Quote:
Originally Posted by likwid
This is for you Swimmer:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/08/op...lidi.html?_r=1
WAR CRIMES The targeting of civilians, whether by Hamas or by Israel, is potentially a war crime. Every human life is precious. But the numbers speak for themselves: Nearly 700 Palestinians, most of them civilians, have been killed since the conflict broke out at the end of last year. In contrast, there have been around a dozen Israelis killed, many of them soldiers. Negotiation is a much more effective way to deal with rockets and other forms of violence. This might have been able to happen had Israel fulfilled the terms of the June cease-fire and lifted its blockade of the Gaza Strip.
“The Palestinians must be made to understand in the deepest recesses of their consciousness that they are a defeated people.”
That last quote, how hitler-esq. |
It is easy to say that all of the people killed (700) were Palistinian civilians, because HAMAS has no uniform. They hide themselves for the most part in amongst the civilian population. When in fact most of those killed, with the exception of the UN school bombing have been fighting members of HAMAS. Israelis have begged HAMAS to stop. Warn them they have day in and day out. Stop the missiles, but what happens. Since the last time Israel sent troops into Gaza 6400 missiles have been shot at Israel, with not much of a response militarily.
Why doesn't HAMAS stop rocketing Israel and negotiate. I think that it is great idea.
And yes, the residents of Gaza are a conquered nation. They were forced/pushed to live where they do by the Israeli's in 1967-68. During peaceful times though, when the borders into Israel are open, because Hamas or when it was just Fatah, is behaving well the Gazans are allowed to work in Israel and their economy flourishes. They are not being kept as captives. Look how many have emigrated here.
About ten years ago we had this awful neighborhood problem that went on for seven or eight years. Everybody in the neighborhood ganged up on this one guy. He was the perfect target in a way. Former druggie, drinker, mood swings galore. They gave him the chit and he gave it right back. I talked to him on the phone probably 100 times over the years. He told me many personel things about himself, because he needed someone to talk too. I asked him to be completely honest with me, and I asked him a question. The question was, M&%^$, tell me the truth, do you remember the first thing that happened that started this whole thing going in the neighborhood? Honestly tell me who did what first, him or them? He couldn't answer, because he didn't know.
So as it turns out that all the petty little things that were taking place in the neighborhood were all being done, caused by, this old lady who had a real bad alcohol problem. She would stay up all night drinking while her husband was sleeping and egg somebodies house, let air out of tires, pull reflectors at the edge of the road out of the ground, pull bushes out of the ground, dig up flowers, just did stuff that would drive you bananas.
I am amazed these ten families didn't all go after M. Because they all thought M was doing it to them. So they all did chit to M to get him back. So M was getting it from the ten neighbor families and the drunk old lady too. To end this story, old lady was taken to court and found guilty of doing some stuff, she and her husband moved. But still thier was animosity from the 10 families diected towards M, becasue of the embarassment they all suffered from because of thier misdirected anger.
M called me at the station one day, and we talked again for quite awhile. He said to me they wont even let my kid drive across this semi-open right of way on his ATV with the other kids and ride around in the woods out behind all the houses. I suggested to M that he walk across the street, show some humility, even though most of what happened had nothing to do with him and stick out his hand, then ask if we could put this all behind us. He did and we haven't had a call to the neighborhood in two years. It took a tremendous amount of courage for M to do that, because of his histroy of personel probems. It shows how he has grown and healed, got himself straight, and moved on.
Well anyway, it might do everyone in the middle east to do the same.