Post by Robert J. KolkerPost by BobNot true. Israel has been shooting at suspected terrorists in
Palestine every day for the past several years. Thousands of
Palestinians, men, women and children, are in prison as we speak.
But they have not been attacking cities. The Israelis have been trying
carefully targetted assassinations and they make not bones about it. They
are trying to cut the head off of the snake.
I'm sure that this is the way that it has been reported in your news
services, but it ain't actually the truth.
Robert, you stated earlier that "Israel was not shooting at anyone two weeks
ago", and I'm sure that is how the news is presented to you. Unfortunately,
it is a wee bit wide of the mark. It's a statement of fact that you should
have confirmed before, you know, stating it as fact.
Wiki has been keeping a timeline of this, and it makes interesting reading.
Here's an excerpt:
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Tensions had been high for some time in Israel due to Qassam rocket attacks
launched by Palestinians into densely populated areas such as the Israeli
city of Sderot, reported to have exceeded 800 rockets in the past seven
months, although there had been no casualties since Israel's withdrawal from
Gaza. Concurrently, between the end of March and the end of May 2006, Israel
fired at least 5,100 artillery shells into the Gaza Strip.
On June 9, during or shortly after an Israeli operation, an explosion
occurred on a busy Gaza beach, killing eight Palestinian civilians. An
investigation is underway as to who is responsible. Israeli shelling was
temporarily suspended, but resumed soon after and reached more than a
thousand shells per week by the end of the month. Other Israeli missile
attacks included one on the Gaza highway on June 13 that killed 11
Palestinians and injured 30, and on June 20 that killed 3 Palestinians and
wounded 15.
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Me again.
So, during your peacable weeks (7 months, actually) the Palestinians
launched 800 rockets that were, truth be told, only of nuisance value. No
deaths. No casualties. Average it to a little over 100 a month, though I'm
sure there were peaks and troughs.
During the last two months (note, not 7 months) Israel launched at least
5,100 artillery shells into Gaza, killing 22 Palestinians. All - as far as
I can tell from that report - innocent civilians.
The exact tit-for-tat is not spelled out, but I would very much imagine
that it is *not* the situation that the Israelis waited for a rocket before
launching an artillery barrage in return. 5,100 shells in two months looks
more like a constant and indiscriminate barrage to deny anyone access to
certain areas of the Gaza which (it bears pointing out) does not belong to
the Israelis - they withdrew from Gaza (remember that?).
Post by Robert J. KolkerThe Israelis withdrew from Gaza (remember that?). The result, the
Palestinians elected Hamas and Hamas thugs have attacked Israel from the
Gaza side and kidnapped Israeli personal. That is what started this
broughhaha in the first place.
It's what brought about the massive Israeli assault, yep. But it does pay
not to take what you see and hear at face value because, funny enough, that
is not the entire story....
The Hamas thugs attacked an Israeli post on June 25, 2006 and captured those
poor Israeli personal. No doubt about it. So Hamas was the aggressor, and
Israel the poor innocent victim, correct?
Umm, actually, it's not that clear-cut. Wiki continues the timeline:
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On June 24, 2006, Israeli commandos entered the Gaza Strip to capture two
Palestinians, who Israel claims are Hamas militants, in the first arrest
raid into the Strip since Israel pulled out of Gaza in September 2005
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Me again.
Oops. June 24th is the day *before* Hamas crossed the border into Israel and
snatched the soldiers.
So, when Hamas cross the border to capture some Israelis it's the work of
thugs, and a provocation that justifies a massive counter-stroke. But when
Israeli troops cross the border to do the same thing the very day *before*
it's, well, what, Robert? No cause for comment? Not newsworthy?
This is where you really have to be careful putting the white hats on the
Israeli's, and the black hats on the Palestinians, because regardless of
what you read in your country the Israeli's are *not* lilly-white. They are
not innocents. They can be as thuggish as their opponents, and very
frequently are.
Rather than putting the goodguy/badguy hats on these people it might pay to
read a bit more widely, because it is most unlikely that you are being
presented with an unbiased commentary on Middle-East conflict.
Better to think of it this way: The Palestinian power-browkers are
ruthless, hard-arsed shits who hate the Israelis and detest the very idea
that there is a Jewish state in the region. The Israeli power-brokers are
ruthless, hard-arsed shits who hate the Arabs and detest the very idea that
there might ever be an independent Palestinian state in the region.
Think of it that way, and you might get a better grip on what is happening
in that part of the world.
Cheers,
Johnboy