Israel lanceert grondoffensief in de Gaza Strook

 

Het gaat vooralsnog om een beperkte operatie, waarbij vooral de plaatsen van waaruit de raketten op Israel worden afgevuurd worden bezet.

 

-------------

 

Israel launches ground offensive in the Gaza Strip http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1052299.html

By Amos Harel, Yoav Stern and Yanir Yagana, Haaretz Correspondents, and News Agencies

Israel entered the second week of its offensive against rockets from Hamas-ruled Gaza on Saturday evening by launching a much-expected ground operation into the coastal strip.  Shortly after the ground operation began, exchange of fire was reported between Israeli troops and Hamas militants inside the Gaza Strip. "The objective is to destroy the Hamas terror infrastructure in the area of operations," said Israel Defense Forces Major Avital Leibovitch, a military spokeswoman, confirming that incursions were under way. "We are going to take some of the launch areas used by Hamas." The IDF Spokesperson's office issued a statement, emphasizing that this stage of the operation will further the goals of the eight-day offensive as voiced by the IDF until now: To strike a direct and hard blow against the Hamas while increasing the deterrent strength of the IDF, in order to bring about an improved and more stable security situation for residents of Southern Israel over the long term. Large numbers of forces are taking part in this stage of the operation including infantry, tanks, engineering forces, artillery and intelligence with the support of the Israel Air Force, Israel navy, the Shin Bet security service and other security agencies. The invasion was preceded by the firing of artillery shells into the strip from military preparation sites dotted along the Gaza-Israel border. Palestinian witnesses said the artillery barrage caused a large explosion in Gaza City as well as a series of blasts stitching the nearby frontier with Israel. Channel 10 television quoted a witness as saying that Israel was shelling targets along the entire length of the shared border. At one tank base along the border, the roar of tank engines and the rumble of their movements toward the border could be heard after dark, though none moved across the frontier. Hamas officials also reported tank movement toward the border near the northern Erez crossing point. Defense officials said some 10,000 troops, including tank, artillery and special operations units, were massed on the Gaza border and prepared to invade. They said top commanders were split over whether to send in ground forces, in part because such an operation could lead to heavy casualties but also because they believe Hamas already has been dealt a heavy blow. A family in Beit Lahiya said that an Israeli artillery shell had hit a house there, wounding many people. Ambulances could not immediately reach them because of the resulting fire, they said. Meanwhile, Israel Air Force warplanes stepped up airstrikes on Gaza, bombing the main road that runs throughout the strip in three different spots, making travel from one side of the Strip to the other close to impossible. Palestinian health officials in Gaza reported Saturday evening that 13 people had been killed in another IAF bombing of a mosque in Beit Lahiya. They said that 26 Palestinians had died in IAF raids after dark Saturday. The air force struck more than 40 Hamas targets over the course of Saturday, killing the third senior Hamas official since Israel's aerial assault began. On Saturday morning, Israel Radio quoted a spokesman for the Hamas military wing as saying it had repelled an attempt by Israel Defense Forces soldiers to infiltrate the Shajaiyeh section of Gaza City. According to Israel Radio, Hamas said that its militants detected the soldiers and fired six mortar shells. Hamas said the soldiers reportedly opened fire and then returned to Israeli territory.

Trouw Podium: 'Geweld Israël in Gaza is niet buiten proportie'

 

Israëls campagne in Gaza niet buitenproportioneel

http://www.zionism-israel.com/blog/archives/00000338.html

IMO Blog, 3 januari 2009

Onderstaand opiniestuk staat vandaag in ingekorte vorm in Trouw.

Geweld Israël in Gaza is niet buiten proportie

De Israëlische bombardementen op de Gazastrook worden, zoals bijna iedere Israëlische militaire operatie, alom als buitenproportioneel bestempeld, zo ook in Trouw. Zowel in het hoofdcommentaar als een opiniestuk door Tijs Berman en Tineke Bennema wordt de operatie afgekeurd, gesteld dat alleen de extremisten baat hebben bij het geweld en gepleit voor hervatting van het vredesproces.

De vraag is echter: wat is proportioneel? Israëls raketten zijn onnoemelijk effectiever dan die van Hamas. Mag Israël alleen terugschieten met even primitieve raketten als Hamas, en mag het maar evenveel doden en gewonden veroorzaken als Hamas doet? En geldt dat dan alleen voor burgerdoden of ook voor strijders? Mag Israël pas aanvallen nadat Hamas een school vol kinderen heeft getroffen? Er bestaat geen norm in het oorlogsrecht dat een partij, indien aangevallen, slechts eenzelfde hoeveelheid geweld mag gebruiken. Daarmee zou het immers welhaast onmogelijk worden voor landen zich met succes te verdedigen tegen andere staten, laat staan tegen guerrillalegers of milities. Het zou dergelijke groeperingen een vrijbrief geven om (burgers van) een ander land aan te vallen.
Ieder doel dat de vijand militair voordeel oplevert, is geoorloofd in een oorlog, daar vallen ook niet strikt militaire doelen onder zoals infrastructuur en industriële complexen.


Hamas heeft sinds Israëls terugtrekking uit de Gazastrook in 2005 meer dan 6000 raketten en mortiergranaten op Israëlische steden en dorpen afgevuurd, waarvan zo'n 3000 in het afgelopen jaar, met als doel zoveel mogelijk mensen te doden en verwonden en het zuiden van Israël onleefbaar te maken. Dat dat tot nu toe niet beter is gelukt, doet aan die intentie niets af. Ondanks het kleine aantal fatale slachtoffers maken de raketten een normaal leven voor honderdduizenden mensen onmogelijk. De raketten worden steeds beter en kunnen nu ook de steden Ashdod en Beersheva bereiken, waar bij elkaar meer dan een half miljoen mensen leven. Moet Israël wachten totdat Hamas tienduizenden raketten heeft die heel Israël kunnen treffen?

Israël heeft lang gewacht met haar offensief vanwege het risico op burgerslachtoffers, en omdat zonder een grondoffensief Hamas niet echt is te verslaan, terwijl dat juist tot veel slachtoffers aan beide kanten kan leiden. Jarenlang heeft de regering de druk van rechts en van de bewoners in het betroffen gebied weerstaan. Dat dit offensief de extremisten en rechts in Israël in de kaart zou spelen, is dan ook onjuist. Rechts won juist aan populariteit vanwege de passiviteit van de regering, die haar eigen burgers niet zou kunnen beschermen. Hamas is zelf een extremistische groepering, die uit is op het 'bevrijden' van geheel Palestina door middel van de Jihad. Zolang Hamas deze doelstelling niet opgeeft, is geen vrede mogelijk en valt over niets anders te praten dan weer een wankel staakt-het-vuren, dat elk moment verbroken kan worden en geen duurzame veiligheid biedt. Een verzwakt Hamas zal eerder concessies doen aan de Palestijnse Autoriteit van president Abbas en dat zal de vrede bevorderen. Wellicht kan een staakt-het-vuren na Israëls operatie vergezeld gaan van de eis de macht in Gaza met de PA te delen en de situatie van voor de machtsovername van Hamas te herstellen. Hamas' populariteit is overigens al een tijdje tanende, zowel in de Gazastrook als op de Westoever.

Bennema en Berman stellen dat de blokkade van Gaza de oorzaak is dat Hamas het bestand verbrak. Deze (gedeeltelijke) blokkade is echter pas ingesteld nadat Hamas in een bloedige coup de macht greep in de Gazastrook, de EU waarnemers aan de Egyptische grens wegstuurde en de raketaanvallen op Israël opvoerde. Ook grensovergangen werden veelvuldig aangevallen. Israël leverde Gaza stroom, brandstof, cement en andere zaken die Hamas tevens gebruikte bij de opbouw van haar militaire vleugel. Het is uniek in de geschiedenis dat een land gedwongen is zijn vijand te bevoorraden. Medewerkers van de elektriciteitscentrale in Ashkelon hadden er moeite mee dat zij stroom leverden aan Gaza terwijl zijzelf doelwit waren. Toch is de stroomtoevoer slechts tijdelijk en met enkele procenten teruggebracht.

Het is Hamas dat haar eigen burgers gijzelt en misbruikt in haar strijd tegen Israël, dat hun welzijn opoffert om haar imago te handhaven van volhardende en zuivere verzetsgroep. Regeren vergt echter per definitie het sluiten van compromissen en gaat niet samen met gewapend verzet. Hamas moet kiezen of het een politieke partij of een militie wil zijn, en de internationale gemeenschap moet dan ook weigeren met Hamas te praten zolang zij het geweld niet afzweert.

Berman en Bennema willen het associatieverdrag als drukmiddel tegen Israël gebruiken met een reeks van eisen aan dat land. Hoewel zij pro forma ook de Palestijnse raketbeschietingen veroordelen, worden aan Hamas en de Palestijnen verder geen eisen gesteld. De schuld en verantwoordelijkheid voor de huidige escalatie, en het conflict in het algemeen, wordt geheel bij Israël gelegd. De bouw in nederzettingen moet inderdaad stoppen, net als de corruptie en het wanbestuur in de PA, en het verheerlijken van geweld in Palestijnse media, en beide partijen moeten hun extremisten harder aanpakken. De EU en Nederland moeten daarin een constructieve rol spelen en zeker niet van Israël eisen dat het onderhandelt met groeperingen die haar bestaansrecht niet erkennen en geweld tegen burgers als middel beschouwen om hun doel te bereiken. Het is van hieruit makkelijk oordelen over wat Israël moet doen om tot vrede te komen, maar het zijn Israëlische burgers die al jarenlang door de raketten van Hamas worden beschoten.

Ratna Pelle

Buitenland betrokken bij schending mensenrechten door Palestijnen

Buitenland betrokken bij schending mensenrechten door Palestijnen

Amanda Kluveld, 02-01-2009 18:28

 

Fatah en Hamas doodden in 2007 meer Palestijjnen dan Israël
http://extra.volkskrant.nl/opinie/artikel/show/id/2308/Buitenland_betrokken_bij_schending_mensenrechten_door_Palestijnen

 

 

Sinds april 2006 vinden in Gaza en op de Westelijke Jordaanoever ernstige mensenrechtenschendingen plaats door Fatah en Hamas.
Er wordt gemarteld en er worden willekeurige arrestaties en schijnexecuties uitgevoerd. Lichaamsdelen van gevangenen worden geamputeerd en de menselijke waardigheid wordt aangetast. De vrijheid van meningsuiting en het recht op vereniging worden geschonden.

 

In de periode van één week in juni 2007 stierven zo 144 Palestijnen in Gaza. Onder de doden waren 41 burgers te betreuren, waarvan 11 vrouwen en 7 kinderen. 700 Palestijnen raakten toen gewond. In 2007 zijn in totaal 490 Palestijnen omgekomen door intern geweld. Door Fatah en Hamas zijn dat jaar meer Palestijnse doden gevallen dan door toedoen van Israël.

 

De president van de Palestijnse autoriteit Mahmoud Abbas en de door Fatah gedomineerde veiligheidsdiensten worden door de VS gefinancierd. De veiligheidsdiensten en presidentiële garde worden door Washington en de Jordaanse politie getraind. De EU traint de civiele politie. Hamas krijgt geld en steun van onder andere Iran.

 

Geen van de financierende partijen schenkt aandacht aan de mensenrechtenschendingen die begaan worden door de organisaties die zij ondersteunen en opleiden. Zowel de westerse als de Arabische wereld is dus betrokken bij mensenrechtenschendingen door Palestijnen.

 

De wereldgemeenschap heeft Hamas nooit veroordeeld wanneer het Israël bestookte met raketten en mortieren.

In 2008 werd een regen van 1750 raketten en 1528 mortiergranaten op het Israëlisch territorium afgevuurd. Dat was meer dan een verdubbeling ten opzichte van 2007. Het ging niet uitsluitend om de weinig krachtige Qassam-raketten, maar ook om Grad-raketten met een aanzienlijk groter bereik.

 

Nu Israël zich verdedigt tegen de raketaanvallen wordt dat, behalve door de Duitse premier Angela Merkel, wereldwijd als excessief geweld veroordeeld. Daarbij wordt vergeten dat Israël zich lange tijd terughoudend heeft opgesteld terwijl de raketaanvallen alleen maar toenamen tegen het einde van 2008.

 

Van Israël wordt nu gevraagd te onderhandelen met Hamas, een organisatie die uit is op vernietiging van de staat en die, met steun van Iran, Palestijnen onderdrukt. Zolang Europa, de VS en de Arabische wereld geen verantwoordelijkheid nemen voor, rekenschap afleggen over en elkaar aanspreken op hun rol in het conflict, kan moeilijk van Israël gevraagd worden bij te dragen aan en zich te laten inzetten voor een internationale legitimering van Hamas.

 

 

Geen humanitaire crisis in Gaza volgens IDF

 

Het is soms moeilijk uit te maken wie te geloven. Het IDF stelt het hier waarschijnlijk wat te rooskleurig voor, maar de eindeloze mantra over een humanitaire crisis en het 'uithongeren' van de bevolking schijnt vooral propaganda van Palestijnse kant te zijn.

Dit wordt al geroepen sinds het begin in 2007 van de gedeeltelijke Israelische blokkade en invoerbeperkingen. Een video uit Gaza van begin december geeft daarentegen geen blijk van voedselschaarste, en ook auto's rijden er volop in Gaza.

 

Wouter

___________

 

IDF coordination chief: There is no humanitarian crisis
Yaakov Katz , THE JERUSALEM POST

Jan. 1, 2009
www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1230733138893&pagename=JPArticle%2FSho

 

Hamas terrorists are using civilian infrastructure in the Gaza Strip - including hospitals, mosques and areas next to offices of international aid groups - to conduct terrorist activity and fire rockets at Israel, Col. Moshe Levi, commander of the IDF's Gaza Coordination and Liaison Administration (CLA), said Thursday.

Levi, who is in charge of coordinating humanitarian efforts in the Gaza Strip, told The Jerusalem Post that since Sunday over 330 trucks carrying food, medicine and medical supplies had been allowed into the Gaza Strip despite the daily rocket barrages against the South.

In addition, the CLA has facilitated the transfer of 10 ambulances and 2,000 blood units to Gaza, and has approved a Palestinian request to allow three Gazans wounded in the fighting into Israel for medical treatment, Levi said.

He rejected Palestinian claims of a humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip. "Hamas is trying to create the appearance of a humanitarian crisis, but together with the international organizations, we are preventing this from happening," he said.

Levi said Israel was prepared to accept additional wounded Palestinians for medical treatment, but that the Palestinians had not submitted a request. He said 80 wounded had been allowed into Egypt for treatment as well.

The CLA commander said it was possible that Hamas was preventing wounded from leaving Gaza for medical treatment, but that either way, the health system in Gaza was "stabilizing" and that there were 2,200 beds available for the wounded.

"We asked if they wanted to send us more, and they said they were managing," Levi said. "In recent years, the hospital system has improved in Gaza, and today there are hospitals in every district in the Strip."

Levi backed up comments made by Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) chief Yuval Diskin that Hamas operatives were conducting operations inside Gaza's Shifa Hospital and in mosques.

"Hamas uses civilian infrastructure to shoot at us," he said. "They fire from next to buildings that belong to international organizations and from within urban centers."
The Palestinian people, he said, understood that Hamas was responsible for Operation Cast Lead and that Israel had made this clear by launching only surgical air strikes at Hamas targets.

"The IAF is focused on Hamas installations and Hamas officials who are known to the Palestinian people," he said. "The Palestinian street knows that our operations are directed solely against Hamas."

Tientallen Hamas doelen getroffen in Gaza

 

Een overzicht van de gebeurtenissen in Gaza vrijdag.

 

________________

 

Report: Hamas says it foiled IDF infiltration attempt in Gaza

 

By Amos Harel and Yoav Stern, Haaretz Correspondents, and News Agencies

Last update - 05:50 03/01/2009

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1052034.html

 

 

A spokesman for the military wing of Hamas said early Saturday morning that it foiled an attempt by Israel Defense Forces soldiers to infiltrate the Shajaiyeh section of Gaza City, Israel Radio reported.

According to Israel Radio, the spokesperson said that after Hamas militants detected the IDF soldiers, Hamas gunmen fired six mortar shells at them.

The soldiers reportedly returned fire and then retreated into Israeli territory.

The Israel Air Force on Friday pressed on with its assault on Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip, bombing the home of Hamas member Mohammed Madhoun, who was responsible for rocket attacks against Israel.

Madhoun's house was also used as a laboratory for the manufacturing of rockets and explosive devices and as a storage facility for rockets, mortar shells, and various weapons.

At least eight people, among them five children, have been killed in Israeli airstrikes in Gaza on Friday. In all, the IAF reportedly hit 35 Hamas targets throughout the day Friday.

Earlier Friday, the IAF targeted the home of Hamas military wing commander Imad Akel, a senior Hamas operative. His house was used as a large storage facility for weapons. Akel was the founder and one of the men heading Hamas' rocket and mortar efforts, in addition to being a weapons manufacturer. Large secondary explosions were seen following the attack proving the presence of large amounts of weaponry.

The IAF also bombed the residence of former Hamas minister Atef Adwan. Adwan was the Minister of Prisoner Affairs in the government of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh.

Also on Friday afternoon, the IAF resumed its assault on the Philadelphi route tunnels, used to smuggle supplied into the Strip from Egypt.

Earlier Friday, IAF planes, in coordination with the Shin Bet, bombed the home of senior Hamas activist Mohammed Matouk. The IDF said that Matouk's home was being used by militants as a weapons storehouse and factory, and that a smuggling tunnel had been dug underneath the building.

Before dawn, Israeli aircraft hit 15 houses belonging to Hamas militants, Palestinians said. They said the Israelis either warned nearby residents by phone or fired a warning missile to reduce civilian casualties.

Late Thursday, IAF aircraft struck a mosque in the Jabaliya refugee camp in the Gaza Strip, being used as a terror-hub by the Hamas terror organization.

The mosque had served as a storehouse for a large number of Grad missiles, Qassam rockets and additional weaponry. The strike set off series of secondary explosions and a large fire, caused by the ammunitions stockpiled inside the mosque.

The mosque had also served as a center of operations for Hamas, as a meeting place for its operatives and a staging ground for terror attacks, the Israel Defense Forces spokesperson's office said in a statement.

"The IDF will continue to attack any target used for terrorist activity, and will not hesitate to strike those involved in terrorism against the citizens of the State of Israel, even if they deliberately choose to operate from locations of religious or cultural significance," the statement went on to say.

Earlier Thursday, an Israeli aircraft killed a high-ranking Hamas official in Gaza along with nine women, including at least four wives, and 11 of his children, in the first major assassination since the IDF launched Operation Cast Lead on Saturday.

According to sources from the defense establishment, decision-makers are increasingly inclined to order a ground invasion into Gaza.

The assassination of Nizar Ghayan left dozens of people from neighboring buildings injured and brought up the body count on the Palestinian side to 425 people since the start of the campaign. The number of wounded is now estimated at around 2,000.

The IDF Spokesman said that Ghayan's house had served as a weapons silo and a war room for Hamas. Under the house, according to the IDF, was a tunnel which was meant to serve as an escape route in case of an Israeli attack.

Palestinian media reported that the incident was not a planned assassination, but rather a routine bombing of a target suspected by the IDF to contain weapons.

The IDF has code named such operations "roof knocking," in which the army informs the residents of s suspected building that they have 10 minutes to leave the premises. In some cases, residents of suspected houses have been able to prevent bombing by climbing up to the roof to show that they will not leave, prompting IDF commanders to call off the strike. In these cases, Channel 10 reported Thursday, the IAF sometimes launches a relatively harmless missile at the corner of the roof, avoiding casualties but successfully dispersing the crowd.

Sources familiar with Ghayan's record said he was one of the people who encouraged Gazans to climb on rooftops to prevent bombings.

It appears that the "roof knocking" technique was used in the assassination, but Ghayan decided to stay indoors with his family, and the army opted to bomb the house anyway.

A lecturer at Gaza's Islamic University, Ghayan, 49, had mentored suicide bombers and would sometimes go on patrol with Hamas fighters. He was known for his close ties to the group's military wing and was respected in Gaza for donning combat fatigues and personally participating in clashes against Israeli forces. He sent one of his sons on an October 2001 suicide mission that killed two Israeli settlers in Gaza.

He was also an outspoken advocate of renewing suicide bombings against Israel. Hamas said Israel would pay a "heavy price" for his death. Ghayan was one of the most extreme opponents of Fatah, and supported violence against Fatah's men during Hamas' seizure of power.

Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni rejected calls for a 48-hour "humanitarian pause" and told her French counterpart, Bernard Kouchner, that Hamas must not be given the opportunity to gain any sort of legitimacy within a renewal of a truce. Under the current offensive, she said, Hamas understand that Israel will not tolerate Gaza rocket fire without response.

In addition to the assassination, the Israel Air Force bombed several other Hamas targets.

Hamas fired about a dozen rockets into Be'er Sheva and near Ashdod, resulting in no injuries. In all, Gaza militants fired at least 50 rockets at southern Israel throughout the day Thursday.

Awaiting a decision by the political leadership, ground forces of the IDF are in the final stages of preparations for an invasion into Gaza, and the army has amassed the forces outside the Strip in formation for a rapid deployment in the area as soon as the order is given.

But even as IDF tanks rev their engines, various international powers are offering to broker a cease-fire between Hamas and Israel. The IDF is recommending a major, but relatively short-term, ground offensive in the Gaza Strip.

 

Dit soort demonstraties en protesten spelen Hamas in de kaart, dat zich immers graag als slachtoffer en de underdog presenteert, en op een staakt-het-vuren hoopt zonder er om te moeten bedelen en extra concessies te moeten doen, zodat het als morele overwinnaar uit de strijd komt en zijn populariteit toeneemt. In tegenstelling tot wat veelal beweerd wordt, is Hamas' populariteit de afgelopen jaren afgenomen en staat Fatah ruimschoots voor op Hamas in iedere peiling. Met vrede hebben dergelijke protesten dan ook niet veel te maken.

 

RP

---------

Demonstratie tegen Israëlisch optreden in Gaza

http://www.trouw.nl/nieuws/nederland/article1935348.ece/Demonstratie_tegen_Israelisch_optreden_in_Gaza.html

 

(Novum) - In Den Haag is woensdagmiddag gedemonstreerd tegen de Israëlische bombardementen in de Gazastrook. Volgens de organisatie waren er tweeduizend mensen aanwezig.

De demonstratie werd georganiseerd door verschillende maatschappelijke en studentenorganisaties. Volgens de initiatiefnemers maakt Israël zich schuldig aan oorlogsmisdaden en schending van de mensenrechten, en doen Nederland en Europa te weinig om Israël tot de orde te roepen.

De demonstratie begon om 14.00 uur op het Plein voor de Tweede Kamer, waarna de demonstranten langs de Amerikaanse en Israëlische ambassades liepen. Om 16.00 uur was hij afgelopen.

Zaterdag werd er op de Dam in Amsterdam ook gedemonstreerd tegen de Israëlische aanvallen, die een reactie zijn op raketbeschietingen door de radicale Hamas-beweging. Komende week staan nog twee demonstraties in Amsterdam en Rotterdam gepland.

Bij de luchtaanvallen van Israël op de Gazastrook vielen tot nu toe 374 doden. De meesten waren veiligheidstroepen van Hamas, maar er vielen ook 64 burgerdoden.

 

Geen tranen voor Hamas leider in Ramallah

 

Rayyan zou niet alleen een islamitische bibliotheek, maar ook een wapenopslagplaats in zijn huis hebben gehad. Dat was de primaire reden dat het tot doelwit werd. Hijzelf schijnt een telefonische waarschuwing te hebben gehad van Israel om zichzelf - maar vooral zijn vrouwen en kinderen - in veiligheid te brengen.

 

-----

No tears for Hamas leader in Ramallah
Khaled Abu Toameh , THE JERUSALEM POST

Jan. 1, 2009
www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1230733134624&pagename=JPArticle%2FShowFull

 

Nizar Rayyan, the Hamas military commander who was killed in Thursday's air raid on his home in the Jabalya refugee camp, was a sworn enemy not only of Israel, but also of the Palestinian Authority and its president, Mahmoud Abbas.

Rayyan, who had four wives and a dozen children, led the Hamas militiamen who defeated Abbas's security forces in the Gaza Strip in the summer of 2007. He is the third most senior Hamas leader to be killed by Israel, after the targeted killings of Hamas founder Sheikh Ahmed Yassin in March 2004 and his successor, Abdel Aziz Rantisi, a few weeks later.

Hamas leaders stressed that Rayyan's death, while a "painful loss" to their movement, would not affect its determination to continue the fight against Israel.

A Hamas spokesman said he did not rule out the possibility that the PA had asked Israel to kill Rayyan because of his role in the Hamas-Fatah clashes in 2007.

"Sheikh Rayyan was one of the main reasons why many of Abbas's men did not sleep well at night," he said. "They knew that as long as the sheikh was around, they would never be able to return to the Gaza Strip."

A few days before Hamas took full control of the Gaza Strip, Rayyan, dressed in military fatigues and carrying a Kalashnikov assault rifle, declared that he and his supporters were planning to hold Friday prayers inside Abbas's presidential compound in Gaza City.

Rayyan personally led the Hamas militiamen who seized the compound and PA security installations throughout Gaza. He later boasted that the Strip had been "cleansed" of "traitors" and "CIA agents" - a reference to Abbas and his former security chiefs.

A few months later, Rayyan again issued a threat against Abbas. This time he declared that he would soon lead Friday prayers inside Abbas's Mukata compound in Ramallah, an indication of Hamas's intention to extend its control to the West Bank.

That was why PA officials in Ramallah Thursday did not shed tears over his departure from the scene. In fact, some of them privately expressed relief, claiming that he was responsible for the killing of scores of Abbas loyalists in the Gaza Strip during the 2007 "coup."

Many Palestinians saw the killing of Rayyan, 60, as a severe blow to Hamas and its armed wing, Izzadin Kassam. Some Hamas supporters said on Thursday that Rayyan was more significant than Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh or senior Hamas leaders Mahmoud Zahar and Said Siam.

"He was one of the most popular figures in Hamas," said a Palestinian journalist who knew the slain Hamas leader for nearly two decades. "He was the type of leader who would go out with the fighters to confront Israeli tanks and fire rockets at Israel. He loved wearing the military uniform."

Apart from serving as a "spiritual" leader for Hamas's armed wing, Rayyan was also a teacher at the Islamic University in Gaza City. His students referred to him as "The Professor" and described him as a prominent Muslim scholar. One student said Rayyan was Yassin's real successor.

Rayyan was a leading authority on the sayings of the prophet Muhammad (Hadith), and the basement of his four-story house had been turned into a library of more than 5,000 books and documents on Islam.

After Islamic studies at universities in Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Sudan, he returned to the Gaza Strip and worked as a preacher in several mosques. His fiery sermons and involvement in incitement and terrorism resulted in four years in an Israeli prison.

When the PA assumed control over the Gaza Strip in 1994, Rayyan was one of the first Hamas members to find himself in a Palestinian prison, together with Zahar and Rantisi.

At the beginning of the second intifada, Rayyan sent one of his sons to carry out a suicide attack in Gush Katif's Elei Sinai in 2001. Two Israelis were killed. Rayyan was also responsible for a series of suicide bombings and attacks inside the Green Line, including the suicide bombing in Ashdod Port in 2004 in which 10 Israelis died.

In recent years, Rayyan served as a liaison between the political leadership of Hamas and Izzadin Kassam. He is even said to have been one of the very few Hamas operatives who knew where IDF soldier St.-Sgt. Gilad Schalit was being held in the Gaza Strip.

 

Conflict Israël-Hamas lijkt uitzichtloos

Een genuanceerd artikel over de Gaza oorlog:

Conflict Israël-Hamas lijkt uitzichtloos
http://www.frieschdagblad.nl/index.asp?artID=42611

 

Hoofdartikel - vrijdag, 2 januari 2009

 

 

Het Israëlische leger is al bijna een week bezig met het bombarderen van de Gazastrook om Palestijnse raketaanvallen te stoppen. De aanval op Hamas zal waarschijnlijk geen einde maken aan de beschietingen op Israël. Want om Hamas op de knieën te dwingen, zal Israël de Gazastrook opnieuw moeten bezetten, maar daar heeft niemand in Israël trek in. Dat zou te veel levens eisen. Het zal hooguit bij kortstondige invallen in Gaza blijven.

 

De Israëlische regering beseft ook dat het onwaarschijnlijk is dat Israël met bloedvergieten Hamas kan uitroeien en zo zijn grenzen weet te beveiligen. Maar niets doen is ook geen optie. Geen enkele regering kan het zich veroorloven werkeloos toe te zien hoe het eigen land wordt gebombardeerd. De projectielen richten weinig schade aan, maar ze zorgen voor veel onrust onder de bevolking. Die roept al langer om actie tegen Hamas. Het verlopen van een bestand met Hamas twee weken geleden en de hervatting van de raketbeschietingen was voor Israël het juiste moment om toe te slaan.

 

Sommige commentatoren stellen dat een stevig optreden tegen Hamas goed ligt in de publieke opinie in Israël, waar op 10 februari parlementsverkiezingen zijn. De Kadima-partij van Livni gaat in de peilingen gelijk op met de rechtse oppositiepartij Likud van oud-premier Benjamin Netanyahu. Hij roept al maanden dat de regering niets doet tegen Hamas. De regering en vooral minister Ehud Barak van Defensie, die ook voorman is van coalitiegenoot de Arbeidspartij, zouden zich eindelijk van een andere kant kunnen laten zien en tegelijk de oppositie de wind uit de zeilen nemen.

 

Maar stemmenwinst bij de aanstaande verkiezingen is niet het beoogde doel van de huidige campagne tegen Hamas; hoogstens levert het een positief bijeffect op. Te suggereren dat de acties tegen Hamas zouden zijn ingegeven door electorale redenen, zoals sommige media doen, getuigt van cynisme. Opmerkelijk is dat er nauwelijks achterdocht is over de beweegredenen van Hamas. Hoewel daar meer aanleiding toe is. Hamas stuurt vanuit dichtbevolkte gebieden lukraak raketten af om een militaire reactie van Israël uit te lokken en om zich vervolgens als slachtoffer te kunnen afficheren. Dat de Palestijnse bevolking daarvoor een hoge prijs betaalt, speelt voor Hamas nauwelijks een rol. Hamas hoopt alleen dat Israël als agressor wordt afgeschilderd en dat de religieuze drift die verzet tot plicht maakt, kan zorgen voor een aanwas onder de gelederen van Hamas.

 

De Israëlische regering weet ook wel dat Hamas met de voortdurende raketbeschietingen Israël provoceert terug te slaan. Maar het ziet geen andere optie dan dat ook inderdaad te doen. Want de Hamas-beweging is er een die de vernietiging van de joodse staat nastreeft. Onderhandelen met een organisatie die dat nastreeft, heeft geen enkele zin.

 

Dus beschermt Israël liever zijn eigen burgers. En probeert het de afschrikkingsmacht te herstellen, die verloren ging na de mislukte oorlog tegen de Libanese Hezbollah in 2006. Daarmee zendt het een boodschap uit naar Hezbollah en Iran dat er met Israël niet te spotten valt.

 

De vraag is of deze militaire optie de verstandigste is. Op de korte termijn kan de rust erdoor worden hersteld. Maar op de langere termijn lost het weinig op. Israël kan onmogelijk de Gazastrook langdurig bezet houden. En de huidige poging met militaire kracht Hamas te verpulveren, stelt Hamas in de gelegenheid zich als slachtoffer op te stellen.

Een diplomatieke uitweg verdient boven alles de voorkeur, maar dat lijkt uitgesloten. Hamas heeft, anders dan de Palestijnse Autoriteit van Fatah-leider Abbas, nooit enige serieuze belangstelling getoond voor een twee-statenoplossing. Het enige dat het wil, is Israël van de kaart vegen.

In de loop der jaren zijn de tegenstellingen tussen Israël en militante Palestijnen dusdanig geradicaliseerd dat een vreedzame oplossing van het conflict menselijkerwijs gesproken onmogelijk lijkt. Hamas wil geen vrede. Israël heeft zich niet tot het uiterste ingezet om de Palestijnen een levensvatbare eigen staat te geven.

Israël en Hamas zijn in een gewelddadige spiraal verwikkeld waar zij uit eigen kracht niet uit kunnen komen. Alleen als de internationale gemeenschap dwingend een vredesregeling oplegt, vredestroepen stationeert en de beide partijen veiligheidsgaranties geeft, is er kans op langdurige vrede. Maar dat zal zulke grote personele en financiële offers vragen van de wereld dat het er niet van zal komen. Te vrezen valt dat het conflict tussen Israël en Hamas pas ten einde komt als een van tweeën oorlogsmoe is of definitief wordt verslagen. De vraag is wie de langste adem heeft.

 

Diskin: Hamas schuilt in moskeeën en ziekenhuizen

 

Volgens Google News zei Diskin dat Hamas zich in ziekenhuizen schuil houdt en strijders zich als dokters en verplegers voordoen. Een dergelijk cynisch gebruik van de burgerbevolking ontgaat echter al onze linkse parlementariers en groeperingen als Amnesty International.

 

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5ioi_0jtO9RjMwPNRoXNCndRPRq3gD95E1N0O1

The chief of Israel's internal security services, Yuval Diskin, told a government meeting that Hamas members had hidden inside mosques, believing they would be safe from airstrikes and using them as command centers, according to an Israeli security official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not allowed to share the information.

Other militants were hiding in hospitals, some disguised as doctors and nurses, Diskin said, according to the official.

RP

---------

 

Dec 31, 2008 12:23 | Updated Dec 31, 2008 23:49
Diskin: Hamas dealt a 'serious blow'
By HERB KEINON
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1230456543368&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

 

Hamas has been attacked in a manner in which it has never been attacked before, Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) head Yuval Diskin told the security cabinet Wednesday, a week after the same forum approved Operation Cast Lead.

According to Diskin, Hamas's ability to govern has been seriously harmed, and the organization's leaders are in hiding. He said that some are hiding in hospitals, disguised as doctors or nurses, while others are hiding in mosques.

Diskin said that Hamas has turned some of Gaza's mosques into command and control centers, assuming that Israel would not bomb them. He also said Hamas has stockpiled weapons in mosques.

According to Diskin, the IAF has destroyed Hamas's weapons-manufacturing capabilities, as well as numerous arms-smuggling tunnels. He said Hamas was trying to rebuild the tunnels to smuggle its leadership to Egypt.

The security cabinet was also told that of the 390 Palestinians killed since the start of the operation, 40 have been identified as civilians. Two hundred and twenty others have been clearly identified as Hamas activists, and the identity of the other 130 still needed to be clarified.

The cabinet was also told that the IDF has made some 100,000 phone calls to Gaza residents since the beginning of the operation, warning them to leave their apartments or homes before an impending attack.

 

 

Hamas verschuilt zich in ziekenhuizen en creches

 

Het gekke is, dat deze informatie ook in het vrije westen nauwelijks gepubliceerd wordt, en de meeste media de taktiek van Hamas om burgers als menselijk schild te gebruiken volkomen negeren.

 

RP

------------

Gaza Update 8
Jan. 1, 2009

Palestinian Media Watch

Iranian reformist daily:
Hamas hiding forces in nurseries and hospitals

 

An Iranian reformist daily newspaper has criticized Hamas "for risking lives of civilians, amongst them children, by hiding its forces in nurseries and hospitals." This is reported in today's Palestinian daily Al-Ayyam. The Palestinian daily adds that in response the Iranian government has closed the newspaper.
 
The following is the story in today's Al-Ayyam:

Headline: "Iran closes a reformist newspaper, for publishing a report criticizing Hamas"
 
"The Iranian news agency "Irna" reported yesterday, that the Iranian Culture Ministry has closed the reformist daily newspaper "Karjo Zaran", because it published a report that included criticism of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas).

 

On December 30 the paper published a statement of a reformist student organization, that has criticized Hamas for risking lives of civilians, amongst them children, by hiding its forces in nurseries and hospitals. The statement was published whilst the Iranian government expresses a unified stands against Israel, and Tehran is overwhelmed by demonstrations against Israel."

 

[Al-Ayyam, Jan. 1, 2009]

 

-----------------------------------
Palestinian Media Watch:

www.pmw.org.il
PMW | King George 59 | Jerusalem | Israel

 

12 Palestijnen in Israel behandeld en 2.500 ton humanitaire hulp naar Gaza

 

Hoeveel landen in oorlog behandelen de gewonden van hun vijand? Hoeveel landen in oorlog stellen hun grenzen open voor grote hoeveelheden humanitaire hulp en voedsel voor de vijand?

 

Israel is naar eigen zeggen niet in oorlog met de Palestijnen in Gaza maar met de Hamas, maar aangezien Hamas het gebied volledig controleert, en ook nog eens democratisch is gekozen, is dat onderscheid in de praktijk soms lastig. Israel is uniek in het zo ver doorvoeren van dit principe, ook met waarschuwingen aan de bevolking voordat bombardementen plaatsvinden, waar uiteraard ook Hamas haar voordeel mee doet. Hoewel de Geallieerden in '40-'45 met de nazi's in oorlog waren, spaarden zij de burgerbevolking in Duitsland bepaald niet, en dit geldt, hoewel iets minder extreem, voor de meeste oorlogen. Toch wordt juist Israel steeds weer van genocide en het doden van grote aantallen burgers beschuldigd.

 

RP

------

Ministry of Defense
Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories
Office of the Spokesman

31th December, 2008

12 Palestinians from Gaza transferred to Israeli hospitals for assistance and 2500 tons of humanitarian aid transferred to Gaza

Today 12 Palestinians accessed Israel for medical treatment in Israeli hospitals. Two of those evacuated were children injured during the military activates, the remaining are chronically sick people, and their escorts, that accessed Israel for treatment that is not available within the Gaza Strip.

Further more, despite ongoing rocket fire, Israel continues with the extensive humanitarian effort in coordination with the international organizations, Palestinian Authority and various donors. Ninety three trucks, with approximately 2500 tons of humanitarian aid, medical supplies and medication were conveyed through "Kerem Shalom" cargo terminal. The World Food Program has informed Israel that they will not be resuming shipment of food commodities in to Gaza due to the fact that their warehouses are at full capacity and will last for approximately two weeks.

Since the beginning of operation "cast lead" some 6500 tons of aid have been transferred at the request of the international organizations, the Palestinian Authority and various governments. Preparations are underway to facilitate further shipments expected to arrive in the coming days.


--------------------------------------------
IMRA - Independent Media Review and Analysis
Website: www.imra.org.il

Israelische bombardementen 31 december en dood Hamas leider

 

Allemaal legitieme militaire doelen.

 

---------

 

IDF Spokesperson Dec 31st, 2008

Evening summary of IDF operations

Operation Cast Lead, which aims to reduce Hamas' capacity to launch rocket attacks against communities in southern Israel, is now in its fifth day. The IDF is engaged in a battle with Hamas and other terror organizations in the Gaza Strip and does not aim to target the Palestinian civilian population.

Summary of humanitarian aid efforts:

A total of 93 trucks transporting provisions, medical equipment and medicine entered Gaza via the Kerem Shalom crossing. Five ambulances also crossed into the Strip.

Twelve Palestinians, including two children, were transferred to Israeli hospitals.

Since the early morning hours on Wednesday, the IDF has attacked over 25 targets in the Gaza Strip. These include:

A mosque in Gaza City used as a as a storage site for Grad missiles and Qassam rockets, as well as a staging ground for launches. The strike set off numerous secondary explosions, caused by the munitions stockpiled in the mosque.

Weaponry manufacturing and storage facilities in southern Gaza, including a storage site in the Khan Younis area where Amar Abu Ghalula, a senior commander of the Islamic Jihad's rocket infrastructure, was present. Three additional Islamic Jihad operatives were in the facility at the time of the IAF strike.

A tunnel in the Khan Younis area, used for the smuggling of operatives and weaponry.

A Hamas outpost and training camp in the Gaza City area, which was also used as a weaponry manufacturing site and place of assembly for senior members of the terror organization.

Rocket launching sites, several of which were underground, as well as a number of loaded Grad launchers.

In all the IDF has so far attacked 450 Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip.

The IDF will continue to operate against terror organizations and will not hesitate to strike those involved both directly and indirectly in attacks against the citizens of the State of Israel.

---------------------

 

Dr. Aaron Lerner - IMRA:  Israel Television Channel 2 reported that Israel warned Rian on the phone to evacuate the building with his family but Rian opted to stay with his family in his house.

IDF Spokesperson January 1st, 2008

Israel Air Force Attack on the House of Nizar Rian

The IAF attacked the house of Nizar Rian, a senior Hamas terror operative, in Jabaliya. The attack was carried out based on IDF and ISA intelligence. Many secondary explosions were identified as a result of the attack, thus proving that the house was used for storing weaponry.  It was also used as a communications center. In addition, a tunnel was located under the house and was used for the escape of terror operatives.

 

--------------------------------------------
IMRA - Independent Media Review and Analysis
Website: www.imra.org.il

Hamas raketten 'Made in China'

 

Terwijl het acht uur journaal en de NRC vol waren van verhalen over hongerige Gazanen die eindelijk de grens over konden om eten in de Sinai te kopen, werden de raketten binnen gesmokkeld die nu tot in Beersheva en Ashdod reiken en ervoor zorgen dat een miljoen Israeli's getroffen kunnen worden. Ook zijn er raketten via de tunnels de Gazastrook ingesmokkeld.

 

RP

---------

 

Latest rockets manufactured in China
Yaakov Katz , THE JERUSALEM POST

Jan. 1, 2009
www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1230733119975&pagename=JPArticle%2FShowFull

 

 

The Grad-model Katyusha rockets that were fired into Beersheba on Wednesday were manufactured in China and smuggled into Gaza after the Sinai border wall was blown up by Hamas in January, defense officials said.

The Chinese rockets have a range of 40 kilometers. They are very similar to the 122 mm Soviet-made Katyusha that was used extensively by Hizbullah during the Second Lebanon War and are slightly more sophisticated than an Iranian-made Grad-model Katyusha that is also in Hamas's arsenal.

The four rockets that hit Beersheba this week were filled with metal balls that can scatter up to 100 meters from the impact site, officials said. These rockets have also been fired into Ashkelon and Ashdod.

The three countries that manufacture Grad-model Katyushas are China, Russia and Bulgaria.

Defense officials told The Jerusalem Post the rockets were smuggled into Gaza in the 12 days after Hamas blew a hole in the border wall between Gaza and Egypt on January 23.

"Huge quantities of weaponry were smuggled into Gaza then from above ground, including the Grad rockets," an official said, adding that even after the border wall was sealed, Hamas continued to smuggle the long-range rockets into Gaza via tunnels under the Philadelphi Corridor.

From China, the rockets make several stops before reaching Gaza. In many cases, officials said, they are bought by Iran or Hizbullah and then transferred to Sinai.

In some instances, the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) has learned of weapons that came from Yemen and Eritrea, were moved to Sudan, then north to Egypt, and finally smuggled into Gaza.

"This is a complicated smuggling system that involves many different people around the world," one official said.

The Grad-model Katyushas, officials said, were packed with large quantities of ammonia and less-than-maximum explosives to increase their durability and lethality.

Last Thursday, Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit told Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni that Cairo was not responsible for Hamas's military buildup and that the long-range rockets in the group's arsenal were not smuggled through the tunnels from Sinai.

Defense officials said Wednesday that Aboul Gheit was partially correct, in that some of the rockets did not come into Gaza through tunnels, but that they did enter the Strip from Sinai.

Tientallen raketten uit Gaza op Ashkelon, Be'er Sheva en Ashdod

 

Inmiddels leven bijna een miljoen Israeli's binnen 'rocket range' en kunnen elk moment een alarm verwachten waarna zij 15 seconden hebben om een schuilkelder te bereiken. Hamas heeft de afgelopen 6 maanden duidelijk niet stil gezeten: voor het staakt-het-vuren kon men met moeite de buitenwijken van Ashkelon raken, dat minder dan 20 km van de Gazastrook ligt. Nu komt men ruim 40 km ver. Deze raketten zijn echter geen eigen fabrikaat, maar binnen gesmokkeld via de tunnels en over land toen de grens vorig jaar in januari 10 dagen open was.

 

RP

-----------

Last update - 19:02 01/01/2009       
Barrage of Gaza rockets strikes Ashkelon, Be'er Sheva, Ashdod
By Haaretz Service
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1051858.html

 

 

Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip fired a barrage of more than 40 rockets at southern Israel on Thursday, one of which scored a direct hit on an eight-floor residential building in the northern Negev city of Ashdod, nearly 40 kilometers from the Hamas-ruled coastal territory.

 

More than 40 Grad and Qassam rockets were fired at the Negev on Thursday, after a relatively quiet night.

 

The strike on the Ashdod apartment house caused a fire to erupt in the building and seriously damaged the top floor. Rescue workers evacuated all residents, fearing that the building would collapse. The incident ended without physical injuries and the damaged structure still intact.

 

A number of people were treated for shock, however, many of them children and elderly people.

 

The Israel Defense Forces announced just after the strike that an Israeli aircraft had bombed the Gaza-based squad responsible for firing the rocket.

 

Four Grad rockets exploded a few minutes after the Ashdod strike in the city of Ashkelon and about two more struck the city a few hours later. No casualties were reported in any of those incidents.

 

Three rockets struck the western Negev town of Sderot early Thursday afternoon. There were no reports of casualties in those strikes.

 

Another barrage was fired at Ashdod and Ashkelon in the middle of the afternoon, and another eight rockets exploded in near Be'er Sheva toward evening.

 

Six Qassam rockets exploded in the Eshkol region over the course of the morning, and two Grad rockets hit the city of Be'er Sheva. There were no casualties reported in any of the incidents, but some area buildings sustained damage.

 

Three rockets hit Be'er Sheva late Wednesday, just hours after Defense Minister Ehud Barak issued a statement extending the 'special situation' status on the home front to all communities within 40 kilometers of the Gaza border.

 

Be'er Sheva and Yavne, previously thought to be beyond the range of Palestinian rockets, are now among the cities included in the order.

 

A barrage of more than 70 Katyusha and Qassam rockets hit the western Negev on Wednesday, with several rockets exploding in Ashkelon and Be'er Sheva.

 

The defense minister reiterated his appeal to all residents "to strictly follow Home Front Command instructions."

 

Barak's order allows the Defense Ministry, through the Home Front Command, to issue binding regulations for the civilian population in the specified area. The decision is valid for 48 hours, and must then be ratified by the government.

__._,_.___

Parallellen tussen Gaza operatie en 2de Libanon Oorlog

 

Er zijn verschillende parallellen tussen de huidige operatie in Gaza en de tweede Libanon oorlog te trekken. Niet genoemd in het artikel hieronder is het feit dat de raketaanvallen van de vijand niet afnemen ondanks voortdurende Israelische bombardementen op hun wapenvoorraden, de lanceerinstallaties en hun gewapende troepen. Hopelijk verandert dit snel.

 

Naast parallellen zijn er echter ook belangrijke verschillen, zoals het feit dat de huidige operatie maandenlang was voorbereid.

 

RP

----------

 

The Jerusalem Post
Jan 1, 2009 2:26 | Updated Jan 1, 2009 11:17

Analysis: Disturbing echoes of 2006
By DAVID HOROVITZ
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1230733120327&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

 

The Second Lebanon War, inevitably, has cast its shadow over Operation Cast Lead from the start.

The parallels were unavoidable: Two conflicts that Israel chose to enter after its people came under unprovoked attack. Two conflicts against the proxy armies of Iran. Two conflicts in territories from which Israel had unilaterally withdrawn. Two conflicts entered by Israel knowing there would be no sympathy from its international critics and only short-term empathy even from most of its friends. Two conflicts overseen by Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.

But the differences were striking, too: Unlike 2006, this was not a rushed resort to force, agreed upon in hours and foist on an unprepared IDF. Operation Cast Lead had been prepared for months, by an experienced defense minister (unlike the last time) and a no-nonsense chief of the General Staff (unlike the last time).

Hamas, for all its estimated 15,000 armed men, was far less well-equipped than Hizbullah, and had far less physical room to maneuver: It has its back to the sea or an unaccommodating Egypt, limiting its capacity to melt away, as Hizbullah's gunmen had done ever further to the north in Lebanon.

The legitimacy was overwhelming, and Israel had taken some steps to put in place the public diplomacy to explain it: Israel was responding to eight years of rocket attacks by a terror group whose leadership had seized power in a violent coup, repeatedly broadcast its determination to destroy Israel, and abused a misnamed cease-fire to smuggle in more arms and extend the range of its missiles.

And yet, as Day Five of Operation Cast Lead drew to a close, dismaying comparisons with 2006 were multiplying.

As happened then, there was a developing lack of clarity about the goal of the operation. Initially clearly defined as being aimed at restoring security to the South, it was being exaggerated by some Israeli officials as extending to the destruction of Hamas, and minimized by others as merely seeking a better version of the failed cease-fire.

Even though it was later rejected, an impression of hesitancy was created by the mere fact that Defense Minister Ehud Barak was prepared on Tuesday to entertain the idea of a 48-hour time-out, which might have been extended to a renewed cease-fire if Hamas halted its rocket attacks. This path would plainly have left unrealized the strategic goal of a changed reality in the South.

The willingness to even begin to consider a time-out implicitly amounted to Israel starting a stopwatch toward a cease-fire - an approach that, at this stage, flies in the face of the relentless determination promised by the Israeli leadership at the outset.

As with 2006, the hesitancy has extended to the use of ground forces - or rather the non-use of ground forces - though the unfavorable weather is plainly a factor here, too.

Hamas is lying in wait for a predicted major ground onslaught, gleefully anticipating that its nimble forces will outmaneuver Israel's tanks, cause heavy casualties, provoke growing opposition in Israel and send the IDF home humiliated.

But that is where Israel's traditional military daring and innovation are meant to kick in, via the use of surgical, penetrating, disorienting ground missions, to tackle the sensitive Hamas targets that cannot easily be eliminated from the air.

That is where Barak, the personification of the unexpected during his years as head of Sayeret Matkal (the General Staff Reconnaissance Unit), and his partner Lt.-Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi are supposed to demonstrate how things have changed from the Amir Peretz-Dan Halutz era.

That is where, when the time for a cease-fire does come, Israel is meant to have achieved tangible results and thus be able to dictate the terms that will deter Hamas not merely from restarting rocket fire, but from rebuilding the capacity to fire.

Terms, furthermore, that will enable Israel to maintain continued freedom of action to prevent the revival of this strategic threat.

It is not too late for this; Olmert insisted on Wednesday that "We didn't initiate the Gaza operation in order to end it while Israeli towns are still under fire."

But the international pressure is growing. The mediators are booking their flights. Hamas is hoping it will soon be able to celebrate and gloat and regroup.

And there's no escaping a worrying echo of 2006 in the dissipating Israeli momentum.

De redenen achter de Gaza oorlog (Barry Rubin)

 

Waarom valt Israel toch zo hard aan in Gaza? vragen velen zich af. Het antwoord is simpeler dan je denkt.

 

RP

--------

 

Barry Rubin on Gaza

http://zionism-israel.com/israel_news/2008/12/barry-rubin-on-gaza.html

 

 

Common sense seems to be hard to come by. Everyone seems bent on finding a reason for Israel's operation in Gaza other than the obvious one: The Hamas are raining rockets on Israeli towns and making life impossible. 

 

This explanation below by Barry Rubin is straightforward. The proof of why Israel really had no choice but to attack Hamas, is in the rockets that hit Beersheba and Yavneh. This extension of the range of Hamas rockets was accomplished in six months, thanks to the Tahidiya - the truce. From little  Qassam Rockets in  Sderot to Grad rockets that reach Beersheba. Here is a map of how the range of Hamas rockets in Israel has expanded.   (Ami Isseroff)

 

 

The Gaza War: Is it All So Hard to Understand?

 

Barry Rubin
December 31, 2008

 

 

But why, more than one reporter from highly reputable publications has asked me, is Israel attacking Gaza now? At first, I was astonished: because Hamas cancelled the ceasefire and started massive rocket firings at Israel.

 

No, they responded, as if I had said something rude. Isn't it the election, or an attempt to stop the tunnels, or this or that reason?

 

Absolutely not, I say, it's like Pearl Harbor, or September 11. If someone announces they are going to go to war with you and then does it, you retaliate and fight.

 

At that point, the reporters seem to lose interest and bring the interview to an end, as if clearly a person who can say such things is not going to provide any rational analysis. Yet if one cannot even understand this most basic fact, what comprehension can there be of this issue or, indeed, of Middle East politics in general.

 

There are reasons, however, for this response. Large elements in the West find it very hard to "get," that is to understand, Hamas or the Palestinians in general--or, for that matter, Islamists in general, or Arabs in general, or Muslims in general--albeit with all the many variations and exceptions.

 

The problem with pragmatism:
Today, people ask, why didn't the Jews of Poland understand the Nazis were going to wipe them out, at least in the earlier period when escape or revolt was more possible? According to contemporary and later eyewitness testimony because they didn't think Germans would act in such an unpragmatic manner.

 

After all hundreds of thousands of Jews were involuntarily contributing to the German war effort. They were making clothes, repairing roads, growing food. Why should the Third Reich destroy a highly effective, very cheap, and low-problem labor force, thus crippling itself and helping to ensure that it lost the war?

 

Answer: ideology. A doctrine and belief system will make people act in a way that doesn't fit pragmatic expectations. Why should Hamas start a war against a stronger power? Due to believing itself to be stronger and needs to mobilize mass support. Why should Palestinian leaders reject a state even if it means the end of an increasingly small degree of "occupation"? Due to belief that total victory is inevitable, that compromise is treason, and that their enemies are satanic.

 

The solvency of solutions:
The other big question asked is: what is the solution? How can, as some say, peace be attained; how can Israel, others say, eliminate Hamas? The presumption is that the first or the second is easy, or at least possible.

 

Answer: Wrong. This is the Middle East we don't do solutions. Hamas is not going to disappear, nor will it be moderate. Israel, for good reasons, has no interest in occupying the Gaza Strip. Fatah is incapable of retaking control there.

 

This situation will go on and probably most likely end in some new ceasefire. Hamas will break the ceasefire a bit every week, and smash it altogether every six to eighteen months, repeating the current situation. That isn't the ideal outcome but it is by far the most likely one.

 

The unbearable lightness of gratitude:
No matter how much diplomatic aid, sympathy, or money the West gives Hamas--and it has saved Hamas and the PLO over and over from their own mistakes--they will not become grateful or pro-Western. Anti-Western and anti-American sentiment is too valuable and too widespread to disappear. The Palestinians--and Iran's regime, and Syria's government, and Hizballah, and other Islamists--need scapegoats. Who else are they going to blame for their problems, themselves?

 

If you save the terrorists today, they will commit more terrorism tomorrow. If you let them escape the consequences of their own extremism, you can guarantee they will stay extremist and take a lot of the masses with them.

 

The reality of reality:
In some ways, the most important--or at least second most important--thing to happen in the Middle East this week is that Hizballah leader Hasan Nasrallah went too far, calling for the overthrow of Egypt's government.

 

Egypt's Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit responded, "They have actually declared war on Egypt...." And when he says "they" he means Iran, Syria, Hizballah, and Hamas. The Saudis and Gulf Arabs are also drawing lines deeper than ever before. Publicly and loudly, they look at Gaza, and see Arabs and Muslims, and criticize Israel. More softly in public and loudly in private they look at Gaza and see the Iranian axis.

 

This is the Middle East of 2008 and not of 1958, 1968, 1978, 1988, or 1998. The Palestinian issue has little effect on any other issue. The real conflict is Iran-Syria against Egypt-Saudi Arabia. Islamists are seeking to conquer the region from Arab nationalists. Radical groups are not interested in happy homelands but jihad and genocide.

 

And so the issue is not why Israel is attacking Hamas in Gaza now, but why Hamas in Gaza is attacking Israel now.

 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Barry Rubin is director of the Global Research in International Affairs (GLORIA) Center and editor of the Middle East Review of International Affairs Journal. His latest books are The Israel-Arab Reader (seventh edition), with Walter Laqueur (Viking-Penguin); the paperback edition of The Truth About Syria (Palgrave-Macmillan); A Chronological History of Terrorism, with Judy Colp Rubin, (Sharpe); and The Long War for Freedom: The Arab Struggle for Democracy in the Middle East (Wiley

Israelische luchtmacht bombardeert moskee en woonhuis vol explosieven in Gaza

 

"Israel bombardeert moskeeën en woonhuizen" aldus Meulenbelt morgen op haar blog en Van Agt op NOVA. De moskee zat echter vol met explosieven en raketten, vandaar dat na het bombardement nog verschillende explosies waren te horen, en ook het huis van Nizar Ghayan zat vol met wapens en werd gebruikt als commandocentrum voor de strijd tegen Israel.

Zeer ongebruikelijk in oorlogsvoering: Israel waarschuwde de inwoners van te voren zodat zij het huis konden ontvluchten voordat het gebombardeerd werd, maar deze kozen ervoor binnen te blijven, waarschijnlijk in de hoop dat Israel er dan vanaf zou zien of omdat Israel om de dood van vrouwen en kinderen veroordeeld zou worden.

RP
--------

IAF bombs Gaza mosque used as terror hub

 

By Amos Harel and Yoav Stern, Haaretz Correspondents and News Agencies
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1052034.html
Last update - 01:30 02/01/2009


Israel Air Force aircraft struck a mosque in Jabaliya late Thursday night used as a terror-hub by the Hamas terror organization.

The mosque was used as a storehouse for a large amount of Grad missiles, Qassam rockets and additional weaponry. The strike set off series of secondary explosions and a large fire, caused by the ammunitions stockpiled inside the mosque. 

The mosque was also used as a center of operations for Hamas, as a meeting place for its operatives and a staging ground for terror attacks, the Israel Defense Forces spokesperson's office said in a statement.

"The IDF will continue to attack any target used for terrorist activity, and will not hesitate to strike those involved in terrorism against the citizens of the State of Israel, even if they deliberately choose to operate from locations of religious or cultural significance," the statement went on to say.

Earlier Thursday, an Israeli aircraft killed a high-ranking Hamas official in Gaza along with nine women, including at least four wives, and 11 of his children, in the first major assassination since the IDF launched Operation Cast Lead on Saturday.

According to sources from the defense establishment, decision-makers are increasingly inclined to order a ground invasion into Gaza.

The assassination of Nizar Ghayan left dozens of people from neighboring buildings injured and brought up the body count on the Palestinian side to 425 people since the start of the campaign. The number of wounded is now estimated at around 2,000.

The IDF Spokesman said that Ghayan's house had served as a weapons silo and a war room for Hamas. Under the house, according to the IDF, was a tunnel which was meant to serve as an escape route in case of an Israeli attack.

Palestinian media reported that the incident was not a planned assassination, but rather a routine bombing of a target suspected by the IDF to contain weapons.

The IDF has code named such operations "roof knocking," in which the army informs the residents of a suspected building that they have 10 minutes to leave the premises. In some cases, residents of suspected houses have been able to prevent bombing by climbing up to the roof to show that they will not leave, prompting IDF commanders to call off the strike. In these cases, Channel 10 reported Thursday, the IAF sometimes launches a relatively harmless missile at the corner of the roof, avoiding casualties but successfully dispersing the crowd.

Sources familiar with Ghayan's record said he was one of the people who encouraged Gazans to climb on rooftops to prevent bombings.

It appears that the "roof knocking" technique was used in the assassination, but Ghayan decided to stay indoors with his family, and the army opted to bomb the house anyway.

A lecturer at Gaza's Islamic University, Ghayan, 49, had mentored suicide bombers and would sometimes go on patrol with Hamas fighters. He was known for his close ties to the group's military wing and was respected in Gaza for donning combat fatigues and personally participating in clashes against Israeli forces. He sent one of his sons on an October 2001 suicide mission that killed two Israeli settlers in Gaza.

He was also an outspoken advocate of renewing suicide bombings against Israel. Hamas said Israel would pay a "heavy price" for his death. Ghayan was one of the most extreme opponents of Fatah, and supported violence against Fatah's men during Hamas' seizure of power.

Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni rejected calls for a 48-hour "humanitarian pause" and told her French counterpart, Bernard Kouchner, that Hamas must not be given the opportunity to gain any sort of legitimacy within a renewal of a truce. Under the current offensive, she said, Hamas understand that Israel will not tolerate Gaza rocket fire without response.

In addition to the assassination, the Israel Air Force bombed several other Hamas targets.

Hamas fired about a dozen rockets into Be'er Sheva and near Ashdod, resulting in no injuries. In all, Gaza militants fired at least 50 rockets at southern Israel throughout the day Thursday.

Awaiting a decision by the political leadership, ground forces of the IDF are in the final stages of preparations for an invasion into Gaza, and the army has amassed the forces outside the Strip in formation for a rapid deployment in the area as soon as the order is given.

But even as IDF tanks rev their engines, various international powers are offering to broker a cease-fire between Hamas and Israel. The IDF is recommending a major, but relatively short-term, ground offensive in the Gaza Strip.

 

 

Een vreedzamer 2009!

 

Zes clichés over Israëls operatie in Gaza

Een paar veelgehoorde beweringen die bij iedere Israëlische legeroperatie weer opduiken.

--------------

Answering Israel's critics
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3647296,00.html

Six clichés you are likely to hear constantly in the coming days, and why they're false
Yigal Walt

Published: 12.30.08, 19:13 / Israel Opinion

 

1) "Israel's response in Gaza is disproportionate"

Since when is war a mathematical equation? The basic objective of any warring party is to inflict maximal damage on the enemy while minimizing its own casualties. Was there anything proportional about the US war in Iraq? Or about Iraq's invasion of Kuwait for that matter? Or about Russia's recent war against Georgia? Israel is doing exactly what any other country has done in the past. This is how war works.

Would a British citizen complain that "too few" British soldiers are being killed in Iraq? Probably not.

And on a more elementary note: Palestinian military inferiority is not an indication of moral superiority. Palestinian insistence on resorting to violence despite this military weakness is an indication of poor judgment perhaps – yet it is by no means an indication of moral virtue. Being militarily weak does not make the Palestinians right.

2) "But Qassams don't kill"

Actually, Qassams do kill. Not too often, perhaps, but dozens of Israelis were killed and wounded by rocket fire in recent years. Moreover, at this time the Palestinians are firing long-range Grad rockets with even greater explosive power. Such rockets killed 2 Israelis Monday.

Yet beyond the casualty figures, the psychological damage caused as result of living under an ongoing rocket threat is immeasurable. Would anyone in the West agree to have their family live under constant rocket attacks and be regularly woken up by sirens in the middle of the night? Would anyone living under such conditions appreciate being told that "these rockets don't kill?" Probably not.

3) "It's all because of Israel's siege. Israel should allow aid into Gaza."

Israel has allowed goods into Gaza regularly throughout the "siege". Palestinians have been able to complement these deliveries with supplies smuggled through hundreds of tunnels (of course, they would likely be able to bring in even more food had they not used the tunnels to smuggle in missiles.).

The day before operation "Cast Lead" got underway, Israel allowed dozens of trucks carrying aid to enter the Strip. On Tuesday, another 100 trucks – double the normal number –are expected to enter Gaza after Defense Minister Barak approved the move.
In short, Israel is allowing aid into the Strip (but guess who has kept Gaza crossings mostly closed thus far? That's right, Egypt.)

4) "Why didn't Israel just agree to renew the Gaza truce?"

First, what truce? Terror groups continued to fire rockets throughout the lull, even if somewhat infrequently, and even if the world didn't seem to care too much. Nonetheless, Israel clearly declared that it is interested in extending the truce. Our top officials made it clear time and again.

Yet Hamas leaders clearly declared that the truce has ended on December 19th, and proceeded to bombard southern Israeli communities with dozens of rockets daily. In short, it is no wonder that even the Egyptians are blaming Hamas this time.

5) "But Hamas was elected democratically – why can't Israel accept it?"

Although Hamas won the Palestinian elections, it took Gaza by force, in the process hurling rival Fatah members down to their death from high-rises and shooting others in the knees with the declared aim of maiming them. Some democracy.

In any case, Israel in fact "recognizes," de facto, Hamas' rule in Gaza, which is precisely why it is justified in attacking the Hamas-ruled Strip, recognizing that it is indeed being governed by a terror entity. Israel did not launch the operation because Hamas is in power there – rather, it did so because Hamas is a terrorist organization that has deliberately targeted civilians with thousands of rockets over the past 8 years.

6) "Israel is targeting civilians"

You mean to say that "one of the most powerful armies in the world" has been bombing Gaza for days, deploying massive air power, dropping hundreds of bombs, and ultimately killing a grand total of 50 civilians or so in the "most crowded place on earth?"

There are two options here: A) The Israeli army is not targeting civilians, or B) Israeli pilots suck. We tend to go with option A.

Indeed, Israel goes to great lengths to avoid civilian casualties, by deploying precise ammunition and specialized techniques. In fact, nobody in the world does this better than the Jewish State.

 

Betoging AEL in Antwerpen tegen Israël loopt uit de hand

 

Bij de demo in Den Haag waren geen rellen en mochten niet zoals in Antwerpen Israelische vlaggen worden verbrand, maar ook daar waren de meeste demonstranten geen lievertjes. Op het journaal waren portretten van Nasrallah en Achmadinejad te zien, niet bepaald voorvechters van vrede in het Midden-Oosten of toonbeelden van tolerantie.

 

Wouter
________________

31/12 Betoging AEL in Antwerpen tegen Israël loopt uit de hand
http://www.hbvl.be/nieuws/binnenland/onlinenieuws-betoging-ael-in-antwerpen-tegen-israel-loopt-uit-de-hand.aspx?art=21220f6e-7192-4bc7-bc1d-1dcee4846f2f

 

 

Zowel in Antwerpen als in Brussel is woensdagmiddag betoogd tegen de Israëlische beschietingen op Gaza. In Antwerpen liep de betoging, georganiseerd door de Arabisch-Europese Liga (AEL), helemaal uit de hand toen de betogers zich naar de joodse wijk probeerden te begeven. De politie was massaal aanwezig en trad hardhandig op. Rond 17 uur normaliseerde de situatie.

De protestactie begon rond 14 uur aan de Kerkstraat in Borgerhout. Rond 15.15 uur ontbond de politie de betoging. Daarop probeerden een tweehonderdtal, voornamelijk allochtone, jongeren zich naar de joodse wijk te begeven. Ter hoogte van de Franklin Rooseveltplaats liep de situatie helemaal uit de hand.

Bekijk het fotoalbum.

Nadat de manifestatie op de Kerkstraat werd opgeheven trok een honderdtal jongeren een spoor van vernieling langs de Turnhoutsebaan. Winkeliers waren gelukkig tijdig door de politie verwittigd en konden hun ramen en deuren afsluiten.

Joodse wijk gespaard

 

Via de Turnhoutsebaan trokken de relschoppers langs het Astridplein naar de Rooseveltplaats. Daar werden ze opgewacht door de politie die probeerden te vermijden dat het tot rellen in de joodse wijk zou komen.

Door de opstootjes op de Rooseveltplaats werd het openbaar vervoer danig in de war gestuurd. De politie probeerden de jongeren vervolgens terug te dringen in de richting van Borgerhout, waarna er zich een kat-en-muisspel tussen politie en relschoppers voltrok.

Herinneringen aan 2002

 

Sommigen vrezen dat de betoging nog kan ontaarden en herinneringen aan de rellen op de Turnhoutsebaan in 2002 steken de kop op. Om 17 uur probeerde een imam de jongeren te bedaren. Dat zou enige resultaten opleveren.

 

De oorlog in de Gazastrook (IMO Blog)

 

Op: IMO Blog - Israel & Midden-Oosten

De oorlog in de Gazastrook

Zoals te verwachten sprak de internationale gemeenschap direct haar afkeuring uit over het Israëlische offensief in de Gazastrook, en zelfs de VN veiligheidsraad roept op tot onmiddellijke beëindiging ervan en een staakt-het-vuren. Ban Ki-Moon en andere VN functionarissen waren feller en eenzijdiger in hun kritiek.

Het is opvallend dat de VN en wereldleiders altijd met dit soort afkeuringen komen wanneer Israël terugschiet. Inderdaad, onnoemelijk veel effectiever dan de raketten van Hamas, maar dat is toch niet het criterium voor het bepalen of een actie gerechtvaardigd is? Als Israël net zulke primitieve raketten als die van Hamas af zou schieten, mag het dan wel? Waar het om gaat is dat sinds Israëls terugtrekking uit de Gazastrook in 2005 Hamas meer dan 6000 raketten en mortiergranaten op Israëlische steden en dorpen heeft afgevuurd, waarvan 3000 in het afgelopen jaar, bewust op burgers en met het doel zoveel mogelijk mensen te doden en verwonden. Dat dat niet beter lukt, doet aan die intentie, die men vaak uitspreekt en blijkt uit de vreugde wanneer een aanval wel 'succesvol' is, niks af. En ondanks de weinige fatale slachtoffers maken de raketten een normaal leven voor honderdduizenden mensen die in plaatsen rond de Gazastrook leven onmogelijk. Kinderen zijn getraumatiseerd, scholen vallen geregeld uit, mensen durven hun huizen niet meer uit. Voor dat leed is opvallend weinig, eigenlijk helemaal geen aandacht in de Nederlandse media. Ik kan me geen enkele reportage over Sderot of Ashkelon herinneren, of een van de vele kibboetsen in de nabijheid van Gaza. Omdat de mensen in Gaza erger lijden, doen de mensen in Sderot en Netivot en Ashkelon en al die andere plaatsen er niet toe, lijkt de logica te zijn.
Lees verder...

--------------------------------------

Dries van Agt in NOVA over Gaza oorlog

Hoewel iedereen het er wel over eens is dat Israëls huidige offensief in de Gazastrook tegen Hamas is gericht, en vooral gebouwen die haar toebehoren of door haar worden gebruikt zijn getroffen, roepen allerlei mensen, zoals Dries van Agt - zaterdagavond in NOVA - toch weer dat Israël oorlogsmisdaden pleegt. Van Agt sprak zelfs van 'genocidale praktijken' in navolging van VN rapporteur Richard Falk, bekend om zijn vergelijkingen van Israël met de nazi's. Je vraagt je overigens af waarom NOVA Van Agt als gast uitnodigt om commentaar te geven op de Israëlische bombardementen op de Gazastrook. We weten immers precies wat Van Agt vindt: alles ligt altijd aan Israël; de Palestijnen, ook de Hamas, treft nooit enige blaam, en alles wat Israël doet is per definitie disproportioneel. Hij was dan ook voorspelbaar, welhaast slaapverwekkend, en zijn gebrek aan ook maar het minste inzicht in Israëls drijfveren was verbijsterend. Iemand die zich zo intensief met een zaak bezig houdt, moet, los van z'n eigen opvattingen, op zijn minst enig begrip van beide partijen hebben.
Lees verder...