Hamas raises the strategic stakes, and an IDF invasion looms closer

[hack89]

Although the death of Roni Yihye in a Kassam attack on Sderot Wednesday was this week's most tragic event, it was Thursday's direct strike by a Grad missile on an Ashkelon apartment building - even though it resulted in no serious injuries - that was by far the most worrying development in the Gaza situation.

snip

The fact that terror groups were able to fire up to 10 Grads at Ashkelon on Thursday demonstrated the new and far more dangerous strategic situation that now exists in the southwest corner of the country.

The breach in the border fence with Egypt last month has clearly allowed Hamas and Islamic Jihad to bring in a far more substantial stockpile of the weapon, as well as personnel who have been professionally trained abroad (in Iran, Syria or Lebanon) to effectively modify and launch the missiles.

What's more, the ability of these groups to now fire off multiple missiles in a relatively short time period indicates another significant technological advancement.

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1204213984452&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

It looks like the residents of Gaza were looking for more than food when they tore down the wall. Escalation is not in Hama's interest - what are they thinking? What are they reasonably trying to accomplish?

[sellitman]

1. The only conclusion to me is

that Hamas never plans on letting the peace process go forward and they will always do anything they can to thwart it. Until they have driven every last Jew into the sea they will not stop. They have stated this time and time again. Backed it up with bombs and martyrs and I for one believe them.

[subsuelo]

2. That's interesting

One could also arrive at a similar conclusion in regards to Israel. That they never plan on settling on a peace process (no pun intended) - until they have driven all the native peoples out of the so-called 'Holy Land'. Indeed backing it up with tanks and bombs and all the latest military technologies.

[Phx_Dem]

3. Tough to negotiate with folks who keep lobbing rockets at you

nt.

[sellitman]

4. That's a historically inaccurate observation.

Palestinians are allowed to to live , work and even have members in the Knesset. There are 12 Arab members now seated in the Knesset, making up 10 percent of the body’s membership.

They have been offered Statehood in negotiations as far back as President Carters time in Washington. The land they have been given back since the 6 day war is never enough. They take and take and give nothing in return. Now Israel is suppose to look the other way as Rockets of an even deadlier make are lobbed on their civilian population.

Their military hides among their most populous areas and then wonder why their own civilians are caught in the cross fire. Then when they are its the Israelis fault alone.

The textbooks used in the Palestinian Authority school system, from elementary through high school, are replete with strong expressions of hatred towards Israel, negation of its right to exist and praise for the struggle against it, as well as antisemitic expressions against the Jews.

In these textbooks, Israel is described as "a country of gangs, born in crime." The Jews are arrogant and sly traitors, and Zionism is a racist movement and a "germ."

From this point of view, the Oslo Accords are described as "a move to get the Palestine Liberation Army into the territories," and support for jihad is emphasized.

Thus, Palestinian youth are educated from birth in an atmosphere of religious and nationalist incitement, with no trace of anything positive regarding Israel, which results in a deepening of their hatred towards Israel, a fanning of the flames of violence and encouragement and justification of terrorism against the State of Israel and against Jews.

Hardly conducive to peace in the future.

[subsuelo]

5. There's nothing inaccurate about it

Let's look at what I wrote:

1) Israel never plans on settling on a peace process

Fact: No peace process settled on yet, despite walking out on Taba, and repeatedly rejecting the one workable plan that even all the Arab nations pledged support to.

2) - until they have driven all the native peoples out of the so-called 'Holy Land'.

Fact: Precisely what has, and what continues to take place.

3) Indeed backing it up with tanks and bombs and all the latest military technologies.

Well that's just stating the obvious.

Regarding the peace process, why should Israel try to achieve peace with Palestinians? It's quite clear that the Israeli intention is to take as much of the 'Holy Land' as possible from the native peoples. Being at peace with the natives is an obvious obstacle to achieving that end.

[sellitman]

6. What are you talking about?

Where is this plan you keep bring up? The Israelis have given back major pieces of land for peace since the six day war and just what peace have they been met with? Suicide bombers and missles lobed at their civilians?

Native people are the Jews too ,who have had their Temples built over by the local Arab occupiers. See occupation is a double edged sword. How far back in history do you want to go? Only as far as it suits your argument?

[subsuelo]

10. I'm referring to the Saudi Peace Initiative

Arab states unanimously approve Saudi peace initiative

Regarding the "how far back in history" argument -- the Palestinian people were there when Israel started massacring them and taking land. The fact that these massacres still take place, and that land is still being stolen makes it relevant.

[sellitman]

11. Maybe you missed this part in your post.

"spokesman for Hamas in the Palestinian parliament, Salah al-Bardawil, told Haaretz, "we will not agree to recognition of Israel or peace with it . We have no problem with the part of the initiative that calls for the establishment of a Palestinian state on the 1967 borders and the right of refugees to return."

Or maybe you didn't.

[subsuelo]

12. Maybe you missed this part

"The important thing is to get the negotiations started. In any negotiations there are changes in positions, because negotiations are like that," Solana told reporters on the sidelines of the summit.

Besides, the plan's been out there (and been rejected by Israel) well before Hamas was elected.

[sellitman]

13. But not before Hamas strapped bombs to it's women & children.

And sent them into civilian city centers.

[subsuelo]

14. You are aware that Israel has killed far more civilians right?

They both are guilty of bombing civilian centers -- what is your point?

[sellitman]

19. You are aware that Hamas tries to hit Civilians

and Israel tries to hit Hamas Terrorists who shield themselves with their own citizens.

Where is the outrage against Hamas hiding among the innocent?

[kayecy]

20. Where is the outrage against Israel killing the innocent?

Hamas tries to kill the IDF but doesn't have tanks, F16s or guided weapons.

Where is the outrage against Hamas hiding among the innocent?

Where is the outrage against Israel killingb the innocent?

[azurnoir]

18. And how far do you want togo?

Oh yes lets send everyone back to where their ancestors lived 1900 years ago, we can start with the US and then lets send the Russians (Rus) back to Norway, then the French of the Normandy region, a chunk of the British and Scottish population should go, and lets not Iceland too, Norway may be a crowded but lets be fair here, right.

[Douglas Carpenter]

15. 75 percent of Israeli-Jewish students believe that Arabs are uneducated, uncivilized , dirty

What are these children being taught?

Is this kind of pathology an obstacle to peace?

This was poll was actually based on 1600 students at 22 high schools within Israel.

""The data was presented at a bi-lingual conference held in Haifa. The study, titled "Perception of 'the Other' among Jewish and Arab Youth in Israel" included 1,600 students studying in 22 high schools around the country. "

"The poll showed that 75 percent of Jewish students believe that Arabs are uneducated people, are uncivilized and are unclean.
On the other hand 25 percent of the Arab youth believe that Jews are the uneducated ones, while 57 percent of the Arab's believe Jews are unclean."

link: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3350467,00.html

Remembering this poll refers to Palestinians who live inside Israel and hold Israeli citizenship -- people commonly refereed to as "Israeli-Arabs". A people who have certainly not been in a state of rebellion for most of the past 60 years.

------------

and... The Myth of Insightment in Palestinian Textbooks - link:

http://www.miftah.org/Display.cfm?DocId=8797&CategoryId=4

"The claim that the new Palestinian textbooks incite students against Israel has been widely accepted as truth in the United States and Israel. The report on which such claims were based was issued by CMIP, a Jewish-American organization with known links to the Israeli settlement movement in the West Bank. Yet none of the American politicians who repeated the allegations or the Western donors who hastened to cut off funding for Palestinian textbook development bothered to have the report's claims checked against the actual texts. If they had, it would immediately have been clear that the report was based on innuendo, exaggeration, and downright lies. Indeed, the real message of CMIP's campaign against the textbooks is that peace with the Palestinians is impossible, that Israeli settlement in the occupied territories must go on, that force is the only language that Palestinians can understand.

In fact, the new Palestinian school textbooks make a special effort to promote tolerance, openness, and democratic values. The PA Ministry of Education, despite the extraordinary conditions of siege and violence under which it is operating, introduced new textbooks for two more grades in September 2001. The new textbooks, according to those who have seen them, demonstrate the same concern for promoting tolerance, openness, and democratic values. But even if all the grades in Palestinian schools carried absolutely exemplary textbooks, and even if all the teachers preached amity and concord, it is doubtful that such values could take hold in the ever deteriorating conditions of recent years. For ultimately, the Israeli occupation, with its daily cruelty and humiliation, is a far more powerful text than any schoolbooks could possible be. As Sami Adwan remarked, "How can a Palestinian write in a textbook that Israelis or Jews should be loved, while what he is experiencing is death, land expropriation, demolition of homes, and daily degradation? Give us a chance to teach loving."

In a forthcoming study, Nadim Rouhana argues that conflict reconciliation, as opposed to conflict resolution or conflict settlement, seeks to achieve a kind of relationship between the parties founded on mutual legitimacy. For this to occur, issues of justice, truth, and historical responsibility as well as the restructuring of social and political relations need to be addressed."

related articles:

Statement on Palestinian Schoolbooks
by Council of the European Union 15 May 2002

link:

http://www.pcdc.edu.ps/eu_on_palestinian_schoolbooks.htm

----

Israel or Palestine: Who teaches what history? A textbook case
by Elisa Morena in Le Monde Diplomatique, July 2001

link:

http://mondediplo.com/2001/07/11textbook

----

Democracy, History and the Contest over the Palestinian Curriculum
by Nathan J. Brown November 2001

link:

http://www.geocities.com/nathanbrown1/Adam_Institute_Palestinian_textbooks.htm

------

What Do Palestinian Textbooks Really Say?
by Nathan J. Brown, 2002

link:

http://www.geocities.com/nathanbrown1/CAJE.htm

-----

The International controversy regarding Palestinian textbooks
by Nathan J. Brown, 9 December 2002

link:

http://www.geocities.com/nathanbrown1/Georg_Eckert.htm

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Israelis' textbooks fare little better than Palestinians'
by Akiva Eldar in Ha'aretz, 9 December 2004

link:

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=511923

-----

Palestinian textbooks: Where is all that 'incitement'?
by Roger Avenstrup in International Herald Tribune, 18 December 2004

link:

http://www.iht.com/articles/2004/12/18/edavenstrup_ed3_.php

.

[Violet_Crumble]

7. Did anyone else notice the clanger in the first sentence?

"Although the death of Roni Yihye in a Kassam attack on Sderot Wednesday was this week's most tragic event"

Are Palestinians invisible to this guy? Because a Palestinian baby was killed in an attack this week, and there's not much that's more tragic than a child being killed. I noticed that not once in the article did he show the slightest bit of sympathy for, let alone even mention the Palestinian civilians that have been killed by the IDF. Pretty damn one-sided, which is to be expected for opinion pieces from JPost...

[bemildred]

8. Yeah, I noticed. nt

[oberliner]

9. Did you know that the baby was killed by a rocket fired by Palestinians within Gaza?

I know that doesn't make it any less tragic but that piece of information seems worth mentioning.

[Violet_Crumble]

16. Yeah, but like you pointed out it's got nothing to do with the point I was making...

Don't you find the way the article totally ignores the deaths of Palestinians kind of ickky?

[subsuelo]

17. That's the Jerusalem Post for you

That rag has an aura of hatred around it