Israeli military says it's resumed Gaza airstrikes

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP-Excite

JERUSALEM (AP) — The Israeli military says it has resumed airstrikes on Gaza after Hamas militants violated a de-escalation brokered by Egypt.

Military spokesman Lt. Col. Peter Lerner says that after holding its fire for six hours Israel has "resumed operational activities."

The military says that during the six hours Gaza militants fired about 50 rockets all over Israel. No injuries were reported.

FULL short LBN at link.



A Palestinian talks on a mobile phone as he walks on the rubble of a damaged house following an overnight Israeli missile strike in Gaza City, Tuesday, July 15, 2014. Egypt presented a cease-fire plan Monday to end a week of heavy fighting between Israel and Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip that has left at least 185 people dead, and both sides said they were seriously considering the proposal. The late-night offer by Egypt marked the first sign of a breakthrough in international efforts to end the conflict. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis)


Read more: http://apnews.excite.com/article/20140715/ml--israel-palestinians-5f89ae86ad.html

[earthside]

1. Evidence that Israel is a Failed State

Bombing one of the most densely populated areas on the planet is surely a sign of a government that has run-out of positive, democratic, civilized policies.

The airstrikes won't stop the ineffective missile launches out of the Gaza, so tactically the bombing is little more that a maneuver to persuade the Palestinians through terror.

When one of the world's largest and best financed militaries (thanks U.S. taxpayer) has to resort to essentially killing fish in a barrel, then the failure of the Israeli government is evident.

The more I think and reflect on this situation, the more I am convinced that Israel has gotten off on a very destructive and morally bankrupt course (the rising rhetoric calling for the genocide of the Palestinians being the chilling example).

Israel holds all the military, 'legal' and economic power -- it is its primary responsibility to step-up and pro-actively propose bold and perhaps radical solutions to this festering situation. A conservative, stick-in-the-mud politician like Netenyahu is simply the wrong leader to deal with pip squeaky, militants like Hamas -- really, he is letting them define and direct the present circumstances.

[samsingh]

2. so Israel honored the ceasefire, missiles were launched at them, they then returned fire

and they are the aggressors?

[earthside]

5. Equivalence?

There isn't any equivalence here.

The Palestinians in the Gaza have a flyswatter and the Israelis have atomic bombs (that's almost literally true).

Israel actually has a moral obligation to rise above the use of brute force; one would think that progressives, civil libertarians and peace advocates could understand this imperative for Israel.

[IronGate]

6. No, Israel has a moral obligation to defend their country against aggression,

which the terrorist org., Hamas, is waging with rocket fire into Israel, even after Israel accepted the cease-fire.

[cpwm17]

8. What right do the Palestinians have to defend themselves?

From the Palestinian Nakba in 1947/1948 Israel has done nothing but bomb the Palestinians, steal the Palestinians' land and resources and ethnically cleans them of their own land, and oppress the Palestinian such that South Africans widely consider Israel a worse Apartheid state than South Africa ever was.

This is a holy war against the natives. Israelis seem to think that ancient mythology gives them a right to behave this way.

[hack89]

9. How is shooting rockets at Israeli cities self defense?

I could understand attacking the Israeli military but they are making no attempt to do that.

[cpwm17]

11. I'm not the one that is defending the violence

including the rockets.

IronGate was defending Israel's aggressions while disregarding the main victims in all of this mess. Palestinian lives don't appear to mean shit to him.

[IronGate]

18. " Palestinian lives don't appear to mean shit to him."

That's a lie, the one's who don care about Palestinian lives is the terror org, Hamas, who hide among the civilian population, set up firing positions in civilian areas, use civilians as human shields.
And Israel is responding to the rocket fire coming from the Gaza Strip via the terror org, Hamas, which are the one's that rejected the cease fire which, BTW, Israel accepted.

[cpwm17]

37. Israel went on a rampage throughout Palestine

after those kids were murdered. That provoked the rocket fire which gave Israel an excuse to continue its collective punishment against the captive victims. That was Israel's goal after the the kids were murdered.

Israel already knew the kids were likely dead but they withheld that info to go on their rampage, allegedly to find the missing kids. The murders were a crime committed by a few people. Israel used this as an excuse to collectively punish the Palestinians and to destroy the Palestinians' new unity government.

Israel had a tape of the murder, but they issued a gag order to prevent the public from finding out that the victims were likely already dead: http://www.jpost.com/Operation-Brothers-Keeper/In-extended-version-of-kidnapped-teens-call-to-police-murderers-heard-singing-in-celebration-361270

Israeli authorities lied to the parents and told them the kids were likely still alive and that the gun shots heard on the tapes were blanks: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/182438#.U8UuZZRdWSp

Israel is a brutal, racist apartheid nation. It is easy to get people that are already racist to support racist policy. Only those that want to be fooled can be fooled.

[earthside]

10. Hamas apparently didn't accept the cease-fire.

A cease-fire can be one-sided, a truce is usually two-sided; Israel didn't accept a truce so far as I can tell.

'Aggression' and 'who started it', of course, can be in the eye of the beholder.

But there won't be any end to this and there will be tragedy for Israelis and Palestinians unless someone in Tel Aviv steps outside the destructive paradigm of the "moral obligation to defend their country against aggression".

That standard template has given us thousands of years of war and destruction -- and it especially won't solve the Palestine-Israel problem.

[IronGate]

14. Israel did accept the cease fire, Hamas rejected it.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/07/15/mideast-conflict-palestinian-rocket-fire_n_5586930.html

Israel stopped operations for 6 hours while the terrorist org., Hamas, kept on firing rockets into Israel, how long was Israel supposed to put up with this aggression?

[Ash_F]

12. Then go after Hamas.

Hamas is not aiming at military targets and neither is Israel.

Gaza has one of the highest population densities in the world. It is a giant ghetto. The residents have nowhere to run.

[IronGate]

16. They are going after the terrorist org, Hamas,

problem is that they're hiding among the Palestinian civilians, using civilian areas as launching positions for those rockets, and using civilians as human shields.

[Comrade Grumpy]

21. "Israel to Pay Students for Social Media Propaganda"

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2013/08/14/israel-pay-students-propaganda_n_3755782.html

Israel has announced it will pay university students to circulate pro-Israeli information on social media networks, without having to identify themselves as working for the government.

The move was publicised in a statement from Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office, the Associated Press reported. Students will receive scholarships to "engage international audiences online" and combat anti-Semitism and calls to boycott Israel, it was alleged.

In 2012, a Palestinian-run blog reported similar arrangements between the National Union of Israeli Students and the Israeli government. Students would be paid $2,000 to post pro-Israel messages online for five hours a week.

According to Israeli daily newspaper Haaretz, the most recent proposition is being spearheaded by Danny Seaman, who was slammed by the media for writing anti-Muslim messages on Facebook.

Students will be organised into units at each university, with a chief co-ordinator who receives a full scholarship, three desk co-ordinators for language, graphics and research who receive lesser scholarships and students termed “activists” who will receive a “minimal scholarship”, the Independent reported.

[IronGate]

24. So what?

You don't think the terror org, Hamas, is doing the same thing?

[cali]

60. I expect more from a democracy than a terrorist organization. do you have any idea

what you just said?

[Ash_F]

22. Then open the border and let the refugees out of there

Gaza has one of the highest population densities in the world. It is a human rights disaster, even without bombing.

[IronGate]

23. That I can agree with, but Hamas seems to have a differing opinion on that,

they want civilian casualties for the propaganda value.

Hamas should just accept the cease fire and then both sides sit down and work towards a lasting peace without all the rhetoric.

[Ash_F]

25. It wasn't Hamas that built that wall. /nt

[IronGate]

26. No, it was because of the terror org, Hamas, that the wall got built.

[Ash_F]

29. Indeed it was Native American violence that threw them into reservations.

Is this the 1800s?

[Nihil]

38. No internet in the 1800s but exactly the same mindsets.

"What? Those uppity ^%$£* think that they should be treated like normal civilised people?
Even after we've set aside this currently unwanted land for them? The ungrateful wretches!"

[hack89]

39. How many suicide bombings in Israel since the wall was built?

Hamas' action made the wall necessary. Unless you believe suicide bombings are a legitimate weapon against Israeli civilians.

[Ash_F]

43. How many non-suicide bombers live on the other side?

Punitive racial discrimination of entire populations is a crime and unbefitting of the support of modern America.

'Build the dang wall', huh?

[hack89]

44. They are the ones that voted in a government that recruits and trains suicide bombers

They also appear to enthusiastically support terror attacks on Israel.

The solution to suicide bombers is simple - the government of Gaza has to accept their responsibility and ensure there are no suicide bombers.

You seem to feel that Israel has to accept suicide bombers. That is pretty fucked up.

[Ash_F]

45. Nonsense. The Gaza government is a farce and has no power. Only Israel.

The citizens of Gaza are non-citizen subjects of Israel, just like Native Americans and Blacks in the US. Their well being is the responsibility of Israel.

[hack89]

46. So Israel has the legal right to enter Gaza and capture and arrest criminals and terrorists?

Is that what you believe?

[Ash_F]

47. They do that already. /nt

[hack89]

48. Israeli police never routinely enter Gaza

I am talking about Israeli police entering Gaza daily to investigate and arrest criminals and terrorist. Not infrequent military incursions in response to rocket attacks.

[Ash_F]

49. You are wrong about that one

They enter homes and arrest people in Gaza. There are plenty of videos of this online. Whether the arrestees ever receive fair justice is another matter.

[hack89]

50. You are confusing Gaza with the West Bank

Gaza has its own police force.

[Ash_F]

51. Perhaps that needs to worked out in Gaza as well

But justice would have to be more fair(less racist) than what we have seen so far.
Explain this one:

Tariq Abu Khdeir Was Beaten By Israeli Police

It should also come with equal rights for Palestinians. Freedom of movement. Right to buy property, intermarry, work jobs other than low pay manual labor, access to education and healthcare, ect.

Native Americans have stopped fighting the American government. Mostly because they were almost wiped out, but partially because they have the above listed rights. Not to say that discrimination is gone, of course.

Israel should give not being racist shot, see how it goes.

[hack89]

52. Sure, once Hamas can demonstrate a commitment to no violence

tie increased rights to periods of peace. After 6 months of no attacks you get X. After a year you get Y. After 5 years you get Z. Anytime there is a terrorist attack the clock goes back to zero.

There has to be trust. Israel has to trust that Hamas will not attack them because the things Hamas wants will make it much easier for them to attack Israel. Trust has to be earned.

[Ash_F]

53. Is that how you think the civil rights movement in the US should have been handled?

How about South Africa?

"No rights for Blacks until the end of Black Violence!"

These are not excuses for racist policy. You did not explain the video to me either.

Can you explain this one:

http://www.haaretz.com/opinion/an-inconveivable-crime.premium-1.484110

What exactly did Black Isaeli Jews do to deserve this treatment, other that risk clouding the Israeli right's dream of racial purity?

[hack89]

54. If black suicide bombers had been blowing up white buses and churches in the 1960's

do you really think there would have been a civil rights movement?

[Ash_F]

55. Well, first of all, you should probably do some reading on Black and Native American history

It might set you straight.

I am talking about racist policy. there is no excuse for racist policy and institutional racism.

Secondly, you still have not commented on either story.

[King_David]

56. You do not seem to realize the wall is not in Gaza and Israel disengaged from Gaza a long time ago,

I think ,look on a map and discover the difference between Gaza and the West bank.

[King_David]

57. The wall is not in Gaza

[Ash_F]

59. I hear the minutemen need volunteers. /nt

[humbled_opinion]

7. Weapon equivalence is moot

19 Islamic men had box cutters and managed to kill nearly 3000 Americans. Where is your moral outrage on the terror group that initiates the destruction? This conflict always reminds me of the scene in Independence day where the President is speaking to the alien that was captured by Will Smith and the President says "Can there be a Peace" and the Alien replies "no Peace" and the President continues "What do you want from us" and Hamas replies "DIE"!

[earthside]

17. And look where that got us.

How many killed and maimed in Afghanistan? How many killed and maimed in Iraq?
And our U.S. economy debilitated because of those costly wars.

Bush/Cheney fell for the old tried notion that brute force and mass destruction solves the problem for us because ... we have the biggest and mostest army.

'Weapon equivalence' does matter -- it is an indicator of the underlying approach that has to be considered if a peaceful solution is ever to be found. Nineteen men with box cutters can lead a massive power like the U.S. into a self-destructive trap, because people like Bush/Cheney are short-sighted, greedy, warmongers. Netanyahu and the current Israeli government look to be of the Bush/Cheney attitude; they are 'leaders' with little minds who cannot be smarter and wiser than their enemies.

Pounding the residents of Gaza and Hamas into the ground won't work -- it will only lead to another cycle of guerrilla terrorism and more hate.

[humbled_opinion]

34. You make great points

especially about American over reaction and idiotic all out war but your premise is flawed, the radicals are the instigators the initiatorsof the violence, IMHO they would have more power if they used peaceful means to meet their objectives vis-a-vis MLK and Mandela....

[former9thward]

3. Hamas rejected the Egyptian ceasefire.

Israel accepted it. Hamas continues to fire rockets. Hamas wants war.

[IronGate]

4. The terrorist org,. Hamas, wants more injured and dead Palestinians for

their propaganda against Israel, however, it seems to be backfiring on them.

[Calista241]

13. So Netenyahu is just supposed to bend over and let Hamas fire rockets into Israel?

I can't think of a single country that would accept that premise. 9 years ago, Israel withdrew from the Gaza Strip. This was widely hailed as a positive first step towards a permanent peace. The VERY next year, the Palestinians elected a terror group to lead them and started launching rockets.

What on earth could possibly motivate Israel to do anything for the Palestinians, since the last time they did something, the Palestinians essentially started this rockets / bombings cycle?

[cpwm17]

15. Israel conducted an illegal blockade against the Gaza Strip

before the rocket fire. The Gaza Strip is a ghetto prison.

If Americans were imprisoned on our own land, what would we do?

[Calista241]

19. Egypt is fully complicit and is a willing partner in this "blockade"

Neither country would appear to want Palestinians in their country, and both countries are within their rights to deny entry to Palestinians if they want.

If Gaza would elect a new government and stop shooting rockets, i'm sure Israel would be all kinds of happy to sell goods, allow travel and provide all kinds of privileges to Palestinians that they currently do not have.

[IronGate]

20. An illegal blockade my ass,

they were trying to stop weaponry from Iran to the terror org. Hamas.

[cpwm17]

36. If Americans were imprisoned on our own land

by the very same people that had already ethnically cleansed us from most of our homeland, what would we do? It's should be obvious to anyone why you refuse to use basic logic to determine why this conflict continues.

[IronGate]

40. The only one lacking basic knowledge here is you.

bye bye now.

[King_David]

58. We would flatten Canada in 1 day if rockets fell on Bufallo and Boston and NYC every day,

That is what we would do.

[rdking647]

41. if one of your neighbors started randomly shooting at your house

and there was no police to call would you let them?
or would you strike back?

[clg311]

27. Boycott Israel.

And cut off their billions in aid until they stop committing war crimes.

[IronGate]

28. Boycott Israel for defending their country?

#implied%20facepalm%20640x496

[clg311]

31. Genocide isn't defending your country.

"The Palestinians in Gaza live in conditions that now replicate those first imposed on Jews by the Nazis in the ghettos set up throughout Eastern Europe. Palestinians cannot enter or leave Gaza. They are chronically short of food—the World Health Organization estimates that more than 50 percent of children in Gaza and the West Bank under 2 years old have iron deficiency anemia and reports that malnutrition and stunting in children under 5 are “not improving” and could actually be worsening. Palestinians often lack clean water. They are crammed into unsanitary hovels. They do not have access to basic medical care. They are stateless and lack passports or travel documents. There is massive unemployment. They are daily dehumanized in racist diatribes by their occupiers as criminals, terrorists and mortal enemies of the Jewish people.

“A deep and wide moral abyss separates us from our enemies,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said recently of the Palestinians. “They sanctify death while we sanctify life. They sanctify cruelty while we sanctify compassion.”

Ayelet Shaked, a member of the right-wing Jewish Home Party, on her Facebook page June 30 posted an article written 12 years ago by the late Uri Elitzur, a leader in the settler movement and a onetime adviser to Netanyahu, saying the essay is as “relevant today as it was then.” The article said in part: “They [the Palestinians] are all enemy combatants, and their blood shall be on all their heads. Now this also includes the mothers of the martyrs, who send them to hell with flowers and kisses. They should follow their sons, nothing would be more just. They should go, as should the physical homes in which they raised the snakes. Otherwise, more little snakes will be raised there.”

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2014/07/14-4

[IronGate]

32. Genocide?

Something tells me you don't even know the meaning of the word.

Definition of genocide (n)

Bing Dictionary
gen·o·cide
[ jénnə s̄̀d ]

1.murder of entire ethnic group: the systematic killing of all the people from a national, ethnic, or religious group, or an attempt to do this

If Israel is doing genocide, then they really, really suck at it.

[Rhinodawg]

30. Someone said it better than me..

"You'll find I have zero tolerance or sympathy for Palestinians.
They use their own people to fake up "outrages" or put terrorist weapons like those rockets in schoolyards and hospital parking lots.

Their "leadership" is either hopelessly corrupt, needlessly brutal, (lynching anyone they label a "collaborator,&quot or stupidly radical like Hamas and other radical Palestinian groups. "

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1014837302#post39

[Archae]

33. That was me...and I stand by my assessment after watching ABC news tonight.

They had video of Palestinians laughing, cheering and celebrating the launching of Hamas rockets.

Hamas rejected the cease-fire.

Hamas is viciously anti-Jew and doesn't give a damn who they kill, even their own people.

[Rhinodawg]

42. "Hamas is viciously anti-Jew and doesn't give a damn who they kill, even their own people".

SO TRUE
SO SAD

[DeSwiss]

35. ....

''Israeli military says it's resumed Gaza airstrikes demolition''

/fixed