Israel/Palestine
Related: About this forumUK parliamentary committee urges action on Gaza
LONDON (AP) -- British Prime Minister David Cameron is coming under increased pressure over his government's policies on Gaza, after a cross-party parliamentary committee urged him Wednesday to press Israel to lift restrictions on trade and travel in the Palestinian territory.
The Commons International Development Committee says travel and trade curbs on Gaza's people are not "proportionate" and that some are contrary to Israel's obligations under international law. Members of the committee who visited the area earlier this year, said they were "shocked," even though they understood and appreciated Israel's security needs.
"We saw a country whose people have known immense suffering now imposing conditions on their Palestinian neighbors which cause a different but very real suffering and often without real security justification," the committee wrote. "We saw Israel taking a range of actions that hinder Palestinian economic development and must, at the very least, cause deep resentment on the Palestinian side, even amongst the most moderate and pragmatic people, and so will actually worsen Israel's own security."
The committee called on Britain to "encourage Israeli authorities to lift those restrictions which are not justified by security needs." It said the U.K. should persuade Israel to consider steps to improve the availability of water and electricity in Gaza.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/EU_BRITAIN_ISRAEL?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2014-08-06-06-29-12
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bemildred
(90,061 posts)RAMALLAH
The Palestinian Federation of Industries (PFI) said the Israeli offensive on the blockaded Gaza Strip has left 134 factories completely destroyed, causing more than $47 million in direct losses and rendering 30,000 workers jobless.
"The Israeli army wanted to destroy the industrial infrastructure of the Gaza Strip," PFI Vice President Ali al-Hayek said in a statement.
In a preliminary tally put the losses of the industrial sector in Gaza, the union said 134 factories were leveled to the ground in the unrelenting Israeli attacks.
It put the direct losses incurred by the factory owners at $47 million, adding that 30,000 Gaza workers have also been rendered jobless.
http://www.aa.com.tr/en/rss/369432--israel-razed-134-gaza-factories-made-30-000-jobless
bemildred
(90,061 posts)---
We have seen some progress over the last 24 hours. We have now got a ceasefire in place. We have got the Israeli Defence Force out of Gaza which means that there is a chance of that ceasefire holding and we have got talks about to start in Cairo so we are now seeing the first fruits of what has been an intensive period of behind-the-scenes diplomacy trying to achieve the ceasefire that the people of Gaza so desperately needed.
Our objectives are firstly to maintain a ceasefire and, secondly, to get meaningful negotiations underway leading and, thirdly, to a sustainable solution in the area that will allow the Palestinians and the Israelis to live in peace and security.
The situation in Gaza is intolerable. We do not yet have the full details of the recent attack near the UN school and if I jump to public conclusions about what has happened I will rightly be condemned for doing that. We must look at the evidence and all the parties must cooperate with the inquiries, the reviews that there will now be, seeking to establish exactly what happened around these terrible incidents and how they came about, whether proper rules of engagement, proper international laws have been followed or not.
http://www.wired-gov.net/wg/news.nsf/articles/Foreign+Secretary+comments+on+the+situation+in+Gaza+06082014110500
bemildred
(90,061 posts)As a 72-hour truce between Israel and Hamas entered its second day Wednesday, Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman urged lawmakers not to cooperate with any international fact-finding mission on Israel’s campaign in the Gaza Strip.
After holding consultations with senior Foreign Ministry officials, as well as the ministry’s director-general, Liberman said a decision was made to not cooperate with any committee probing the IDF’s conduct during the 29-day Operation Protective Edge, should such a committee be set up by the international community.
The ministry’s assessment was that any international fact-finding mission would implicate Israel in any case, despite the fact that both the military and the defense establishment received legal counsel on international law during the course of the war in order to avoid violating laws and treaties to which Israel is bound, according to Attorney-General Yehuda Weinstein.
Two weeks ago, the UN Human Rights Council announced it would be launching an investigation into the conflict in Gaza, backing calls by the Palestinians to hold Israel to account despite fierce opposition from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
http://www.timesofisrael.com/liberman-dont-cooperate-with-gaza-fact-finding-mission/
bemildred
(90,061 posts)BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America (CAMERA) today launched a national advertising campaign with full-page advertisements in the Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and Washington Post, to focus world attention on the facts on the ground in Gaza concerning the war between Israel and Hamas.
The advertisements outline key facts in the current conflict, as well as quotes from world leaders in support of Israel’s right to defend herself.
Included below is text of the advertisement:
http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20140806005230/en/CAMERA-Launches-National-Ad-Campaign-Support-Israel
bemildred
(90,061 posts)The three Israeli right-wing extremists who have been charged with kidnapping East Jerusalem teen Mohammed Abu Khdeir early last month and burning him to death should be burned to death themselves, Abu Khdeir's father, Hussein Abu Khdeir, said at a remand hearing at the Jerusalem District Court on Wednesday.
"I would have liked that just as they burned my son, they should also be allowed to burn," he said. "That is what is right and just. They poured gasoline on my son while he was still alive."
Hussein Abu Khdeir also said the homes of his 16-year-old son's suspected killers should be demolished, just as Israel regularly razes the homes of Palestinian terrorists.
East Jerusalem residents held a protest outside the court Wednesday, calling for the homes of the three suspects to be destroyed.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/1.609166
Jefferson23
(30,099 posts)bemildred
(90,061 posts)bemildred
(90,061 posts)The humanitarian crisis in Gaza has prompted Shetland MSP Tavish Scott to call for an end to UK arms exports to Israel.
Referring to figures that show £42 million of arms have been exported to Israel since 2010 Mr Scott urged the Westminster government to take immediate action.
In the most recent conflict between Israel and Gaza an estimated 1,900 Palestinians, mostly civilians and including hundreds of children, have been killed. A 72-hour humnitarian truce started on Tuesday.
Mr Scott has signed cross-party Scottish Parliamentary motions calling for an end to the armed conflict between the Israeli government and Hamas in Gaza. Tomorrow he will join a lobby of the Scottish Parliament organised by the Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign which is expected to see MSPs standing behind a banner, which reads: “End the siege in Gaza”.
http://www.shetlandtimes.co.uk/2014/08/06/msp-scott-stop-arms-trade-with-israel
bemildred
(90,061 posts)WEST BANK – Prior to the outbreak of the 29-day war between Israel and Hamas and despite the failure of US Secretary of State John Kerry’s peace initiative, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas reportedly was a happy camper having survived unscathed in the blame-game. Arguably, and fortunately for Abbas, in the eyes of most, the Kerry mission imploded when Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu reneged on his agreement to release the final group of 104 Palestinian prisoners being held in Israeli jails.
“Netanyahu’s sole aim was for the blame to fall on the Palestinians, which he failed to do,” said Dan Goldenblatt, Israeli Co-Director of Israel-Palestine Creative Regional Initiatives (IPCRI), a bi-national think tank. Indeed, despite Israeli pleas and admonitions, it appeared that Abbas had at least outwardly ended the bifurcation between the Fatah-held West Bank and Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip, putting an interim unity government in place and beginning the trek toward long overdue elections. “His public rating improved after he ended the nine month negotiations with Israel,” said political analyst Ghassan Khatib, who asserted that Abbas’s popularity also received a boost from his “in your face” gesture to Israel and the United States of joining fifteen United Nations agencies and treaties.
As well, Abbas’s esteem seemed strengthened by Washington’s tacit approval of the unity government rather than, as feared, the Americans balking over the fact that Hamas is named on the State Department list of terrorist organizations which, according to many, should have been an absolute legal impediment to any US-PA contact. Once the American position was clear, Netanyahu’s campaign to rally world opinion against Abbas for “choosing Hamas over peace” fell flat. Meanwhile, Egypt’s new president, Abdel Fatteh Al-Sisi, remained adamant in his treatment of Hamas as an extension of his nemesis Muslim Brotherhood, forcing the newfound cooperation by Hamas with the PA and encouraging the growing belief that Hamas was losing popular support and predictably, the elections slated for December as well.
http://themedialine.org/news/news_detail.asp?NewsID=40557
bemildred
(90,061 posts)Hamas may have haemorrhaged rockets and fighters, but its latest war with Israel has boosted its popularity in the Gaza Strip even if long-term gains look remote, analysts say.
A 72-hour truce entered its second day on Wednesday, a lull in four weeks of bitter fighting which killed more than 1,860 Palestinians, of whom the UN says at least 1,312 were civilians.
Israel lost three civilians -- one of them a Thai agricultural worker -- and 64 soldiers, a staggering number for an offensive in Gaza and its worst loss since the 2006 war against Lebanon's Hezbollah.
The conflict followed a period of protracted isolation for Hamas, whose rule in Gaza has been choked by an eight-year Israeli blockade and withering ties with Cairo since the Egyptian army deposed its Islamist ally, president Mohamed Morsi.
http://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/gazaunderattack/israel-s-gaza-war-gives-hamas-shot-in-arm-but-for-how-long/article1-1248807.aspx
bemildred
(90,061 posts)Baroness Warsi has taken aim at the Chancellor George Osborne for failing to address Israel on its bombardment of Gaza, claiming as he is “a very good friend of the Israeli government".
Lady Warsi dramatically resigned on Tuesday over the Government's refusal to take a tougher stance on the Israeli bombardment during which 1,800 Palestinians have died.
Mr Osborne responded by describing her departure as “disappointing and frankly unnecessary” when a tentative 72-hour ceasefire was in place.
In an interview with Channel 4 News, Lasy Warsi branded the UK's policy on Gaza "mealy-mouthed" and "morally indefensible", and said the Government needed to “be bolder in its language”, before turning her attention to the Chancellor.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/baroness-warsi-takes-aim-at-george-osborne-over-gaza-stance-he-is-a-good-friend-of-the-israeli-government-9651053.html
bemildred
(90,061 posts)BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- Hamas' delegation to Cairo has not received an official response to the demands the delegation submitted to Israel via Egyptian mediators, an official said Tuesday.
Israeli media reported earlier Tuesday that Egypt had told Hamas that demands such as building a seaport and airport, in addition to the opening of the Rafah crossing, were not up for discussion.
But Hamas official Izzat al-Rishiq told Ma'an TV that "what is being said about some of the demands being rejected" is not true.
Al-Rishiq said Hamas would continue insisting on an end to Israel's siege on Gaza, the release of Shalit-deal prisoners whom Israel has re-arrested, the building a seaport and an airport in Gaza, and the creation of a safe passage between the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=718529
bemildred
(90,061 posts)RAMALLAH (Ma'an) -- The Ministry of Prisoner Affairs said Wednesday that it has not received information about Palestinians detained in Gaza during Israel's offensive.
"The occupation army, during its current aggression on the Gaza Strip, has detained dozens of Palestinians and taken them to unknown locations," Minister of Prisoner's Affairs Shawqi al-Ayasa said in a statement.
Al-Ayasa said the ministry was yet to receive crucial information about the prisoners' ID numbers, locations, and conditions.
The fact that Israel has withheld the information is worrying, al-Ayasa said, adding that there were "growing fears that some of the prisoners have been executed."
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=718583
bemildred
(90,061 posts)Save the Children placed full-page adverts in British newspapers on Wednesday listing the names of 373 Palestinian children killed in Israel’s offensive on Gaza, as part of the charity’s campaign for a permanent ceasefire.
The black-and-white advert in broadsheet newspapers carries the names of the children that the Palestinian Ministry of Health and United Nations (OCHA) have reported to have died between July 8 and August 3.
Readers are invited to send text messages as part of the campaign to force a permanent ceasefire “for the children of Gaza and Israel”.
A fragile ceasefire in the Gaza Strip entered a second day on Wednesday as Israeli and Palestinian delegations prepared for crunch talks in Cairo to try to extend the 72-hour truce.
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/kt-article-display-1.asp?xfile=data/international/2014/August/international_August115.xml§ion=international
bemildred
(90,061 posts)There are no plans to impose trade restrictions on Israel amid its conflict with Palestine, the trade and industry department said on Wednesday.
"We have not yet made any assumptions against Israel. It's not government's call," said department spokesman Sidwell Medupe.
"People in South Africa are free to trade with Israel and Israel is free to trade with South Africa."
He said South Africa's trade policy was aligned with its foreign policy, recently highlighted by President Jacob Zuma at the US-Africa summit in Washington.
http://www.timeslive.co.za/politics/2014/08/06/no-plans-to-stop-trade-with-israel-government
bemildred
(90,061 posts)The US “will have more blood on its hands” if it continues to supply weapons to Israel for the Gaza conflict, the executive director of Amnesty International Ireland has said.
Colm O’Gorman described as “deeply cynical” Washington’s condemnation of the deaths of civilians and humanitarian workers in Gaza “when it knows full well that the Israeli military responsible for such attacks are armed to the teeth with weapons and equipment supplied by the US”.
He was speaking ahead of a demonstration in Dublin this afternoon highlighting Amnesty’s international plea for an arms embargo on all parties to the conflict.
It follows reports that the Pentagon has approved the transfer of grenades and mortar rounds to the Israeli armed forces from a US arms stockpile pre-positioned in Israel, as well as the shipment of 4.3 tons of US-manufactured rocket motors, which arrived in the Israeli port of Haifa on July 15th.
http://www.irishtimes.com/news/world/middle-east/us-has-blood-on-its-hands-over-arms-sales-to-israel-1.1889144
oberliner
(58,724 posts)Aren't the hands already quite bloody?
bemildred
(90,061 posts)Which I am presenting some examples of.
oberliner
(58,724 posts)Just thought I'd put in my two cents.
bemildred
(90,061 posts)
Scootaloo
(25,699 posts)bemildred
(90,061 posts)The current war in Gaza may appear to be like any other recent war Israel has fought against its Arab neighbors. Most headlines report with the typical slant: Palestinians good, Israelis evil. The casual observer sees that as normal; people around the world are taking to the streets to protest Israel’s “crimes.” But underneath the mountain of shallow reporting, the true facts show this is not just another Arab-Israeli war.
As of August 2, 63 Israeli soldiers had been killed, along with 1,650 Gazans, making it Israel’s deadliest war since 2008. The Trumpet has reported on the unprecedented levels of anti-Semitism around the world and the violent protests taking place in many nations. It has gotten so bad that leading Jews are fearful that another Holocaust may be starting.
Despite the rising number of deaths in Gaza, and subsequent Western outrage, there is a major difference between this war and previous wars in Israel: the stance many Middle Eastern nations are taking on the war. Unlike previous conflicts where Arab nations quickly condemned Israel, this time very little condemnation has come from the Arab world.
The defamation of Israel has always been a rallying point for the Arab world, but not now. Instead, the “moderate” nations—like Saudi Arabia, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates (uae) and especially Egypt—are remaining not only relatively silent, but are actually quietly supportive of Israel.
http://www.thetrumpet.com/article/11967.18.0.0/middle-east/israel-finds-unlikely-allies-in-arab-states
oberliner
(58,724 posts)"We see the blood of our brothers in Palestine shed in collective massacres that did not exclude anyone, and war crimes against humanity without scruples, humanity or morality,'' Abdullah said in a brief speech read out on his behalf on state television.|
http://www.voanews.com/content/saudi-arabia-labels-israels-gaza-offensive-a-war-crime/1969708.html
bemildred
(90,061 posts)(CNN) -- There is optimism, and hope, that the Egyptian-brokered three-day "humanitarian cease-fire" between the Israel Defense Forces and Hamas will turn into a longer-term cessation of hostilities -- with good reason.
Why? Militarily speaking, Hamas is on the ropes. Although the group has survived an IDF aerial, naval and ground onslaught, it has suffered a severe blow. Despite its somewhat successful attempts to portray itself and all Gaza as victims of a disproportionate Israeli military campaign, in the end it failed to prevent the IDF from achieving almost all its military goals, while achieving very little on its part.
The Israelis stated early on in the campaign that their objectives were to find and destroy Hamas' networks of tunnels constructed under the Gaza border with Israel, tunnels designed to be used for offensive attacks on Israeli cities and kibbutzim in southern Israel.
http://edition.cnn.com/2014/08/06/opinion/francona-gaza-hamas-on-the-ropes/index.html
bemildred
(90,061 posts)(CNN) -- "Who do you want to see?" asked the Salafi Jihadists holding their AK-47s at the gate.
"Hamas leaders," I replied.
"Why Hamas? Why not our Jihadi brothers?" the guard asked.
"Well, Hamas are in government in Gaza."
"They won't be in future," he responded. "They have sold out and become agents of the Israelis, and in years to come we will govern Gaza. Be sure to meet our brothers here in the camp, too."
http://www.cnn.com/2014/08/04/opinion/husain-hamas-negotiations-gaza/index.html
oberliner
(58,724 posts)Pretty much the whole world except them, right?
bemildred
(90,061 posts)You got that? Hamas is an agent of the Israelis?
bemildred
(90,061 posts)London: The UK government’s policy towards the Israeli assault on Gaza was in danger of falling apart on Tuesday night in the wake of the surprise resignation of the Foreign Office minister Sayeeda Warsi and a demand by Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg that Britain immediately suspend arms export licences to Israel.
Warsi’s departure exacerbated coalition tensions over Gaza, prompting Clegg to urge an immediate suspension of arms export licences, saying that Israel had breached the conditions. He said the suspension should remain in force until an agreement is reached across the government on any permanent revocation in the coming days.
Ministers agreed to a review of the licences last week, but Clegg has decided to ratchet up the pressure, saying: “I believe the actions of the Israeli military [is] overstepping the mark in Gaza, breach the conditions of those export licences and that’s why we want to see them suspended pending a wider review of whether they should be revoked more permanently in the long run.”
Revealing he has been putting pressure on his Conservative colleagues for a suspension of the licences rather than a review, he said: “I believe we will be able to make an announcement on this, finally, very shortly. It’s very important that in response to clearly what appears to be disproportionate military action of Israel in Gaza, we should be suspending the arms export licences that presently exist.”
http://gulfnews.com/news/world/uk-gaza-policy-falls-into-disarray-1.1367825
bemildred
(90,061 posts)The 72-hour ceasefire deal between Gaza and Israel, which started Tuesday morning, has provided a window for humanitarian aid through Egypt’s Rafah border crossing—the besieged Gaza Strip’s only border crossing not controlled by Israel.
The Rafah crossing remains open, said Ministry of Foreign Affairs Spokesman Badr Abdelatty, and Egypt has facilitated the delivery of humanitarian aid and the crossing of refugees.
Up to 1,200 tonnes of medical aid and foodstuffs have been delivered to Gaza by the Egyptian government, said Abdelatty, while 3,500 people have crossed into Egypt from Gaza, and 2,000 people have crossed from Egypt into Gaza.
Humanitarian aid from any country is welcome to cross into Gaza via Rafah, added Abdelatty.
http://www.dailynewsegypt.com/2014/08/06/rafah-border-open-aid-gaza-foreign-ministry/
The Magistrate
(96,043 posts)A welcome lack of explosions reported....
bemildred
(90,061 posts)Since I am looking though it all, might as well share.
"To jaw-jaw is always better than to war-war."
Jefferson23
(30,099 posts)By Yossi Verter | Aug. 6, 2014 | 10:00 AM |
The Israeli public doesn’t view the recent war in Gaza as a victory, but nevertheless overwhelmingly approves of the troika that led Operation Protective Edge, a new poll shows.
The poll was conducted for Haaretz by the Dialog firm last night, on the first day of the Israel-Hamas cease-fire in Gaza.
A decisive majority of respondents proved unimpressed by the claims of victory made by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon and Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Benny Gantz. Had they been asked to sum up the month-long campaign in one word, it would have been “tie.” Fully 51 percent said neither side had won, while 56 percent said the goals laid down by the government – destroying Hamas’ tunnels and dealing Hamas a severe blow – were achieved only partially.
These responses reflect Israelis’ experience of many previous operations against terrorist organizations. They know the end of every such operation contains the seeds of the next round. They know such operations produce neither great victories nor searing defeats, but at most the achievement of limited goals – an achievement that will be put to the test in the coming months and years.
This same maturation can be seen in response to questions about whether Israel should renew negotiations with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and take steps to “bolster” him. A clear majority said yes – which goes to show that everything is relative. Two months ago, Abbas was the devil. Today, Hamas has replaced him in this role, and he is suddenly a white knight by comparison.
It presumably helps that about six weeks ago, Abbas stood in front of the Arab League’s foreign ministers and, in Arabic, condemned the kidnapping of three Israeli teens. Israelis also presumably appreciate the fact that during the war in Gaza, quiet was generally maintained in the West Bank.
But in light of Israelis’ bitter feelings about the war’s outcome, their level of satisfaction with the performance of Netanyahu, Ya’alon and Gantz is astonishing. Actually, it isn’t so surprising that 83 percent approve of Gantz’s performance; Israelis perceive him as the ultimate general – not, as some ministers recently charged, someone with no fighting spirit who just wanted to “return home safely.” But Netanyahu and Ya’alon also received whopping 77 percent approval ratings.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/.premium-1.609091
Jefferson23
(30,099 posts)Baroness Warsi has taken aim at the Chancellor George Osborne for failing to address Israel on its bombardment of Gaza, claiming as he is “a very good friend of the Israeli government".Lady Warsi dramatically resigned on Tuesday over the Government's refusal to take a tougher stance on the Israeli bombardment during which 1,800 Palestinians have died.
Mr Osborne responded by describing her departure as “disappointing and frankly unnecessary” when a tentative 72-hour ceasefire was in place.
In an interview with Channel 4 News, Lasy Warsi branded the UK's policy on Gaza "mealy-mouthed" and "morally indefensible", and said the Government needed to “be bolder in its language”, before turning her attention to the Chancellor.
"George is a very good friend of the Israeli government and therefore he more than anybody else should have been saying quite frankly to the Israeli government that what you are doing is not in your interests - this is probably the biggest single act of self-harm that the Israeli government have done over the last few years," she said.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/baroness-warsi-takes-aim-at-george-osborne-over-gaza-stance-he-is-a-good-friend-of-the-israeli-government-9651053.html
Jefferson23
(30,099 posts)AUG. 5, 2014
GAZA CITY — Inside the Health Sciences Library at Al-Shifa Hospital here, a small team spent the war crunching numbers. Stuck to their laptops were a statistician, a graphic designer, a data-entry specialist and an issuer of death certificates, some of whom spent nights sleeping in their straight-backed chairs.
By Tuesday, this is what they had come up with: 1,865 “martyrs” from “Israeli aggression” since July 6: 429 under age 18, 79 over 60, 243 women. The Palestinian Ministry of Health does not categorize victims as civilian or combatant, but others do: The United Nations — which had a lower death toll, 1,814 — said that at least 72 percent were civilians, while two Gaza-based groups put the percentage at 82 (Al Mezan Center for Human Rights) and 84 (the Palestinian Center for Human Rights).
Israel has a very different assessment. The military says it took the lives of 900 “terrorists,” but it did not provide specifics beyond the 368 cases listed in 28 entries on its blog. Politicians have been saying that 47 percent of the dead were fighters, citing a study by an Israeli counterterrorism group that is impressive in its documentation, using photographs and Internet tributes, but analyzes only the first 152 casualties, when the assault was exclusively from the air.
According to data from the Palestinian Ministry of Health, 34 percent of those killed in Gaza from July 6-31 were children, women, elderly or female victims of an unknown age. The remaining deaths were a mix of male civilians and combatants, though breakdowns are disputed.
The United Nations has said that civilians make up 72 percent of deaths, and two Gaza-based groups put that number at 82 percent and 84 percent. Israeli politicians, citing early figures, have said that close to half of deaths have been fighters.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/06/world/middleeast/civilian-or-not-new-fight-in-tallying-the-dead-from-the-gaza-conflict.html?_r=0
oberliner
(58,724 posts)The Times analysis, looking at 1,431 names, shows that the population most likely to be militants, men ages 20 to 29, is also the most overrepresented in the death toll: They are 9 percent of Gaza’s 1.7 million residents, but 34 percent of those killed whose ages were provided. At the same time, women and children under 15, the least likely to be legitimate targets, were the most underrepresented, making up 71 percent of the population and 33 percent of the known-age casualties.
What's she driving at?
Jefferson23
(30,099 posts)Most likely to be militant? I think it's best to wait for the hr groups analysis.
bemildred
(90,061 posts)And avoidance.
A questionable argument in the context, and she may not be making it, she may just be dumping everything everybody has to say.
If they want to continue with that line of argument, it will be necessary to factor in muslim customs of women and girls not running around in public much, and the general tendency of people to stay under cover when being bombed/shelled. For example, since young men are most likely to be out and about, it is natural that they will be over-represented in the casualty figures, not necessarily an indication of targeting.
The Israeli argument that only half were civilians is reasonable in the context of industrial war, like WWII, assuming it is true, but it will also be argued that Hamas being nothing like an industrial war power, the use of industrial war on Gaza is not appropriate, an argument I agree with.
But it is all smoke until they get things cleaned up, and blowing smoke is something everybody does when facts are still in doubt.