Doc's Talk: Israel's operation against Hamas in Gaza

Saturday, January 10, 2009

Israel's operation against Hamas in Gaza - Update Jan 10

MFA

Since the beginning of the IDF operation in Gaza (Dec 27, 2008), four Israelis have been killed and over 200 wounded by rocket fire. Over 600 rockets and mortars have been fired at Israel.

Three Grad rockets struck Ashkelon Saturday, one rocket landing near a four-storey building; four people were injured. Another hit a top-floor apartment; and the third landed near a school. Other rockets landed in open areas in the western Negev.. Hamas sniper and explosives layout revealed

(Communicated by the IDF Spokesman)

On Thursday (Jan. 8), the Intelligence Corps Officer-in-Chief, Brigadier General Yuval Halmish, revealed a sketch by Hamas that details on the deployment of explosives and Hamas forces in the Al-Attara neighborhood in the northern Gaza Strip. The map was found during Paratrooper Brigade forces operating in the northern Gaza Strip and was translated from Arabic during the operation. It describes, among other things, the location of explosive devices and firing positions in the middle of the civilian population in the dense neighborhood, which endanger the life of the civilians. “That’s what Hamas has been doing throughout the entirety of the operation - perversely using civilians as human shields,” says Brig. Gen. Halmish.

The map shows that snipers are positioned at the entrance of the A-Tawil mosque and in the mosques next to it and describes the directions the snipers are aiming. It indicates that explosives are planted in the entrances of civilian homes. Hamas operatives are divided into three fighting areas throughout the neighborhood, colored blue, red and green. Throughout these area IEDs, (improvised explosive devices), barrel explosives, explosives, explosives against humans and anti tank explosives are planted.

In addition to that, the map also shows an explosive device planted next to a gas station - the detonation of the device would significantly damage the surrounding area. “The important point is the disregard for human life in using entrances civilian homes,” explains Brig. Gen. Halmish. “They booby-trapped the entrances of civilian houses with explosives put close to them; the objective is of course to hit our forces but a local explosion also damages the houses of the civilians and causes great damage, and likely killing civilians.”

Brig. Gen. Halmish also adds that Hamas prevents the distribution of the IDF's cautionary leaflets that ask the civilian population to leave their houses, saying, “Although IDF forces make every possible effort not to harm civilians and only target Hamas members and terror operatives, Hamas prevents these things.”

The forces also discovered a booby-trapped doll at the entrance of a building, which, upon detonation, pulls the surrounding people into an underground tunnel. This, in other words, is an attempt to hit or kidnap soldiers.

“This is done all the time,” explains Brig. Gen. Halmish. According to him these findings testify to Hamas’s military development, notably their network of underground tunnels that IDF forces constantly uncover. The results of the operation are good nevertheless, says Brig. Gen. Halmish. “There are a lot of casualties on the Hamas’s side, and great damage in their infrastructure. Because of Hamas, a number of uninvolved people were hit; for instance at the UNRWA school Hamas was firing rockets from - the terrorist organization keeps using the civilian population in the manner.”

Jan 10: Senior Hamas commander killed in Gaza operation

(Communicated by the IDF Spokesman)

Amir Mansi, the commander of the Hamas rocket launching program in the Gaza City area, was killed today by IDF fire with assistance of the ISA. Mansi was also the leading Hamas authority with regard to the long range Grad missile launching program.

Among other activities Mansi directed and actively fired dozens of rockets at Israel, killing and wounding Israeli civilians. Mansi was spotted firing a rocket in the Jabel Rise area during a ground force operation today. The forces opened fire, killing Mansi and injuring two additional terror operatives.

Summary of IDF Operations Overnight

Overnight, IDF forces, including infantry, tanks, combat engineers, artillery, and intelligence, continued to operate against Hamas terrorist infrastructure throughout the Gaza Strip.

IDF ground forces were involved in a number of incidents in which several armed gunmen were hit. In one of the incidents, snipers opened fire at a force which responded with fire and identified hitting the gunmen. In a separate incident mortar shells were fired at an IDF force which returned fire, and with the assistance of the IAF targeted the squad of five terror operatives.

IAF aircraft attacked over 40 targets throughout the Gaza Strip, including the following:

* Ten rocket launching sites
* One Anti-aircraft missile launcher
* Fourteen weaponry manufacture and storage facilities
* Five tunnels used to smuggle weaponry
* A number of armed gunmen

2 comments:

Lion Heart said...: First of all how bout we see a larger image of this map, so someone can actually read it instead of relying on, well frankly liars(IDF). Secondly if that is true, why do you think it is? Maybe because the Gaza strip is one of the most densely populated city in the world and they do not have ANY empty land to operate? Thirdly why do you think Hamas is firing at Isreal?
Lets the west and Isreal, force a democracy on a people, the people chose someone Israel is not happy about, so they decide to create a blockade on Palestinians, prevent many necessities from entering Gaza, such as food, water, electricity, medicine and many more.
Let's look at the even bigger picture. Why is this conflict happening? Why are these so called "Palestinian terrorists" attacking "Israel", hmm. Before 1948 For centuries there was no such conflict. In the 19th century the land of Palestine was inhabited by a multicultural population – approximately 86 percent Muslim, 10 percent Christian, and 4 percent Jewish – living in peace. Under Muslim rule all citizens were treated equally and lived in harmony.
However when the west stole Palestine, killed many innocent Palestinians, stole Palestinians land and houses. Now Palestinians only own about 5% of what they had owned 60 years ago. Not only that but Palestinians are treated like garbage, First comes Isreali's, Second comes Israeli land, then comes animals, next comes sewage after all that comes the Arabs. So basically Palestinians are 6th class citizens IN THEIR OWN HOMES.
The only reason every Arab and Muslim has no respect for America, is simply the way America Bends down for Israel. Does Israel benefit America in anyway? No not really. Only thing is we give them $15 Million a DAY. I really wish we could use my tax money for helping the homeless, building better schools, finishing off poverty and just making America better in general.
How would you feel if the Native Americans decided to take back their land, got the world to help them and 95% of Americans were kicked out of their houses and a very large percent of them were murdered. Would we as Americans just let them take our land, kill our brothers, sisters, mothers and fathers? Or would we fight back til we got justice?! I know I would fight back.; 6:03 AM
GS Don Morris, Ph.D./Chana Givon said...: Anas,
Thank you fore reading my blog and making the effort to respond. Gaza is an area of land and its cities are densely populated-however, there are many other more densely populated cities in the world and their people do not send rockets on a daily basis to their neighbors. Your cause and effect analysis is suspect. Not sure what history books you are reading but to suggest there were not difficulties in the area prior to 1948 is revisionist history.When you suggest the land was stolen from a people, clarity is in order-this statement suggests that a sovereign nation called Palestine existed and exists today-not true! This argument is spurious at best as Jews can say that its land was stolen by Arabs and the "West" if they used your logic. Thankfully they do not!; 6:34 PM

The IDF’s Minorities in Numbers and Pictures

In honor of IDF Diversity Week, we present diversity through numbers and pictures. Each year, more and more Muslims, Christians, Druze, Bedouin and immigrants from around the world take on the responsibility of defending Israel.

MUSLIMS:

Muslim Arab Israelis are not required to draft in the IDF, but there are many who volunteer. In 2013, there were over 200 Muslims serving in the IDF and over 300 in the reserves.

Bedouins:

Bedouins are nomadic Muslims who were in Israel when modern borders were set in place and are now considered Israeli citizens. They are not required to draft but a growing number choose to enlist. In 2012, there were over 1,400 Bedouin Muslim soldiers doing regular IDF service and almost 1,500 in the reserves.

Read more:http://www.idfblog.com/2014/02/27/truth-idf-numbers-pictures/#more-34027

Are you aware that in 2013, Middle class taxes go up-significantly?

In January of next year, the federal income tax rate for middle-class taxpayers is scheduled to rise from 25 percent to 28 percent, and the payroll tax is scheduled to rise from 13.3 percent to 15.3 percent… This drives the marginal tax rate based on the aforementioned three taxes to 48.12 percent. Add in state and local property, corporate, excise, and other state and local taxes, and the percentage of each additional dollar that is taxed hovers around 50 percent… When half of each additional dollar earned is taxed away, taxpayers experience a disincentive to start businesses or expand existing ones. This leads to fewer jobs being created.

Why is HAMAS Inside Tampa Schools?

Clare Lopez

Kelly Miliziano, who teaches history classes at Steinbrenner High School in the Tampa, Florida area apparently thinks it’s perfectly OK to invite a senior official of a HAMAS-affiliated organization into her classroom to discuss Islam with her students. According to local media reports, not only has this been going on for years, but in spite of the civil and criminal proceedings that could result from such reckless negligence, the Hillsborough County school superintendent, Mary Ellen Elia, and the chairman of the school board, Candy Olson, also expressed approval for students under their responsibility to be exposed repeatedly to guest speaker, Hassan Shibly, who is the Executive Director for the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) in the Tampa area.
More...

Did You Know... Ignoring the Call to Islam will Bring Jihad

‘Conquest through Da’wa [proselytizing] that is what we hope for. We will conquer Europe, we will conquer America! Not through sword but through Da’wa.’
-- Yousef al-Qaradawi , Muslim Brotherhood spiritual leader The Arabic word ‘Da’wa’ means the “call to Islam.” But do not think that Da’wa is the same thing as an invitation to an optional holiday event. The classical Islamic doctrine of jihad mandates that enemies must be given the opportunity to convert to Islam or pay the jizya tax before it is permissible to attack them.
Clare M. Lopez

Who is being discriminated-facts tell the truth

Religious bias

Hate crimes motivated by religious bias accounted for 1,409 offenses reported by law enforcement. A breakdown of the bias motivation of religious-bias offenses showed:

65.4 percent were anti-Jewish.
13.2 percent were anti-Islamic.
9.5 percent were anti-other religion, i.e., those not specified.
4.3 percent were anti-Catholic.
3.8 percent were anti-multiple religions, group.
3.3 percent were anti-Protestant.
0.5 percent were anti-Atheism/Agnosticism/etc.

http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/hate-crime/2010/narratives/hate-crime-2010-incidents-and-offenses.

On March 31, 1977, the Dutch newspaper Trouw published an interview

with PLO executive committee member Zahir Muhsein. Here's what he said:

"The Palestinian people does not exist. The creation of a Palestinian state is only a means for continuing our struggle against the state of Israel for our Arab unity. In reality today there is no difference between Jordanians, Palestinians, Syrians and Lebanese. Only for political and tactical reasons do we speak today about the existence of a Palestinian people, since Arab national interests demand that we posit the existence of a distinct "Palestinian people" to oppose Zionism.

For tactical reasons, Jordan, which is a sovereign state with defined borders, cannot raise claims to Haifa and Jaffa, while as a Palestinian, I can undoubtedly demand Haifa, Jaffa, Beer-Sheva and Jerusalem. However, the moment we reclaim our right to all of Palestine, we will not wait even a minute to unite Palestine and Jordan."

In March 1977, Zahir Muhsein, a PLO executive, said:

"The Palestinian people does not exist. The creation of a Palestinian state is only a means for continuing our struggle against the state of Israel for our Arab unity. In reality today there is no difference between Jordanians, Palestinians, Syrians and Lebanese. Only for political and tactical reasons do we speak today about the existence of a Palestinian people, since Arab national interests demand that we posit the existence of a distinct Palestinian people to oppose Zionism."

"For tactical reasons, Jordan, which is a sovereign state with defined borders, cannot raise claims to Haifa and Jaffa, while as a Palestinian, I can undoubtedly demand Haifa, Jaffa, Beer-Sheva and Jerusalem. However, the moment we reclaim our right to all of Palestine, we will not wait even a minute to unite Palestine and Jordan."

The Arab Apartheid

Ben-Dror Yemini
In 1948, the Arab countries refused to accept the UN partition proposal and they launched a war of annihilation against the State of Israel which had barely been established. All precedents in this matter showed that the party that starts the war - and with a declaration of annihilation, yet - pays a price for it. Between 550,000 and 710,000 Arabs fled because of the war and a larger number of 850,000 Jews were expelled or fled from Arab countries (the "Jewish nakba").
Population exchanges and expulsions were the norm at that time, occurring in dozens of other conflict points and affecting about 52 million people. In all the population exchange precedents that occurred during or at the end of an armed conflict, there was no return of refugees to the previous region, which had turned into a new national state.
Only the Arab states acted completely differently from the rest of the world. Instead of assimilating the refugees, they crushed them despite the fact that they were their coreligionists and members of the Arab nation - instituting a regime of apartheid. So the "nakba" was not caused by the actual dispossession, which had also been experienced by tens of millions of others. The "nakba" is the story of the apartheid, oppression, abuse and denial of rights suffered by the Arab refugees at the hands of the Arab countries. (Maariv)

International Law and Military Operations in Practice - Col. Richard Kemp

"Islamist fighting groups study the international laws of armed conflict carefully and they understand it well. They know that a British or Israeli commander and his men are bound by international law and the rules of engagement that flow from it. They then do their utmost to exploit what they view as one of their enemy's main weaknesses. Their very modus operandi is built on the correct assumption that Western armies will normally abide by the rules, while these insurgents employ a deliberate policy of operating consistently outside international law. "

Lost Historical Moments

What Rabin’s last Knesset speech really said:repudiation of a Palestinian state

Rabin ruled out a fully sovereign Palestinian state :

“We view the permanent solution in the framework of State of Israel which will include most of the area of the Land of Israel as it was under the rule of the British Mandate, and alongside it a Palestinian entity which will be a home to most of the Palestinian residents living in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. We would like this to be an entity which is less than a state, and which will independently run the lives of the Palestinians under its authority.”

Rabin ruled out a total withdrawal from Judea and Samaria and thus a return to the pre-June 1967 borders :

“The borders of the State of Israel, during the permanent solution, will be beyond the lines which existed before the Six Day War. We will not return to the 4 June 1967 lines.”

Rabin ruled out withdrawing form the Jordan Valley:

“The security border of the State of Israel will be located in the Jordan Valley, in the broadest meaning of that term.”

Rabin ruled out uprooting settlement blocs, like the Gush Katif bloc in Gaza (which was subsequently uprooted by former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon):

“The establishment of blocs of settlements in Judea and Samaria, like the one in Gush Katif.

AND

Rabin ruled out removing any settlement before coming to a full peace agreement with the Palestinians:

“I want to remind you: we committed ourselves, that is, we came to an agreement, and committed ourselves before the Knesset, not to uproot a single settlement in the framework of the interim agreement, and not to hinder building for natural growth.”

Rabin insisted on Israel retaining full security control of the borders with Egypt and Jordan, contrary to Israel’s relinquishment of the Philadelphia Corridor on the border with Egypt:

“The responsibility for external security along the borders with Egypt and Jordan, as well as control over the airspace above all of the territories and Gaza Strip maritime zone, remains in our hands.”

Correcting Oslo Myths-Part 2

3) Kuttab laments that the post-1993 Oslo process resulted in a Palestinian Authority "whose ministers and legislators are not guaranteed passage between Gaza and the West Bank ...."

Before free passage or other perquisites, PA leaders were obligated, among other things, to eliminate the terrorist infrastructure in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, end anti-Israeli, antisemitic incitement in schools, mosques, and communications media, and resolve all outstanding issues through peaceful negotiations. They met none of these commitments, sometimes bolstering terrorism and greatly increasing incitement.

4) Kuttab complains that under Oslo the PA got "lightly armed police ---- but no real sovereignty over the land or contiguity between our communities in Gaza and the West Bank."

Oslo agreements repeatedly were revised, regardless of Palestinian non-compliance, until the authorized number of police grew from 8,000 to 40,000. Though they were to be the only armed forces in the territories, Israeli estimates early in the second intifada put the number of gunmen - police, "security services," terrorists, and armed gangs - at 85,000. Their armament reportedly included not only heavy machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades, but also anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles.

Sovereignty was to be negotiated in the envisioned 1998 "final status" talks - after a five-year period of confidence-building. Palestinian leadership chronically undermined the process. Palestinian terrorism made the 1993 - 1998 Oslo period more deadly for Israelis than the 15 years preceding it.

The United States doesn't have contiguity between the lower 48 states and Alaska and Hawaii; territorial contiguity between the West Bank and Gaza Strip - that is, through the 20 miles of Israeli territory between them - was never promised and would destroy Israeli contiguity.

5) "Palestinians have been made to endure hundreds of checkpoints in the West Bank, an eight-foot wall deep in our territories, and tight Israeli control over borders."

The security barrier is not "deep in Palestinian territories," but rather encompasses less than 8 percent of Judea and Samaria, and is mostly a fence, rarely a wall; the land in question is not "our [Palestinian] territories" but disputed territory to which, according to the authors of U.N. Security Council Resolution 242, Jews as well as Arabs have claims; and there are no international borders, only the 1949 armistice lines with Jordan. Under 242, borders remain to be negotiated. As for checkpoints - like the security barrier and "tight Israeli control" - Palestinian Arabs precipitated these measures themselves. No terrorism and there would be no fence or tight Israeli control and few checkpoints - like before the first intifada.

Correcting Some Oslo Myths

1) In Oslo "Israeli, Palestinian and other world leaders promised that ... Palestinian sovereignty would be solidified."

No, they didn't. The 1993 Declaration of Principles and subsequent Oslo agreements outlined a process by which final status negotiations about the West Bank and Gaza Strip would be reached. The process required an end to anti-Israel terrorism and incitement and a commitment to peaceful negotiations. The PA, Fatah, Hamas, Islamic Jihad, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, and other terrorist groups, sabotaged the process from the start.

2) "The reality is that, in defiance of U.N. Security Council Resolution 242, which states that it is inadmissible to occupy land by force, Palestinian territories are still under foreign military occupation."
Wrong again. Resolution 242 (1967) does note "the inadmissibility of the acquisition of territory by war." It also affirms the right of every state in the area "to live in peace with secure and recognized boundaries free from threats or acts of force." There were no "Palestinian territories." Jordan occupied the West Bank, Egypt controlled Gaza. Israel did not have "secure and recognized boundaries," so retention of some of those territories was possible under 242. Israel is not a "foreign" military occupier in the West Bank but, pending final negotiations, the lawful military administrator as a result of a successful war of self-defense.

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