The article was merely quoting an Israeli journalist whose parents settled in Israel in 1935 and whose father was killed in the israeli army in 1948. Surely he is in a position where has every right to comment on the situation, no? the newspaper just reflected points of view and left it up to the reader to draw their own conclusions. I just saw an interview with an Israeli defence spokeswoman about the ground invasion that was just initiated. I''m concluding that even if you're jewish and anti Palestinians, these people are worth any class of a prayer now. The world is a rotten place for people who are just trying to survive.
It's about time to get rid of Hamas once and for all - it will be better for Israel and Palestinians inthe long terms and for the entire ME. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090103/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_israel_palestinians
Hopefully they manage to completely wipe out Hamas. If only my country would help them out more. Our troops would be much better off doing this than occupying Iraq atm.
What a lovely compassionate bunch you are. The ordinary people of Gaza have nowhere to go and the Israeli army basically has been given the mandate to kill anyone they don't like the look off and all you can do is rejoice. I'm disgusted with human nature that's all I can say.
They elected Hamas honestly what did they expect? Ultimately this is good for the Palestinian people if Israel manages to wipe out Hamas. They need a government that's willing to help out their own country instead of hurting another one. They also need to cut ties with U.S. enemies. Basically everyone who's opposed us has either been wiped out or suffered greatly for it did they expect any different? We elected Bush so I expected stupid decisions. Well, we got that. If I felt strongly enough against his election I would have gone to Canada.
dude, wtf are you talking about? 1st of all, the general specifically said no civilians. 2nd, who is rejoicing? IDF is bound to lose soldiers. 3rd, it was clear from day 1 that you couldn't destroy all Hamas infrastructure w/out going in on the ground. Stop foaming and jumping to some random and unsupported conclusions. Go outside and take a breather if you have to.
See the above post and tell me how you can justify a comment about the Palestinian people deserving what they've got coming at them???????????? If you're all catholic I hope you spend a long time in the confession booth tomorrow that's all I can say.
http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/meast/01/03/israel.gaza/index.html It is highly doubtful that the hamas militants will actually stand and fight. They will hide among the unarmed civilians and claim to be non-coms when they see the Israeli troops coming for them. It is sad that it had to come to this, that hamas refused to stop there attacks and refused to do what is best for there people all because they have an unmitigated hate for Jews and Israel. Hopefully Israel will be smart and bring in Fatah security after they secure Gaza and let Fatah take control of the region. If Abbas is smart, he will be readying forces to take over in Gaza and finally remove hamas and get Gaza under control so the peace process can move forward. Anyone else notice that the leaders of hamas and hezbollah both talk tough even though neither of them are in the combat zone? They are safe hiding in the iranian embassy in Syria while they order people to die for a sick cause.
I'm atheist and I'd be more likely to sympathize with the Palestinian people if: 1. Isreal wasn't specifically not targeting civilians. or 2. Hamas wasn't elected democratically. That's the price of democratic freedom sometimes you make dumb choices. Obviously I hope that no Palestinian civilians are killed, because I'm a human and I value human life.
Israel is trying to regain its reputation after its defeat in the hands of Hezbollah, fighting a totally uneven war where the odds clearly favor it, while also lowering expectations enough so that anything but the most unlikely outcome could be painted as a victory. In Israel's eyes, that would then weaken the stature and position of its principal rivals in the region. For that reason, while the goal of the operation is to "get rid of Hamas" as you put it, that objective will not be clearly laid out. I am not sure what would be the reaction of the larger audience to which this all being played if Israel indeed does manage to kill off or capture most of Hamas' leadership and brass? Will they regard such an event as proof that resistance is futile, looking instead to leaders who want to even further appease and accomodate the Isrealis and the Americans? Or will they be left more angry and determined to change things in their region, blaming their US backed governments for not doing anything to prevent the Israelis from carrying out these measures? The answer to these questions is critical and at the heart of who will really win this battle? But not to take any chances, I believe that appropriate measures should be planned and taken if it appears that Hamas is unable to resist and inflict enough damage to the Israeli invading force. Btw, whether correct or not, I noticed Iranian television reporting that an earlier attempted incursion of Israeli forces (which might have been a faint to draw out Hamas forces?) was successfully repelled by the forces defending Gaza.
Like I said earlier I just saw a CNN interview with the Israeli defence spokeswoman where she said that Hamas is making it difficult to identify who's civilian and who's Hamas. Translation: we'll just shoot anyone who looks threatening. If you can't feel any compassion for the innocents who undoubtedly will die in this conflict, then it's no surprise why you're so happy about Israel taking it this far. War is ugly for all parties involved, not just for the Palestinian people but also for the Israeli soldiers and indeed the Israeli people in the long term. People who are happy about any class of war are complete dimwits and need to read up on history as far as I'm concerned. As for wiping out Hamas: better the devil you know as the saying goes. Israel with this latest action is creating yet more enemies, and if you think that it's going to solve anything, then youre either naive or simplistic.
Glad to see iran's propaganda tv is on the job. And you are still working for there office I see. Funny how you always ignore that hamas started all this by there continued rocket attacks against civilian targets in Israel.
Well they would say that wouldn't they. Today there were anti-Israel protests in many of Europe's capitals. Not that anyone cares but I thought it was worth a mention all the same.
Israel Ground Forces enter Gaza The USA does not favor nuclear arms for either India or Israel, or Pakistan either. It was unable to prevent any of these countries from acquiring these weapons. This might be a good point for a mod to close this thread & start a new one, based on the movement of Israeli troops into northern Gaza. Thankfully, the discussions have proceeded without as much rancor as I expected. Wherever you stand on the issues, please try to continue to be civil here. Thanks.
So what would you have Israel do? Sit back and let their country be hit by dozens of rockets every day? If Belgian terrorists were sending rockets into Holland you'd surely be for a ground invasion wouldn't you?
Not likely, Europe goes for appeasement first, no matter what the signs are. They still haven't learned much from 1938.
Anti-Israel or pro-Palestinian? There's a big difference. People who are anti-Israel are for the destruction of it (IM). Pro-Palestinians are probably more like yourself who are just against military action in Palestinian areas.
If Holland after thirty years of trying to defeat Belgium with violence had not succeeded I would have hoped for (and voted for) a different approach. It clearly hasn't worked for Israel, why think it'll work now? The west lets Israel gets away with a lot but not with wiping out the Palestinian people. A compromise has to be made and as Israel are clearly in the top dog position its up to them to start with the compromising.
Iranian television will certainly spin the news to support the version it favors, but what it reports will generally have at least some basis in fact. As I mentioned, it seems to me that the Israelis ran a "faint", intending to bring out Hamas forces, and withdrew quickly. Otherwise, as much as I like to see Hamas defeat the hallow Israeli forces, the fact is that this group is badly outnumbered and totally cut off. Its best chance is to inflict some serious casualties on Israeli forces in urban battle, while destroying some Israeli tanks and helicopters along the way. Otherwise, there is a world of difference between Hezbollah and Hamas when it comes to their capabilities, their training, and their equipment. I care and I am glad to hear that there are people in Europe who have a conscience. But it won't make much of a difference.
People in continental Europe generally see the Palestinians as underdogs, that's where the support comes from. Very few people like violence of any ilk, whether it's Palestinian or Israeli. But again people can see who is clearly in the underdog position here.
I mean I call myself an anti-war liberal but when the enemy refuses to negotiate and is sworn to destory you, your people, and your way of life, it's time to go to war.