Top 5 Lies About Israel’s Assault on Gaza

['Abd-al Latif]

Top 5 Lies About Israel’s Assault on Gaza Jeremy R. Hammond Article ID: 1452 | 414 Reads

Lie #1) Israel is only targeting legitimate military sites and is seeking to protect innocent lives. Israel never targets civilians.

The Gaza Strip is one of the most densely populated pieces of property in the world. The presence of militants within a civilian population does not, under international law, deprive that population of their protected status, and hence any assault upon that population under the guise of targeting militants is, in fact, a war crime.
Moreover, the people Israel claims are legitimate targets are members of Hamas, which Israel says is a terrorist organization. Hamas has been responsible for firing rockets into Israel. These rockets are extremely inaccurate and thus, even if Hamas intended to hit military targets within Israel, are indiscriminate by nature. When rockets from Gaza kill Israeli civilians, it is a war crime.
Hamas has a military wing. However, it is not entirely a military organization, but a political one. Members of Hamas are the democratically elected representatives of the Palestinian people. Dozens of these elected leaders have been kidnapped and held in Israeli prisons without charge. Others have been targeted for assassination, such as Nizar Rayan, a top Hamas official. To kill Rayan, Israel targeted a residential apartment building. The strike not only killed Rayan but two of his wives and four of his children, along with six others. There is no justification for such an attack under international law. This was a war crime.
Other of Israel’s bombardment with protected status under international law have included a mosque, a prison, police stations, and a university, in addition to residential buildings.
Moreover, Israel has long held Gaza under siege, allowing only the most minimal amounts of humanitarian supplies to enter. Israel is bombing and killing Palestinian civilians. Countless more have been wounded, and cannot receive medical attention. Hospitals running on generators have little or no fuel. Doctors have no proper equipment or medical supplies to treat the injured. These people, too, are the victims of Israeli policies targeted not at Hamas or legitimate military targets, but directly designed to punish the civilian population.

Lie #2) Hamas violated the cease-fire. The Israeli bombardment is a response to Palestinian rocket fire and is designed to end such rocket attacks.

Israel never observed the cease-fire to begin with. From the beginning, it announced a “special security zone” within the Gaza Strip and announced that Palestinians who enter this zone will be fired upon. In other words, Israel announced its intention that Israeli soldiers would shoot at farmers and other individuals attempting to reach their own land in direct violation of not only the cease-fire but international law.
Despite shooting incidents, including ones resulting in Palestinians getting injured, Hamas still held to the cease-fire from the time it went into effect on June 19 until Israel effectively ended the truce on November 4 by launching an airstrike into Gaza that killed five and injured several others.
Israel’s violation of the cease-fire predictably resulted in retaliation from militants in Gaza who fired rockets into Israel in response. The increased barrage of rocket fire at the end of December is being used as justification for the continued Israeli bombardment, but is a direct response by militants to the Israeli attacks.
Israel's actions, including its violation of the cease-fire, predictably resulted in an escalation of rocket attacks against its own population.

Lie #3) Hamas is using human shields, a war crime.

There has been no evidence that Hamas has used human shields. The fact is, as previously noted, Gaza is a small piece of property that is densely populated. Israel engages in indiscriminate warfare such as the assassination of Nizar Rayan, in which members of his family were also murdered. It is victims like his dead children that Israel defines as “human shields” in its propaganda. There is no legitimacy for this interpretation under international law. In circumstances such as these, Hamas is not using human shields, Israel is committing war crimes in violation of the Geneva Conventions and other applicable international law.

Lie #4) Arab nations have not condemned Israel’s actions because they understand Israel’s justification for its assault.

The populations of those Arab countries are outraged at Israel’s actions and at their own governments for not condemning Israel’s assault and acting to end the violence. Simply stated, the Arab governments do not represent their respective Arab populations. The populations of the Arab nations have staged mass protests in opposition to not only Israel's actions but also the inaction of their own governments and what they view as either complacency or complicity in Israel's crimes.
Moreover, the refusal of Arab nations to take action to come to the aid of the Palestinians is not because they agree with Israel’s actions, but because they are submissive to the will of the US, which fully supports Israel. Egypt, for instance, which refused to open the border to allow Palestinians wounded in the attacks to get medical treatment in Egyptian hospitals, is heavily dependent upon US aid, and is being widely criticized within the population of the Arab countries for what is viewed as an absolute betrayal of the Gaza Palestinians.
Even Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has been regarded as a traitor to his own people for blaming Hamas for the suffering of the people of Gaza. Palestinians are also well aware of Abbas' past perceived betrayals in conniving with Israel and the US to sideline the democratically elected Hamas government, culminating in a counter-coup by Hamas in which it expelled Fatah (the military wing of Abbas' Palestine Authority) from the Gaza Strip. While his apparent goal was to weaken Hamas and strengthen his own position, the Palestinians and other Arabs in the Middle East are so outraged at Abbas that it is unlikely he will be able to govern effectively.

Lie #5) Israel is not responsible for civilian deaths because it warned the Palestinians of Gaza to flee areas that might be targeted.

Israel claims it sent radio and telephone text messages to residents of Gaza warning them to flee from the coming bombardment. But the people of Gaza have nowhere to flee to. They are trapped within the Gaza Strip. It is by Israeli design that they cannot escape across the border. It is by Israeli design that they have no food, water, or fuel by which to survive. It is by Israeli design that hospitals in Gaza have no electricity and few medical supplies with which to treat the injured and save lives. And Israel has bombed vast areas of Gaza, targeting civilian infrastructure and other sites with protected status under international law. No place is safe within the Gaza Strip.

['Abd-al Latif]

:salamext:

:bump:

[Anette]

Thank you very much.

I wonder if anyone can give me more details regarding what really happened the 4 November? This is something that most people in West "missed" since everyone had their eyes on the elections in US. The time for what happened is probably well calculated since Israel know the world eyes would be at a different direction.

['Abd-al Latif]

Thank you very much.

I wonder if anyone can give me more details regarding what really happened the 4 November? This is something that most people in West "missed" since everyone had their eyes on the elections in US. The time for what happened is probably well calculated since Israel know the world eyes would be at a different direction.

You're welcome.

This is from the BBC website.

The ceasefire, brokered by the Egyptians, was often broken in practice. There was a vicious circle in which Hamas complained that Israel had imposed an economic blockade on Gaza by land, sea and air and Israel complained that Hamas was smuggling in arms through underground tunnels from Egypt and firing rocket salvos at Israel.

Hamas said it was justified in firing rockets as a method of resistance and to draw attention to the plight of Gazans. Israel said its blockade of Gaza was justified as a means to try to force Hamas to observe the ceasefire.
Events began to come to a climax after the Israelis raided southern Gaza on 4 November 2008 to destroy smuggling tunnels. This led to the further firing of Hamas missiles into Israel and in turn to a much tighter Israel blockade.

Hamas demanded that the blockade be ended or it would not renew the ceasefire, which was running out after an initial six months.

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['Abd-al Latif]

This is from the Gardian website:

Gaza truce broken as Israeli raid kills six Hamas gunmen

A man sifts throught rubble after Israel's overnight operation Photograph: Marco Longari/AFP

A four-month ceasefire between Israel and Palestinian militants in Gaza was in jeopardy today after Israeli troops killed six Hamas gunmen in a raid into the territory.

Hamas responded by firing a wave of rockets into southern Israel, although no one was injured. The violence represented the most serious break in a ceasefire agreed in mid-June, yet both sides suggested they wanted to return to atmosphere of calm.

Israeli troops crossed into the Gaza Strip late last night near the town of Deir al-Balah. The Israeli military said the target of the raid was a tunnel that they said Hamas was planning to use to capture Israeli soldiers positioned on the border fence 250m away. Four Israeli soldiers were injured in the operation, two moderately and two lightly, the military said.

One Hamas gunman was killed and Palestinians launched a volley of mortars at the Israeli military. An Israeli air strike then killed five more Hamas fighters. In response, Hamas launched 35 rockets into southern Israel, one reaching the city of Ashkelon.

"This was a pinpoint operation intended to prevent an immediate threat," the Israeli military said in a statement. "There is no intention to disrupt the ceasefire, rather the purpose of the operation was to remove an immediate and dangerous threat posted by the Hamas terror organisation."
In Gaza, a Hamas spokesman, Fawzi Barhoum, said the group had fired rockets out of Gaza as a "response to Israel's massive breach of the truce".

"The Israelis began this tension and they must pay an expensive price. They cannot leave us drowning in blood while they sleep soundly in their beds," he said.

The attack comes shortly before a key meeting this Sunday in Cairo when Hamas and its political rival Fatah will hold talks on reconciling their differences and creating a single, unified government. It will be the first time the two sides have met at this level since fighting a near civil war more than a year ago.

Until now it had appeared both Israel and Hamas, which seized full control of Gaza last summer, had an interest in maintaining the ceasefire. For Israel it has meant an end to the daily barrage of rockets landing in southern towns, particularly Sderot. For Gazans it has meant an end to the regular Israeli military raids that have caused hundreds of casualties, many of them civilian, in the past year. Israel, however, has maintained its economic blockade on the strip, severely limiting imports and preventing all exports from Gaza.

Ehud Barak, the Israeli defence minister, had personally approved the Gaza raid, the Associated Press said. The Israeli military concluded that Hamas was likely to want to continue the ceasefire despite the raid, it said. The ceasefire was due to run for six months and it is still unclear whether it will stretch beyond that limit.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008...hepalestinians



Isn't it funny how BBC and The Gardain contradict each other?

BBC says:

Events began to come to a climax after the Israelis raided southern Gaza on 4 November 2008 to destroy smuggling tunnels

The Gardian says:

The Israeli military said the target of the raid was a tunnel that they said Hamas was planning to use to capture Israeli soldiers positioned on the border fence 250m away

This doesn't make any sense. But what else would you expect from a Pro-Israel ran media.

[Amadeus85]

So many thread made about Gaza where 600 people died (which is of course a tragedy), but among them at least 70% belonged to a terroristic organization. How good if you showed at least 10% of such interestment to 300 000 black muslims of Darfur killed by Arabs or those who die daily in suicide attacks in Iraq or Pakistan.

[Keltoi]

What isn't being mentioned is that while Israel is striking in Gaza, members of Hamas have been murdering and torturing members of Fatah.

['Abd-al Latif]

So many thread made about Gaza where 600 people died (which is of course a tragedy), but among them at least 70% belonged to a terroristic organization. How good if you showed at least 10% of such interestment to 300 000 black muslims of Darfur killed by Arabs or those who die daily in suicide attacks in Iraq or Pakistan.

770 to be closer to the total with estimated near 3000 injured. So 70% of woman and children - children who have barely reached their teens - are terroristic organization? How many militants in Palestine have really died throughout this war compared to those who can barely defend themselves?

As my first post said:

To kill Rayan, Israel targeted a residential apartment building. The strike not only killed Rayan but two of his wives and four of his children, along with six others. There is no justification for such an attack under international law. This was a war crime.

Other of Israel’s bombardment with protected status under international law have included a mosque, a prison, police stations, and a university, in addition to residential buildings.

Moreover, Israel has long held Gaza under siege, allowing only the most minimal amounts of humanitarian supplies to enter. Israel is bombing and killing Palestinian civilians. Countless more have been wounded, and cannot receive medical attention

Is this what you call a Terroristic organization?

What isn't being mentioned is the while Israel is striking in Gaza, members of Hamas have been murdering and torturing members of Fatah.

If a person was drowning, you wouldn't make such a big deal that he/she is semi naked. You would jump in the water and swim to save them.

My point: Look at the whole picture and not the surrounding issues.

[Anette]

Thank you again. This is really strange to me.

The 4 November raid -- and the escalation that followed -- also went unreported by the major US network and cable television new programs, according to a search of the Nexis database for all English-language news coverage between 4 to 7 November.

http://www.imemc.org/article/58372

I believe this can be a key issue that ought to be stressed. It was a really bad covering about this “raid”. In western media it looks like the cease fire ended, and then Hamas started to aim Israel as a consequence more or less depended on the end of the cease fire.

A quick look in our media at the same time points at the same direction. A really bad covering about the 4 November, and a really big focus about the end of the cease fire.

[nocturne]

I was watching CNN yesterday and one of an ex-IDF soldier told the media that Israel has risked lots of their Soldiers lives by warning the Palestinians through their handphone and text messaging on any impending attacks.

Two questions to be asked is:

1)How many Palestinians have Phones?
2)and where do they run to in such a heavily populated area?

['Abd-al Latif]

Thank you again. This is really strange to me.

http://www.imemc.org/article/58372

I believe this can be a key issue that ought to be stressed. It was a really bad covering about this “raid”. In western media it looks like the cease fire ended, and then Hamas started to aim Israel as a consequence more or less depended on the end of the cease fire.

A quick look in our media at the same time points at the same direction. A really bad covering about the 4 November, and a really big focus about the end of the cease fire.

I took this from another thead:

CNN Confirms Israel Broke Ceasefire First

Media Tags are no longer supported

[Najm]

AsSalamOAlaikum WaRehmatuAllah WaBarkatuhu

I noticed its TOP 5!!! There is sooo much more hidden away, the propaganda in the west had spread deep.

People even think Hamas are the occupiers,
they forced their way to power by winning the elections,
they have invaded Israel
And we get more view from Israelllis...
etc.

People dont even really know where Gaza is!!!!

May Allah always keep truth distinctively from falsehood. Ameen

FiAmaaniAllah

[AzizMostafa]

http://podblanc.com/video-holocaust-...sts-now-public
http://typophile.com/node/53099

[Anette]

Thank you for adding the CNN sequence. If Israel was attacking Gaza at the 4 November it is really calculating. They knew people were very interesting in the Obama election. Just to choose this date is very, very strange.

The question is if they choose the date knowing Hamas would answer the hostility in order to have a reason to hit again in December to "finish the job". Did they wait as long as it took in order to hide the reason, or to find out if the world “approved”. But we do not approve. They have made at least one miscalculation regarding that fact. They manage to hide the reason behind Hamas started to intensify the rockets lounging. But they did forget that the people of the world won’t approve keep on killing babies and civilians no matter what.

Today I've been out in my little corner of the world and protested together with thousands of others. In one week the number who protested has doubled. If we keep on doubling the numbers of people who is protesting every week - the governments soon has to do something. But it's now the people in Palestina needs help.

If the protests instead had begun in November - things could have been different. The question is how this information could be held away from us? Was it a really insidious planned media blackout? But even reporters at CNN had to dig in to find the information. But how is it possible to bury a thing like this? That is incomprehensible!

['Abd-al Latif]

Heres another one:

Israel admits: "No Hamas rockets were fired during ceasefire"

Media Tags are no longer supported

[Zico]

Interesting...

[Triumphant]

Why is there not any Agnostic posters in this thread? Goes to show how sincere they really are.

[Najm]

AsSalamOAlaikum WaRehmatuAllah WaBarkatuhu

Interrogation about the UN school being shelled

Media Tags are no longer supported

Comment:

:raging:the guy talks about illegal war crimes under international law!!! Are many war crimes have you done then ???

:raging:the phrase "if there is"...they dont know!

:raging: would you support independent inquiry?.....our interlligent tells us that...!! Is your intelligence independent or more propanda...?.....

:raging: Hamas did a cover up?? You mean your still looking for a cover up!

:raging: the guy says: "Hamas controls the ground" Great!! Thats a victory then!!!

FiAmaaniAllah

[Abdul-Raouf]

.............bump