like? Both Samson Blinded and Sultan Knish have written about possible results of the war where Israel is clearly not benefited. The negative results include legitimizing Hamas and strengthening the terror organization both politically, strategically and tragically militarily and deeply impacting the Israeli political elections.

Failure to eliminate Hamas results in one not very favorable outcome (see the blogs above) and complete victory a different sort of not favorable result. As of now, I cannot find any Israeli leader in a position of power who asserts Israeli hegemony in Gaza. There appears at this time no interest in planning for a re-conquering of Gaza or of driving the barbarians into the Egyptian Sinai – most likely a discussion point between Israel and Egypt prior to the attack. Victory in the war as translated by complete elimination of Hamas foretells a future where the PA will be invited back to Gaza, given the pieces that are left, promised hundreds of billions in aid, and rushed to make a treaty with Israel while the power vacuum is still being filled with the exit of Hamas and before the the nationalist opposition can make the argument that 'Gaza is Israel' can occur. Essentially, complete military victory means a defeat for Zionism and international Jewry. A PA state will come into being rather quickly and who knows what will be the cost in Yosh for the treaty.

In the end, we can usually count on the arabians making decisions which prolong the conflict. What if some surviving Hamas official, who claims to be speaking for the organization makes a plea to through the international media and claims that “yes of course we will stop shooting at Israel, stop supporting the shooting at Israel and facilitating the shooting at Israel”. What then? Where does Israel’s international support go, what there is of it? What if it is Hamas that asks for UN observers or peace keepers? What if Hamas pulls a Hezbollah, never agrees to stop arming itself, only to stop shooting at Israel (for now)? Within a couple of days if not hours you can count on the offensive to stop and Israel’s chance to defeat Hamas will go by the wayside. This outcome leaves everything at a standstill. (see the Sultan Knish article above).

Yes, perhaps the rocket and mortar attacks will end under that scenario (for a while). But yes, Hamas will still be there and Israel has possibly contributed to re-building deterrent credibility. What doesn’t happen is an instant treaty with the PA and the idea of Israeli Gaza is still on the table. On the other hand it is likely that Hamas will return to firing rockets into Israel eventually or use the time honored defense that the attacks are coming from “rogue” elements or some other group. But this time, international observers will be in a better position to block Israeli self-defense tactics - perhaps. What is the better outcome for Israel in this conflict? It is a tough call. But what is also true is that the Torah demands we defend our lives at least as I read it. And even more so, we must defend Jewish sovereignty in Eretz Yisroel, again at least as I understand the Jewish role. If I am correct, the outcome then is not one in which we should be too concerned. We must do our part and the Aibishter will does His. Maybe, just maybe the political winds will shift and complete victory can be obtained.

Gaza War Message Confusion (what is the Goal?)

What is the message coming out of Israel? I am getting the feeling that the Government of Israel has not exactly decided what the goals are or how victory will be defined. A quick glance at some of the English speaking reports leads me to ask this question.

Barak: This is 'all-out war' on Hamas is an example. Maybe it is a badly worded title by JPOST but maybe not. In this article we find the unfortunate typical Israeli voice of indecisiveness.

"This operation will be extended and deepened as we find necessary. Our goal is to strike Hamas and stop the attacks on Israel. Hamas controls Gaza and is responsible for everything happening there and for all attacks carried out from within the Strip. The goals of this operation are to stop Hamas from attacking our citizens and soldiers," said Barak.

. This is a far cry from:

UN ambassador: Israel seeks to 'destroy' Hamas

NEW YORK (AP) — Israel's ambassador to the United Nations says the goal of the current offensive in the Gaza Strip is much broader than ending Palestinian rocket attacks. She says Israel wants to destroy Gaza's ruling Hamas movement.

In an interview Tuesday, Ambassador Gabriela Shalev said Israel's main goal is to "destroy completely" what she called a "terrorist gang."

She would not explicitly say that Israel wants to topple the Hamas government. But she said a return to the terms of a recent six-month truce would not be enough.

Shalev says Israel wants stronger assurances that the rocket fire will stop. Israeli leaders have said they do not want to reoccupy Gaza.

More than 300 Palestinians have died in the three-day air offensive.

Here, I was all ready to post about how Israel seems to have a strong public message about the war, specifically the remarks of Tzipi Livni Israel Slams Media Bias, Netanyahu Joins PR Efforts, Netanyahu joins Gaza op PR effort and this contradiction hit me. How on one hand does the Israeli Ambassador to the UN talk about destroying Hamas and the PM, DM and opposition leader speak as if the mission is merely to hold Hamas responsible for rocketing sovereign Israel until they either promise to stop their bad behavior or have been temporarily separated from the ability to do so.

I can only hope that the words from the Knesset are merely for consumption by the world press while the Amb. are closer to the truth. That would seem to be the reverse however of what a hasbara campaign would call for. One can only hope that the message disconnect is planned for some reason. I fear that it isn't. See The Gaza Picture Show - Sultan Knish for more. Israel should not accept anything less than destruction of Hamas's ability to govern if not exist. To return to some form of manageable cease fire is ludicrous.


Update The Jpost article referenced above "Barak: This is 'all-out war' on Hamas" has been changed by Jpost to "MKs trade volleys over Gaza op". The same quote I inserted above from Barak is still in the article.
new article.
CNN has picked up the same quote from Barak which is all over the web now. This quote seems to be political grandstanding by Barak.