Comments on: Israelis Murder Hamas Interior Minister, Son, Brother, Four Neighbors

By: Miles Stuart

Miles Stuart — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 18:32:17 +0000

Ellis: Israel could have stopped the rockets by opening the crossings to normal commercial traffic, as they agreed to and as they are required to do by law. Ask yourself why Israel chose not to do this?
With regard to the murder of Rehavam Zeevi: Are you serious? Israel could not possibly have done more to validate assassination. I am surprised that Palestinians do not try harder to imitate them. The only way the murderers could have better imitated Israel is by waiting for rescuers to gather, and then setting off a bomb.

By: Richard Silverstein

Richard Silverstein — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 05:18:57 +0000

Ellis: No, if you’d bother to read this blog you’d find that I’d written about Rehavam Zeevi’s murder. The Palestinians who committed this crime are sitting in an Israeli prison. Is it yr claim that Israel is now entitled to assassinate Said Siam because the PFLP killed Zeevi despite the fact that the authors of the crime are presently incarcerated. If so, that would be interesting logic.

the war never would have occurred if at ANY point during the last 8 years Hamas had actually stopped its random shelling of behind the green line

You’re getting it wrong again, Ellis. Israel’s foreign ministry itself publicly concedes that Hamas observed the ceasefires it declared with Israel. Are you saying that you have knowledge that contradicts the IFM & is more accurate than it? The most recent ceasefire before the present one was broken on Nov. 4th by Israel. Once again, Hamas didn’t break this ceasefire. Israel did.

Think about what Gaza would look like today if Hamas had spent the last 8 years moving slowly towards developing Gaza’s economy

Hamas has not run Gaza for 8 yrs. It has run Gaza for the past 18 months during which Israel imposed a total siege. So just how was Hamas supposed to “develop” its economy??

By: Ellis Kirschenbaum

Ellis Kirschenbaum — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 02:07:18 +0000

This post conveniently ignores the fact that a few years ago the Palestinians already murdered a member of the Israeli cabinet. Your entire series of posts about this war seem to forget that the war never would have occurred if at ANY point during the last 8 years, Hamas had actually stopped its random shelling of behind the green line internationally accepted boundaries of Israel and its civilians or if at ANY point during the last 8 years the international community & UN had shown 1/10 the interest in stopping the Hamas attacks. Think about what Gaza would look like today if Hamas had spent the last 8 years moving slowly towards developing Gaza’s economy instead of its missile capability. Good chance by now the blockade would have been lifted. Thank Hamas for today’s ugly reality, death, and destruction.

By: WHISK » Israel’s ‘Talking Points’

WHISK » Israel’s ‘Talking Points’ — Sun, 18 Jan 2009 11:45:26 +0000

[...] a website called Tikun Olam (Repair the World), I spotted this comment from a former IDF (Israeli Death Forces) member: I was lucky to serve at the time when there was [...]

By: e

Sat, 17 Jan 2009 11:39:59 +0000

MWFolsom said, “What if Israel’s Government has concluded that their best outcome is the long term subjugation of the Palestinian people?”

I think you make excellent points, altho I believe the evidence points to an Israeli desire, not to subjugate, but, yes, to “cleanse”.

I don’t think they want to subjugate, I think they want the Palestinians out. That has been the goal since 1948. Nothing less will satisfy the Israelis. That is why every time the possibility of a peace or a cease-fire or a truce approaches, Israel makes sure it becomes an impossibility.
This has been documented in many articles, it is a historical fact.

The Israelis think if they makes things unbearable enough the people will leave. Just where are they supposed to go?

As we know, there are some government minsters, such as Avigdor Lieberman, who openly advocate ethnic cleansing.

And, since the occupation, and this horrific reign of deliberate mutilation, slaughter and terror, are all means to that end, and since, acc to polls some 80%+ of Israelis support the assault, I hold all those people responsible and accountable.

One small ray of hope – seems we are seeing, at least globally, if not in the US, increasing awareness of war crimes and calls for criminal trials.

By: footman

footman — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 08:55:05 +0000

Peter D writes of the doctor and the 1000 fewer terrorists in Jenin. This is utterly blinkered thinking as this behavior will only create a 1000 more terrorists. I served in the IDF in the 1960′s and I am utterly ashamed of what has been perpetrated in the name of Israels defence.

By: Alex Stein

Alex Stein — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 08:11:04 +0000

Miles – Given Israel’s military strength, if it was doing all this deliberately surely a lot more people would be killed?

By: f

Sat, 17 Jan 2009 08:01:20 +0000

Alex, nobody is saying Israel is killing as many Palestinians as it technically could. One of the lessons of both Lebanon wars is that there are limits to what even the US will let Israel get away with. As haughty as Israel’s diplomacy may seem even towards its allies, I don’t think they’re so stupid as to think they could go it all alone without at least the tacit backing of major powers. Look at the spat over the way the US abstention in the UNSC ceasefire resolution came to be. No matter who’s right, the fact remains that the US vote was important for Israel.