The Twilight Zone / After the rain of death (Gideon Levy)

[Scurrilous]

<snip>

"This is Islam al-Atamna. A girl of 14. She is sitting in her black mourning clothes. Eight close relatives - including her mother, grandparents, uncles and aunts - were all killed before her eyes, one after the other. They were killed in the street after they awoke at home in horror at the sound of the first shell that exploded and then fled outdoors, where the next shells caught them. About 11 fell on a residential neighborhood, one shell a minute, a rain of death, pursuing them in their flight. Fatherless for some time already, the girl is left alone in the world with her two little sisters and her 3-year-old brother Abdullah, whose legs were severed and who is hospitalized in the Al-Hilal Hospital in Gaza.

What should we say to Islam? What can we say to Islam? That the chip in the radar system is to blame? That the electronic component is responsible? Perhaps that the Palestinians are to blame?

Since the accident the girl has not fallen asleep for even a moment, which one can see in her frozen face. Islam is now a girl in shock, whose entire world was destroyed last Wednesday morning, with a total of 22 relatives dead and dozens wounded.

Islam's town is upside down. The roads are full of open pits, crushed electricity poles, smashed cars, torn houses and a sewage system whose effluents flow quietly in the streets.

After the six-day war waged by the Israel Defense Forces against Beit Hanun during Operation Autumn Clouds - when soldiers also took over Islam's house, imprisoning on the first floor the 104 people who lived in the eight apartments in the building, all relatives - people here expected to wake up last week to a new dawn, a dawn without soldiers. The day before, IDF had left Beit Hanun after "completing its mission" - nobody knows exactly what that mission was - and the residents awoke to freedom. But just then the volley of shells landed. Between 6:30 and 7 A.M., on the row of houses in the street that ends in a recently planted orchard, a gift from the Japanese government."

more

[breakaleg]

1. Very sad.

[Tom Joad]

18. Incredibly tragic. that is why we must speak out against this atrocity, done in our name.

Because even as Americans, everyone knows it is our bulldozers, our fighter planes, our funding that makes all this possible. making a nightmare for this young woman.

Never Again is for everyone.

[Vorta]

2. It took three tries.

What should we say to Islam? What can we say to Islam? That the chip in the radar system is to blame? That the electronic component is responsible? Perhaps that the Palestinians are to blame?

But the author seems to have gotten it right on the third try.

[Jcrowley]

3. The Twilight Zone / After the rain of death

The Twilight Zone / After the rain of death
By Gideon Levy

This is Islam al-Atamna. A girl of 14. She is sitting in her black mourning clothes. Eight close relatives - including her mother, grandparents, uncles and aunts - were all killed before her eyes, one after the other. They were killed in the street after they awoke at home in horror at the sound of the first shell that exploded and then fled outdoors, where the next shells caught them. About 11 fell on a residential neighborhood, one shell a minute, a rain of death, pursuing them in their flight. Fatherless for some time already, the girl is left alone in the world with her two little sisters and her 3-year-old brother Abdullah, whose legs were severed and who is hospitalized in the Al-Hilal Hospital in Gaza.

What should we say to Islam? What can we say to Islam? That the chip in the radar system is to blame? That the electronic component is responsible? Perhaps that the Palestinians are to blame?

Since the accident the girl has not fallen asleep for even a moment, which one can see in her frozen face. Islam is now a girl in shock, whose entire world was destroyed last Wednesday morning, with a total of 22 relatives dead and dozens wounded.

Islam's town is upside down. The roads are full of open pits, crushed electricity poles, smashed cars, torn houses and a sewage system whose effluents flow quietly in the streets.

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/788997.html

[msmcghee]

4. When will the Palestinians stop supporting . .

. . the murderers who send the rockets and suicide bombers into Israel that cause the artillery shells to be fired in Gaza to stop the rockets from flying?

If the jihadists put down their weapons the conflict would end immediately. Why do they instead, choose the likely death of more of their children - just for the chance to kill a few more Jews?

Can anyone here provide a reasonable answer to this question?

[RC]

5. If the jihadists put down their weapons,

Israel would find other excuses to kill the innocent.

[msmcghee]

6. The few times in the past when the jihadists did . .

. . put their weapons down for a while - no innocents were killed. The innocents only started dieing again after the jihadists resumed their pogrom.

I'd say that factual history trumps fanciful anti-Israel defamations any day.

[Tom Joad]

7. During the "quiet times" settlements increased, land was taken

There has never been a slowdown of Israel's intent to keep the land it conquered.

During the Oslo peace process Israel doubled its settlements, tripled its settlers and connected them with a network of by-pass roads and industrial parks, ensuring their domination over the Palestinian territories. As minister of infrastructure in the Netanyahu government, Sharon concentrated Israel’s investment programmes in the occupied Palestinian lands. The Rabin and Barak governments were no less active. There was an orgy of settlement building during the Barak government under the supervision of Yitzhak Levy, then leader the National Religious Party and minister for the settlements.
From "Israel’s empire state building" Marwan Bishara
http://72.14.253.104/search?q=cache:EU4knT1L7PEJ:mondediplo.com/2002/06/05israel+settlements+increase+rabin&hl=en&gl=us&ct=clnk&cd=3&client=firefox-a

During this time is when most of the checkpoints were introduced.

[msmcghee]

8. You said,

"There has never been a slowdown of Israel's intent to keep the land it conquered."

Israel conquered all of the West Bank in 1967. Even now Israel directly occupies a small area and exerts control via occupation of about 60%. Israel has offered to return some of that and exchange land in Israel proper for some other land in the West Bank.

That shows your statement to be just more propoganda. From Wiki:

The West Bank

After the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire, this territory was part of the British Mandate of Palestine. The 1948 Arab-Israeli War brought an end to the Mandate. The West Bank was captured and annexed by Jordan, and the 1949 Armistice Agreements defined its interim boundary. From 1948 until 1967 the area was under Jordanian rule, though Jordan did not relinquish its claim to the area until 1988. The area was captured by Israel in the 1967 Six-Day War, although, with the exception of East Jerusalem (and unlike the Golan Heights), it was not annexed by Israel. The West Bank is currently considered under international law to be de jure a territory not part of any state.

[Violet_Crumble]

9. Where did he say *all* the land...

He didn't, yet that's what you've acted as though he's said. But maybe you can explain something here. The Israeli govt tends to run with the *disputed* label for the Occupied Territories and as well as having annexed East Jerusalem, and does appear to think it has some claim to the West Bank where illegal settlement activity continues unabated and where Israel has made it very clear it will not remove many of the illegal settlements under any future agreement...

[msmcghee]

11. Israel captured ALL of the West Bank . .

. . from Jordan in the 1967 war.

As far as "explaining something here" as you infered in your post - from what you wrote I really don't know what it is you want me to explain. Ask again more clearly if you want - but I am not in the government of Israel and I have no idea what the GOI intends to do there.

BTW - I thought you were interested in having an actual objective discussion about the underlying causes of the conflict. I am still patiently waiting for you to do what you agreed to and establish a format for that.

[Violet_Crumble]

13. And where did Tom say *ALL*?

He didn't, yet you've continued to act as though he has. Okay, I'd like you to explain how the govt of Israel itself is pretty clear about having some claim on the Occupied Territories when you claim it doesn't. I think you answered the question by pointing out that yr not the GOI and have no idea what they intend...

After reading some of yr posts in this forum aimed at other posters, I don't believe you are capable of holding an objective discussion or moving beyond playing the blame game, or are genuinelly interested in anyone else's POV when it doesn't tally with yrs, so I can't see the point in wasting what time I do have...

[Name removed]

15. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Tom Joad]

12. W Bush is the first US president to recognize Israel's right to some of the West Bank.

Is it no wonder this is one of the few places on earth (outside Utah) where he will honored?

[Violet_Crumble]

14. Thankfully pretty soon no-one will give a shit what Bush says....

Even those who seem to think that the Word Of Bush trumps international law will have to find a new moron to listen to in awe as he gives away land that's got zero to do with him or the US...

[Tom Joad]

16. Tragically Violet, i doubt many will go against this. US

politicians are a cowardly lot.
Take Tom Hayden. Here was a strong leftist, full of conviction, his name synonomous with antiwar politics... yet one of his first acts was running to Israel in 1982 while Israel was bombing the shit out of Lebanon, and giving all praise to Israel.

Years later, he has apologized for that. But he was safely retired from running for office.

Anyway, i don't think many politicians will challenge Israel's imagined right to remain in the west bank and annex the massive settlements.

It will take massive people power to make a difference.

[Violet_Crumble]

17. One of the reasons I'll be happy to see US power wane...

Then it won't matter how many morons in the US think that showing any fairness or sympathy to the Palestinians = supporting terrahism, coz no-one else in the world will give a toss what they think....

[Tom Joad]

10. The settlements have been steadily increasing. Even with the abandonment of the illegal

settlements in Gaza, (and the subsequent shutdown of Gaza into a prison like siege), Israel has not decreased its overall hold in the OT. Settlements in the West Bank are expanding. Land is being confiscated for the Annexation Wall. Roads are being put up for the exclusive use of Israelis (and foreign visitors, lets not forget them), more water sources are going into Israeli hands. hey, so it goes.

The Jordan Valley is increasingly under the control of Israel.
Palestinians (and those working in solidarity with them) are being terrorized out of Hebron. although from what i hear, though Jewish settlers are making a bold attempt, both the Palestinians and their friends plan to stay put and resist the onslaught of terror the settlers dish out with impunity and assistance from the Israeli regime.

That shows your statement to be just more propoganda. (i am going to say that all the time too, seems like fun)