It's worth remembering that Islamic Jihad cannot operate in Gaza without the tacit permission of Hamas. In effect, Islamic Jihad functions as the radical arm of Hamas, even if it marches to its own drummer - that is, Iran.
Given the Sunni-Shia split in the Islamic world, this might be considered ironic, were the consequences not so deadly for all involved - not including the Iranians, of course.
12
Would just like to point out that the most liked comments are all defending Israel. Just goes to show that more and more people are starting to see the truth that Israel has every right to defend itself, and exposing the lie that Israel is somehow comparable to these actual terrorists.
24
Both Hamas and Islamic Jihad, for many years, have not just committed a war crime by TARGETING civilians. They also have committed another war crime: the use of civilian shields. They purposely fire rockets from the midst of densely populated areas. Next to schools, hotels, market places. The logic is that Israel will not hit the perpetrators for fear of injuring civilians.
So they commit a double war crime. No organ of the UN has EVER passed a resolution condemning any Palestinian terror group. The world's amorality is disgusting.
18
Talk about precision--Israel destroys one building while leaving intact windows of another building less 50 feet away.
15
As I wait for the usual UN demand to show "restraint", I hope that the media is noticing that it doesn't really make any difference who is in charge of Israel: Bibi Netanyahu, Bennie Gantz, Yossi Alpher, all object to being menaced and murdered. And get extra upset when their children and grandchildren are menaced by Iranian rockets. Jews did not go like lambs to the slaughter to the gas chambers; crematoria were blown up, there were escapes. So can the world get over the shock of realizing that the Jews are going to fight back? And will continue to protect the one refuge on this planet for the increasingly menaced Jews of Europe?
And forget the Kushner peace plan: with Gaza and the West Bank divided, and Iran still running riot in Gaza, it's not worth discussing.
15
Islamic Jihad is a proxy for Iran. Iran is bent on Israel's destruction not because of sympathy for the Palestinians. They have their regional ambitions, and want to deflect attention from the subjugation of their own people and the abject state of their economy. Israel has negotiated for months with Hamas to achieve a lasting ceasefire with Egyptian mediation. They and Hamas have mutual self-interest in a negotiated solution that rebuilds Gaza's economy. Israel wants quiet on the border. Hamas has a brewing insurrection on its hands due to its neglience of the needs of its people. Whenever Israel and Hamas appear to make progress on an agreement, Islamic Jihad sends some rockets to Israel, prompting Israeli retaliation against Hamas. This self-defeating cycle had only one beneficiary: Iran. What is noteworthy this time has nothing to do with Israeli politics. It is that Israel has refrained from attacking Hamas, and so far, Hamas has refrained from attacking Israel. Islamic Jihad has been a thorn in Hamas's side for months. They want to participate in the Palestinian parliamentary elections promised by Mahmoud Abbas which would be an important step to reconciling Hamas and the PA. Islamic Jihad could thwart those plans. In short, Israel is doing the dirty work for Hamas, and Hamas is letting them.
9
anyway Israël is entitled to get rid of terrorists threatening it's people . No one may try freely to kill jews anymore. This rule is absolute
13
A stark contrast in morality:
Over 200 rockets so far are showered on Israel's cities and towns. Israelis across south and central Israel are staying home from work and school.
In contrast the Gazan population is going about its normal business. Schools are open.
Why the difference? The Gazan population knows that Israel targets the terrorists and does everything it can to avoid civilian casualties. Islamic Jihad and Hamas do the opposite.
25
I can't believe how far we are now removed from peace talks and how we have abandoned a search for a fair and just solution for both sides of this never-ending, terrible conflict. The rise of strong men bullies on all fronts has destroyed our moral compasses.
It is not a morally justified action, whatever you think. We just call people "evil" or "terrorist" and then bomb, shoot or blow them and their families up, why? because we can. How self serving it is to think that is ethically okay. How stupid to think that the people who are victims of this attack will not suffer and in their suffering lash out.
And why is Israeli aggression now buried in the lower sections of the NYT?
Netanyahu and his friend Trump bring us farther and farther from peace and security in the region.
3
I laugh that you think the NYT is biased towards Israel
16
@KM In 1947, the scholars at Al-Azhar University (The highest authority in Sunni Islam.) declared holy war to return Palestine to Islamic rule. Therefore, as long as most Palestinians are devout Muslims (85% of Palestinian Muslims want sharia law.) and as long as the Jewish State controls even one square inch of land, peace is impossible.
6
@KM
Colonel Richard Kemp, former commander of British troops in Afghanistan, has repeatedly commented that, "during its operation in Gaza, the Israeli Defence Forces did more to safeguard the rights of civilians in a combat zone than any other army in the history of warfare." Furthermore, he points out that the steps taken in that conflict by the Israeli Defence Forces to avoid civilian deaths are shown by a study published by the United Nations to have resulted in, by far, the lowest 18of civilian to combatant deaths in any asymmetric conflict in the history of warfare. Kemp explains that by UN estimates, the average ratio of civilian to combatant deaths in such conflicts worldwide is 3:1 -- three civilians for every combatant killed. That is the estimated ratio in Afghanistan. But in Iraq, and in Kosovo, it was worse: the ratio is believed to have been 4:1. Anecdotal evidence suggests the ratios were very much higher in Chechnya and Serbia. In Gaza, it was less than one-to-one.
https://www.newstatesman.com/blogs/the-staggers/2011/12/israel-gaza-operation-civilian
8
The US also killed a leading militant.
8
I love it when evil people who spend their time pursuing the deaths of others and not pursuing peace are killed. Thank God for the IDF
18
The Jews have previously taken being attacked in stride. That resulted in the death of 6 million Jews. We have learned that we must fight those who want to murder us because of our religion. The Palestinians openly call for the death of Jews. Good for Israel for doing whatever is necessary to make sure that the Palestinians fail.
18
If the Palestinians want a Netanyahu-Gantz partnership, all they have to do is to continue to attack Israel.
7
I don't see hostilities ceasing until 1.) Palestinian leaders and rank and file publicly agree to Israel's right to exist AND 2.) Israel stops buildind illegal settlements.
2
@LMT Israel has no settlements in Gaza but that doesn't stop Palestinians in Gaza from firing unguided missiles into Israel.
10
@LMT
Jews have lived in Palestine for thousands of years. Palestinians ethnically cleansed Gaza of its Jews in 1929 and the West Bank & East Jerusalem of their Jews in 1948. Why is it illegal for Jews to rebuild their homes in Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem?
7
@m1945
Are you saying, that the Jews are the REAL Palestinians?
1
During the last Gaza incursion, over 92% of Jewish Israeli's approved. When was the last time over 92% of any democracy 's population approved any of it's country's policies?
4
You just said “Jewish population”. There are a lot of non-Jews in Israel.
Is there an infinite number of "senior Jihad Islamic commanders"? For years now Israel has been reporting the killing of "senior Jihad Islamic commanders". Is killing them having any long term effect or are these strikes just window dressing? Just how senior are these ""senior Jihad Islamic commanders"?
1
@Jaime Rua I can read between the lines the purpose of this comment. It's one of those comments who wonder if we really do need to enforce the law since new criminals replace the old. The answer is yes, we do, and yes there is a noticeable difference when Israel takes down terror planners and bombmakers.
8
You know where Israel does not regularly use F-16 jets to kill terrorists?
The West Bank.
Answer, what is the difference between the West Bank and Gaza and you will identify the reason life in Gaza is terrible while Arabs in the West Bank enjoy a standard of living superior to those in Jordan.
It is not a trick question.
11
@Sagi, does Israel trust Jordan more than Egypt?
Firing unguided missiles into civilian areas is a war crime, unguided weapons are the only type Palestinians possess. Every Palestinian rocket fired into Israel is a war crime. Israel tolerates far more from its enemies than any other state, including the United States, would ever put up with.
26
@Shane
And one supposes that guided missiles fired into civilian areas is not a war crime? The presence of hundreds of thousands of missiles in Lebanon should deter the use of guided missiles aimed at civilian areas in Lebanon; ergo, the situation is as always with these people, making scapegoats of captive populations in order to justify illicit existence of an international outlaw state. If you think that the Russians will put up with guided nuclear missiles in Ukraine, think again. Many of them think the world is headed for another war. The blame, as it was in the past, will be on the Zionists, one way or another.
1
@Disinterested Party Who are "these people" of which you speak? And as far as Lebanon - Hezbollah's time is coming soon enough. Soon enough.
1
. Israel should retake Gaza regardless of who becomes Prime Minister as soon as possible.
1
@sharon5101
Israel does not want to rule over any more Palestinians, and would gladly enter negotiations with those in the West Bank to resolve the territorial dispute. The Palestinians would rather cling to their victimization narrative, however. For some odd reason they think its better public relations.
12
There is an object lesson here for the American body politic.
General Gantz came out to support Prime Minister Netanyahu in the wake of the attack. Netanyahu had him briefed before the attack. These are two men in the midst of a bitter political fight for the country’s leadership.
Both, appear to understand, at least in this moment, that their position’s responsibilities outweigh the importance of their respective career objectives.
I think Americans would enjoy such a moment here.
17
@Sagi
There is a LOT less daylight between Gantz and Netanyahu than popular media would have us believe.
As for the applicability of their partnership to the US -- we in this country do not understand what it is like to wake up every day and wonder how safe we will be. For us, the issue is what is on sale at Walmart.
9
Why is my neighborhood idyllic? Why are theirs cratered? Do they enjoy this? I wonder...
Mr. Rogers, I am not.
1
Mr. Natanyahu, and the leadership of Israel, stands alone when it comes to taking threats seriously, and doing something about it. The rest of the world is engaged, overtly or covertly, in not accepting the threat of fundamentalist religion gone crazy, and preaching from the sideline. I wish Mr. Natanyahu, and Israel, all my very best in not just taking actions when necessary, but serving as a beacon of sanity, clarity, bravery, preparedness for the rest of the world that tends to regard serious threats as benign.
17
Once again, the Israeli military has done a favor to Hamas and the Palestinian Authority in rooting out the worst terrorists in the Palestinian mix. In any other civilized society, the authorities would be fighting the terrorists. However, in places like Gaza and Lebanon, governments fear the terrorists more than they fear doing the right thing. Peace will never come until there is "one gun" in those lands. Why would Israel make peace with any nation that cannot control its own destructive and internationally murderous elements?
15
What do do you expect of Palestinians? To get butchered and act like nothing happened? Do you expect the sons of the Jihad leader to get along with Israel after their parent's slaughter? Israel treats Palestinians worse than roaches, setting up backlashes and disheveled Middle East. The Palestinian's continued occupation is going to remain the main problem in the world contributing to future wars and killing of many innocent people. Unless a fair solution to his problem is addressed, short-term gains by Israel is only going to lead to more instability in the region and eventual disaster!
6
@Blue
The world has forgotten about the Palestinians and with good reason. We cannot care more about their fate than they do themselves. Yet that is what they are asking. As for a fair solution: Israel has offered unconditional negotiations for years, only to be met with recalcitrance. The address for your concerns is Abu Mazin, not PM Netanyahu.
19
@Blue
No Palestinians had been butchered before the Zionists arrived so how was life for the Jews in those days?
Palestinians have been oppressing Jews for centuries
In 1839 (The first Zionists didn’t arrive until 1882.) , the British consul, William Young, said that the poor Jew in Jerusalem...lives from day to day in terror of his life....Young attributed the plight of the Jew in Jerusalem to “the blind hatred and ignorant prejudice of a fanatical populace
JEWS IN JERUSALEM.
New York Times December 29, 1878
Crowded together in the worst lodgings, or in the dark cellars under a synagogue building, without food, fuel, or water –even water at Jerusalem being a commodity of price – numbers died of starvation and various diseases, while others went raving mad. Those who could labor were denied employment by the bigotry of the Mussulmans and of the Oriental Christians.
6
Israel is really an apartheid state. Gaza is nothing but an open air jail for mass incarceration of the Palestinians. With heavily armed land, sea and air borders. Israel controls everything these people do. And if they dared to look up and fight back they are labeled as terrorists and bombed. Enough with the brain washing already. Call it for what it is. This is ethnic cleansing folks. Nothing more. We should be ashamed for helping the injustice.
7
@determinedpeace
Nonsense. The Palestinians refuse to seize the initiative and change their destiny. They want the world to do it for them. That will never happen. Gaza is the address for Iranian missiles and rockets and THAT is why Israel will not allow free entry and exit. The problem here is Iran and Hamas, NOT Israel.
18
@determinedpeace if peace is your intention, your words are wrong (not to mention misleading). Too much hate is in your heart, you are brainwashed just as the other side. Those who aren't brained washed see no sides.
8
Gaza isn’t an apartheid state. It’s basically its own self-governing country.
6
I presume political considerations did to some degree enter the decision regarding the timing of the attack. Unfortunately, I think such political considerations enter military decision making by all leaders of all nations including the US.
Nevertheless, anytime is a good time and a right time to eliminate and dispose of evil leaders of any organization or nation who have demonstrated their deadly evil.
86
A single strike on a location housing a known terrorist is a justifiable action.
103
The settlers move in, taking over the land of the indigenous, destroying their source of food, and placing the locals beneath themselves with their religion making them, in their minds, more human than human.
The indigenous fight back. More settlers arrive. They fight back. Now we have good guys and bad guys. The good guys are protecting themselves when they slaughter innocents. The bad guys are just slaughtering innocents.
History repeats itself. It has nothing to do with right and wrong. It is nothing more than one tribe stealing from another.
68
Learn some history. There are no Israeli settlers in Gaza. Israel moved out decades ago, forcibly removing their own people, in a unilateral attempt at peace. The Gazan Palestinians then chose Hamas and eternal war instead.
This killing was justified, and also politically useful for Netanyahu. It doesn’t have to be one or the other.
122
@Issac Basonkavich ..It is much more than stealing...it is killing one another. And it has everything to do with right and wrong... it is wrong under any circumstances to slaughter innocents.
9
@Issac Basonkavich No settlers in Gaza. Not a single one.
The attacks are on 1948 Israel!!
Just as a point of information the Jews were in Gaza before the Arabs.
The largest synagogue in the Land of Israel was found in Maioumas (= the port of) Gaza.
62
Make sure you read all the way to the bottom in order to properly grasp this event. If a bloody onslaught now ensues, it will NOT be Israel responding in “self-defense” against Palestinian rocket attacks from Gaza. It will not be the Palestinians’ fault. It will be the result of Netanyahu’s calculated decision to initiate a flare-up with Gaza in order to prevent his political rival Gantz from forming a government with the Arab Joint List.
Ayman Odeh’s tweet is correct: “a cynical man who lost two consecutive elections will leave only scorched earth in a desperate attempt to remain in office”.
Meanwhile Israelis will scramble to their shelters, as Hamas and Islamic Jihad use their pathetic rockets to retaliate against Israel’s attack. But Gaza Palestinians will endure Israeli “precision” bombs, from which there is little to no shelter.
61
Gantz supported the strike. Read the whole story.
48
While there could be political motivations, there were definitely security ones. Relying on the end of the article (the placement in and of itself is commentary on the crisis/conflict that undermines the legitimacy of Israel to protect its citizens) is intellectually lazy and morally negligent.
17
@David
Well of course, you think there is any chance he would not?
Support <> initiate. Read the whole article.
The Israelis deserve congratulations on a successful surgical strike and best wishes as they cope with continued incoming rockets.
The political unity there in the face of real problems, even under the present unusual political situation, is heartening. Prime Minister Netanyahu and MK Gantz both appear to be comporting themselves in a high minded manner consistent with their responsibilities. That, is refreshing.
145
@Sagi You are correct they do think they are better than anyone else. High minded indeed!
1
The root of the terror from Gaza is the Iranian regime. The goal of the regime is to establish a "ring of fire" around Israel and ultimately destroy it. Islamic Jihad and Hamas exist because Iran supports them militarily and financially. There is a myriad of terror groups from Iraq to Syria to Lebanon to Gaza, to Yemen. They are all arms of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps.
We must see the big picture. The terror emanating from Gaza will end when its source of funds and weapons ends. And that will not happen until the world puts an end to the radical Islamist regime sitting in Teheran.
125
@Edward Lipton
Yes. How I wish my anti-Israel, anti-Zionist allegedly pro indigenous rights (sic) friends would see the larger regional picture Exactly as you describe it. When I raise such perspectives their eyes literally glaze over.
It’s real simple to supposedly stand up for indigenous rights and be “anti-colonial.” Much more complex and challenging is to learn the actual history, study the shia/Sunni conflict, and think regionally and globally.
39
@Edward Lipton
The big picture is, that the Israeli psyche needs an enemy, real or imagined. Having created an armed ghetto in 1948, its existence as a normal state will never materialise.
8
If you’re correct, Iran was helped a lot when Obama unfroze one hundred billion dollars of Iran’s money. Now it can be used for terrorist activities.
19
Palestinians have rejected every overture for peace, decade after decade. In 2005, Israel unilaterally left Gaza, uprooting citizens living there. The hope was that the Palestinians would be peaceful neighbors. Instead, over the coming years, over 10,000 missiles were launched at Israeli citizens. The Palestinian people have only their horrific leaders to blame for their predicament. If and when they choose peace, Israel is ready, but if they continue to choose terrorism they will continue to face the consequences.
312
@Pragmatist in CT
The same cognitive dissonant rhetoric keeps being repeated gathering so many recommendations. Native Americans Indians were called all sorts of names and were blamed for everything by the settlers colonialists for resisting and defending their homes. Dozens of treaties were ignored yet balaming the victim was the norm. The Indians were put in reservations, some to be moved from that reservation pushed into another while being massacred again and again. The problem for Israel is that the Palestinians are not Indians.
45
@TS The First Americans didn't shoot rockets at the Puritans or don costumes to look like Europeans and machine gun them during their religious events. Moreover, the Jews were present in the Holy Land (Jerusalem) for millennia. They didn't invade the land like the Europeans did. The two are completely different.
80
@TS The problem for Israel is that the world and the media ignores that Jews are indigenous to Israel (or whatever name you wish to use for the area -- Judea, Ottoman Empire, British Mandate Region, Palestine, or Israel). Jews have had a continuous presence for thousands of years and that is ignored by any argument about colonialism. How can an indigenous people colonize where they have lived continuously? You are right about blaming the victim. Jews should not be blamed for living in the area they have a indigenous right to.
90
President Obama ordered the assassination of bin Laden.
President Trump ordered the assassination of Baghdadi.
Assassination awful but is less awful than war.
31
Much will be made of the "wave of rocket attacks against Israel." And there will be the usual justifications. This article contains many of them.
Israel has a right to defend itself.
Islamic jihad is a terrorist organization.
The dead wife is regrettable collateral damage.
But little will be said about what Gaza actually is. It is not a state. It isn't even recognized as a territory because none of Israel's post 67 occupied territories are recognized under international law as legal borders.
Gaza is the worlds largest open air minimum security prison. Like any prison the guards control what goes in and what goes out. Everything is controlled by the Israeli blockade. Food, clothing, international aid, medical supplies, even school books are controlled by the Israeli's.
The water treatment plant was destroyed by Israel and recently 200 peaceful demonstrators were killed by Israeli snipers while over 1,000 were seriously wounded. Most will never get proper medical care.
Like any repressive prison, the inmates occasionally rebel. When they do the Israeli's declare themselves to be under attack and begin bombing. During the last episode of Israeli "defensive measures" 259 Palestinian children were killed.
This latest atrocity seems to have been triggered by internal Israeli politics. Bragging about who can slaughter the most Palestinians has become part of Israeli campaign sport.
So, how much longer will we allow this to be done in our name and with our support?
18
@Drspock "Everything is controlled by the Israeli blockade." you forgot the Egyptian blockade, common mistake.
"how much longer will we allow this to be done in our name and with our support?"
What?! This was not done in America's name, what a ridiculous statement. This was done to eliminate a threat to the state of Israel and I imagine they did have our support (as we would always support killing an Iranian allied terrorist) it sounds like in this one circumstance Israel actually eliminated a headache for Hamas, as well.
Also you should pay attention to the line "The body of Mr. Abu al-Ata’s wife was found in a school opposite the family home" and ask why is it that terrorists always seem to be hiding next to schools? Why it almost as if they want to use children as human shields....
7
It will continue until the USA shuts-down financial aid to Israel, stops selling them weapons, and puts Iran-style sanctions in place. If you have to cripple the entire nation to reign them in, then so be it.
1
@Drspock
Extremely insightful comment. In these times, as especially when it concerns Isreal, tht media refused to tell it like it is. Absolutely tragic.
2
Hamas and PIJ are examples of Palestinian groups that seek to perpetuate the Palestinians' victimization narrative at the expense of a far more deliberate decision to enter into negotiations with Israel. Supported by Iran, these groups terrorize Israel, forcing Israel to respond, and thereby mobilizing the usual international chorus of Palestinian sympathizers. This ridiculous kabuki has been going on long enough. I call on the Palestinians to displace their sclerotic, recalcitrant "leadership" with a more pragmatic group and work with Israel to end this conflict.
34
@David H
It's not just the leaders.
Polls show that most Palestinians don't want a 2-state solution.
They want Palestine from the River to the Sea. In other words, no Israel.
1
There is an interesting
unit, COGAT, cogat.mod.gov.il
that gives information on
civilian policy within the
West Bank and towards
Gaza. It operates in a liaison
with the Palestinian Authority.
It is well worth reading to
come at truth about Israeli-
Palestinian activities.
2
The Trump Peace Plan is working out just fine!
2
To all the Israel bashers. Please remember that Egypt also has a border with Gaza (Egypt actually "occupied" Gaza for 30 years as well) and maintains very tight security. Egypt doesn't want Hamas spreading their terror in the predominantly Muslim country of Egypt. After all, Hamas thinks its a good idea to throw gay citizens off buildings and summarily execute any "collaborators." Since this is an odd way to treat your citizens, Hamas terrorism is not wanted anywhere.
33
@James To all those who praise Israel as it subjogates a native people of the region. I was there a few weeks ago, and the Palestinians are treated like animals. We should be ashamed to so blindly on the side of the Isrealis. Palestinians are freedom fighters and violence is their only way to get freedom. Kind of like when the Israelis blew up the King David hotel in 1947 and killed 91 civilians. wasn't that terrorism? or does Israel get a special exemption?
1
@Bryan
The Palestinians aren't interested in freedom except the freedom to import better weapons to exterminate the Jews. If they wanted their own state, the would have declared independence in 1948. Instead, they asked for union with Jordan.
2
How barbaric to send a rocket into a private home in a neighboring country, killing both the target and his wife. The Israeli government acting as judge, jury, and executioner. No trial. No code of law. This is not the way to settle things down with the Palestinians. It is a a provocation. It is murder. And it is gutless. Why not send in the police to arrest him? Charge him with a crime.
9
@dave beemon Please explain how exactly is Israel supposed to send police in to Gaza to arrest him and charge him?
6
@dave beemon
"Barbaric"? "Private home"? Have you seen the photos? The two neighboring houses are untouched. Geez, the first and second floors are untouched! He is the leader of Islamic Jihad, a group that Hamas even considers unhinged.
And those rockets Islamic Jihad has been sending into Israel over the past few weeks? Fired during work and school hours, at civilian populations, on purpose.
Who is barbaric here?
6
@Eleanor Cars, trucks, helicopters?
" . . . some critics of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to charge that it was politically motivated."
Brilliant conclusion, since 1948 . . .
5
Israel attacks Syria. Israel attacks Lebanon. Israel attacks Gaza.
Innocent civilians are killed or maimed. The world is silent.
This is what long-term brain-washing will accomplish.
12
@Greg But the enlightened get the honest truth from Hamas and Islamic Jihad. The sheer insanity of some of these representations of the conflict are really hard to believe.
1
@Greg
Israel's neighbors attacked Israel on day one & some tried again & again to destroy Israel. Most still refuse to sign a peace treaty with Israel & are stockpiling weapons so that they can try again to destroy Israel. Israel is just trying to prevent its enemies from obtaining weapons. It's a form of self-defense.
2
Not surprisingly, the NY Times has cause and effect backwards in the subhead "The Israeli strike prompted a wave of rocket attacks by Gaza militants"
Perhaps- "Wave of rocket attacks by Gaza militants prompted Israeli strike." ?
35
At some point, Israel will have to deal with the Native Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank. Both sides want peace and prosperity. Ultimately, it comes down to what each side is willing to give up- for the Israelis- Settler Land and Control over the lives of the Palestinians. For the Palestinians, their dream of returning to 1940s land and foregoing violence- even when provoked. Until then, this all is just background noise. Sympathies to all the people impacted by the needless violence. Neither side is blame-free.
6
@Umar
It is simply not true that “both sides want peace and prosperity.” The Palestinians, on the whole, want the Israelis dead. The vast majority of Israelis want peace and prosperity, but have come to realize that it can not be achieved.
33
Both sides want peace? One side keeps on rejecting the deal that gives them everything they purportedly seek. That side isn’t Israel.
32
@Umar
just read the hamas charter and then the israelis declaration of independence and decide....of course neither side is blame free but that is a far leap to equivalency...
18
Killing the leader of PIJ only makes sense if it was in retaliation for past acts or for planned future acts. If the former and you had the target's location with shoot to kill orders, you take the shot and take out the target. If however, you had the target under clandestine surveillance, then by taking out the target, you lose a valuable source of HUMINT is may have taken years to access through moles, plants and SIGINT. To me the whacking of an enemy has to be weighed against the inevitable "blowback" and for that reason, it is likely that the target was on the shoot to kill list but that the order could have been quashed to avoid inevitable escalation and the threat of all out warfare with mass civilian casualties on both sides. If you want to whack someone efficiently, it is best not leave a calling card and use a air to surface missile. Poison, exploding parcels, exploding cell phones are much tidier and much more deniable in terms of responsibility. For that reason, the hit while strategically sound has to be considered tactically clumsy and irresponsible. Yes killing murderers who seek to kill innocent men, women and children is a moral imperative and right of self-defense, but one does not have to be so blatantly obvious in the execution of such hits. On the other hand, I suspect HAMAS ratted out his location to the IDF as I doubt the Israelis would have taken this shot without fleeting HUMINT that required immediate action.
1
Ideally the Saudis and the other Sunni Gulf states would take the Palestinians as citizens. Perhaps integrate Gaza into their political and economic realm. They are part of the Umma. Why can't the Palestinians partake of the fabulous riches of the Gulf Arabs who are keeping the faith. It may be that Arabs have issues sharing their wealth because they are really more tribe and family oriented than nationally or racially oriented. That certainly could explain the yachts, the mansions, the bikinied beauties and the excess we see from these wealthy visitors from the Near East. But the US is developing a similar society. Someday we will all be in the same boat.
5
@AS Palestinians are not Saudi Arabians.
None of this violence would have ever occurred if Israel was not born in 1948.
Mandated Palestine could have transitioned to an independent democratic state which would continue to have a Jewish population living peacefully alongside their Arab neighbors.
Israel was never a fait accompli except in the minds of David Ben Gurion and his followers.
7
@Michael Kittle
The Palestinians opposed Jewish immigration to Palestine and always made it very clear that they wanted the Jews to go back to Europe. They didn't want any Jews living alongside them. When the Arabs had control over East Jerusalem and the West Bank, they expelled every last Jew.
Learn some history.
9
@Michael Kittle Israel is in fact a fait accompli. Accept the facts. The problem is that Hamas and others don't.
5
@Michael Kittle You might want to tell us about the Hebron massacre in 1929. Or the delightful relationships between Arabs and Jews in the Arab world generally.
3
A last ditch attempt by Netanyahu to promote himself as the tough guy who protects Israel. The reality is that he is destroying the future of the State of Israel by violating international laws, orchestrating immoral policies, and creating enemies in the neighbourhood. It is the legacy of Netanyahu that Israel has lost all respect internationally.
13
@Greg The Arabs have been trying to destroy Israel since before Bibi was born, and useful idiots in the West have been repeating the same nonsense for just as long.
4
Until the Palestinians accept Israel's right to exist, there will never be peace. People are quick to condemn Israel, but if the United States civilian population had to endure rocket attacks, it would strike back with double the veracity Israel has demonstrated.
30
@John Baker
And what about Israel recognizing the Palestinian right to a state? Or not to be lodged in an open air prison? Or simply to work or have the freedom of movement? Or simply not to be humiliated on daily basis? Israel is the occupier, the prison guard and the executioner.
3
@arm19 I agree, but the refusal of the Palestinians to recognize Israel's right to exist is the crux of the problem; their wish to drive all Jewish Israelis into the sea. This makes it a little difficult to feel great sympathy, although I do.
2
@John Baker If the US had to endure what Israel had to go through for its entire existence, bombing. blowing people up, stoning people etc. etc. the US would have obliterated them.
5
Sadly, lunacy is only clear when it's the lunacy of others. This is why, on a national level, as on a personal level, we create institutions charged with helping those who not only cannot help themselves but are also a proven danger to others. Israel continues to exploit the fact that there is no such willing institution, and Palestinians continue to act out in desperation for the same fact. It's long past due for the US to stop coddling Israel's destructive and self-destructive behavior.
2
@Eric S Is it too much to ask that critics of Israel read a couple of books on the history of the conflict?
3
Awaiting Donald Trump to announce how instrumental he was in this attack. No matter truth or not, just nice for Donald to get involved in his mind or body. After all, Jared is his Jewish son-in-law, right? The son-in-law who has his nose poking around all over the Mideast? At our expense.
19
killed his wife too, that's called murder. What was her crime? Last I checked when the husband commits a crime you don't punish the wife or family, especially punished with death without due process. That's the behavior of a terrorist organization.
13
@M. Thomas
This is a war. You know, the kind with bombs and missiles. It's not a police matter.
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@M. Thomas I am grateful every day that the killing of Osama bin Laden did not cost an American life, even if OBL's family members were unavoidably killed.
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@M. Thomas - Gaza is at war with Israel. When will they sit down and negotiate peace? Until then, war has casualties. Read history.
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Just look at the photo and the scene. I have absolutely no respect for Israel and their complete and utter disrespect for Palestinians.
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@sandcanyongal Please look again. Only the targeted building was destroyed. The neighbors' homes were untouched. Israel also verbally warned this guy beforehand. Whether or or not you have "absolutely no respect for Israel," likely predates this bombing.
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@sandcanyongal: Yes, just look at what happens when balloons from Gaza burn most of the land near the border, when children faint from missile attacks, even within the safe room, and homes are destroyed by direct attacks.
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@sandcanyongal Do you have great respect for the terrorist murderers of Islamic Jihad?
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I thought Jared was working on this problem. No?
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The photo of damage to the Netivot home is a shame. Remember that netivot used to be Palestinian land. Transferring population to this area is illegal under international law.
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@penney albany
Where was international law when the Native American tribes were being systematically dispossessed of their land and wiped out? Is it only because there was no UN at the time which made that ok?
Netivot, long ago, was part of Israel, and thankfully is once again. Was Berkeley “liberated” to once again be part of an older country also known as the United States?
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@levitical1948 I am starting to have a problem with this international law notion. It worked well after the second world war. It seems to be totally useless today. The nations who are supposed to implement it are also under siege it is literally becoming irrelevant. We are unfortunately entering a Hobbesian era where we are Wolf eating wolf. I have given up trying to figure out men's stupidity, leT the chips fall where they may. Luckily I won't be here when that happens.
A war of prison guards against prisoners, the captive Palestinians are attacked for whatever reason Israel needs, here, cynically a unity government
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@Rickibobbi And the incessant rain of rockets on Israeli cities? Is that not a declaration of war, non-stop?
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@Joshua Schwartz you do understand that history actually matters, that facts matter, that cause and effect are things, that an illegal occupation has real costs, and not just to the heinously occupied?
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@Rickibobbi Of course history matters, but like most conflicts you will find that what comes first the egg or the chicken is unknown therefore unanswered. Two sides, each sides see's the truth as he see's it, as there are many truths. What will bring a change to this world, is when people like you will change and realize the underdog is that today and will not be tomorrow. so set emotion aside, wanted to aid the underdog is natural but keeps our world conflicts (the ones the media decides we should know about) going. taking responsibility and being able to see beyond sides, us as a whole, that's the answer!
Good work!
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'Islamic Jihad called the Israeli strike “a declaration of war against the Palestinian people”
No sir, it's a good hit on a known terrorist who has been instrumental in destabilizing the area.
Palestinians can decide to go to war to avenge a known terrorists, or now that he's gone, shake hands and make peace.
Rep Omar D-MI does not approve.
The Squad is with her all the way. AOC and Co will back her up on condemning this action.
I wonder how will she vote when the house decides to take sides on this?
I bet a can of coke that she will vote to send money to Islamic Jihad to continue their war on Israel.
Since Rep Omar and The Squad like the PLO and hate Israel, does that mean that Bernie, who has tied his ship to AOC's wing bags, also hates Israel?
I ask, because his new found BFF is the lead of the squad, and Omar is a part of that. Their actions will now reflect back on his campaign.
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@AutumnLeaf
Disingenuous to turn this murder into a political rant against AOC and her Squad.
It was a surgical carried out strike whereas only he who was deemed snake head and ticking bomb was vicitim. Whereas Jihad Gaza launched 160 lethal rockets pointed at innocent Israel civilians in small and big cities. That's all the difference.
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@dick , what about his wife? murdered in cold blood. The weak respond the only way they can. Palestinians don't get billions of aid in weapons from the US.
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@M. Thomas
The US killed Osama bin Laden's wife as I recall!
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@M. Thomas Islamic Jihad commander in Gaza, Baha Abu Al Ata.
Al Ata was directly responsible for hundreds of terror attacks against Israeli civilians and soldiers. His next attack was imminent.
Baha Abu al-Ata normally surrounded himself with children as human shields making it difficult to target him. This morning, the IDF targeted his bedroom with a precision missile when he was alone with his wife.
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The Gazans need to rid themselves of Hamas, which has done nothing to help them, and stays in power only by political and physical repression. Its leaders have squandered millions, except for the vast sums they have squirreled away for themselves in overseas banks. Even Egypt, which shares a border with Gaza, won't help their fellow Arab-Muslims by opening the crossings. As long as Hamas attempts a military solution, the cost will be continued violence, as Israel will defend itself, just as we would if missiles came in from Mexico or Canada.
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@ShannRemember that the good people of Gaza elected Hamas, and probably would do so again.
The "Palestinian people" (a phrase which did not even exist until the late 20th century) has been educated for generations to hate and kill. They support the terror armies.
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Netanyahu's dearest friend Trump removed a few hundred US Special Forces from the Kurdish zone; thereby allowing Putin and Erdogan to lay claim to it resulting in increased activity from Iran and Syria.
Hopefully the far right in Israel will come to their senses and support Gantz.
The UN, Europeans and mid-east Muslim nations remain quiet about Gaza sending hundreds of rockets designed to kill Israeli civilians. Demonstrating again that the mere presence of Israelis/Jews in the major source of conflict in the mid-east. And likely to continue.
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It's extremely difficult to see this attack taking place at this time as anything other than politically motivated. It's extremely easy to see this particular prime minister taking national security decisions primarily on the basis of how they help or don't help his short term political needs.
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@Stephen Merritt
Israelis don’t see it that way. Perhaps it is difficult for you because you live in the US?
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@Stephen Merritt Consider this - a mole within HAMAS tips his handler within MOSSAD that the target will be at such and such a location - or HAMAS uses a double agent to take out a "problem child" they would to be rid of - but they need political cover -so tipping off the Mossad gives them that and kills two birds with one stone. Nothing is ever what it appears to be in the Middle East. Then enemy of my enemy is my friend rules and is one reason why the PLO and HAMAS can never off the dime and become effective political organizations- they spend more time fighting with themselves and each other than they do building unity. It is the dysfunction within Palestinian society which prevents peace. Taking risks for peace will get you stabbed in the back - and Arafat knew this all too well.
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Netanyahu is the single most dangerous figure in the Middle East. He's boasted he would never allow a Palestinian State, and has kept Gaza a blockaded prison with 2 million inmates.
Where's Jared Kushner with his secret Middle East peace plan?
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You must be kidding. It’s absurd to claim, that Netanyahu or any Israeli leader is more dangerous than leaders of Turkey, Iran or Syria...
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@Mark McIntyre Israel pulled out of Gaza years ago and got 11,000 rockets in the face from Gaza as a thank you.
What would you do if one rocket hit LA? Not to mention 160 rockets on innocent civilians in Israel's cities and in a day that's not over yet. Last thing needed is a Pales. hostile state in Israel's back yard.
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To Mark from LA:
I guess Syria’s Assad who gasses and butchers his civilian population doesn’t count?
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There doesn't seem to be any good answers for ending the violence by a non-state group that seeks domination of their religion. There are potentially violent Christian groups in the US with a similar agenda as the jihadists of religious domination. There are consequences to the idea that there is one true religion. This idea seems to persist no matter what and unfortunately can lead to violence when extremism takes over. Unless there is a two-state solution in the Middle East I don't see any ending for the conflicts between Israel and the Palestinians. It appears the fighting will continue for decades and maybe even centuries.
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@Bob Completely wrong. The Palestinians are not working for religious domination, they are fighting to be free and to have some freedom in their miserable lives. They are caged in and treated like animals. They are in the land they have always been and the Israelis, who never intended to give them a state, are the oppressors. They have subjogated 4 generations of Palestinians. I was just there and toured some of their cages. Israel's conduct is morally reprehensible
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@Bob
This is not about religion, this is about land .
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@Bob . One group is represented by terrorists. You get a 2SS with them how?
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Netanyahu will do anything to hold on to power. ANYTHING! Even start a conflict that may cost many lives, including those of his fellow Jewish-Israelis.
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Anyone want to talk about the early years and the King David Hotel?
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@Kevin Bitz
That you think the 1940’s comprise the “early years,” is adorable.
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Sure I will talk about the King David Hotel. The British were warned not to set up their military headquarters in the King David Hotel because it was a tempting target for Jewish militant groups. The British ignored the warning and paid the price for their hubris when the King David Hotel was blown to pieces.
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@Kevin Bitz
Anyone want to talk about the many thousands of Jews who perished at the hand of the Nazis as a result of British quotas vis a vis Jewish refugees fleeing to their own indigenous homeland...aka Mandatory Palestine...essentially signing their death warrants?
“Targeted strike".
Not once is the word “assassination” used to describe the killing.
Furthermore, the death of the Jihad man’s wife is barely a footnote and afterthought. Was she a mother? Did she leave behind young children? Why was she also assassinated?
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@Michael Hoffman
What word should we use to describe the indiscriminate and deliberate firing of rockets towards preschools?
Have you looked at the photo? The two next door houses are intact. Thats pretty humane considering the man is a known terrorist who is behind the recent rocket fire.
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@Michael Hoffman
'Furthermore, the death of the Jihad man’s wife is barely a footnote and afterthought. Was she a mother? Did she leave behind young children? Why was she also assassinated?'
She was the #1 fan, assistant and helper of a known terrorist who destabilized the entire area.
you can go white knighting someplace else, she knew what she was doing.
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@Michael Hoffman
The IAF could have leveled the entire block but didn't. That's a far cry from indiscriminate racket fire purposely aimed at civilians.
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Various posts here discuss the “desperation” of Palestinians etc. Just a couple of years ago (during the Trump administration) the Egyptians floated the idea of ceding part of the Sinai to Gaza to quadruple its size. In combination with that, the area would be flooded with financial resources. The idea was met with death threats.
Why should the world take seriously the “plight” of Gaza when any offer to assist human dignity there is met with utter rejection? Would the US have aided people starving in Africa if the Africans threatened us for helping them?
It’s time to widely recognize, that the people in Gaza have chosen a leadership responsible for a terrible situation. Unlike other peoples, Palestinians are fortunate that there is pocket book to help when they start to act rationally. The same can not be said for millions in Africa and Asia.
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Works for me. When Israel departed Gaza, the Palestinians could have chosen to spend money and resources on rebuilding the place, making it the Singapore of the Middle East. Instead all of those donated construction materials went to building terrorist tunnels.
They chose poorly.
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@badubois
And you believe that sworn-enemy Israel would have let land-, sea-, and sky-locked Gaza thrive a la Singapore? Perhaps the status quo of the (mostly-peaceful-and- cooperative for 50 years) West Bank would provide a cue for the answer. Think Israeli settlements instead!
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Spot on comment.
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@hat Israel removed its settlements from Gaza when they GAVE IT BACK to the Gazans, and even Egypt won't open its borders with Hamas.
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Every time this happens it's a "senior commander" or "high-level operative." How many of them can be left?
7
When one dies another replaces him. There is an unending supply.
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@Moehoward
Within 24 hours an underling is promoted.
7
Islamic Jihad is guilty of mass punishment for this attack and therefore is committing yet another war crime.
The world must respond to this with a full on blockade of Gaza until Islamic Jihad and Hamas decide to give up violence and return to the negotiating table without any preconditions.
Peace for Palestine now!
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Israel never stops attacking Gaza. They do raids at 2 in the morning and pull everyone out of their houses. They feel free to send missiles whenever it pleases them, even if just for political purposes.
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@Bill If you had a neighbor next to the U.S. who shoots rockets at you, tries to smuggle through tunnels to attack civilians, and performs other deathly deeds, would you just sit back and let it come? Israel is NOT wished well by most of her neighbors and stands guard every second of its existence.
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@Irene
If you had someone living on your property and imprisoning you in a cage would you fight back.?
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@penney albany
Israel isn't on their property.
The so-called cage was erected after the Israeli pullout and after the Hamas coup, which led to Hamas launching rockets from Gaza into Israel.
The blockade will end when the Palestinias decide to end their attacks on Israel.
3
Let's think back to 2000, when Israel signed onto the Wye Accords, effectively giving the Palestinians what they have always claimed to have wanted, which was their own state and autonomy. The Palestinians rejected that peace deal, and less than a year later, began the 2nd Intifada, in which the Palestinians blew up soft targets: a pizza joint, a dance club, and a hotel ballroom during a Seder. Sound familiar? ISIS adopted these types of targets during their waves of terror. Too bad so many considered the Palestinians peace warriors.
Anyway, are they better now, 19 years later? Maybe that peace deal could have saved them from themselves. But we'll never know because no one bothered to find out.
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Israel talks about minimizing casualties. What is their success standard? Under 100 killed or injured? How many Israelis will hurt or killed to justify this? It is too bad Netanyahu had to scurry, but not quite as terrifying as Palestinians women and children afraid of poorly targeted rockets bringing instant death. Take out terrorists if you wish, but show more humanity and don’t largely ignore the collateral damage as this article did.
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@Joel Stegner
"poorly targeted rockets bringing instant death. Take out terrorists if you wish, but show more humanity and don’t largely ignore the collateral damage as this article did."
What were the "poorly" targeted rockets?
What was the collateral damage?
26
Palestinian strategy is to fight a war it cannot win?
Maybe they should have taken some of the previous peace offers.
Or they'll learn the lesson the hard way, again.
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@Mmm Perhaps more accurate to say that the Palestinians will take the hard way to fail to learn the lesson, again. And again, and again, and again, if the past 70 years of history teach us anything.
20
I wonder, is this an improvement in Israeli - Arab conflict, the two sides targetting the leaders of the other ? Is that better than putting lower level soldiers at risk ? Also, despite the killing of one their high level people, apparently Hamas has no shortage of ruthless, bloodthirsty, leaders, hurling explosive missiles at random into civilian areas.
8
Ayman Odeh's tweet explains, in less than 148 characters, precisely why he and his political party will NEVER be part of a coalition government.
12
I thought Jared had a peace plan ready to go? We pay his salary, where is it?
12
Islamic jihad was born out desperation because of the relentless and brutal occupation of the Palestinians in Gaza and elsewhere.
Israel has proven itself to be a murderous Occupation force Who uses the “security card”to justify their continued onslaught of the Palestinian people. The brutality began many years before 1948 but by then it culminated into a colonial Zionist power erasing any effacing the indigenous Arab population in order to make room for mostly European Sephardic and non- Palestinian Jews. The whole conflict is in the context of colonialism and Palestinian resistance should be seen as nothing more than a response to what has been inflicted upon them
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@Eduardo so it make sense for the US to eliminate terrorist like ISIS Leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi but it doesn't make sense that Israel will eliminate the terrorist that sends missiles and attacks at Israeli civilians on day to day basis?
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@Eduardo the Palestinians have rejected every overture for peace, decade after decade. In 2005, Israel unilaterally left Gaza, uprooting citizens living there. The hope was that the Palestinians would be peaceful neighbors. Instead, over the coming years, over 10,000 missiles were launched at Israeli citizens. The Palestinian people have only their horrific leaders to blame for their predicament. If and when they choose peace, Israel is ready, but if they continue to choose terrorism they will continue to face the consequences.
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@Eduardo
If Palestinians were so “desperate” they would have accepted any one of the land-for-peace offers Israel has made to them for the West Bank. But they refused them. They aren’t victims, but they do profit off of portraying themselves as victims so they have no incentive to change.
152
According to the Palestinians, Hamas isn’t a terrorist group, so I’m sure they will start blaming their rocket attacks on the Israeli settlements or some unrelated Israeli aggression.
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@Frank Castle Palestinians are treated like animals in the land they have always lived. They are fighting for freedom and dignity. The western press continues to reinforce this terrorist label but it is the Isrealis who are the terrorists. They are Goliath and the Palestinians have assumed the role of David. I was just there and their living conditions are appalling. They live in walled enclaves and only very few can get permits to leave these prisons
You either have a truce with Gaza or you don't.
If you insist on these type of proactive airstrikes, with no immediate treat to Israel, Israel should also expect a never ending violent response like Gaza did.
26
There was an immediate threat to Israel. The Jihadist leader who was killed had been planning a large scale attack against Israelis. He was also repeatedly warned by Israel to stop planning the attack at risk of being targeted...
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@Paul
Israel has a truce with Hamas, not Islamic Jihad.
8
@Rachel Thank you for your reply. The definition of planning an attack is in the eyes of the beholder. Lincoln went out of his way to let the rebels know he was not interested in a war and only supplied the Federal Fort Sumpter with non military supplies. The South fired on the fort anyway.
Same here, unless Gaza is massing rockets or troops on the border, Israel is asking for retaliation if they pro actively use military force on anything else and also lose the PR campaign with the western/arab world. It is one of the reasons Jordan took the recent position on a piece of property that was in dispute recently.
1
The photos accompanying the account of the attack are instructive.
The targeted Israeli attack involved destroying the top floor of the building where Baha Abu al-Ata was without significant damage to the adjoining buildings; whereas the photo of the Islamic Jihad response involved salvos of indiscriminate rocket fire into civilians areas.
From Israeli accounts Baha Abu al-Ata had been told that the Israelis knew of his impending plans for attacking Israel but he chose not to respond to these warnings.
As in previous engagements of this nature Israel will undoubtedly be condemned for its defensive actions, as limited and targeted as it was, while the indiscriminate Islamic Jihad response will go largely uncriticized as were the earlier attacks by Islamic Jihad.
219
Extrajudicial assassination by F16 is not a rational policy.
12
And sending in Navy Seals is?
34
@Joshua Schwartz No, not even the Navy Seals. I strongly oppose to any extrajudicial killings, no matter what. Even al-Baghdadi should have been trialed (in absence) by the International Court of Justice and then, with the arrest warrent, a team (approved by the UN) should have been sent in to try to arrest him. Everything else is just murder.
Now back to Israel. Not only did they kill Al Ata without any trial, they killed his wife as well. How can any righteous person see this as a good thing?
I fully condemn the retaliation from the militants but with the same conviction I condemn any extrajudicial killings.
7
But it works!
7
I like to ask my grandchildren (those who are old enough to understand and/or have an opinion of their own), "Who does the land really belong to?" Their answers are always, "To us!" And then they see me shaking my head, and they ask, incredulously, "To the Arabs?" - at which point I tell them that I truly believe that it belongs to BOTH peoples.
How can that be, they ask. We were here first! I tell them that yes, we were, but they have also been here for a very, very long time, so the land is just as much theirs as it is ours. And believe me, there's plenty of room for us all to live here - one state, two states, a million states.
Regarding what's going on today, Nov. 12, 2019, and lest anyone forget, Israel pulled out of Gaza lock, stock, and barrel, in 2005, leaving behind beautifully cultivated agricultural land - which the Gazans promptly destroyed. Since then, there hasn't been one day of real peace with them. All one has to do is take a quick look through Hamas's charter and you'll understand why.
And lest anyone forget, and continue to see us as the "oppressors": Israel was created by the United Nations, and since the day that our independence was declared in 1948, the Arabs have been trying to get us out. We'd be more than thrilled to come to a compromise solution, but dealing with extremist leaders whose raison d'etre is to make the world non-Muslim-free (and who even PAY the families of terrorists who have been eliminated), is impossible.
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@Elisheva Lahav
While you're having a look at the Hamas charter, how about checking out Likud's platform. There you will find an unambiguous declaration that the entire land of Palestine, from the river to the sea, belongs to Israel and Israel only, and that Israel will never, ever allow the establishment of a Palestinian state there. And Israel has acted exactly as that declaration would predict.
Israel's latest extrajudicial execution comes during a period of "relative calm", which is the norm ("relative calm", by the way, means that, while Palestinians continue to be shot at in their own territory, rounded up at night and detained without charge, and put through the numberless small and large acts of violence that attend any belligerent occupation, Israelis have themselves not suffered retaliation. That is, it's "calm" when only Palestinians are victims of aggression). The vast majority of Israeli assaults on Gaza occur when things are more or less quiet, at times when truces are in force and peace threatens to break out.
The problems in the mideast are not complicated nor timeless nor religious in nature. They are the result of Israel's relentless assault upon Palestinians, beginning long before the state was founded.
22
When you walk people in you should expect them to resist.
1
@ghosty
In what way has Israel acted exactly along the lines of Likud’s charter? Israel has offered the West Bank and Gaza and recognition of statehood to the Palestinians and they turned it down.
42
Not to worry!
We have our most experienced negotiator, Jared Kushner, in charge of the situation. Everyone can breathe easy!
41