Israel offers Gaza aid corridor

[dipsydoodle]

Source: BBC News

Israel has agreed to set up a humanitarian corridor in the Gaza Strip, the office of Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has said.

Israel's military will open up "areas for limited periods of time, during which the population will be able to receive the aid", it said.

The office said the goal was to "prevent a humanitarian crisis".

Egypt has proposed a ceasefire at an urgent meeting of the UN Security Council in a move backed by the US.

Read more: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/7814772.stm

[JerseygirlCT]

1. Good move. nt

[ROakes1019]

2. UN

At the UN today the representative from Israel said that there were stockpiles of supplies in Gaza but that Hamas was keeping it away from the people. So which is it--are there plenty of humanitarian supplies or is this new corridor, open for only limited periods of time, needed?

[Behind the Aegis]

3. Military says Israel will briefly halt Gaza offensive to allow in humanitarian aid and fuel

Source: AP

JERUSALEM (AP) -- The Israeli military says it will briefly halt its operations in Gaza during the day to allow in humanitarian aid and fuel.

Military spokesman Peter Lerner gave no specific time for the halt. But the Israeli human rights group B'Tselem says the military has informed it of a planned lull between 1 p.m. and 4 p.m local time.

Israel has come under criticism for harming Gaza civilians during its 12-day-long offensive aimed at the territory's militant Hamas rulers.

Gaza is suffering from shortages of basic supplies and fuel, and much of the strip is without electricity and running water.



Read more: http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/M/ML_ISRAEL_PALESTINIANS?SITE=WIJAN&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

[cali]

4. so they'll let in some basic supplies and then start bombing again.

I don't see much to celebrate in that.

[Behind the Aegis]

5. I don't see anyone requesting celebration.

I do see Israel making concessions and the typical bitching about doing so.

[cali]

7. I don't see a concession here

at all. You know I'm neither anti-Israel or anti-semitic and that what I say doesn't flow from either of those places, but honestly I see Israel committing a war crime. And allowing desperately needed basic supplies in and then resuming bombing, killing and terrifying a trapped population, is hardly a concession or a humanitarian action.

I don't see how you can support what Israel is doing.

[Name removed]

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[acmavm]

15. Of course. Doing what's right is a 'concession' when it comes to your

home boys.

[leftynyc]

24. What I find interesting is that

they never seem to run out of rockets and missles - only food and medicine. Wonder why that is.

[pampango]

30. It must be harder to smuggle food and medicine than it is weapons. Either that

or the supply of/demand for weapons is higher than food and medicine.

[cboy4]

32. Oh no you d'int

:popcorn:

Yea, you'd think Iran could have ponied up some more medicine to go with all of those rockets.

[SOS]

42. Because 1.5 million people need food, water and medicine every day.

That is an enormous amount of material and requires truck convoys to deliver.

[cboy4]

8. Hamas should have thought about that before it decided to

start lobbing Grad missiles deep into Israeli territory, killing people.

The Palestinians in Gaza should be furious with Hamas for placing them in so much danger.

[Name removed]

9. Deleted message

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[Name removed]

22. Deleted message

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[Doug.Goodall]

12. The Palestinians are furious with Israel because of the jack boot on their throats

Israel 'allows food and fuel into Gaza'. This is how the Palestinians live, only by what Israel 'allows'.

And people can't figure out why they keep firing rockets into Israel.

[cboy4]

14. Israel, in case you forget, left Gaza. And in return, they

get a terrorist organization running the government, lobbing more sophisticated rockets 20 miles into Israeli territory.

Tell me again what Israel did during the cease fire to deserve this.

Hamas has obviously spent the entire time arming itself.

I have zero sympathy for Hamas. Not even a crocodile tear do I have for them.

[Doug.Goodall]

16. During the cease fire?

How about the aggregate effects across three generations.

[cali]

18. Israel broke the cease fire on Nov 4th.

I don't have any sympathy for Hamas either. I do however have a lot of sympathy for the civilians in Gaza who are being slaughtered by Israel.

[WriteDown]

40. I'm fairly sure Gaza borders another country...

The Palestinians were ruled once by Egypt and Jordan with no complaints. Maybe that is the solution. Give that territory back to Egypt.

[cali]

13. look, lobbing missiles into Israel is wrong but

a couple of points: the wrong that Hamas is doing, doesn't justify the wrong perpetrated by Israel, and the lobbing of missiles, traumatic and awful as it is, kills very, very few Israelis. Furthermore, the bloody attacks on Gaza, play right into the hands of Hamas. Attacking Gaza and killing hundreds of civilians won't stop the missile attacks and it will increase support for Hamas and further radicalize Gazans and Palestinians on the WB.

[cboy4]

17. Your first sentence is all that needs to be said.

It's irrelevant that Hamas' missiles kill "very, very few Israelis."

What they do is send people in a panic amid the sound of sirens, racing to safe shelters.

They terrorize, which in the mind of a lunatic is a more delicious effect.

Hamas knew Israel would pound them in a revenge assault.

This was not a shock. They asked for it and now they're getting it.

Sad, but Israel didn't throw the first punch.

And they're well aware of Israel's history of fighting back.

[cali]

19. no, it's not. Your blind, one sided support of Israel

is the prism you look through. Hamas may deserve what they're getting, but Gazan civilians, a population you show a callous indifference to, do not. And the attack on Gaza will not make Israelis safer.

[cboy4]

21. I actually do care about the civilian populations...certainly

far more than Hamas does, since they have no problem at all placing their people in harm's way.

You know, placing rocket launchers next to homes packed with women and children.

They know all of the dirty tricks.

And that pisses me off far more than anything Israel is doing.

Hundreds of lives could have been saved if some Hamas assholes, overflowing with testosterone, hasn't decided to lob Grad missiles deep into Israeli territory.

All of my fury is saved up specifically for those Hamas pr*cks.

[Name removed]

26. Deleted sub-thread

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[Dorian Gray]

31. I think that's the crux of my problem with this initiative

Initially, I supported Israel's actions here. But now the Gazan people are suffering. If I could be sure that these actions would eradicate only Hamas, I'd actually continue to support their actions. But way too many innocent civilians have been harmed at this point, and I think that Israel is perpetuating these actions to show off their military might.

[Dorian Gray]

29. They should be furious

with both sides, I think. Hamas AND Israel.

It does seem like the people are being held hostage for political purposes.

[cboy4]

33. Yes of course, but I don't necessarily blame the Iraqi fighters for

killing Americans.

They're fighting invaders.

I place the blame on Bush for puting Americans in the position of being killed.

And that's how I blame Hamas. They're puting their civilians in the position of being killed.

[Dorian Gray]

36. You have that backwards

I believe. It's the Israelis who are invading Palestine right now.

I think that both sides have enough "blame" to go around at this point. The barrage of rockets that were being launched into Israel definitely deserved some sort of response. And the Palestinian people should be angry with Hamas for not stopping it. But they should also be angry at the Israelis at this point for the overkill (literally) that's going on right now. They are the ones who are invading Palestine right now, after all.

[cboy4]

41. Well I would agree that the Israeli response has gone on

long enough.

Hamas is figuratively on its knees where they belong.

But in exchange for an end to the bombing, something has to be done to make sure Hamas doesn't just re-arm to start firing more missiles into Israel.

[Marrah_G]

34. This is one of the few areas where I disagree with you.

Israel needs to be held accountable for THEIR part in all this. They are not innocent in this Cboy.

There are many people at fault in Palestine, Israel, Lebanon....zealots and war-mongers on all sides.

All sides can give you reason why they fight.

None are willing to do the truly difficult part of creating peace.

Not willing because in their minds they are right and therefore have a righteous cause.

I hope that our new administration will not see the situation through the old blinders, but rather talk to and listen to all sides and to hold all accountable for the lives of innocents.

[cboy4]

37. That's okay if you disagree with me. I have a lot of friends

in real life who disagree with me.

It's life.

This is a divisive issue, and it's a hard issue obviously, otherwise there would be peace by now.

But in this particular situation, it was Hamas that struck first.

We can argue whether the return strike was disproportional.

But I am far more furious with Hamas than I am with Israel.

But I respect your opinion of course.

[Name removed]

39. Deleted message

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[lamp_shade]

6. And Hamas will stop lobbing rockets into Israel during that 3-hour period.

Yuh..... right!

[pampango]

35. Actually they said they would stop firing missiles during the period. We'll see if it happens.

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2009/01/07/news/ML-Syria-Gaza-Hamas.php

"The Syria-exiled Hamas leadership indicated the militants in the Gaza Strip won't fire rockets on Israel during a three-hour lull Wednesday, but would not explicitly announce their own halt to fire or commit to a truce with Israel.

A Hamas representative in Lebanon, Osama Hamdan, said the group was discussing the Egyptian-French initiative and will decide its position later. He told Al-Jazeera TV Hamas won't "accept international troops, at any rate" along the volatile border of the coastal strip."

I believe that an agreement to accept the presence of international troops was crucial to the resolution of the war between Israel and Hezbollah a couple of years ago. It could play a role in Gaza as well.

[dipsydoodle]

10. See BBC link from earlier too

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x3676584

[Name removed]

20. Deleted sub-thread

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[bunnies]

23. Aid for 1.5 million people in 3 hours a day?!

Nice PR stunt Israel. Well done.

[tom_paine]

38. Bushies are all about the PR, no matter which country they come from.

Indeed it was well done.

Plausible Deniability. Bushies LOVE the stuff. It's their crack cocaine.

[Kurska]

44. The I/P conflict has been waged for 60 years, arguably a thousand

To label either side as "Bushies" shows a shocking lack of knowledge on th historical depth of the situation.

[tom_paine]

45. And to NOT call them Bushies CURRENTLY bespeaks a shocking ignorance.

To your original point I say, "No shit. What next, impress me with the idea that the sun is rising every day?"

Really, that long? Why, I never knew!

:rofl:

Pronounce the obvious with enough gravity, and some might forget their original point. Not me.

I say "No shit," and "So what?" Your point is an absolute non-sequitur. I see that a lot, I am finding, on I/P issues.

As a Jew, I find it absolutely creepy that Israel, for all intents and purposes, is and has been Bushified for an undetermined amount of time. Maybe it can be traced back to the Israeli Prime Minster for Peace, Yitzhak Rabin, was it not, got what seems to happen to an awful lot of Bushie Opponents and therefore Peace Proponents.

He got murdered.

By a lone gunemen.

By a crazed gunman.

Like JFK

Like RFK.

Like MLK.

As we all know, it could have been NOTHING ELSE BUT a crazed lone gunman, the same as shot those others.

Lucky Bushies. ALWAYS lucky Bushies. Their biggest threats always seem to just...go away.

Now, whatever happened to Rabin, Israeli Lies are now mirror images of Bushie Lies. They ring the same in the ears. They are structured the same. As a Jew, I am filled with horror and shame at such knowledge. I want to unsee what I have seen, unlearn what I have learned. But I cannot.

My point is, the Bushies have been around for at least 70 years. In fact, they tried to take down FDR and overthrow the nation in 1934. Prescott Bush, ironically, was to have been Ambassador to Nazi Germany because of his warm, firm ties with his Nazi friends.

Don't believe me? Listen to those liars at the BBC:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/history/document/document_20070723.shtml

My point is, it is YOU who lacks historical knowledge of Leo Strauss, the "Jewish Nazi" who suckled Wolfowitz and Cheney at his teat. You seem unaware that, to our eternal shame as a people, Bushie Jews, ironically working for the grandchildren of Hitler's greatest American Ally, form the backbone of corrupt, Nazi-patterned Bushie propaganda "think tanks", particularly the odious and anti-American AEI.

Oh no, my to my shock and horror there can be no denying it. Israel is ruled by Bushies, and they are most likely suffering the same corruptions of their voting and media that we are.

Listen to the Bushie Lies coming from Gaza, watch as the murder of inncoednt civilians is propagandized IN THE EXACT SAME WAY. Israel, like America, seems more in danger from within than without, by the same faction.

The faction that allied with Hitler 70 years ago, and the faction that decided to ally with his victims afteward, that is who the 10% of Jews who are Bushies serve.

God has a sense of humor, doesn't She? And ways of punishing hubris?

Some of your wealthiest, most powerful 10%, shall unwittingly aid the grandchildren of Hitler to destroy the Liberty your people have craved for so long and worked so hard for..in both America and Israel.

I imagine She might say something like that. As I said, She has a sense of humor.

Quite the opposite to me not knowing my history, the truth is I have forgotten more history than you likely know. Sorry to be so arrogant. Unless you are a scholar or a very educated reader, this is the factual truth.

I have been reading and studying history constantly since I was 10, though my formal training lies elsewhere.

So maybe stop and think before throwing off a one-liner stating the obvious like it was the received wisdom, then accusing people who've forgotten more history than you know of not knowing history.

Apologies for being arrogant there at the end, but it's likely the truth. If it isn't, congratulations on your lifetime interest in history, and the dozens of scholarly books you've read, or your History Degree.

If that is the case, please understand my ire at being accused of knowing no history. Imagine if I made such a blanket accusation at you, instead of merely speculating it and preemptively apologizing if I was wrong about you.

[ShadesOfGrey]

25. Yay! Good to hear. nt

[rateyes]

28. "Here, children, put on these cartoon bandaids, and have a box of cookies,

before we blow you and your mothers to smithereens. And, by the way, Shalom." :puke:

[Dorian Gray]

27. This is a good move...

though if they would stop the bombing it wouldn't be necessary.

[Kurska]

43. Why during the middle of the day?

Does anyone know is israel is performing most of it's military operations during the day or the night?