UNRWA scholen en de raketten van Hamas (Elder of Ziyon)

 

De ongeloofwaardigheid van de UNRWA wordt weer eens pijnlijk duidelijk – voor wie het wil zien.

 

UNRWA's second rocket cache and their zeal to redirect anger at Israel

http://elderofziyon.blogspot.nl/2014/07/unrwas-second-rocket-cache-and-their.html

 

From UNRWA yesterday:

 

Today, in the course of the regular inspection of its premises, UNRWA discovered rockets hidden in a vacant school in the Gaza Strip. As soon as the rockets were discovered, UNRWA staff were withdrawn from the premises, and so we are unable to confirm the precise number of rockets. The school is situated between two other UNRWA schools that currently each accommodate 1,500 internally displaced persons.

UNRWA strongly and unequivocally condemns the group or groups responsible for this flagrant violation of the inviolability of its premises under international law.

The Agency immediately informed the relevant parties and is pursuing all possible measures for the removal of the objects in order to preserve the safety and security of the school. UNRWA will launch a comprehensive investigation into the circumstances surrounding this incident.

 

It is fascinating that UNRWA couldn't count the rockets, or take photos.

It is equally fascinating that the guards that they presumably deploy to guard the schools don't notice things like this.

When the first set of rockets were found a few days ago, Gaza's interior ministry (which is Hamas) called UNRWA a bunch of liars. They spoke to all the terror groups and all of them said they had no idea about how rockets could have ended up in a school, or indeed any civilian facility. 

So we have one set of liars accusing another set of liars of lying. 

For all its faults, UNRWA does have incentive to keep rockets out of its schools. But its workers are often members of terror groups themselves - and almost certainly their guards are terrorists - so this sort of thing is inevitable. 

UNRWA doesn't want to release photos because it is afraid that they will be used against it. And they have a history of downplaying their problems with Palestinian Arabs who regularly protest UNRWA and violently shut down their facilities when they have grievances, Even though UNRWA employees are about 95% Palestinian, it is still regarded as an enemy when it doesn't provide all the free services the Palestinian Arabs demand.

It is to UNRWA's  credit that they issued this press release to begin with. Of course, they still tried to bury it.

You see, immediately after this press release, they issued another press release accusing Israel of shelling one of their schools - the previous day. So they made sure that the top press release in UNRWA's website, and the only one visible from their home page, is anti-Israel, not anti-terrorist.

Even that press release makes what are almost certainly false accusations:

UNRWA condemns in the strongest possible terms the shelling of one of its schools in the central area of Gaza which was sheltering hundreds of Palestinians displaced by the current fighting. At approximately 1655 hours yesterday, UNRWA’s Maghazi Preparatory Girls School, in the Maghazi refugee camp, where approximately 300 internally displaced people had sought refuge was struck by explosive ordnance believed to have been fired by Israeli forces. One person, a child, was injured in the shelling incident. We have raised this shelling incident with the Israeli authorities.

This morning when UNRWA officials went back to investigate the incident, there was further shelling of the school, seriously endangering the lives of UN humanitarian workers and displaced civilians. This second incident took place at approximately 1029 hours this morning and was 30 minutes inside the 0900 to 1100 hours window of time that had been coordinated with Israeli authorities and the UN to allow freedom of movement for the relevant UN personnel through the Maghazi Camp area.

 

Do they have any proof that they were being shelled by Israel? Of course not. Indeed, no one I have seen besides terrorist groups have accused Israel of violating the cease fire.  UNRWA makes the accusation because they want to ensure that world anger is directed only at Israel and that terrorist war crimes are downplayed and ignored.

Even though UNRWA facilities have been hit by Qassam rockets in the past. And UNRWA didn't report that at all. 

 

Gaza conflict: wie beschoot de UNRWA school? (IMO)

 

 

Gaza conflict: wie beschoot de UNRWA school?

http://www.israel-palestina.info/actueel/2014/07/26/gaza-conflict-wie-beschoot-de-unrwa-school/  

= IMO Blog = 

Afgelopen donderdag was er veel media aandacht voor de (vermeende) Israelische beschieting van een UNRWA school in Beit Hanoun in de Gazastrook. 'Wat? Schiet dat wrede Israel nu ook al op onschuldige kindertjes in VN scholen? Het moet niet gekker worden!'  In werkelijkheid werd de school per ongeluk geraakt, wat iet anders is, en veel minder impact heeft, dan een beschieting die tot doel heeft een gebouw en de daar aanwezigen te vernietigen. Belangrijker is dat helemaal niet duidelijk is van wie de granaten kwamen en wat de toedracht was. Er werd in de buurt gevochten door Israel en Hamas, zo schrijft The Times of Israel:

Errant Israeli shell, Palestinian rocket may have hit school — Channel 2.  An Israeli mortar shell may have hit the UNRWA school in which 15 Palestinians are said to have been killed today, Channel 2′s Ehud Ya'ari says, citing Israeli military sources. It was one of nine shells fired at a Hamas target — but went off course, "possibly" hitting the school instead.
Ya'ari adds, however, that a Palestinian rocket also hit the compound, and indicates that UNRWA officials have acknowledged this. Two hours ago, UNRWA spokesman Chris Gunness tweeted that Hamas rockets were falling in Beit Hanoun, where the school is located, earlier today.

Toch meldde de NOS onder de kop Israël bestookt VN-school: 15 doden:

Bij een aanval op een schoolgebouw van de Verenigde Naties in de Gazastrook zijn zeker 15 doden gevallen. Dat zeggen Palestijnse bronnen en journalisten die ter plekke waren. Meer dan 200 mensen zijn gewond geraakt.

De aanval was in Beit Hanoun, dicht bij de grens met Israël. In de school hadden honderden mensen toevlucht gezocht voor Israëlische tank- en raketaanvallen.

De school zou vier keer zijn beschoten. Ooggetuigen melden dat de meeste slachtoffers vrouwen en kinderen zijn die op de binnenplaats van het complex stonden.

Juist ja, Palestijnse bronnen. Die zijn bij de NOS, en andere media, blijkbaar per definitie betrouwbaar. Het commentaar van militair expert Ehud Yaari is dat uiteraard niet. Dat Hamas burgers instrueert om iedere dode automatisch een onschuldig burgerslachtoffer te noemen, is uiteraard irrelevant. Dat heet onpartijdigheid en objectiviteit. Ook Trouw en de Volkskrant gaan er zonder meer vanuit dat Israel de school (bewust) heeft beschoten. Er worden uitsluitend (pro)Palestijnse bronnen aangehaald. Als klap op de vuurpijl herhaalt men een totaal ongefundeerde aantijging van de UNRWA directeur in Gaza:

Robert Turner, de directeur van het UNRWA in Gaza, zei tegen Al Jazeera dat het Israëlische leger niet heeft gewaarschuwd voor de aanval.

CNN is een stuk evenwichtiger, en geeft naast de versie van UNRWA ook de Israelische:

The IDF said it had told people at the school to evacuate because of the fighting in the area and given a four-hour window to get people out. Israeli officials told CNN they had warned U.N. officials for three days to evacuate.

Ook meldt men dat er op Israelische troepen geschoten zou zijn. Waarom kunnen Nederlandse media naast Palestijnse en VN bronnen (wat praktisch hetzelfde lijkt, zeker waar het UNRWA betreft) niet ook Israelische aanhalen? Waarom is dat zo moeilijk? Waarom is men weer zo schaamteloos partijdig? Waarom neemt men voetstoots aan dat Israel zo'n beschieting op zijn geweten heeft, terwijl er daar in de buurt door twee partijen wordt gevochten?

Ik heb me al eerder deze week aan de NOS geërgerd, toen men weer eens een uitgebreide reportage had over Palestijnse slachtoffers in de wijk Shejaija, zonder een woord te zeggen over de vele raketten die van daaruit op Israel zijn afgevuurd. Er was overigens wel ook een reportage uit Israel: daarop zag men mensen relaxen aan het strand. Waarom geen schuilkelders en angstige gezinnen werden getoond, is me een raadsel.

Gisteren had de NOS een item over watertekort in Gaza en liet zien hoe Israel vorige week de waterleiding bombardeerde die aan 150.000 mensen water levert. Men liet vervolgens een lokale medewerker (dus van het Hamas bestuur) aan het woord, en op de vraag 'Waarom bombarderen ze dit?' zei hij: 'Om te vernietigen, om ons te laten voelen dat er een watertekort is. De waterleiding is aangelegd toen de Israeli's hier in Gaza waren, dus het kan geen vergissing zijn, ze wisten waar die ligt'. Niks geen wederhoor uiteraard vanzelfsprekend, want Hamas leden spreken toch gewoon de waarheid, dat weten we toch? Moet dit doorgaan voor onafhankelijke journalistiek?

Overigens zijn nu twee keer vlak achter elkaar wapens aangetroffen in een UNRWA school. De eerste keer zijn die overhandigd aan de 'lokale autoriteiten, zo meldde de VN, en dat zijn, juist ja, Hamas. Dat zij de zaak maar eens tot op de bodem uit gaan zoeken. Inmiddels zijn die raketten verdwenen, zo meldt een woordvoerder van Ban Ki-Moon.  Ban zelf is 'geschokt' en eist een 'uitgebreid onderzoek naar de omstandigheden waarin dit heeft kunnen gebeuren'. Tja, wat zou daar toch de reden van kunnen zijn? Misschien kan de VN er een 'fact finding mission' heen sturen, die de Hamas autoriteiten eens kritisch aan de tand gaat voelen? Ik zou dan wel een legertje meesturen voor de veiligheid van de geachte VN delegatie.

Ratna Pelle

 

De doden in het Gaza conflict (IMO)

 

 

De doden in het Gaza conflict

http://www.israel-palestina.info/actueel/2014/07/26/de-doden-het-gaza-conflict/

= IMO Blog = 

Het huidige Gaza conflict wordt (wederom) ook in de media uitgevochten. In de berichtgeving wordt vooral Israel als agressor neergezet, en ligt de nadruk op onschuldige Palestijnse slachtoffers. Intussen hopen de laatste dagen de bewijzen zich op dat Hamas doelbewust haar eigen burgers in gevaar brengt en als menselijk schild gebruikt.

Dit verwijt wordt door velen, ook in de zogenaamde kwaliteitsmedia, afgedaan als Israelische propaganda. Hamas zou simpelweg niet de middelen hebben die Israel wel heeft om haar eigen burgers te beschermen, en omdat heel Gaza dichtbevolkt is, bevinden raketlanceerinstallaties of commandocentra zich automatisch altijd ook in de buurt van burgerdoelen, dus Israel kan altijd zeggen dat Hamas dat expres heeft gedaan. Ook het feit dat Israel burgers van tevoren waarschuwt wordt vaak afgedaan met het argument dat Gaza zo vol is dat men geen kant op kan, en overal beschoten kan worden.

Dat doet uiteraard geen recht aan de precisie waarmee de Israelische wapens een specifiek doelwit kunnen treffen en de goede inlichtingen die men heeft verzameld over de doelwitten. Natuurlijk is het tragisch wanneer men zijn huis moet ontvluchten om elders af te wachten wat er straks nog van over is. Maar Hamas spendeert wel vele miljoenen aan een uitgebreid tunnelstelsel (met bedrading, licht en gestut), en aan de veiligheid van de eigen manschappen en leiders. Hamas leiders zelf leven ook een lekker leventje, vooral buiten de Gazastrook in de Golfstaten.

Hamas tactieken en burgerdoden

Wanneer je wapens in moskeeën en scholen opslaat en commandocentra in ziekenhuizen opzet, zijn gevluchte burgers daar inderdaad minder veilig geworden, ondanks het feit dat Israel nooit zulke doelen zal aanvallen zonder enige waarschuwing vooraf. Vol ongeloof las ik dat Hamas een door Israel opgezet veldhospitaal aan de grens met Gaza heeft beschoten. Ook belette Hamas Gazanen om zich er te laten behandelen. Dat Hamas burgers oproept op de daken van huizen van haar leiders te zitten zodat Israel ze niet kan treffen zonder een hoop burgerslachtoffers te maken, is niet nieuw. Eveneens bekend is dat men zich verkleedt als vrouw of uniformen van het Israelische leger gebruikt, of ambulances om zich te verplaatsen. Dit soort zaken zijn allemaal in strijd met het oorlogsrecht, maar daar hoor je de media en de zogenaamde mensenrechtenexperts zelden over. Hamas heeft bovendien het Al-Wafa ziekenhuis in Gaza als commandocentrum gebruikt en Israelische troepen hier vandaan beschoten. Israel heeft daarop de directeur van het ziekenhuis gewaarschuwd. Pas nadat het ziekenhuis was geëvacueerd en er geen patiënten meer in het gebouw waren (bevestigd door de VN), werd het door Israel gebombardeerd. Dat Hamas weinig geeft om de veiligheid van haar eigen burgers blijkt ook uit het grote aantal projectielen dat per ongeluk in Gaza zelf landt en daar slachtoffers maakt (dit zijn er meer dan in Israel, omdat Gazanen geen alarm hebben en geen raketafweer systeem en geen schuilkelders). Alleen al van 8-16 juli zijn er volgens de IDF 100 raketten vanuit Gaza in Gaza zelf neergekomen.

Media

De berichtgeving over het opgelaaide geweld is dit keer wat bescheidener, omdat de aandacht, geheel terecht, uitgaat naar de vreselijke vliegramp in Oekraïne. Dat belet de media echter niet om wederom de suggestie te wekken dat Israel op alles schiet wat los en vast zit en roekeloos slachtoffers maakt. Monique van Hoogstraten zei een paar dagen geleden in een verder nog redelijk evenwichtig verhaal dat het enige waar beide partijen tot nu toe in zijn geslaagd, is om veel slachtoffers bij elkaar te maken. Nu.nl schreef onlangs:

Die hebben 650 Palestijnen het leven gekost, onder wie meer dan 150 kinderen. Meer dan 4000 mensen zijn gewond geraakt.

Volgens Pillay wijzen de aanvallen op burgers, de dood van kinderen en de verwoesting van woningen als strafmaatregel op ernstige schendingen van het internationaal humanitair recht. Ze veroordeelde ook de beweging Hamas wegens het beschieten van Israël met raketten.

Ik vraag me af wat de bron voor die dodenaantallen is. Het is bekend uit o.a. Cast Lead dat Palestijnse bronnen het aantal burgerslachtoffers schromelijk overdrijven. Dit jaar zijn daar zelfs expliciet instructies voor gegeven. Hamas heeft daar ook een duidelijk motief voor: hoe meer burgerslachtoffers, hoe meer Israel onder druk komt te staan met haar aanvallen, die Hamas hard treffen, te stoppen, en hoe makkelijker Hamas sympathie kan verwerven voor haar eisen. Daarnaast geeft men niet graag toe dat men veel strijders is verloren omdat dat als zwakte kan worden uitgelegd. In werkelijkheid zijn hoogstwaarschijnlijk veel meer strijders dan burgers omgekomen. Uit statistieken blijkt dat de meeste slachtoffers mannen tussen de 18 en 48 zijn. Ouderen, kinderen en vrouwen zijn in de minderheid.

De Telegraaf schreef onlangs:

Zo’n 1000 Palestijnse moslims hebben in de Gazastrook hun toevlucht gezocht in een 12e eeuwse Grieks-orthodoxe kerk nadat het Israëlische leger hun wijk in Gaza in puin had geschoten. Zondag kwamen 72 mensen, meest vrouwen en kinderen, om het leven in de wijk Shejaia.

Vanuit die wijk zijn honderden raketten op Israel afgeschoten, en er liggen meer dan tien tunnels die zijn aangelegd voor terroristische aanslagen en infiltraties in Israel. Een Canadese journalist twitterde dat hij er een als vrouw verklede Hamas terrorist had gezien, het geweer stak onder de jurk uit. Het is een van de wijken waar Hamas het sterkst is, en het was duidelijk dat wanneer Israel de raketaanvallen maar ook het netwerk van tunnels wil aanpakken, dat het niet om deze wijk heen kan. Daarom had men de bewoners dagen van te voren gewaarschuwd en opgeroepen de wijk te verlaten. Hamas hield dit echter tegen; het vecht liever in een wijk vol burgers, omdat Israel dan veel terughoudender moet optreden om niet al teveel burgerslachtoffers te maken – waar zij immers uitsluitend de schuld van krijgt.  En voorts nogmaals de vraag: hoe weet De Telegraaf dat de meeste slachtoffers vrouwen en kinderen zijn? Dat hebben ze ofwel van een onder het gezag/toezicht van Hamas staand ministerie of organisatie, of van plaatselijke doktoren/ooggetuigen, en van beide is bekend dat men niet per se de waarheid spreekt en vooral ook onder druk staat om niet eerlijk te zijn.

Ook in andere artikelen wordt steevast beweerd dat het merendeel van de slachtoffers burgers zijn en dat er zoveel kinderen zijn getroffen. Hierbij beroept men zich met name op de VN, die hoogstwaarschijnlijk afgaat op cijfers van de Hamas autoriteiten en de UNRWA, die ook door Hamas wordt gedomineerd. Een Israelische bron zegt dat er ruim 200 terroristen zijn getroffen, 241 burgers en 229 mensen van wie nog niet duidelijk is wat hun rol was. Daarbij blijkt uit een analyse van de leeftijdsopbouw van de slachtoffers en de man-vrouw verhouding dat er waarschijnlijk een flink aantal strijders bijzit: 60% bestaat volgens Al Jazeera uit mannen tussen de 18 en de 38; zo’n 80% is man. Als Israel vooral burgers zou hebben getroffen, zou de leeftijdsopbouw veel dichter bij dat van Gaza moeten liggen: ongeveer evenveel mannen en vrouwen en veel meer kinderen. De helft van de bevolking is immers jonger dan 18. Er zijn dus eigenlijk juist relatief weinig vrouwen en kinderen slachtoffer.

Ik wil met deze opmerkingen de ernst en de tragiek van de slachtoffers op geen enkele wijze bagatelliseren; ik wil alleen duidelijk maken dat er vraagtekens zijn te plaatsen bij de aanname dat de meeste slachtoffers burgers zijn, en dat er zoveel vrouwen en kinderen omkomen. Als je de media mag geloven, lijkt het wel alsof er vooral vrouwen en kinderen worden getroffen en nauwelijks mannen.

Ratna Pelle

 

Proportionaliteit en oorlogsmisdaden in Gaza

 

Vaak wordt gezegd dat het logisch is dat we meer aandacht hebben voor Israels wandaden dan die van buurlanden als Syrie, maar we hebben ook meer aandacht voor Israelische missers dan voor onze eigen fouten. Misschien vinden we de NAVO en de VS minder beschaafd dan Israel en stellen er daarom minder hoge eisen aan, maar ik denk niet echt dat dat erachter zit. Wat het wel is, is niet zo simpel te beantwoorden, maar antisemitisme speelt daar zeker ook een rol bij. Helaas steekt dat tijdens confrontaties tussen Israel en de Palestijnen steevast de kop op, en lijken velen het bij alleen Israel heel logisch te vinden dat wanneer het dingen doet die wij fout vinden, we daar Joden op aan kijken en verwachten dat zij zich hiervan distantieren. En daar blijft het helaas niet bij.

 

RP

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Ben-Dror Yemini

 

Israel bashers, let's talk about proportion

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4545225,00.html

Op-ed: UN gave its full support to forces operating on its behalf, despite mass killing of civilians. So where do anti-Israel activists get the chutzpah to talk about 'genocide' and 'war crimes'?

Published:  07.18.14, 12:34 / Israel Opinion

 

Proportion, we are told. Proportion. So let's talk about proportion. Forget about Dresden, where the Allies' bombings left tens of thousands of people dead within three days. About 10,000 dead a day. Let's take a look at a slightly closer little war.

  

It was a war waged only through airstrikes. And in a war as in a war, innocent people were killed too. In fact, mostly innocent people. On April 14, 70 refugees were killed while seeking shelter in the village of Korisa. On May 30, a retirement home was bombed. Twenty elderly men and women paid with their lives. It’s unclear what their sin was. That same day, 11 people were killed in a train bombing. A hospital was bombed too, three people were killed, and one stray bomb even reached the capital of the neighboring country.

 

It didn't happen in Fallujah or in Chechnya. It happened in Belgrade, in central Europe, in the 1999 NATO bombings. About 500 fighters were killed, alongside a much bigger number, 1,500 according to an American general, of innocent civilians, including quite a few children. The Serbs themselves said the death toll had reached more than 5,000.

 

There were no mass protests in European cities against NATO at the time, but there was criticism. Amnesty Intrnational even accused NATO of committing war crimes. So it did.

 

NATO's planes, let me remind you, were not forced to deal with rockets fired at London or Paris from civilian population centers. The bombed entity did not threaten to destroy Germany or Holland. The official television channel in that entity did not call for the annihilation of the European, "to the very last one of them."

 

Among the NATO forces, it should be mentioned, there were zero casualties. Were you looking for proportion? Well, NATO has shown it to us.

 

It happened before that in Somalia too. The United Nations sent special forces to Mogadishu. Hundreds of civilians were turned, willingly or forcibly, into a human shield for the reign of terror which took over the country. The result was mass and indiscriminate killing of innocent civilians.

 

They had excuses. NATO Spokesman Jamie Shea explained the mass killing of innocent people by saying that "there is always a cost to defeat an evil. It never comes free, unfortunately. But the cost of failure to defeat a great evil is far higher."

 

David Stockwell, the chief spokesperson for the UN forces in Somalia, explained: "There are no sidelines or spectator seats – the people on the ground are considered combatants." The UN gave its full support to the forces operating on its behalf, despite the mass killing of civilians.

 

So where, we should ask the anti-Israel campaign activists, do you get the chutzpah to talk about "genocide," about "war crimes" and about proportion.

 

The two-edged sword

"Each and every missile launched from Gaza against Israel constitutes a crime against humanity, whether it hits or misses," Ibrahim Khraishi, the Palestinian Authority's representative at the UN Human Rights Council, said in an interview to the PA television.

 

Khraishi has not become a Zionist. He has complaints against Israel. He knows that the council he sits in has an automatic majority against Israel, and that if the Palestinians were to suggest that the council condemn Israel for spreading malaria in Africa, that proposal would be accepted.

 

But he was referring to a body which is supposed to a bit more serious: The International Criminal Court (ICC) in the Hague. The idea to sue Israel there is raised every now and then. Khraishi tried to explain to the instigators that it’s a double-edged sword. The Palestinians have a unity government. Every crime committed by Hamas is a crime committed by the Palestinian Authority. They share mutual responsibility.

 

Khraishi added that "many of our people in Gaza appeared on TV and said that the Israelis warned them to evacuate their homes before the bombardment. In such a case, if someone is killed, the law considers it a mistake rather than an intentional killing." He added that the Palestinians did not warn anyone about where the missiles launched from their side were about to fall, and so it was considered a crime according to international law.

 

Therefore, you should stop being so enthusiastic about appealing to the ICC, he told the Palestinians. Someone should say that to some Israelis as well.

 

 

Shifa ziekenhuis in Gaza ‘de facto hoofdkwartier voor Hamas leiders’

 

Nog een ziekenhuis dat door Hamas wordt misbruikt.

 

Washington Post: Shifa Hospital in Gaza City 'Has Become a De Facto Headquarters for Hamas Leaders, Who Can Be Seen in Hallways and Offices'

http://www.algemeiner.com/2014/07/21/washington-post-shifa-hospital-in-gaza-city-has-become-a-de-facto-headquarters-for-hamas-leaders-who-can-be-seen-in-hallways-and-offices/

JULY 21, 2014 11:00 AM 

Author: Joshua Levitt

 

A screenshot of a Hamas diagram, filmed as part of an IDF video from 2009's Operation Cast Lead, showing how weapons are hidden by mosques. Photo: IDF / Screenshot.

Contrary to international rules of warfare, Hamas has commandeered a large hospital in Gaza City as its "de facto headquarters," theWashington Post reported.

Buried eight paragraphs in,The Post's correspondent, William Booth, wrote on July 15:

"At the Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, crowds gathered to throw shoes and eggs at the Palestinian Authority's health minister, who represents the crumbling 'unity government' in the West Bank city of Ramallah. The minister was turned away before he reached the hospital, which has become a de facto headquarters for Hamas leaders, who can be seen in the hallways and offices."

Last week, The Post also reported, and also included near the end of an article, how Hamas was hiding rockets inside of a mosque, also against international rules of war. On Friday, buried toward's the end of The Post's dispatch from the front, one of its correspondents reported actually seeing rockets being moved into the mosque during Thursday's five-hour humanitarian ceasefire:

"During the lull, a group of men at a mosque in northern Gaza said they had returned to clean up the green glass from windows shattered in the previous day's bombardment. But they could be seen moving small rockets into the mosque."

According to international rules of military engagement,  civilian public and religious buildings cannot to be used to shield weapons, but that has been a long-held Hamas tactic in Gaza.

On Thursday, UNRWA, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, said it discovered 20 rockets hidden in a vacant school it operated in Gaza.

UNRWA said the rockets were discovered during a "regular inspection" and that it immediately "informed the relevant parties and successfully took all necessary measures for the removal of the objects in order to preserve the safety and security of the school."

The UNRWA came under criticism on social media for handing the rockets back to the "relevant parties," who readers interpreted as being the Hamas militants who hid the arms in the school.

 

VIDEO: Terrorists fire rockets from Gaza hospital

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4548760,00.html

Israel says Hamas uses Wafa hospital compound to attack soldiers, fire anti-tank missiles; ground, air forces attack Gaza City where they claim 'an entire Hamas brigade is active'; 10 terrorists killed.

Yoav Zitun

Latest Update:  07.23.14, 18:42 / Israel News

 

 

The IDF Spokesperson's Unit released footage documenting Hamas terrorists launching rockets from the al Wafa Hospital compound in Gaza City's Shajaiyeh neighborhood.

  

The IDF said that after days of consideration it has begun to attack the Wafa Hospital compound. The military claimed the hospital has been a hotbed of terrorists activities, with gun and anti-tank missile fire originating from the cite.

  

 

 

Later Wednesday, the IDF said it had killed 10 terrorists and found a tunnel which contained IDF uniforms and arms.

 

Israel has long claimed that Hamas and other Gaza terror groups are using civilian centers – like hospitals, mosques and schools – to launch attacks on Israel. Just last week some 20 rockets were found in an UNRWA school.

The al Wafa hospital was evacuated last week after a number of phone call warnings from the IDF.

 

The hospital, which serves as a rehab facility had gained attention after a group of activists moved in to be alongside 17 patients could not be evacuated.

 

Al Wafa hospital (Photo: EPA)

Nevertheless, they were moved last Thursday to a nearby hospital as Israel struck targets that rattled the facility.

 

The IDF released aerial photos today that they claim show the locations of Hamas rocket launch sites placed dangerously close to civilian sites. The photos claim to show rocket launchers inside the grounds of a mosque and a playground as well as a rocket launcher that appears to be adjacent to al-Wafa hospital.

 

Photo: EPA

 

Clouds of black smoke hung over the densely populated Gaza in the morning hours, with the regular thud of artillery and tank shells filling the air.

 

"We are meeting resistance around the tunnels ... they are constantly trying to attack us around and in the tunnels. That is the trend," said IDF spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Peter Lerner.

 

He said 30 militant gunman had been killed overnight, bringing the total to 210 since the offensive started.

 

 

A Palestinian health official said eight Hamas fighters died in the ferocious battle near Khan Younis, from where the Palestinian Red Crescent was trying to evacuate about 250. Khan Younis has been under Israeli tank shelling and drone strikes since early Wednesday.

 

The Red Crescent said Hamas fighters in the area were deploying rocket propelled grenades and light weapons, including machine guns, against the Israelis.

 

Hundreds of residents of eastern Khan Younis were seen fleeing their homes as the battle unfolded, flooding into the streets with what few belongings they could carry, many with children in tow. They said they were seeking shelter in nearby UN schools.

 

"The airplanes and airstrikes are all around us," said Aziza Msabah, a resident of Khan Younis. "They are hitting the houses, which are collapsing upon us."

 

Hamas's armed wing, the Izz el-Deen Al-Qassam, said its fighters had detonated an anti-personnel bomb as an Israeli army patrol passed, killing several troops. There was no immediate confirmation from Israel.

 

Photo: AP

 

There was also violence in the West Bank, where a Palestinian was shot dead by Israeli troops near Bethlehem. The army said soldiers fired a rubber bullet at him during clashes with Palestinians hurling rocks and Molotov cocktails.

 

According the IDF, they targeted Gaza City's Shajaiyeh area , dropping over 120 bombs on the area, which they claimed was home to a "Hamas battalion," a senior IDF source said.

 

According to the source, a Hamas command center was also to be found in the area, and some 28 tunnels, six of which were destroyed.

 

"Destroying tunnels is the heart of our current activities, and we are seeing more and more fighting around their entrances. Shajaiyeh terrorists have been dealt a serious blow."

 

He further claimed that there was growing pressure on the Palestinian population.

 

Reuters and the Associated Press contributed to this report

 

 

UNRWA school met 17 doden getroffen door Hamas raket?

 

Terwijl alle media Israel de schuld geven van de beschieting van een UNRWA school, zit Hamas hier waarschijnlijk achter.

 

The IDF spokesman remarked, and UNRWA confirmed, that misfired Hamas rockets fell and exploded in the area of the Beit Hanoun school. The IDF also reported there was significant combat in that area, where Hamas has used schools and hospitals as terror bases. The army shot artillery shells at Hamas targets, and one of the shells may have gone off course.

 

En? Wat denk je? Zouden de NOS, Trouw en De Volkskrant een rectificatie plaatsen?

 

RP

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

 

Update: Hamas Misfired Rocket Hit UNRWA School where 17 Killed

http://www.jewishpress.com/news/breaking-news/hamas-may-have-fired-rockets-that-hit-unrwa-school-killing-17/2014/07/24/

Hamas rockets exploded in the area, and there was heavy combat going on. UNRWA admits rockets hidden in their other schools have "gone missing."

By: Tzvi Ben-Gedalyahu

Published: July 24th, 2014

 

The UNRWA school in Beit Hanoun, Gaza. In 2007. it was repeatedly used as a launch site for mortars. (Archive 2007)
Photo Credit: IDF

UNRWA has admitted that a Hamas misfired rocket hit a U.N.-run school in Beit Hanoun in northern Gaza, according to Channel 2′s Ehud Ya'ari, but an errant IDF artillery shell also may have hit the facility, where Gaza sources claim an estimated 17 children and United Nations personnel were killed and 200 others were wounded Thursday afternoon.

Other sources have said the death toll is closer to 10.

Ya'ari also reported that one IDF shell struck the school, but this has not been verified.

The IDF spokesman remarked, and UNRWA confirmed, that misfired Hamas rockets fell and exploded in the area of the Beit Hanoun school. The IDF also reported there was significant combat in that area, where Hamas has used schools and hospitals as terror bases. The army shot artillery shells at Hamas targets, and one of the shells may have gone off course.

However, if even one of  the explosions was a result of Hamas rockets, which seems to be the case, foreign media will have to throw up their hands in surrender to their constant attempt to show Israel as a mass murderer of innocent children.

Israel was immediately blamed for supposedly bombing the school, and UNRWA spokesman Chris Gunness jumped all over the IDF for the tragedy.

Israel has made it clear that Hamas is responsible for any and all deaths.

Foreign news agencies already have blamed Israel and have published gory pictures of the aftermath of the attacks, which came a day after U.N. Secretary-General Ban-Ki moon expressed "alarm" that 20 rockets were found for the second time in a UNRWA school but that they had "gone missing."

The IDF initially responded to the report of the alleged bombing of the school in Beit Hanoun with a statement saying, the IDF is "currently in the midst of combat, with Hamas terrorists in the area of Beit Hanoun, who are using civilian infrastructure and international symbols as human shields. In the course of the afternoon, several rockets launched by Hamas from within the Gaza Strip landed in the Beit Hanoun area. The IDF is reviewing the incident."

Beit Hanoun has been a favorite site for terrorists because of its close proximity to Gaza Belt communities.

Approximately 20-30 percent of Hamas rockets have landed or exploded inside Gaza, and Channel 10 television said that UNRWA, after having spewed out anger at the IDF, has confirmed that Hamas was the source of the attacks.

UNRWA spokesman Chris Gunness, who has been strangely subdued about not knowing that rockets were hidden in at least two UNRWA schools – and that number is certainly much larger – turned up the volume with his usual anti-Israel condemnation over the bombing of the school.

Gunness told Israel Radio that UNRWA tried to coordinate with the IDF during the day to leave a window open for civilians to leave the school, but that request "never was granted." He tweeted, "Precise co-ordinates of the UNRWA shelter in Beit Hanoun had been formally given to the Israeli army."

He has not had too much to say about the rockets that "have gone missing."

His boss U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who was not so worried that the first batch of rockets found in a UNRWA school last week was turned over to Hamas, now is furious that no one knows who picked up the second batch. A wild guess might be, possibly, maybe, that they went back to their rightful owners, Hamas.

"Those responsible are turning schools into potential military targets, and endangering the lives of innocent children," Ban stated.

Canada's Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird stated Wednesday, "Even more alarming were reports that in the first case, officials with the United Nations returned these weapons to Hamas, a listed terrorist organization, once Israeli officials discovered their location."

U.S. State Dept. spokeswoman Marie Harf was at a lost for coherency when asked about UNRWA's turning over last week's rockets to "local authorities" and then finding out that Hamas had taken them.

She refused to admit that "local authorities" and Hamas are synonymous.

 

Hamas: 'alle doden in Gaza zijn onschuldige burgers'

 

  In Gaza komen alleen onschuldige burgers om, zo wil Hamas ons doen geloven…

 

 

Hamas instructs Gazans on propaganda, "Always call people 'innocent civilians'"

 

 

I had noticed that unlike in previous operations, Arab message boards and social media are not publishing lists and photos of "mujahid martyrs," making it harder to determine how many of the dead in Gaza are terrorists and how many are really civilian.

Now we know why. Hamas told them not to, and to lie and say that every victim is an "innocent civilian."

And the UN, NGOs and world media are regurgitating the Hamas lies.

From MEMRI:

 

In light of the recent round of fighting in Gaza, the Hamas interior ministry has issued guidelines to Gaza Strip social media users for reporting events and discussing them with outsiders.

The ministry's guidelines, which it is calling the "Be Aware – Social Media Activist Awareness Campaign," were issued via an instructional video posted on its official website and via posters published on its Twitter and Facebook pages. Both the video and the posters were also posted on the ministry's social media accounts and forums.

Following are excerpts from the guidelines:

Anyone killed or martyred is to be called a civilian from Gaza or Palestine, before we talk about his status in jihad or his military rank. Don't forget to always add 'innocent civilian' or 'innocent citizen' in your description of those killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza.

 

Begin [your reports of] news of resistance actions with the phrase 'In response to the cruel Israeli attack,' and conclude with the phrase 'This many people have been martyred since Israel launched its aggression against Gaza.' Be sure to always perpetuate the principle of 'the role of the occupation is attack, and we in Palestine are fulfilling [the role of] the reaction.'

Beware of spreading rumors from Israeli spokesmen, particularly those that harm the home front. Be wary regarding accepting the occupation's version [of events]. You must always cast doubts on this [version], disprove it, and treat it as false.

Avoid publishing pictures of rockets fired into Israel from [Gaza] city centers. This [would] provide a pretext for attacking residential areas in the Gaza Strip. Do not publish or share photos or video clips showing rocket launching sites or the movement of resistance [forces] in Gaza.

To the administrators of news pages on Facebook: Do not publish close-ups of masked men with heavy weapons, so that your page will not be shut down [by Facebook] on the claim that you are inciting violence. In your coverage, be sure that you say: 'The locally manufactured shells fired by the resistance are a natural response to the Israeli occupation that deliberately fires rockets against civilians in the West Bank and Gaza'..."

Additionally, the interior ministry prepared a series of suggestions specifically for Palestinian activists who speak to Westerners via social media. The ministry emphasizes that conversations with them should be conducted differently from conversations with other Arabs. It stated:

When speaking to the West, you must use political, rational, and persuasive discourse, and avoid emotional discourse aimed at begging for sympathy. There are elements with a conscience in the world; you must maintain contact with them and activate them for the benefit of Palestine. Their role is to shame the occupation and expose its violations.

Avoid entering into a political argument with a Westerner aimed at convincing him that the Holocaust is a lie and deceit; instead, equate it with Israel's crimes against Palestinian civilians.

The narrative of life vs. the narrative of blood: [When speaking] to an Arab friend, start with the number of martyrs. [But when speaking] to a Western friend, start with the number of wounded and dead. Be sure to humanize the Palestinian suffering. Try to paint a picture of the suffering of the civilians in Gaza and the West Bank during the occupation's operations and its bombings of cities and villages.

Do not publish photos of military commanders. Do not mention their names in public, and do not praise their achievements in conversations with foreign friends!

 

It is clear that most of the Arabic news media, and not just the social media, are adhering to these guidelines perfectly.

These instructions come with an implicit "or else" clause.

See also these posts on the real statistics of deaths from Gaza and how Hamas' websites in English and Arabic give completely different messages.