I find myself compelled to write this short entry because I’ve gotten enough comments on that, on- and off- the blog, that it's been diverting attention from the actual topic of discussion: Debunking Israel's bogus arguments in the War on Gaza, which I've been doing here and here. So focus your commenting energy there, people!
No, I really really don’t like Hamas. And I am unwilling to forgive them for shooting an Egyptian officer, Yasser Eisawy, last week, for killing two Egyptian soldiers when they blew up the fence last January, for killing those two two girls by mistake also last week, for shooting indiscriminately at Israeli civilians, for engaging in a goddamn civil war with their brethren, for stopping wounded Palestinians from seeking treatment in
I could go on. For pages.
Bottom line is: I am not defending Hamas. I think the Hamas leadership should have their balls cut off and shoved down their throats until they choke.
(ooh, the visual...)
But I very much disagree with
(So, yeah, I think Ehud Barak should also have his balls cut off and shoved down his throat until he chokes. Same for Olmert. And Ashkenazi. And, yes, for Livni too.:)
And this is what the couple of posts below are about. I am not explaining the war, I am not reporting live from the ground. I am not 'live blogging'. But I am countering claims that Israel is 'forced' into a war of 'self-defense' and all that nonsense. I am countering the manipulative media war that Israel is launching.
Capice?
Now read on if you wish. If you don't, fine by me, really.
Jeez.
18 comments:
Well, at least we can agree that Hamas should have their balls cut off!
I don't want to engage in a de-debunking effort point by point. But I can't resist pointing out there really is no comparison between the IRA and Hamas. The IRA was NOT the elected government of the Republic of Ireland, and they never fired thousands of mortars. You can bet there would have been a military reponse if the government of Ireland fired thousands of mortars at British territory.
I would also agree the Israeli leadership is flawed; if they were as good at diplomacy as they are at fighting, maybe we could have had peace by now. On the other hand, as they say, "it takes two to tango" and if Hamas had leadership more interested in diplomacy and building a country than in fighting and killing we also could have had peace some time ago.
In the meanwhile, there is plenty of blame and suffering to go around.
I agree with Reb, and I wanted to add two other arguments:
1. The comparison with the IRA is not good. The IRA shot mortars only at army targets within northern Ireland (and not from the Republic border but from within northern Ireland) exluding three rounds shot at downing street. Also the total number of rounds shot over thirty years by the IRA (~100) was exceeded by the HAMAS a long time ago.
2. I don't think that there is someone that thinks that killing civilians is a good idea, or is happy about it.
As we agree Israel cannot let the rocketing of her citizens continue, I see no other choice than to do what Israel is doing now. More than that, I have spoken to a lot of people opposing the Israeli operation. No one has a better, more "humanitarian" way to stop the HAMAS rockets.
Jonathan, rocketed Beer-Sheva.
Part 1 of 6
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Td8YdfNoPBk
Part 2 of 6
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WqIg0Tnav5o
Part 3 of 6
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M09nLJvoX9U
Part 4 of 6
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a4kmK1aDLpg
Part 5 of 6
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CEf9DUW8fMU
Part 6 of 6
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qXLskhpKXW4
Hi Mohammad,
What is your position from the egyptian gov which is instructing the egyptians soldiers to block the borders? I know that Israel is holding the responsibility for the siege on the Gaza strip, but nevertheless I think that Egypt shares this responsibility. Egypt acted against the fact that Israel was throwing Gaza in the face of it and by doing so they took part in the siege themselves. Moreover, I think that Egypt/Palestinian Authority officials have okayed the attack on Gaza.
I am not a fan of Hamas or Islamic Jihad myself. But I wonder what kind of options they had in the first place. I think that they shouldn't have participated in the elections from the very beginning, simply bc they cannot survive or provide the basic humanitarian needs for the palestinian people which cannot survive without donations (Based on political views). I have worked as a translator for the EU monitors during the elections, after the spread of news that Hamas was actually winning the elections the first thing that I have heard from them: "The palestinian is going to suffer".
"I think the Hamas leadership should have their balls cut off and fed to them until they choke." What about the arab leadership? The egyptian government? I know that Hamas aren't excellent/medicore politicains but they aren't any better than the Palestinian authority which didn't manage to make any progress through negotiations.
"Sources unveiled that the assassination of Egyptian Border Guard Major Yasser Eisawi on the Egyptian Palestinian borders on Sunday evening was carried out under Hamas' directives. " What kind of sources? What is your position from the egyptian commanders of the soldiers who continously kill and brutally torture the refugees who cross the borders.
Silence and Siege KILLS.
اندهولي الست دي عشقان اقولها اياها تضرب!
And by the way alarabiya isn't a great resource to quote from. Opening the borders for exceptional medical cases was TOO LITTLE TOO LATE.
You'd never know who has killed the Egyptian solders as Israel had some experience in shooting them in the past.
Please understand that I don't have anything against the Egyptian people or the Egyptian army. We are angry bc of the Egyptian official opinion which doesn't allow the entrance of the medical teams into Gaza (they claim that they are protecting them). Egypt can no longer even condemn Israel policies the way it should.
That was nothing but your worst post.
Are you going to forgive Israel for this or this. ?
Do you think that anyone in Israel has ever symapthized with you or your country at that time?
Khaled: Well, surely not my best, but my worst ever? I'm sure we can find worst stuff I've written. :)
Ya 3ammena, your comments 3ala rassi but don't you think you're being a little unfair to me here? I mean, Arab leaderships, the PA, soldiers shooting at refugees - I surely have opinions on those but they simply were out of scope of this entry.
As a matter of fact, this whole entry is out of scope of the 'debunking exercise' i was engaged in. But I realised, after numerous comments here, on facebook, and offline, that many people's attention was diverted and were like 'but hey, you're not talking about Hamas!'
yes, I wasn't talking about Hamas. I'm talking about the other bad guys; that doesn't make the previous good guys.
And I hate that I had to write the post.
Obviously you want me to address the question of Egypt's role in the story. Wallahi 7ader.
(i did address it in one of the comments on the first debunking post though).
And no. I am not forgiving Israel for any of the atrocities it has committed, neither Deir Yassin, nor Bahr-el-Baqar, nor Qana, nor anything.
Reb Barry: Such language coming from a Rabbi! Oy Vey!!:)
Need I remind you of all the pubs that blew up in the Irish neighbourhood in London (Kilburn)? They caused more civilian deaths than Hamas can ever claim.
Jonathan: "target strikes" would be one. There's a large range of military options to choose from, really.
But then, there's this option that Israel has insistently refused to consider:
peace!
It's all good Mohammad, please don't take anything personal... I am just so angry so sick from the current arabic/islamic official opinion.
Those "bad guys" from Hamas don't you think that these were elected by the Palestinian people. I know that Hamas had no plan or a sub plan what so ever on what to do on the day next. Blaming & equating the victim with the agressor is completely unacceptable at the time being. Do you know how many times the border between Gaza and Egypt was opened during the last years? What would you do next while the PA and the neighbouring arab countries are nothing but SILENT. Why do we seem to forget so fast? Also, I am so sick from the UN and the UN resolutions which would give 56% of land to people who own 6% of the land.
Oh, Nothing taken personally!
I know what you mean. I am also angry and sick and I can only imagine what it must be like for you.
Hamas is a much more complex case that we knew how to deal with. Yes, elected gov. In the same time, we both know how tough it's been on Palestine since the elections (until the Fatah forceful takeover in 06). In this case, can we blame Hamas? In a sense, they arrival is correlated with the shitty situation but are they really the cause? Or is it the illogical response from the rest of the world which decided to stop aid to Palestine, to punish it for electing Hamas?
As for the UN.. I suggest this article.
What I would agree on that the military Resistance and Governance (which depends on donations) in Palestine are practically impossible. Yet, Hamas was elected as a punishment to the financial chaos which flooded the Palestinian authority. I don't Mohammad...... I am lost.... We are lost. The left, center and right have all failed........
You said: "But then, there's this option that Israel has insistently refused to consider: peace!"
Hamas says: "There is no solution for the Palestinian question except through Jihad. Initiatives, proposals and international conferences are all a waste of time and vain endeavors."
Wikipedia notes: "Hamas' charter calls for the destruction of the State of Israel and its replacement with a Palestinian Islamic state in the area that is now Israel, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip."
Peace would be great. How do you make it with someone whose avowed aim is your destruction?
No one makes peace under fire.
Just wanted to leave my comment and let you know I've recently discovered you blog and have been enjoying it. Keep it up.
Aliyah06, I believe that Israel is strong enough to impose a solution it sees fit.
(don't tell them I think they're that powerful though. :)
A tad more seriously: I am often scolded by my Israeli friends when I take Israeli extremists at face value. When I believe Bibi as he says he will no longer seek a settlement. When I shiver when Lieberman, the former Israeli minister of strategic affairs (who will probably hold a cabinet in the next Netanyahu govt) threaten to "Bomb the High Dam to drown Cairo". I could go on.
Heck, when I hear religious Jewish extremists claiming my house, on the east bank of the Nile, as their G_d-given property (i actually met a guy, in the Sinai, who told me that - I was 14).
They tell me that the leadership will eventually, voluntarily or otherwise, follow the will of the majority. It applies everywhere really - if we're serious about it.
I remember us having talk about how the 'moderate/extremist' conflict may be more important that the 'palestinian/israeli' one. I still believe that.
And as for 'peace under fire'.. I think that's the only way it happens, really. Wasn't it Shimon Peres who said something along the lines of,
"it would be much easier to make peace with the Swedes - but our conflict is not with the Swedes"?
We seek leadership with, (to continue on the unofficial theme of this post), balls!
The Q: Welcome to the blog, and thanks for the kind comment! Keep visiting!
PS - am checking your blog and lovin' it! :)
Khaled,
When you bring up the massacres of Dir Yassin and el Baqar, when you say we need to focus on how "Evil" Israel is and god forbid we should criticize Hamas a this time - IMHO, you are doing the Palestinians a huge disservice.
Focusing on that does nobody no good.
You'd think the Israelis were the only war criminals in our region... Those two massacres, pale in comparison to the events of Black September, of the Syrians and putting down political resistance in their own country... I could go on. I am no expert on Arab history, I confess, but I do believe those countries are not exactly champions of human rights. Ummmm, come to think of it, nor are Hamas, who shoot their political opponents (I think the lucky ones were shot in the knees?).
In short, we don't live in a black-and-white reality. Portraying it as such, where Israel is everything evil and the Hamas is some poor victim, who's never done anyone any wrong - it just doesn't do anyone any good. It does not promote peace or even helps to stop the war.
I wrote a blog post about this today. All those keyboard warriors among us trying to encourage Hamas, with their best intentions, are not helping the Palestinians one bit, IMHO.
Peace to all.
Israeli Mom. Stop throwing everything in our face. What did you do to stop this war? Have you called the israeli gov to declare a cease fire? Did you call your givernment to open the borders when Gaza was under siege? Did you ever call your government to implement the UN resolutions ? Did you invite the refugees living in Jabalia to return back to their houses in Yavneh, Ashkelon and Bear Sheva? Did you call your government to stop building settlements in the west bank? Did you ask your government to stop confiscating land? Did you condemn the current racist family reunification law? Did you ask your government to remove the checkpoints? Did you ask your IDF to be sure before shelling that civilians won't be harmed while shelling schools? For god sake.... Have you done ANYTHING.
And No I am not a supporter of Hamas. I said I wish they didn't participate in the elections in the first place because their election meant a humanitarian crisis in PA. And Yea being a palestinian living here it is normal for me to sympathize with the inoccent civilians in the Gaza strip .
I love the fact that people assume that when you are defending Palestinians, it means we are supporting Hamas! One has nothing to do with the other, Israel has to deal with Hamas but not by killing more than 600 people but with negotiations! All this does is breed hate by not just Palestinians towards Israel and jews but by the rest of their neighboring arab countries!!!
Mohamed. This not the post to place my comment under but I just wanted to let you know that I'm a die-hard follower of your blog now.
Eshta alayk!
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