Israel takes steps to call up 75,000 reserves

[BigBadBrian]

link (http://www.foxnews.com/world/2012/11/16/war-looms-over-gaza-as-signs-mount-possible-israeli-invasion/)
JERUSALEM – Two rockets landed in open fields outside of Jerusalem after air raid sirens sounded in the city sending Israelis running for cover.

It is the first time the holy city has ever been targeted by rockets fired by Gaza militants. There does not appear to be any damage, or any reports of causalities.
Israeli media say the rocket fell north of Jerusalem, as witnesses say they saw a stream of smoke in Mevasseret Zion, a suburb.

Israeli police spokeswoman Micky Rosenfeld said the rocket landed in an open area near Gush Ezion, a collection of Jewish settlements in the West Bank southeast of the city.

In Gaza, Hamas militants said they had attacked Jerusalem. The attack marks a major escalation, both for its symbolism and its distance from the Palestinian territory. Jerusalem had been thought to be beyond the range of Gaza rocket squads.

“We are sending a short and simple message: There is no security for any Zionist on any single inch of Palestine and we plan more surprises,” Abu Obeida, a spokesman for the Hamas militant wing said.
Militants already have fired rockets into the southern outskirts of Tel Aviv on Thursday. The rocket attacks have not hurt anyone, but have caused panic.

Lt. Col. Avital Leibovich, a military spokeswoman, said the Israeli military had called 16,000 reservists to duty on Friday as it geared up for a possible ground offensive
She said the army had authority to draft an additional 14,000 soldiers. She would not say where the troops were deployed.

Egypt's prime minister rushed to the aid of the Gaza Strip's Hamas rulers Friday in the midst of an Israeli offensive there, calling for an end to the operation, as Palestinian rocket squads aimed at Tel Aviv for a second straight day. The visit served as a boost of solidarity for the Hamas militants who have vowed to resist the Israeli offensive.

Hopes of even a brief cease-fire were dashed after both sides accused the other of violating a proposed cease-fire during a visit by the prime minister of Egypt to Gaza.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had told Egypt that Israel was pre
pared to suspend its military offensive in the Gaza Strip during Prime Minister Hisham Kandil's three-hour visit there Friday.
However, Israel later said Hamas did not honor the deal, saying rockets fired from Gaza had hit several sites in southern Israel as Kandil was in the enclave.

Israel strongly denied it had carried out any attacks from the time Kandil entered Gaza, though Gaza militants claimed Israel had continued strikes during the visit.
Along the border Friday, Israeli tanks, armored vehicles and military bulldozers were parked in neat rows. Leibovich said all options are open, “including a ground operation.”
Netanyahu said the army was hitting Hamas hard with what he called surgical strikes, and warned of a "significant widening" of the Gaza operation. Israel will "continue to take whatever action is necessary to defend our people," said Netanyahu, who is up for re-election in January.
"We will continue the attacks and we will increase the attacks, and I believe we will obtain our objectives," said Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz, Israel's military chief.

An Israeli ground offensive could be costly to both sides. In the last Gaza war, Israel devastated large areas of the territory, setting back Hamas' fighting capabilities but also paying the price of increasing diplomatic isolation because of a civilian death toll numbering in the hundreds.
The current round of fighting is reminiscent of the first days of that three-week offensive against Hamas. Israel also caught Hamas off-guard then with a barrage of missile strikes and threatened to follow up with a ground offensive.

However, much has also changed since then.
Israel has improved its missile defense systems, but is facing a more heavily armed Hamas. Israel estimates militants possess 12,000 rockets, including more sophisticated weapons from Iran and from Libyan stockpiles plundered after the fall of Muammar Qaddafi's regime there last year.
Netanyahu, who has clashed even with his allies over the deadlock in Mideast peace efforts, appears to have less diplomatic leeway than his predecessor, Ehud Olmert, making a lengthy military offensive harder to sustain.

What's more, regional alignments have changed dramatically since the last Gaza war. Hamas has emerged from its political isolation as its parent movement, the region-wide Muslim Brotherhood, rose to power in several countries in the wake of last year's Arab uprisings, particularly in Egypt.
Egypt recalled its ambassador to protest the Israeli offensive and has ordered his prime minister to lead a senior delegation to Gaza on Friday in a show of support for Hamas.

At the same time, while relations with Israel have cooled since the toppling of longtime Egyptian leader Hosni Mubarak, Morsi has not brought a radical change in Egypt's policy toward Israel.
He has promised to abide by Egypt's 1979 peace deal with Israel and his government has continued contacts with Israel through its non-Brotherhood members.

In all, 23 Palestinians have been killed, including 11 civilians, according to Gaza health officials, and 250 people wounded. Three Israelis were killed when a rocket hit an apartment building in southern Israel.
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.

YAHOO

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Defence Minister Ehud Barak sought government approval on Friday to mobilize up to 75,000 reserve troops for Israel's Gaza campaign, political sources said, in a sign of preparations for a possible ground offensive.

The sources, speaking after Palestinian rockets were fired at Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, said ministers were being polled by telephone by the cabinet secretary to approve the call-up.
(Reporting by Maayan Lubell; Writing by Jeffrey Heller, Editing by Crispian Balmer)

[Va Beach VH Fan]

Dammit Obama, why aren't you doing more !!

[Satan]

If Benny NuttyYahoo were any other Middle Eastern dictator, all the Repukes would be demanding a "regime change".

What the fuck is the difference between this asshole and Saddam Hussein?

[Nitro Express]

Henry KISSINGER. Former secretary of state. Current savant of the state of the world. Do not argue with Mr. Kissinger’s know-how. He already knows how.

Middle East horror. Democratic party dissing Jerusalem. DC’s anti-Israel mentality. Obama, busy raising re-election funds, no time for beleaguered Netanyahu. The Oval Office attitude versus the Red Line. Iran’s oath to destroy our only friend in that part of the world.

Reported to me, Henry Kissinger has stated — and I quote the statement word for word: “In 10 years, there will be no more Israel.”

I repeat: “In 10 years, there will be no more Israel.”


http://www.nypost.com/p/pagesix/cindy_adams/no_more_israel_h4kjPIab5EtBjAxsWoFYoO

I think I agree with Dr. Kissinger on this one.

[Nitro Express]

If Benny NuttyYahoo were any other Middle Eastern dictator, all the Repukes would be demanding a "regime change".

What the fuck is the difference between this asshole and Saddam Hussein?
Hussein didn't have an arsenal of nuclear weapons.

[Satan]

http://www.nypost.com/p/pagesix/cindy_adams/no_more_israel_h4kjPIab5EtBjAxsWoFYoO

I think I agree with Dr. Kissinger on this one.

Fuck that war criminal son of a bitch, fuck NuttyYahoo, and fuck the Rupert Murdoch Post.

The world up there would be a better place without all three.

[Satan]

Hussein didn't have an arsenal of nuclear weapons.

Exactly.... but Chimpy used a made up lie that suggest he MIGHT have them to start a war. So why do we let the idiot who DOES have a nuclear arsenal bully whomever the fuck he wants to?

[Nitro Express]

Exactly.... but Chimpy used a made up lie that suggest he MIGHT have them to start a war. So why do we let the idiot who DOES have a nuclear arsenal bully whomever the fuck he wants to?

Actually if I was the president of Iran I would pursue getting a nuclear weapon. They are great defensive weapons and Iran is in a rough neighborhood. People are less likely to attack you. If Iran was a nuclear power the US wouldn't be saber rattling it like it does. If Iraq had nukes, we would have never invaded them. Somehow the US gets all gung ho on attacking non nuclear powers but avoids attacking countries with nukes. Shit. Why has Israel lasted this long? They have nukes.

[BigBadBrian]

Dammit Obama, why aren't you doing more !!

Like what?

[BigBadBrian]

Actually if I was the president of Iran I would pursue getting a nuclear weapon.

They already are. Anyone one who thinks otherwise is batshit crazy. :gulp:

[Nickdfresh]

http://www.nypost.com/p/pagesix/cindy_adams/no_more_israel_h4kjPIab5EtBjAxsWoFYoO

I think I agree with Dr. Kissinger on this one.

Kissinger didn't seem so wise on Cambodia and his misactions contributed to the deaths of millions there...

The only thing that will wipe Israel off the map would be its own stupid policies...

[Va Beach VH Fan]

Like what?

Sarcasm.... ;)

[ELVIS]

Let the propaganda begin...

[Seshmeister]

https://fbcdn-sphotos-g-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/481784_4336441203710_659546824_n.jpg

[Seshmeister]

https://fbcdn-sphotos-a-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/481747_4337843278761_1301950873_n.jpg


http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/11/15/article-2233248-16076B74000005DC-537_964x636.jpg

[ashstralia]

Fucking bullshit. If your neighbour kept chucking grenades in your yard for 55 years, you wouldn't eventually retaliate?

Oy Vey.

[Seshmeister]

What if it wasn't my yard...?

https://fbcdn-sphotos-g-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/32295_483817344974231_108539109_n.jpg

"When Israelis in the occupied territories now claim that they have to defend themselves, they are defending themselves in the sense that any military occupier has to defend itself against the population they are crushing... You can't defend yourself when you're militarily occupying someone else's land. That's not defense. Call it what you like, it's not defense."

~ Noam Chomsky

[Nitro Express]

Kissinger didn't seem so wise on Cambodia and his misactions contributed to the deaths of millions there...

The only thing that will wipe Israel off the map would be its own stupid policies...

What will do Israel in is the Palestinians have more children than the Jews do. It may take longer than ten years but at the end of the day, the Palestinians will have the largest population. Also, Israel needs our support to keep going. It looks like the tide is turning there as well.

The only way Israel is going to survive is to stop being a jewish state and be an inclusive state like the US is. Say everyone has equal citizenship no matter what their religion and race is. If they continue the exclusionary trip, they lose in the long-term.

[BigBadBrian]

What will do Israel in is the Palestinians have more children than the Jews do. It may take longer than ten years but at the end of the day, the Palestinians will have the largest population.

They'll just import some more Jews from Russia and eastern Europe.

[BigBadBrian]

"Palestine" was never a country. Israel gives them land and what do they do? Bomb and terrorize Israel. ​FUCK THEM!!!

[Nickdfresh]

"Palestine" was never a country.

Neither was Israel..


Israel gives them land and what do they do? Bomb and terrorize Israel. ​FUCK THEM!!!

Really, a few scraps of massively overpopulated land with high unemployment with no future for the kids and constant attacks? Gee, how ever does terrorism start?...

[ELVIS]

"Palestine" was never a country. Israel gives them land and what do they do? Bomb and terrorize Israel. ​FUCK THEM!!!

Your ability to simplify a complex situation is noteworthy...

Good thing you have FAUX and CNN to guide you...


:elvis:

[Angel]

"Palestine" was never a country. Israel gives them land and what do they do? Bomb and terrorize Israel. ​FUCK THEM!!!

Holy fuck...talk about people talking out of their ass!!!

Sent from my GS2, bitches

[BigBadBrian]

Holy fuck...talk about people talking out of their ass!!!


Try to argue that point, if you can. :gulp:

[BigBadBrian]

Your ability to simplify a complex situation is noteworthy...

Good thing you have FAUX and CNN to guide you...


Copying my quotes again, huh? You witless ass... :gulp:

[ELVIS]

What ??

You must be back on the shit again...

[Va Beach VH Fan]

You know I'm not religious at all, but having been to Jerusalem and toured there, it's a fascinating place....

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't the "Dome of the Rock" location claimed by all of the Christians, Jews and Muslims ??

[ELVIS]

It's claimed and occupied by Muslims currently...

The Dome of the Rock will be destroyed during the next world war and a temple will be constructed...

[Satan]

The Dome of the Rock was built on the former location of Solomon's Temple. The Temple was destroyed in AD 70 when the Romans told the Jews to get the HELL out of Jerusalem. Centuries later, the Muslims thought it looked like a good piece of real estate, so they built their own mosque there, and declared it the third holiest site in their religion.

Of course the problem with this is that the Jewish prophecies say that when the Messiah comes, there has to be a intact Temple built on the same location, and fundagelical Christians have interpreted vague biblical prophecies concerning my son, the Antichrist to be the "abomination of desolation" who dares to declare himself "God" while standing in this temple that currently doesn't exist.

So that's why you have folks like John "Fat Bastard" Hagee cheering on Nutty Yahoo in his paranoid lunatic obsessions. They WANT world war III and an all out genocidal assault on Islam, because they think it's the only way that the Dome of the Rock can be conveniently taken out of the way, so that Temple 3.0 can be built, and JC can come back.

Like JC couldn't find His way back to Jerusalem without one specific building being in one specific hole in the ground? Please....... For all the faith you mortals seem to have in my old friend, you sure don't give Him credit for much http://www.cosgan.de/images/smilie/teufel/d025.gif

[Va Beach VH Fan]

So like I said, all three religions claim the same spot, right ?

[jhale667]

So like I said, all three religions claim the same spot, right ?

Religions shouldn't get to "claim" real estate any fucking way.

[Va Beach VH Fan]

Religions shouldn't get to "claim" real estate any fucking way.

Agreed, you know what I mean dammit.... ;)

[Coyote]

So like I said, all three religions claim the same spot, right ?

Just those three? Can Scientology claim it too? What about the Church Of The SubGenius, dammit?!

[jhale667]

Agreed, you know what I mean dammit.... ;)

Yes, yes... ;)

[Nitro Express]

The Dome of the Rock was built on the former location of Solomon's Temple. The Temple was destroyed in AD 70 when the Romans told the Jews to get the HELL out of Jerusalem. Centuries later, the Muslims thought it looked like a good piece of real estate, so they built their own mosque there, and declared it the third holiest site in their religion.

Of course the problem with this is that the Jewish prophecies say that when the Messiah comes, there has to be a intact Temple built on the same location, and fundagelical Christians have interpreted vague biblical prophecies concerning my son, the Antichrist to be the "abomination of desolation" who dares to declare himself "God" while standing in this temple that currently doesn't exist.

So that's why you have folks like John "Fat Bastard" Hagee cheering on Nutty Yahoo in his paranoid lunatic obsessions. They WANT world war III and an all out genocidal assault on Islam, because they think it's the only way that the Dome of the Rock can be conveniently taken out of the way, so that Temple 3.0 can be built, and JC can come back.

Like JC couldn't find His way back to Jerusalem without one specific building being in one specific hole in the ground? Please....... For all the faith you mortals seem to have in my old friend, you sure don't give Him credit for much http://www.cosgan.de/images/smilie/teufel/d025.gif

Actually it was Harrod's temple that was destroyed in 70AD by Titus. The Romans used the loot to build the Colosseum in Rome. Still standing outside the Colosseum is the arch of Titus celebrating all the spoils they took from the temple. Harrod's temple was actually the third jewish temple on the site with the original Solomon's temple being destroyed long before Harrod enlarged the temple mount and built his grand temple.

[Nitro Express]

Religions shouldn't get to "claim" real estate any fucking way.

It's just the real life version of the game Age of Empires. You can either conquer people with an army or brainwash them with religion. New religions like UFO cults and Earth Worship have come out in the 20th Century. If we get rid of Jesus and Mohammad people will just reinvent something else. It will never go away. What Ron L. Hubbard nailed is he made superstition look scientific for the modern age.

[ashstralia]

Actually it was Harrod's temple.

Isn't that a big shop in London? :)

[Nitro Express]

I don't think the department store in London was built by the same Harrod.

[BigBadBrian]

Israel Sends Hamas 36-Hour Ultimatum



Israel has delivered an ultimatum to Hamas through Egypt,according to which the IDF will widen its offensive in Gaza in 36 hours unless Hamas ceases firing rockets and smuggling arms into Gaza, IDF Radio reported Monday morning. Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz told the station that the time left before Israel steps up its attack can be measured in "hours, not days."

"We are at a junction," he said. "Either we go toward a calm or toward a meaningful widening of the operation… including a possible move to achieve complete military decision."There are ongoing contacts between Israel and Hamas through intermediaries, IDF Radio said, but the gaps between the sides are still very large. According to reports in Cairo, Hamas demands a complete removal of the blockade on Gaza, an IDF commitment to stop crossing the security fence into Gaza and a cessation of targeted killings.

Israel, for its part, demands that Hamas cease firing rockets into Israel for a period of "several years" and a cessation of arms smuggling into Gaza. Israel agrees to Hamas's demand that the Rafiah crossing into Egypt be opened, but refuses to open crossings into Israel.Hamas official Moussa Abu Marzuk said that Hamas will not agree to Israel's demands for a "security belt" on Gaza's eastern side, and a cessation of smuggling through the tunnels.Voice of Israel public radio quoted a senior source in Jerusalem as saying that the question of whether Egypt can broker a ceasefire will be resolved Monday. A senior minister said that Israel will have to agree to a certain relaxation of the blockade of Gaza in return for long-term quiet on the southern border.

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/162236#.UKp2HaU0sbU

[BigBadBrian]

Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz told the station that the time left before Israel steps up its attack can be measured in "hours, not days."


:gun:

[ELVIS]

You like that, huh ??

[FORD]

Hamas was created by Mossad, just like Al Qaeda was created by BCE/CIA.

Their big idea was to take away the PLO's political clout by creating an even more radical Palestinian group.

Look how well that worked out for them......

[BigBadBrian]

He was the First Beast.



Then the following moron must be "The Obamanation of Desolation"


http://cdn.motinetwork.net/politifake.org/image/political/1207/the-obamanation-of-desolation-obama-politics-1341380573.jpg

[BigBadBrian]

Two major Israeli newspapers are reporting that rockets fired from Egypt have hit Israel.

"Terrorists in the Sinai Peninsula launched rockets into Israel Friday night," reports the Jerusalem Post. "The rockets fell near an Israeli village on the southern border, causing some damage, but no injuries."

The Israeli daily Haaretz reports, "Rockets fired from direction of Egypt toward Eshkol Regional Council."

It appears no damage was reported in connection with the rocket fire from Egypt. Earlier today, the Egyptian prime minister visited Gaza to express solidarity with the Palestinians there.

This new front comes a day after a rocket landed near Tel Aviv and on the same day Israel's capital Jerusalem was the target of rocket fire. Those attacks were courtesy of Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

"After Tel Aviv metropolitan area, capital under fire too: An air raid siren was sounded in Jerusalem and surrounding communities early Friday evening. After residents reported hearing blast sounds, security forces confirmed that one rocket had landed in the Gush Etzion area near a Palestinian village," Ynet reports.

"There were no reports of injuries or damage. This was the first air raid siren sounded in the area since the IDF launched Operation Pillar of Defense in the Gaza Strip. Air raid sirens were sounded in southern communities throughout the day and a barrage of missiles hit the area."

.weeklystandard.com/blogs/report-rockets-fired-egypt-hit-israel_663502.html

[FORD]

Weakly Standard? Isn't that the Murdoch owned publication ran by PNAC warmonger Bill Kristol?

Yeah, now there's a valid source for any information in the Middle East. It's pretty much the equivalent of getting directions to a steakhouse from a PETA convention.

[Nitro Express]

Hamas was created by Mossad, just like Al Qaeda was created by BCE/CIA.

Their big idea was to take away the PLO's political clout by creating an even more radical Palestinian group.

Look how well that worked out for them......

Israel was a zionist state from the get go set up by European oligarchs. The ancient jews never used the star of David but used the menorah. A lot of what people call judism today is a bunch of later invented hocus pocus to play geopolitical games with. The Jews are being played, the Christians are being played, the Muslims are being played. These groups have been played off of each other for a very long time by mostly bankers. If people really wanted to be free, they would dump organized religion because it is the great enslaver.

[BigBadBrian]

Weakly Standard? Isn't that the Murdoch owned publication ran by PNAC warmonger Bill Kristol?

Yeah, now there's a valid source for any information in the Middle East. It's pretty much the equivalent of getting directions to a steakhouse from a PETA convention.

Don't give me any of your "let's shoot the messenger" shit after all the nonsense from nonsense sources you post from. It shows a basic laziness in you that you don't want to argue the facts.

[FORD]

OK, let's argue the facts....

Fact one: The Likud Party of Israel is the single greatest terrorist threat in the Middle East.

Fact two: Benjamin Netanyahu is a paranoid maniacal dictator determined to start World War III.

Fact three: Hamas was a Mossad creation, therefore Mossad is to blame for what their Frankenstein monster has done, just as the BCE is ultimately responsible for anything and everything ever done in the name of "Al Qaeda".

Fact four: Any media outlet owned by Rupert Murdoch is by its very nature completely incapable of telling the truth.

[BigBadBrian]

OK, let's argue the facts....

Fact one: The Likud Party of Israel is...

You just lost right there. :gulp:

[FORD]

So you don't actually want to discuss facts at all. You just want to post PNAC propaganda and ridiculous pictures depicting the President as Satan.

[Nickdfresh]

then the following moron must be "the obamanation of desolation"


http://cdn.motinetwork.net/politifake.org/image/political/1207/the-obamanation-of-desolation-obama-politics-1341380573.jpg

Four more years!!

[BigBadBrian]

Four more years!!

Unfortunately. Fortunately though, we have a Republican House. :killer:

[Zing!]

Just those three? Can Scientology claim it too? What about the Church Of The SubGenius, dammit?!

If they were smart they would claim Branson, MO as the holy land. They've got Shoji, the Presley's, tons of celebrity impersonators, Dolly Parton's Dixie Stampede... Plus everyone's already saved or born again (while secretly living immoral lifestyles). What's not to love?

[Nitro Express]

The Republicans and Democrats are who ruined the country. These parties need to go as do political parties in general. It's the people in the middle who have the most sanity and are the most productive. Neither party represents the middle. One panders to religious extremism and the other panders to people who want everything from the government. You can have Marxism or a theocracy. Oh goody. Really. We need to start electing people and not parties and if we continue the party bullshit, it will just be business as usual.

[Satan]

Unfortunately. Fortunately though, we have a Republican House. :killer:

Yes... because the best way to solve the fiscal problems of your country is to send the Randtard neanderthal who just lost the election to the negotiating table.

Dragonshit. You cannot "compromise" with irrational fascist lunatics.

[Satan]

If they were smart they would claim Branson, MO as the holy land. They've got Shoji, the Presley's, tons of celebrity impersonators, Dolly Parton's Dixie Stampede... Plus everyone's already saved or born again (while secretly living immoral lifestyles). What's not to love?

I'm sure the Mormons would dispute that claim. Contrary to popular belief, they think Missouri is the holy land, not Utah. They only went to Utah because they got chased out. But it's no coincidence that the Osmonds spend more time in Branson than they do in Provo these days.

[Nitro Express]

I'm sure the Mormons would dispute that claim. Contrary to popular belief, they think Missouri is the holy land, not Utah. They only went to Utah because they got chased out. But it's no coincidence that the Osmonds spend more time in Branson than they do in Provo these days.
Actually the modern Mormon Church really is a large holding company. They are one of the biggest land owners in the US. They own assets worldwide. Technically, they are back in Missouri. They own land there. I don't think you ever will see the church relocate out of Utah. They control it politically and moving into Missouri only means moving into a place you don't control politically and there is nothing to gain.

The Mormons will just simply ignore an old prophecy and make up new ones to fit the current times.

[Satan]

Neither party represents the middle.

Both parties CLAIM to represent "the middle".

Reality is you have one party that represents the corporate right (DLC false "Democrats") and one that represents teabagging delusional batshit crazy lunatics (Republicans).

NEITHER party is speaking for anybody left of Reagan's stinking rotted corpse, which is where most of the people actually are. In fact when it comes down to asking individuals what they actually believe, the overwhelming majority of them would actually have more in common with a candidate like Rocky Anderson or Jill Stein. But the combination of the corporate whore media, and Shittyzens United propaganda spamming makes sure that they have no idea such candidates even exist.

[Zing!]

But it's no coincidence that the Osmonds spend more time in Branson than they do in Provo these days.

Exactamundo! See what we just accomplished there? World peace is in our grasp - and it all started here at the Roth Army!

[Nickdfresh]

There is talk of a truce deal soon...

[Kristy]

There is talk of a truce deal soon...

Really? When all this time Iran is pushing for more weapons to Hamas? Nothing like a fair(er) fight for Israel is there?

[Nickdfresh]

The Israelis really don't want to go into Gaza, less than one third of the Israeli population wants to see this...

[FORD]

The Israelis really don't want to go into Gaza, less than one third of the Israeli population wants to see this...

And yet they keep electing Likud psychos for Prime Ministers. And they can't even blame it on electro-fraud machines. What's up with that?

[Seshmeister]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/nov/20/israelis-talk-fear-palestinians-death

'Israelis talk about fear, we Palestinians talk about death'

The current war in Gaza will lead to little other than more dead civilians and a fresh impetus to fight, say its residents
Share

http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/About/General/2012/11/20/1353438371120/A-Palestinian-woman-cries-010.jpg


A Palestinian woman cries next to a relative's house after it was destroyed in an Israeli air strike in Beit Lahiya. Photograph: Suhaib Salem/Reuters
Mohammed al-Khoudry was staring at the rubble of a house where two young children and their father died on Tuesday.

"I've really tried to understand the Israelis. I used to work on a farm in Israel. I speak Hebrew. I watch their news. All the time they talk about fear. How they have to run to their bunkers to hide from the rockets. How their children can't sleep because of the sirens. This is not a good way for them to live," said Khoudry, who now scrapes a living growing his own produce.

"We Palestinians don't talk about fear, we talk about death. Our rockets scare them; their rockets kill us. We have no bomb shelters, we have no sirens, we have nowhere we can take our children and keep them safe. They are scared. We are dying."

The dying continued on Tuesday even as a ceasefire was being negotiated. The victims included Suhaib and Mohammed Hejazi, aged three and four, and their father Fuad, killed when an Israeli missile hit their house in Beit Lahiya as they were sleeping. The boys' mother, Amna, was badly wounded.

As the day wore on, and word came from Cairo that a halt to the violence may be just hours away, the bombardment intensified with Israeli missile strikes on cars in Gaza City and buildings to the north. Scores of casualties were packed into ambulances.

The Palestinian death toll rose above 120, a large number of them civilians, including at least 27 children. In Israel, three people, all civilians, have been killed by the hundreds of rockets fired from the Gaza enclave.

Khoudry joined the funeral procession for the Hejazi brothers through the streets of Beit Lahiya. The boys were swaddled in white cloth and Hamas flags. They might have been mistaken for sleeping if it weren't for the bruising and cuts to their faces.

A few hours after the funeral, the shelling gave way to a different bombardment: thousands of leaflets floating down on Beit Lahiya warning of worse to come. They told tens of thousands of people to get out of parts of northern and eastern Gaza nearest to the Israeli border. Some families did not hesitate, although they were not sure what the leaflets meant. Was it to warn of even more bombing? Or were the tanks on their way? What did it mean for a ceasefire?

Israel has sent its armour tanks into northern Gaza often enough that Palestinians around Beit Lahiya – where the open ground has been a favourite launching site for rockets into Israel – know what to expect.

Within hours, hundreds of people were following the explicit Israeli instructions to take specific roads to Gaza City and shelter there. Others headed to United Nations-run schools in the hope they would be protected from attack. But some stayed put, saying they had nowhere to go or that they would take their chances.

The deaths of the Hejazi brothers was regarded by many in Beit Lahiya not only as a tragedy but a crime.

If Israelis live in fear of the randomness of Hamas rockets, Gazans have a perhaps over-confident sense of Israel being in absolute control of where its missiles land.

On Sunday, Fateh Nasser, a resident of a block of flats in neighbouring Jabaliya that was home to five families, received a phone call in which an anonymous voice told him that everyone had five minutes to get out of the building. Minutes later it was destroyed by an Israeli missile. That sense of Israeli all-pervasiveness draws many Palestinians towards what they say is an inevitable conclusion.

"If they know who to call, then they know who they are killing," said Mohammed Yunis at his vegetable stall. "They know every inch of Gaza. They have maps from the occupation. They have cameras in the drones. How can it be an accident that our children are killed?"

Other leaflets dropped by the Israelis on Tuesday warned Palestinians to stay away from Hamas.

That's not easy even if the Hamas leadership and functionaries, such as policemen, have gone underground over the past week, or are at least sticking to the shadows. Hamas has abandoned police stations, government offices and the border post from northern Gaza into Israel. Instead, passport control is at a small desk far from the frontier.

But if the Israeli intent is to try and break Hamas's authority in the enclave, there's little sign that is working. No one else, least of all its rival, Fatah, which controls those parts of the West Bank run by the Palestinian Authority, is stepping into the breach.

And if anyone was in any doubt that Hamas continues to exert a form of authority, even from the shadows, the bodies of six men alleged to be collaborators with Israel were dumped on a Gaza City street on Tuesday afternoon. Some of their bodies were dragged through the streets, tied to the backs of motorcycles driven by armed men.

Few Palestinians are prepared to publicly question whether the one-sided battle of the past week has been worth it, mostly out of solidarity with the right of resistance against Israel. The hoped-for truce is presented as a victory on the streets.

"The Jews brought all their tanks to the edge of Gaza and then they thought about what would happen if they came here," said Ayman Salameh, after attending the Hejazi boys' funeral. "Many Palestinians would die, yes. But so would many Israelis. For what? Do they think the resistance will go away? They will have to kill every Palestinian. They know this. It is the lesson the Americans learned in Iraq and Afghanistan. When resistance is everywhere, the size of your guns doesn't matter."

But ask about why the fighting happened in the first place and a less belligerent answer is sometimes offered.

Khoudry said the bloodletting was provoked by the Israeli prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, because he has an election coming up.

"Killing Palestinians makes him look strong. It is good politics in Israel," he said, adding cryptically: "He is lucky he has Hamas."

What does he mean?Khoudry hesitates. "Hamas will always fight," he said.

[Seshmeister]

Interesting someone else is using that diagram I posted.

It's annoying as hell when the only argument in response is that it is anti-semetic. How the is it in any way?

[ELVIS]

Because average people these days know jack shit about jack...

[Nickdfresh]

A ceasefire between Hamas and Israel has just been announced...

[Kristy]

A ceasefire between Hamas and Israel has just been announced...

And this just flew out of my ass:flypig:

[Nickdfresh]

And this just flew out of my ass:flypig:

You should really get that checked out...

[BigBadBrian]

And this just flew out of my ass:flypig:

That evidently hasn't been the only foreign object in your ass lately. :gulp:

[BigBadBrian]

A ceasefire between Hamas and Israel has just been announced...

Oh...and Good!!!