@Steve 41oo,
Steve 41oo wrote:
Advocate wrote: On the whole Anti-Zionism is close to, or a mask for, Anti-Semitism....
Rubbish. Militant zionists try to stifle criticism by playing the race card. The Israeli Disgrace Force are a disgrace for what they do, not because they are Jewish. Or Christian or whatever religion they might be. This is the same dirty game played over and over again, that criticism of Israel masks anti semitism. The truth is the reverse. Subtle or not so subtle charges of anti semitism are automatically deployed against critics of Zionism in an effort to gag them, and take the spotlight away from unlawful and racist zionist policies.
Well, it was the Brits that started the whole situation when Britain wanted a place to put the 500,000 Displaced Persons after WWII. Like the moral to the fable Saint Midus' Touch, "Be careful what you wish for; you may get it."
Here is some more on those nice guys supported by Georgie and CI.
Amnesty accuses Hamas of killings, knee-cappings
Perpetrators 'Carefree'
Reuters
Published: Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Fawzi Barhoum
Human Rights Policy
Amnesty International yesterday accused Hamas fighters in the Gaza Strip of killing, torturing and abducting people accused of helping Israel, during and after the recent Israeli offensive.
At least two dozen men have been shot dead by Hamas gunmen and scores of others have been shot in the legs, knee-capped or injured in other ways intended to cause permanent disability, the human rights group said. Others have been severely beaten, tortured or ill-treated, it said in a report.
Most were abducted from their homes and later dumped, dead or injured, in isolated areas, or found in the morgue of one of Gaza's hospitals. Some were shot dead in hospitals where they were receiving treatment for injuries, Amnesty said.
"The perpetrators of these attacks did not conceal their weapons or keep a low profile, but, on the contrary, behaved in a carefree and confident -- almost ostentatious --manner," said the report.
The abuses have taken place since the end of December, 2008, during and after the 22-day Israeli military offensive, the rights group said.
Amnesty International called on Hamas, the Islamist group which runs the Gaza Strip, to end the alleged campaign immediately and agree to the establishment of an independent national commission of experts to investigate them.
"It's not clear whether this was something that was ordered or the top leadership effectively losing control of the guys with the guns," said Donatella Rovera, an Amnesty researcher who wrote the report.
Asked for comment on the report, Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said that, during the war, Israel deployed many informants to work against Hamas fighters and provided information that led to the killing of armed activists.
Hinting that some of those suspected of helping Israel were killed, he said, "There were also family feuds and people settling scores. Therefore, it is unjust to hold Hamas accountable for what happened.
"The government of national unity [Hamas] had the duty to implement the law and the resistance factions had the right to protect themselves."
The targets of the campaign by Hamas include former detainees, accused of helping Israeli security forces, who escaped from Gaza's Central Prison when it was bombed by Israel on Dec. 28, Amnesty said.
Others were former members of the Palestinian Authority security forces and other activists of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah party, a rival to Hamas, it said.
Hamas, which won a Palestinian parliamentary election in 2006, routed Fatah forces in Gaza to take over the territory a year later.
An Amnesty International fact-finding team which visited Gaza during and after the Israeli offensive recorded testimonies from a number of victims, as well as medical sources and eyewitnesses who corroborated their stories.
"There is incontrovertible evidence that Hamas security forces and armed militias have been responsible for grave human rights abuses and that the victims of such abuses and many others are being intimidated and discouraged from testifying about their ordeal. The Hamas de-facto administration has displayed a flagrant disregard for the most fundamental human rights norms, not only allowing such abuses to be perpetrated, but actually facilitating and encouraging the abuses by justifying them and by granting absolute impunity to the perpetrators," said the report
********
I'm interested in the progress of the Israeli election campaign. (Election very soon.) Could someone tell me if it's being discussed on any of the existing threads here?
Thanks.
A Pact With the Devil
Israel and the terrorist group, Hamas, are evidently near an agreement over their conflict. The latter, which believes in amputation of criminals and subjugation of women, and which is dedicated to the destruction of Israel, is apparently willing to cease the constant bombardment of Israel.
Hamas Shoots Medicine Bombs at Israelis
Medicine bottles, transferred to the Gaza Strip as humanitarian aid by Israel, were used by Hamas as grenades against IDF troops during Operation Cast Lead. Pictures of the grenades were obtained exclusively by The Jerusalem Post.
Hamas turned these drug containers into weapons.
The medicine bottles were manufactured by the Jerusalem Pharmaceutical Company, which is based in el-Bireh, a town adjacent to Ramallah, and the global pharmaceutical company Shire.
The medicine bottles were filled with explosives, holes were drilled in the caps, and fuses were installed. Once Hamas fighters lit the fuses, they had several seconds to throw the grenades at soldiers. The IDF also found small explosive devices that used medical syringes to hold their fuses.
The medical grenades were discovered in northern Gaza by troops during last month's three-week battle against Hamas. The grenades were taken to military explosives experts, and then disassembled and studied.
One bottle turned into a grenade originally contained a drug called Equetro, which is used by people who suffer from episodes associated with bipolar disorder. Another bottle had contained a vitamin supplement called Super-Vit.
"This is another example of Hamas's cynical use of humanitarian supplies to attack Israel," a Defense Ministry official said Thursday. "Israel facilitates the transfer of the supplies to the Gaza Strip, and Hamas uses the supplies to create weapons."
During the offensive, the IDF encountered a variety of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) that were manufactured by Hamas and Islamic Jihad inside the Gaza Strip. Some were anti-personnel bombs and others were planted on the sides of roads or underground to be activated against IDF tanks and armored personnel carriers. Some of the IEDs were fitted with advanced wireless detonators and others were attached to a wire.
In one instance, a Merkava tank from Brigade 401 rolled over a large explosive device that lifted the tank in the air but did not cause any serious damage, due to a plate of reinforced steel that was installed on the tank before the operation.
jpost.com
@Advocate,
When you start referring to a race of people as 'the devil' it is time to pause.
Have you read both of these reports, advocate?
I for one, would like to hear your thoughts on them
Gaza: Death's Laboratory
http://www.antiwar.com/orig/hallinan.php?articleid=14238
How Do Gazans Keep Going?
How Do We?
http://antiwar.com/orig/kelly.php
@Endymion,
The last time I looked, Hamas is not a race. However, it is the devil.
Yes, Israel took a harsh approach to stop the incessant Hamas attacks over three years. Nothing short of such an attack would be effective. Moreover, despite the horrors of the war, Hamas persists in shelling and rocketing Israel.
No self-respecting country would tolerate what Hamas is doing without a major effort to stop the perpetrators.
I can only surmise that you are anti-semitic. Otherwise, this would be as clear as can be to you.
@Advocate,
Necessity is the mother of invention. Supply the Palestinians with the same armaments that the Israelis are supplied with and these idiotic diatribes would cease.
Those Hamas guys are so lovable. Well, at least some of the posters here seem to think this.
Hamas killing campaign exposed
* Guardian report says ‘incontrovertible evidence’ found of Hamas committing ‘grave human rights abuses’
* Locals say people afraid to live normal lives, express opinions freely in Gaza
Daily Times Monitor
LAHORE: The Amnesty International (AI) on Friday said Hamas had tortured and killed dozens of people after Israel’s three-week assault on Gaza, accusing them of collaborating with Israel, the Guardian newspaper reported.
The paper quoted AI as saying that Hamas forces and militias were involved in a “campaign of abductions, deliberate and unlawful killings, torture and death threats against those they accused of ‘collaborating’ with Israel, as well as opponents and critics”.
“AI said at least two dozen men had been shot by Hamas since the end of December and scores of others shot in the legs, kneecapped or beaten,” the Guardian said.
Evidence: Amnesty gave details of some of the incidents, saying there was ‘incontrovertible evidence’ that Hamas security forces and militia were “responsible for grave human rights abuses”.
Hamas officials admitted hunting for suspected collaborators, but said they did not conduct the alleged campaign of attacks.
“Hamas apparently fears it lost some of its control in Gaza during Israel’s devastating three-week war and launched a new and violent crackdown to enforce its rule, targeting not only those suspected of giving information to the Israeli military but also escaped prisoners and all perceived internal opponents,” the paper said.
The Guardian said the new evidence corroborated witness accounts, as well as an investigation by the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights, based in Gaza City, that found 32 people had been killed by the Palestinian security services and other gunmen in Gaza since the war began, and that dozens more were shot or beaten.
A Palestinian working for a civil society organisation told the paper how he had been forced to leave Gaza due to growing threats. Mowaffaq Alami, 36, worked for the One Voice organisation in Gaza that promotes grassroots discussions about Israeli-Palestinian peace proposals, it said.
Freedom: “People are afraid to live normal lives, to express their opinions freely,” Alami said. “There is no freedom of speech, of movement, of travelling or having real healthcare. Hamas is raising George Bush’s policy: those not with us are against us,” Guardian quoted Alami.
It reported the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights as saying that Hamas had tightened its restrictions on civil society groups, ordering them to inform Hamas authorities before receiving or distributing aid and obtain its approval before starting new construction or development work.
Alami told the Guardian that many Palestinians no longer felt affiliated to any political group, either Hamas or Fatah, its West Bank-based rival.
@Advocate,
You live in the US of A and you find this surprising, Advocate?
George likes to point to the alleged condemnation of Israel throughout the world. Well, I am not sure it is so widespead. Moreover, some condemnation is understandable in view of the bias of the international media.
Since the Gaza conflict ended a few weeks ago, the international media have had some time to reflect on events as they actually occurred---as opposed to the events as they were reported.
Among numerous examples of inaccurate and at times blatantly false reporting, a few stand out. One of the most notorious examples was the report that Israel supposedly bombed a UN school, resulting in 43 deaths. Please read the article below by Patrick Martin of the Canadian paper, the Globe and Mail, in which he describes the results of their detailed investigation in Gaza.
As it (not so surprisingly) turns out, no Palestinians were killed in the school or even within the school compound.
The Washington Post also recently issued a correction on the UN school story (though it is worth noting that it was placed within the inside pages of the Saturday edition). Why haven’t the BBC, CNN, the Guardian, or the NY Times issued retractions or corrections of their coverage over this story?
Another example involved the (now infamous as a result of their al-Dura story) French TV station, France 2. They showed video footage that they originally claimed was of an Israeli air strike on a civilian area in Gaza. They were later forced to admit that they had used old footage from a 2005 video showing the explosion of a truck filled with arms in the Jabaliya refugee camp.
It has now also come to light that the number of Palestinian deaths in Gaza was wildly over-reported. Far from the 1,300 deaths reported by many news outlets, the Italian newspaper, Corriere della Sera, concluded that 500-600 Palestinians were killed. And of these, most were Hamas fighers.
Reports are only now coming out about the killing and maiming of Fatah supports in Gaza (here is a list of the 181 Fatah victims). Hamas has also been accused by the UN of stealing food and medicine being sent in by donors. UNRWA, the UN agency whose specific purpose is to provide for the Palestinian people, now has to be wary of blatant Hamas aggression.
It has been a modest vindication of Israeli action during the conflict, now that the extreme bias of international media has been proven. But the damage has already been done. This atrocious reporting was in part responsible for the rise in anti-Semitic attacks throughout the world, specifically in Venezuela, where a Caracas synagogue was attacked on January 30th. Now the country’s 10,000 Jews can only wonder what might come next.
Rather than focus on the important fact that Israel went further than any other army in history to warn civilians of impeding attacks (thereby divulging their attack plans in the process), the media jumped at the chance to criticize Israel once again.
As rockets continue to fall on Israel after the "end" of the conflict, one would hope (against hope) that Israel will get a little more integrity out of the BBCs of the world when the inevitable next conflict occurs.
Amazingly, six weeks after Israel halted its raid on Gaza, Hamas is still hurling rockets to kill Israeli innocents.
Olmert threatens strong response to Gaza rockets
By MATTI FRIEDMAN " 5 hours ago
JERUSALEM (AP) " Israel's prime minister threatened "uncompromising" retaliation against Gaza militants Sunday as Palestinian rocket fire persists six weeks after Israeli forces halted an offensive meant to end the attacks.
Ehud Olmert met with his Cabinet to decide how to respond now that it appears clear that the goal of ending the rocket fire from the Gaza Strip was not achieved.
The military says Palestinians have launched over 110 rockets and mortar shells at Israel since the offensive ended Jan. 18.
Many Israelis believe the Gaza operation ended too soon, leaving Hamas in power in Gaza and seemingly undaunted, and the continuing rocket fire has brought renewed calls for tougher military action.
"If the rocket fire from Gaza continues, it will be answered with a painful, harsh, strong and uncompromising response from the security forces," Olmert said, speaking at the start of the weekly Cabinet meeting in Jerusalem.
Israel and Hamas have failed so far to reach a long-term truce through Egyptian mediation, and sporadic violence has persisted.
So far, Israel has responded to the near-daily rocket fire by striking smuggling tunnels under the Gaza-Egypt border through which Hamas has smuggled some of its weaponry.
The heightened possibility of renewed hostilities in Gaza came ahead of a week of intense " and possibly crucial " diplomatic activity.
Monday will see top diplomats from around the world convene in Egypt for an international conference on the strip's reconstruction, with the Palestinians seeking $2.8 billion in aid to repair the devastation left by the Israeli offensive.
A string of high-profile foreign visitors has visited Gaza since the offensive, in a sign of increasing international involvement in the long-isolated territory. Former British prime minister Tony Blair, currently an international Mideast envoy, was touring Gaza on Sunday " his first visit since being appointed to the job in 2007.
Last week European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana made his first visit to the territory since Hamas' 2007 takeover there, and U.S. Senator John Kerry toured Gaza the week before.
International aid will not be able to move ahead without a firm truce between Israel and Hamas but the Egyptian-mediated talks between the sides have yielded no results so far.
Hamas wants Israel to open Gaza's blockaded border crossings, without which any major rebuilding will be impossible. Israel says it will do so only after Hamas releases an Israeli soldier it has held since 2006.
Another stumbling block is the feud between Hamas and the more moderate West Bank-based government of President Mahmoud Abbas.
Most of the international community shuns Hamas as a terrorist organization and will not funnel aid through the group, preferring instead to deal with Abbas.
The billions of dollars in donor funds hanging in the balance have served to spur new talks between the two Palestinian factions in an attempt to reach a power-sharing agreement. Those talks are currently under way in Cairo.
Hamas and Abbas' Fatah movement have been at odds for years, a spat that culminated in Hamas' bloody rout of Fatah in Gaza and its takeover of the territory.
The new U.S. secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, is making her first Mideast visit to attend the Gaza donors' conference, at which the U.S. is expected to pledge $900 million. She will then continue to Israel and the West Bank.
Clinton will arrive in Israel at a time of political uncertainty. Olmert is currently a caretaker prime minister in the aftermath of last month's national election, which saw gains by hard-line parties and marked the end of the road for Olmert's government.
His replacement will be Benjamin Netanyahu, leader of the hard-line Likud Party, who is trying to cobble together a new coalition " one that might set him up for a clash with Clinton and the U.S. administration.
Netanyahu has tried to convince his centrist rival, Tzipi Livni, to join him in a broad coalition.
But with Netanyahu unwilling to support the establishment of a Palestinian state alongside Israel, Livni has said she will stay out, leaving Netanyahu with no option but to rule with a narrow alliance of hard-line and Orthodox Jewish parties opposed to significant concessions for peace.
"Shocking and enormous" - after visiting Gaza, Tony Blair describes the devastation in the region in an interview on Channel 4
Interview in full
@Walter Hinteler,
Blair brings out that it is virtually impossible to negotiate with Hamas because it is unwilling to commit to nonviolence, much less separate states.
BTW, the destruction in Gaza is due to Hamas hiding and operating in the midst of civilian areas. No country has gone to greater lengths than Israel in avoiding civilian casualties. Israel, which killed about 700 Hamas fighters, dropped over a million warning leaflets in areas scheduled for bombings, and made over 100,000 similar phone calls. Walter, did Germany ever do anything like this even once? With Germany, it was kill as many civilians as possible. It even massacred millions of its own people.
@Advocate,
Advocate wrote:
Blair brings out that it is virtually impossible to negotiate with Hamas because it is unwilling to commit to nonviolence, much less separate states.
Really? Well, I'm not a native English speaker so I might have got it wrong ... like many others, even in the UK, though.
Only a third of the U.S.'s pledged $900 million Palestinian aid will go to Gaza, the rest to Abbas:
Reuters report
@Walter Hinteler,
Giving more than $300 M to Gaza would only serve to shore up Hamas. The amount given is sufficient to provide emergency aid.
@Advocate,
The Palestinian Authority is seeking 1.3 billion dollars for Gaza as well as 1.5 billion dollars to shore up its budget.
The European Union will donate 554 million dollars while the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council have pledged 1.65 billion dollars.
@Advocate,
Advocate wrote:BTW, the destruction in Gaza is due to Hamas hiding and operating in the midst of civilian areas. No country has gone to greater lengths than Israel in avoiding civilian casualties. Israel, which killed about 700 Hamas fighters, dropped over a million warning leaflets in areas scheduled for bombings, and made over 100,000 similar phone calls. Walter, did Germany ever do anything like this even once? With Germany, it was kill as many civilians as possible. It even massacred millions of its own people.
Walter is too much a gentleman to rise to your bait advocate but let me just tell you what I think. First the people of Gaza elected Hamas as their government. Gaza is one of the most densely populated regions on earth. The government of Gaza did not need to hide among the people, the government of Gaza is made up of the people's representatives. To suggest that Hamas caused the destruction and death in Gaza merely by being in Gaza is stupid and displays the logic of the kindergarten. Israeli weapons caused the destruction in Gaza, fired by the Israeli Disgrace force under orders from the Israeli zionist regime. It is very simple, but I'm not surprised its beyond your capacity for understanding.
