GAZA !!! ( Archived) (851)

Hamas makes civilian casualties a tragic certainty
By Glen Falkenstein

Updated 25 Jul 2014, 5:41pmFri 25 Jul 2014, 5:41pm

Hamas deliberately enmeshes itself within the civilian population, which means that innocent people will die despite Israel's best efforts to take precautions, writes Glen Falkenstein.

More than 2,200 rockets have been fired by Hamas and other terrorist groups from the Gaza Strip into Israel since July 8, and the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) have responded by attacking terrorist targets in Gaza.

Israel initially countered the rocket fire by telling Hamas, "quiet will be met with quiet", yet Hamas continued to fire rockets. Israel also accepted a ceasefire proposal by Egypt, backed by the Arab League and the Palestinian Authority (PA), which on July 15 was rejected by Hamas.

When PA president Mahmoud Abbas pleaded with Hamas to accept the ceasefire, Moussa Abu Marzouk, the deputy head of Hamas' political bureau, stated "what are 200 martyrs compared with lifting the siege?"

Here, it's crucial to fully comprehend what "lifting the siege" means to Hamas, behind their demands and inflammatory rhetoric. What it is actually seeking is the means to rearm and vastly expand Hamas' military capabilities. This is a demand that the world should never accept, and would only guarantee another bloody war in the near future.

Hamas knows that if it stopped firing rockets into Israel, Israel would have ceased its operation in Gaza. Yet, Hamas combatants have increased their firing range to over 160km, which means rockets have been fired at Israeli cities as far north as Haifa, Hadera and Zikhron Ya'akov, as well as Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. This rocket fire is indiscriminate and targeted at the civilian populations. On July 15 alone, 122 rockets hit Israel, with 26 being intercepted by the "Iron Dome" missile defence system.

Despite this, a number of civilians in Gaza have been seen massing on the rooftops of Hamas sites, with a Hamas spokesman stating, "We in the Hamas movement call on our people to adopt this procedure." Hamas has used the "human shield" tactic in previous escalations and stands condemned by the international community for its clear violation of humanitarian law.

The law of armed conflict requires combatants to distinguish themselves from non-combatants, or the civilian population. This is known as the principle of distinction - a principle flouted by Hamas.

Last week, Hamas' Interior Ministry ordered residents in Gaza to remain in their homes if they are about to be bombed, urging civilians to ignore the Israeli warnings. This obviously increases Palestinian casualties, with Hamas publicly attempting to use the loss of life to increase international pressure on Israel.

However, if, following these warnings, it appears that there will be excessive collateral damage, including in instances where civilians have been urged by Hamas to act as human shields, Israel has been known to abort attacks, even when it means that those Hamas targets still have the capability to launch attacks on Israeli civilians.

Moreover, the principle of distinction requires a ban on the use of weapons that are incapable of being properly aimed at legitimate targets. In violation of this law, thousands of rockets have been indiscriminately launched by Hamas over the past weeks, targeting the Israeli civilian population.

Hamas' military wing, a proscribed terrorist organisation in Australia and other countries, maintains an arsenal of thousands of projectiles. Its practices of hiding itself and weaponry within homes and UN schools, launching attacks from civilian areas, and setting up its de facto headquarters in hospitals have been widely documented. Hamas has broadcast a number of videos in Hebrew threatening among other things: "Zionists, wait and see terror attacks, stabbing everywhere. Wait for suicide attacks on every bus, cafe and street... we can reach you above ground and below it. So start counting the number of coffins you'll need in these months."

The strikes have continued, with the IDF stating, "No nation would accept constant rocket fire, neither will we." Hamas has stated that "all Israelis" are potential targets for retaliation.

The difference between Israel and Hamas is that Israel judges the success of a mission by how few civilians are killed, while Hamas deliberately courts civilian casualties on both sides.

Hamas Chooses Guns Over Butter
24 July 2014

The current round of fighting between Israel and Hamas will likely wind down as soon as the Israel Defense Forces are confident that the vast network of underground tunnels has been dismantled, but until then, fat chance.


Paul Alster at Fox says the IDF has so far uncovered at least 28 tunnels with more than 60 access shafts, and Ben Piven at Al Jazeera makes it clear that these tunnels are used offensively.

“Tunnels are just one weapon used by the resistance,” Abu Obeida, a Qassam spokesman, told Al Jazeera. “They can move from a defensive position to an offensive one in any situation.”

Hamas forces traveled in the tunnels to capture Israeli soldier Gilad Schalit in 2006 and bring him back to Gaza, where he was kept prisoner for five years.

One tunnel discovered by Israel last year was 66 feet deep and 1.5 miles long. The project is estimated to have cost $10 million and used 800 tons of concrete. The dangerous digging was apparently done with mechanical pedal-powered devices, rather than with noisy electrical equipment.

The citizens of Gaza would be much better off if their government—if Hamas deserves to be called such a thing—invested its money and energy into building an economy and improving the lives of its people instead of killing Israelis and bringing violent retaliation down on everyone’s head.

But Hamas is spectacularly unlikely ever to change. What Gaza needs is internally-driven regime-change from below. When everyone is at last tired of living like this they will no longer have to.

Here's a good little video that's really pertinent.

ja it's all a jooish plot to take over the Iraqi oil and share it with their Hamas allies .

Holy Froop,is THAT what it is all about!
Some Skullduggery for true!

Just support murder and Slaughter then,whats your angle ??

Now you know it's more than that. The Zionists intend to keep stealing land as long as they can get away with it. Their concept of "Eretz Israel" (greater Israel) is that it should include what is now Lebanon, Jordan, Syria and most of Iraq. And of course if they take that land they will have to wage genocide on those people too. Just to get them out of the way.