UPDATE: Egypt has brokered what’s being called a ceasefire between Israel and Islamic Jihad, which has cost the lives of 32 Palestinians, with no cost whatsover to Israelis. It’s a so-called ceasefire because there is no such thing as far as Israel is concerned. It violates ceasefires at its pleasure. It agrees to ceasefires when it’s pummeled Gaza sufficiently to say it’s time to go home. Israel is like the “wicked” person in the Hebrew book of wisdom, Pirkey Avot: “what’s mine is mine; what’s yours is mine.” I can attack you at will. But if you so much as muss a hair on an Israeli head, we will pulverize you. That’s not a ceasefire. Not in any sense that the world recongizes it.
Islamic Jihad announced its account of the ceasefire it agreed to:
Under the agreement, Islamic Jihad demanded that Egypt makes efforts to release as soon as possible Khalil al-Awadeh who is on hunger strike in an Israeli prison and transfer him to a medical center for treatment, as well as its senior leader Bassam al-Saadi, who is also imprisoned at an Israeli jail.
The difference between IJ’s demanding that Egypt “make efforts” to release its leaders, and Israel actually doing it may be as wide as the Mississippi. It may happen or it may not. It depends on how much leverage the Egyptians have with Israel, and how much Israel is willing to accede to Egypt’s request. If I was a betting man I’d say the chances are slim–maybe not to “none.” But definitely not much more than “slim.” The only time Israel agrees to such deals is when there is pressure put upon it by a superior power (US, etc); or when it is in its interests to do so. Neither option seems in play now.
Israel’s Channel 13 reports that health minister Nitzan Horowitz berated PM Lapid during the cabinet meeting over his decision to go to war on Gaza without consulting the cabinet. This is a grave violation of Israeli protocol and terrible precedent which future governments will surely exploit. The IDF chief of staff responded that there was a concrete danger of a terror attack. No one conveniently knows whether this is true or not since the army has offered no proof for its claim. Lapid said that he had sought authorization from the cabinet’s legal advisor and she had approved it. Nice to ask someone who works for you to give you permission to do something illegal. And guess what, she approves!
Just before the alleged ceasefire, Israel wiped out the Al-Nabahin family (video) early today in an attack on the Al-Bureij refugee camp in Gaza. A father and his three children, their lives snuffed out by an Israel bomb. This is what Israel calls “self-defense.” A “pre-emptive attack.” A “precision strike.” “Striking the terrorist lair.” I call it a war crime. I will continue saying it every time, till there is no breath left in me.
The alleged IJ rocket video and Israel’s policy of obfuscation
A final word in this update on the video the IDF is circulating alleging that it shows an IJ rocket landing on the five Paletinian children murdered. There are several glaring problems with its claim: first, the video has no time stamp. It could have been filmed yesterday or 2014 or any time; second, we don’t know who fired the missle; third, we don’t know where it was fired from; fourth, we don’t know precisely where it landed; fifth, we don’t know if this particular rocket killed or injured anyone. About the only thing we can say for sure is that it is a video. Which isn’t saying much.
There is a calculated strategy here. Israel knows what it is doing is hated by almost all the world. It knows much of the world is digusted by the bloodshed Israel wreaks. But Israel also refuses to change its policy despite the horror it engenders. So it has several strategies to mitigate the damage. One of the most insidious is obfuscation. Has Israel wiped out an entire family? Killed babies and mothers? Murdered a beloeved journalist? An autistic child huddling in terror Border Police before they stand over him and kill him? The Israeli response: come up with an alternative narrative. It must do two things: it must throw the blame back on the victim. It must deflect blame from the real perpetrators. It must throw the dog off the scent. Israel does this almost every time it commits a heinous crime like murdering these children.
And the hasbara drones who promote this narrative here are accessories. They flog it. They post it as widely as possible, here and elsewhere. They help it penetrate into the pores of public discourse. It doesn’t matter if they persuade anyone. They only need to plant a seed of doubt and their work is done. That is one of the reasons I am so hard on them in the threads. I know what they’re doing. I know how they operate. I don’t want to give them even the slightest edge in this contest, in which their goal is distraction from the truth.
The goal is to force the public to consider two conflicting narratives. As long as it forces you to incorporate the the lie into your consideration of the event, that is enough to make most people tire of the whole process. It takes too much time and energy to examine such information in any depth. People would rather move on to the next item on their agenda. Israel is thus playing on the nature of human beings to give up when something becomes too complicated.
You know that old hasbara saying: “it’s complicated.” Well, it’s only complicated when you manufacture the complication. Otherwise, it isn’t complicated at all. My goal is to penetrate that complication. To expose it and lay out the much simpler truth. And boy does it butt-hurt those hasbarists. Rightly so.
* *
Israel continues its history of brutal assault on Palestinians with an all-out attack on one of the primary resistance factions, Islamic Jihad. Last week, the IDF arrested the senior IJ commander in the West Bank, dragging the 62 year old man out of his home by his hair. It was odd that Israel then closed all the Gaza border crossings and warned Israelis not to travel anywhere on the outskirts of Gaza. Further, it warned that there could be rocket fire from Gaza. This seems disproportional considering that they’d merely arrested a single IJ official.
But the other shoe dropped yesterday, when Israel assassinated IJ commander, Tayseer al-Jabari. He was killed in his home:
Other Palestinian sources in Gaza noted that the residential building that was targeted, which is in the center of Gaza City, also houses offices of media and non-governmental organizations.
A five year old girl was killed in that attack:
The Hamas-run health ministry has reported 13 deaths from Israeli fire including a five-year-old girl, Alaa Kaddum. Her father carried her at her funeral, with a wound on her forehead and a pink bow in her hair.
Let the world remember that killing little girls is a war crime. Let Israel be judged for this and its many other crimes. And never, ever let Israel argue that this is justified because Palestinians want to kill them. The only reason they do, is that Israel has trampled on their rights. Because of this, they have every reason to resist. Resistance is legitimate as long as Israel continues massacring Palestinians. And no one, least of all Israel, has the right to complain that Palestinians refuse to give up the same rights other countries enjoy. Nor does it have the right to object that Palestinians use any means necessary to gain them.
Today, the IDF assassinated a second IJ official, Khaled Mansour. The IDF made the curious claim that “All top Islamic Jihad security officials in Gaza have been assassinated.’ There are surely more than two such militant leaders in Gaza. Not to mention that, as I’ve written here often, eliminating one or many such leaders has relatively little impact on the overall capabilities of the militant force. Every such insurgency has a cadre of leaders who move up as others are killed. And the supply of such individuals is refreshed by the blood of every Palestinian child murdered by Israel.
They say the definition of insanity is Insanity is “doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” By this standard, Israel’s military strategy is insane. The endless murders and rivers of blood, both Israeli and Palestinian. But mostly Palestinian.
Israel is like Sisyphus rolling that boulder uphill. When it gets to the top and Israeli generals tell us they succeeded in eliminating the enemy and that Israelis can sleep in peace (rather than shelters), that boulder falls back down the hill and they start all over.
However, I’m not sure Israel does expect to eliminate Palestinian resistance (though it swears releatedly that it does). If your goal is to maintain the status quo, rather than offer any compromise, then this strategy works quite well and isn’t insane at all. Let’s call it the perpetural war strategy.
This assault only highlight the necessity of progress in the ICC investigation of Israel war crimes, including the 2014 Operation Protective Edge, which murdered 2,300 Palestinians. After an annoucement that it would commence one, we have heard almost nothing since. The longer this takes, the more added war crimes there will be. I am not a legal expert on the international laws of war. But if such Israeli assaults are themselves found to be war crimes (as they should), then for the criminal state to maintain a system that guarantees such repated war crimes, this too should be an added criminal offense. If you commit such a crime without any intent to stop doing so (despite febble claims to the contrary), and refuse to compromise in order to end this condition, then this should be added to the charge sheet.
Now the rockets are flying. Over 350 600 since yesterday. No major Israelis casualties. But 24 32 41 44 Gazans have been murdered including 6 15 children. It appears the fighting will not expand unless Hamas joins in. And it appears to be keeping its powder dry.
Israel claims that these IJ commanders were planning a major terror attack inside Israel. Of course, anyone can claim anything without offering any proof. As a result, we take all such claims by the IDF with an extra-large grain of salt.
I’m disgusted by the mainstream media whose headlines talk about “fighting,” “flare-up,” a “prep-emptive” strike, Israel “strikes after threats,” “Israel strikes after tensions rise.” Either through fear, pusillaneousness, or laziness, the world media is woeful at covering this conflict, especially during warfare. This is in no way a conflict between equals. It is a bloody one-sided massacre. I’m also disgusted by the media lens which portrays Israel as acting in self-defense; as responding to Palestinian rockets. They never offer the full context. The Palestinian resistance does not attack spontaneously with no precipitating offense. Israel Occupation is a first offense and justifies such a response to it. Besides this, the Occupation inflicts daily degradation, including murders on Palestinians. There doesn’t have to be a single precipitating event that brings a Palestinian response. Every day for Palestinians is one.
Israeli NGOs call for UN sanctions against Israel
Eitay Mack, Israel’s foremost human rights attorney, has published an anti-war statement on behalf of three Israeli NGOs demanding that the UNSC take immediate action against all parties to the current conflict. It also demands sanctions should be imposed on them:
Under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter, the UNSC should also impose sanctions, including travel bans and assets freeze on individuals and entities that are responsible for, or complicit in, or having engaged in, directly or indirectly, actions or policies that threaten the peace, security or stability in the area.
There are few, if any sanctions that can be imposed on Islamic Jihad, given the siege imposed by Israel, which is one of the most extreme sanctions possible. Therefore, the onus will fall on Israel. There must be an increasing promotion of, and movement for such an internatonal regime of sanctions along the same lines as Iran.
Some say that these attacks may be motivated by poltical jockeying between the hard right Likud Opposition and the soft-right governing coalition. Never underestimate how much Israeli aggression against Palestinians is motivated by pure political calculations. Dead Palestinians almost always translate into votes come Election Day. But the election won’t happen till November. So there won’t be much direct benefit to the current government. After writing the above, I saw this headline in today’s Haaretz: Israel Election: Pro-Netanyahu Bloc Loses Projected Majority in Polls After Gaza Fighting. I may have to take back what I wrote above about the current offensive having no political upside for November.
The utter cynicism of the Israeli assaults is highlighted by Egypt’s efforts prior to them to cool tempers in Gaza and restrain counter-attacks by Palestinians. In the midst of these efforts, Israel murdered the two Palestinian militant leaders. Now Egypt says it will continue its efforts. Remember what I said about doing the same thing over and expecting different results? The Egyptians are willing collaborators in Israel’s charade. Palestinians, as always, are the victims.
Nope. Nope. Nope.
Video evidence PIJ is responsible for the deaths of Gazan children.
Islamic Jihad launched an errant rocket and killed those kids in Jabaliya Refugee Camp.
https://www.i24news.tv/en/news/israel/defense/1659816149-idf-posts-video-showing-palestinian-rocket-hit-refugee-camp
@ Judah: C’mon Judah. This is the best you can do? This video could have been filmed by anyone. It proves nothing. We don’t know where the rocket originated from, who fired it or where it landed. If you expect me to believe an IDF video purporting that IJ killed those kids rather than the IDF, you’re a fool. I can’t tell you how many times the IDF has denied it was responsible for bloody murders, only to find it was. And what you and the IDF is selling isn’t evidence. It’s gornisht. Do better…
IDF propaganda doesn’t sell around here. It stinks and those who peddle it do as well.
If you continue to use multiple IP addresses and IP proxies I will shut you down. A single IP address for you or you’re outa here.
[comment deleted: I told you you get 1 comment per thread. 1, not 2. Remember that. You continue to use IP proxies and I warned you to use a single IP address. Since you’ve ignored me, you are now moderated. Any future comments using differnt IP addresses will not be approved.]
There was a tweet by Israel War Room where they mentioned an ”air strike that wiped out a squad of five PIJ fighters in Jabalia.”
(https://twitter.com/ArielElyseGold/status/1556058955692052480)
The original tweet has been deleted and they are backpedaling now and others are also claiming they have never bombed the location. It seems very reminiscent of the Shireen klling, where they tried to muddy the waters also. Hopefully we get further clarifications out of this soon.
“There was a tweet by Israel War Room where they mentioned an air strike that wiped out a squad of five PIJ fighters in Jabalia…”
The above referenced War Room tweet is timed at Aug. 6, 14:45 hours.
If I am not wrong, the subsequent War Room claims that “no airstrikes were launched at Jabalia since 18:00” (Ariel Gold was shrewed enough not to display the time stamp of the second tweet).
Can anyone point to a reference of the time of the rocket that killed the Jabalia children (RIP)?
@Eli Gal: I give you credit for asking for proof that can establish the credibility of the IDF claim about the attack which killed the Palestinian children. I note that the video purporting to show that an IJ rocket was responsible not only has no time stamp, it isn’t clear who fired the rocket, where it was fired, and where it landed. It could have landed almost anywhere in Gaza. There are a few buildings visible in the dark video. But even identifying them doesn’t precisely identify where the rocket landed.
Be very careful accepting at face value IDF claims about whether it launched airstrikes at, before or after a specific time. The IDF treats facts and truth provisionally. If it benefits them, the use it. If it doesn’t they invent it. This has been proven time and again. And the less corroborating evidence for the claims, the more likely they are lies. So far, I’m pretty comfortable with the latter. I’m waiting for actual credible evidence to support the claims made for the video. Based on past experience with IDF hoaxes, it won’t be offered.
Richard wrote:
“IDF arrested the senior IJ commander in the West Bank, dragging the 62 year old man out of his home by his hair.”
Near as I can tell, Bassam al Saadi is bald.
https://www.ynetnews.com/article/s1cdkyit5
But let’s not split hairs. Bassam al Saadi is no choir boy.
With the funds (Iranian?) and weapons he acquired, he’d enlist militants to carry out deadly attacks against Israelis, offering $300 bounties for a successfully killing Israelis and $100 for an unsuccessful attempt.
$300 for a dead Jew.
Interesting.
https://www.ynetnews.com/article/s1cdkyit5
Here is another angle of that PIJ rocket falling short and killing Gazan children in Jabaliya.
https://twitter.com/IsraelMFA/status/1556155858219941891
@ Braintree: I thank hasbarists like you who encourage me to confirm my research. You are right. Al-Saadi wasn’t dragged by his hair. He was dragged by the neck on the ground through the streets. That’s clearly a more humane form of treatment.
As for being a choirboy, I’d say any Palestinian who organizes resistance of any kind against Israeli aggression and war crimes is a legitimate resistance fighter for his country. He can take money from the devil for all I care.
Actually, he’s fighting Israel and Israelis. Not the same as “a dead Jew.” I am a Jew. He does not want to kill me. He wants to kill those who are killing his people. Again, a totally justified exercise in national struggle. Do not ever use such a provocative and distorted term here again. Do not ever conflate Israelis with Jews. If you want to massacre Palestinians, do it in the name of the party guilty for it. That is Israel. Not Jews.
There is absolutely no evidence that the IJ rocket killed the children. Unless you can offer a video that shows an explosvie which is clearly an IJ rockets hitting the precise building where the children were. Not to mention proof that the children were actually in the building pictured. When you can offer such evidence, which any party making such claims must offer to prove their credibility, then we can talk. Until then, do NOT make such claims here. They are bogus, lies and defame the memory of dead children. As far as I am concerned the IDF is guilty till proven otherwise. Now go and prove it. So far you’ve proven bupkis.
Do not post in this thread again. And a reminder so you don’t suffer “Judah”‘s fate. One comment per thread.
Also, you are using multiple IP addresses. That is not permitted. Your current IP is different from your last and you’ve used many different ones posting here. If you post again, you must use the same address you used for this comment. Otherwise, I’ll bounce you outa here as well. No IP proxies, no multiple IP addresses. It’s a sign of who you are, where you come from, and who you’re working for. Which is the same outfit “Judah” works for and hundreds of previous hasbaroids who’ve come and gone here.
Richard
Please help me understand:
At what stage did the rockets start?
At what stage did the Israel bombing start?
Thanks jeff
Which assassination was cause for demolishing apartment building that killed little girl?
@ Jeff: Unfortunately, I cannot help you understand. It is madness. Madness in pursuit of evil.
Terrorists who locate headquarters, weapon depots in and around residential buildings and neighbourhoods are the ones who bear responsibility for tragic death of innocents.
Israel takes all possible means to avoid death of innocents, as evidenced in recent days, while the terrorists deliberately target civilians.
@Twotch:
Bet you had not problem with Haganah storing its own weapons in synagogues during the Mandate. Did you? You 2 faced hypocrite. And don’t you dare say anyone but Israeli is responsible for the mass murder it causes in Gaza and elsewhere.
Your hasbara is disgusting and just plain tired. Think of some new b*t to peddle.
An abject lie.
“I’d say any Palestinian who organizes resistance of any kind against Israeli aggression and war crimes is a legitimate resistance fighter for his country. He can take money from the devil for all I care”.
Richard. You’ve gone from crank, to ‘cra-cra’. Evil really.
AND SO CLICHE OF YOU!
Like a third-rate melodrama.
Bobo out.
@ Judah:
Frankly, I don’t give a damn what you think about me. Nor does anyone else here excpet your body-double, Braintree. And neither one of your opinions matter. As for being a “crank,” standing up for justice and opposing mass murder does not make me “a crank.” It makes me a decent human being who cares about all races, nationalities, and ethnicities. And calls out those who violate these precepts.
You know who else were called “cranks” in their day: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Amos, Zechariah, etc. All ‘cranks’ to those who they threatened, kings and other powerful interests. But all of them were righteous, decent and humane. They are my model. Not the pagan idolatry and worship of the idols of Judeo-supremacy you stand for.
As for what is “evil” in the world, I’d say killing +/-40,000 Palestinians over the past 70 yrs is far more evil than any I could ever muster.
And as for “third rate melodrama,” don’t you dare demean the suffering of Palestinians by insulting them with such drivel. Their murder is not a melodrama. Nor is it “cliche.” It is life or death (mostly death). And my exposing their suffering and its cause is no cliche. Whether you agree with me or not, you will not peddle such insulting trash here. Understand me well when I say that and choose your words carefully. The ice you’re skaating on is mere inches thick.
Your insults are trashy and show the caliber of human being you are. Your Judeo-supremacy shines through. And how ugly it is.
Last warning about IP addresses. You continue to use multiple ones. I warned you that I would ban you outright if you continue, and you have. Pick one IP and use only that one. Next time you use a diff. one that will be your last comment here.
Just to be clear, paying a terrorist $300 to murder a random Jewish Israeli is, in your words,”a totally justified exercise in national struggle”.
He cried in a whisper at some image, at some vision – he cried out twice, a cry that was no more than a breath – ‘The horror! The horror! ‘–Joseph Conrad’s, Heart of Darkness.
SO CLICHE!
LMAO
@ Judah: There is no such thing as a “random Jewish Israeli.” Your nation kills Palestinians. Palestinians will kill whatever Israeli they can.When you kill 2,300 Gazans, 700 women and children, then yeah, a few Israelis are going to be killed in response. That’s the way it works. Don’t like it. Stop killing them. Plain and simple. You kill, you will be killed.
And stop quoting Joseph Conrad as if you know anything about English literature (my field in college). You offer the equivalent of Spark Notes. Don’t even try it.
The only “horror” here is Israeli apartheid and mass murder, something akin to what King Leopold did to the Congolese Conrad refers to.
This “flare up” just caught my ear on the news since I have been at attention with regard to the horror of Russia’s attempt to eliminate Ukraine and Ukrainians, this horror going on, these past few months. By comparison, Israel’s ongoing destruction of the Palestinians, people and land, has been going on for so long(over 50 years) that people tune out,, especially now with so much news. The news is getting on with other stories altogether, stories easier to take, horrific war is “below the fold”. But the warring goes on.
I don’t think the Bennet/Lapid combo was much better than Netanyahu. It’s or was an allusion based on a hope.The mechanism is keeping enough Israelis afraid so they vote for “security” . And security is war against the Palestinians and their aspirations to live normally. This destroys Israel, at least in my mind… the idea of Israel though I know the need for an Israel. Internally, in Israel, I don’t think this will change. I have lost hope. Pressure has to be put on Israel from the outside similar to the pressure we are putting on Putin/Russia. Good luck with that. It’s politics here too in the US that is keeping this going, that keeps Israel safe from harsh measures. And it makes the US look hypocritical.
I think we have more popular support for Ukraine now ( for sure) than for the Palestinians.. at least at the moment.. Sadly it’s these flare-ups, human suffering that calls attention to the situation. Which may be what Islamic Jihad will do, must do, feel it needs to do
This “flare up” just caught my ear on the news since I have been at attention with regard to the horror of Russia’s attempt to eliminate Ukraine and Ukrainians, this evil going on, these past few months. By comparison, Israel’s ongoing destruction of the Palestinians, people and land, has been going on for so long(over 50 years) that people tune out, I have tuned out, especially now with so much news. The news is getting on with other stories altogether, stories easier to take, horrific war is “below the fold”. But the warring goes on.
I don’t think the Bennet/Lapid combo was much better than Netanyahu. It’s or was an allusion based on a hope.The mechanism is keeping enough Israelis afraid so they vote for “security” . And security is war against the Palestinians and their aspirations to live normally. This destroys Israel, at least in my mind… the idea of Israel though I know the need for an Israel. Internally, in Israel, I don’t think this will change. I have lost hope. Pressure has to be put on Israel from the outside similar to the pressure we are putting on Putin/Russia. Good luck with that. It’s politics here too in the US that is keeping this going, that keeps Israel safe from harsh measures. And it makes the US look hypocritical.
I think we have more popular support for Ukraine now ( for sure) than for the Palestinians.. at least at the moment.. Sadly it’s these flare-ups, human suffering that calls attention to the situation. Which may be what Islamic Jihad will do, must do, feel it needs to do
Thanks Richard… this is hard.
[comment deleted: we’re going to stop the debate over who killed Palestinian babies. The blame lies entirely with Israel. It started the assault as it always does. IJ responded in kind. Whoever starts the war is at fault no matter how many are killed or by whom.]