The Israeli government began a 7 hour unilateral “humanitarian ceasefire” in Gaza at this morning, and immediately attacked the al-Shati refugee camp, which they insisted was “exempt” from the truce.
The Shati camp, near Rafah, is among several areas in and around Rafah which Israel has pounded over the past 48 hours. The attack during the ceasefire killed an eight-year-old girl, and wounding 30 other civilians.
Overall, the attacks on Rafah have killed a large number of people, almost entirely civilians, and don’t seem to be focused on anything in particular, with one of yesterday’s attacks hitting the UN school, killing 10 civilians.
The Israeli military is withdrawing the majority of its ground troops from the Gaza Strip, and seems to be trying to reset the conflict to its pre-invasion strategy of bombardment without boots on the ground.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appeared to confirm that today, saying that the attacks on Gaza will continue until “calm is restored,” though without any mention of a negotiated settlement.
Over 1,850 Palestinians have been killed so far in the Gaza war, the overwhelming majority of them civilians, and over 20 percent of them children under the age of 18. On the Israeli side, 67 have been killed, 64 of them troops.
Incidents are also mounting in the West Bank, where mass protests have been met by violent crackdowns, and unrest is growing. A motorbike attacker shoot an Israeli soldier at Jerusalem’s Hebrew University, though the soldier survived.
The more serious incident saw an Israeli Arab attacking a passenger bus with a backhoe, killing a pedestrian, apparently himself an anti-Zionist protester, and overturning a bus. The attack was killed by Israeli forces.
The incident sparked an anti-Arab protest in the area, with demonstrators chanting “death to Arabs” in Hebrew.
Israel is the one calling for a ceasefire, just to give them enough time to reload their guns and refuel their fighter jets.
Maybe the part about al-Shati being a refugee camp got left out of the memo? Even if was not specifically mentioned in the truce, the fact that it is a refugee camp should be a pretty good indicator there will be innocent civilians there, right?
Reporter to IDF pilot: "So, what do you feel when you bomb civilians in Gaza?"
IDF Pilot: "Not much, just a little bump when the bombs are released"
At least he didn't say, "It's like coming."
Isn't that from Roger Water's "Amused to Death"?
"The attacks on Gaza will continue until calm is restored" sounds a lot like the bad office joke "The beatings will continue until morale improves". I'm pretty sure the Gazans aren't laughing, though.
One can almost conclude from what has been happening in Gaza that the overall objective of the Israelis and American advisers {maybe}, is the extinction of the indigenous people.
Yes, one "can almost conclude" that if one ignores history and isn't very good with math.
If one actually looks at history and actually does math, one realizes that the overall objective of the Israelis (and of their American advisors, and of Israel's neighboring Arab states) is to maintain the Palestinian Arabs as a hostage population for both propaganda and geopolitical reasons.
That may have been the objective in the past, even the near past, but with the rise of the ultra-nationalists in the Israeli leadership and the overt stoking of anti-Arab anger/fear of the Israeli Jewish population, I'm not sure that still applies. The calls heard now, repeating ideas from the past (since 1948) are to drive the Palestinians from the land and fill it with Israelis – or with loyal Arabs. They are finding that maintaining a hostage population is difficult and expensive (even with the American support) and the rising international calls of indignation are not as easily deflected as in the past.
I think the Israelis have crossed the Rubicon and they've gone all in. It's like the Armageddonists here who are frantic that the Rapture might not happen in their lifetime and wouldn't that be such a disappointment. They're doing everything possible to ensure it happens as soon as possible. There's a feeling of desperation in the actions of the Israelis that wasn't there not too long ago.
I guess our mileages vary. I see the latest Gaza dust-up as "same shit, different upcoming funding round in the US Congress."
I sense no desperation nor anything frantic.
Periodically, Israel has to (to steal from Ledeen) throw some Arabs up against the wall to "prove" that Israel still faces an "existential threat." And generally they will do that in Gaza or the West Bank, since the last time they tried it with Lebanon, Hezbollah handed the IDF its ass.
An additional motive this time around is pretty obvious: Hamas agreed to a "unity government" with Abbas/Fatah. If the Palestinian Arabs manage to put together a functioning, recognized state, that might limit Israel's options for just doing whatever it wants. Israel didn't attack in the Fatah-ruled West Bank, where the alleged casus belli (the abduction and murder of three teenagers traveling on a "Jews Only" road) took place. They attacked in Gaza, where Hamas runs the show, in hopes of goading Hamas to hold on to war instead of seeking peace.
It's also a distraction to the less inform who doesn't know the distance between the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Hamas had no control where the murder of those three teens occurred.
The attacks in the WB are coming – though they may not obviously be by the Israeli government, they will be instigated by the ultra-nationalists and done by "radical" right wing super religious groups. They've already started ranting about the up-till-now peaceful demonstrations in East Jerusalem. Unfortunately I think things will devolve before things settle down. When you intentionally rouse the radicals, be they Israeli or Arab, you have to understand that at some point, you lose control of the situation and the hatred they have flamed, on both sides of this issue, are burning brightly…waiting for someone to throw some powder.
I hope I'm wrong but I fear not. I'm not as optimistic as you are. And if you had heard the former Israelis Ambassador to the US Michael Oren on MSNBC yesterday, perhaps you would agree with my estimation at the level of desperation…perhaps….but then, I'm just an observer, not an analyst.