A Conflict Hamas Caused

[ellisonz]

A Conflict Hamas Caused
By Richard Cohen
Tuesday, January 6, 2009; Page A13

Nearly a year ago, I was in the southern Israeli city of Sderot, where, on almost any day, you could see the current war coming. "The next Middle East war may start over Sderot," I wrote back then. I came by my prescience the hard way -- in a bomb shelter. That day, three Qassam rockets had hit the city. It took no genius to see the imminence of war. It takes real stupidity to blame it on Israel.

On some days, dozens of rockets fell on Sderot. A blimp hovered over the town, and when it electronically spied an incoming rocket, the sirens went off. In Sderot, the sirens were virtually a single, long wail on some days. Everyone took shelter because shelters are everywhere -- a constant reminder of the nearness of death or, at the very least, destruction. Even a dud can bust through the roof of a house.

I get the impression that Israel is expected to put up with this. The implied message from demonstrators and some opinion columnists is that this is the price Israel is supposed to pay for being, I suppose, Israel. I am informed by a Palestinian journalist in a Post op-ed that Israel is trying to stop "amateur rockets from nagging the residents of some of its southern cities." In Sderot, I saw homes nagged to smithereens.

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The horrors of war are not to be dismissed or demeaned. In 2006, Israel accidentally killed 28 civilians in the Lebanese village of Qana when it attempted to take out a nearby rocket site. In Gaza, innocent Palestinians are being killed. The suffering is great and cannot be ignored. But what has been ignored is the series of events that led to this war. Anyone could see how it was going to start. As always, though, it's a lot harder to see how it ends.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/05/AR2009010502343.html

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

1. Does the Mossad not still exist?

If so, what people expect is that Israel utilize their vastly superior intelligence and espionage unit to capture or kill terrorist leaders without carpetbombing densely populated areas.

We expect Israel to use political and diplomatic means to find peace - two powerful, peaceful weapons that have not been meaningfully used since Rabin was murdered by his own people.

We expect Israel to allow basic human rights to the Palestinians, such as medical care, food, and the ability to make a living by transporting goods and services.

That is precisely what we expect.

[bunnies]

2. You nailed it.

:applause:

[ellisonz]

3. But you don't expect Hamas to stop firing rockets?

[GoesTo11]

4. inawcihdi

It's not a war crime if Hamas does it.

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

5. Nice strawman.

Why is it that is always pulled out? Of course we expect Hamas to stop firing rockets. Nearly everyone expects that. It's a given. My comments are in response to the original claim, so of course they are directed at the claim that Israel is blameless for what is occurring, which is so far from the truth it is laughable.

As an established nation, and as the oppressors of a large number of people, I expect Israel to start acting like the civilized nation it claims to be. I expect them to not kill civilians wherever possible. Killing civilians is a terrorist action that I would expect from a terrorist organization. It is not acceptable in any regard.

[Vegasaurus]

6. Except that the terrorist actions continue to cause the people to be oppressed

Without terrorism, there wouldn't be oppression.

The borders would be open, there would be free trade and a good life for the Palestinians.

[azurnoir]

9. So you claim

but the airspace and water ways were never open were they? The border check points were only open at Israeli disquisition except for Rafah which was under EU monitoring until June of 2007

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

14. Except that it was your chicken that laid the egg.

The oppression was there first, not the terrorism.

[wellst0nev0ter]

10. You Have No Proof That Hamas Fired Any Rockets

From the time of the ceasefire to when Israel broke it in early November.

[snappyturtle]

8. Exactly. Who does it serve to bomb Gaza? The Israelis...I think not and

most certainly not the Gazans. But when you thnk about it the U.S. has done the same as Israel is doing in respect to Iraq.

[snappyturtle]

7. It has been well explained why Israel is bombing Gaza however, I

think we need to ask, why is Hamas firing rockets into Israel? My guess is that the answer is of a more immediate nature than the stated Hamas Charter policy of not recognizing Israel.

[azurnoir]

11. The "funny" part is that Fatahs says the same thing

the wiki page containing that informnation was edited around 11:35 PM yesterday and the entire section is gone, what a surprise as it has posted this a number of times it was inevitable

but here is a link to the PLO charter of which Fatah is a part

http://www.iris.org.il/plochart.htm

and an article from a favorite publication of Israel supporters about the subject

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Blogs/Message.aspx/2051

[snappyturtle]

17. Thank you....will read! nt

[Vegasaurus]

18. Fatah is not lobbing rockets into Israel

they seem to really be interested in improving their lives by finally getting a state.

The fact that Hamas is so evil that they care more about terrorism than getting a state is why they won't be getting one soon.

And the innocent people will continue to suffer, as long as Hamas is control of Gaza.

The Israelis would be doing the entire region a favor to take out Hamas completely.

No one wants those extremists upsetting the regional equilibrium.

That's why the Arab states are so quiet.

[azurnoir]

19. The al aqsa brigades

who are part of Fatah were the ones lobbing rockets over the summer, but Fatah had no reason to want the cease fire to fail did it? Who are the Israeli handing Gaza or whats left of it over to again?

[Vegasaurus]

21. Any Fatah member who isn't colluding with Hamas is kidnapped or murdered

Those rocket lobbers were very much part of Hamas's team, no matter what they called themselves.

There are so many militant groups, who could keep track, but Hamas knows which ones are on their side.

All the rest are done away with.

[azurnoir]

22. Ah ha they were also arrested by Hamas for their actions

at the time the claim was that al aqsa was angry because the OPT was not included in the cease fire

[Avalux]

12. Blaming one side or the other is pointlessly futile.

This author, while acknowledging the horrors of war, writes from a decidedly slanted point of view. Until this sort of thinking stops, there will never be a resolution.

[Marrah_G]

13. The blame lies in the hands of Hamas AND the Israeli Government

Anyone who cannot see that both sides have some responsibility in this is really not looking at things clearly.

It has become a vicious circle. It's as if each side is a 6 year old on the playground screaming "He hit me first, I had the ball first"

Nothing will be resolved in the I/P situation until there are people in charge who are committed to treating others with care and respect. I mean real care and respect, not just the empty words.

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

15. Absolutely correct.

Unfortunately, each side truly believes that the moment they stop slapping each other, the other side will wipe them out entirely. Which is where foreign assurances must come into play, but have not.

edit: typo

[Marrah_G]

16. And all that is being accomplished is more extremists being created on all sides.

[AnOhioan]

23. Too bad I can't rec a response...this one deserves it.

[StudsT]

20. the Blame Infinite Loop, when both are guilty, gets us nowhere... will our leaders admit that?

I am expecting a more adult response to our problems with the new administration.

StudsT