Gaza redux
No doubt one can make a case that the IDFs actions in Gaza were disproportionate to the threat to Israel, But, the problem is that most people believe that without any critical analysis, even though the IDF used less than 10% of its force and its soldiers are under orders to avoid civilian casualties. On Jan 27, Louis Michel, EU Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid, visited Gaza and then returned to Israel, whereupon he blamed the "overwhelming responsibility of Hamas" for the war and added, "Hamas is a terrorist group and has to be denounced as such." Having visited the Sderot area and Gaza, he added "I cannot accept that the response was so disproportionate."
After the war, when Israel cooperated with the UN and EU in delivering humanitarian supplies to Gaza, Hamas gunmen hijacked several convoys of trucks meant for refugee aid, including one from Jordan. Thursday for the first time, as reported in the Jerusalem Post, the UNWRA representative in Gaza, John Ging, who has been extremely critical of Israel during the war, criticized Hamas gunmen of stealing aid, including blankets and food rations, from UNWRA warehouses. He has complained directly to the Hamas "Government" in Gaza. Even during Operation Cast Lead, both Israeli and Fatah sources reported that Hamas were stealing food and medical supplies sent free into Gaza, and were selling them for profit.
A headline on an inside page of the Jerusalem Post also on Thursday Feb 5 caught my eye "UN: IDF did not shell UN school"! Now is that a surprise, after UNRWA claimed that the IDF shelled its school(s), after Secty. Gen of the UN Ban Ki-Moon gave a press conference and claimed that, after all the demonstrations with placards claiming that, after all the newspaper headlines and TV announcers castigating the IDF, that, as I predicted, it was all a mistake. When reviewed by the UN itself they were forced to admit it never happened, like the supposed IDF shelling of a UN food convoy, for which the UN suspended all food convoys and made a huge international fuss, all of these stories were made up by UNWRA, that is a fully paid, totally committed section of the Palestinian movement. After a report clearing the IDF of hitting the UN school appeared in the Toronto Globe & Mail newspaper, the UN Office for Humanitarian Affairs, headed by a committed anti-Israel expert, admitted that the "civilians" killed were in fact "outside" the school and not "inside" it as had been stated in all previous press reports! I told you so, don't believe a word they say, remember that in the next conflict, they malign Israel with lies every time. Will Ban Ki-Moon now issue an apology or hold a press conference to point out the total fabrications of UNWRA, not likely. Now the damage is done.
Friday there was also a headline that the UN "representative for children in conflict" is now prepared to investigate the use of children as human shields by Hamas during the recent Gaza conflict. One humanitarian organization said that they don't need to investigate Hamas because it's well known that they don't obey humanitarian laws, while the situation regarding Israel is more complex and subtle and so that is why they have to investigate Israel. What a ridiculous statement to justify a double standard.
The latest news from Cairo is that the Hamas representatives, while they were prepared to agree to the PA-Fatah taking back control of the Rafah crossing with EU and Israeli monitoring, are not prepared yet to agree to a ceasefire of more than a year, so they have returned to Gaza for more consultations. Meanwhile Hamas fired a grad rocket into Ashkelon yesterday, taking advantage of Israel being in the midst of the election campaign, with the election due next week. Unfortunately, after the election it usually takes weeks before a Government coalition is assembled and before strong action in response can be taken.
After the war, when Israel cooperated with the UN and EU in delivering humanitarian supplies to Gaza, Hamas gunmen hijacked several convoys of trucks meant for refugee aid, including one from Jordan. Thursday for the first time, as reported in the Jerusalem Post, the UNWRA representative in Gaza, John Ging, who has been extremely critical of Israel during the war, criticized Hamas gunmen of stealing aid, including blankets and food rations, from UNWRA warehouses. He has complained directly to the Hamas "Government" in Gaza. Even during Operation Cast Lead, both Israeli and Fatah sources reported that Hamas were stealing food and medical supplies sent free into Gaza, and were selling them for profit.
A headline on an inside page of the Jerusalem Post also on Thursday Feb 5 caught my eye "UN: IDF did not shell UN school"! Now is that a surprise, after UNRWA claimed that the IDF shelled its school(s), after Secty. Gen of the UN Ban Ki-Moon gave a press conference and claimed that, after all the demonstrations with placards claiming that, after all the newspaper headlines and TV announcers castigating the IDF, that, as I predicted, it was all a mistake. When reviewed by the UN itself they were forced to admit it never happened, like the supposed IDF shelling of a UN food convoy, for which the UN suspended all food convoys and made a huge international fuss, all of these stories were made up by UNWRA, that is a fully paid, totally committed section of the Palestinian movement. After a report clearing the IDF of hitting the UN school appeared in the Toronto Globe & Mail newspaper, the UN Office for Humanitarian Affairs, headed by a committed anti-Israel expert, admitted that the "civilians" killed were in fact "outside" the school and not "inside" it as had been stated in all previous press reports! I told you so, don't believe a word they say, remember that in the next conflict, they malign Israel with lies every time. Will Ban Ki-Moon now issue an apology or hold a press conference to point out the total fabrications of UNWRA, not likely. Now the damage is done.
Friday there was also a headline that the UN "representative for children in conflict" is now prepared to investigate the use of children as human shields by Hamas during the recent Gaza conflict. One humanitarian organization said that they don't need to investigate Hamas because it's well known that they don't obey humanitarian laws, while the situation regarding Israel is more complex and subtle and so that is why they have to investigate Israel. What a ridiculous statement to justify a double standard.
The latest news from Cairo is that the Hamas representatives, while they were prepared to agree to the PA-Fatah taking back control of the Rafah crossing with EU and Israeli monitoring, are not prepared yet to agree to a ceasefire of more than a year, so they have returned to Gaza for more consultations. Meanwhile Hamas fired a grad rocket into Ashkelon yesterday, taking advantage of Israel being in the midst of the election campaign, with the election due next week. Unfortunately, after the election it usually takes weeks before a Government coalition is assembled and before strong action in response can be taken.
posted by Jack Cohen at 2:20 PM
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