Posted by Tina
UPDATE:** The bitter Israel-Hamas conflict has touched off Arab-Arab conflicts almost as bitter. Responsibility for the war in Gaza, and for the Palestinian fatalities there, was placed squarely on Hamas by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. ”We called the leaders of Hamas and told them, ‘Please, do not end the truce’,” he said. *** An Abbas aide, Nimr Hammad, termed the rocket fire into Israel reckless. ”The one responsible for the massacre is Hamas,” he said The Jerusalem Post **
It would have been hard to miss the news late Saturday and Sunday when Israel launched a massive air strike in Gaza. Headlines made it clear that world opinion was once again firmly against Israel and her right to defend herself. In fact the verbal assault against Israel really began just after the Hamas-Israel cease-fire agreement ended on December 19th :
Quote: “The lights are out in Gaza again and few are paying attention. The 1.5 million Palestinians living in the densely-populated strip are being collectively punished once more, while Israel attempts to strangle the Hamas government.” Yousef Munayyer, Boston Globe 12-21-08
Headline: “Across MidEast Thousands Protest Israeli Air Assault in Gaza.”
Headline: U N Condemns Israel Air Assault on Gaza.
Headline: World rallies around Palestinians amid Gaza offensive
World opinion remains ever faithful to the ridiculously stupid, politically correct notion that both sides are equally to blame in the ongoing conflict…that Israel, big bad Israel, is just unreasonable and her victims mere innocents trying to find a place in the world. It makes me crazy!
Rarely are we treated in the main stream news to articles in support or defense of Israels great burden. Living under a continuous threat of total annihilation cannot be pleasant or easy. Defending without offending or doing harm is the limitation foisted onto the back of the Israels even though the intent of Hamas, clearly a terror organization, has been clear from the beginning. Much of the world continues to ignore its stated goal:
** Israel will exist and will continue to exist until Islam will obliterate it, just as it obliterated others before it” *** Initiatives, and so-called peaceful solutions and international conferences, are in contradiction to the principles of the Islamic Resistance Movement. Abusing any part of Palestine is abuse directed against part of religion… – Hamas Covenant 1988
To put it quite simply, Israel (Jews) has no right to exist and must be wiped out to satisfy religious directives. To that end an ongoing reign of terror has in fact continued for decades. Recent examples remain consistent with the stated goal:
Since Israel evacuated the Gaza Strip in 2005, the Palestinians have fired 5,000 missiles into Israel. DEBKAfile
** Hamas owned up to the massive blitz of 70 missile and mortar rounds, including long-range Grad rockets, which hit Israel in an uninterrupted stream from Tuesday night to midday Wednesday, Dec. 24. Their radius extended north to Ashkelon and east to Netivot, leaving a trail of 57 shock victims half children – and wrecked homes, vehicles, shops and roads. A five-missile volley hit Sderot and three mortar shells destroyed farm buildings in the Eshkol region. *** The Israeli military made no effort to halt the attacks Wednesday, but a fleet of 200 ambulances is standing by in the battered south west, and 30 new locations, including the towns of Ashdod and Ofakim, were connected to the siren alert system against missile attack. *** Israel’s security cabinet convened amid the firing to debate military options for stamping out the aggression from the Gaza Strip. Until now, Defense minister Ehud Barak has fought down demands for immediate military action from several ministers’ and almost every other quarter. He has opted for using Egypt’s good offices to negotiate another “ceasefire” with the Hamas regime like the one which expired this month after repeated Hamas violations. ** – DEBKAfile Dec 24th
Living with Rockets: Hamas’s winning strategy, Posted by Anav Silverman
** HAMAS’s military wing, Izzedeen Al Qassam Brigades, recently published an article on their English website describing the current strategy of Hamas in regard to rocket terror and a possible Israeli response. The article relates to how an Israeli military defense operation in Gaza will best serve the interests of Hamas. Such a response, the Izzedeen article states, will help Hamas gain further support from the Palestinian people. Hamas has time and time again, construed a scenario which depicts the Israeli army intending to fight the Palestinian people and not the terrorists who fire the rockets. And most importantly, the article makes clear that an Israeli military response will garner Israel further international condemnation, giving Hamas the legitimacy it needs to make it “an important regional and international player.” **
Israel HAS NO CHOICE but to defend herself. That defense has taken many forms over the years including expanding and contracting of borders, retaliation strikes, negotiation and agreements and of course war. There have been acts that demonstrate their willingness to live in peace. Palestinians living in Israel have jobs, food, schooling and medical care. Palestinians participate in the Israeli government. No matter how many efforts are made Israel has remained in the cross hairs. They are forced to defend so they doo what they must, including intelligence gathering. The latest garnered some valuable and disturbing information that required action:
Analysis: The Hamas army, by Yaakov Katz Jerusalem Post
** Hamas, once known for its suicide attacks inside Israeli cities, is no longer a small-time terrorist group, but a large guerrilla army that has well-trained forces deployed throughout the entire Gaza Strip. *** Were the IDF to embark on a ground operation in Gaza, it would face an army of close to 20,000 armed men, among them at least 15,000 Hamas operatives. The rest are from Islamic Jihad, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and the Popular Resistance Committees. *** Since the cease-fire went into effect in Gaza in June, Hamas has used the lull in action to fortify its military posts in the Strip and dig tunnel systems as well as underground bunkers for its forces. IDF estimates put the length of the tunnels at over 50 kilometers. *** Hamas has also dug foxholes throughout the Strip to accommodate anti-tank missile units, and prepared massive bombs, which have been placed on the main access roads into Gaza. *** In addition to its homemade Kassam rockets, Hamas has smuggled into Gaza a number of anti-aircraft cannons and several shoulder-to-air missiles. It also a large number of anti-tank missiles that, if used correctly, could wreak havoc on Israeli armor in the event of a ground operation involving tanks and armored personnel carriers. *** It also has Special Forces – commando forces and units with expertise in rocket fire, mortar attacks and roadside bombs *** “Hamas has learned a lot from Hizbullah and has adopted many of the Lebanese group’s tactics which were used successfully against the IDF in the Second Lebanon War,” one IDF official said. **
Israels goal is at once simple and necessary:
A year’s intel gathering yields ‘alpha hits’ by Yaakov Katz
** A year of information-gathering by Military Intelligence and the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) paved the way Saturday for Operation Cast Lead. *** The goal: to strike at Hamas’s ability to fire rockets into Israel. *** More than 170 targets were hit by IAF aircraft throughout the day. At least 230 Gazans were killed and over 780 were wounded, according to Palestinian sources. Officials said at least 15 civilians were among the dead. *** The IDF released a list of some of the targets hit: the Hamas headquarters and training camp…a Hamas operations center and armory…the Hamas police academy…training camps in southern and central Gaza…the former office of Yasser Arafat…now used by Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh…the Izzadin Kassam Brigades headquarters… *** Throughout the initial stages of the air operation, the IDF Gaza Coordination and Liaison Administration transmitted messages to civilians in Gaza to stay away from Kassam launch sites and Hamas buildings and infrastructure. **
Germany, US Defend Israeli Raids in Gaza as Protests Mount Deutsche Welle
** “It is the legitimate right of Israel to protect its civilian population and to defend its territory,” German government spokesman Thomas Steg told a press briefing in Berlin. *** German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert had agreed in a telephone conversation that responsibility for the escalation lay “clearly and exclusively with Hamas,” Steg said. “Hamas has unilaterally broken the ceasefire agreement.” **
It is as true today, as it was eight years ago…people and nations of the world are either with us or against us in this fight. When it comes to the right of nations and peoples to defend themselves against terror organizations there is no better declaration of truth nor one as blatantly obvious. What is so difficult to get?