The Israeli military confirmed the earlier airstrike and the launch of a ground operation targeting “tunnels and other terror infrastructure” in the Khan Younis area, saying its troops were periodically coming under fire.
Since June 28, Israel has waged a prolonged offensive in Gaza with the stated goals of retrieving a soldier captured by Palestinians and stopping rocket attacks on its territory. A UN special envoy for human rights, John Dugard, has accused Israel of unleashing “collective punishment” in the territory, declaring last month that some 260 Palestinians had been killed and 800 injured in the operation.
Check out Kel's post. Heathlander goes a bit further:
U.S, Israel and Abbas shamefully subvert Palestinian democracy for their own ends.
This is from Haaretz:
At least 20 Palestinians have been killed by the IDF since Thursday, when it stepped up its Gaza offensive. The military says the operation is aimed at halting Qassam rocket fire at southern Israel. On Friday, three Israelis were lightly wounded when Qassams fell in the Sderot area.
Seven gunmen were killed and 15 others wounded on Saturday morning in an IAF strike east of Gaza City, close to the Gaza-Israel border, security officials said. All of the dead were later identified as members of Hamas.
Palestinian sources said that most of those wounded in the strike were also militants. Two of the wounded were in serious condition, and a woman was also among those hurt. Witnesses said ambulances driving to the scene came under fire.
I have a question (or two) for you; who do you think has something to gain from keeping the status quo and not engaging in any peaceful actions? What do you believe are some of the ulterior motives some/any party-ies have/has?
A while ago Israel withdrawal, completely by the way, from Gaza. It didn't stop the daily rockets from falling on Israeli towns, as they keep falling now.
ReplyDeleteThe question why is Israel keep attacking Gaza should be, maybe, why rockets kept falling on Israel?
rogel, with Gaza Israel returned space but not sovereignty. It retained control over even the minutae of Gazan life, aswell as borders and airspace. Effectively, what it did was shut the cage and lock the Palestinians in.
ReplyDeleteSecondly, Gaza and the West Bank are to be considered as one unit. If resistance is justified in the West Bank, and it is, then it is also justified in Gaza. Can you imagine if only Tel Aviv was occupied - would only residents of Tel Aviv have a right to resist, but no those from Haifa?
As to your question, Ingrid, I'd say simply that the Israeli military and political leadership (often one and the same) still feel that they can carry on the occupation for ever. Many still feel that they can expand the occupation to include all the land up to the river - in other words, the 'transfer' option. And perhaps they're right; as long as Israel retains the unconditional support of the US no-one can really touch it, and it can keep up the occupation forever. I think that's been a major driving force in Israel policy. It explains the strategy of endless negotiations, often regressing to flat out rejectionism. It's because those in power in Israel think that they are in no hurry, and will wait as long as it takes before a situation arises where you've got a Palestinian leadership willing to make huge concessions in a settlement deal with Israel. I'm talking concessions on the scale of Camp David. That, incidentally, is why they are so keen to topple Hamas.