For a long time life in Israel has been as much a gamble as a spin at the wheel in Las Vegas. At any moment some innocent-looking boy or perhaps a young mother might walk down a busy street and suddenly blow-up and spread bits of bone and flesh from dozens of innocent victims all over the block.
In the photo: Soldiers from the Israeli Defense Forces take part in urban warfare training May 28 in the IDF's new Urban Warfare Training Center at Tzeelim in southern Israel
More recently people living in some areas of Israel had to sleep with one eye open. At any moment the siren may start to wail. That means that seconds later Hamas rockets will fall randomly on their town.
Television news reported the story of one Israeli family that was startled awake in the middle of the night by the warning siren. They ran to their shelter. Seconds later a missile, most likely Chinese-made (yes, that's right: China is providing weapons to Hamas. Read the story here) slammed into the house destroying it. The family, safe in their shelter, survived.
Think about this: If Kim Jong-il decided to fire North Korean missiles and they began landing in the San Francisco Bay Area, what do you suspect we might demand the United States Air Force do? What mission ideas do you think we would have for the USS George Washington Battle Group (CVN-73) that is homeported at Yosuka, Japan?
Why should Israeli citizens be different?
Israel does not want to occupy the Palestine-Hamas-Gaza area, which is a small strip of land, to administrate the area. That was a disaster last time and it would be as bad or worse this time around. Israel wants some help keeping the peace and they want some help administrating Gaza. The problem is that nobody else wants anything to do with the problem. It's an international hot potato. So what's a country to do?
Pummel Hamas into the ground, severely reduce their ability to lob rockets or wage war and follow-through with a limited-incursion invasion. It must be a limited invasion because large conventional forces, like the Israeli forces, are at a disadvantage in tightly-populated urban areas where the opposition is lightly armed, mobile and invisible. Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) ground troops must limit their presence and mission in densely populated areas. A limited incursion invasion coupled with missions to destroy war-waging infrastructure should be enough to get the United Nations involved on a long-term basis.
This invasion is drawing the serious attention of the world and will almost surely result in a multi-national United Nations peacekeeping force moving into Gaza to keep the peace and administrate the area.
Great. That's pretty much what Israel hopes will happen.
Turn up the sound and push the play button. Watch this video direct from Israel:
I am reminded of a television news story I saw last night. It was about an elephant and a dog, both living in a preserve. The two animals became bosom friends. They ate together, played together, slept together and watched out for each other.
If an elephant and a dog can make peace, just what in hell is wrong the two factions of human beings currently living side-by-side along the shore of the beautiful Mediterranean? They need to stop behaving like humans and be more like some other members of the animal kingdom.
Following is the official statement issued by Embassy of Israel at Washington, D.C. on January 3, 2009:
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January 3, 2009
Dear Friends,
On Saturday, December 27, 2008, Israel launched Operation "Cast Lead" to protect the citizens of southern Israel who were being subjected to daily Hamas rocket and mortar fire. More than 8,000 projectiles have been fired at Israel's cities in recent years. Although the situation improved somewhat under an Egyptian brokered "state of calm," Hamas resumed its attacks in recent weeks, unilaterally declaring the "calm" null and void.
Israel began Operation "Cast Lead" with air operations against Hamas command and control targets, with the purpose of deterring further attacks against Israeli citizens. Yet, one week later - after Hamas continued firing against Israeli citizens, launching 417 rockets and mortars (including 61 of the more lethal Grad Kaytusha rockets) - Israel had to take further action. Consequently, on Saturday, January 3, 2009, Israel expanded its operations in Gaza to include ground forces. Their primary mission is to take control of key rocket launching sites in the Gaza Strip and to combat the terrorist forces operating there. This upgrading of military activity was necessary to achieve the goals of operation Cast Lead - to deal the Hamas terror infrastructure a crippling blow and to enhance long term security for Israel's southern population. It cannot be emphasized enough that Israel has no intention of reassuming control of the Gaza Strip. The expansion of the operation is solely intended to achieve its aforementioned goals. During the first week of Operation Cast Lead, the capabilities of Hamas to continue its terror campaign were greatly weakened - hundreds of commanders and terrorists were killed, its senior leadership fled to underground bunkers, ammunition storehouses were demolished, its weapons production facilities were damaged, and many of the tunnels used for arms smuggling from Egypt were destroyed. Yet at the same time, the Iranian-backed Hamas continued to fire Kassam and Grad rockets at the civilian population living in southern Israel. The Hamas military wing acted to harden its terrorist deployment. Many terrorists, including Iranian-trained commanders and operators, were deployed to reinforced combat positions, including underground tunnels and bunkers. Some of the terrorist infrastructure remained intact, while increasingly lethal weapons and longer-range rockets began to be used. Not only did Hamas retain the means to continue its attacks on Israeli civilians, it still had the will to do so. Dozens of Kassam and Grad rockets were being fired daily at an ever-expanding range of towns and cities in southern Israel. Almost a million Israeli civilians are living within the range of these rockets, approximately 15% of Israel's total population has become the constant target of deadly weapons being shot at their homes, schools and businesses. No democratic country in the world would allow its sovereignty to be violated and its citizens to be subjected to terror attacks from the sky on a daily basis. Israel would have preferred that the situation not develop in this way. Israel only embarked on "Cast Lead" after it had exhausted every other possibility. For years, in the face of constant terror attacks from Gaza, Israel acted with restraint and made every attempt to avoid a confrontation. Israel agreed to the "state of calm," even as Hamas exploited the arrangement to build up its forces, rearm and fire hundreds of rockets and missiles at Israel. Eventually, Hamas terminated the calm, launching up to 80 rockets at Israel a day. By this time, Israel no longer had a choice. The daily situation of the residents of southern Israel had become unbearable and Israel had to exercise its right of self-defense. Israel has made it very clear that its target is Hamas, an extremist Jihadist group recognized as a terrorist organization by not only by the United States, but also by the European Union, Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom and Japan. The Hamas represents the extremists of the region, those bent on never-ending "Jihad" and destruction. Together with its allies and sponsors, such as Iran and Hizbullah, Hamas wishes not only Israel's destruction, but the destruction of all pragmatic forces in the region - those who would seek a negotiated settlement to outstanding issues and a compromise two-state solution to the Palestinian question. It is Israel's hope that Operation "Cast Lead" will be concluded quickly, will weaken the influence of Hamas and its ideology, and will bring a new security reality to both Israelis and Palestinians alike.
- Embassy of Israel (for more info call them at ) or online at
israelemb.org
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5 comments:
How about the new generation of terrorists that will be created because of the "collateral damage"? Do you honestly think that the children whose parents will be killed and whose siblings maimed because of this invasion, will just embrace the "multi-national United Nations peacekeeping force", bury the dead, and simply go back to their miserable lives?
So Anonymous thinks Israel should submit to Hamas's terrorism because fighting back will create more terrorists?
The Israeli Army is world's most dangerous terrorist organization. They bomb entire apartment complexes to kill one Hamas militant, fire upon UN schools, UN drivers, Red Cross workers, ambulances...
Here's an shocking excerpt from an NY Times article about a statement that the UN made condemning Israel:
The statement said a team of four Palestine Red Crescent ambulances accompanied by Red Cross representatives made its way to Zeitoun Wednesday where it “found four small children next to their dead mothers in one of the houses. They were too weak to stand up on their own. One man was also found alive, too weak to stand up. In all, there were at least 12 corpses lying on mattresses.”
In another house, the statement said, the rescue team “found 15 other survivors of this attack including several wounded. In yet another house, they found an additional three corpses. Israeli soldiers posted at a military position some 80 meters away from this house ordered the rescue team to leave the area which they refused to do. There were several other positions of the Israeli Defense Forces nearby as well as two tanks.”
Because of berms built by Israeli forces, the ambulances could not enter the area so “the children and the wounded had to be taken to the ambulances on a donkey cart,” the statement said.
The statement quoted Pierre Wettach, an International Red Cross representative for Israel and the Palestinian areas, as calling the incident “shocking.”
“The Israeli military must have been aware of the situation but did not assist the wounded. Neither did they make it possible for us or the Palestine Red Crescent to assist the wounded,” he was quoted as saying.
Hmmm...this is very typical of the Israeli Army.
To the author of the article:
You've failed to present the truth. Israelis feel threatened by small slingshot "rockets" while hundreds of Palestinian children are murdered by the Israeli Army's carelessly dropped bombs. This is not the way to go about making peace. The only reason Hamas even has any support at all is because of these injustices.
Please study the middle east and learn your history before spewing out crap.
Here's a link to the full NY Times article about Israeli "aggression" (the soft term for terrorism):
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/09/world/middleeast/09redcross.html
Your a propaganda victim, with biased information.
Israel has played the part as Elephant trampling over Palestine stealing their land.
The people of Gaza are treated like dogs. The human rights violations only get worse, even in times of calm.
My name is Yisrael, raised a Zionist Jew. I spent many years attending Zionist youth summer camps in your beloved Bay area, where Israeli military were staff.
I too once believed these lies. My heart aches as I uncover the brutality that is Israel. I would rather Israel not have ever existed, than see these acts committed in my name.
The transformation of the Jews from victims to perpetrators is one of the most tragic and disgusting ironies of human history.
You are a good man, I can tell from reading your blog. Please realize the truth is usually the hardest thing to find.
Peace
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