It is an Israeli tradition of sorts to attack UN compounds in each of its war. Remember the first and second Israeli attacks on the UN compound in Qana? Well, this time the ‘glorious and invincible Tsahal’ did it again: they just attacked a UN compound in Gaza killing 40+ people who had found a shelter in this school converted into a refugee center. As always, the UN had given the Israelis the GPS coordinates of the compound. Actually, the Israelis hit the first UN compound on Monday morning, but that initial strike did not achieve the intended result. This latest strike, however, will probably give the Israelis a sense of “teaching the UN a lesson”.
I am just curious about one thing: will the Israelis actually claim that Hamas was firing missiles from inside (or nearby) the UN compound?
Alas, the “its really all Hamas’ fault” argument allows them to rationalize **anything**
I’d like to say the media attention will eventually degrade Israel’s image abroad, but the exact same things happened in Beirut in 1982. Many protested and were critical…much more than today, actually…and yet it didn’t matter at all.
I’m convinced that people worship power. They wish to be on the side of the powerful, no matter how depraved, rather than the weak. I think the ’06 war did more to hurt Israel’s image because it was the image of power that was hurt. That’s how this can change. An ambush leading to multiple IDF casualties could really turn things around.
It was not Qana that turned things around in 0’06, but Bint Jbeil.
@Lysander:An ambush leading to multiple IDF casualties could really turn things around. It was not Qana that turned things around in 0’06, but Bint Jbeil
You betcha! I would only add that unlike other nations, the Israeli Jews have this morbid worship for “Jewish blood” which has a quasi-sacred value, thus the “spilling of Jewish blood” is always viewed by them as a major calamity, much beyond the normal modern abhorrence for the spilling of any blood. Therefore, if “Jewish blood” is spilling in any substantial quantity the pressure on the government to find a way out will, indeed, increase.
For the time being the casualty ratios are more than acceptable to the Israelis.
Did you guys ever notice how Bint J somehow became an Israel victory on Wikipedia, even though it was after Bj that all the “there can no longer be a Hezbollah rehtoric” totally stopped after the battle?
VS – what about now? Is it still to early to call? Hamas is still standing 4 days later. Maybe the IDF has been stopped cold and we’ve got a stalemate, meaning… Hamas wins, right?
I’m afraid Lysander hit it on the head. Maybe Obama will find the moral courage to face down his AIPAC Congress and discipline Israel but I highly doubt it. If not there can only be one end to this horror; the Arabs must acquire weaponry capable of reducing Tel Aviv to rubble if the Israelis even think of embarking on another murder spree.
That’s not to say targeting of civilians by Hamas or anyone else is justified. It is both a crime and a mistake.
The IRA almost always gave warnings before detonating a bomb in mainland Britain but it became abundantly clear to the British establishment that there was a serious risk of hitting the City to the point where the financial institutions might up sticks and move to Frankfurt.
Palestinian resistance has been very badly led and they have often disgraced their cause but the cause itself is just and eventually they will figure out how to make apartheid Zion a losing transaction even for the most bigoted and privileged Likudnik.
Plus the US is an empire in terminal decline just as Britain was by the mid twentieth century.
Only question is how much blood and horror will ensue before we reach the endgame.
Guess what? The hasbara machine has already swung into the same sick routine it ALWAYS adopts whenever Israel is caught out in a particularly horrendous atrocity. A spokeswoman (yes, some hard-faced butch chick is always wheeled out in such occasions) will say that the matter is still under investigation the results of an ‘initial investigation’ showed that ‘the Khamas” had fired from the building which they had previously booby trapped (under the eyes of the UN???). Therfore, as always, Israel had ‘no choice’ but to bomb the place but the blame had to go to ‘the khamas’.
Really monstrous stuff. We’ve seen it before in Qana (twice) and the Gaza beach bombing a few years back. No doubt we will see it again, because the sick thing is – it works. The vile US govt has already said that ‘not enough details are available and we should not jump to conclusions’.
Bastards.
@anonymous:VS – what about now? Is it still to early to call? Hamas is still standing 4 days later. Maybe the IDF has been stopped cold and we’ve got a stalemate, meaning… Hamas wins, right?
I am not so sure,
First, I am following al-Jazeera, Press TV and Haaretz almost by the minute and there is hardly any real information coming out. Hamas, for its part, does not (unlike Hezbollah, for example) film its attacks and has really nothing to show either.
Second, the Israelis have been moving in very *very* slowly, so they are clearly risk-averse and while that is not the best tactic to use, that does keep the casualties rate low. Bottom line: I don’t get the sense that Hamas and the Israelis got down to serious business yet.
Third, there is a Hamas delegation in Egypt negotiating something. Considering the lack of strategic vision of the Hamas leaders in the past, God only knows what kind of terms Hamas will really accept in the end.
Fourth, one thing which would definitely strengthen Hamas would be strong(er) stance by the other Arab governments but, predictably, the USraelien puppets like Mubarak & Co. are more than happy to do nothing. In fact, Egypt has shown itself a truly steadfast and faithful ally of Israel in this entire war.
Fifth, the reaction of the Palestinians in the West Bank is so lame as to be irrelevant. Clearly, Hanyieh’s appeal for a new Intifada have been totally ignored.
So yes, I say that it is still way too early to call.
Presumably the IDF and their Fatah enforcers have put the West Bank into lockdown but even so you would expect some action there.
Lets hope that one of the results of this whole abomination will be that the Palestinian people eventually remove these PA quislings, one way or another.
I agree. The response of the West Bank Palestinians has been incredibly disappointing. Obviously, Israel and Fatah are going to crack down on any and all protests for ‘security reasons’ but even so, you would expect better. There’s not much even the Quisling PA could do against huge numbers of Palestinians peacefully protesting on behalf of their brothers and sisters. But those numbers simply have not materialised.
@Robert & Irish Eyes: agreed. the PA and Fatah need to go, but so does Mubarak in Egypt. I just don’t see any real strategic progress in Palestine as long as Egypt fully backs Israel. Getting rid of Mubarak should really become the number one priority of the Resistance in the Middle-East. I realize that this is a tall order, but that is the unavoidable next step in my opinion.
@all:
yep, there we go! Just heard the Israeli spokesman, Mark Regev, just said that Hamas had been firing mortars from inside the UN compound…
[rolleyes, sigh, nausea…]
Could some leadership of Hamas be CIA/Mossad assets see
Hamas is an offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood, which is used by the CIA and MI6 to do their dirty work.
@anonymous:Could some leadership of Hamas be CIA/Mossad assets?
Oh sure, it *could* be the case, but that could be said by so many people that this hardly seems relevant to me. Also, remember that the CIA ended up loosing control of so many of its assets (Saddam, Noriega, the Taliban, etc.) that having “been” a CIA asset hardly matters. No, I personally “judge the tree by its fruits” and I cannot say that Hamas is acting like an American pawn.
Historically, Hamas was created by Israel as a counterweight to left-secularist-nationalist PLO. Does that make Haniyeh a Shin Bet asset?
I cannot prove a negative or dispute that something is possible. But do I think that the CIA is running Hamas today? No.
The Israelis do what they’re suppose to do fighting against guerrilla forces – terrorise the whole population with atrocities. Make all people dream of their previous life in an open air concentration camp as if it had been most wonderful experience in their life.
Terrorise all population to a state of despair.
And then – give them hope. Make them believe that there are only two ways to go.
Endless terror, massacre, no one to turn to.
Or – back to where they all started from. At least they could breath, eat some food, make love. And hope.
But – they need to get rid of these bad, bad people. People who brought this terror to them. Hamas. Look how beautiful is life in West Bank.
Got it? No Hamas – no terror.
And the Israelis seem to enjoy playing god.