@cicerone imposter,
cicerone imposter wrote:
The 'random shooting of missiles' vs the intentional killing by Israel has no comparison based on humanity and ethics.
That is a totally preposterous statement.
Random shooting? They are aimed at civilian centers. If they haven't been more successful in killing Israeli citizens it's because of the Israeli Iron Dome, not for lack of intentional effort by Hamas.
This insistence on dismissing the Hamas rocket attacks as the equivalent of kids throwing rocks at soldiers is, at best, intellectually dishonest.
The facts:
Since 2001 almost 5,000 rockets have been fired into Israel. 4,000 of them
since Israel withdrew from Gaza in 2005.
As of November 2012 the attacks have killed 64 Israelis, mostly civilians, and injured thousands.
What began with the use of short-range Qassams had developed, by 2006, into the firing of longer-range Katyusha, WS-1B and Grad rockets. In 2012 Jerusalem and Tel Aviv began to come under attack from M-75" and Iranian Fajr-5 rockets. In 2014 the Northern city of Haifa was targeted. Some of the rockets fired by Hamas have contained white phosphorus.
Regardless of what one believes concerning the merits of either the Israeli or Palestinian "causes," these rocket attacks are not
pathetic or
random. They are serious attempts to kill people. Both sides are engaged in a serious and deadly struggle.
Obviously the Israeli's have a clear advantage in terms of weapons and forces, but it is equally obvious that they have not brought anything like their full military capabilities to bear on those with who they are fighting. Meanwhile, the Palestinians throw everything they have, and use any means available to them to try and kill Israelis. Within the confines imposed by the weapons available, or those that are self-imposed (whether from a desire to minimize casualties or international outrage) both groups are going at each other hammer and tong. The idea that Hamas is either circumspect in their attacks or harmless pikers is ridiculous. If they were, the thing would have been over long ago.
People have died and will continue to die as a result of this conflict. It needs to stop.
Israel agreed to a cease-fire and Hamas did not. That the latter rejected the proposal because they weren't provided the opportunity to obtain concessions that would allow them to continue an armed conflict with the promise of more dead is indefensible and shouldn't be an accepted explanation for those Palestinians who lose loved ones in the days ahead. In addition to the release of Hamas fighters from Israeli prisons, the group demanded the lifting of the Gaza blockade. I've no doubt that you and your confreres will swallow whole that this was out of Hamas' concern for the people of Gaza, but anyone who has an ounce of sense knows that the primary reason for the demand was to enable them to secure more weapons and more powerful weapons at that. The rocket attacks weren't a response to the Israeli blockade, they were the cause of it.
