Israel 'ready for escalation' of Gaza conflict

[graciew]

Here’s a scholarly paper that addresses a few of the issues raised , including your question. I’ve posted a link to the article and synopsis of content below.
May God bless us all.
jt

/

I am rather late as well to say thank you for the PDF. I found it very interesting,and it touches base on democracy.

This brings me back to the third non -negociable: values.

Thanks.

 

[Coatimundi]

Does Hamas feel that it is fighting for its life, rather than for the people of Gaza?

Hamas shows little readiness to declare victory, as it did only 20 months ago, based largely on a single rocket hitting an apartment building in a Tel Aviv suburb. Analysts attributed this apparent intransigence to a fractured leadership, redrawn regional alliances, the sharp downturn in Gaza’s condition and a sense within Hamas that this time the fight is for its very existence.
…
Secretary of State John Kerry, Secretary General Ban Ki-moon of the United Nations and several European leaders have in recent days promised an easing of import, export and border restrictions as part of a cease-fire, coupled with security protections for Israel. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel even spoke of the need for “economic and social relief” in Gaza on several American news shows on Sunday, but said it must be exchanged for a “demilitarization of Gaza.”

That would mean the destruction of tunnels into Israel and of rocket stockpiles, with international guarantees that they would not be rebuilt or replenished, something Palestinian and Israeli analysts alike said Hamas would never abide.

“This is their ideology, this is what they believe in; it’s the resistance,” said Amos Yadlin, a former Israeli chief of military intelligence and director of the Institute for National Security Studies at Tel Aviv University. “To ask Hamas to demilitarize Gaza is like asking a priest to convert to Judaism.”
nytimes.com/2014/07/28/world/middleeast/despite-gains-hamas-sees-a-fight-for-its-existence-and-presses-ahead.html

 

[GaryTaylor]

The tunnels are a big deal for both Egypt and Israel.

Egypt’s army said Sunday it has destroyed 13 more tunnels connecting the Sinai Peninsula to the Gaza Strip, taking to 1,639 the overall number it has laid waste to.

The Palestinian militant group Hamas, which is the main power in Gaza, reportedly uses the tunnels to smuggle arms, food and money into the blockaded coastal enclave.

google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=2&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CDQQqQIwAQ&url=http%3A%2F%2Fnews.yahoo.com%2Fegypt-army-destroys-13-more-gaza-tunnels-093712884.html&ei=khjWU42NBMjK8gH98YAo&usg=AFQjCNHiUSYL1tMrvzEHDWMrtUcRAzFtIg

Egyptian troops have killed 14 jihadists in shoot-outs in the restive Sinai Peninsula, scene of an insurgency since the ouster of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi, the army said Sunday.

It said 47 people were arrested in the clashes on Saturday that state news agency MENA said broke out near Sheikh Zuwaid in north Sinai.

Also on Saturday, four children were killed when a mortar round crashed into their home in El-Joura, a suspected bastion of Islamist militants.

news.yahoo.com/egypt-army-says-14-jihadists-killed-sinai-071034761.html

The innocent and children always pay the price with radical terrorists, they should be banned, suppressed and eliminated worldwide. This is Holy Land we are talking about, this is an abomination for all these good people. Is Egypt wrong targeting terrorists too? Or just Israel?

google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&sqi=2&ved=0CB8QqQIwAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.foxnews.com%2Fworld%2F2014%2F07%2F27%2Fisrael-resumes-gaza-offensive-after-rocket-attacks%2F&ei=3BrWU9SyNLHo8AGnkYGgAQ&usg=AFQjCNGROU7uSL2FTBdfwbOP4_XUQiZNhA

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday vowed to do “whatever is necessary” in the country’s latest weeks-long battle with Islamic militant group Hamas.

“Hamas has broken five cease-fires,” Netanyahu told "Fox News Sunday.” “They’ve violated their own cease-fires. They are firing on us now. … We’ll do whatever is necessary to achieve our goal of a sustained quiet.”

Hamas announced earlier Sunday that it has agreed to a 24-hour holiday truce in Gaza, hours after Israel resumed its ground offensive and airstrikes against the militant group for firing a salvo of rockets at the southern part of the country.

After Israel announced a 24-hour truce late Saturday, Palestinian militants fired rockets deep into Israel, prompting it to resume an offensive aimed at destroying rocket launchers and cross-border attack tunnels used by Hamas, the Islamic militant group ruling the coastal strip.

Hamas is not speaking rational, they are losing and making demands still. They offer nothing in terms of substantive, practical solutions to the existing problems, they offer violence and suppression with a promise of extermination.

 

[graciew]

Does Hamas feel that it is fighting for its life, rather than for the people of Gaza?

Hamas shows little readiness to declare victory, as it did only 20 months ago, based largely on a single rocket hitting an apartment building in a Tel Aviv suburb. Analysts attributed this apparent intransigence to a fractured leadership, redrawn regional alliances, the sharp downturn in Gaza’s condition and a sense within Hamas that this time the fight is for its very existence.
…

“This is their ideology, this is what they believe in; it’s the resistance,” said Amos Yadlin, a former Israeli chief of military intelligence and director of the Institute for National Security Studies at Tel Aviv University. “To ask Hamas to demilitarize Gaza is like asking a priest to convert to Judaism.”
nytimes.com/2014/07/28/world/middleeast/despite-gains-hamas-sees-a-fight-for-its-existence-and-presses-ahead.html

Your question takes me to a next one,Coatimundi, do people in Gaza perceive Hamas is fighting for them?

 

[gilliam]

The Israeli military denies its forces were responsible for attack on a hospital and nearby park in Gaza, blames Hamas rocket misfires: apne.ws/1mUXumN

 

[Ridgerunner]

Apologies for the delayed response-I have been out of town.
It’s helpful to provide documentation for assertions such as that made by the anonymous person in order to prove credibility.
Have you additional information which documents the assertions of this anonymous source?
May God bless you.
jt

Unfortunately, this is a situation in which I can’t give the resources (two in this particular case) for their sake. People play for keeps over there. But it’s very well known in the circles in Washington who were participants in it. Fatah leadership knows it. Israeli leadership does too. One can find bits of the information on the internet.

But I just can’t say more. If you wish to disbelieve what I said, feel free.

 

[haljoseph]

Unfortunately, this is a situation in which I can’t give the resources (two in this particular case) for their sake. People play for keeps over there. But it’s very well known in the circles in Washington who were participants in it. Fatah leadership knows it. Israeli leadership does too. One can find bits of the information on the internet.

But I just can’t say more. If you wish to disbelieve what I said, feel free.

RIDGE, I back you 100% on “Washington participant” and reasons why you “can’t say more”.

All U.S. citizens must be careful with the words we type **anywhere on the wwwB) The NSA and other agencies have hundreds who watch large screens for certain keywords 24/7.

Where would we be without God in our lives???**

 

[Ridgerunner]

RIDGE, I back you 100% on “Washington participant” and reasons why you “can’t say more”.

All U.S. citizens must be careful with the words we type anywhere on the www

Thanks for this kindness. The thing that troubles me most about disclosing more is the fact that people get murdered in the Middle East for very little; sometimes for nothing at all. One of the people I was talking about was nearly killed in that wedding blast in Amman, and he wasn’t even the target. Awfully easy to get killed over there.****

 

[freeRadical]

I am rather late as well to say thank you for the PDF. I found it very interesting,and it touches base on democracy.

This brings me back to the third non -negociable: values.

Thanks.

Democracy is a terrible political system. Who would want to live under mob rule?

 

[graciew]

Democracy is a terrible political system. Who would want to live under mob rule?

Democracy was a connection I made after reading Jeanne Therese’s PDF.

Is this their perception of democracy?

What values are they not willing to negotiate ?

 

[GaryTaylor]

Well Kerry and Obama caught a great deal of criticism today perhaps their intentions were good.

House Speaker John Boehner said Monday that support for Israel must be the United States’ main focus and not peace mediation in a subtle jab at the Obama administration.

“At times like this, people try to isolate Israel - but we are here to stand with Israel,” Boehner said in remarks at the National Press Club. “Not just as a broker or observer — but as a strong partner and a trusted ally.”

Boehner defined that support: “Well, it doesn’t mean issuing vague, on-the-one-hand, on-the-other-hand statements. No, it means backing up our words, and showing solidarity with our friend.”

The comments from the Ohio Republican came as Secretary of State John Kerry has tried to negotiate a humanitarian cease-fire between Israel and Hamas after weeks of fighting, with little success.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday warned his country that it faces a prolonged campaign against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

Boehner said the U.S. House will always support Israel’s right to defend itself.

“We will not equate professional militaries with terrorist organizations that use human shields and seek to maximize civilian casualties,” Boehner said. “And we insist that the demilitarization of Gaza be not just a House goal but a shared, uncompromising U.S. and international objective.”

Boehner addressed the National Leadership Assembly for Israel, which was organized by the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations.

google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CB4QqQIwAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fabcnews.go.com%2FPolitics%2FwireStory%2Fboehner-urges-us-solidarity-israel-24746977&ei=nsTWU8n6Aua48gGzxoGoAw&usg=AFQjCNHHhBiGt211cjPD_oKixLMXaYhXFg

American diplomacy in the Middle East in recent days may have failed to reach a ceasefire in Gaza, but it has managed to reposition the United States on an unfamiliar side of the region’s complex web of alliances.

google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CB8QqQIwAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.newsweek.com%2Fkerrys-ceasefire-pivot-angers-egypt-israel-even-palestinian-authority-261834&ei=a8bWU_6iC8Ts8QHDi4CIAQ&usg=AFQjCNEYLzR0i4aX8eHNazL148cSaGWSTQ&bvm=bv.71778758,d.b2U

 

[gnjsdad]

Well Kerry and Obama caught a great deal of criticism today perhaps their intentions were good.

House Speaker John Boehner said Monday that support for Israel must be the United States’ main focus and not peace mediation in a subtle jab at the Obama administration.

“At times like this, people try to isolate Israel - but we are here to stand with Israel,” Boehner said in remarks at the National Press Club. “Not just as a broker or observer — but as a strong partner and a trusted ally.”

Boehner defined that support: “Well, it doesn’t mean issuing vague, on-the-one-hand, on-the-other-hand statements. No, it means backing up our words, and showing solidarity with our friend.”

The comments from the Ohio Republican came as Secretary of State John Kerry has tried to negotiate a humanitarian cease-fire between Israel and Hamas after weeks of fighting, with little success.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday warned his country that it faces a prolonged campaign against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

Boehner said the U.S. House will always support Israel’s right to defend itself.

“We will not equate professional militaries with terrorist organizations that use human shields and seek to maximize civilian casualties,” Boehner said. “And we insist that the demilitarization of Gaza be not just a House goal but a shared, uncompromising U.S. and international objective.”

Boehner addressed the National Leadership Assembly for Israel, which was organized by the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations.

google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CB4QqQIwAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fabcnews.go.com%2FPolitics%2FwireStory%2Fboehner-urges-us-solidarity-israel-24746977&ei=nsTWU8n6Aua48gGzxoGoAw&usg=AFQjCNHHhBiGt211cjPD_oKixLMXaYhXFg

American diplomacy in the Middle East in recent days may have failed to reach a ceasefire in Gaza, but it has managed to reposition the United States on an unfamiliar side of the region’s complex web of alliances.

google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CB8QqQIwAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.newsweek.com%2Fkerrys-ceasefire-pivot-angers-egypt-israel-even-palestinian-authority-261834&ei=a8bWU_6iC8Ts8QHDi4CIAQ&usg=AFQjCNEYLzR0i4aX8eHNazL148cSaGWSTQ&bvm=bv.71778758,d.b2U

It is a sign of the deplorable state of American strategic thinking that the Speaker of the House can think of nothing better than to act as mouthpiece for the Netanyahu government.

Is he even vaguely aware of how Israel’s Gaza rampage has put Americans serving in the Middle East in greater danger? I don’t think so.

 

[GaryTaylor]

It is a sign of the deplorable state of American strategic thinking that the Speaker of the House can think of nothing better than to act as mouthpiece for the Netanyahu government.

Is he even vaguely aware of how Israel’s Gaza rampage has put Americans serving in the Middle East in greater danger? I don’t think so.

Actually there were a few Democrats and Republicans attending. Obama and Kerry and crew had good intentions but as we see the sun doesn’t rise and set on them in Israel, Egypt, Palestine, or for a good deal of us in America and the rest of the world. Course Obama and Kerry are working the optics instead of golf tonight [amen], and stating the response of Israel “could” hurt relations. However, in that part of the world tonight what “could” occur in Obamas mind is far from the topic of priority.

Not for nothing but in 2008 he was elected as a “supposed” great leader. He’s been absent playing golf, while media Obama covers for him. Foreign policy abomination. Its on MSM now. He has fires burning all over the world, but now admittedly agrees Israel has the right to defend itself, destroy the tunnels and establish a demilitarized zone. They [Kerry] now concedes Hamas is a terrorist group. But moral equivalence of Hamas and Israel has always been an issue with Obama. Frankly I think he needs to get his mind back into his job, I hope he doesn’t plan on being absent under pressure for two more years.

Maybe he’ll even throw in a good word for the persecuted Christians this week as the rest of Congress is.

 

[Path_Finder]

It is a sign of the deplorable state of American strategic thinking that the Speaker of the House can think of nothing better than to act as mouthpiece for the Netanyahu government.

Is he even vaguely aware of how Israel’s Gaza rampage has put Americans serving in the Middle East in greater danger? I don’t think so.

Compare to what Secretary of State John Kerry said, it sounds like they are saying similar things though I did hear Kerry’s plan received some criticism.

US Secretary of State John Kerry Monday said international efforts to agree a truce between Israel and the Palestinians in Gaza must lead to the disarmament of Hamas.

…

But he added: “We also believe that any process to resolve the crisis in Gaza in a lasting and meaningful way must lead to the disarmament of Hamas and all terrorist groups.”

news.yahoo.com/gaza-truce-must-lead-hamas-disarmament-kerry-164010845.html

 

[gnjsdad]

US Secretary of State John Kerry Monday said international efforts to agree a truce between Israel and the Palestinians in Gaza must lead to the disarmament of Hamas.

But he added: “We also believe that any process to resolve the crisis in Gaza in a lasting and meaningful way must lead to the disarmament of Hamas and all terrorist groups.”

And the best way to disarm Hamas, meaning render it impotent as an influence among Palestinians, is not to pulverize helpless Palestinian civilians!

The Palestinians of Gaza, thanks to the cruel and crippling Israeli economic blockade, have virtually reached the point of no return. Many have told any journalists who will listen that they no longer have any hope for a better future; that they have nothing really to live for and that if they are going to die anyway, better to die fighting. This is why the fighting will go on. Israel can destroy all the tunnels it wants (tunnels, BTW, which also allow the smuggling in of valuable supplies not allowed in by the Israelis in addition to weapons) and even weaken Hamas. It will do them no good because new tunnels will be built an another Hamas-like organization will arise in its place. That is why this campaign, from an Israeli strategic perspective, is so wrong-headed.

 

[graciew]

ijreview.com/2014/07/161998-son-hamas-founder-speaks-defected-hamas-planning/
Son Of Hamas Founder Speaks Out About Why He Defected And What Hamas Is Planning

Hamas defector slams ‘death worship
timesofisrael.com/hamas-defector-slams-death-worship/#ixzz38lsQ5GSW%20

 

[GaryTaylor]

google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=8&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CDUQqQIwBw&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.haaretz.com%2Fnews%2Fdiplomacy-defense%2F1.607755&ei=Bm7XU8qdOuaG8gHEsYGgAg&usg=AFQjCNFMi_aX51O2FYYQ86eWBLThdBcD4Q

“The president stressed the U.S. view that, ultimately, any lasting solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict must ensure the disarmament of terrorist groups and the demilitarization of Gaza.”

Close to the truth, there was a good deal of media spin on Kerry-Obama.

Israel has no idea how many tunnels are left. They are methodically searching the area.

 

[haljoseph]

It is a sign of the deplorable state of American strategic thinking that the Speaker of the House can think of nothing better than to act as mouthpiece for the Netanyahu government.

Is he even vaguely aware of how Israel’s Gaza rampage has put Americans serving in the Middle East in greater danger? I don’t think so.

gn, Mr, speaker had to do what he did. It’s called a “dog and pony show”.

Bottom line it looked good (I think) …for some. Tax dollars up in smoke!

 

[haljoseph]

I heard on the news that Benjamin Natunyahu (?) and pres obama have a “strained” relationship.

I won’t say why this doesn’t surprise me but isn’t Hamas “The Muslim Brotherhood”?

 

[GaryTaylor]

Radical terrorists, and their media spin is agenda orientated. Its the moral equivalent proposition where the spin occurs with the sequence of facts.

google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CB0QFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.jpost.com%2FOperation-Protective-Edge%2FHamas-tells-social-media-activists-to-always-call-the-dead-innocent-civilians-364154&ei=q7zXU7WtL-m58QGw14HADA&usg=AFQjCNEr98mkwksWIgkx8iPc2FaaR9tnYQ

This news will come as no surprise to those familiar with the radical Islamist organization’s usual methods. However, now mainstream media outlets will have to think twice before blindly quoting reports from Hamas about what’s really happening in Gaza.

google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=2&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CCQQFjAB&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.idfblog.com%2Fblog%2F2014%2F07%2F21%2Fhamas-teaches-gazas-facebook-users-secret-spinning-terror%2F&ei=q7zXU7WtL-m58QGw14HADA&usg=AFQjCNGynx5Yybvah8PGSRxKJpbOlhgnVw

Hamas doesn’t want peace, there is no talk from Hamas except for the above agenda, never a mention of innocent Israelis and innocents, and they refused a 24-hr cease-fire.