Several not necessarily related items that caught my attention since yesterday. If you want a blow by blow war journal, you better look elsewhere - some people do it much better.
Israel
Vice premier, Industry, Trade and Labor minister refrain from voting in favor of sending ground troops into Strip, after cabinet denies their motion for mission's operational goals to include toppling Hamas regime.Toppling Hamas regime, no more and no less. Do they also mean offing all the voters who... aw, what the heck - the Trade and Labor, being a Shas mouthpiece and thus as close to the deity as possible, is running around with "kill all Hamasniks" idea for a fairly long time. But Ramon? Gee... Have these two any idea what's the program after the army act is over?
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Namecalling. Nazis, fascists, genocidal maniacs, bloodbath, Shoah... you want it - you got it. Mostly it is coming from the blindly pro-Palestinian supporters who would do everything in their power to make the world forget that bit of cooperation with Nazis and that bit about drowning the Jooz in the Mediterranean and many other bits. However, it must be said that the other side is also quite active in this worthy business of devaluating symbols that once were potent.But here comes an exception, when comparison with Nazis seems to be proper and more.
When I am attacked for something I have written--which happens far more rarely than I expected, I am almost always shocked and genuinely perplexed at how very secondary points are chosen for vicious denunciation. The latest example is one sentence, out of a full article, in which I say that Hamas is worse than the Germans in World War Two because the Nazis did not use their people as involuntarily human shields and place ammunition dumps in residential buildings.Read it in its entirety. Good stuff.
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Following the cabinet meeting in Tel Aviv on Sunday afternoon, the government stressed that Israel has no intention of taking over the Gaza Strip.I sincerely hope so.
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Another item picked up on the radio: an Israeli Bedouin citizen of Rahat asking IDF to put an end to Hamas and their rockets. Brainwashed Zionist, you could say. And you will be wrong again.
Gaza and Arab world
If one believes this JP report (and I don't mean that JP is less reliable than any other news source nowadays, it is that the info comes from Fatah, who... well, you know), Hamas are indeed comparable to the worst sorts of evil ever granting their appearance to humanity:
Fatah officials in Ramallah told The Jerusalem Post that Hamas militiamen had been assaulting many Fatah activists since the beginning of the operation last Saturday. They said at least 75 activists were shot in the legs while others had their hands broken. Wisam Abu Jalhoum, a Fatah activist from the Jabalya refugee camp, was shot in the legs by Hamas militiamen for allegedly expressing joy over the IDF air strikes on Hamas targets.Fatah folks were caught many times playing fast and loose with numbers like this one, but the mere idea - to start eliminating your political rivals when you get in dire straits - yeah...
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From the latest radio news: yesterday Hamas folks have already circulated a poster declaring Hamas' victory. In addition, claims of abducted soldiers abound... Prescience or what?
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A most interesting news item (via Ami Isserof). Palestinian Ma'an News Agency (Bethlehem) conducts some on-line opinion polls. The recent one asks: "Who is to blame for loss of life in Gaza?" Even assuming that Fatah supporters and Zionist operatives like me (I didn't click there, though) clicked like crazy, the results are amazing:
The times are a-changing, ain't they? A few years ago I wouldn't believe it, but today...No less amazing is the result of an earlier poll - "Who bears responsibility for the collapse of the Gaza truce?":
What do you know?I only wish that some of the Western Israel-bashers would get some of that common sense displayed by the Arab voters on that site. But I know, and you know too, that this is too much to wish for.
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To avoid a merest shadow of suspicion that Ma'an is a tad sympathetic to the Zionist enemy, here is as good a proof of the opposite as any:
Bethlehem – Ma’an – Palestinian military groups resumed the firing of homemade projectiles at Israeli towns bordering the Gaza Strip on Sunday morning.Qassam or, especially, Grad rocket as "homemade projectile". Hmm... Remember these plastic bottles you have used to half-fill with water, pump some air and let them go? After all, people (in China and/or Iran) who produce Grads are doing it close to their homes. So a) Grad is definitely a projectile and b) you could call it homemade as well.
(Rest of the) World
Pope: War won't solve Holy Land problems
Benedict XVI calls for end of violence in Gaza Strip in speech before pilgrims, saying history has shown 'war and hate aren't the solution,' urges faithful to pray for peace.I will be damned* if I disagree with this statement and the call for a good hearty prayer. Couldn't Pope in his infinite wisdom, though, send one of his senior
(*) Just remembered that I am damned. Aw, heck.
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BBC. Nu, what can I say about this:The Israeli army was hit hard by Hezbollah in the 2006 war.But that was just an appetizer. Now what? Oh, here it comes:
Hamas fighters, who know Gaza better than the Israeli troops, have a belief in resistance and martyrdom. Their objective will be to give the Israeli army the same humiliation that Hezbollah inflicted during 2006. For all their bravado, Hamas are unlikely to be as formidable as Hezbollah. The rocky, hilly terrain of south Lebanon was not good for Israel's armour. Gaza, on the other hand, is flat and sandy.The above text is flat indeed, no bubbles. But, after all this claptrap, here is something refreshing:
For Hamas, the definition of victory will be that they can they fight on at the end of all this; for Israel it will be the stopping of rocket fire from Gaza.Could it be a recipe for a peace agreement? Of sorts?
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Fisk - dropping a usual load of er... bile and vinegar, this time on Egypt. Not worth quoting, but there is a Guardian sidekick of his, one Jack Shenker (that resides in Cairo). He seems to be disturbed by the response of some Egyptian folks to his (and Fisk's) crapola:Demonstrations outside Egypt's international embassies, the shooting of an Egyptian border guard by Hamas gunmen, and finally a widely-circulated article by the Independent's Robert Fisk which attacked Egypt's national "disgrace" and "malaise" have provoked a backlash even among trenchant government critics. "I'm sick of the sudden 'let's blame Egypt' mentality," wrote "Fattractive woman", a female Muslim blogger. The blogger known as Sandmonkey went further in a post about Jordanian, Lebanese and Syrian responses to Egypt's position, laying into "all of you f*****s who are badmouthing my country, which – by the way – fought four f*****g wars for the Palestinian cause and lost more people than all of you."Frankly, I am not 100% sure about the meaning of all these "f*****s" and "f*****g", but I know a bit about Sandmonkey. If Sandmonkey says that you, Jack, and your deranged mentor, Fisk, are "f*****s", who I am to object? So "f***" you both.
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Roseanne: but here my job is easy. I'll just quote Dave the Israellycool:
Meanwhile, the deranged one reveals she was going to be on the ISM boat. Lucky for Israel she wasn’t, because an Israeli navy vessel would likely not fair too well after coming into contact with Roseanne Barr.Indeed.
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And for dessert:
France condemns Israeli ground offensive in Gaza (Via Xinhua - don't ask why).
"France condemns the Israeli ground offensive against Gaza as it condemns the continuation of rocket firing (by Hamas against Israel)," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement Saturday evening.As it (the French Foreign Ministry), no doubt, condemns anything it (the French Foreign Ministry) has neither will nor intention to do anything about, nor does it give a damn other than watching with a wary eye the price of oil.
But enough for today.
Cross-posted on Yourish.com.
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