New in Gaza: Priest, nun human shields

[Scurrilous]

Priest, nun from Michigan join dozens of Palestinians gathered at Gaza houses in effort to prevent bombing, say ‘If Israel claims family member involved in violence, arrest them, don’t’ destroy home populated by entire family’

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3331460,00.html

<snip>

"For the past two months, the IDF has been called activists and their family members in Gaza to warn them of their intent on bombing their homes.

Palestinians have found away to prevent the bombings; dozens, even hundreds, gather at the homes of those wanted, thereby thwarting the destruction. In recent days, Father Peter and Sister Mary Ellen of Michigan have joined them.

At the end of last week, the IDF informed the Brudi family in Jabalya of their intent to bomb and demolish their home in protest of their son’s activities with the Popular Resistance Committees (PRC).

Since then, hundreds of neighbors and activists of all organizations congregated at the house in an effort to prevent the demolition. The same idea was adopted at the home of a prominent Hamas activist in the northern Gaza Strip town of Beit Lahiya."

<snip>

"These homes have become pilgrimage sites in recent days not only for locals. Foreign peace activists have started to show interests in the phenomenon, and two Americans, a priest and a nun from Michigan, arrived at Jabalya from Michigan to take part in the human shield mission at the Brudi family home."

[cali]

1. good.

I'm glad this tactic is working. Targeting homes for demolition because a family member may be involved in terrorist activities is simply a form of collective punishment.

[breakaleg]

3. Exactly. I couldn't have said it better.

[eyl]

2. Arrest them?

Are they willing to accept the bloodshed that will involve?

[madrchsod]

4. at least the idf is polite enough to inform them first............

[Stalwart]

5. I recall a scene from the movie Gandhi

As a non violent protester was struck down by a British soldier another stepped up to take their place, then another. Perhaps the camera pulled back to reveal many more standing behind them. They just kept coming. They just kept falling.

A better way to achieve objectives than suicide bombing?

[Boston Critic]

6. I wonder if these "faux humanitarians"

...will go to protect the Israeli civilians being *targeted* by the terrorists they're defending.

There's a special place in hell for these pious hypocrites.

[cali]

8. Wow.

People doing what they believe is right. Terrible. The truth is that terrible as the situation in S'derot is, it doesn't begin to compare to the misery in Gaza and the WB. I'm glad that Israeli citizens aren't being killed in the numbers that Palestinians are, and it would be interesting to see what would happen if peace group members offered themselves as human shields in S'derot. Would the Qassams would fall silent? In any case, how is destroying homes of families of suspected terrorists, not collective punishment?

[pelsar]

10. interesting idea...

and it would be interesting to see what would happen if peace group members offered themselves as human shields in S'derot

hamas said a couple of days ago, if israel vacates sederot they'll stop shooting.....almost spilled my coffee on that one.

hamas/islamic jihad many times use a two bomb system: the first bomb goes off, the people come to help the victims, then the second bomb goes off, to kill those as well.

a couple of years ago two swedish intl were shot by the jihadnikim....didnt get much news (nor was there any kind of "oops we messed up"

Like the intl journalists who work from th palestenian side, there is no room for less than full cooperation, less then that, and they are threatened (stories came out when the two israelis were "beaten to death in the police HQ in ramalla years ago).

Still it would be interesting, not just from "principled perspective" but from a political one....what would hamas do, if the ISM split into two groups...one in sederot one in Beit Hanon........could the ISM even "stomach" the idea of protecting israelis?

[Behind the Aegis]

18. Wow, indeed.

"....what would happen if peace group members offered themselves as human shields in S'derot. Would the Qassams would fall silent?"

You are kidding, right?

First, they would never 'shield' Israelis, and, if, in an alternate universe, decided to do so, the Qassams would just have a higher body count, which you say you are opposed to.

It was 'theorized' that if the women and children held in Israeli jails were released, or offered for release, then the solider held in Gaza would be released....WRONG! Just goes to show, that the real issue is not about resuming "normal" life for the Palestinians, but rather, waging constant war on Israel.

[IntiRaymi]

9. I'll defer to you whenever a 1 sided way to look at things is needed.

Which is basically never.

[newyorican]

12. It appears to disturb you a great deal...

that anyone would care about people other than those living in Israel.

You know, caring about Palestinians doesn't preclude caring about any other group...

[Boston Critic]

19. Well, then...

I certainly look forward to any sign whatsoever that they hypocrites really do care about innocent Israeli civilians being targeted by the Palestinian terrorists.

Do get in touch when they show they do care for ALL innocent lives, and not just ones associated with their favored terrorists.

[newyorican]

20. Your admission is noted...

n/t

[Boston Critic]

21. Whoosh!

You missed the point entirely.

[pelsar]

7. Human Rights Watch disagrees......

“There is no excuse for calling civilians to the scene of a planned attack,” said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. “Whether or not the home is a legitimate military target, knowingly asking civilians to stand in harm’s way is unlawful.”


http://hrw.org/english/docs/2006/11/22/isrlpa14652.htm

[newyorican]

11. If they are being "called" by those targeted...

HRW is correct.

However, that doesn't seem to apply in this case. If the target becomes public knowledge and people come there, that's a horse of a different color.

[pelsar]

13. HRW....

has called it.....they are writing in reguards to the palestenians civilians willng going to a target.....simple as that....making up some kind of story to absolve the palestenains of putting their people in harms way doesnt change HRWs stand

they are guilty of using placing civilians in "harms way".....simple as that.

[newyorican]

16. So now it's "simple"?

Hmmm...

[pelsar]

17. what they wrote is clear..

and simple...trying to "muck it up" so that the palestenians arent the "guilty party" is also clear and simple

[Scurrilous]

14. A new, primitive but effective defense method: Palestinians now form "human shields"

<snip>

"What do you when you have no country and no official army, and you're up against one of the toughest military organizations in the world, a fighting machine that is backed by the richest nation on the planet? As the world now knows, over the years, Palestinians in the Israeli-controlled Palestinian territories have thrown rocks at their enemy and sometimes strapped on explosives to carry out suicide-bomb attacks.

Now, as the Israel Defense Forces continue their latest operations in Gaza, some Palestinians have adopted another technique, born of desperation, that may appear primitive in an era of far-flung missiles that can destroy whole towns: Lately they've been using their own bodies, gathering or lining up together to form so-called human shields around prospective Israeli targets.

This past weekend, a group of Palestinians managed to prevent Israel from destroying the homes of two of their townsmen by surrounding them with human shields. First, "hundreds of neighbors surrounded the home of Mohammed Baroud and climbed on its roof after he received a call from the Israeli army informing him he had 30 minutes to vacate his home before it was destroyed by missiles." In his Gaza town, Baroud is the leader of an anti-Israeli resistance committee. "Two hours later, Israel warned Mohammed Nawajeh, a member of Hamas, that his house would be targeted, and the same process occurred. Both men are accused by Israel of involvement in firing rockets at Israel." (Guardian) These incidents marked the first times the Palestinians had successfully thwarted Israeli strikes by using the human-shield method.

<snip>

"Jamila Shanti, a 50-year-old, former philosophy professor who "is widely credited for coming up with the new strategy of using women as human shields to fend off Israeli attacks." She said: "We consider it a new kind of resistance, highly successful, one that will serve us well against the Israeli enemy...."

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/sfgate/detail?blogid=15&entry_id=11234

[pelsar]

15. perhaps they will learn....

to use it against their own as well......when the jihadnikim come to town....will they run them out of town using their women?.....that would be a positive continuation of it.....

i doubt the jihadnikm will shoot at them, so if the can learn to expand upon it, then this may lead them out to a more productive peaceful lives.....

or will they surround the jihadnikim while they fire their kassams?....

stay tuned to the next development