Crisis in Gaza and Southern Israel

AI’s Philip Luther updates the situation in Gaza and Southern Israel from on the ground reports by an Amnesty International delegation.

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50 thoughts on “Crisis in Gaza and Southern Israel

  1. Philip Luther is obviously misinformed. I just returned from Israel and they are not intentionally bombing civilians, they are bombing military targets. However, Hamas does fire weapons indiscriminitely into Israeli towns in order to kill civilians. Perhaps Hamas shouldn't be using their own people as human shields. Hamas stores weapons in mosques, schools and in populated areas. Hamas does this on purpose so when there are civilain casualties, they will recieve simpathy from the world. Hamas is the terrorist organization, not Israel.
    I will never, ever support Amnesty International. Get the facts straight.

  2. This is a mistake, Amnesty does extremely good work but in this conflict it is not correct to put the blame on Israel. Hamas is using civilians as a shield, especially children. Israel has a right to defend it's civilians. The bad situation in Gaze seems to have it's roots in the Hamas movement and now Israel gets the blame … not correct. Don't let yourself be used for the wrong cause Amnesty!

  3. I am astounded by the fact that there are those who believe still that if you repeat a big life often enough it becomes fact! Mr. Luther is mistaken on so many counts. Israel has allowed humanitarian relief into Gaza, Hammas does
    not distribute it to their people. Israel DOES NOT target civilians, in fact they go out of their way to avoid collateral damage even at the cost of their soldiers lives. They have repeatedly warned civilians of impendidng fire only to have Hammas place crowds of civilians on rooftops to deter Israeli bombs. Hammas itself is responsible for the horrendous loss of Palestinian lives. Golda Meir said that "we will not have peace until the Palestinians love their children more than they hate us". We are obviously not there yet!

  4. It is too easy to look at the latest headlines and get upset, attend rallies, and issue more calls for peace.
    Any chance for a durable peace requires taking a step back and looking at the underlying dynamics of regional conflicts.
    We need to ask ourselves, "What is really going on here? Who is really fighting? And for what?"
    Then, and only then, may appropriate strategies be developed.

    Is is important to remember that the Gaza war closely resembles the conflicts of the Soviet Union-United States Cold War era.

    In the Cold War era the US, Soviet Union, and the People's Republic of China funneled arms and supplies to proxy states – who then warred against each other.
    The U.S.supplied Israel, the Soviet Union supplied Egypt and Syria, the countries of the Middle East fought the war.
    No American nor Soviet Union citizens were required to fight or to die.
    No Hot war, only a Cold one – fought by proxy states.
    It was an era of the conflict between East and West, communism vs. democracy and capitalism.

    Today the warring nation proxies are much the same – but the conflict has shifted and the suppliers faces have changed.
    The United States remains Israel's supporter, but the Palestinian state, with no capacity nor economy to fund their own war is being supported by Saudi Arabia, Iran, and other Muslim states.
    No Saudis nor Iranians citizens are required to fight and die.
    Oil supplies to western industrial states go uninterrupted, diplomats meet safely around embassy tables, the world wide press has a field day, we get excited while Palestinians and Israelis do the dying on television.
    No Hot war between western industrial states and Saudi Arabia and Iran, only another Cold war one fought by proxy states.
    Where once it was a conflict between East and West, communism vs. capitalism it has morphed into a conflict between western cultural values and traditional Muslim cultural values.
    A conflict between our Truth, our God, and the American way, vs their truth, Allah, and the Muslim way.
    Only we can't call it that.

  5. Philip Luther makes it sound like he's being even-handed when he speaks with concern about the 13 Israelis, including three civilians, who were killed during the war. He makes it sound like he is showing concern for Israeli suffering as well as Palestinian suffering. He cites that as one of the many reasons for AI intervening to stop Israel from fighting Hamas in Gaza. But where was AI when Hamas was shooting thousands of rockets at Israel before the war? There was no concern for Israeli suffering then. AI is shamelessly intervening on one side of the Gaza war, in support of Hamas and against Israel. Why doesn't AI say loudly and clearly that Hamas provoked Israel to defend itself and then intentionally put Gazan civilians in the line of fire as human shields? Why is AI supporting Hamas barbarity?

  6. I am a supporter of Amnesty International, but you are all wrong on this issue. Irael's attack on Hamas is self defense. They have firing rockets into Israel for months now. Israel has a much better case for war against Hamas than the U.S. had to go into Iraq and Afghanstan.

  7. Philip Luther is obviously misinformed. I just returned from Israel and they are not intentionally bombing civilians, they are bombing military targets. However, Hamas does fire weapons indiscriminitely into Israeli towns in order to kill civilians. Perhaps Hamas shouldn’t be using their own people as human shields. Hamas stores weapons in mosques, schools and in populated areas. Hamas does this on purpose so when there are civilain casualties, they will recieve simpathy from the world. Hamas is the terrorist organization, not Israel.
    I will never, ever support Amnesty International. Get the facts straight.

  8. This is a mistake, Amnesty does extremely good work but in this conflict it is not correct to put the blame on Israel. Hamas is using civilians as a shield, especially children. Israel has a right to defend it’s civilians. The bad situation in Gaze seems to have it’s roots in the Hamas movement and now Israel gets the blame … not correct. Don’t let yourself be used for the wrong cause Amnesty!

  9. I am astounded by the fact that there are those who believe still that if you repeat a big life often enough it becomes fact! Mr. Luther is mistaken on so many counts. Israel has allowed humanitarian relief into Gaza, Hammas does
    not distribute it to their people. Israel DOES NOT target civilians, in fact they go out of their way to avoid collateral damage even at the cost of their soldiers lives. They have repeatedly warned civilians of impendidng fire only to have Hammas place crowds of civilians on rooftops to deter Israeli bombs. Hammas itself is responsible for the horrendous loss of Palestinian lives. Golda Meir said that “we will not have peace until the Palestinians love their children more than they hate us”. We are obviously not there yet!

  10. It is too easy to look at the latest headlines and get upset, attend rallies, and issue more calls for peace.
    Any chance for a durable peace requires taking a step back and looking at the underlying dynamics of regional conflicts.
    We need to ask ourselves, “What is really going on here? Who is really fighting? And for what?”
    Then, and only then, may appropriate strategies be developed.

    Is is important to remember that the Gaza war closely resembles the conflicts of the Soviet Union-United States Cold War era.

    In the Cold War era the US, Soviet Union, and the People’s Republic of China funneled arms and supplies to proxy states – who then warred against each other.
    The U.S.supplied Israel, the Soviet Union supplied Egypt and Syria, the countries of the Middle East fought the war.
    No American nor Soviet Union citizens were required to fight or to die.
    No Hot war, only a Cold one – fought by proxy states.
    It was an era of the conflict between East and West, communism vs. democracy and capitalism.

    Today the warring nation proxies are much the same – but the conflict has shifted and the suppliers faces have changed.
    The United States remains Israel’s supporter, but the Palestinian state, with no capacity nor economy to fund their own war is being supported by Saudi Arabia, Iran, and other Muslim states.
    No Saudis nor Iranians citizens are required to fight and die.
    Oil supplies to western industrial states go uninterrupted, diplomats meet safely around embassy tables, the world wide press has a field day, we get excited while Palestinians and Israelis do the dying on television.
    No Hot war between western industrial states and Saudi Arabia and Iran, only another Cold war one fought by proxy states.
    Where once it was a conflict between East and West, communism vs. capitalism it has morphed into a conflict between western cultural values and traditional Muslim cultural values.
    A conflict between our Truth, our God, and the American way, vs their truth, Allah, and the Muslim way.
    Only we can’t call it that.

  11. You can't be right all the time.
    ———-
    Why don't you just ask Hamas to quit.

    It will the same amount of good.
    ————
    Why not spend some time on the instigator and not just on the retaliator.

    Why do the Palestinians allow Hamas to go anywhere they want and do anything they want.

    If I ran a rooming house and one of my tenants constantly attacked my neighbor, why should I be surprised when the neighbor starts fighting back.

    Is the neighbor really wrong?
    Maj. Charles E. Dills WWII fighter pilot 94 missions
    =============================================

  12. Israel broke the ceasefire on November the 4th 2008. Seems some here do not know that. Israel started this mess. The US should stop giving Israel weapons of mass destruction. Those in Israel will die from these weapons too, so will their soldiers. Nothing like a massive "Gas Chamber" for all including Israelis. The wind blows it goes.

  13. Philip Luther makes it sound like he’s being even-handed when he speaks with concern about the 13 Israelis, including three civilians, who were killed during the war. He makes it sound like he is showing concern for Israeli suffering as well as Palestinian suffering. He cites that as one of the many reasons for AI intervening to stop Israel from fighting Hamas in Gaza. But where was AI when Hamas was shooting thousands of rockets at Israel before the war? There was no concern for Israeli suffering then. AI is shamelessly intervening on one side of the Gaza war, in support of Hamas and against Israel. Why doesn’t AI say loudly and clearly that Hamas provoked Israel to defend itself and then intentionally put Gazan civilians in the line of fire as human shields? Why is AI supporting Hamas barbarity?

  14. I agree with most of the posts here. This is not the AI that I have supported for many years. AI is indeed on dangerous ground in equating Hamas and Israel. This mistaken comparison is also visible in Paul Zohav's statement that "Is [sic] is important to remember that the Gaza war closely resembles the conflicts of the Soviet Union-United States Cold War era."

    There is no comparison whatever. Israel is a nation. Hamas is not a nation. Hamas is nothing more than a paramilitary political party that currently holds a majority in the legislature of the Palestinian National Authority. Israel's charter does not call for the elimination of the Palestinians. Hamas' charter calls for the elimination of the nation of Israel. Hamas is recognized–correctly–as a terrorist organization by most of the civilized world. Israel is not.

    While I certainly agree with AI's call for humanitarian aid to the victims of war, I urge the AI leadership to stop its intimations that Israel is committing war crimes in its attempt to stop the smuggling of terrorists and weapons into Gaza and the Hamas rocket attacks on Israel. Hamas uses its own women and children as hostages against attack. It deliberately stores its weapons caches in hospitals, schools, and family homes–one of the most immoral forms of conduct one can imagine in a war. Israel actually makes telephone calls to Gaza homeowners who live near–or on top of–a Hamas weapons cache so that they can evacuate before it is bombed. The war deaths of those innocents are terrible indeed–and entirely the responsibility of Hamas.

  15. I am a supporter of Amnesty International, but you are all wrong on this issue. Irael’s attack on Hamas is self defense. They have firing rockets into Israel for months now. Israel has a much better case for war against Hamas than the U.S. had to go into Iraq and Afghanstan.

  16. those palestinians have no right to be upset that we drove them out of their homes by force back in the 40's. after what the Nazis did to us, anything we need to do to protect ourselves is justified–even if it means we do to the palestinians what the nazis did to us. those palestinians were and are in the way of our state, where only we have the god-given right to live, so we must get rid of them. we have the right to protect ourselves, but they don't, even though we started this by kicking them out of their homes and putting them in ghettos, like how the nazis did to us. if you disagree, you are a nazi.

  17. You can’t be right all the time.
    ———-
    Why don’t you just ask Hamas to quit.

    It will the same amount of good.
    ————
    Why not spend some time on the instigator and not just on the retaliator.

    Why do the Palestinians allow Hamas to go anywhere they want and do anything they want.

    If I ran a rooming house and one of my tenants constantly attacked my neighbor, why should I be surprised when the neighbor starts fighting back.

    Is the neighbor really wrong?
    Maj. Charles E. Dills WWII fighter pilot 94 missions
    =============================================

  18. Israel broke the ceasefire on November the 4th 2008. Seems some here do not know that. Israel started this mess. The US should stop giving Israel weapons of mass destruction. Those in Israel will die from these weapons too, so will their soldiers. Nothing like a massive “Gas Chamber” for all including Israelis. The wind blows it goes.

  19. I agree with most of the posts here. This is not the AI that I have supported for many years. AI is indeed on dangerous ground in equating Hamas and Israel. This mistaken comparison is also visible in Paul Zohav’s statement that “Is [sic] is important to remember that the Gaza war closely resembles the conflicts of the Soviet Union-United States Cold War era.”

    There is no comparison whatever. Israel is a nation. Hamas is not a nation. Hamas is nothing more than a paramilitary political party that currently holds a majority in the legislature of the Palestinian National Authority. Israel’s charter does not call for the elimination of the Palestinians. Hamas’ charter calls for the elimination of the nation of Israel. Hamas is recognized–correctly–as a terrorist organization by most of the civilized world. Israel is not.

    While I certainly agree with AI’s call for humanitarian aid to the victims of war, I urge the AI leadership to stop its intimations that Israel is committing war crimes in its attempt to stop the smuggling of terrorists and weapons into Gaza and the Hamas rocket attacks on Israel. Hamas uses its own women and children as hostages against attack. It deliberately stores its weapons caches in hospitals, schools, and family homes–one of the most immoral forms of conduct one can imagine in a war. Israel actually makes telephone calls to Gaza homeowners who live near–or on top of–a Hamas weapons cache so that they can evacuate before it is bombed. The war deaths of those innocents are terrible indeed–and entirely the responsibility of Hamas.

  20. those palestinians have no right to be upset that we drove them out of their homes by force back in the 40’s. after what the Nazis did to us, anything we need to do to protect ourselves is justified–even if it means we do to the palestinians what the nazis did to us. those palestinians were and are in the way of our state, where only we have the god-given right to live, so we must get rid of them. we have the right to protect ourselves, but they don’t, even though we started this by kicking them out of their homes and putting them in ghettos, like how the nazis did to us. if you disagree, you are a nazi.

  21. this is a translation of a translation of an article (written originally in Spanish, translated first into hebrew and then into English) by Pilar Raula (i may not have the right spelling…).
    anyway, it is important to read and spread theses unpopular but very true views of one brave (non – jewish) journalist.

    "why don't we see protests against islamic dictatorships in Paris, London or Barcelona? why aren't there protests against the slavery of millions of women who live without protection of the law? why aren't there protests against the use of children as human shields? why does no one care about the Israeli victims of terror attacks? why doesn't anyone stand up for the right of israel to exist and defend itself? why do people mix defending palestinians with the justification of palestinian terror?

    and the million dollar question: why is the european left and the world left so obsessed with waging war against two democracies – USA and Israel, instead of the worst dictatorships? two democracies that suffered the deadliest terror attacks in the world, but the left is not concerned with that…

    I read European-Palestinian forums that write passionately "we are for the freedom of all nationalities". not true! they were never worried about the freedom of the citizens of Syria, Iran, Yemen, Sudan etc. and they were never worried about the freedom that was taken away from the Palestinians living under the regime of the Islamic fundamentalists called Hamas. their only concern is to use the concept of palestinian freedom in the fight against Israeli freedom.

    lastly, the international press is no better. most journalists, when reporting about Israel,turn every Israeli act of defense into genocide. so many ridiculous things have been said and written about Israel, completely ignoring journalism codes of ethics. but, the same press never speaks of the parts of syria and iran in the violence against israel, about the brainwashing of the children to hate israel.
    when reporting casualties – when they are Palestinian – it's a tragedy, and when they are Jews – they are sneered upon or not reported at all.

    conclusion: i am not jewish. ideologically i belong to the left and i am a journalist. so why am i not against Israel like most of my colleges? because since i am not Jewish, i have the historical responsibility to fight the hatred of jews and, nowadays, the hatred of their country – israel. the fight against anti-Semitism doesn't belong to the Jews. it is the responsibility of the non-Jews.

    as a journalist, i am committed to the truth, without prejudice, lies and manipulation. the truth about israel is not being told, and as a leftist that stands for progress, i am committed to defend freedom, culture, co-existence, child education, and the principals of the ten commandments, that have become universal principals. moral principals that the islamic fundamentalism is destroying relentlessly.
    this means that as a non-jewish, leftist journalist, i have a triple moral commitment to israel, because the defeat of Israel is the defeat of progress, culture and freedom.
    Israel's fight, though the world refuses to see it, is the fight of the whole world!"

  22. this is a translation of a translation of an article (written originally in Spanish, translated first into hebrew and then into English) by Pilar Raula (i may not have the right spelling…).
    anyway, it is important to read and spread theses unpopular but very true views of one brave (non – jewish) journalist.

    “why don’t we see protests against islamic dictatorships in Paris, London or Barcelona? why aren’t there protests against the slavery of millions of women who live without protection of the law? why aren’t there protests against the use of children as human shields? why does no one care about the Israeli victims of terror attacks? why doesn’t anyone stand up for the right of israel to exist and defend itself? why do people mix defending palestinians with the justification of palestinian terror?

    and the million dollar question: why is the european left and the world left so obsessed with waging war against two democracies – USA and Israel, instead of the worst dictatorships? two democracies that suffered the deadliest terror attacks in the world, but the left is not concerned with that…

    I read European-Palestinian forums that write passionately “we are for the freedom of all nationalities”. not true! they were never worried about the freedom of the citizens of Syria, Iran, Yemen, Sudan etc. and they were never worried about the freedom that was taken away from the Palestinians living under the regime of the Islamic fundamentalists called Hamas. their only concern is to use the concept of palestinian freedom in the fight against Israeli freedom.

    lastly, the international press is no better. most journalists, when reporting about Israel,turn every Israeli act of defense into genocide. so many ridiculous things have been said and written about Israel, completely ignoring journalism codes of ethics. but, the same press never speaks of the parts of syria and iran in the violence against israel, about the brainwashing of the children to hate israel.
    when reporting casualties – when they are Palestinian – it’s a tragedy, and when they are Jews – they are sneered upon or not reported at all.

    conclusion: i am not jewish. ideologically i belong to the left and i am a journalist. so why am i not against Israel like most of my colleges? because since i am not Jewish, i have the historical responsibility to fight the hatred of jews and, nowadays, the hatred of their country – israel. the fight against anti-Semitism doesn’t belong to the Jews. it is the responsibility of the non-Jews.

    as a journalist, i am committed to the truth, without prejudice, lies and manipulation. the truth about israel is not being told, and as a leftist that stands for progress, i am committed to defend freedom, culture, co-existence, child education, and the principals of the ten commandments, that have become universal principals. moral principals that the islamic fundamentalism is destroying relentlessly.
    this means that as a non-jewish, leftist journalist, i have a triple moral commitment to israel, because the defeat of Israel is the defeat of progress, culture and freedom.
    Israel’s fight, though the world refuses to see it, is the fight of the whole world!”

  23. I can't beleive the comments I read. So much hate !!! ,and most of the writers said they were AI members ! I thought the goals, mission ,purpose , "raison d'etre " of AI were clear enough so we ,the members, were sharing a profond desire to be some decent, compassionate human beings .
    I was obviously wrong . Speaking about hope and change….reading most of the comments above didn't give a lot of hope for a change.
    Thank you to Amnesty to be there for some of us who still want to hope.

  24. Condemning violations made by Israel in this conflict does not equal supporting Hamas. I don't understand how people can support Israel blindly as if this conflict were black and white. Both Hamas and Israel have carried out heinous acts of violence that have resulted in civilian deaths. There is no justification for killing innocent civilians. Not because of so-called "WMDs" in Iraq, not in Gaza or Israel.

  25. I can’t beleive the comments I read. So much hate !!! ,and most of the writers said they were AI members ! I thought the goals, mission ,purpose , “raison d’etre ” of AI were clear enough so we ,the members, were sharing a profond desire to be some decent, compassionate human beings .
    I was obviously wrong . Speaking about hope and change….reading most of the comments above didn’t give a lot of hope for a change.
    Thank you to Amnesty to be there for some of us who still want to hope.

  26. Condemning violations made by Israel in this conflict does not equal supporting Hamas. I don’t understand how people can support Israel blindly as if this conflict were black and white. Both Hamas and Israel have carried out heinous acts of violence that have resulted in civilian deaths. There is no justification for killing innocent civilians. Not because of so-called “WMDs” in Iraq, not in Gaza or Israel.

  27. “If I were an Arab leader, I would never sign an agreement with Israel. It is normal; we have taken their country. It is true God promised it to us, but how could that interest them? Our God is not theirs. There has been Anti – Semitism, the Nazis, Hitler, Auschwitz, but was that their fault ? They see but one thing: we have come and we have stolen their country. Why would they accept that?”

    Which "rabid anti-semite" uttered these provocative words? David ben-Gurion!

    Mind you, he also said “We must expel the Arabs and take their places”. So not much room for compromise there, eh?

    As a contributing member of AI for many years it never ceases to amuse me how many governments and people support AI until it starts pointing the finger in their direction, whereupon it suddenly become "biased, prejudiced, corrupt, left-wing, misguided…".

    My experience through the decennia is that when AI is being viciously attacked, it's usually getting close to the truth…

  28. “If I were an Arab leader, I would never sign an agreement with Israel. It is normal; we have taken their country. It is true God promised it to us, but how could that interest them? Our God is not theirs. There has been Anti – Semitism, the Nazis, Hitler, Auschwitz, but was that their fault ? They see but one thing: we have come and we have stolen their country. Why would they accept that?”

    Which “rabid anti-semite” uttered these provocative words? David ben-Gurion!

    Mind you, he also said “We must expel the Arabs and take their places”. So not much room for compromise there, eh?

    As a contributing member of AI for many years it never ceases to amuse me how many governments and people support AI until it starts pointing the finger in their direction, whereupon it suddenly become “biased, prejudiced, corrupt, left-wing, misguided…”.

    My experience through the decennia is that when AI is being viciously attacked, it’s usually getting close to the truth…

  29. I think it would be useful if AI created an on-line petition so citizens of the world can sign it indicating the international population who wants Israel to stop bombing civilian sites in Gaza and enable more humanitarian aid. It would also give the Gazans some much needed hope that there are people in other countries who are raising their voices to provide them with the humanitarian aid they so desperately need.

  30. I think it would be useful if AI created an on-line petition so citizens of the world can sign it indicating the international population who wants Israel to stop bombing civilian sites in Gaza and enable more humanitarian aid. It would also give the Gazans some much needed hope that there are people in other countries who are raising their voices to provide them with the humanitarian aid they so desperately need.

  31. A basic requirement for brutality is the absence of moral clarity, rule of law and the control of information.
    Propaganda serves a short term need to whip up emotions and color the truth.
    This was obvious during the days of Goebbels, Stalin, and rule of the Bush Neo-cons. In a moral universe, ultimately, the truth surfaces and the Hitlers, Pol Pots, Pinochets, Milosovichs, Charles Taylors of the world are exposed.
    When the founders of the state of Israel were fighting the British in the 1940s they deemed as heroes of the Zionist movement. The founders of the US had to oppose the British in the War of Independence. To the British these agitators were subversionists(terrorists in todays terminology) In an ideal world, the Palestinians and Israelis would abandon the two state concept for a unified Palesrael where all citizens have equal rights. The next best thing would be an independent commission of reputable UN approved Nobel Peace prize laurates to broker a two state solution. What passes for a peace process where a powerful sovevereign state(Israel) with a well oiled international network of powerful individuals/organizations and the forced support of an otherwise powerful USA negotiates with a poorly organized, dependent, and weak Palestinian Authority (whose offices can be raided at will by Israel) is fundamentally flawed and unjust. As for the merits of the current Israeli invasion all one has to do for perspective is switch the antagonists. If the Israelis were in Gaza- trapped, with no meaninful defence and a powerful PA attacking them with all the instruments of modern warfare and where the life of every Palestinians is answered by the death of 100 Jews, the horror will be obvious. Strategically the deep question is what does Israel want long term? Is Israel willing to kill all Palestinians? If not then what goodwill does the state of Israel expect from the victims of this 'war'. A person with no legal recourse turns to violence. And if history is any teacher it tells us that its(history) long arch bends towards justice. When the real equation changes, as it will, what will be its effect on Israel?

  32. A basic requirement for brutality is the absence of moral clarity, rule of law and the control of information.
    Propaganda serves a short term need to whip up emotions and color the truth.
    This was obvious during the days of Goebbels, Stalin, and rule of the Bush Neo-cons. In a moral universe, ultimately, the truth surfaces and the Hitlers, Pol Pots, Pinochets, Milosovichs, Charles Taylors of the world are exposed.
    When the founders of the state of Israel were fighting the British in the 1940s they deemed as heroes of the Zionist movement. The founders of the US had to oppose the British in the War of Independence. To the British these agitators were subversionists(terrorists in todays terminology) In an ideal world, the Palestinians and Israelis would abandon the two state concept for a unified Palesrael where all citizens have equal rights. The next best thing would be an independent commission of reputable UN approved Nobel Peace prize laurates to broker a two state solution. What passes for a peace process where a powerful sovevereign state(Israel) with a well oiled international network of powerful individuals/organizations and the forced support of an otherwise powerful USA negotiates with a poorly organized, dependent, and weak Palestinian Authority (whose offices can be raided at will by Israel) is fundamentally flawed and unjust. As for the merits of the current Israeli invasion all one has to do for perspective is switch the antagonists. If the Israelis were in Gaza- trapped, with no meaninful defence and a powerful PA attacking them with all the instruments of modern warfare and where the life of every Palestinians is answered by the death of 100 Jews, the horror will be obvious. Strategically the deep question is what does Israel want long term? Is Israel willing to kill all Palestinians? If not then what goodwill does the state of Israel expect from the victims of this ‘war’. A person with no legal recourse turns to violence. And if history is any teacher it tells us that its(history) long arch bends towards justice. When the real equation changes, as it will, what will be its effect on Israel?

  33. Kofi,
    Palestinians, or rather hamas, are calling for the extermination of all israeli's. In fact Hamas is putting the effort of challenging Israel far in front of its efforts to make life bearable for its own people. Propaganda has nothing to do with that, nor strategically deep questions, the USA or whatever you want to add to the discussion. Being an atheist I can only feel sorry for the people suffering for which religion is both reason and excuse. This is so stupid, I can hardly believe it is really happening. Whoever gave these silly children weapons is the biggest criminal.

  34. Kofi,
    Palestinians, or rather hamas, are calling for the extermination of all israeli’s. In fact Hamas is putting the effort of challenging Israel far in front of its efforts to make life bearable for its own people. Propaganda has nothing to do with that, nor strategically deep questions, the USA or whatever you want to add to the discussion. Being an atheist I can only feel sorry for the people suffering for which religion is both reason and excuse. This is so stupid, I can hardly believe it is really happening. Whoever gave these silly children weapons is the biggest criminal.

  35. To the post by dannah nayblat on Jan 16.
    The correct spelling of the journalist name is: Pilar Rahola
    Read above an interview of her from before this conflict:

  36. To the post by dannah nayblat on Jan 16.
    The correct spelling of the journalist name is: Pilar Rahola
    Read above an interview of her from before this conflict:

  37. Condemn the rocketing of Israel from its neighbours then there will be no "wars" its that simple if you all care so much for the suffering people. Why wait to protect them and support their fight when they start being killed – condemn the source and reason for Israels "agression" and by so doing we will live in peace in the middle east.

  38. Condemn the rocketing of Israel from its neighbours then there will be no “wars” its that simple if you all care so much for the suffering people. Why wait to protect them and support their fight when they start being killed – condemn the source and reason for Israels “agression” and by so doing we will live in peace in the middle east.

  39. I refer my words to RJ's response on Jan.15TH: Sorry, RJ, you are neither Israeli, nor Jewish. No Israeli or Jew will talk like that. Next time say what ever you want to say, under your real identity. Shame on you!!!

  40. I refer my words to RJ’s response on Jan.15TH: Sorry, RJ, you are neither Israeli, nor Jewish. No Israeli or Jew will talk like that. Next time say what ever you want to say, under your real identity. Shame on you!!!

Comments are closed.