Death in the Middle East

Why do I think the IDF are not too happy as HAMAS seems to have got its act together and the death rate of Israeli soldiers is rising, now 25.   Do I think maybe HAMAS have been rather underestimated, that they have learned by mistakes made a few years ago?    LL

http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/1.606315

Looks like the IDF are shooting their own!  

Staff Sergeant Jordan Ben Simon, 22, of Ashkelon, also from Golani, was killed on Sunday in the Strip by friendly fire.

And now they are censoring AlJazeera -

.Israeli Foreign Minister Lieberman says: "We will work to prevent Al-Jazeera TV from operating in Israel."

Do I think maybe HAMAS have been rather underestimated, that they have learned by mistakes made a few years ago?

Agree, LL. I will first say, I don't want to see anyone killed, dead Israeli conscripts are victims of their government's insanity, too.

But when it came to actual fighting, as opposed to bombing civilians from high-tech toys, Israel got a bit of a pasting from Hezbollah in 2006, and I'm not surprised to see the same thing happening here. Apart from anything else, what is Israel actually doing this for, besides 'peace'? Does anyone know what the ultimate goal is?

Hamas, on the other hand, have no doubt about why they're fighting, and are on home ground.

http://blogs.aljazeera.com/blog/middle-east/war-and-us-%E2%80%93what-you-don%E2%80%99t-see-cant-hurt

That's a good piece. If more western audiences saw what is actually happening in Gaza and eastern Ukraine, they'd be demanding it be stopped NOW, instead of dehumanising the victims as 'muslim terrorists', etc.

Here's why Israel is bombing the Gaza strip. They clear the area of all Palestinians and then they will be able to avert mounting Israeli energy problems. Simples! LL

http://www.theguardian.com/environment/earth-insight/2014/jul/09/israel-war-gaza-palestine-natural-gas-energy-crisis

I wish I could say I am surprised, but sadly, I'm not, LL.

  

I forget where I saw it, but someone posted a very pertinent remark on one of the news sites. The gist was:


The IRA did far more damage, killed far more people, over the course of their bombing campaign against England - but Downing Street didn't order the RAF to attack Republican areas of Belfast and Derry. So what's with the massive firepower against Gaza?

Maybe they just don't want them there at all?

Latest updates. LL

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2014/07/businesses-strike-israel-over-gaza-2014721191110588315.html

http://time.com/3012932/malaysian-prime-minister-strikes-deal-with-rebel-leader-to-return-bodies/

http://www.haaretz.com/

Seen this, LL?

http://webapps.aljazeera.net/aje/custom/2014/gazaunderattack/index.html

2 hours ago
Israeli army confirms it fired warning shots on Al Jazeera bureau in Gaza.

2 hours ago
Al Jazeera's Stephanie Dekker reports on the warning shots that Israel army fired on Al Jazeera's bureau in Gaza.

"Two very precise shots were fired straight into our building.

The Israeli army has confirmed it hit two warning shots into our office I am not sure what the reason would be.

It caused a lot of panic, especially among the civilians working in the building.

We are high so we have a very strong vantage point over the area and perhaps they wanted us to move out."

I am sure Israel would love to drive AJ out of Gaza.

Same link:

he two Americans killed in fighting in the Gaza Strip followed in the footsteps of scores of Jews from around the world who have volunteered to fight for Israel.

Israel calls them the lone soldiers: They are men and women in the prime of their lives who have left their parents and often comfortable lives behind in places like Sydney, London, Los Angeles and elsewhere to join the Israel Defense Forces, marching in the desert and taking up arms to defend
the Jewish state.

There are about 2,000 lone soldiers currently serving in the military, said Marina Rozhansky, spokeswoman at the Israel Consul General in Los Angeles. Groups for families of lone soldiers have recently started in Los Angeles and other cities, providing a support network as the fighting intensifies.

For Jews who left Israel before the age of 15 or who never lived there, their service is voluntary. For many, it is a calling, a way to get back to their roots and unite the world's Jewish population. Some have dual citizenship. Others speak little to no Hebrew and have only recently been to Israel.

"Lone soldiers are a kind of star in Israel,'' according to the Jewish Journal in a report. "For Israeli kids, army service is a rite of passage. But because it is a choice for the young members of the Diaspora who re-direct their own life paths to protect Israel, those enlistees are given a hero's welcome - and a lifetime of Shabbat dinner invitations from their fellow soldiers, who become their surrogate families.

----------

And what, pray tell, is the difference between these idiots and the idiots from Europe and the US that join ISIS, etc? Or is volunteering to fight in other people's wars OK as long as one side is a US ally?

Somewhere I posted up, at least I think I did on here, an Israeli MP/minister saying that was their actual intention.  I will try and find it.  LL

Think that was the story on the previous page, about the gas/oil deposits off Gaza, LL? If so, yes you did.

bb1 wrote:Think that was the story on the previous page, about the gas/oil deposits off Gaza, LL? If so, yes you did.

No, it was on Monday's live feed on Haaretz:

7:26 P.M.Israeli Foreign Minister Lieberman says: "We will work to prevent Al-Jazeera TV from operating in Israel." (Barak Ravid)

LL

Ah, right, thanks, I am getting confused - too many deaths, cover-ups and skullduggery.

Yes, I have no doubt Israel hates AJ broadcasting live from Gaza - once or twice, I've been watching it and been convinced the reporters were about to be on the receiving end of a direct hit. It does rather indicate a desire to hide the truth, though, and won't help their case - I am sure they have smartphones in Gaza, from some of the horrifying raw footage coming out.

I watch AJ, I trust AJ, Arab owned but, as far as is possible, impartial on everything.  Their documentaries are very good.   And look what happened to their reporters in Egypt, falsely accused and imprisoned for 7 and 10 years.  LL

I don't trust anyone 100%, LL, I try to read as much as possible and try to figure out who's lying the least. I make no secret of my current disgust with western media and its barefaced lying about just about everything. This isn't too far from a lot of western coverage of Gaza:



I pretty much trust AJ's coverage of Gaza, not least because of its live broadcasts, and the uncut videos its carrying - it's hard to fake these, as so many people on the internet pour over these things frame by frame looking for fakery.

I'm sorry for its journalists in jail in Egypt - my own feeling is that they have been caught in the political war between Cairo and Qatar.

Israel Is Facing Difficult Choice in Gaza Conflict
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/22/world/middleeast/israel-gaza-conflict.html

Haaretz live updates.   http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/1.606534

3:58 P.M. Germany's Foreign Ministry says it appears that a German-Palestinian family has been killed in Gaza.

A Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, who did not give her name in accordance with government policy, said Tuesday that "based on multiple concurring indications, we understand that the family lost their lives."

She gave no other details.

German media reports have identified the family as a Palestinian couple and their five children who all carry German passports. The reports says all seven were killed in a recent air strike by the Israeli army. (AP)

How appropriate is this with all the lies being told all over the place?

In a time of universal deceit - telling the truth is a revolutionary act." - George Orwell

Very appropriate, Lily.

Is Israel going to claim that the German-Palestinian family were all 'terrorists', LL? Because here's a funny thing - my definition of a 'terrorist' is any agency that routinely slaughters civilians.

http://news.sky.com/story/1305691/us-flights-to-israel-halted-amid-rocket-fire

US Flights To Israel Halted Amid Rocket Fire
Delta and US Airways stop services after reported rocket fire near Tel Aviv airport diverted a flight to Paris on Tuesday.

By Sky News US Team
Two US airlines have cancelled all flights to Israel following reported rocket fire near Tel Aviv airport.

Delta said one of its planes from New York to Ben Gurion International Airport had to be diverted to Paris on Tuesday because of the reported missile fire.

Flight 468 had 273 passengers and 17 crew on board.

US Airways also cancelled flights in and out of Tel Aviv.

Delta said its service between Ben Gurion and John F Kennedy International Airport in New York would be suspended until further notice.

The airline said: "Delta continues to work closely with US and other government resources to monitor the situation."

Israel launched a major offensive on July 8 on the Gaza Strip to stop Hamas militants firing rockets into Israel, and the fighting continues.

On Tuesday, a Hamas rocket reportedly hit a town near Ben-Gurion International Airport, lightly injuring two people.

I hope EVERYONE takes heed, one disaster over a war zone is one too many.

Quite rightly too. They should not resume until it's over.

Dontcha just love this?

The White House responded to Delta's announcement by stating that the Federal Aviation Administration has not placed any official restrictions on flights over the Middle East.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2701603/Delta-cancels-Israel-flights-missile-fear.html#ixzz38DSswzQU
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