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Smoke rises after an Israel forces strike on Gaza City today AP Photo/Bernat Armangue

Israel ready to 'significantly expand' Gaza operation

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said this morning that Israel is “extracting a heavy price from Hamas and the terror organisations”.

ISRAEL PRIME MINISTER Benjamin Netanyahu has said that Israel is ready to “significantly expand” its operation against militants in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip as it entered its fifth day.

“We are extracting a heavy price from Hamas and the terror organisations,” Netanyahu said at the start of the weekly cabinet meeting. “The army is prepared to significantly expand the operation.”

Netanyahu said he was holding ongoing talks with world leaders, “and we appreciate their understanding of Israel’s right to self defence.”

“The operation in the Gaza Strip is continuing, and we are preparing to expand it,” he said.

Britain has said that a Gaza invasion would cost Israel international support.

Netanyahu’s remarks came as thousands of Israeli troops backed by armour massed along the border, fuelling fears that the Jewish state is poised to expand its relentless aerial bombing campaign into a ground operation.

Netanyahu praised the “swift and impressive” response of reservists, 16,000 of whom have already been called up for duty in emergency orders.

“The soldiers are ready for any activity that could take place,” he said at the cabinet meeting.

The Israeli army sealed off the main roads around Gaza late on Friday and shortly afterwards, the cabinet authorised the recruitment of up to 75,000 reservists, prompting a flurry of diplomatic efforts to broker a truce to head off any escalation.

- © AFP, 2012

Read: Israel strikes destroy Hamas government headquarters >

Read: Eamon Gilmore calls for end to Gaza violence >

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    Mute Petr Tarasov
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    Nov 18th 2012, 11:10 AM

    Eli Yishai. Israel’s interior minister, said yesterday:

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    Mute Michael Skellig
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    Nov 18th 2012, 11:35 AM

    Comments are being deleted.

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    Mute Ehud Bar Av
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    Nov 18th 2012, 3:26 PM

    as far as hamas relate to women its about the only comon goal between Israel and Hamas.

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    Mute voodoo_criminology
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    Nov 18th 2012, 3:30 PM

    Right, Ehud. Suppose you think it’s a good thing that Israel are protecting Gaza’s women by bombing and starving all of its men, women and children into the dust? Unreal.

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    Mute Petr Tarasov
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    Nov 18th 2012, 3:32 PM

    Ugly comment, Ehud. The mask is slipping.

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    Mute Garry Fitzgerald
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    Nov 18th 2012, 4:49 PM

    Petr
    How would you respond to missiles being rained down upon your citizens at the rate of hundreds a day?
    Please don’t try a smart ass reply as a simple one will do!

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    Mute voodoo_criminology
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    Nov 18th 2012, 5:04 PM

    ” at the rate of hundreds a day?”

    Untrue. Tens to twenties at the very most. Still unacceptable, that this is happening, but your hyperbole is kinda telling.

    More people have been killed by Israel in Gaza today than by rocket attacks from Palestinian groups in the past 12 years.

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    Mute Revolting Peasant
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    Nov 18th 2012, 5:25 PM

    @voodoo i have yet to see a single supporter of israeli aggression address the points about israeli discrimination of the palestinians, i havnt seen it on any forum, they just choose to ignore it

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    Mute Gaius Gracchus
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    Nov 18th 2012, 5:27 PM

    Operation Cast Lead, 2008-09, 431 Palestinian children killed, 114 women killed, 1,872 children injured, 800 women injured, and 3 Israeli civilians killed, 183 injured (no confirmation of gender, age given). Source: U.N. Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. This will happen again and again, every 3-4 years, for the rest of our lifetimes.

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    Mute Liam
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    Nov 18th 2012, 11:20 AM

    “Britain has said that a Gaza invasion would cost Israel international support.”, history shows that this will not be the case, Israel has and can do terrible things and get away with it, examples include using white phosphorous on civilians, destroying hospitals and schools and nothing is done about it, although they do have a right to defend themselves, Israel takes it too far.

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    Mute werejammin
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    Nov 18th 2012, 12:30 PM

    Britain was also the only country besides america that supported the last invasion of gaza. They’ll probably support this one too.

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    Mute Richard Sandler
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    Nov 18th 2012, 1:33 PM

    How about some truth here…Israel is defending itself against terrorists who hide amongst women and children…

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    Mute voodoo_criminology
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    Nov 18th 2012, 1:59 PM

    Ah Richard, come off it. Everybody knows, whether they care to admit it or not, that there’s much more to this than “BAD TERRORISTS” vs. “nice democrats”.

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    Mute Revolting Peasant
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    Nov 18th 2012, 2:07 PM

    the inhabitants of gaza are kept in internment camp conditions, they dont have access to adequate food,shelter, health care or education, their crime is purely geographical, the iraelis believe this land is theirs by right of god, the palestinian freedom fighters are called terrorists when the kill civilians but the israeli killing of civilians is justified self defence? get real, i take it those that support the israeli invasion of palestine also support the irish invasion of northern ireland as the irish were there first?

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    Mute Andrew
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    Nov 18th 2012, 3:10 PM

    I’m sick of hearing this “terrorists hiding among women and children” bullshit.

    Gaza is one of the the most densely populated areas on the planet, living in destitution and poverty and under foreign occupation. As you’d expect when hundreds of thousands of frustrated, repressed individuals are pushed to their limits, refused access to adequate nutrition, education, healthcare or electricity and kept under surveillance by an occupying army, a number of them resist with force.

    In response to this element, Israel indiscriminately and willingly shell and bomb densely populated civilian areas, slaughtering innocent men, women and children. Un figures from 2003 showed 3,434 Palestinians killed by Israeli Government, versus 78 Israelis killed by the Palestinian resistance.

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    Mute Chris Jordan
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    Nov 18th 2012, 4:35 PM

    This is not defensive. Over 60 killed in Gaza, 3 killed in Israel. It is NOT defensive by Israel. The eyes of the world can see this. Try divert attention for Israeli terrorist aggression all you like, but try make it half believable and not delusional. Israel are the aggressors here, Shame on Israel and shame on you for supporting them!

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    Mute Chris Jordan
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    Nov 18th 2012, 4:37 PM

    My above comment was directed at terrorist sympathiser Richard by the way….

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    Mute Stephen Downey
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    Nov 18th 2012, 7:55 PM

    “When Israelis in the occupied territories now claim that they have to defend themselves, they are defending themselves in the sense that any military occupier has to defend itself against the population they are crushing. You can’t defend yourself when you’re militarily occupying someone else’s land. That’s not defense. Call it what you like, it’s not defense.” – Noam Chomsky

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    Mute Murtaza Ali
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    Nov 18th 2012, 12:06 PM

    Question: Which country alone in the Middle East has nuclear weapons?
    Answer: Israel .

    Question: Which country in the Middle East refuses to sign the nuclear non-proliferation treaty and bars international inspections? ?
    Answer: Israel .

    Question: Which country in the Middle East is in defiance of 69 United Nations Security Council resolutions and has been protected from 29 more by U.S. vetoes? (while Iraq was bombed and invaded for violating two, yes just TWO UN Security Council Resolution)
    Answer: Israel .

    Question: Which country in the Middle East seized the sovereign territory of other nations by military force and continues to occupy it in defiance of United Nations Security Council resolutions?
    Answer: Israel .

    Question: Which country in the Middle East routinely violates the international borders of another sovereign state with warplanes and artillery and naval gunfire?
    Answer: Israel .

    Question: What American ally in the Middle East has for years sent assassins into other countries to kill its political enemies (a practice sometimes called exporting terrorism)?
    Answer: Israel .

    Question: In which country in the Middle East have high-ranking military officers admitted publicly that unarmed prisoners of war were executed?
    Answer: Israel .

    Question: What country in the Middle East refuses to prosecute its soldiers who have acknowledged executing prisoners of war?
    Answer: Israel .

    Question: What country in the Middle East created millions of refugees and refuses to allow them to return to their homes, farms and businesses?
    Answer: Israel .

    Question: What country in the Middle East refuses to pay compensation to people whose land, bank accounts and businesses it confiscated?
    Answer: Israel .

    Question: In what country in the Middle East was a high-ranking United Nations diplomat assassinated?
    Answer: Israel .

    Question: In what country in the Middle East did the man who ordered the assassination of a high-ranking U.N. diplomat become prime minister?
    Answer: Israel .

    Question: What country in the Middle East blew up an American diplomatic facility in Egypt and attacked a U.S. ship, the USS Liberty, in international waters, killing 34 and wounding 171 American sailors?
    Answer: Israel .

    Question: What country in the Middle East employed a spy, Jonathan Pollard, to steal classified documents from USA and then gave some of them to the Soviet Union ?
    Answer: Israel .

    Question: What country at first denied any official connection to Pollard, then voted to make him a citizen and has continuously demanded that the American president grant Pollard a full pardon?
    Answer: Israel .

    Question: What Middle East country allows American Jewish murderers to flee to its country to escape punishment in the United States and refuses to extradite them once in their custody?
    Answer: Israel .

    Question: What Middle East country preaches against hate yet builds a shrine and a memorial for a murderer who killed 29 Palestinians while they prayed in their Mosque.?
    Answer: Israel .

    Question: What country on Planet Earth has the second most powerful lobby in the United States , according to a recent Fortune magazine survey of Washington insiders?
    Answer: Israel .

    Question: Which country in the Middle East deliberately targeted a civilian U.N. Refugee Camp in Qana , Lebanon and killed 103 innocent men, women, and especially children?
    Answer: Israel .

    Question: Which country in the Middle East receives more than one-third of all U.S. aid to the world yet is the 16th richest country in the world?
    Answer: Israel .

    Question: Which country in the Middle East receives U.S. weapons for free and then sells the technology to the Republic of China even at the objections of the U.S.?
    Answer: Israel .

    Question: Which country in the Middle East routinely insults the American people by having its Prime Minister address the United States Congress and lecturing them like children on why they have no right to reduce foreign aid?
    Answer: Israel .

    Question: Which country in the Middle East had its Prime Minister announce to his staff not to worry about what the United States says because “We control America ?”
    Answer: Israel .

    Question: What country in the Middle East was cited by Amnesty International for demolishing more than 4000 innocent Palestinian homes as a means of ethnic cleansing?
    Answer: Israel .

    Question: Which country in the Middle East has just recently used a weapon of mass destruction, a one-ton smart bomb, dropping it in the center of a highly populated area killing 15 civilians including 9 children?
    Answer: Israel .

    Question: Which country in the Middle East routinely kills young Palestinian children for no reason other than throwing stones at armored vehicles, bulldozers, or tanks?
    Answer: Israel .

    Question: Which country in the Middle East signed the Oslo Accords promising to halt any new Jewish Settlement construction, but instead, has built more than 270 new settlements since the signing?
    Answer: Israel .

    Question: Which country in the Middle East has assassinated more than 100 political officials of its opponent in the last 2 years while killing hundreds of civilians in the process, including dozens of children?
    Answer: Israel .

    Question: Which country in the Middle East regularly violates the Geneva Convention by imposing collective punishment on entire towns, villages, and camps, for the acts of a few, and even goes as far as demolishing entire villages while people are still in their homes?
    Answer: Israel .

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    Mute Kevin Quinlan
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    Nov 18th 2012, 1:09 PM

    Comment of the year!

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    Mute Raymond Power
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    Nov 18th 2012, 1:21 PM

    C’mon you can just as easily compile a “which country in” for the arabs.

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    Mute Gaius Gracchus
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    Nov 18th 2012, 6:05 PM

    No you can’t Richard, no Arab nation in the middle-east has nuclear weapons, and I don’t have time to go through how Arab countries cannot be inserted for Israel in all of the the points

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    Mute Gaius Gracchus
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    Nov 18th 2012, 6:06 PM

    *other points

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    Mute Karl Power
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    Nov 18th 2012, 11:20 AM

    What do Hamas hope to achieve by firing rockets into Israel trying to kill anything they can knowing Israel will respond with all weaponry at it’s disposal?

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    Mute Adrian de Cleir
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    Nov 18th 2012, 11:27 AM

    International sympathy?

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    Mute Michael Skellig
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    Nov 18th 2012, 11:30 AM

    You’d do the same if you were under siege for 40 years and had most of your land taken illegally. Israel’s days are numbered. Canada or Australia should offer them land to set up a new state.

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    Mute Karl Power
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    Nov 18th 2012, 11:41 AM

    Arabs have tried and failed on many occasions to wipe out Israel, can’t see that changing ant time soon, if the arabs sorted out their own problems they wouldn’t have to bother with those pesky democrats in Israel!

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    Mute Jason Naughton
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    Nov 18th 2012, 11:43 AM

    I’ll think you’ll find that Israel’s days are far from numbered. The US has already openly supported this action. No one will support Hamas in any meaningful way. This is a major show of strength from the Jewish state.

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    Mute Colm OConnor
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    Nov 18th 2012, 11:43 AM

    True. It’s a counterproductive, desperate strategy from people forced to live in ghetto conditions.

    The response is disproportionate in the extreme as usual. It’s viciousness reveals a contempt and disregard for the lives of Gazan citizens.

    Travelling in Asia about 10 years ago I met scores of Israelis. Almost all of them voiced views which I would describe (and not lightly) as fascistic when it came to Palestinians. I asked one guy (just out of the army like the others) how one could defend the sanctions on Iraq. In particular I pointed out the c.500,000 children who the UN had said had been victims of that policy. He just replied that that was just 500,000 less terrorists that they would have to deal with. To me this was the logic and vocabulary of genocide and the product of a fascistic propagandist education system and military.

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    Mute Brian Ó Dálaigh
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    Nov 18th 2012, 11:46 AM

    It’s simple Karl. By firing rockets into Israel it stirs up the hatred embedded in even more hardline groups such as Al Aqsa. These groups then launch further attacks against Israel. Israel, naturally, responds, (rightly so in my opinion), but typically uses measures far in excess of those required (wrongly in my opinion). This then galvanises support from the vast majority of Palestinians behind the ruling group in Gaza, i.e. Hamas, which is currently losing support. It’s all about power for Hamas in this particular case. They are losing ground but rather than address the reasons as to why they’re losing ground (corruption, restricting freedom of the press, human rights abuses, using children as human shields, etc.) they are instead galvanising all Palestinians behind them against a common enemy – Israel. This is a very common type of politics, unfortunately.

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    Mute Michael Fagan
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    Nov 18th 2012, 11:52 AM

    @ Karl power it was a response to the killing of a14 year old boy by an Israeli soldier as he played football, then it became tot for tat

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    Mute JP SHERRY
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    Nov 18th 2012, 12:04 PM

    More Palestinians were killed in Gaza yesterday than Israelis killed by projectile fire from Gaza in the past 3 years.

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    Mute Michael Fagan
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    Nov 18th 2012, 12:09 PM

    @ Jason the USA supports Israel with over 3 Billion dollars in direct aid and 10 billion in military aid, -under pressure to buy Jewish votes , at the same time American citizens are queuing up at soup kitchens, despite pressure from the Jewish lobby many Americans are asking questions about these priorities
    The president of Egypt visited gaza in a show of support , the prime minister of Tunisia is also due to visit, the new arab democracies leaders are under pressure from their citizens to support the Palestinian people

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    Mute Brian Ó Dálaigh
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    Nov 18th 2012, 12:12 PM

    Michael Fagan, I think you’ll find that this particular round of incidents started prior to the killing of the 14 year old boy you mentioned. It started on the 24th October when Palestinians, unprovoked, launched 80 rockets into Israel over 24 hours. I do agree, however, that Israel’s retaliation has been extremely disproportionate.

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    Mute Paula Rita Tabakin
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    Nov 18th 2012, 12:27 PM

    The goals of Hamas are unclear at best making it very hard to start negotiations . And it needs to be voiced that if the goal is for Israel to disappear that will never happen and cannot be the basis for anything.

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    Mute Shane Ryan
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    Nov 18th 2012, 1:02 PM

    Hamas are a crowd of terrorists. They have no value for human life. Israel have the right to defend themselves against future attacks. Any other nation in the world would do the very same

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    Mute werejammin
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    Nov 18th 2012, 1:32 PM

    By that measure shane, you would have also supported the british army dropping bombs on catholic estates up north to ‘prevent future attacks’ from the IRA?

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    Mute Tony Rogers
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    Nov 18th 2012, 2:26 PM

    JP Sherry whats your point, if a fly weight boxer picks a fight with a heavyweight boxer he is going to lose badly. If Hamas keeps throwing missiles at Israel obviously when Israel retaliates the Hamas/ Palestinian side is going to suffer greater casualties. So for you to point out the obvious seems very inane

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    Mute werejammin
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    Nov 18th 2012, 2:42 PM

    @ Tony. When that heavyweight boxer breaks a ceasefire by shooting a 14 year old child playing football dead, the flyweight isn’t the one picking the fight.

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    Mute Revolting Peasant
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    Nov 18th 2012, 2:44 PM

    @tony, and what would you suggest? that the palestinians should just accept their third class status, forced deprivation and willingly give up their properties without any argument?the fact is that israel are a far stronger and far more aggressive power than palestine, and they persistently subject the entire nation of palestine to harassment and systematic prejudice, have they no right to defend themselves?, this is the bottom line

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    Mute Tony Rogers
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    Nov 18th 2012, 2:51 PM

    No I made no comment on either side just it was such an obvious statement made by JP Sherry and couldn’t see the point of his statement. So please read before asking me irrelevant questions to my post.

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    Mute Revolting Peasant
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    Nov 18th 2012, 2:57 PM

    @tony, your comment ‘if a fly weight boxer picks a fight with a heavyweight boxer’ alludes to an opinion that gaza started this

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    Mute Tony Rogers
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    Nov 18th 2012, 3:00 PM

    Just means they need to negotiate not fight because they will never win

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    Mute Revolting Peasant
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    Nov 18th 2012, 3:04 PM

    the israelis have persistently either 1.refused to negotiate, 2 broken all agreements or 3. made impossible demands, it is quite clear they have no interest in co-existing with palestine, what they do is akin to britain bombing dublin for the actions of the ira

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    Mute voodoo_criminology
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    Nov 18th 2012, 3:06 PM

    There’s reports from reasonably credible sources in the Israeli press that a peace deal was on the table before their latest onslaught:

    http://m.dailykos.com/story/2012/11/15/1161891/-Israeli-newspaper-Israel-attacked-Gaza-knowing-truce-was-in-the-works

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    Mute Tony Rogers
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    Nov 18th 2012, 3:11 PM

    Think you need to take those blinkers off

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    Mute JP SHERRY
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    Nov 18th 2012, 3:18 PM

    The point of my statement is pretty clear, yes Hamas attack Israel but its nothing compared to the scale of attacks by Israel ie. Israel killed more in a day than Hamas in 3 years.
    If you feel it is fair that a nation with the resources of Israel imprison the people of Gaza and deny them basic human rights while murdering them then that’s your problem.
    Hope that clears it up for you.

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    Mute Tony Rogers
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    Nov 18th 2012, 3:21 PM

    You make my point so well

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    Mute Tony Rogers
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    Nov 18th 2012, 3:26 PM

    If you read my earlier statements you would see that I make no statement of fairness on either side it’s just as you point out the Palestinians always seem to come off worse, as would a flyweight against a heavyweight so again I don’t get the point of your spouting JP. Hope that clears things up for you

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    Mute voodoo_criminology
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    Nov 18th 2012, 3:31 PM

    On that note, Tony, what do you make of the fact that Ahmed Jabari was in the process of negotiating a permanent truce, and that rocket attacks had been reduced pretty much to nothing in the days immediately preceding his assassination?

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    Mute JP SHERRY
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    Nov 18th 2012, 3:33 PM

    Troll. I didn’t ask you to clear anything up for me.
    If pointing out the difference in force between the two seems like “spouting” to you how do you think I feel about the nonsense you write?
    The End.

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    Mute Tony Rogers
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    Nov 18th 2012, 3:40 PM

    Very sad indeed, shame about his death. Anybody who dies from either side while trying to negotiate peace is very unfortunate when both sides seem intent on obliterating each other… JP you are making the very point I made to you

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    Mute Niall Carson
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    Nov 18th 2012, 10:58 AM

    Q&A about white phosphorus injuries, the weapon of choice for Israel http://t.co/47wDGaEk

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    Mute Garry Fitzgerald
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    Nov 18th 2012, 4:46 PM

    Carson
    You obviously carry a torch for the terrorists in Gaza who fire up to five hundred missiles a day into civilian populated areas of Israel that are homes to people from many Nations. The evidence you provide us of Israel using white phosphorous shells is three years old. So please be either honest or accurate in your accusations.

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    Mute Niall Carson
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    Nov 18th 2012, 6:01 PM

    Garry, are you trying to deny Israel used white prosperous in built up civilian areas of gaza during operation cast lead? Do you doubt they will do it again the next monstrous assault on the worlds biggest prison camp? I do accept the Palestinians right to resist the occupation of their land and the siege of Gaza.

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    Mute voodoo_criminology
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    Nov 18th 2012, 7:05 PM

    Wait, pointing out Israel’s use of white phosphorous amounts to “Carrying a torch for the terrorists”?

    Oh, if there’s any doubt about this having happened:

    http://www.hrw.org/video/2009/03/25/rain-fire-white-phosphorus-gaza

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    Mute Imran Ali
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    Nov 18th 2012, 11:07 AM

    Save a few rockets for their tanks lads

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    Mute B Lowe
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    Nov 18th 2012, 11:57 AM

    Hmmm. What heavy price are they extracting from Hamas by blowing up electricity substations
    and such civilian infrastructure.
    Bloody war criminals and thugs is all the current Israeli regime is.
    To all Palestinians, keep up the fight against oppression and injustice.

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    Mute Xadovan
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    Nov 18th 2012, 12:43 PM

    How is Hamas any different to the foreign backed Islamic extremists that you constantly rail against on every Syria story on here when it comes to your support of Bashar al-Assad?

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    Mute mattoid
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    Nov 18th 2012, 1:27 PM

    And how is the oppression of his own people by Bashar al Assad any different to the ongoing oppression of the Palestinian people by the state of Israel?
    You’re a queer fish indeed BLowe…

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    Nov 18th 2012, 2:50 PM

    Not to mention the similarity between Assad’s continual use of airstrikes in civilian areas and Israel’s relentless use of airpower in Gaza

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    Mute Revolting Peasant
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    Nov 18th 2012, 3:09 PM

    hamas power derives from israeli aggression, it suits israel just fine to have them there

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    Mute Niall Ó Dochartaigh
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    Nov 18th 2012, 12:21 PM

    Shame on Israel!

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    Mute David Duignan
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    Nov 18th 2012, 12:33 PM

    israel commits mass murder while the world watches x factor.

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    Mute Ruairi O' Sullivan
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    Nov 18th 2012, 2:08 PM

    I don’t watch x-factor…… And I resent its existence.

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    Mute Revolting Peasant
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    Nov 18th 2012, 2:50 PM

    @Ruairi, agree 100%, it makes my worst fear become reality, that yes there are millions of idiots about

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    Mute MrKnow
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    Nov 18th 2012, 12:13 PM

    Its amazing to see us Irish supporting Israel, just shows how we have remembered our past, you know the one where we had our land taken and had to fight to keep our identity and our land, well most of it, against a more powerful, well armed aggressor country… difference is our aggressors seen that they had done wrong in the end and sat down to sort it out. But sure Palestine is just a country of terrorist hey?

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    Mute Ciaran Morgan
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    Nov 18th 2012, 12:50 PM

    It’s election time in Israel therefore Palestinians die.

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    Mute Mick Jordan
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    Nov 18th 2012, 11:27 AM

    Hamas have begun a very dangerous game. They started this present battle in the hope of dragging other Islamic nations into the conflict. And just say they succeed in what they are trying to do. How do you think the Isrealies would respond if they felt that they were under threat of invasion? They would go nuclear in a heartbeat. So either the Hamas leadership didn’t think this through properly or they just don’t care.

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    Mute Colm OConnor
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    Nov 18th 2012, 1:59 PM

    Wouldn’t nuclear weapons be useless against countries which are so close (not withstanding their illegal possession of the same and the genocidal nature of those weapons)?

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    Mute Mick Jordan
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    Nov 18th 2012, 3:24 PM

    Colm if they had their backs to sea do you think it would matter. Lets just assume for a minute that Egypt joined in the fight and a few of the other North African countries as well. And the Isrealies were losing by sheer weight of numbers against them. Do you think they wouldn’t target Cairo? If the lost the state of Israel they would have nothing to lose. They may even leave Mecca a smoking radioactive hole in the ground. Even the threat of that would stop the Islamic armies in their tracks.

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    Mute voodoo_criminology
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    Nov 18th 2012, 3:52 PM

    Mick – it appears very much that Hamas and Ahmed Jabari were heavily involved in peace negotiations, which had reduced rocket attacks to basically nothing in the days immediately preceding his assassination. Blaming it all on big bad Hamas simply won’t wash here.

    http://m.dailykos.com/story/2012/11/15/1161891/-Israeli-newspaper-Israel-attacked-Gaza-knowing-truce-was-in-the-works

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    Mute watchmaker101
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    Nov 18th 2012, 4:33 PM

    Just read Hamas’s charter and is says it all about its motives. Hamas are the common enemy of all decent Arabs
    Also where have all their rockets come from?

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    Mute Mick Jordan
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    Nov 18th 2012, 5:05 PM

    Voodoo. I am not a fan of either side. The Israelies have not covered themselves in glory over the years but neither have the Palestinians. And lets not be fooled here Hamas gets it orders directly from Tehran. Have none of you noticed that there has not been a single rocket fired from the West Bank. The Palestinian Authority there seem to have a more realistic grasp of the situation. They may hate the Israelis but they know that their economy is dependant on the Israel. And its far better for their people for them to work with Israel than fight a losing battle.
    As I have already said Israel is there, its not going to disappear anytime soon, as long as they have the most powerful military in the region. So as much as they would choke on it, for the people of Gaza it would be in their own interest see the real politic of the situation.

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    Mute werejammin
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    Nov 18th 2012, 1:01 PM

    The Sky News and ITN buildings have just been destroyed by Israel. Last time round they supressed reporting prior to and during their ground invasion. Hopefully its not the same tactic again. Then again, the whole escalation prior to an election is exactly the same blood soaked tactic the Israels used last time with Operation Cast Lead, where hundreds of Gazan women and children were killed.

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    Mute Tony Fleming
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    Nov 18th 2012, 2:45 PM

    They did not destroy the building. A small amount of damage was caused to one bit of one floor. I deplore the Israeli actions but this kind of exageration does the Palestinians no favours

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    Mute werejammin
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    Nov 18th 2012, 3:11 PM

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-20383001

    “The Middle East Foreign Press Association has issued a statement expressing concern at the air strikes on the media buildings.Among those using the buildings were a Hamas television channel, al-Quds TV, as well as Sky News and ITN. The BBC had its offices in one of the buildings until last year.”

    http://www.fpa.org.il/?categoryId=73840

    “The Foreign Press Association is concerned at the attacks by the Israeli IDF on buildings housing journalists in Gaza last night.
    The IDF stated this morning that “The sites that we targeted overnight were all positively identified by precise intelligence over the course of months.”
    One building houses or has been used by the following FPA members: British news organisations Sky News, and Sky News Arabia, MBC TV ,Al Arabiya, ORF and other European broadcasters.”

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    Mute voodoo_criminology
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    Nov 18th 2012, 3:36 PM

    That’s right Tony, of course Israel would never wilfully attack a civilian target:

    http://www.hrw.org/video/2009/03/25/rain-fire-white-phosphorus-gaza

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    Mute Tony Fleming
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    Nov 18th 2012, 11:36 PM

    Are you two stupid? I said the buildings were not destroyed. I did not say the were not attacked. Check out Sam Keilys report on Sky News. Exaggeration does nothing for the cause but give the attackers supporters ammunition in denying the extent of their actions.
    Below is a realistic analysis of the situation.

    Statement By Noam Chomsky:

    “The incursion and bombardment of Gaza is not about destroying Hamas. It is not about stopping rocket fire into Israel, it is not about achieving peace. The Israeli decision to rain death and destruction on Gaza, to use lethal weapons of the modern battlefield on a largely defenseless civilian population, is the final phase in a decades-long campaign to ethnically-clean
    se Palestinians.

    Israel uses sophisticated attack jets and naval vessels to bomb densely-crowded refugee camps, schools, apartment blocks, mosques, and slums to attack a population that has no air force, no air defense, no navy, no heavy weapons, no artillery units, no mechanized armor, no command in control, no army… and calls it a war. It is not a war, it is murder.

    “When Israelis in the occupied territories now claim that they have to defend themselves, they are defending themselves in the sense that any military occupier has to defend itself against the population they are crushing. You can’t defend yourself when you’re militarily occupying someone else’s land. That’s not defense. Call it what you like, it’s not defense.”
    — with Nazish Farooq, Shujaat Hussain Jangwe, Syed Jawad Shoaib and 47 others.

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    Mute Michael Freedman
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    Nov 18th 2012, 1:38 PM

    Let’s set aside the much larger and more complex question of the historic rights and wrongs of the conflict, or how to resolve it in the long term, and let’s not try and work out who or what triggered this “cycle of violence” because people’s views are usually subjective on this.

    There is also no point going into how much Gaza is under siege. Nobody thinks it’s a fiesta down there but equally before this crisis, nobody was starving, basic provision of medicine, electricity and running water were the norm for most people, most of the time, and so on. The Red Cross/Crescent and the UN monitor this constantly and if (to quote Netanyahu!) a “red line” was breached, we would know about it.

    We can say with some certainty that Hamas does not rule Gaza with the best interests of all its people uppermost in its mind. We know that they siphon off international aid, tax the smuggling tunnels, and prioritise the import of arms over basic staples. Hamas is never going to invade Israel, and most Palestinians accept, albeit grudgingly, that there will never be a Palestine under their control “from the river to the sea”. Heaven forfend but a large minority actually accept that Israel has the right to exist for more reasons than because it simply does (Abbas does not).

    What we do know is that Israel has devastating firepower at its disposal and has flown hundreds of sorties, and is now using its navy too, whilst mobilising 75,000 reserves. Nonetheless this has resulted in some 50 Palestinian deaths, the majority of which were Hamas or other terror organisation members. That seems to me to be a pretty low number – if Israel’s objective was to inflict mass casualties, they are doing a really bad job.

    You will find few Israelis who rejoice in the deaths of innocents, primarily because morally they want to avoid it, but also because there is no practical benefit to it for them in creating grieving, angry haters and pushing world opinion against them. Some of the opinions on this comment page openly suggest that Israel is full of fascist murderers just itching to pull the trigger. Of course there are some who act terribly in the heat of the moment, or say rash things as happened to some of the commenters above, and there are definitely mistakes made as well, but you would be hard-pressed to find evidence of premeditated IDF attacks on civilians. Claiming otherwise is no different to saying (to use the parallel that is routinely taken) that all British people are murderers just because of Bloody Sunday or the rhetoric of Rev Paisley in his pomp.

    On the other side, Hamas has launched hundreds of rockets in the last week, and a thousand in the last year, with no discrimination as to the target. When they want to go after the IDF, they dig tunnels under the border, or shoot at soldiers and jeeps. The rockets are definitely pointed at civilian targets, and it’s only Israel’s investment, with American financial and technical support, in the Iron Dome missile defence shield, as well as building bomb shelters and having a well-briefed public, that minimises casualties. The hidden effect is a million people living in the shadow of the rockets, and the psychological impact on them is immeasurable.

    The IRA retained a high amount of sympathy when it limited its armed campaign to security personnel and apparatus, or gave telephone warnings when planting bombs in civilian areas. It lost that sympathy when killing innocent people without any compunction, either by not giving adequate or any warning (Warrington), or not considering collateral losses (Brighton). This is a lesson for Hamas, which right now they are ignoring, and it is a message the people of Ireland should be getting behind instead of giving them carte blanche and excusing their actions.

    Note that Hamas are only not carrying out suicide bombings because they are physically prevented from doing so. Would readers of The Journal feel differently if enough Jews were dying on buses and in cafes? It does seem to me that because not enough blood has been spilt on the Israeli side, and because they clearly have the more sophisticated equipment for battle, it’s not equal and therefore not fair, and one must side with the underdog.

    One has to ask other questions in this context. What is “disproportionate”? Is it relevant to compare death tolls or strength of arms? How are Hamas acting in the best interests of their people? What are the tactical (ie this specific rocket attack/air attack) and strategic (ie this round of violence) intentions of the two sides in their attacks of the other? What are the outcomes?

    It’s funny but I didn’t see such high interest or such visceral reaction on the comment pages over the last 18 months while Assad slaughtered 35,000 people in Syria. Why is that?

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    Mute Eric
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    Nov 18th 2012, 2:06 PM

    Absolute comment of the year. I’m glad someone has finally made a lucid observation on the situation. The war is not about land, but more so about the Islamic bigotry, intolerance and desire towards the destruction of Israel. The Palestinians are the architects of their own poverty through the appointment of a regime which loots its own infrastructure and dedicates all its resources towards destroying Israel rather than nation building.

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    Mute Tertullian
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    Nov 18th 2012, 2:24 PM

    Excellent post by Michael Freedman. Refreshing to see such considered comment in the midst of the usual looney Journal stuff.

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    Mute voodoo_criminology
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    Nov 18th 2012, 2:24 PM

    A classic combination of lies, obfuscation and wataboutery in a nice tl;dr package.

    Fact of the matter is that Israel’s blockade, which was probably in breach of international law, did cause economic devastation and chronic malnutrition among Gaza’s children:

    http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/chronic-malnutrition-in-gaza-blamed-on-israel-1019521.html

    http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/hrcouncil/docs/15session/A.HRC.15.21_en.pdf

    One simple reason the UN didn’t act – a certain powerful ally on one side, in just the same way that the UN has been prevented from acting on Syria.

    And, for the record, I’ve seen equal outrage with regard to the latter case.

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    Mute Robbie Farrell
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    Nov 18th 2012, 2:58 PM

    So, Michael, would you like to explain to us, apparently ignorant people, the Israeli policy of expansion into territories designated to the Palestinian peoples by the UN, and agreed upon by Israel? Would you like to explain why they continue, with blatant abandonment, to ignore international regulations on borders? Would you like to explain why they decided to target a media centre that contained Palestinian and international journalists? Of course, this wasn’t any attempt to stop the reporting of horrific events within Gaza, god forbid! Would you like to explain the huge number of acts of Israeli settler violence against local Palestinians, who have had their land taken from them? You have very casually glossed over the historical issues at hand, you want to ”set aside” these events as if they have no significance. They are at the very heart of this conflict, and you can’t just neatly put them to one side. The Israeli state was only founded in 1948, a mere 64 years ago. They believe that over 700,000 thousand Palestinians were displaced from THEIR land after the foundation of Israel. This infant ‘state’ now feels that it alone has the right to this area, and that they alone have the right to decide the destiny of the Palestinian people, regardless of what Palestinians feel. I also like how you believe there is ”no point going into how much Gaza is under siege”!! Yet, you also talk about how Israelis live in constant fear of rocket attacks! How do you think the residents of the West Bank feel, especially now that there could be 75,000 exceptionally well armed, trained killers about to descend on their doorsteps, like some biblical plague? You have made your stance on this issue fairly clear with your comment, even though you would like to propagate the image of a neutral observer. Before you call me one-sided, I admit I would put myself on the side of the Palestinian people, because, we in Ireland have first hand experience of what it feels like to have your own country occupied by a vastly superior (militarily) foreign force. So, naturally I feel a great sense of pity for these people.
    You have also mentioned the levels of bloodshed, implying that support should not be simply given to whoever has suffered the most casualties, but, why don’t you take a look at the figures form the last two decades of this conflict, and can you honestly say that we should just ignore the much greater number of deaths and serious injuries that the Palestinians have suffered?
    The EU, UN and Britain have all condemned the policies of expansion that Israel has continued to follow. They do so against this international condemnation, essentially giving the two-fingered salute to the rest of the world in a ”we do what we want” attitude. Israel has shown no remorse or understanding for the Palestinians, ignoring their basic human rights to be free to live where they choose. They have divided families and the country by erecting Berlin-esque walls, mirroring a dark European past. They have bombarded Gaza for almost a week now, constantly, with American missiles. You claim that the majority of the 50 dead were insurgents or terrorists! How the hell do you know this? Where have you got your data from? Sky News? The Independent? Unfortunately in this country, and the West as a whole, our media is very one-sided and not a free from government pressure as we like to think. You briefly mentioned Assad’s regime in Syria also. I am not condoning the violence that has been reported there, but, you seem to have forgotten the other side of it. Surely you have seen the videos showing Syrian rebels, brutally slaughtering unarmed men as they lay cowering in a quivering pile on the floor. Or, the videos of postal workers bodies being thrown from the tops of buildings. The world isn’t as white and black as you are trying to paint it. There is no doubt in my mind that the Palestinian people are being violently oppressed by a US backed nation that only thinks about the consolation of itself, and ignore the continuing suffering of Palestinians. There are two sides to every story, my friend.

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    Mute Karl Power
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    Nov 18th 2012, 11:37 AM

    They seem to have more money than sense with the amount of rockets they are firing, I wonder would they give us a loan with the budget coming up ? Gilmore seems to a friend of Hamas, maybe he could get a decent interest rate before the meet with with their 72 virgins!

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    Mute Ruairi O' Sullivan
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    Nov 18th 2012, 2:02 PM

    Oh my sweet jesus, Karl, please stop typing… your making a complete fool of yourself with your mixture myth, hearsay, rumours and fox news.

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    Mute Jason Bourne
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    Nov 18th 2012, 11:55 AM

    If ye know your history then ye’ll know that the endgame is the same as it has been since the early 1900s.
    Get into Palentine and over time completely take it over.
    You can complicate and distort the above with claims on Anti-semitisim / Holocaust etc but the above fact remains.
    It really is that simple as regards to their plan. A mate of my over there has even told me this.

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    Mute Jason Naughton
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    Nov 18th 2012, 12:07 PM

    It’s also about sending a message to the wider world on Israel’s preparedness to face down Iran if and when that is needed. Netanyahu has always been a hawk – attack Hamas and then Iran. Obama now reelected can support will support all of this.

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    Mute Michael Fagan
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    Nov 18th 2012, 12:35 PM

    @ Jason , could also be a part if Netanyahu’s election strategy don’t forget Israel is in the middle of an election campaign , with increasing poverty and falling support for Likud.
    Remember Thatchers election war on Malvinas

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    Mute mattoid
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    Nov 18th 2012, 2:02 PM

    Whatever else about her (and there’s plenty of bad stuff) you can’t accuse Margaret Thatcher of starting the Falklands war!

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    Mute Kevin Mc Garry
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    Nov 18th 2012, 1:24 PM

    @journal.ie why are comments being deleted that are neither libellous or inflammatory? I had a quote from Menachem Begin deleted yesterday even though I included a source.

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    Mute Petr Tarasov
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    Nov 18th 2012, 2:24 PM

    Would be great to get an answer to this. On several Israel-related threads I’ve seen perfectly polite, factual, and even referenced comments vanish.

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    Mute Ru Ni Digs
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    Nov 18th 2012, 2:48 PM

    DItto.I noticed a large number of comments disappearing yesterday from Israel related articles.I also noticed a large number of Pro Israeli supporters who I have never seen posting here before,suddenly appearing and ironically enough,didn’t see many of their comments censored.Very suspicious indeed!!!

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    Nov 18th 2012, 2:56 PM
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    Mute voodoo_criminology
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    Nov 18th 2012, 3:04 PM

    They surely do. This is nothing compared to what things were like around the time of the Irish flotilla, was utterly crazy – guess there’s more territory for the spammers to cover this time around.

    Wonder where’s Barry Williams, who was caught encouraging his pals to register sock puppet accounts on here at that stage?

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    Mute Shanti Om
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    Nov 18th 2012, 3:16 PM

    To be fair the comments policy states that the comments aren’t actively moderated. In a sense they are moderated by the “report comment” button..
    After this I have no idea whether they are considered for deletion or if a certain number of reports = automatic deletion. If the latter is the case, and the thread was indeed inundated with one side who may have reacted angrily to the claims posted therein this could explain it.

    Mind you – the report function asks you for the reason, so perhaps a journal writer could clear this confusion up for us?

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    Mute Andrew
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    Nov 18th 2012, 6:31 PM

    Could someone in the Journal explain the function of the “Report this comment” link ? Does it automatically result in someone’s comment being removed ?

    I made a fair point yesterday – with citations – and it was deleted. The ‘reply’ link on the page also disappeared for me on that particular article.

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    Mute Revolting Peasant
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    Nov 19th 2012, 11:03 AM

    happened to me a few times Andrew, got no explanation from thejournal why non abusive comments are deleted and i get banned from commenting, seems to happen to me on just one particular reporters articles

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    Mute Robbie Farrell
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    Nov 18th 2012, 1:40 PM

    I’m absolutely baffled as to how the vast majority of Western Nations can support Israel. I’m not condoning the initial rocket attacks from the Palestinians, but, Israel’s response has been exceptionally disproportionate, as it always is from these supposed ‘victims’. You simply have to look at the number of casualties and deaths incurred on the Palestinian side, compared to the Israelis. I fully support the Palestinian fight against Israel’s oppressive campaign of expansion into, what was designated Palestinian territory by the UN. Israel shows no remorse for its actions. They have divided the Palestinian people by erecting massive walls to segregate vast sections of the country. This is something the mirrors post-war Germany, and something that we never thought we would see again, but, because Palestine is an Islamic country, with no financial or political muscle, the Western world doesn’t care, and supports Israel, even in the face of multiple war crimes. Israel shows complete contempt for any international pressure, and is a rogue ‘state’ that defies all requests from international peace organisations. Just look at their response to Irish Aid vessels a number of years ago, if you want to refresh your memory. Israel is lucky to even exist, let alone try to eradicate a vibrant people and state such as Palestine. This is an atrocity, and a modern outrage. It disgusts me that no EU leader has the bottle to speak out against this barbaric ‘defending’ that Israel continues apply. Let us just sit back and continue to listen to the one-sided media report the increasing number of Palestinian deaths. Shameful.

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    Mute Jason Naughton
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    Nov 18th 2012, 1:51 PM

    When 9/11 happened Palestinians celebrated openly on the streets of Gaza. Israel remained a committed ally if the US. That is why the West supports Israel.

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    Mute Jason Naughton
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    Nov 18th 2012, 1:51 PM

    When 9/11 happened Palestinians celebrated openly on the streets of Gaza. Israel remained a committed ally of the US. That is why the West supports Israel.

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    Mute Robbie Farrell
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    Nov 18th 2012, 2:06 PM

    @ Jason. So, you think the eye for an eye policy is appropriate? The US likes to paint itself a a defender of democracy and civil rights. Would you say that 75,000 Israeli soldiers attacking shanty towns in Gaza is abiding by conventional human rights? The US are incredibly hypocritical. They talk of how Iran has armed Hamas, yet, seem to have forgot their arming of almost every single rebel faction that sprouted up in a number of countries during the Arab Spring. Not to mention the incredible number of similar events over the course of the last century.

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    Mute Jason Naughton
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    Nov 18th 2012, 2:28 PM

    Two eyes for an eye is an appropriate response. Hitting them back much harder is why Iran and previously Iraq have always been wary of attacking Israel. The US defeated Nazi tyranny in Europe when Ireland sat on the sidelines – you forget to list that among their foreign policy actions?

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    Mute Bill Cohn
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    Nov 18th 2012, 4:58 PM

    Now Robert maybe if a few rockets hit your town from say the UK you might change your opinion. Your nothing more than a foreign goverment paid hired hand.

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    Mute Robbie Farrell
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    Nov 18th 2012, 5:46 PM

    @ Bill. Firstly, *you’re. Secondly, Ireland has been attacked by the UK in the past, you might want to do a little bit of research into it maybe. Thirdly, I wish I was a ‘hired hand’ as it would mean I’d have an income, which I currently do not. Just take a look at the latest figures on the death toll over the last few days Bill, then come back to me and let me know who’s suffering more in this most recent conflict. That was an absurd comment from you.

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    Mute Dec Rowe
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    Nov 18th 2012, 12:06 PM

    The Jewish people deserved to have somewhere to call their country after what they were put through at the hands of the Germans! So why was it that a portion of Germany wasn’t partitioned off for them?

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    Mute Paula Rita Tabakin
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    Nov 18th 2012, 12:35 PM

    The Zionest movement pre-dated WWII . And Israel was a haven for Middle Eastern Jews also fleeing .

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    Mute Dec Rowe
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    Nov 18th 2012, 1:06 PM

    The Jewish fled to a haven where arabs welcomed them, they didn’t persecuted them! Then Arabs were Rewarded by the international community dividing their country and have stood by since then while more of their land had been occupied bit by bit… Let’s be honest, Palestinian lands were always going to be easy to occupy than any european land given the resources that the Palestinians had/have to revolt compared to the masses of anti Jewish Europeans that would’ve Created a another holocaust if part Gemany had of become a Jewish state! Ownership rights over land really makes you see what kind of people live on this planet! Vile, disgusting creatures!

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    Mute Paula Rita Tabakin
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    Nov 18th 2012, 2:12 PM

    They certianly were not treated fairly in Arab lands , forced to pay taxes for being a minority and under constant fear . Christians in Egypt today are facing the same thing and that cannot be blamed on the founding of the democratic state of Israel.

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    Mute Dec Rowe
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    Nov 18th 2012, 2:38 PM

    You could say that foreigners living in Ireland are not fairly treated! But they are hardly being persecuted! The part of the world that succeeded in wiping out millions of Jewish in the space of just a few years sits on the thrown of Europe at the moment! While the Palestinians, who allowed them into their lands were and still are being punished! For what? The Jewish community deserve to have a country of their own… And they deserve to defend it! I just don’t agree that Palestinian lands should have be given to them!

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    Mute Paula Rita Tabakin
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    Nov 18th 2012, 5:15 PM

    I wonder if minority ethnic groups in Ireland would agree that they are not persecuted ! The abuse some of the refugees I have met would say other wise.

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    Mute Dec Rowe
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    Nov 18th 2012, 7:58 PM

    People get abuse every day in Ireland regardless of their ethnicity! Wouldn’t call it persecution!!! What’s happening to the Palestinians would be classed as persecution in my opinion! The Israelis seem to want complete control of all that Land! I don’t think they should’ve been allowed any rights to that land in the first place! Not without complete acceptance from the Palestinians!

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    Mute Val Kearney
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    Nov 18th 2012, 12:49 PM

    Operation Wipe Out The Remaining Green Bits.

    http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_ljc09cbaPk1qf4rwdo1_500.jpg

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    Mute Richard Lennon
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    Nov 18th 2012, 11:03 AM

    We should send in the Irish army the best peace keepers in the UN

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    Mute Mjhint
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    Nov 18th 2012, 11:17 AM

    Richard while the parties of god are involved in this on both sides there will be no peace. Both of these groups believe in the ending of the world by their particular beliefs & saving their souls & eternal life by doing so which is a belief without foundation or evidence. I dont see peace anytime soon. Until moderates or secularists step in its pretty grim looking.

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    Mute Anthony Bartley
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    Nov 18th 2012, 11:21 AM

    The Irish army are there already observing ,one contingent recently arrived home and another contingent will be there for Christmas . To all who disagrees that they are not the best UN contingent you are all wrong , I’m ex Irish army myself and the Irish Army are well respected all over the word including Lebanon , the local people as with in and around that area !!!!

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    Mute Petr Tarasov
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    Nov 18th 2012, 11:22 AM

    Nonsense. The conflict is about land, very little to do with religion.

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    Mute Mjhint
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    Nov 18th 2012, 12:06 PM

    petr there are extreme groups within the Israeli government that believe if they bring all the jews into Israel the mesiah will come & the other fools like hamas believe in islamic world domination. They all say their god gave them the land. So while the problem is land the auctioneer is supernatural & this is a huge problem.

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    Mute Niall Carson
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    Nov 18th 2012, 8:13 PM

    Am I correct in saying Israel have killed more Irish soldiers than any other nation?

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    Mute Karl Power
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    Nov 18th 2012, 11:57 AM

    @ michael Fagan, I didn’t know that about the sad loss of a 14 year old child, 750 rockets blindly fired into Israel after this incident if it’s true is a little excessive to say the least by Hamas!

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    Mute werejammin
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    Nov 18th 2012, 12:49 PM

    Nothing about the 700+ bombs dropped by israel so far or the fact that theres 50+ dead palestinians compared to 3 dead israelis.

    Y’know, while you’re talking about excessive.

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    Mute voodoo_criminology
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    Nov 18th 2012, 2:58 PM

    “750 rockets blindly fired into Israel after this incident”

    Untrue. Even by the most partisan estimates, there were hardly 750 rockets fired into Israel in the past year.

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    Mute Paula Rita Tabakin
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    Nov 18th 2012, 12:44 PM

    What I would say to the many “human rights” activists claiming that the goal is freedom for Palestine , I guarantee you that Hamas will not be offering freedom to their own people.

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    Mute werejammin
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    Nov 18th 2012, 1:21 PM

    You speak of freedom for palestinians, yet apparently support a government who imprisons and blockades a million of them in Gaza.

    Nice.

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    Mute Revolting Peasant
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    Nov 18th 2012, 3:11 PM

    hamas would not be in power if there was no anger due to israeli actions

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    Mute Elliot Auerbacher
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    Nov 18th 2012, 12:55 PM

    Gazans elected Hamas and do nothing to stop the rockets attacks……they are ALL complicit.

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    Mute werejammin
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    Nov 18th 2012, 1:10 PM

    You including the children born since the Gazan elections who have been killed by Israeli defence forces in that statement elliot? Y’know, the same Israeli defence force you have pictured on your facebook banner saluting the Israeli flag.

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    Mute Paula Rita Tabakin
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    Nov 18th 2012, 1:16 PM

    That wasn’t really an election , on the other hand it is the peoples responsibility to stand up to corrupt leadership. But then again how can you when you are scared.

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    Mute werejammin
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    Nov 18th 2012, 1:23 PM

    According to the nternational observers who were there, it was most certainly an election, enough of an election in fact for aid to be cut off to gaza by america because they elected the wrong people.

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    Mute voodoo_criminology
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    Nov 18th 2012, 1:39 PM

    Sounds a lot like you’re trying to justify collective punishment there, Elliot. Which, of course, is a war crime under the Geneva Conventions. A war crime of which Israel has been guilty on a consistent basis for at least the past five years.

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    Mute Lion Heart
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    Nov 18th 2012, 2:37 PM

    Every country has a right to defend itself and it’s people. If the people of Gaza don’t want to face the Israeli army then they should stop firing rockets at civilians in Israel,

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    Mute Shanti Om
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    Nov 18th 2012, 3:27 PM

    By the same logic, if Israel want Hamas to stop bombing them, perhaps they should cease building illegal settlements?
    There’s insult on both sides, but you must remember that Israel is the invader, they are essentially a military occupier – you can call what they are doing many things, but “defence” is not an accurate description.

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    Mute Fran Rooney
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    Nov 18th 2012, 3:29 PM

    Spoke like a true ill informed loon! The ‘People of Gaza’ just want dignity and to live without being blown into a million pieces!

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    Mute voodoo_criminology
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    Nov 18th 2012, 4:06 PM

    So seems that Lion Heart’s one of those English Defence League pro-Israelis? Tell me chief, how do you keep your head from exploding with the cognitive dissonance that must be going on there?

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    Mute Paula Rita Tabakin
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    Nov 18th 2012, 2:19 PM

    I am a bit frightened how vicious and nasty the Israel bashers are on these sights ! I am more and more inclined to believe that the solution sought is no less then the total disapearance of the State of Israel . No wonder we feel like we have to defend our existance.

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    Mute voodoo_criminology
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    Nov 18th 2012, 2:32 PM

    And I wonder at how blinkered, belligerent and contemptuous of both dissent and Palestinian lives many of Israel’s supporters are on here.

    Reality doesn’t come into it, it’s just a steady drumbeat of “Israel = good, Palestinian civilians = Hamas and Hamas = bad”. As if that justifies Israel’s genocidal policies over the past quarter century.

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    Mute werejammin
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    Nov 18th 2012, 2:55 PM

    Its not israels existence you seem to be defending paula, its israels crimes against humanity.

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    Mute Petr Tarasov
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    Nov 18th 2012, 3:00 PM

    A bit frightened? Oh give over!

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    Mute Fran Rooney
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    Nov 18th 2012, 3:35 PM

    @Paula

    Well then go comment on the jerusalem post or somewhere like that if you’re soooooo frightened!

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    Mute Ru Ni Digs
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    Nov 18th 2012, 4:08 PM

    Seen as this was deleted yesterday I will post it again.As Yoav Shamir’s excellent documentary explains that this sort of warped thinking is taught to Israeli children in school,that the whole world is against Israel,installing an us against them mentality,brainwashing if you will : http://www.movie2k.to/Defamation-watch-movie-550404.html

    Btw Yoav Shamir is an Israeli Jew!!!

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    Mute Jason Culligan
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    Nov 18th 2012, 4:26 PM

    I have yet to see anyone who has voiced any opinion about destroying Israel. I think this has been the key problem with Israel today and in the past. Somehow criticism has come to equal a threat to your very existence. I in no way would like to see Israel removed from the map, but that does not mean I will not call the state of Israel out for being hypocritical and a war criminal.

    Is Palestine innocent? Not in the slightest. Does that justify destroying anything resembling a state asset and killing huge swathes of civilians in the process? Clearly it doesn’t. But nobody can point that out without being accused of everything from anti-semitism to looking for Israel to be destroyed or religious extremism.

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    Mute Revolting Peasant
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    Nov 18th 2012, 4:42 PM

    @Jason, point well made, i have often been accused of antisemitism for pointing out israeli war crimes, its as if they should get a carte blanch to operate however they want because of what happened in the past

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    Mute Mick Jordan
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    Nov 18th 2012, 12:25 PM

    How many Palestinians are there? If they really wanted to regain their homeland why not accept Israeli citizenship form one united Palestinian party and fight in the elections. With enough support they could even form a government. And at the very least force a referendum on the Israeli constitution. And if the Israelies refused them citizenship they would need to give a reason why. And if they claimed that Israel was an exclusively Jewish state they could no longer point the finger at the Saudi’s or Iran and say they are intolerant of other religions

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    Mute Gavan Duffy
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    Nov 18th 2012, 1:22 PM

    Mick, you have hit the nail on the head as regards the problems facing the Israeli government. They cannot give citizenship to all of the Palestinians in the lands they control as they would become a minority in the country. They want to keep the land but not the people on it, so they either drive them out, which the international community will never accept, or keep them living in enclaves controlled by the IDF as second class citizens as seems to be their present policy and hope the Palestinians get sick of it and leave of their own accord ,or stay and don’t make too much trouble. Many secular Israelis realise this problem and support a two state solution that the continued building of settlements is destroying, but unfortunately they are being out bred by religious Jews who vote for the current right wing government and believe they have a biblical claim to all of historic Palestine , most of them don’t work or serve in the armed forces. On the other side the longer the occupation goes on the more Palestinians are turning to the hard line taken by Hamas and away from Fatah who have been willing to negotiate for years.

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    Mute Jason Culligan
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    Nov 18th 2012, 1:36 PM

    What a ridiculous statement. By your logic every nation in the world who has or is fighting an oppressor and occupier should allow themselves to be annexed.

    Ever hear of gerrymandering? That one process would make your entire suggestion redundant and it is very easy to do.

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    Mute Mick Jordan
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    Nov 18th 2012, 2:25 PM

    Jason Jason Israel is fact. Its not going away no matter how much wishful thinking the Palestinians and their allies have. So if you can’t change it from without change it from within. The Palestinians can cry woe is me all they like and lob as many rockets as they like its going to change nothing. The only way they will ever be able to influence Israeli policy is from a position of power within Israel .

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    Mute Jason Culligan
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    Nov 18th 2012, 4:17 PM

    My god Mick you are delusional. You completely ignored my point about gerrymandering, probably because you already know that makes your point impossible. That doesn’t include the fact that there were 2 states that were supposed to be created, Israel and Palestine. The Israeli’s have ignored the foundation of the agreement which lead to the existence of an Israeli state. Now they’re doing their utmost best to destroy anything resembling a state infrastructure and preventing Palestine from developing and providing for its people. Makes it easier to annex like a true conqueror I would say. If they are so brutally trying to eliminate any resemblance of statehood in Palestine, what makes you think they would give Palestinians living in this conquering nation you so badly want any sort of free will?

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    Mute watchmaker101
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    Nov 18th 2012, 3:59 PM

    Tragic situation. Hamas are the common enemy of all decent Gazans and Palestians.

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    Mute Simon Blake
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    Nov 18th 2012, 12:41 PM

    They should enjoy it while the can. The tables will turn eventually and payback is inevitable.

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    Mute Bill Cohn
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    Nov 18th 2012, 4:53 PM

    Wonder how the you Irish would feel if a foreign country launched rockets into your country. Israel has the right to defend herself and you Irish are no more than Moral Imperialist who hate the Jewish people.

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    Mute Revolting Peasant
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    Nov 18th 2012, 5:28 PM

    stupidest post by far

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    Mute Revolting Peasant
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    Nov 18th 2012, 6:07 PM

    we were in the same position as the plaestinians for 800 years mate, maybe you should be aware of who you are talking to

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    Mute Ayelet Bitan
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    Nov 18th 2012, 4:03 PM

    500 missiles on Israel, 3 people dead, 5 ate severly wounded, one child severly wounded, 1 baby wounded,1.5 million people under attack, in bomb shelters. do u care???

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    Mute voodoo_criminology
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    Nov 18th 2012, 5:10 PM

    I do. I also care about the fact that 65 were killed in Gaza today alone. There are two sides to this.

    I am particularly bothered by reports that Ahmed Jabari and Hamas were negotiating peace at the time of his assassination, and that rocket attacks had almost totally been curtailed in the days immediately preceding his assassination. Any views on this?

    http://m.dailykos.com/story/2012/11/15/1161891/-Israeli-newspaper-Israel-attacked-Gaza-knowing-truce-was-in-the-works

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    Mute Sean Beag
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    Nov 18th 2012, 3:02 PM

    Only so many times you can poke a bear before it gets pissed.

    I’m interested in seeing how they incorporate this flare up into the new season of NCIS

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    Mute Bill Cohn
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    Nov 18th 2012, 5:43 PM

    Thought some of you anti Israel idiots might like to view some of the truth.

    http://elderofziyon.blogspot.com/

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    Mute Revolting Peasant
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    Nov 18th 2012, 6:03 PM

    who is anti-israel? being opposed to israeli war crimes does not mean people want to see the end of israel, or does israeli aggression amount to israel as an entity?

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    Mute werejammin
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    Nov 18th 2012, 6:03 PM

    LOL! The elders of zion?? Would you mind not pollution a reputable news site with your zionist propaganda filth blogs please?

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    Mute Revolting Peasant
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    Nov 18th 2012, 6:05 PM

    hilarious, its on a par with mccarthyite ‘prrof’

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    Mute Revolting Peasant
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    Nov 18th 2012, 6:06 PM

    *proof

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    Mute Mel McDermott
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    Nov 18th 2012, 11:55 PM

    The nonsense of the ‘proportionality’ fetish: If Israel had fired exactly the same number and same type of rockets indiscriminately into Gaza as the number fired indiscriminately by Hamas from there in the past week — that would be over 400 rockets — it takes little insight to realise that the number of Palestinian casualties would certainly be far greater by now than it is as a result of Israel’s pin-point attacks on Hamas infrastructure.

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    Mute Mel McDermott
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    Nov 19th 2012, 12:55 AM

    This is the factual background you need to know in order to understand this conflict: When the Turkish (Ottoman) Empire broke up at the end of the First World War, a vast area of 723,000 sq. km was entrusted by the League of Nations to Great Britain and France to be prepared for independent statehood. Of this area, 85.3 per cent became the modern Arab states of Iraq, Syria and Lebanon. The other 14.7 per cent (about 106,000 sq. km.) became the original British Mandate of Palestine. In 1921, the British closed off 81,000 sq. km of this to Jewish settlement and gave it to a Saudi prince to become the Arab Kingdom of Transjordan (later Jordan).
    Thus four Arab states got a total of 697,000 sq. km ( 96.5 per cent) of the Ottoman territory . What was left was the part of Palestine west of the Jordan river = the ancestral homeland of the Jewish people = a quarter of historic Palestine or 3.5 per cent of the Ottoman total.
    This tiny area, smaller than Munster, was further subdivided by the United Nations in 1947 to provide for a Jewish state and yet another Arab state. The Arabs inside and outside Palestine rejected this resolution and launched a war against the Jewish people living there, a war they lost. Had they accepted the resolution as the Jews did, and lived in peace with Israel, Palestine would today be the world’s 23rd Arab state, while Israel would still be the world’s only Jewish state. Not only that, but Palestine would be twice as big as the biggest it can ever be in a future peace agreement that settled the ‘green line’ as the border.
    So Israel, even with the ‘occupied’ West Bank, takes up a mere 3.5 per cent of former Turkish lands. Throw in the countries of the Arabian peninsula, and you have Arab states occupying 99.3 per cent of the whole Middle East while Israel occupies 0.7 per cent.
    Now what could be the reason for such hatred of such a tiny country? It’s the fact that it is stolen land — but not stolen Arab land, rather stolen Islamic land. Today Malaysian Muslims were demonstrating in Kuala Lumpur, thousands of miles away, demanding that Israel be crushed! It’s doubtful if many Malaysians could find Israel on a map, but they all know it was once Muslim land and is now ruled by infidels, but under Islamic law must return to Islamic rule. Those who think the conflict has nothing to do with religion have no understanding of the political nature of Islam. There, my friends, you have the real engine of this conflict.

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    Mute Mel McDermott
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    Nov 18th 2012, 11:52 PM

    The nonsense of the ‘proportionality’ fetish: If Israel had fired exactly the same number and same type of rockets indiscriminately into Gaza as the number fired indiscriminately by Hamas from there in the past week — that would be over 400 rockets — it takes little insight to realise that the number of Palestinian casualties would certainly be far greater by now than it is as a result of Israel’s pin-point attacks on Hamas infrastructure.

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