42 thoughts on “IDF Murders Gazan in First Major Ceasefire Violation – Tikun Olam תיקון עולם إصلاح العالم
task-attention.png
Comments are published at the sole discretion of the owner.
 

  1. I personally think Israel shot and killed that young man in an act of petulance after having been deprived of its ground invasion. By the way, the photo of the victim as he lay dying is also one people ought to see.

    As for Jodi Rudoren, I find her reportage beyond appalling. Her racism was put on display for all the world to see in the past week, and the overall biased tone of all articles coming out of the NY Times under her oversight has been worse than ever.

    How cynical and vulgar for Israel to admit that it was testing weapons on Gaza for future use on Iran. What disgusting people. I would be ashamed if I were an Israeli.

  2. What amazes me, is that even Palestinian news agencies are willing to admit that there were riots (not too surprising given the fact that there’s footage showing them), and that the guy that was shot was attempting to tamper with the fence (something fairly difficult of doing had the fence been truly invisible as you were trying to claim). They even quote a relative saying that there were several warning shots in the air, another thing you dismiss.
    Now, before you go and say “it’s just a flag”, let me remind you that only a few days before the operation, an IDF officer was wounded and lost an arm in an explosion of a bomb planted in the fence, so it’s quite obvious why the army doesn’t like people approaching and placing thing on it that might have nasty surprises under them. Furthermore, there’s the chance of forced breach of the fence and entry into Israel, which I would expect even you to recognize as unacceptable.
    Needless to say that i’m not happy with the fact that someone got shot, but I would expect him to know and respect the boundaries, especially at this fragile period following the ceasefire, and if not – then at least heed to the obvious warnings.

    1. Could you post any of these “Palestinian news agencies admitting that there were riots” because I haven’t come across any. I posted a Maan article above, and they don’t say such a thing. The article also mentions the relative saying there were three warning shots in the air, but nothing about riots.
      Who the hell do you think you are ? The bastards are locking 1,6 million people up in a cage and also have the power to decide how people behave in that cage ? If I understand you correctly Palestinians are allowed to kill Israelis too when they don’t like their behaviour on the other side of the fence. Oh not….
      Preventive killing is a great Israeli invention.

      1. There are three different Ma’an News articles that cite the Israeli army claim of their being riots prior to the shooting.

        1. @ Bob
          Isn’t that amazing how you’re capable of manipulating ?
          Could you explain how Leeor’s statement about “even Palestinian news agencies admitting there were riots” is the same as “three different Ma’an articles that cite the Israeli army claim ….” is the same thing ? Did Maan endorse and confirm the Israeli army claim or did they cite them in order to give the two sides of the stort ? Did the relative cited in the same article talk about riots ?
          Bob, you’re fooling nobody here !

          1. Dear Yassin, hello
            At least some of the articles referred here show a video of a few dozens of people climbing some tall objects and waiving their hands in the air. They also claim, of course, that these people were praying what the shooting occurred. I’m not an expert on Islam, so i’ll have to take your word on it that this is part of the ritual (although I thought that praying in Islam is usually done closer to the ground, frankly, it beats me how you can hit someones’ forehead while he’s doing that).
            As for the “Gaza is a prison” argument, please explain to me why Israel should grant Gazan people full rights to enter Israel, where in the past few decades there have been numerous attacks in most major cities thanks to such capability (although, to be honest, most were coming out of the west bank, but that is also limited now with the wall). As far as I recall they share a border with Egypt – why not use that? Or maybe the Egyptian are also not fond of Palestinians using this passage to cut back through the Sinai desert to conduct terrorism on the much longer and hard to guard Israeli-Egyptian border.
            By the way, IDF has every right to engage people attempting to tamper with the fence or attempt crossing the border, as would the Hamas have if IDF would invade Gaza. What’s wrong is how the Palestinians feel free to attack cities within Israel, or even military patrols in Israeli area. Israeli retaliation (as with Ja’abris’ case, not attacks again rocket squads that are fully justified) was long overdue.

            The basic truth remains, that both Israel and Palestine could flourish if Hamas would simply acknowledge Israels’ right to exist, and put a stop to rocket launching and other attacks from the territory it governs. Call me when this happens, and we can discuss peace.

          2. Israel doesn’t just stop individual Gazans from entering Israel. It essentially prevents Gaza from having an economy. No exports, no imports, no trade, no banking, no port, no airport, no movement. That’s a far broader siege than you concede. Israel must drop this siege. If it wishes to inspect those entering or leaving Gaza as they pass through to Israel that’s fine. But prohibiting movement at all is a gross violation of the Geneva convention. It isn’t done for security purposes as you falsely claim. Israeli leaders themselves have explicitly said the siege punishes Gaza for choosing leaders of which Israel disapproves. Once again a war crime.

            Justifying murder is a violation of my comment rules. If you want to justify Ahmed Jabari’s murder you won’t do it here. REad my comment rules & respect them. I don’t let those on the left celebrate the killing of Israelis & by God I won’t let you be smug in your approval of murder either. You’re on a short leash.

            The basic truth remains that both Israel and Palestine could flourish if Israel would simply recognize Hamas’ existence and recognize a Palestinian state. Until it does, don’t expect from Palestinians what you won’t offer them. Call me when Israel does offer that & we won’t have to discuss peace, there already will be peace.

            And stop being morally blind.

          3. Wholly shit, clearly making sense about Gaza and the Israelis is going to get you labelled anti-semitic or whatever the apologists for Israeli crimes are using these days to justify Israeli aggression. You do at least engage in conversation with these slant viewed Zionist apologists, I lose patience too quickly, as its almost like discussing war with Neocons. I found your blog from a comment you made in reference to the netherworld website article about the Ten Tips to dealing with GIYUS media onslaughts.
            No matter what some commenters have said in response to this article about the IDF killing an innocent, I find you on the side of justice as I feel I am, not necessarily Pro-Palestinian, versus Pro-Israeli, and I may be wrong, but you make sense to me, while some here do not, and you know who I mean I’m sure.
            Thank you for your site.

          4. I don’t care about your hasbara.
            I asked you to support your “….even Palestinian news agencies are willing to admit that there were riots” with some sources. You didn’t address that at all. I guess that means you just pulled it out of your a..

          5. I don’t find anything anywhere about a “riot.” In such a case, wouldn’t the normal procedure be to use teargas and rubber bullets, not a live round shot into a young man’s head?

            Your obfuscation is getting damned tiresome, especially when you start talking out of your backsides without posting a shred of evidence to back up your nonsense.

          6. Manipulating? Fooling people?

            I thought you were just asking which Palestinian sources mentioned riots. I was saying that there were three Ma’an news articles that did.

            All they did was cite an Israeli army spokesperson who called them riots.

            No one to my knowledge has used the term “riots” except for those on the Israeli side. This has been reported in Israeli news sources, Palestinians news sources, and other international sources.

            There is no manipulation or attempts to fool anyone going on here.

          7. As for the facts – let’s look at the claims that Maan provides – the Palestinian witnesses claim the people were gathering for a prayer. This may very well have been the cause for the gathering, but it does not tell us what became of it. However, we have a relative saying that the man was attempting to hang a flag on the fence. A globally acceptable form of worship ritual, would you say?
            Now, you’re right in stating that the word “riot” was used only by the IDF to describe the events, but please, for the love of god, don’t embarrass yourself in claiming that the participants were peaceful and went along only to pick some flowers. Hanging a flag on a fence you’re not supposed to go near (which is now enforced even by the Hamas!), is a form of demonstration, meaning that events unfolding were at least in some sense a form of conflict with the IDF, and this is brought by Maan. We also have other sources claiming that there was demolition attempts made at the fence, but you wouldn’t accept anything as credible if it counters your opinion, so I didn’t even bother, but this one is made clear even by Maan.

          8. You’re trying to move the goal posts in the middle of the game. Sorry, that’s not “on,” fella. You claimed the Palestinians were rioting and that this justified killing them. You claimed numerous Palestinian media confirmed this. Now you’re dropped these claims. And you’re now claiming there was a supposed discrepancy between one Palestinian source saying they were praying and another Palestinian who mounted a flag on the fence. Being a hasbarist of very little brain you can’t conceive that there were actually prayers offered by one group of 2,000 people in that zone, and a flag mounted by another group. At any rate, mounting a flag is not a protest and not a riot & certainly not deserving of murder as a response.

            Hanging a flag is a “form of demonstration?” Once again changing the goal posts. Demonstrations don’t merit murder as a response. But I don’t even accept your term “demonstration.” This was a spontaneous expression of pride. Not a demonstration, not a riot, not a protest.

            There were no reports of “demolition” at the fence. Again, offer them. Offer the “evidence” you have. There was one report that some Gazans were attempting to salvage parts of the IDF disabled jeep, which is attributable to the lack of any economic activity in Gaza, causing people to resort to extreme measures to find scrap metal to sell. Again, not a crime punishable by death in most society’s except apparently Israel if you’re Gazan.

            Saying the Gazans were peaceful doesn’t embarrass me at all. Rather the hasbara rhetorical contortions you’re displaying should be quite embarrassing to you. If there was violence from the Gazans then let’s see the video which the IDF would love to provide. Return to your supervisor at Hasbara Center & let’s go to the video.

          9. Hi guys, sorry for the hiatus, busy days at work.
            I’ll bid you all farewell, as I see there’s not much point in having a polite discussion with some of you. I have to say that I’ve learned a lot from these few posts. I discovered, for one, that i’m working for some obscure “Hasbara” agency, while there I was, sure that I work for a computer company (must be an elaborate cover to throw you guys off, clever of you to see right through that). Then I learned that I was an idiot with very little brain – now while I do hear this one occasionally, mostly from the wife whenever I forget our anniversary, I have to admit I wasn’t aware it reached such a terminal state. Third, I learned that the state of Israel shouldn’t exist, and its citizens (well, at least those of Jewish persuasion), should start learning how to swim. Last, I discovered that I support, condone, and even find joy in murdering innocents. I must be on the brink of a homicidal rampage myself.

            As i’m sure what I’d actually like to say would get rightfully moderated (since only Richard is allowed that kind of language here. well, it’s his site, I guess it’s fair), I’ll say only this to you – rest assured that I shall cast my vote in the upcoming elections (probably “Merets”, as usual, ask Richard what they stand for), and know that by doing that, i’ve done more for peace in the middle east than all you self-righteous keyboard heroes put together.

          10. First, you claim you’ll vote for Meretz, which I don’t believe. Next you think such a vote will do anything for peace. This a group that hasn’t EVER opposed an Israeli war, including Pillar of Defense. How does supporting war promote peace? You must be living in a 1984 world.

            Finally, the claim that anyone here supports the destruction of Israel is a lie. If you do your computer job as badly as you argue here, you should be fired.

            The real reason you’re leaving is that your arguments found no traction here. Not enough kindred souls advocating for war against Gaza & defending Israeli policies whatever they might be.

          11. @ Bob
            “I thought you were just asking which Palestinian sources mention riots”
            I simply don’t believe you any longer, Bob ! When it comes to nitpicking, you’re the master, scrutinizing every comma when it goes your way and totally overlooking whole sentences when it doesn’t.
            I clearly quoted Leeor’s statement asking for any proof of: “…. Palestinian news agencies ADMITTING that there were riots”.
            “No one to my knowledge has used the term “riots” except for those on the Israeli side”
            And what was I writing to Leeor in my first comment ?
            We’ve been down that road before: you’re simply trying to take the focus away from what’s important here.

        2. So what if they do? Maan is a good, independent Palestinian news agency. Of course they’re going to report what the IDF CLAIMS. That’s their job. Then they’ll go on & report the truth, which they know because their reporters were there. And the truth, that is, their reporting, will put the lie to the IDF’s claims. So don’t leave that part out of Maan’s reporting, because that would be fraudulent.

          Jodi Rudoren was there. She reports the IDF claim that there was a “protest” but says all she saw were people having a stroll through their own land. The IDF are liars & Rudoren’s reporting confirms it. You see the picture in this post. Does that look like a riot to you? Are people who hoist a Palestinian flag onto a fence “rioting?” To an IDF sharpshooter ordered to shoot them, yes. To any reasonable person, no.

          1. Ma’an News had reporters who were there? Are you sure? Which reporters?

            Also, where do you get the information that an IDF sharpshooter was ordered to shoot a Palestinian?nHas this been confirmed by any source?

            I don’t see any reference to a sharpshooter in any of the articles linked here.

          2. There is Channel 2 video of IDF sharpshooters at the fence aiming their weapons at the Gazans on the other side. Bob, do you know anything about how the IDF operates? How do you think they patrol the border fence? With howitzers? Further, how do you think bullets were fired that killed a Gazan & wounded 10 others? Were these rogue IDF soldiers disobeying orders or making their own decisions to kill unarmed civilians? Is that how the IDF operates? No one gives an order to shoot before lethal force is used?

            Bob, use some common sense. Think before you write.

    2. You’re a liar. Bring links & evidence to support this lie. If you don’t, you’ll be violating my comment rules & liable to be moderated. I do not accept unsupported claims here. Read my comment rules.

      Are you claiming the flag was a bomb? If so, that would be a pretty powerful piece of cloth. I suppose one could argue that Palestinian nationalism in the form of the national flag is a bomb that is very dangerous to certain narrow strains of Israeli ideology. But a real bomb? WHo do you think you’re kidding?

      BTW, he wasn’t “shot.” He was killed, murdered. An unarmed civilian. In violation of a ceasefire your own government agreed to. Don’t shed crocodile tears claiming you’re “not happy” will the man being killed. Everything you wrote prior to that justified his murder. You’re pathetic.

      1. Hey Richard,

        It’s amazing how one-sided and naive you are. this attitude actually hurts your reporting and I’m glad for that.
        Truth is, it’s not up to the low-rank IDF soldier guarding the fence to decide whether he shoots or not, Palestinians had no business being that close to the fence a mere hours after a very explosive conflict, unless they wanted to cause more provocation, which they successfully had (at the cost 1 palestinian boy’s life though).

        Also, keep in mind that such small “random” acts of provocation are a common diversion tactic for more serious attacks on military outposts so that IDF soldiers probably received the order to diffuse the riot as quickly as possible to return to their patrolling.

        Please try bringing both sides considerations next time, it’ll make your reporting more reputable.

        disclaimer: I’m an Israeli, and contrary to popular belief I do not find joy in Palestinians being killed.

        1. Your smug pseudo liberalism makes me sick. You excuse, defend Israeli murder & then have the chutzpah to tell us you don’t find joy in it. If it didn’t cost Israel so much you’d have no moral problem with it.

          The ceasefire gave Gazans the right to be in the border zone. Your government signed that document. Then your government essentially renounced an agreement it had signed. Then it engaged in murder of unarmed civilians. That’s a war crime. You’ve just defended a war crime while saying you find no joy in it.

          Sickening.

        2. Hey xkqrld, why do Palestinians have no business being that close to the fence? It’s their land. How about IDF had no business being that close to the fence?

          To quorte you: Please try bringing both sides considerations next time. It’ll make your comments more reputable.

      2. Richard, for someone preaching for peace and justice you seem awfully blatant with your language
        We’re all referring here to the same article, here –
        http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=541286
        Of course i’m not claiming the flag was a bomb, but as far as the IDF soldiers knew, it might have been. If you accept anyone hanging stuff on the fence, sooner or later one of the terror organizations will put that to use (as they already have, like I wrote above).

        As for me being pathetic, well, you’re entitled to have your opinions and I will have mine. If people having other opinions than your is a crime in your book than I won’t be able to change your mind, but please don’t refer to yourself as a free-thinking liberal.
        I do not call this murder, just as I wouldn’t call you a murderer if you shot someone breaking into your own house (much less after others have done the same before, and killed members of your family). There’s a reason why there’s a border there. I said i wasn’t happy about it since I would rather have the Hamas uphold their side of the bargain and keep their people away from the fence (as they have started doing now, meaning that they acknowledge it’s part of the deal), instead I wouldn’t be surprised if they were encouraging people to go over there and taunt the soldiers.
        By the way, how would you call the Israeli citizens killed by rockets (thankfully few, thanks to technology) – representatives of the criminal Zionistic regime? Or did they also approach the border fence from their living room?

        1. If IDF soldiers are as dumb as you appear to be then sure the flag could’ve been an Iranian nuclear missile or an alien starship. Hence terrifying & potentially lethal & worthy of committing murder in response. And yes I agree, that if you accept a cloth flag displayed on the fence the next thing you know you’ll have nuclear warheads there. No question.

          I don’t mind people having opinions different than mine. But I expect those opinions to be supported by evidence, carefully argued & articulated. If those opinions are slipshod, unsupported or just plain false, you’ll hear from me.

          I don’t know what a free thinking liberal is. But my views are certainly better researched, argued & articulated than yours.

          Based on your own definition of “murder,” it appears you would agree that Gazans who kill IDF soldiers are acting in self-defense & that their acts are justifiable because they are protecting their “home.” Is that your view or do you create a false dichotomy between Israelis defending their homeland and Palestinians defending theirs?

          Hamas police cleared out the zone after the shooting. Does that sound like Hamas encouraging them to congregate there? As for taunting the soldiers, first are you claiming that taunting is a capital offense in Israeli military law; and are you also claiming Gazans actually did taunt them? If so, once again let’s see evidence? I’ve seen video and the Palestinians were holding “V” for victory signs. One guy was taking a picture with his cell phone. Is that taunting?

          When your government murders leaders of Hamas, you should expect to be made very uncomfortable in your own Israeli homes. If you didn’t want Israelis killed you should’ve been demonstrating against murdering Ahmed Jabari. If you celebrated his murder, then Hamas’ response was perfectly predictable. Blood for blood. Murder for murder.

        2. @Leeor “I would rather have the Hamas uphold their side of the bargain and keep their people away from the fence.”
          I must have missed that part of the ceasefire agreement. I did catch the bit about Israel agreeing not to shoot Palestinians on the Gaza side of the border.

          1. This is what we’re going to see – Israel pushing, pushing to see what it can get away with. It’s testing US loyalty before it attacks Iran.

            So the situation is back where it started – Palestinians being shot for carrying flags, shot for being in a group, shot for being on their own land, while Israelis make hollow and pathetic excuses for it.

  3. The larger point being missed here – besides the Israeli preoccupation with losing face just as it did during Lebanon 2006 and now is reliving – is that Lebanon/Hez has acquired the ability to trade TA for Beirut since 2006 (a brilliant move) and THAT is what is deterring Israeli aggression against Lebanon currently

    Israel knows that a major attack on Lebanon like in 2006 would result in a major reverse-aliyah from Tel Aviv of major segments of Westernized Israelis – whom have better things to do and other options than live in an Apartheid capital which is under rocket attack due to it’s fanaticism and belligerence

    Gaza has shaken something deep in the Israeli psyche – like Lebanon, Gaza is slowly and pitifully gaining some measure of deterrence from Israeli aggression.

    Even better – the newest generation Palestinian Rockets being smuggled thru the tunnels and available after Nov 29th 2012 do not come smuggled from Libya or Iran – they come from Palestine gaining access to the ICC and the ability to sue Apartheid out of existence.

    Each ICC case won by the Palestinians (references available) with the top Israelis gov and IDF legal teams themselves saying the Palestinians will win these Anti-Apartheid cases because, well, Israel is Apartheid and Apartheid is indefensible.

    The Anti-Apartheid ICC Rocket – better than anything Lebanon/Hez has ever seen

    1. Israel will eventually stew in its juices, but better sooner than later. No such state can thrive and grow in the modern world. It will disappear. I hope you are right, that your optimism is warranted.

      1. Well, that`s the crux of the matter. Israel is so small, surrounded by so many that it has always been seen as an easy target – just push hard enough and you have it. That`s a bit like the mythological punishment of Tantalus. It`s always seems so close – and slips away. In the meantime all those trying to accomplish that get burnt big time. Ahmadinejad once said Israel is the weak point of the West. Yet, look at Iran now and compare to only 5 years ago – it could very well be the next one to go for the “easy target” only to find itself hanging on a cliff.

  4. http://palestinechronicle.com/man-shot-dead-in-gaza-israel-buffer-zone/

    ““The occupation forces opened fire on a group of farmers,” Adham Abu Selmiya, Gaza emergency service spokesman, said.
    Al Jazeera’s Nicole Johnston, reporting from Gaza City, said the farmers may have been confused about the current terms of access to the 300-metre wide buffer zone as Wednesday’s truce stipulates easing of travel restrictions.
    They may have thought that they can now travel there, she said, adding that the shootings would “send a message” to Palestinians that the buffer zone is still a no-go area.”

  5. The NYT’s (however biased Jodi Rudoren is) and Maan article makes it crystal clear Israel has violated the ceasefire before “The ink was barely dry…” Clauses A, B and C of Article 1 of the ceasefire have been violated in toto by the Israelis. Unarmed civilians, who through no fault of their own believed they could regain possession of properties that have been denied them by the Israeli siege, were criminally “targeted” and “attacked” for freely moving about “in border areas.”

    All the hasbura in the world cannot bury or cloud the facts of the situation. The profound political stupidity of this act (make no mistakes this was not a murderous act by a rogue trooper) not only highlights the abject duplicity and faithlessness of Israelis, but it also raises questions as to what Israeli leaders promised in addition to the printed ceasefire document. Neither the Egyptians or the Americans are denying HAMAS claims that Israel promised significant easing of the siege on its borders and coast.

  6. @Leeor: “By the way, IDF has every right to engage people attempting to tamper with the fence or attempt crossing the border, as would the Hamas have if IDF would invade Gaza.”

    Oh, really? So you agree Hamas has every right to engage IDF if it invades Gaza? Thank you.

  7. So Israel is developing “David’s Sling” to counter medium range missiles…. don’t you just love this complete fantasy that Israel is little David standing up to the Goliath of Iran, or even Gaza.

    1. Yep — and the fantasy has its imperialist dimension. I seem recall the Israeli Australian born PR It isdispensing advice to Arabs in general with his definite Aussie inflection in his voice … the very picture of imperialism as a public relations type! It is the extent of the fantasy that foretells doom for Israel: It cannot be sustained against the headwinds of contradictions and information.

  8. — The real reason you’re leaving is that your arguments found no traction here. Not enough kindred souls…–

    and of course there are very few because you not print things critical of your own opinions.

    1. Not true. There is a rotating cast of about 10-20 pro-Israel types that changes gradually every few months, who monitor & comment here regularly. In fact, you appear to be one of the new ones possibly rotating in to replace the late lamented Leeor. They publish in total thousands of comments. IF you think this is an echo chamber you’re not following the comments.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *