Just who is besieging who?
We keep hearing about the siege of Gaza…that’ll be the Gaza that has a free flow of goods into it, subject to them being of no use militarily, and the flow of Gazans into Israel to the jobs they have there…never mind the sick and injured that get treatment in Israeli hospitals.
On the other hand there is the 70 year assault on Israel by its Arab neighbours, not to mention Iran, which aims to wipe Israel off the map and the Jews along with it.
A constant onslaught of savage terrorist attacks on Israelis, not just in Israel but around the world, an endless barrage of rockets into Israel and the ever present threat of State sponsored military attacks against Israel should serve to remind people just who is under siege.
But you wouldn’t guess that from the BBC’s and other media outlet’s coverage which is why a reminder is necessary…..
From Alan Johnson in the Telegraph:
It’s time to bust the ‘Israeli blockade led to Hamas rockets’ myth
Here is the widely believed fallacy: the Israeli blockade of Gaza led to the firing of Hamas rockets from Gaza.
And here is the little known truth: it was the firing of Hamas rockets from Gaza that led to the Israeli blockade of Gaza.
The fallacy distorts our understanding of why these escalations keep happening and what will make a durable peace possible. The fallacy frames the Israeli blockade of Gaza as motiveless and cruel at best, demonic at worst, while it presents the firing of Hamas rockets on Israeli civilians as acts of resistance. The fallacy makes us think that if only Israel “lifted the blockade” then peace would break out.
The fallacy spreads because of ignorance.
People do not know that when Israel left Gaza in 2005, the Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon – who, like Rabin and Barak before him, and like Olmert after him, had crossed his Rubicon, finally accepting the need to divide the land – said: “We desire a life living side-by-side, in understanding and peace. Our goal [in disengaging] is that the Palestinians will be able to live in dignity and freedom in an independent state, and, together with us, enjoy good neighbourly relations.”
They do not know that the reply from the Hamas bomb-making chief Mohammed Deif was instant. On the website of the Izz-al Din Qassam Brigades he declared: “I thank Allah the exalted for his support in the Jihad of our people. I ask for your assistance to our jihad… We shall not rest until our entire holy land is liberated … To the Zionists we promise that tomorrow all of Palestine will become hell for you…”
They do not know that in spite of the Hamas threats, after leaving Gaza Israel signed an Agreement on Movement and Access with the Palestinian Authority which gave the Palestinians control over their own borders for the first time in history, allowed for imports and exports, and even approved construction of a seaport and discussions on an airport.
Unfortunately, Hamas does not respect deals made between the PA and Israel.
They do not know that Hamas launched a coup in 2007, took over the Strip, drove out its Palestinian political rival Fatah, threw their fellow Palestinians from rooftops, and declared as the new rulers of Gaza that they would now use the Strip as a base to destroy Israel.
They do not know that as a direct result, not only Israel but also Egypt put restrictions on the borders with Gaza, and Israel instituted a legal maritime blockade around Gaza to keep rockets and other weapons out of the hands of Hamas, while letting food and other humanitarian aid in.
They do not know that a UN inquiry (the 2011 Palmer Report) determined that Israel’s policy was legal given the threat it faced.
They do not know that in March 2014, Israel intercepted an Iranian ship, one of several intercepted by Israel, with a cargo of weapons to Hamas in Gaza, including advanced M-302 surface-to-surface missiles, showing again why the naval blockade is necessary.
They do not know that millions of Egyptians loathe Hamas as much as Israelis do. (Watch this compilation of Egyptian bile being poured over the heads of Hamas.)
They do not know that Hamas describes Palestine as “an Islamic Waqf (Endowment) consecrated for future Muslim generations until Judgment Day” or that it pledges “Israel will exist until Islam will obliterate it, just as it obliterated others before it”.
They do not know that Hamas rejects all possible compromise with Israel, and all possibility of a negotiated peace in the following terms: “There is no solution for the Palestinian question except through Jihad. Initiatives, proposals and international conferences are all a waste of time and vain endeavours.”
David Horovitz, the British-born editor of the Times of Israel, expresses the exasperation of many Israelis about all this. He pleads for “opinion-shapers overseas to… exercise just a smidgen of intellectual honesty”, and stop contriving not to see that “If there was no rocket fire from this non-disputed enclave, there would be no Israeli response, and nobody would be dying.”
The Siege by Conor Cruise O’Brien, published around 1985. Worth reading.
Another Siege – the continuous siege of Christians in Islamic countries.
World Ignores Christian Exodus from Islamic World
http://www.frontpagemag.com/2014/raymond-ibrahim/world-ignores-christian-exodus-from-islamic-world/
THE “RED CRESCENT OF IRAQ” calls upon the international community to intervene and save Christian women, sold in the Souks of Mossoul by ISIS
ISIS (*) jihadists now impose their laws from another time in the zones they occupy in the centre of Northern Iraq, namely Mossoul. All communities are abused, and especially Christians.
The latter, who have lived in this region for 2000 years are today stripped of their possession and chased out of their homes. Those who resist are directly executed.
The women are led like cattle to the market and auctioned off like the slaves in other times.
http://vladtepesblog.com/2014/08/09/iraqi-women-sold-as-slaves-in-the-souks-of-mossoul/
http://www.kapitalis.com/societe/23863-les-irakiennes-vendues-comme-des-esclaves-au-souk-de-mossoul.html
The truth is Hamas has never signed a peace treaty with Israel so they are both in a constant state of war.
They are at war when Hamas fires at Israel and the media takes no notice.
They are at war when Israel strikes back and the world’s media takes notice.
This means that things such as blockades are part and parcel of being at war. There will be no lifting of the blockade until Hamas sign a peace deal.
There will be no peace until islam is crushed and emasculated to the point it can never again raise its ugly head. The day our so-called leaders recognise this unquestionable fact, is the day we will begin our journey back to normal behaviour. No more marxism, no more common purpose, no more fabians or frankfurt or allinsky liars and deceivers, no more extolling the pleasures of socialism and no more islam, the religion of death.
yes dp111.the hypocrisy and double standards by the left and all these grubby pro palestinian anti semites at the real nazi genocide and atrocity that is going on at the moment in iraq carried out by muslims against christians is quiet sickening to watch.are these same grubs waving these anti semetic swp placards at these demos hand in hand with the screaming islamists going to march and protest against this muslim genocide of christians that is happening in iraq by muslims,will they,oh no,they could not care less could because they are only interested in jew baiting on a regular basis,the swp placards to me are just a logo that the support the terrorists of hamas and the mass murderers of isis.i think what happened in tower hamlets this week with the isis flag flying alongside the palestinian flag proves that.
That all-important ‘T’, for a moment I thought it was Alan Johnston that you were talking about!
Hamas supporters in the west constantly speak of the starving Palestinians, who suffer from the Israeli imposed blockade. Some facts. It does seem that if BBC warnings about the danger of obesity are to be taken seriously then Israel is responsible for supplying too much food to the ‘prisoners’ with Palestinian obesity levels of 8th highest in the world with the women of Gaza ranking as the third highest in the world. Can we please have a demonstration to protest against Israel’s over feeding the Pallies. Overweight women and children, needing hospital treatment. Those wicked Joos.
http://politicalarena.org/2012/11/25/palestinians-have-the-8th-highest-obesity-rate-in-the-world-third-highest-among-women/
While that is true, there is a humanitarian crisis in Gaza at the moment and a shortage of food could be quite possible. A crisis by the way that Hamas provoked and could end.
The danger is, if there really is a humanitarian crisis, how would we know given the lies we’ve been spun by BBC/Hamas/UNRWA so far?
Secondly, if it can be proven that there is, who would trust Hamas with the aid?
I assume there is a humanitarian crisis at this mment, but the figures published by WHO which I quoted above covered a number of years during which time there has been a constant barrage of propaganda about the Israeli blockade and starving Palestinians.
a reprise-
“BBC and NYT Admit Gazan Civilian Casualty Stats Not Credible”
http://honestreporting.com/bbc-and-nyt-admit-gazan-civilian-casualty-stats-not-credible/
According to the Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Rocket attack forces closure of Israel-Gaza border crossing
Rockets struck directly inside the crossing, endangering the lives of all the workers at the crossing. As a result of this attack, the crossing was forced to close.
(Communicated by the IDF Spokesperson)
Starting at 06:00 today (Sunday, 10 August 2014), several rockets were intentionally fired at Kerem Shalom, hitting working areas at the crossing. Despite this, the transfer of goods continued until the afternoon hours; over 30 trucks laden with humanitarian equipment entered the Gaza Strip.
At approximately 12:30, an additional barrage of rockets was fired, directly hitting the crossing compound. It was decided not to endanger the workers at the site and to halt the transfer of goods until further notice.
Since the beginning of Operation Protective Edge, the Kerem Shalom Crossing has facilitated the passage of thousands of trucks laden with medical and hygiene equipment, food products, raw materials, textiles, animal food, cleaning materials and home utensils, as well as gas and fuels. The transfer of goods has been carried out in order to render humanitarian assistance to civilians living in the Gaza Strip.
The Defense Ministry Land Crossings Authority:
“After continuous and intentional rocket fire at the Kerem Shalom Crossing this morning and this afternoon, during which trucks carrying flammable materials to the Gaza Strip were almost hit, we took the exceptional decision to close the crossing in order to protect the lives of workers and traders. The crossing was open throughout Operation Protective Edge despite constant firing in its vicinity and is the sole artery for the passage of vital humanitarian goods and equipment to the residents of the Gaza Strip.”
Now no article related to this has appeared on the BBC website. If they were to produce anything about it then for sure it would be under the headline of Israel Closes Border Crossing and Stops Aid Getting Through to Gazans
However their latest article relates to another 72 hour truce agreed between Israel and Hamas in which one can assume Israel will open the crossing again.
But even in this article not only doesn’t the BBC mention the missile attack on the crossing by Hamas earlier in the day, which undoubtedly they’re aware of, but continue with Hamas’ demand to end the blockade, as well as The BBC’s Wyre Davies in Jerusalem says the ceasefire should allow more humanitarian aid into Gaza, where thousands have been left homeless.
So nothing for the reader to understand that even in this conflict Israel has been providing aid even after the crossing was targeted by Hamas, just so that the latter could claim Israel is causing a humanitarian crisis.
Egypt maintains a similar blockade to that imposed by Israel,yet strangely no missiles are fired into Egypt
funny that
Hamas must be Islamophobic 😉
Just read that the Israelis supplied the Argies with arms during the Falklands do a lot of my sympathy has just dried up for them
I see Haaretz pushed that story very strongly
I believe Haaretz to the same extent I trust the bbc and the guardian
Link Please