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Israel-Palestine kerfuffle


Larry

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They did.

There was a cease fire in effect.

And then Israel decided to kill the head of Hamas, while he was driving down the street.

But please, feel free to keep announcing why one side of this is clearly, 100%, incapable of any peace. And accusing everybody else of partisanly blaming only one side.

War is where the young and stupid are tricked by the old and bitter into killing each other.

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War is where the young and stupid are tricked by the old and bitter into killing each other.

Not sure I'd make it an "age thing".

But I agree. A big part of the reason why this "thing" has been going on for so long is because both sides have powerful people who

a) Want it to continue. And

B) Aren't fighting, themselves.

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israeli_legislative_election,_2013

Early parliamentary elections will be held in Israel on 22 January 2013 to elect the 19th Knesset

There always seems to be an escalation of hostilities just before elections in Israel. If I was a conspiracy nut, I might just think that killing the head of Hamas was planned to provoke this reaction, and keep the Israeli electorate angry and fearful just before they went in to vote.

But as much as I dislike Netanyahu, I'm not going to believe that without some actual evidence.

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There always seems to be an escalation of hostilities just before elections in Israel. If I was a conspiracy nut, I might just think that killing the head of Hamas was planned to provoke this reaction, and keep the Israeli electorate angry and fearful just before they went in to vote.

But as much as I dislike Netanyahu, I'm not going to believe that without some actual evidence.

I suspect it's kind of like the conservatives claiming that tax cuts don't have to be paid for, because every time there's a tax cut, there's a year within 2-3 years where revenues go up. Hard to find a correlation with something (revenues going up) that happens almost all the time, anyway.

And, by similar reasoning, I suspect it's hard to correlate Mideast violence with Israeli elections, because there's almost always Mideast violence.

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http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/11/16/us-palestinians-israel-hamas-idUSBRE8AD0WP20121116

Israel authorizes more reservists after rockets target cities

Israel's cabinet authorized the mobilization of up to 75,000 reservists late on Friday, preparing the ground for a possible Gaza invasion after Palestinians fired a rocket toward Jerusalem for the first time in decades.

Tel Aviv, Israel's commercial centre, also came under rocket attack for the second straight day, in defiance of an Israeli air offensive that began on Wednesday with the declared aim of deterring Hamas from launching cross-border attacks that have plagued southern Israel for years.

Hamas, the Islamist group that runs the Gaza Strip, claimed responsibility for firing at Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. Israel said the rocket launched toward Jerusalem landed in the occupied West Bank, and the one fired at Tel Aviv did not hit the city. There were no reports of casualties.

The siren that sounded in Jerusalem stunned many Israelis. The city, holy to Jews, Muslims and Christians, was last struck by a Palestinian rocket in 1970, and it was not a target when Saddam Hussein's Iraq fired missiles at Israel in the 1991 Gulf War.

Officials in Gaza said 29 Palestinians - 13 militants and 16 civilians, among them eight children and a pregnant woman - had been killed in the enclave since Israel began its air strikes. Three Israeli civilians were killed by a rocket on Thursday.

The Israeli military said 97 rockets fired from Gaza hit Israel on Friday and 99 more were intercepted by its Iron Dome anti-missile system. Dozens of Israeli bombing raids rocked the enclave, and one flattened the Gaza Interior Ministry building.

https://twitter.com/JonDonnison

Airstrike in Gaza just now. Sounded distant rumbling across strip,

10:08 PM

The next airstrike closer. It had seemed to have been a quieter night in Gaza. That seems to be changing

10:09 PM

5 big airstrikes now shaking my room. Feels close.

10:11 PM

@Rushdibbc pointed out to me that in last war here almost 4 years ago there were around 8 days of bombardments before ground invasion.

10:19 PM

Almost constant sound of Israeli drones overhead in #Gaza.

10:22 PM

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http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/11/17/us-palestinians-israel-tunisia-idUSBRE8AG04W20121117

Tunisian minister in Gaza, tells Israel to halt "aggression"

Tunisian Foreign Minister Rafik Abdesslem visited the Gaza Strip on Saturday and denounced Israeli attacks on the Palestinian enclave as unacceptable and against international law.

"Israel should understand that many things have changed and that lots of water has run in the Arab river," Abdesslem said as he surveyed the office of Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh reduced to rubble in an overnight air strike.

"(Israel) should realize it no longer has a free hand. It does not have total immunity and is not above international law," he added. "What Israel is doing is not legitimate and is not acceptable at all."

Officials in Gaza said 38 Palestinians, half of them civilians including eight children and a pregnant woman, had been killed since Israel began its air strikes. Three Israeli civilians were killed by a rocket on Thursday.

https://twitter.com/MaathMusleh

From the trend of the strikes in the past hours, it seems Israel is levelling to earth all governmental buildings in Gaza

10:17 PM

It does kind of seem that way, plus at least some of the leaders' homes.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/11/17/us-palestinians-israel-irondome-idUSBRE8AG05S20121117

Israel deploys new Iron Dome interceptor near Tel Aviv

The Israeli military rushed a fifth Iron Dome anti-missile battery into service on Saturday and deployed it in the Tel Aviv area, the army said, underscoring concerns over the range of Palestinian rockets.

Islamist militants in the Gaza Strip have fired three rockets at Tel Aviv in the past 48 hours. No one was injured and no damage was reported, but the fact that Israel's commercial capital is in the firing line has alarmed many Israelis.

The fifth Iron Dome was not scheduled to come into service until early 2013.

The four other batteries are all deployed much further to the south, close to the Gaza border.

An army spokeswoman said that since the start of an Israeli offensive against militants in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, Iron Dome has intercepted at least 222 incoming rockets -- a 90 percent success rate.

https://twitter.com/SkyNewsBreak

Sky Sources: Three rockets have hit the city of Ashdod in Israel - no reports of casualties

6:28 AM

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We managed to get two interviews inside Gaza for yesterdays news. Both were long form interviews lasting at least 6 minutes.

Three things I noted:

1) The descriptions we were given were pretty terrible. Drew your sympathy.

2) During one of the interviews you can hear a siren at one point and then later on you can very clearly hear what sounds like a jet flying over which was described as an Israeli F-16.

3) The telephone line was amazingly clean and uninterupted... which again is noteable simply because with so many air strikes and the descriptions we've been given, it's remarkable that the infrastructure and ability to communicate is so unimpaired.

Here are some of the pieces we did yesterday...

With a Palestinian inside GAZA

http://voicerussia.com/radio_broadcast/70924886/94917447.html

With a UN Palestinian Relief Effort Spokesperson

http://voicerussia.com/radio_broadcast/70924886/94916774.html

We also did a couple pieces with folks in Israel. There is great concern and anger there especially as 1,000's of rockets have been fired some towards very densely populated areas like Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. First time in 17 years, Jerusalem has been attacked, but this new capability of firing longer range missiles definitely have the Israelis worried. More, the backing of Egypt and the military supply coming from both Iran and Egypt is part of the reason, according to those I spoke with, that Israel has struck back with the intensity it has and is considering calling up as many as 70,000 reservists.

They didn't sound all that hopeful that this could be resolved easily.

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A very sad situation to witness. I feel so terrible for the innocent people that lose their lives over these conflicts. That entire region just makes me sick to my stomach. Peace will never be obtained and it's unfortunate. Judging by history, this isn't going to turn out well for anybody and I think that we as the human population can only hope and wish that a peaceful solution can be reached. However even I don't foresee that happening. This is how world wars start and of course better ways exist but at times those better solutions get thrown to the wayside.

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http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/nation-world/sns-rt-us-palestinians-israel-egypt-trucebre8ag0im-20121117,0,6058590.story

Egypt sees "some indications" of Gaza truce soon

Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi said on Saturday there were "some indications" a ceasefire could be reached soon between Israel and Gaza Palestinians but he had no firm guarantees.

Egypt, which brokered an informal truce in October that has since collapsed, has said it is working for a new deal.

"There are some indications that there is a possibility of a ceasefire soon, but we do not yet have firm guarantees," Mursi told a joint news conference with Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan, who was visiting Cairo.

A senior Israeli official declined to comment on Mursi's remarks. The same official earlier denied reports that an Israeli official would head to Cairo on Saturday night to sign a truce deal.

"We are striving with all seriousness to stop this aggression, to reach a ceasefire. We call on everyone to adhere to what has been agreed upon, and we hope for an agreement on that at the earliest opportunity," said Mursi.

He said Egypt was working with a number of countries to achieve a truce, including Arab states, Western nations and Russia.

Erdogan said Turkey wished to see a ceasefire and that world powers were not halting Israel's attacks. "The party having the disproportionate force is obvious," he said.

Israeli aircraft bombed government buildings in Hamas-controlled Gaza and its "Iron Dome" defence system shot down a Tel Aviv-bound rocket on Saturday as Israel geared up for a possible ground invasion.

"If a land invasion happens, as some say, that forebodes terrible consequences in the region," said Mursi

https://twitter.com/BarakRavid

Senior US official told me the US is objecting a ground operation in Gaza and asked Israel to give more time for the Egyptian mediation

4:47 PM

https://twitter.com/sharifkouddous

Arab League chief Nabil al-Arabi to head delegation to Gaza on Sunday or Monday "to affirm solidarity with the Palestinians"

5:13 PM

https://twitter.com/alihashem_tv

according to sources in Cairo, it's unlikely that a ceasefire will be reached, as both sides are not showing any flexibility

5:15 PM

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Crossing fingers.

(One of the many little voices I hear is wondering if maybe, if Egypt really wanted peace, they could stop smuggling in missiles into Gaza? I hear that a lot of them supposedly come in via tunnels from Egypt.)

I don't think it's the government smuggling them in.... There's a lot of money invested by local tribes/groups in Sinai I think.

Now maybe they could do more to stop it from happening...but they've had quite a bit of trouble over there already.

I'm not sure Morsi wants to piss off those guys anymore.

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Also interesting is how nearly every US politician in the House, Senate, and Presidency is supporting Israel throughout this crisis

Checked over Nancy Pelosi and Marco Rubio tweets, both echo the same support

Any particular reason for this solidarity which is unifying two bitter parties

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Yeah, I'd read that he was head of the military wing, and about the cease fire.

This is the first I've read that he was supposedly the guy who negotiated it.

Just what this situation needs. More conspiracy theories.

Also interesting is how nearly every US politician in the House, Senate, and Presidency is supporting Israel throughout this crisis

Checked over Nancy Pelosi and Marco Rubio tweets, both echo the same support

Any particular reason for this solidarity which is unifying two bitter parties

The Jewish vote?

The military industrial complex?

---------- Post added November-17th-2012 at 05:53 PM ----------

Must be big trouble if our left/right have met in the middle.

This seemed so trifling until Egypt got involved and ground troops were called.

Didn't seen trifling to me.

And I'm seeing signs that Egypt might Save The Day, here.

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http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2012/11/2012111715464384598.html

Arab League 'backs Gaza against aggression'

Arab League chief Nabil Elaraby has pledged to support Palestinians against "Israel's aggression" and to end the blockade of Gaza during talks between Arab foreign ministers in Cairo.

The leaders said in a statement issued on Saturday that the Arab League chief will lead a delegation to the Gaza Strip on Sunday and support Egypt's efforts to negotiate a truce.

Maan News Agency reported the delegation led by Elaraby will include Riyad Al-Malki, the Palestinian foreign minister, and four other foreign ministers. Hamas has not yet confirmed the plans for the visit.

https://twitter.com/sarahussein

At least three journalists hurt in Gaza after Israel strike on a media building. I am fine for those asking. Safe for now. @AFP

7:33 PM

https://twitter.com/JonDonnison

If these Israeli shells fired from the sea are hitting buildings there wont be much of the buildings left. Seems to be increasing

7:27 PM

Tower block hit is where BBC office was for many years. Until last year i was working there. Old office reported reportedly destroyed.

7:32 PM

Believe a Hamas TV channel Al Quds TV now based in offices where BBC was until last year. 3 people from Al Quds reported injured.

7:34 PM

Shawa & Housari building reportedly hit in central Gaza city. Worked out of BBC office there until last year. Base for many local journos

7:38 PM

There was a boastful broadcast by Hamas earlier, I guess Israel didn't like it.

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https://twitter.com/JonDonnison

Worrying that Israeli military now seems to be targeting journalists in Gaza

8:23 PM

Hamas health min spokesman: 2 more children died in Gaza. 1 year old boy and 3 year old girl. Total killed here since Wed 48. 400+ injured

11:53 PM

Sounds of more distant explosions in Gaza just now after night of heavy Israeli shelling from sea.

11:55 PM

It may be temporary but IDF is saying Palestinian rocket fire has stopped for last 7 hours.

12:13 AM

https://twitter.com/charlottealfred

Israeli strikes hit another media office in Gaza, location of Al-Arabiya, Sky News

12:09 AM

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