CNN Breaking: Israeli Tanks Moving Into Gaza Refugee Camp

[kpete]

4:15 pm pst

War on 2 fronts

[xultar]

1. My prediction. Israel drops a nuclear weapon.

[Poll_Blind]

5. No, the land Palestinians (Gaza, West Bank) live on is...

...Israeli land according to the government in charge currently:

From the Kadima Party platform, emphasis mine:

• The Jewish people have a national and historic right to the Land of Israel in its entirety.
• The overall objective – a sovereign Jewish and democratic state that is a secure national home for the Jewish people – is the maintenance of a solid Jewish majority within the State of Israel.
• The balance between allowing Jews to fulfill their historic right to live anywhere in the Land of Israel and maintaining the continued existence of Israel as the national Jewish home necessitates a choice that requires territorial compromise.
• Conceding parts of the Land of Israel is not an ideological concession but a realization of the ideology guaranteeing the existence of the Jewish and democratic state in the Land of Israel.
• Determination of the State of Israel’s permanent borders within a peace agreement will ensure the country’s national and security interests.

  What this means is that the Government of Israel (GOI) considers all of biblical Israel to be Israel, not its current borders. Also, according to the above, the Palestinians are granted, magnanimously, access to Israeli land. Gaza, the West Bank- those are Israeli lands according to the statement above.

PB

[cali]

12. You keep posting this with

your interpretation over and over (ooh, i'll have to dig up the Hamas covenant again). Careful readers might note that no where does it state that they're referring to all of biblical Israel, and that the last line specifically refers to a peace agreement to determine final borders. What's more the second bullet speaks directly to territorial concessions:

"The balance between allowing Jews to fulfill their historic right to live anywhere in the Land of Israel and maintaining the continued existence of Israel as the national Jewish home necessitates a choice that requires territorial compromise."


Have you no shame?

[Poll_Blind]

21. Alert and Ignore are your friends, Cali. People are welcome to...

...go straight to the Kadima website and read their full platform. I invite your own interpretation of their view of Gaza and the West Bank if you feel mine is in error.

  The line you quoted, which begins "The balance between allowing Jews..." is a dependent clause on the first bullet point in which Kadima ideology lays claim to all of historic Israel (which includes the West Bank and Gaza). The concession is not a permanent one. It is merely in effect because it is necessary for peace. However, when that is no-longer necessary (i.e. under a circumstance such as Palestinian migration to other Arab countries) the language and order of the document revert right back to the first bullet point: "The Jewish people have a national and historic right to the Land of Israel in its entirety."

  The last line does refer to a peace agreement to determine final borders. However, how blind do you expect everyone who follows world politics is? Olmert has stated prior this misadventure that he was not going to negotiate with Hamas and that he would unilaterally determine Israel's borders if an agreement were not reached in, I believe two years. Well, after what Israel's done I think it's arguable, and I'm arguing it, that there will be no peace between the Israelis and the Palestinians (especially after all is done in this recent tank trip that Olmert has taken into Gaza) in the next two years and he will draw up whatever borders suit Israel in his opinion.

  And...this is the current Kadima party platform drafted in the last year. You're welcome to drag out the 1988 Hamas document and claim that is somehow representative their party platform, today but that doesn't make it any more factually correct, today.

PB

[cali]

26. And the Constitution was drawn up over two hundred years ago

that hardly invalidates it. Hamas has never repudiated one word in their covenant. Insisting that it doesn't represent them now is akin to insisting that because the Constitution is so old it doesn't really represent the ideals of the U.S.

[k_jerome]

16. total misrepresentation to paint Israel as imperialistic land grabbers...

total BS.

[Binka]

30. It Is The Kadima Party Platform

How is that a misrepresentation? How is it BS?

[katty]

9. and bush will give the "go for it" signal-Israel the Wild Card

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

27. My prediction:

Evil Jewish aliens burn Sao Paulo to the ground and then use its smoldering remains to roast wieners.

[malta blue]

2. I've been waiting for these reports

I read in the Israeli press that the areas around Gaza were getting missile fire, specifically, Ashkelon, a beautiful Mediterranean town where I spent three months.
http://www.arutzsheva.com/news.php3?id=107683

[everythingsxen]

3. Oy...

Just.. Oy...

Maybe Oy Vey...

or Oy Gevalt...

but just Oy says it all.

[blonndee]

4. WTF?

WHY???

[chimpymustgo]

6. This is so far beyond MADNESS. WTF??? Not enough dead yet??

This is nauseating.

[katty]

10. Mad, sick, warmongering governments hijacking the world-they

are the real terrorists.

[k_jerome]

17. missle attacks by terrorists...

shutting it down.

[blonndee]

18. Link?

Haven't heard about any missle attacks from Gaza.

[chill_wind]

7. Existing Gaza humanitarian crisis - UN reporting weeks ago already

This is bad!!!


And this was *before* last week's developments!

Statement by the United Nations Agencies working
in the occupied Palestinian territory

8th July 2006


The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), which works with 980,000 refugees, believes that Gaza is on the brink of a public health disaster. Since the strike on Gaza’s only power plant on June 28th, the entire strip is without electricity for between 12 and 18 hours every day. The Coastal Municipality Water Utility is now relying on its own backup generators to operate its 130 water wells and 33 sewage pumping plants. As it only has 5,000 liters of the 18,000 liters of fuel needed, the Water Utility’s daily operation has been cut by two thirds, resulting in water shortages and a critical situation at the sewage plants. With restrictions on the humanitarian supply lines there is now a backlog of over 230 containers of food awaiting delivery through the Karni Crossing and the bill for surcharges arising from these delays has reached as staggering half a million dollars.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO) the public health system is facing an unprecedented crisis. WHO estimates that though hospitals and 50 per cent of Primary Health Care Centres have generators, the current stock of fuel will last for a maximum of two weeks. Those generators which are being used were intended for backup purposes and the malfunctioning of these generators will have grave consequences. According to WHO in the last week, there has been a 160 per cent increase in cases of diarrhea compared with the same period last year. Compounding these problems, WHO estimates that 23 per cent of the essential drug list will be out of stock within one month. WHO is also alarmed by the tightening of restrictions on patients needing to leave Gaza for treatment. Only a handful of extremely critical cases have crossed through Erez since June 25th even though prior to current developments, an average of 25 cancer patients left through Erez every week. According to WHO, the monthly referral rate of emergency patients stands now at between 500 and 700 people.

(more - regarding food and other relief supplies)

According to the United Nations Childrens’ Fund, (UNICEF) children in Gaza are living in an environment of extraordinary violence, insecurity and fear. Electricity and fuel shortages are leading to a reduction in the quantity and quality of health care and water accessible to children. The ongoing fighting is hurting children psychologically. Caregivers say children are showing signs of distress and exhaustion, including a 15%-20% increase in bedwetting, due to shelling and sonic booms. UNICEF-supported counseling teams also report a large increase in the number of requests for assistance. UNICEF says steady supplies of fuel and electricity are needed to store safely and transport vaccine and drugs, and for operating primary health care facilities. UNICEF stressed that children are always most vulnerable to outbreaks of communicable disease brought on by lack of water and sanitation.

The use of force by Israel during its military operations into the Gaza Strip has resulted in an increasing number of deaths and other casualties amongst the Palestinian civilian population, and significant damage to civilian property and infrastructure, says the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. Whilst Israel has legitimate security concerns, international humanitarian law requires that the principles of proportionality and distinction between civilians and combatants be respected at all times. The prohibition on targeting civilians is also being violated by Palestinian armed groups, launching missiles from the Gaza Strip into Israel, and must therefore end. The deterioration in the current human rights situation requires that measures are promptly taken to put an end to these actions and to ensure the protection of civilians.

full report: http://www.un.org/unrwa/news/UN_agencies_8Jul06.htm

cross-posting from
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x2396894

Judi Lynn
Human Rights Situation in Iraq Grave, UN Report Shows
July 18, 2006

[katty]

8. and again, the poor refugees, militants killing "civilians"

[blonndee]

11. Where is this? I can't find it at the web site

or on TV.

[Lone_Star_Dem]

13. I saw it on my local news

Here's a link to their coverage.
http://www.kxan.com/Global/story.asp?S=5167565&nav=0s3d

[kpete]

14. Thanks Lone_Star_Dem

I appreciate the link.

[blonndee]

15. Thank you! nt

[leftchick]

19. omg! Link...

Israeli tanks began moving into the Mughazi refugee camp in central Gaza early Wednesday under cover of machine gun fire from troops.

The Israeli military confirmed that an operation was in progress.

The camp is near the Gaza-Israel fence across from the Palestinian town of Deir al-Balah. Israeli forces operated in the region late last week before withdrawing.

The incursion was preceded by several hours of tank movements on the Israeli side, as well as exchanges of fire between soldiers and Palestinian gunmen. No casualties were reported.

Israel began a large-scale operation in Gaza on June 28, three days after Hamas-lined militants tunneled under the border and attacked an Israeli army base at a Gaza crossing, killing two soldiers and capturing a third.

http://www.wral.com/apworldnews/9538540/detail.html

[blonndee]

20. Sigh.

I so hope...well, I was going to say I hope this is no big deal, but I think at this point that's too much to even hope for. :-(

[katinmn]

25. I can't believe this! These people are trapped!

Israel controls all passages, all water, and has the Palestinians penned up like some kind of reservation with a 100 foot wall enclosing them and they are moving in with tanks??!! Children have to pass through armed checkpoints to go to school.

Why won't any world leaders speak out against this? Sweden? South Africa? Anyone??????

[malaise]

28. We;; said

...has the Palestinians penned up like some kind of reservation with a 100 foot wall enclosing them and they are moving in with tanks??!! Children have to pass through armed checkpoints to go to school.

And how different is this from Nazi Germany again? Oh yes Israel is fulfiling its historic destiny.

Israel and the US are both led by fascists. There is no denying this any longer.

[Scurrilous]

22. Ynet news flash:

Report: IDF besieging Muqataa in Nablus

(03:52 , 07.19.06)

[chill_wind]

23. kick! n/t

[mmonk]

24. Same ol same ol.

[Disturbed]

29. It seems that the Israeli Govt., will not return any more land

that they have taken over via the past Wars. The Gaza Strip may be the last concession. I predict perpetual War for a few more centuries in that region.

[JackNewtown]

31. Good, as long as Israel focuses on terrorists n/t