Israel/Palestine
Related: About this forumIsraeli military says 9 soldiers killed in Gaza war in separate attacks as violence mounts
JERUSALEM — Israeli military says 9 soldiers killed in Gaza war in separate attacks as violence mounts.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/israeli-military-says-9-soldiers-killed-in-gaza-war-in-separate-attacks-as-violence-mounts/2014/07/28/bdeba42e-1687-11e4-88f7-96ed767bb747_story.html
= new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight:
NoneDon't highlight anything
5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
bemildred
(90,061 posts)Recent controversies over coverage of Gaza suggest that reporters can get into trouble over appearing too sympathetic to Palestinians (NBC's Ayman Mohyeldin) or too critical of some Israelis (CNN's Diana Magnay).
But some opinions are perfectly acceptable. On his July 27 show, CBS Face the Nation host Bob Schieffer went on a rant about Palestinians:
In the Middle East, the Palestinian people find themselves in the grip of a terrorist group that has embarked on a strategy to get its own children killed in order to build sympathy for its cause, a strategy that might actually be working, at least in some quarters.
Last week, I found a quote of many years ago by Golda Meir, one of Israel's early leaders, which might have been said yesterday. "We can forgive the Arabs for killing our children," she said, "but we can never forgive them for forcing us to kill their children."
http://www.fair.org/blog/2014/07/28/cbs-host-palestinians-force-israel-to-kill-kids/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=cbs-host-palestinians-force-israel-to-kill-kids
Jefferson23
(30,099 posts)oberliner
(58,724 posts)Must not know how to use Google because he has the quote wrong.
bemildred
(90,061 posts)People keep using it like is was a coherent argument.
oberliner
(58,724 posts)She said "it will be harder for us to forgive them."
I do think the difference is significant, though I guess, not critical to the point being made.
The whole quote game is as played out as the four maps showing "loss of Palestinian land" which, amazingly, is still being posted and re-posted.
bemildred
(90,061 posts)oberliner
(58,724 posts)Probably some site paraphrased the quote that way - and that was good enough.
Reporters don't seem interested in actually doing any work.
bemildred
(90,061 posts)oberliner
(58,724 posts)But your point is valid in either case.
Jefferson23
(30,099 posts)Let's be clear: I'm no fan of Hamas, a brutal and anti-Semitic group which has been accused by Amnesty International and other NGOs of human rights abuses against the people of Gaza and of war crimes against the people of Israel. Firing rockets into civilian areas isn't justified under international law, even if it is framed as part of a (legitimate) struggle against foreign military occupation.
Having said that, however, in recent days I've been debating supporters of Israel's latest assault on Gaza on radio and on Twitter and I've been astonished not just by the sheer number of fact-free claims made by those supporters, but also by their confidence, slickness and sheer message discipline. According to the pro-Israel, pro-IDF crowd, Hamas is to blame for everything.
This, of course, is utter nonsense. To quote the late US senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan: "You are entitled to your opinion. But you are not entitled to your own facts."
So, in a Moynihanian spirit, here are fact-filled, evidence-based rebuttals to the 11 main myths, half-truths and self-serving 'talking points' that are repeatedly pushed by various Israeli spokespersons, both on the airwaves and on social media:
http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/mehdi-hasan/gaza-israel_b_5624401.html?1406545029&ncid=tweetlnkushpmg00000067
oberliner
(58,724 posts)Just presents two quotes from different sources contradicting each statement.
One could fairly easily find two quotes from different sources that would support each statement as well.
Neither exercise proves or debunks any of the statements.
Jefferson23
(30,099 posts)bemildred
(90,061 posts)JERUSALEM: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday his country must prepare for a long conflict in the Gaza Strip, squashing any hopes of a swift end to fighting that has already cost more than 1,000 lives.
In a televised address, a grim-faced Netanyahu said that any solution to the crisis would require the demilitarisation of the Palestinian territory, which is controlled by Hamas Islamists and their militant allies.
"We will not finish the mission, we will not finish the operation without neutralizing the tunnels, which have the sole purpose of destroying our citizens, killing our children," Netanyahu said, adding that it had been a "painful day".
Earlier, the Israeli army said Palestinian fighters had slipped across the border from the Gaza Strip, with media reporting casualties in an ensuing gunbattle. There were also reports of four Israeli deaths in a mortar attack, as an unofficial truce called for the Muslim Eid al-Fitr festival disintegrated.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international/world-news/israel-must-prepare-for-protracted-gaza-campaign-israeli-prime-minister-benjamin-netanyahu/articleshow/39185452.cms
bemildred
(90,061 posts)GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday that Israel must be ready for a "prolonged" military operation in the Gaza Strip and will "act aggressively and responsibly" until the mission is completed.
Israel launched the operation against Gaza's Hamas rulers three weeks ago, initially from the air and then on the ground. Israel has said it wants to decimate Hamas' ability to fire rockets at Israel and to destroy a network of Hamas military tunnels under the Gaza-Israel border.
However, Netanyahu indicated in a televised speech Monday that he is widening the objectives, saying that a demilitarization of Gaza must be part of any future solution for the territory of 1.7 million people.
"There is no war more just than this," Netanyahu said.
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/israels-netanyahu-there-is-no-war-more-just-than-this/
bemildred
(90,061 posts)GAZA/JERUSALEM, July 28 (Reuters) - A grim-faced Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned on Monday of a protracted war in Gaza, dashing any hopes of a swift end to the three-week conflict as Palestinian fighters launched an audacious cross-border raid.
The Israeli army said five of its soldiers died in two separate incidents, including four in a mortar strike. Local media also reported casualties in the infiltration, but there was no immediate confirmation of this.
---
Residents blamed the explosion on an airstrike, but Israel said a misfiring militant rocket caused the carnage.
"It has been a difficult, painful day," Netanyahu said in a televised address to the nation.
http://www.trust.org/item/20140728184428-tqdsh/
bemildred
(90,061 posts)The Israeli military has declared an "unlimited truce" in Gaza as Palestinians celebrated the Muslim holiday Eid, following calls from the United Nations (UN) Security Council for both sides to observe an immediate ceasefire.
An uneasy lull in the fighting began at around 9.30pm last night after Hamas said it wanted a 24-hour pause to mark Eid al-Fitr, celebrating the end of the Ramadan fast.
And though a small number of rockets continued to fly from Gaza over the course of Monday - to which the Israeli army responded with tank and artillery shelling - it represented a significant reduction in violence and one of the calmest nights in the three-week conflict.
Speaking to Israel Radio on Monday, the military's chief spokesperson Brigadier General Motti Almoz said: "The situation is an unlimited truce." He nonetheless added that "the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) are free to attack after any fire if there is any."
http://www.albawaba.com/news/israel-gaza-593318
Sort of a non-truce truce.
bemildred
(90,061 posts)The Obama administration’s $225 million request to aid Israel during its war with Hamas may not be enough, warned Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid on Monday afternoon.
At the request of Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, Senate Democrats folded $225 million for Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system into a larger bill that offers $2.7 billion in emergency funding to deal with the influx of Central American migrants to the southern border. But Reid said Israel will need even more help from the United States if the war in Gaza continues, demonstrating the need to pass the funding package this week ahead of a five-week congressional recess.
http://www.politico.com/story/2014/07/israel-us-aid-hamas-harry-reid-109452.html
In case you think we are not paying for this.
Jefferson23
(30,099 posts)bemildred
(90,061 posts)While the mounting human losses in the current battle between Hamas and Israel rightly preoccupy the world, the financial costs of Israel’s three-week long war with Gaza are also astonishing. According to one estimate, rockets from Gaza will potentially cost Israel about $30 million in direct damage (and at this point, three civilian lives lost), while the Israel Defense Forces’ (IDF) response will cost about $1 billion. Why do Israelis accept paying these financial costs of the war for a relatively small direct threat?
My recent book on democratic militarism shows that while underlying incentives for high levels of defense spending are not unique to Israel, they are especially acute there. For most wealthy states, which have come to rely on volunteer armies rather than mass conscription, the provision of security has largely become a tax problem. As building a military and fighting in conflicts become exercises in fiscal rather than social mobilization, the costs in blood and treasure drop for the average voter. Common sense (or, for political scientists, the Meltzer-Richard hypothesis) suggests that when most voters pay little of the financial cost of a public good or service, they will demand more of it.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/monkey-cage/wp/2014/07/28/paying-for-israels-wars/
stranger81
(2,345 posts)Fuck that noise.
bemildred
(90,061 posts)WASHINGTON — House Speaker John Boehner said Monday that support for Israel must be the United States’ main focus and not peace mediation in a subtle jab at the Obama administration.
“At times like this, people try to isolate Israel - but we are here to stand with Israel,” Boehner said in remarks at the National Press Club. “Not just as a broker or observer — but as a strong partner and a trusted ally.”
Boehner defined that support: “Well, it doesn’t mean issuing vague, on-the-one-hand, on-the-other-hand statements. No, it means backing up our words, and showing solidarity with our friend.”
The comments from the Ohio Republican came as Secretary of State John Kerry has tried to negotiate a humanitarian cease-fire between Israel and Hamas after weeks of fighting, with little success.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/congress/boehner-urges-us-solidarity-with-israel/2014/07/28/3bf4d378-168c-11e4-88f7-96ed767bb747_story.html?tid=recommended_strip_3
Jefferson23
(30,099 posts)fitting enough.
HooptieWagon
(17,064 posts)... the headlines should then read. Lets hope he comes to his senses, and tells AIPAC to go Cheney themselves.
bemildred
(90,061 posts)Egypt condemned on Monday, the "excessive" use of force by Israel against civilians in Gaza, where nearly 1,050 Palestinians have been killed, including dozens of children, since the beginning of July 8 Israeli offensive.
"Egypt condemns the excessive use of force by the Israeli side against civilians," said a statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Cairo particularly denounced the shooting Monday against the al-Shifa Hospital, the largest in the Gaza Strip, and against the Shati refugee camp, where eight children and two adults dead.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4551420,00.html
Scootaloo
(25,699 posts)Al-Sissi's Egypt, criticizing Israel? That's almost as unthunkable as the US doing so.
bemildred
(90,061 posts)In politics, there is no bigger sin.
bemildred
(90,061 posts)GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) -- Israel's prime minister warned Monday that the country faced a prolonged campaign against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, as the military urged residents in parts of the embattled territory to evacuate ahead of what appeared to be a broadening of the three-week war.
"What is coming will be worse," the Israeli military said in phone messages targeting Gaza militants.
Israeli leaders have been mulling whether to expand the assault against Hamas in Gaza, or respond to international calls for a truce.
The international community so far has been unable to bring about a cease-fire that would end the fighting, which has already killed at least 1,050 Palestinians, 52 Israeli soldiers and three civilians on the Israeli side.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/M/ML_ISRAEL_PALESTINIANS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2014-07-28-14-52-57
bemildred
(90,061 posts)The United States as a great Power is facing a large number of challenges in the Muslim world, and Israel’s Gaza campaign is endangering both American diplomacy there and the very security of the U.S. Given the series of setbacks for the U.S. in the Middle East, in Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan and Egypt, Israeli PM Binyamin Netanyahu could scarcely have chosen a worst time to kill hundreds of Palestinian civilians in the full light of world media.
The ability of an al-Qaeda offshoot, the so-called “Islamic State,” to take substantial territory in Syria and northern Iraq has alarmed Washington. The US embassy in Baghdad is in as much danger as the capital itself from IS violence. IS recruiting, and the radicalization of Muslim youth, is given enormous help by the scenes of Israeli munitions killing Palestinian civilians.
As security deteriorates to unprecedented lows in Libya, the U.S. has had to pull its ambassador and her staff from Tripoli. Fundamentalist radicals in Benghazi and elsewhere, already suspicious of the U.S., are seeing blood because of America’s statements in support of the Israeli military campaign. The radicals already despise the US, but one doesn’t want to give them recruitment tools among the general population, most of which had been grateful for the help with overthrowing Gaddafi.
http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/israels_gaza_campaign_endangers_us_security_obama_kerry_furious_20140728
bemildred
(90,061 posts)(PARIS) - The United States and major EU nations called Monday for more pressure to get a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel, the French presidency said, as a conflict that has killed more than 1,000 Palestinians rages on.
The leaders of the United States, Germany, France, Britain and Italy "agreed to redouble their efforts to obtain a ceasefire. Pressure must increase to get there," the French presidency said.
It issued its statement after President Barack Obama, Chancellor Angela Merkel, President Francois Hollande, Prime Minister David Cameron and Prime Minister Matteo Renzi held phone calls to establish their joint position.
World powers have for days been ramping up pressure on the warring sides to end the 21-day conflict, with the United States and United Nations calling for an "immediate ceasefire".
http://www.eubusiness.com/news-eu/israel-palestinians.x7p#1406574651
bemildred
(90,061 posts)Baku-APA. Israel will soon deliver a devastating strike against Palestinian Islamist group Hamas (Islamic Resistance Movement), which controls the Gaza Strip, Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon said Monday, APA reports quoting Itar-Tass.
http://en.apa.az/news/214493
HooptieWagon
(17,064 posts)translation: "we gonna kill another 1000 children"
bemildred
(90,061 posts)Backers of Israel and of Palestinians held dueling rallies in the Loop today, where each side accused the other of being responsible for the ongoing conflict in the Mideast.
The pro-Israel event, organized by the Jewish United Fund of Metropolitan Chicago, took place on a stage in Thompson Plaza and featured musical performances and appearances from lawmakers, including Illinois Sen. Mark Kirk.
"Let me say, so that people can hear me all the way to the United States Senate floor, I will carry your message that in the Senate, we stand with Israel," Kirk said to the hundreds of people who had gathered.
The Republican senator is one of Israel's most vocal backers in Washington.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/chi-israelipalestinian-conflict-spurs-dueling-loop-rallies-20140728,0,1086577.story
bemildred
(90,061 posts)bemildred
(90,061 posts)IDF death toll rises to 53 • Five IDF soldiers killed by Hamas terrorists who infiltrated into Israel through tunnel near Nahal Oz • Four soldiers killed in mortar strike on staging area near border • One soldier killed in RPG attack in southern Gaza.
http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_article.php?id=19105