Israel-Gaza conflict: What has Israel achieved in 26 bloody days?

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

As Gaza is devastated by a new paroxysm of violence, what has Israel achieved by its 26-day bombardment and ground intervention? The outcome so far is similar to that of past Israeli wars in Lebanon and Gaza: massive firepower is used to inflict heavy losses on the other side, the great majority of the casualties being civilians. But, as the war goes on, Israeli leaders find that Israel's military superiority is failing to produce comparable political gains.

Worse, from the Israeli point of view, it is the Palestinians and, in this case, Hamas, who are in a stronger position than they were a month ago. By its actions, Israel has put the Palestinian issue firmly back on the international agenda from which it had largely disappeared since the Arab uprisings of 2011. Only a few months ago, a friend sympathetic to the Palestinians lamented to me that, in his travels in the US, Europe and the Arab world, he had seldom heard the words "Palestine" or "Palestinians". Gaza, at horrendous cost to its people, has changed all that.

Usually, the sufferings of the four million Palestinians penned into Gaza and the West Bank are invisible to people in the rest of the world. But over the past month we have seen, night after night, pictures of Palestinian families, with their maimed and terrified children, vainly seeking safety amid shattered houses and hospitals.

Israeli spokesmen sound shifty and heartless as they claim that there is no proof of Israel's culpability for the shelling of a UN hospital or a children's playground, suggesting that a Hamas rocket might have fallen short. These denials and evasions might work in a short war but, by the time 264 Palestinian children had been killed, as of Friday, they only serve to convince people that Israelis do not care how many Palestinians they kill.

Of course, we have been here many times before, the most notorious Israeli intervention being the invasion of Lebanon in 1982. I was in the Sabra and Shatila camps just after the massacre of 1,700 Palestinians by Christian militiamen who would not have been there but for Israeli actions. When I see pictures of the dead in Gaza, I feel I can still smell the sickly sweet stench of the dead bodies as they began to rot in the hot September sun. I remember the poverty of the dead, with their ragged clothes and plastic shoes, as they lay in the doorways of tiny shops or heaped up in alleyways. Out in the open, a donkey was lying dead between the shafts of a small cart carrying a barrel of water, and corpses were half-buried in a bank of sand, as if somebody had wanted to conceal them but had given up half-way through because there were too many bodies to bury.

Not everything is the same today in Gaza as it was in Lebanon in 1982 or in Gaza in 2008. A crucial difference is that, at those points, the countries neighbouring Israel were relatively stable, or at least had governments in firm control. Nothing could be less true this summer, as Syria and Iraq are convulsed by civil war, and Jordan and Lebanon look more and more unstable. Egypt has a leadership installed by a military coup and confirmed by a dubious election; the Libyan state has collapsed into anarchy, presided over by predatory militias. The Gaza war adds to the sense of general crisis.

A reason for Israel launching these mini-conflicts, for there has not been an all-out war since the invasion of Lebanon, is to demonstrate its raw military power. But, each time round, it simultaneously shows the limitations of that power to get anywhere in ending Israel's long confrontation with the Palestinians. For all the devastating firepower of Israel's air force, tanks and artillery deployed against a few thousand Hamas gunmen, it is unlikely to permanently eliminate them and thus win a military victory. And, even if it did, the victory would not be conclusive since the Palestinian sense of oppression is so great that some other armed group, possibly in the shape of Isis (the self-tagged Islamic State), would soon take its place.

When I was a correspondent in Jerusalem between 1995 and 1999, I came to believe that there was another reason, to do with the political psychology of Israelis, which explained why they fought these bloody but futile wars. This was put well by Uri Avnery, the Israeli writer and peace activist, who wrote that the Israeli army is filled with "teenagers who are indoctrinated from the age of three in the spirit of Jewish victimhood and superiority". The same is true of much of the rest of Israeli society. Israelis genuinely feel they are the main victims deserving international sympathy, even when 1,400 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli shells and bombs compared with just three Israeli civilians and one Thai worker killed by Hamas's rockets and mortars.

Every opponent of Israel, however puny, is treated by Israeli governments and much of the Israeli media as representing an existential threat. Any retaliatory violence is therefore justified, whether the targets are Palestinians, Lebanese or the 10 Turks killed on board the flotilla of boats trying to bring aid to Gaza in 2010. This sense of permanent persecution, born of pogroms and the Holocaust, is understandable but makes Israelis peculiarly vulnerable to demagogues manipulating their sense of threat. Israeli spokesmen have triumphantly pointed to polls showing that 90 per cent of Israelis currently support Operation Protective Edge in Gaza, but this lack of contrary opinion about a venture so unlikely to do Israel much good is, in reality, a sign of weakness in a nation.

Paradoxically, deliberate threat inflation by the Israeli government redounds to the advantage of Hamas. Its military wing fires rockets into Israel to cause fear among the general population by killing or wounding people; its attacks are largely ineffectual because Israel has the Iron Dome defensive system that intercepts the rockets. But Israeli leaders then do Hamas's work for it by telling their people that Hamas is a threat to their very existence. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks of the "tunnels of terror" as if they undermined every home in Israel. A story spread on the internet claims that thousands of Hamas fighters dressed in Israeli army uniforms had been planning to surge through the tunnels into Israel in a sort of underground D-Day landing.

A great weakness of Israel is that Israelis believe so much of their own propaganda. Dr Arbuthnot, the 18th-century writer and satirist, said that "all political parties die at last of swallowing their own lies". The same is true of nations when they see the world around them only through a lens distorted by the myths of their own propagandists. Israelis are diverted from the simple fact, proven so often since the war of 1967, that they are not going to enjoy permanent peace so long as they occupy the West Bank and besiege Gaza. The Israeli historian Tom Segev says: "It is not easy to understand why so many Israelis still believe that a large Israel without peace is better than a small Israel with peace."

http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/israelgaza-conflict-what-has-israel-achieved-in-26-bloody-days-9644508.html

[OriZ 3,157]

massive firepower is used to inflict heavy losses on the other side, the great majority of the casualties being civilians. But, as the war goes on, Israeli leaders find that Israel's military superiority is failing to produce comparable political gains.

Worse, from the Israeli point of view, it is the Palestinians and, in this case, Hamas, who are in a stronger position than they were a month ago. By its actions, Israel has put the Palestinian issue firmly back on the international agenda from which it had largely disappeared since the Arab uprisings of 2011.

A reason for Israel launching these mini-conflicts, for there has not been an all-out war since the invasion of Lebanon, is to demonstrate its raw military power.

When I was a correspondent in Jerusalem between 1995 and 1999, I came to believe that there was another reason, to do with the political psychology of Israelis, which explained why they fought these bloody but futile wars. This was put well by Uri Avnery, the Israeli writer and peace activist, who wrote that the Israeli army is filled with "teenagers who are indoctrinated from the age of three in the spirit of Jewish victimhood and superiority". The same is true of much of the rest of Israeli society. Israelis genuinely feel they are the main victims deserving international sympathy, even when 1,400 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli shells and bombs compared with just three Israeli civilians and one Thai worker killed by Hamas's rockets and mortars.

Lets talk a little bit about numbers. 44% of the dead are men between ages 17 and 30. But yet they are only 10% of the population in Gaza. 22% of the dead are children(under the age of 17). More than 50% of Gazan population is under 17. 43% are under 14 but only 16% of the dead are under 14. According to the IDF, 800-900 of the dead are Hamas terrorists. I'll take that over Hamas' numbers which is largely what the UN bases its numbers on.

Also, Israel's military is not the problem, it is the leaders who are the problem. The writer obviously does not understand it is those leaders who do not let the army do what it can do, so it's not the army's failure to produce political gains, but those leaders that do not use the army properly. Unfortunately, in a democratic country such as Israel, the army follows the orders of the politicians, even though those orders at times make no sense.

Hamas is not in a stronger position, Hamas is dying. Hamas is defeated. Hamas caused destruction in Gaza, 15,000 people have no homes, they claimed this time they are going to go all the way till the siege is lifted and this and that...they thought they would drag Israel deeper into Gaza and now the Israeli forces are leaving and Hamas is in a panic. If it stops shooting now - the Gazans will go wait a second, you promised us all those results to the war and destruction, we got none of it. If it continues shooting it will cause even more damage in Gaza through continued Israeli airstrikes. Hamas is in catch 22.

The Palestinian issue never left the international agenda. Just this year Israel and the Palestinians with the help of the international community kept negotiating towards a peace deal.

Israel does not launch any "mini conflicts", only responds to the ones launched on it by the terrorists.

"teenagers who are indoctrinated from the age of three in the spirit of Jewish victimhood and superiority". - this is a lie, plain and simple, and almost as much of a libel as claiming Jews use Christian boys' blood to make Matzos. As someone who grew up in Israel myself and also of course have many friends and family there - no such thing exists. period. If it does, it is very uncommon and unpopular and in any way does not compare to the indoctrination of the Palestinians to kill all Jews.

"just 3 Israeli civilians killed" - Israel deeply apologizes for investing alot of money and efforts into protecting its people. Maybe the writer should spend some time in Israel and run to a shelter 20 times a day stopping whatever he was doing before so that he doesn't become part of the statistics that would make him justify Israel defending itself. Maybe instead of investing in tunnels and rockets Hamas could have invested in shelters, alarm systems, an iron dome system? Hamas came into this conflict expecting hundreds of Israeli soldiers dead and dozens of civilians. It didn't happen not due to Hamas' lack of trying.

The Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement is “virtually guaranteed to fail” because of unreasonable demands and misleading claims, according to noted anti-Israel activist Noam Chomsky.

“Those who are sincerely dedicated to the Palestinian cause should avoid illusion and myth, and think carefully about the tactics they choose and the course they follow,” Chomsky wrote this week in the Nation, referring to the BDS movement.

Chomsky noted that the BDS demand to flood Israel proper with millions of Palestinian refugees is a non-starter. “There is virtually no meaningful support for [the demand] beyond the BDS movement itself,” he wrote.

Join the Fighting BDS Facebook page and take a stand against the delegitimization of Israel.

He also shattered one of the BDS movement’s core arguments – the analogy between Israel and apartheid South Africa, which he labels “dubious.”

While there is, finally, a growing domestic opposition in the United States to Israeli crimes, it does not remotely compare with the South African case. The necessary educational work has not been done. Spokespeople for the BDS movement may believe they have attained their “South African moment,” but that is far from accurate. And if tactics are to be effective, they must be based on a realistic assessment of actual circumstances.

Chomsky also invoked an argument against BDS that has been used by anti-BDS activists for years – why focus on Israel alone? But while anti-BDS activists are usually referring to Iran or Syria, Chomsky cites the U.S. as his example.

“If we boycott Tel Aviv University because Israel violates human rights at home, then why not boycott Harvard because of far greater violations by the United States?” he wrote.

http://honestreporting.com/chomsky-bds-tactics-likely-to-fail/

[lostinblue 1,989]

Two billion spent on tunnels by some account......Money that could be use to make life better... self induced poverty... All for the destruction of the Jewish state

[Póg mo 1,749]

How a kidnapped soldier illustrates Israels deception

3 AUGUST 2014

The National 3 August 2014

A single incident at the weekend the reported capture by Hamas on Friday of an Israeli soldier through a tunnel illustrated in stark fashion the layers of deception Israel has successfully cast over its attack on Gaza.

On Sunday, as the army indicated it would start limited withdrawals, Israel suggested Hadar Goldin was dead, possibly buried in a collapsed tunnel as Israel bombarded the area in which he was seized. His family said he was being left behind.

Israeli officials and media did not view Hamass operation dispassionately. Goldin was not captured but kidnapped as though he was an innocent seized by opportunistic criminals.

Astoundingly, many western journalists followed Israels lead. The Times of Londons front page blared: Kidnapped in Gaza, while the Boston Globe called him the abducted Israeli soldier.

From western reactions, it was also clear the soldiers capture was considered more significant news than any of the massacres of Palestinian civilians over the past weeks.

Israels cynical calculus that one soldier is more valuable than large numbers of dead Palestinian civilians was echoed in the diplomatic and editorial corridors of Washington, London and Paris.

Misleading too was the theme that, in attacking soldiers and seizing Goldin, Hamas had violated a 72-hour humanitarian ceasefire.

CBS reporter Charlie DAgata was among those who, in parroting Israeli briefings, inadvertently exposed the deceit. The soldier was suspected of being kidnapped during an operation to clear tunnels crucially, [officials] say, this happened after the ceasefire was supposed to take place.

So if a ceasefire was in place, what were Goldin and his comrades doing detonating the tunnels in which Israel says Hamas is hiding? Were Hamas fighters supposed to simply wait to be entombed during the pause in hostilities? Or was Israel the one violating the ceasefire?

And then there was the explosion of military fury as Israel realised its soldier was missing. Israeli correspondents suggested the notorious Hannibal procedure had been invoked: the use of all means to stop a soldier being taken alive, including killing him. The rationale is to prevent the enemy gaining a psychological advantage in negotiations.

The unleashing of massive firepower appeared designed to ensure Goldin and his captors never made it out of their tunnel, but in the process dozens of Palestinians died.

It was another illustration of Israels absolute disregard for the safety of civilians. At least three-quarters of the more than 1,700 Palestinians killed so far have been non-combatants, while almost all Israeli casualties have been soldiers. Another UN school was hit on Sunday, killing at least 10 Palestinians seeking refuge from Israeli shelling.

Israels official justifications for taking the fight into Gaza have been layered with deceit too. Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has argued that Israel was dragged into a war of necessity. US president Barack Obama echoed him: Israel had a right to defend itself from rocket fire out of Gaza. Later, the pretext would become Israels need to destroy the terror tunnels.

The logic was deeply flawed. Israel is occupying and besieging Gaza, conferring on its inhabitants a right under international law to fight for their freedom. How does the oppressor, the lawbreaker have a right to self-defence? If Israel objects to being scratched and bruised, it should stop choking its victim.

Equally significantly, Israel has obscured the truth that it picked this particular round of its ongoing confrontation with Hamas and did so entirely cynically.

A BBC reporter recently confirmed with an Israeli police spokesman that the group behind the abduction in June of three Israeli teenagers in the West Bank the trigger for an Israeli campaign against Hamas was a lone cell.

Claiming precisely the opposite that he had cast-iron proof Hamas was responsible Mr Netanyahu gave the army free rein to arrest hundreds of Hamas members and smash the organisations institutions in the West Bank.

The crackdown created the necessary provocation: Hamas allowed its Gaza factions to start firing limited numbers of rockets. Analyst Nathan Thrall notes that Hamas had impressed the Israeli army until that point by enforcing the ceasefire agreed 18 months earlier, even though Israel violated the terms by maintaining Gazas siege. Now the rockets gave Mr Netanyahu an excuse to strike.

So what was Mr Netanyahus real reason for going into Gaza? What were these many deceptions designed to hide?

It seems he wanted to end a strategic threat: not Hamas rockets or tunnels, but the establishment of a unity government between Hamas and its long-time rivals Fatah.

But Hamass unexpectedly impressive martial display against Israel killing dozens of soldiers, firing long-range rockets into Israel and briefly closing the airport may have changed the calculus again.

Now, Mr Netanyahu may need Palestinian unity, at least on his terms, to undermine Hamass gains.

As Israel began its attack on Gaza, Mr Netanyahu warned there could never be any agreement in which we relinquish security control of the West Bank. He was ruling out any hope of Palestinian statehood. A demilitarised entity, heavily circumscribed and absolutely dependent on Israel and the US, seems to be all that is on the table.

Allowing Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas and Fatah into Gaza could justify loosening the siege. But only as long as Mr Abbas agrees to remove Hamass military infrastructure and export to the coastal enclave the model he has established in the West Bank of endless accommodation to Israeli and US dictates.

Tagged as: Gaza, Israel army, media criticism

- See more at: http://www.jonathan-cook.net/2014-08-03/how-a-kidnapped-soldier-illustrates-israels-deception/#sthash.SnrpspJ0.x7bxc4iq.dpuf

[OriZ 3,157]

LOL...I'm not gonna even bother reading the whole thing, I stopped where it said Israel violated the cease fire...it was agreed that during the cease fire the operations on the tunnels would be allowed to continue. Yet again Palestinian propaganda and lies at their best.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

So still no conscience about civilian deaths? Or are we now saying that there aren't any?

[OriZ 3,157]

Hamas can make it all stop if they decide to stop wanting to annihilate Israel.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

Israel can make it stop too. But that's not an option is it - because all of this is unavoidable, proportionate and necessary. Right.

[SMOKE 1,426]

So still no conscience about civilian deaths? Or are we now saying that there aren't any?

they're terrible. hamas should be held accountable for their actions.

Israel can make it stop too. But that's not an option is it - because all of this is unavoidable, proportionate and necessary. Right.

not when they continually break cease fire agreements. it starts & stops with hamas.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

Don't answer for Oriz. Any mention of civilian deaths is sidestepped - apparently it's more important to point out how many rockets were fired than how many people have been killed, then to attempt to downplay the numbers by suggesting the numbers have been massively exaggerated as part of a some conspiracy.

I don't think that's very reasonable, but that's just me.

Edited August 4, 2014 by Hail Ming!

[SMOKE 1,426]

Don't answer for Oriz. Any mention of civilian deaths is sidestepped - apparently it's more important to point out how many rockets were fired than how many people have been killed, then to attempt to downplay the numbers by suggesting the numbers have been massively exaggerated as part of a some conspiracy.

I don't think that's very reasonable, but that's just me.

I didn't answer for Oriz. You didn't quote him. So, I didn't know you were directly addressing him. The blame still starts & stops with hamas.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

The situation is clearly complicated so I'm not sure how anyone can say with any degree of confidence that one side is definitely to blame. Again, that's propagandising the issue.

The deaths of civilians should be front and centre of this, but they aren't because the American perspective on it is blinkered by unquestioning support of Israel - something that (disgracefully) plays out in the mainstream news media on a daily basis.

[OnMyWayID 1,489]

The situation is clearly complicated so I'm not sure how anyone can say with any degree of confidence that one side is definitely to blame. Again, that's propagandising the issue.

The deaths of civilians should be front and centre of this, but they aren't because the American perspective on it is blinkered by unquestioning support of Israel - something that (disgracefully) plays out in the mainstream news media on a daily basis.

A very recent tweet from Hamas:

If ever I get pangs of sympathy I go to youtube and do a search for Palestinians celebrating in the streets on 9/11..

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

So what you are saying then is not only that Hamas are to blame for what is Israel is doing in Gaza, but that Palestinian civilians actually deserve to die. At best, you seem to be suggesting that they don't deserve any sympathy.

These days calling someone an extremist on VJ is seen as a TOS violation - but when you've proven that yourself nothing more needs to be said.

Seriously amazing.

Edited August 4, 2014 by Hail Ming!

[Expat1 971]

they're terrible. hamas should be held accountable for their actions.

not when they continually break cease fire agreements. it starts & stops with hamas.

Settlements were built outside of Israeli borders LONG before Hamas. Camps were established LONG before Hamas. Gaza was under blockade LONG before Hamas. Israeli soldiers were walking the streets of territory that does not belong to Israel and shooting protesters LONG before Hamas.

Apply your logic to yourself and you will see it is flawed. You wouldn't take it sitting down, I wouldn't take it sitting down, and those people are not taking it siting down either. Israel needs to get out of areas that are not within their recognized borders.