Israel Bombs Gaza: Should the US attack?
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2009/01/06 22:23:59
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Conflict between Israel and Gaza has left a lot of civilians wounded or even dead. Israel has been encircling the city of Gaza, being ordered to bomb and cease-fire against the people of Gaza, after Hamas militants had fired mortar shells at Israeli forces. U.S. Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice spoke with President-elect Barack Obama about American efforts in this Israel, Gaza conflict. Furthermore, Rice plans to confer with United Nations officials, including the Palestinian Authority President, Mahmoud Abbas.
Seeing how Israel is a close ally of the US, despite monetary aid, should the US help attack?
Seeing how Israel is a close ally of the US, despite monetary aid, should the US help attack?
Top Opinion
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Moose 2009/01/06 22:29:58No. The US should not help Israel attack the city of Gaza.
video # 2 - The 2 in front of the APC didn't look like they were being held against their will. The soldier said that they were there to tell their friends not to attack. They don't look nervous or scared about it.
video # 3 - Removed. Must be the Mosad. LOL
Israeli action is justified to protect its civilian population. Again, what would you do to protect your home?
In August 2005, the last Israeli settlers left Gaza, followed by the last Israeli soldiers in September, as Israel pulled out of the Palestinian territory it had occupied since 1967. The Israeli withdrawal from Gaza gave the general impression, at least in the Western press, that Israel was effectively turning over Gaza to the Palestinian Authority. That was not, and still is not, the case. As B’Tselem, the Israeli information and human rights organization, documents:
Israel continues to maintain complete control over the air and sea space of the Gaza Strip. No Palestinian may operate a seaport or an airport without Israeli approval, which limits Palestinians’ freedom of trade and travel.
Israel continues to control the joint Gaza Strip-West Bank population registry, which means Israel gets to decide who is a “Palestinian resident” and who is a “foreigner.” Palestinians must seek Israeli approval for every individual who wants to move to the West Bank.
The Rafah border crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt was supposedl...
In August 2005, the last Israeli settlers left Gaza, followed by the last Israeli soldiers in September, as Israel pulled out of the Palestinian territory it had occupied since 1967. The Israeli withdrawal from Gaza gave the general impression, at least in the Western press, that Israel was effectively turning over Gaza to the Palestinian Authority. That was not, and still is not, the case. As B’Tselem, the Israeli information and human rights organization, documents:
Israel continues to maintain complete control over the air and sea space of the Gaza Strip. No Palestinian may operate a seaport or an airport without Israeli approval, which limits Palestinians’ freedom of trade and travel.
Israel continues to control the joint Gaza Strip-West Bank population registry, which means Israel gets to decide who is a “Palestinian resident” and who is a “foreigner.” Palestinians must seek Israeli approval for every individual who wants to move to the West Bank.
The Rafah border crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt was supposedly turned over to the Palestinian Authority. In fact, Israel continues to control the crossing to the extent that it may bar entry to “foreigners”—that is, Palestinians who are not residents of the Occupied Territories—or anyone it deems a security risk.
Israel continues to maintain complete control of the movement of people and goods between the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, which Israel considers a “closed military area” off limits to anyone without a permit. West Bank residents are also forbidden from traveling aborad, including to the Gaza Striop, without a difficult-to-obtain Israeli permit.
As far as trade is concerned, Israel controls the three crossing points in and out of Gaza (Karni, Sufa, and Kerem Shalom). Israel routinely closes the crossings to any exchange of goods, causing severe food and other shortages in Gaza.
Israel still controls taxation and other levies in Gaza.
Why Palestinians Didn’t Buy Into Israel’s “Withdrawal”
To Palestinians, Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza with only a matter of military retrenchment. It was not a turn-over of authority. The long list of powers and restrictions still wielded by Israel over Gazans shows to what extent that was the case.
In January 2006, Hamas swept parliamentary elections, winning a majority. Soon after, the two dominant Palestinian factions in the territory — Hamas and Fatah — begin to clash. Israeli incursions in the territory continue. On June 8, 2006, for example, according to CBS News, “Israeli helicopters fired four missiles at a training camp in the southern Gaza town of Rafah, killing Jamal Abu Samhadana, the Palestinian government’s top security chief, and three other militants. Ten other people are wounded.”
A day later, CBS reported, “an explosion on a beach in Gaza kills eight Palestinians, including a family with three children having a picnic. The Palestinian government accuses Israel of firing the shell that caused the explosion. The Israeli defense minister would later deny that the military caused the explosion, blaming it on an explosive buried in the sand.” He was right to the extent that an inquiry put the blame on a 155mm shell that had been buried in the sand. But it was an Israeli shell. Either way, tensions mounted between Israel and Hamas.
On June 25, Hamas stages a raid on an Israeli outpost just outside Gaza and captures Gilad Shalit, a corporal in the Israeli Army Corps who holds French citizenship. Israel launches massive military raides in response, ostensibly to free Shalit. Hostilities quickly escalate. Israel imposes a blockade on Gaza, triggering a vicious cicle of slaughters and reducing Gaza to a humanitarian disaster unparalleled since 1967.
Hamas fired homemade missiles at Israel for almost two years. Half the rockets, crude and inaccurate, fell in Gaza itself. Few of the remaining rockets claimed lives, but some did, causing terror and property damage in southern Israel. Israeli retaliations have been much heavier. In the single week of June 5-11, 2008, according to the , 11 Palestinians, including two children and an elderly man, were killed by the Israeli military in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, and 25, including nine children and five women, were wounded, the result of 32 Israeli incursions.
And what would I do if my house was being bombed? I would move. Unfortunately the Palestinians do not have that luxury. They are prisoners. They are occupied by the military ... the equivalent to being in a concentration camp.
Some drunk Orthodox Jew is supposed to represent Israel?
I could post dozens of videos by Muslim clerics and Hamas leaders (all sober) where they spout much more hate than these drunks. They call for death to all non-believers, death to Israel, death to America.
Why did Israel build that wall? Why does Israel patrol Gaza's coast? Could it be that they just don't enjoy having Palestinian women and children blowing up in Israeli markets, buses, restaurants, discos, etc?
20% of the population of Israel is Arab. (as a comparison only 12% of Americans are blacks) The majority identify themselves as Palestinian by nationality and Israeli by citizenship. They live as equals with Jews and Christians and can be found in every socioeconomic level. Arabs in Israel have a better standard of living than most Arabs in Arabic countries.
BTW: The Palestinians still haven't abided by res 242 or any other UN resolution for that matter.
http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/av...
Resolution 42: The Palestine Question (5 March 1948) Requests recommendations for the Palestine Commission
Resolution 43: The Palestine Question (1 Apr 1948) Recognizes "increasing violence and disorder in Palestine" and requests that representatives of "the Jewish Agency for Palestine and the Arab Higher Committee" arrange, with the Security Council, "a truce between the Arab and Jewish Communities of Palestine...Calls upon Arab and Jewish armed groups in Palestine to cease acts of violence immediately."
Resolution 44: The Palestine Question (1 Apr 1948) Requests convocation of special session of the General Assembly
Resolution 46: The Palestine Question (17 Apr 1948) As the United Kingdom is the Mandatory Power, "it is responsible for the maintenance of peace and order in Palestine." The Resolutions also "Calls upon all persons and organizations in Palestine" to stop importing "armed bands and fighting personnel...whatever their origin;...weapons and war materials;...Refrain, pending the future government of Palestine...from any political activity which might prejudice the rights, claims, or position of either community;...refrain from any ..."
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http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/av...
Resolution 42: The Palestine Question (5 March 1948) Requests recommendations for the Palestine Commission
Resolution 43: The Palestine Question (1 Apr 1948) Recognizes "increasing violence and disorder in Palestine" and requests that representatives of "the Jewish Agency for Palestine and the Arab Higher Committee" arrange, with the Security Council, "a truce between the Arab and Jewish Communities of Palestine...Calls upon Arab and Jewish armed groups in Palestine to cease acts of violence immediately."
Resolution 44: The Palestine Question (1 Apr 1948) Requests convocation of special session of the General Assembly
Resolution 46: The Palestine Question (17 Apr 1948) As the United Kingdom is the Mandatory Power, "it is responsible for the maintenance of peace and order in Palestine." The Resolutions also "Calls upon all persons and organizations in Palestine" to stop importing "armed bands and fighting personnel...whatever their origin;...weapons and war materials;...Refrain, pending the future government of Palestine...from any political activity which might prejudice the rights, claims, or position of either community;...refrain from any action which will endager the safety of the Holy Places in Palestine."
Resolution 48: The Palestine Question (23 Apr 1948)
Resolution 49: The Palestine Question (22 May 1948)
Resolution 50: The Palestine Question (29 May 1948)
Resolution 53: The Palestine Question (7 Jul 1948)
Resolution 54: The Palestine Question (15 Jul 1948)
Resolution 56: The Palestine Question (19 Aug 1948)
Resolution 57: The Palestine Question (18 Sep 1948)
Resolution 59: The Palestine Question (19 Oct 1948)
Resolution 60: The Palestine Question (29 Oct 1948)
Resolution 61: The Palestine Question (4 Nov 1948)
Resolution 62: The Palestine Question (16 Nov 1948)
Resolution 66: The Palestine Question (29 Dec 1948)
Resolution 72: The Palestine Question (11 Aug 1949)
Resolution 73: The Palestine Question (11 Aug 1949)
Resolution 89 (17 November 1950): regarding Armistice in 1948 Arab-Israeli War and "transfer of persons".
Resolution 92: The Palestine Question (8 May 1951)
Resolution 93: The Palestine Question (18 May 1951)
Resolution 95: The Palestine Question (1 Sep 1951)
Resolution 100: The Palestine Question (27 Oct 1953)
Resolution 101: The Palestine Question (24 Nov 1953)
Resolution 106: The Palestine Question (29 Mar 1955) 'condemns' Israel for Gaza raid.
Resolution 107: The Palestine Question (30 Mar)
Resolution 108: The Palestine Question (8 Sep)
Resolution 111: " ... 'condemns' Israel for raid on Syria that killed fifty-six people".
Resolution 127: " ... 'recommends' Israel suspends its 'no-man's zone' in Jerusalem".
Resolution 162: " ... 'urges' Israel to comply with UN decisions".
Resolution 171: " ... determines flagrant violations' by Israel in its attack on Syria".
Resolution 228: " ... 'censures' Israel for its attack on Samu in the West Bank, then under Jordanian control".
Resolution 237: " ... 'urges' Israel to allow return of new 1967 Palestinian refugees".
Resolution 242 (November 22, 1967): Termination of all claims or states of belligerency and respect for and acknowledgement of the sovereignty, territorial integrity and political independence of every State in the area. Calls on Israel's neighbors to end the state of belligerency and calls upon Israel to reciprocate by withdraw its forces from land claimed by other parties in 1967 war. Interpreted commonly today as calling for the Land for peace principle as a way to resolve Arab-Israeli conflict
Resolution 248: " ... 'condemns' Israel for its massive attack on Karameh in Jordan".
Resolution 250: " ... 'calls' on Israel to refrain from holding military parade in Jerusalem".
Resolution 251: " ... 'deeply deplores' Israeli military parade in Jerusalem in defiance of Resolution 250".
Resolution 252: " ... 'declares invalid' Israel's acts to unify Jerusalem as Jewish capital".
Resolution 256: " ... 'condemns' Israeli raids on Jordan as 'flagrant violation".
Resolution 259: " ... 'deplores' Israel's refusal to accept UN mission to probe occupation".
Resolution 262: " ... 'condemns' Israel for attack on Beirut airport".
Resolution 265: " ... 'condemns' Israel for air attacks for Salt in Jordan".
Resolution 267: " ... 'censures' Israel for administrative acts to change the status of Jerusalem".
Resolution 270: " ... 'condemns' Israel for air attacks on villages in southern Lebanon".
Resolution 271: " ... 'condemns' Israel's failure to obey UN resolutions on Jerusalem".
Resolution 279: " ... 'demands' withdrawal of Israeli forces from Lebanon".
Resolution 280: " ... 'condemns' Israeli's attacks against Lebanon".
Resolution 285: " ... 'demands' immediate Israeli withdrawal form Lebanon".
Resolution 298: " ... 'deplores' Israel's changing of the status of Jerusalem".
Resolution 313: " ... 'demands' that Israel stop attacks against Lebanon".
Resolution 316: " ... 'condemns' Israel for repeated attacks on Lebanon".
Resolution 317: " ... 'deplores' Israel's refusal to release Arabs abducted in Lebanon".
Resolution 332: " ... 'condemns' Israel's repeated attacks against Lebanon".
Resolution 337: " ... 'condemns' Israel for violating Lebanon's sovereignty".
Resolution 338 (22 October 1973): cease fire in Yom Kippur War
Resolution 339 (23 October 1973): Confirms Res. 338, dispatch UN observers.
Resolution 347: " ... 'condemns' Israeli attacks on Lebanon".
Resolution 425 (1978): " ... 'calls' on Israel to withdraw its forces from Lebanon". Israel's withdrawal from Lebanon was completed as of 16 June 2000.
Resolution 350 (31 May 1974) established the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force, to monitor the ceasefire between Israel and Syria in the wake of the Yom Kippur War.
Resolution 427: " ... 'calls' on Israel to complete its withdrawal from Lebanon".
Resolution 444: " ... 'deplores' Israel's lack of cooperation with UN peacekeeping forces".
Resolution 446 (1979): 'determines' that Israeli settlements are a 'serious obstruction' to peace and calls on Israel to abide by the Fourth Geneva Convention".
Resolution 450: " ... 'calls' on Israel to stop attacking Lebanon".
Resolution 452: " ... 'calls' on Israel to cease building settlements in occupied territories".
Resolution 465: " ... 'deplores' Israel's settlements and asks all member states not to assist Israel's settlements program".
Resolution 467: " ... 'strongly deplores' Israel's military intervention in Lebanon".
Resolution 468: " ... 'calls' on Israel to rescind illegal expulsions of two Palestinian mayors and a judge and to facilitate their return".
Resolution 469: " ... 'strongly deplores' Israel's failure to observe the council's order not to deport Palestinians".
Resolution 471: " ... 'expresses deep concern' at Israel's failure to abide by the Fourth Geneva Convention".
Resolution 476: " ... 'reiterates' that Israel's claim to Jerusalem are 'null and void'".
Resolution 478 (20 August 1980): 'censures (Israel) in the strongest terms' for its claim to Jerusalem in its 'Basic Law'.
Resolution 484: " ... 'declares it imperative' that Israel re-admit two deported Palestinian mayors".
Resolution 487: " ... 'strongly condemns' Israel for its attack on Iraq's nuclear facility".
Resolution 497 (17 December 1981) decides that Israel's annexation of Syria's Golan Heights is 'null and void' and demands that Israel rescinds its decision forthwith.
Resolution 498: " ... 'calls' on Israel to withdraw from Lebanon".
Resolution 501: " ... 'calls' on Israel to stop attacks against Lebanon and withdraw its troops".
Resolution 508:
Resolution 509: " ... 'demands' that Israel withdraw its forces forthwith and unconditionally from Lebanon".
Resolution 515: " ... 'demands' that Israel lift its siege of Beirut and allow food supplies to be brought in".
Resolution 517: " ... 'censures' Israel for failing to obey UN resolutions and demands that Israel withdraw its forces from Lebanon".
Resolution 518: " ... 'demands' that Israel cooperate fully with UN forces in Lebanon".
Resolution 520: " ... 'condemns' Israel's attack into West Beirut".
Resolution 573: " ... 'condemns' Israel 'vigorously' for bombing Tunisia in attack on PLO headquarters.
Resolution 587 " ... 'takes note' of previous calls on Israel to withdraw its forces from Lebanon and urges all parties to withdraw".
Resolution 592: " ... 'strongly deplores' the killing of Palestinian students at Bir Zeit University by Israeli troops".
Resolution 605: " ... 'strongly deplores' Israel's policies and practices denying the human rights of Palestinians.
Resolution 607: " ... 'calls' on Israel not to deport Palestinians and strongly requests it to abide by the Fourth Geneva Convention.
Resolution 608: " ... 'deeply regrets' that Israel has defied the United Nations and deported Palestinian civilians".
Resolution 636: " ... 'deeply regrets' Israeli deportation of Palestinian civilians.
Resolution 641: " ... 'deplores' Israel's continuing deportation of Palestinians.
Resolution 672: " ... 'condemns' Israel for "violence against Palestinians" at the Haram al-Sharif/Temple Mount.
Resolution 673: " ... 'deplores' Israel's refusal to cooperate with the United Nations.
Resolution 681: " ... 'deplores' Israel's resumption of the deportation of Palestinians.
Resolution 694: " ... 'deplores' Israel's deportation of Palestinians and calls on it to ensure their safe and immediate return.
Resolution 726: " ... 'strongly condemns' Israel's deportation of Palestinians.
Resolution 799: ". . . 'strongly condemns' Israel's deportation of 413 Palestinians and calls for their immediate return.
Resolution 1559 (2 September 2004) called upon Lebanon to establish its sovereignty over all of its land and called upon Syria to end their military presence in Lebanon by withdrawing its forces and to cease intervening in internal Lebanese politics. The resolution also called on all Lebanese militias to disband.
Resolution 1583 (28 January 2005) calls on Lebanon to assert full control over its border with Israel. It also states that "the Council has recognized the Blue Line as valid for the purpose of confirming Israel's withdrawal pursuant to resolution 425.
Resolution 1648 (21 December 2005) renewed the mandate of United Nations Disengagement Observer Force until 30 June 2006.
Resolution 1701 (11 August 2006) called for the full cessation of hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah.
Resolution 1860 (9 January 2009) called for the full cessation of war between Israel and Hamas.
Is it possible the UN is slightly biased or do they not expect anything civil from the Arabs?
Either the UN is biased or they expect and condone barbarity from Arabs.
If Israel was lobbing thousands of rockets and mortars indiscriminately into Gaza, do you think the UN would look the other way?
If Israel was urging children to strap bombs onto themselves and kill Palestinians would the UN ignore it?
If you are so in support of the UN then why not accept the UN's partition plan of 1947? Seven Arab countries and two Arab militias didn't care about the UN's resolutions, did they?
Did the Palestinians? Yes.
There's your difference.
Israel had to put up the wall because of all the cross the border attacks from Palestinians. It's her border and she can do what she wishes.
If Palestinians put half as much effort into building a country as they do trying to kill Israelis they would not be the "Beggar State" they are now.
They are delighted to die for their cause.