50 More

Reported:

King directs gov’t to increase guards at Al Aqsa

AMMAN — His Majesty King Abdullah on Saturday directed the government to immediately begin with administrative procedures to appoint 50 new guards at Al Aqsa Mosque to bolster security there in light of the continuing Israeli assaults on Islam’s third holiest site.  The Monarch, the custodian of Jerusalem’s holy sites, had received letters from Sheikh Mohammad Azzam Khatib, the director of Jerusalem’s awqaf department, and  Sheikh Abdul Azim Salhab, who heads the Jerusalem awqaf council, outlining the Israeli attacks on Al Aqsa and calling on His Majesty to increase the number of guards. 

My points:

1.  at least they are ultimately responsible to the King.

2.  so, who is sovereign there?  Jordan? Waqf? Palestinian Authority? Israel? 

3.  why add at all?  the number of Jews permitted to ascend is not that large and in small groups in any case.  perhaps more Jews will be allowed and therefore the number needs be increased?

4.  but the new custom of paid-for-by-Islamic Movement' Muslims 'sitting-around-and-learning' exactly in the path of the touring Jews must be eliminated.  and the procedures for entering Muslim needs be complete reorganized.  will those extra guards help?

^

Christine's Foul Mouth

Meet Christine, Christine Habib:

Christine is a journalist, and a news anchor.

Yes, Christine is pretty.

But she sinks and is empty-headed:

On Friday, Christine Habib, a Lebanese reporter who, according to her Facebook profile, is a "Senior Reporter at Al Jadeed TV," issued a tweet calling for Iran to send nuclear weapons to Hamas for use against Israel, assuming the Islamic country has weapons to send.
"#Iran should send its nuclear weapons, if they exist, to #Hamas," she tweeted. Her message sparked a great deal of controversy on Twitter.

Now, I am not claiming her sex gender or her good looks are influencing my opinion but she's a dumb lady.

No, not because she hates Israel.  You don't have to be ugly, although that helps, to dislike Israel. But as many responders remarked, a nuclear weapon would kill more Arabs and Muslims and Christians (I am assuming she, too, is a believer in Jesus) than Israel has killed since 1948.  Her remark also assists Israel's public diplomacy in highlighting the total irrationality, immorality and insane approach Arabs have when Israel is the issue in promoting genocide and indiscriminate killing of ... civilians.

Her station seems to be a front for the most extreme political positions in Lebanon.

Front or not, she is a backward lady.

^

Image Problem

I have blogged on the statement of former US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright admitting that the Jewish communities of Judea and Samaria are actually legal.  Any question regarding their status is political.

She has now made a new statement.

Referring to talks and cease fires, she said 

no progress will be made until both Israelis and Palestinians want to end the attacks and begin to negotiate.  “What are the preconditions for even getting to discussing the conditions?” she said. “So it’s a tough sell for everybody.”

And continued:

While Israel has a right to defend itself, many are criticizing the country for killing so many Palestinian civilians. Israel, however, says it’s Hamas’ fault for using civilians to shield its weapons. Ms. Albright said that could harm the world’s view of Israel’s image.  “I am a great believer,” she said, “In the moral authority of the Israelis, but I am very worried about their image.”

Image?

Does our Prime Minister have an opinion?

Yes:

Netanyahu: Israel must not cede security for sake of good PR

Philip Elliott, The Associated Press, Published Sunday, July 27, 2014 

WASHINGTON -- Every Palestinian civilian's death costs Israel in its fight for world opinion but the Jewish state must not cede its security for the sake of public relations, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said..."We're telling the civilians to leave, Hamas is telling them to stay," Netanyahu..."Why is it telling them to stay? Because it wants to pile up their own dead bodies." He said: "They not only want to kill our people, they want to sacrifice their own people."

Image, in essence, is ephemeral.  Life and death is real.  We prefer survival and we'll deal the best we can with our image.

^

(Almost) Breaking News: Kerry Demands Ceasefire

United States Secretary of State John Kerry, our correspondent has been informed, is demanding an immediate ceasefire and requesting that Haaretz stop all scathing reports about his failed diplomacy as well as his clumsy negotiations style.

Additional sources claim that he is even asking Israel's Minister of Defense, Moshe ('Kerry is obsessive and messianic') Yaalon, to faciliate this.

According to the Haaretz report written by Barak Ravid, who writes in a scathing tone, Kerry’s was an “embarrassing” performance and apparently displayed dishonesty in the negotiations.

Some quotes:

The draft Kerry passed to Israel on Friday shocked the cabinet ministers not only because it was the opposite of what Kerry told them less than 24 hours earlier, but mostly because it might as well have been penned by Khaled Meshal. It was everything Hamas could have hoped for.

The document...demanded no dismantling of rockets, tunnels or other heavy weaponry at Hamas’ disposal. The document placed Israel and Hamas on the same level, as if the first is not a primary U.S. ally and as if the second isn’t a terror group which overtook part of the Palestinian Authority in a military coup and fired thousands of rockets at Israel.

The secretary of state’s draft empowered the most radical and problematic elements in the region – Qatar, Turkey, and Hamas – and was a slap on the face to the rapidly forming camp of Egypt, Israel, the Palestinian Authority, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, who have many shared interests. What Kerry’s draft spells for the internal Palestinian political arena is even direr: It crowns Hamas and issues Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas with a death warrant.

Kerry['s]...conduct in recent days over the Gaza cease-fire raises serious doubts over his judgment and perception of regional events. It’s as if he isn’t the foreign minister of the world’s most powerful nation, but an alien, who just disembarked his spaceship in the Mideast. For a few moments Friday, one could not avoid recalling the things Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon said about Kerry, and admit that despite the fact that it wasn’t appropriate, he may have had a point.

If Kerry did anything on Friday it was to thwart the possibility of reaching a cease-fire in Gaza. Instead of promoting a cease-fire, Kerry pushed it away. If this failed diplomatic attempt leads Israel to escalate its operation in Gaza, the American secretary of state will be one of those responsible for every additional drop of blood that is spilled.

As this blog post goes to press, it has been learned that Kerry is so depressed that he has called up a senior Hamas commander asking if he would be accepted as a member of the training suicide bombers.

^

What Did They Do With the Dirt?

I was wondering: what did Hamas do with all the dirt they dug out of the ground?

A friend sent me to the La Manche Tunnel experience:

On the UK side, of the expected 5 million cubic metres (6.5×10⁶ cu yd) of spoil, approximately 1 million cubic metres (1.3×10⁶ cu yd) was used for fill at the terminal site, and the remainder was deposited at Lower Shakespeare Cliff behind a seawall, reclaiming 74 acres (30 ha) of land. This land was then made into the Samphire Hoe Country Park. 

In Gaza, they could have extended themselves seawards and enabled better living conditions.

Oh, well.

^ 

And If We Call Them "Jihadists"?

Reported:

Egypt's army spokesman Mohamed Samir said Saturday that military troops in North Sinai had raided a "terrorist den" killing 12 suspected militants. The attack, which took place near the restive town of Sheikh Zweid, also saw the arrest of 11 suspected militants and another six wanted by authorities. 
Around 36 houses and 40 huts allegedly belonging to jihadists were destroyed by the army.

If we call the Gazan Hamas/Islamic Jihad/Salafi terrorist as "jihadists", all is then okay?

^ 

So, You Want Proportionality?

Thanks to Business Insider, with tunnel additons by yours-truly:

Feel better now?

^

If It Looks & Smells Like Hamas, It Is Hamas

This is, again, going around:

Hamas Didn’t Kidnap and Kill the 3 Israeli Teens After All 

The kidnappers were Hamas members.

Netanyahu:

"Those who perpetrated the abduction of our youths were members of Hamas"

That sat in jail as Hamas.

Their family is Hamas and relatives died in clashes with the IDF as Hamas.

Hamas did not condemn the kidnapping.

There was praise:

And this:

In an interview with Al-Jazeera earlier this week, Mashaal called the abductions a heroic act on behalf of the Palestinians and claimed to not have any information on incident.
Mashaal insisted that Gilad Shaar, Eyal Yifrach and Naftali Frenkel, who were hitchhiking on their way home for the Sabbath from school when they were kidnapped, were “settlers and soldiers in the Israeli army.”
“No one claimed responsibility so far. I can neither confirm [Hamas’s involvement] nor deny it,” Mashaal stated.
Mashaal was quick to point out that the circumstances of the kidnapping far exceed who is actually behind the abductions. Calling the kidnapping terror attack a common “disappearance,” Mashaal said the three kidnapped boys were not “youths, as Israel calls them, but first and foremost settlers…and not even regular settlers, but armed ones.”

Was their a direct order?

Was there a need for so?

There was a third man (from the phone call).

The two have not been arrested and interrogated.

Hamas has been announcing it wants to kidnap.

Multiple attempts had been made previously.

And in any case, Hamas, if it didn't kidnap, did not need to fire off rockets in increasing numbers during Operation "Bringing Them Home".

Give us a break.

^

Who Kills Arab Children?

Four children were killed on Saturday in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula when a mortar round hit their home, in an apparent attack by militants targeting soldiers, security officials said.  The attack took place in the northern Sinai town of El-Joura, believed to be a bastion of Islamist militants who have killed scores of policemen and soldiers over the past year.

In case you didn't know:

Militants have been escalating attacks against security forces, especially in north Sinai, since the ouster of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi last year. More than 500 members of the security forces have been killed in attacks over the last year.

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The Terrible Terror Tunnel Tragedy

Many are upset at the presumed lack of adequate attention paid to those terror tunnels of the Hamas in Gaza.

But let's look back:

Israel mounts air strike on Gaza tunnels overnightPA sources say 22 Gazans injured; strike comes after Gaza militants blow up dynamite-laden donkey cart near border with Israel.May 26, 2010 

IAF hits Gaza tunnels in wake of bombing attempt by seaPalestinians claim responsibility for attempted attack, say more explosive-laden barrels in sea.  Feb. 2, 2010

Air Force Bombs Gaza Tunnels after Rocket AttackThe IDF continues to execute government policy of bombing Gaza smuggling tunnels—but only after terrorists attack Israel with missiles.  May 5, 2010

And already in 2007:

Israeli aircraft have launched a bombing raid on a tunnel in the Gaza Strip, the country's military has said.
An army spokesman said the tunnel, on the border with Israel near the Karni crossing, was being used to carry out an attack. No casualties were reported. Secondary explosions seen after the air strike indicated explosives were hidden in the tunnel, the army spokesman said.  The move comes the day after a Palestinian suicide bomber killed three Israelis in the resort of Eilat.

And in 2006:

Terror Tunnel Found in Gaza 
August 28, 2006

A detonated tunnel, originally designed to facilitate terror attacks in Israeli territory, dug in the direction of the Karni humanitarian crossing between Israel and Gaza.

And

August 30, 2006

A detonated tunnel, originally designed to facilitate

terror attacks in Israeli territory, 

located near the Karni humanitarian crossing between Israel and Gaza.

Did humanitarian agencies assist in these matter, i.e., are Israeli citizens humans to deserve attention from terror?

Here:

The blockade prohibits most exports and restricts the entry of basic goods, including food and fuel. Much of the available food is provided by the UN and other aid agencies, or smuggled in through tunnels running under the Egypt-Gaza border and then sold on at exorbitantly high prices to Gaza’s beleaguered residents. The situation has been made worse by the Egyptian government’s construction of a steel wall along the border at Rafah to disrupt the cross-border smuggling that has become Gaza’s lifeline, as well as the bombing of tunnels by the Israeli airforce.

That was Amnesty International. 

I caught tonight the former Southern Front Commanding Officer Yoav Galant complaining, too.  But Hagai Humberman recounts in Matzav Ruach this week that back in July 2010, after another tunnel bombing, he asked Galant why, if Israel knows tunnels are being dug into Israel that it waits until some terror action to bomb them?

Galant responded that these tunnels are know, they really aren't that much of a danger, don't worry and we are taking care of them with or without a rocket being fired off.

More than a tragedy.

P.S.

IDF Spokesperson reconfirms to IMRA:  4 tunnels found today but no tunnelsdestroyed - as explosives cannot be detonated during the humanitarianceasefire    ---    Dr. Aaron Lerner Date: 12:43 AM 27 July 2014
Following reports in the media that the IDF "handled" 4 tunnels on Saturdayduring the humanitarian ceasefire:
The IDF Spokesperson's Office reconfirmed to IMRA that the 4 tunnelsdiscovered on Saturday were discovered but not destroyed.   No tunnels havebeen destroyed during the course of the humanitarian ceasefire as the IDF detonates explosives to blow up the tunnels and the IDF does not detonate explosives during the ceasefire.

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First The Poster, Then The Pictures

Last April, this poster appeared:

Last night, Islamists entered the Temple Mount throught the gates, not through underground tunnels. and did some damage:

More here.

Here:

More:

and flew a flag:

Updating:

Did anyone praise the police for securing Israel's sovereignty over that holy site?

P.S.   (In Hebrew) Criticism directed against the police.

^

Jabotinsky Banned

In honor of his yahrtzeit this coming Sunday:

Ze'ev Jabotinsky was prohibited by the British government from returning to the area of the Palestine Mandate after leaving in late 1929 for a speaking tour and in fact, never merited entering the territory of the Jewish national homeland until his death.

One protest:

PALESTINE (LIEUTENANT JABOTINSKY).

HC Deb 16 September 1931

§11. Colonel WEDGWOOD asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether Lieutenant Jabotinsky may now be allowed hack in Palestine?

Mr. THOMAS After considering this matter further in consultation with the acting High Commissioner, I am satisfied that the circumstances are not such as would justify any modification, at the present juncture, of the attitude adopted by the late Secretary of State.

§Colonel WEDGWOOD Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that Lieutenant Jabotinsky fought for us in the War and was decorated, and that he has been excluded from Palestine solely because of the Arab massacres?

Mr. THOMAS The question as to what should be the attitude to those who fought in the War will have to be considered in relationship to their present attitude. I am sure that the late Secretary of State, who is always anxious to preserve what is called freedom of speech, arrived at this decision in the best interests of Palestine and in the best interests of everybody.

§Colonel WEDGWOOD May I ask whether the previous Secretary of State, who knew Jabotinsky well, did not have quite a different opinion of him?

Mr. THOMAS I do not know the opinion of the previous Secretary of State, but the late Secretary of State, Lord Passfield, considered the whole situation before coming to a decision. I see no reason to alter his decision.

§Colonel HOWARD-BURY Is not this gentleman a firebrand; and would it not be unwise to allow him to enter Palestine in the present state of affairs in that country?

Incidentally, his remains, buried in New York where he died in 1940, were also not permitted to be returned to Israel by David Ben-Gurion and it was only Prime Minister Levi Eshkol who allowed the reinternment in 1964.

^

Khaled Meshal's Speech

Excerpts:

Khaled Mish'al reassures that there will not be compromise. No ceasefire unless siege is lifted. 

we have nothing against Egypt/its role. we respect all, & all Arab countries. but we are free and&no one can influence our decision

all the Palestinians want us to break the siege and we are determined to end it.

his is a war imposed on us; we fight it like men and take it as long as it takes.

some re talking about ending the siege AFTER the ceasefire. We tried that. we do not accept it now.

Palestinians of 48 have been wonderful resisting Israel's policies of Israelisating them

6 demands. then unite to free Palestine, bring back the refugees, use all sorts of resistance, to free Jerusalem. End collaboration

we have 6 conditions and you consider them too much? After so much blood? And after so much resilience?

we refuse any ceasefire that does not end aggression and end occupation, or that promises to do that after a ceasefire

_____________

Now a report.

^

The FAA Ban --- Politically Motivated or Not?

A guest opinion editorial from Susan Settenbrino, an attorney and author of Unchecked Power Guide:-



Is the FAA ban warranted or politically motivated?


Clearly Israel believes it is unwarranted and considering the flights that have come and gone uninterrupted, it appears that they are correct. Former Mayor Blumberg has also demonstrated that, in his opinion, the FAA ban is certainly a drastic measure that only enables Hamas and Israel's detractors.


The pundits claim because a Rocket came within a mile of the airport that this calls for such a drastic measure. Yet, such logic was not utilized to protect American passengers from the more likely scenario of being a flight victim of a  bird strike. As ABC News reported in an article written by Lisa Stark and Kate Barrett, published on June 9, 2009, entitled, "Capt. Sully Sullenberger Recounts Landing on Hudson River" the Federal Aviation Administration made public federal data documenting "where and how often planes hit birds" for the first time. According to the article "many travelers had argued they had a right to know where and when bird strikes happen after the emergency landing of US Airways flight 1549."  According to the data the incidents of bird strikes increased significantly, "hitting a peak of 9,650 bird strikes in 2007. In total, FAA data indicates there have been more than 73,000 bird strikes in the United States in the past eight years."


Clearly, the FAA, if truly acting out of concern for the passengers and the public, certainly should have dealt with the significant dangers already proven to exist by such bird strikes. The FAA's malfeasance in addressing a known danger to the public  undermines its credibility when it advances a passenger safety argument in locking down on all flights to and from Israel.  Some television personalities have opined that perhaps the FAA is overreacting considering the recent tragedy of flight MH17.  However, it appears that the missile(s) responsible for that disaster were far superior and capable of engaging in reaching a specific target, as has proven to be the case. 


To consider whether perhaps the FAA's invocation of the drastic ban could have political motivations, we should consider the consequences to Israel and the current political situation.  Clearly the consequences to Israel could be drastic. It could have a crippling effect upon Israel's economy at a very vulnerable time.  It also creates a motivation for HAMAS to continue with its rocket onslaught. It creates an impossible burned on Israel to "prove" that in fact such erratic continuous missiles will never pose a possible danger to the public and flight passengers.  Clearly, any country being bombarded with thousands of erratic missiles poses a danger, to varying degrees, for any of its population and those choosing to visit the region at such a time.  Every endeavor one chooses has risks. However, it is all the more important that given this current situation, Israel is given a full and fair opportunity to truly defend itself, its population, and its visitors.  Israel's defense must be a long-term defense strategy that destroys the tunnels and the missile capabilities in all meaningful and sustainable ways.  By FAA creating this ban, it further compromises Israel's right to truly and meaningful defend itself, because it enables and rewards HAMAS while creating unnecessary pressure for Israel to submit to a situation that will only further its declared enemies capabilities against it.


Supporting Israel, our ally and friend in the Mid-East strengthens America's security and its population enormously. Every endeavor has risks. It appears that the bird strikes have posed significant security risks to the airlines and the public at large. Elal, one of the most trusted and safest airlines has determined that traveling to and from Israel is safe at this time. The FAA may want to consult with Elal, review the facts, the risks, and perhaps reconsider its ban?

and this addition:

Here's a link showing how the FAA failed to utilize radar to protect planes from bird strikes -- whereas ironically Israel has a major bird strike problem -- and has addressed it through the use of radar.

^ 

How Many Civilians Killed in Gaza?

From my friends:

One analysis.

Later analysis.

Yesterday.

Wrong counting.  And how they fooled us earlier.

Half are terrorists.  An earlier analysis.

And on human shields.

And on Hamas killing their own civilians.
Another angle:


Numbers, probability, indiscrimination and massacres

Lately I’ve encountered many who claim that the IDF is attacking Palestinians “indiscriminately”. Watching Al Jazeera one can see that the majority of those who were killed in Gaza were young men. This does not go hand in hand with the claim that the killing is random, considering Gaza’s demographics.  With that in mind, yours truly decided to carry out some simple calculations in order to test the claim that the IDF kills combatants and civilians indiscriminately.


First, let us look at the size of the population in Gaza, which is estimated at 1,805,000 (based on the 2010 census + extrapolated population growth).


The size of the various armed organizations in the Gaza strip is estimated at 25,000. This is also the figure the Hamas boasts (the Zionists have larger estimates, but why trust them?)


Therefore the number of uninvolved civilians in Gaza is 1,780,000.


At this point, according to the press the number of Palestinian casualties in Gaza is 572, with 28% being combatants and 72% being civilians. Therefore, as simple calculation shows that the odds for being killed by the IDF is 0.0064 if you’re a combatant/terrorist and 0.000247 if you’re a non-involved civilian.


That means your odds of being killed by the IDF if you’re a Hamas terrorist (or combatant, depending on one’s point of view) is 28.48 times greater than if you’re a civilian. Looks like there is a very cut and clear distinction with the IDF specifically going after Hamas and not civilians.


Some people, not familiar with the basics of the science of probability may ask, “So how come there are more dead civilians than combatants?” The answer is simple. Most of the people in Gaza are non-involved civilians. The terrorists are only 1.39% of the population.


Consider this: Had the IDF truly been killing people indiscriminately in Gaza, considering there are only 1.39% Hamas terrorists in Gaza, one would expect to see only 8 dead terrorists out of the total of 572 fatalities.


The current ratio of terrorists to civilians among the fatalities is in fact an indication of the IDF’s unparalleled efforts to safeguard the lives of civilians and target only the terrorists. This becomes even more clear when comparing similar situations such as the Americans in Fallujah or American air strikes in Pakistan (see sources below)


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Battle_of_Fallujah
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civilian_casualty_ratio#Iraq_War
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_the_Palestinian_territories
http://www.israellycool.com/2014/07/20/analysis-of-gazans-killed-so-far-in-operation-protective-edge/


______________

P.S.

The ultimate argument is that war is war. People die. The question is who began the war and who refuses to stop it. That's what we need to concentrate on.

Around 600,000 German civilians died during the allies' wartime raids on Germany, including 76,000 German children

The charred, mutilated bodies of women, children and babies are all civilians who perished during the allies' bombing campaign against Germany's cities.

^

Big Lies Are in the Small Details

And here is the United Nation's OCHA report, "Background to the crisis", page 7:-

On 7 July 2014, the Israeli army launched a large military operation in the Gaza Strip, codenamed “Protective Edge”, with the stated objective of stopping Palestinian rocket firing at southern Israel and destroying the military infrastructure of Hamas and other armed groups. This development marked the collapse of the Egyptian-brokered ceasefire understanding reached between Israel and Hamas in November 2012, which has been gradually undermined since December 2013. The latest escalation round started in early June, characterized by an intensification of Israeli airstrikes and rockets launched from Gaza at southern Israel.

Note:

A.  Operation Protective Edge "marked" the collapse of the 2012 understandings.  Not, of course, the many rockets fired off in-between or the tunnels we now know were being dug for an eventual invasion of Israel.


B.  Ah, but it was undermined.  By whom?


C.  First there was an Israeli "intensification" and then there is a "launching" of rockets from Gaza.  Isn't that sentence structure chronologically wrong?

^

Morbid Counting

How many cameras do you count here sanpping away at a corpse?

Cult of death, did we accuse Hamas of promoting?

Oh, and those poor, frightened civilians in Gaza, suffering, with nothing to do with the conflict?

^

Do We Care What You Think?

.

Source
^

Tariq's Tall Tale

"I was running because I didn't know why they (Israeli authorities) were running after me," he said.

That was the 15-year-old Palestinian-American from Tampa, Florida beaten and kicked during the Shuafat riots, Tariq Abu Khdeir.

...the Florida teen denied any part in rock-throwing protests, saying of the Israeli authorities, "I didn't do anything to them to do this to me."  He said he was only watching and listening to the commotion as a crowd had formed after the disappearance of his cousin when suddenly Israeli forces began shooting rubber bullets and tear gas. He said he saw people running and screaming for help. Right behind them were three soldiers, he added. Everyone scattered and ran. Tariq said he tried to jump a gate but fell, adding he felt the sting of a rubber bullet on his heel.

Just like that, there was a spontaneous 

commotion 

and 

a crowd had formed 

and then, 

suddenly Israeli forces began shooting.

As we say, hand-on-heart, do you believe that?

^ 

Said One Hamasnik to Another

^

Gaza As An 'Open-Air Prison' or, Vacation Location

Gaza is an 'Open-Air Prison' or, a 'Concentration Camp'.

You've heard and read that.  And worse.

So, ask yourself, why would sane people go there for vacation?

Palestinians with foreign passports, including dual American citizens, began leaving Gaza through the Erez border crossing Sunday. “My body is leaving Gaza but my heart will always be here,” said Akram Mustasha, from Houston, Texas, who had been in the area on summer vacation until violence became unbearable. Rawan Mohanna, a 21-year-old chemistry major at the University of Texas who was in the area for a family wedding,

(thanks to EG)

^

Gaza Graphics

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One Answer to the Double Standard

I caught this, which is like so many other complaints* against Israel:-

For its many supporters in the west, Israel is being unfairly singled out for criticism...“You are trying to turn Israel into a special case.” Why pick on plucky Israel? What about the Chinas, Russias, Syrias, Saudi Arabias, Irans, Sudans and Burmas? Where are the protests against Isis, Boko Haram or the Pakistani Taliban?
There are various possible responses to such attempts at deflection. First, does Israel really want to be held to the standards of the world’s worst countries? Doesn’t Israel claim to be a liberal democracy, the “only” one in the Middle East?

But that's not the point.

It is you, Mr./Ms Critic, who is the center of attention.

Why don't you act morally and ethically to all instances of supposed 'war crimes'?

Israel can take care of itself but what about your morality quotient?

_______________

UPDATE

Here's another phrasing of the theme:

I don’t mean to suggest that the conflict is in any sense symmetrical. As we have already seen, the worst price for this latest round of violence will be paid by the civilian population of Gaza, 

^ 

Drown Them Out!

Source.

A story.

The opinion poll.

Source.

Drown The Out.

^

NYTimes Forgets One Side

Israel’s War in Gaza is the editorial of the New York Times today.

Gems:

The tragedy is that innocent civilians on both sides of the border are paying the price, once again, and that military action will not guarantee long-term stability or peace.

Well, yes.  But if Hamas had not shot off rockets, continually, since the Disengagement, no Gazan civilians would be injured or worse.  Not to mention the human shield effect.

There was no way Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was going to tolerate the Hamas bombardments, which are indiscriminately lobbed at Israeli population centers. Nor should he. 

Wow.

Hamas can’t defeat Israelis, so it tries to terrorize them.

Why "defeat" Israel?  Is there something about Hamas your paper is not fully emphasizing about Hamas?

The United Nations says that of the more than 260 Palestinians killed, three-quarters were civilians, including more than 50 children.

Check this, guys:-

Over 80% of Gazans killed so far have been male, with almost half of these males being in the 18-28 age group. One can imagine many of these being “combatants.” A further 20% of these males are between 29 and 48, an age group one could envisage may also contain many Hamas members.  In other words, these figures bring into question how many of those killed were really innocent civilians.

And more:

Military action, however, is not a long-term solution, as Israeli operations in 2012 and 2008-9 showed. Israel seized Gaza in 1967 and withdrew in 2005. It is hard to see how re-occupation would serve Israel’s interests.

Well, at least those operations prove that Hamas will not keep to cease-fire terms, will re-arm and begin terror again.  And again.

The best solution remains a peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, 

No.  The first condition to a solution is disarming/decommissioning the Pal. Authority Ramallah/Gaza.

...Hamas leaders have rejected one proposed in the past week by Egypt and are demanding better terms. Meanwhile, Palestinian civilians suffer the consequences.

No recalling "Israeli civilians" (above: "The tragedy is that innocent civilians on both sides of the border are paying the price")?

^


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