Israel Launches Operation Pillar of Defense against Gaza

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So much for the cease fire.

Ceasefire brokered by Egypt, U.S., went into force at 9:00 p.m. but Hamas keeps on firing rockets. In a joint mission by the IDF and the General Security Service, the operational facilities of Islamic Jihad in Gaza were hit. Two rockets were fired from southern Lebanon towards the Israeli border on Wednesday evening.
The people in Gaza would not be openly celebrating in the streets if they had any intention of not keeping the cease-fire: they would be sitting ducks. Whatever random elements might not be keeping it can and hopefully will be dealt with by the IDF in precision strikes if they don’t quit it: clearly the people in Gaza want and wanted the madness to stop.
 
Do tell.
How about all the civilians killed in US drone attacks in Pakistan & Afghanistan, men,women and children alike?

I’m not asking because I’m anti-US of anti-Israel but there seem to some weird disconnects. Would the Palestinian attacks on Israel be more acceptable if the Palestinian Authority were a “real” government waging a declared war? What if the attack on the bus were carried out by Palestinian drones or soldiers operating behind Israeli lines?
US drone attacks don’t target civilians and the civilian deaths caused by attacks against military targets are unintended and minimized. The bus attack is the exact opposite. It would be different if the bombers bombed the military headquarters the bus was passing by and the bus happened to be caught in that explosion.
 
Do tell.
How about all the civilians killed in US drone attacks in Pakistan & Afghanistan, men,women and children alike?

I’m not asking because I’m anti-US of anti-Israel but there seem to some weird disconnects. Would the Palestinian attacks on Israel be more acceptable if the Palestinian Authority were a “real” government waging a declared war? What if the attack on the bus were carried out by Palestinian drones or soldiers operating behind Israeli lines?
Surprisingly few civilians have been killed by US drone attacks.
 
This from Hamas about today’s bus bombing of civilians:

Later, in an interview on the Hamas TV station al Aqsa, the group’s spokesman Fawzi Barhoum called on Palestinians for more such attacks — even as cease-fire talks were under way.

“We need more of these painful strikes inside the depths of Israel, in all the towns and cities and villages of Israel,” he said.

cnn.com/2012/11/21/world/meast/gaza-israel-strike/index.html?hpt=hp_t1
 
This from Hamas about today’s bus bombing of civilians:

Later, in an interview on the Hamas TV station al Aqsa, the group’s spokesman Fawzi Barhoum called on Palestinians for more such attacks — even as cease-fire talks were under way.
Well, that was still before the cease-fire; and hopefully they quit inciting people to murder and suicide now that there is an agreement. Both sides were doing things during the cease-fire negotiations that could have jeopardized it.
 
You’re joking right?
Our forces operate under one of, if not the most restrictive ROEs ever used by our military, advances in tech allow for the most accurate delivery and least amount of explosives used to neutralize the target to date, military strategy focuses on “hearts and minds” instead of neutralizing military targets, and international and domestic political pressure is playing an increasing role in how we wage war. I fail to see how a low number of civilian deaths (and yes, when viewed in context with the history of warfare it is a low number) should come as a surprise.
 
The live blog on the Reuters website reports that Israel’s Channel 2 has conducted a poll

Most Israelis - 58% - think the Gaza assault improved their “deterrence”; 15% say it suffered and 23% that it’s unchanged

Will Gaza truce stick? 24% of Israelis say no; 64% think yes, but for a brief period; 7% think it will last long-term -
live.reuters.com/Event/Conflict_on_the_Gaza_Strip

The channel is Hebrew language, so I can’t be sure of the sample size or means of conducting the poll.
 
I meant non-combatant. Thank you for the correction.
I don’t believe al Alawaki every literally took up arms, but I agree with your analysis of the ROE. Since al Qaeda, Hamas and co are not signators to the Geneva Conventions, I’m not sure they would be afforded the same protections. Those organizations certainly have no compulsion against deliberately targeting civillians, or free fire in civillian settings.
 
I don’t believe al Alawaki every literally took up arms, but I agree with your analysis of the ROE. Since al Qaeda, Hamas and co are not signators to the Geneva Conventions, I’m not sure they would be afforded the same protections. Those organizations certainly have no compulsion against deliberately targeting civillians, or free fire in civillian settings.
Your provided link states he was involved in recruiting and planning of operations. That would put him as a combatant in my book (the planning more so than the recruiting).
 
I think Seumas Milne puts this whole conflict into the proper context with his latest article “It’s Palestinians who have the right to defend themselves” (guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/nov/20/palestinians-have-right-defend-themselves).

All this talk of Hamas being such a “bad guy” reminded me of the inconvenient fact that the Israeli “freedom fighters” of the late 1940s used the exact same terrorist tactics to expel the British from Palestine as Hamas is now using to fight against the Israeli occupiers. It is sort of ironic. Not that it makes it right. I don’t think terrorism is ever the answer to any political problem (whether it be the IRA, the Irgun, the Stern Gang, Hamas, etc).
 
Hamas is deliberately targeting civilians, including kids and hiding behind civilians to launch their rockets. There is no way to justify it. Saying that some relative or ancient peoples did it and that somehow justifies you doing it is not morally justifiable nor humane.
 
The blockade of Gaza is not being ended, but the ceasefire agreement calls for the opening of all crossings into Gaza.
Israeli sources said Israel would not lift a blockade of the enclave it enforced after Hamas, which rejects the Jewish state’s right to exist, won a Palestinian election in 2006.
However, Meshaal said the deal covered the opening of all of the territory’s border crossings. “The document stipulates the opening of the crossings, all the crossings, and not just Rafah,” he said. Israel controls all of Gaza’s crossings apart from the Rafah post with Egypt.
This is to be accomplished within 24 hours from the start of the ceasefire.
reuters.com/article/2012/11/22/us-palestinians-israel-hamas-idUSBRE8AD0WP20121122

The article notes that both sides are suspicious of the other, threatening retaliation if fired upon.
 
Why was there silence when it was Jewish babies in danger and having rockets fired on their homes, but now the Vatican is calling Israel “babykillers” for what’s happening in Gaza? Sounds anti-Semitic/anti-Jewish to me.

I’m going through RCIA with my teenage son, and this is an embarrassment to me as I have many Jewish friends.

Help me understand,
oneseeker2
 
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