Army: Gaza militants fire into Israel

[oberliner]

JERUSALEM (AFP) - Palestinian militants fired two projectiles into southern Israel from the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip on Tuesday, a military spokeswoman said.

It was not immediately clear if they were mortars or rockets, but the projectiles "landed in an open area without causing damage or injuries," the spokeswoman said.

According to an army count, Palestinian militants have fired more than 190 rockets or mortar rounds at Israel from the coastal strip since the start of this year.


http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=339851

[aquart]

1. I want you to know that no arms were smuggled in aid shipments or flotillas.

These appeared magically in the arms of a pink bunny.

[no limit]

2. I hope Israel doesn't again over react and kill a thousand innocent people

[oberliner]

3. What would be a reasonable reaction? nt

[no limit]

4. Good question

I think Israel should honestly negotiate with the Palestinians, instead of what they have been doing up to now. Pretending to be willing to negotiate while at the same time engaging in actions that stop any meaningful negotiations in it's tracks. Israel has been doing this for decades it needs to stop. And by no means is the other side innocent, nobody is suggesting they are. But the Palestinian people have been suffering for too long.

Can you answer my question now. Do you think killing hundreds or thousands of people as a result of these strikes would be a reasonable reaction?

[hayu_lol]

5. What particular Palestinian group do you want the...

Israelis to negotiate with? There must be thousands of small Palestinian groups who want to negotiate...who really has the power to negotiate. Get an agreement with HAMAS and all the other groups will continue to claim they are not represented. With FATAH and the same result. Army Of Islam? Same situation.

WHO really represents the Palestinian people? Who really is firing the rockets and mortars? Anyone really know?

With Israel, you have a country represented by a government body that can make binding decisions for all the people of the country. What you appear to have in Palestinian areas are an uncontrolled mob of individuals led by bat-shit crazy mullahs.

It is past time for the Palestinian people to rise up and create their government, that would be the actual beginning of an Islamic state. The present system isn't working for them at all. Up to this time, there is no one group that speaks for the population.

[no limit]

7. We might not like it but Hamas is their elected government right now, that's who you negotiate with

internal issues within their borders are real and they are a problem. And Hamas needs to deal with that problem. If we negotiated with them they might actually have some incentive to gain control of their country. It won't stop all attacks in the near future, that's impossible because of everything you said. But they'll have to live with that.

Just because we have all the border violence on the mexican border doesn't mean we bomb them. We try to working with them to minimize that knowing it will never fully stop.

[shira]

8. Hamas is a little too busy right now abusing Palestinian children....

Hamas summer camp: Weapons training for leaders' kids
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3927982,00.html

When we die as martyrs (children's video)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=illF1vt5g1Q

More kids TV child abuse
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pNZniRFSeug

======

And it's not just Hamas:

Recent incident in Silwan in which adults (media) use and abuse Palestinian children...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zjSdbVZ8QPY

Child Abuse in the Palestinian Authority
http://www.internationalwallofprayer.org/A-096-Child-Abuse-In-The-Palestinian-Authority.html

[no limit]

9. Yeah, hamas sure sucks. I didn't notice anyone saying that they didn't

did you? But they are the people we are forced to work with. It doesn't stop us in Iran, it doesn't stop us in North Korea. Why does it stop us in the gaza strip?

[shira]

10. They don't want peace with Israel, ever. It's a religious war to them. How do you work...

...with that if you're Israel or the USA? What can Israel possibly offer Hamas that would be acceptable to them?

That's like the US negotiating with Bin Laden.

[oberliner]

11. What would your policy be with respect to Hamas?

Wait until they are voted out of office - or otherwise deposed?

[shira]

12. They won't allow themselves to be voted out or deposed...

Outside pressure from the International community is needed WRT their policies, both with respect to Israel and WRT the way they abuse Gazans.

The media really needs to report what Hamas is doing. Same for NGO's like Amnesty Int'l and HRW. No more censorship and covering for Hamas' crimes. Maybe all the criticism will effect some change. I don't see how it could hurt.

[no limit]

13. The media isn't reporting what Hamas is doing? What?

You know who is really evil? That asshole in North Korea. Or how about Saudi Arabia? They are directly funding Al Queda. Do you want to invade Saudi Arabia as well?

[shira]

14. Right. See post #8. The media censors most of that and HRW, AI, and other NGO's...

....rarely if ever bring any of that up.

Covering for Hamas and the PLO won't help Palestinians or bring peace any closer.

[oberliner]

15. If they won't be voted out or deposed, what good does the criticism do?

Isn't the part of the point of the international criticism an attempt to motivate the people to make a change?

[shira]

16. Hamas won't be deposed or voted out now, without any criticism or pressure

With heavy criticism from the International community, maybe they'll be embarassed enough to make positive changes that will benefit the citizens of Gaza and help promote peace.

As it is now, censoring or covering for their crimes only empowers Hamas and makes the situation for Palestinians much worse.

The aim is to reverse that.

[oberliner]

6. I thought your question was rhetorical

Obviously killing hundreds or thousands of people as a result of these strikes would not be a reasonable reaction.

I just have no idea what Israel can or should do to protect itself from the rocket attacks that have been ongoing.

Hamas actually tends to step up the attacks when Israel is negotiating with the Palestinians because they are generally not altogether keen on the idea.

In fact, in the past, some of the worst terrorist attacks committed by Hamas against Israel have been during times that such negotiations seemed to be going well