Israel Withdraws from Gaza

Posted by Melissa McEwan, Shakesville at 10:40 AM on January 21, 2009.

Israel has withdrawn from Gaza in conjunction with the commencement of Obama's presidency.

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As ("kind of crassly") promised, Israel has withdrawn from Gaza in conjunction with the commencement of Obama's presidency, thus having, as Spencer Ackerman put it, "take[n] advantage of the blind eye of the Bush administration one final time." Meanwhile:

[T]he Israeli Army said it had begun an investigation into reports by some non-governmental organizations that it used white phosphorous weapons illegally during the Gaza war.

A military spokesman in Tel Aviv said such weapons were not prohibited under international law if they were used to create smoke-screens or for marking battlefield areas. The spokesman said Israel only used legal weapons.

Human rights groups are concerned about the Israeli use of white phosphorous, illegal if used against civilians, because it can burn flesh like a kind of napalm.

The Israeli spokesman said: "in response to the claims of non-governmental organizations and claims in the foreign press relating to the use of phosphorous weapons, and in order to remove any ambiguity, an investigative team has been established in the Southern Command to look into the issue."

Great. And if Americans know anything, it's that self-regulation followed by internal investigations always uncover the truth.

The spokesman said the investigation was first announced on Jan. 16 and was repeated on Wednesday after the newspaper Haaretz reported that the military was "investigating whether a reserve paratroops brigade made improper use of phosphorus shells during the fighting in Gaza."

"The brigade fired about 20 such shells in a built-up area of northern Gaza," the Haaretz report said. "Aside from this one case, the shells were used very sparingly and, in the army's view, in compliance with international law."

Well, as long as only a few people had their skin melted off in an excruciating torture that makes death a relief, that's okay then.

I don't mean to sound flippant. The business of war makes me so angry, I can't even talk about it in any way except with resounding contempt.

Tagged as: war, israel, palestine, middle east, attacks, withdraw, gaza

Melissa McEwan writes and edits the blog Shakespeare's Sister.

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It's not crass to point out the obvious. [Report this comment] Posted by: Defenestrator on Jan 21, 2009 12:36 PM Current rating: Not yet rated [1 = poor; 5 = excellent] Israel broke the cease-fire on Nov 4, while the US (and world) media was focused on the election. Now, they withdraw their invading troops before an untested president can weigh in on what they've done. It's not crass or anti-Semitic or whatever to point that out. [« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5] » RE: the Obvious Posted by: chance garden Hamas v. Fatah not getting reported [Report this comment] Posted by: slugsucker on Jan 21, 2009 3:45 PM Current rating: Not yet rated [1 = poor; 5 = excellent] Hamas Thugs Kill Fatah Thugs in Gaza By Itamar Marcus and Barbara Crook FrontPageMagazine.com \| 1/19/2009 Hamas has murdered "dozens of Fatah members" in the Gaza Strip for merely violating the Hamas-imposed house arrest. According to the Palestinian daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida the atrocities, which also included shooting people in the legs, has created a backlash in the West Bank and caused "anger, which influenced the level of popular activities carried out in solidarity with the Gaza residents in the towns Ramallah and El-Bira." In addition, the popular Palestinian singer, Jamal Najar, condemned Hamas as "gangs of anarchic security forces," describing how Hamas murdered his cousin right in front of his children for simply stepping outside. [PA TV (Fatah)] The following are excerpts from the article in Al-Hayat Al-Jadida and the transcript of the words of Jamal Najar: Headline: "Reports of persecutions and liquidation of Fatah members by Hamas members evoke anxiety and condemnation in the West Bank." Reports mentioning liquidations of Fatah members in the Gaza Strip by members of Hamas evoked popular condemnation which was added yesterday to the erupting anger, which influenced the level of popular activities carried out in solidarity with the Gaza residents in the towns Ramallah and El-Bira. The reports from Gaza pointed out the death of dozens of Fatah members caused by Hamas members. A prominent leader stated that isolated random incidents of murder have occurred, but ruled out that this is a case of organized persecution. Wafa A-Najar, Gaza resident who lives in the town El-Bira, said that her father was killed the day before yesterday and nine of her family members were injured by shooting by Hamas, among them were three small children and two young people in critical condition... According to the family's story, a squad belonging to Hamas came to her family's house in [the] Sheikh Radwan [neighborhood] in Gaza and shot at the legs of young Badran A-Najar, claiming that he was violating the house arrest which was imposed on him, at the time when he was sitting with his cousins in front of the house... A prominent leader in the Fatah movement in the Gaza Strip, Ibrahim Abu A-Naja, ruled out that this is a case of persecution by some organization, which aims at Fatah, however he pointed out that "a number of isolated incidents [of murder]" had occurred, as has been reported by the Israeli media... Abu A-Naja called for Hamas to halt any step which provides Israel the opportunity to attack us... Groups within the Fatah movement in the West Bank estimated that more than a hundred of its people in the Gaza Strip had been exposed to persecution, shooting, and liquidation." [Al-Hayat Al-Jadida (Fatah), Jan. 9, 2009] Jamal Najar, popular Palestinian singer: "I express my condolences to my cousins, some of them were killed yesterday by the gangs of the anarchic [Hamas] security forces in the Gaza Strip... The father was killed right in front of his children, because he didn't stay at home, after they placed him under house arrest, he and everyone who belongs to Fatah." [PA TV (Fatah) Jan. 6, 2009] [« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5] Dalai Lama Loves W [Report this comment] Posted by: slugsucker on Jan 21, 2009 3:51 PM Current rating: Not yet rated [1 = poor; 5 = excellent] Printed from The Times of India Non-violence can't tackle terror: Dalai 18 Jan 2009, 0451 hrs IST, PTI NEW DELHI: The Dalai Lama, a lifelong champion of non-violence on Saturday candidly stated that terrorism cannot be tackled by applying the principle of ahimsa because the minds of terrorists are closed. "It is difficult to deal with terrorism through non-violence," the Tibetan spiritual leader said delivering the Madhavrao Scindia Memorial Lecture here. He also termed terrorism as the worst kind of violence which is not carried by a few mad people but by those who are very brilliant and educated. "They (terrorists) are very brilliant and educated...but a strong ill feeling is bred in them. Their minds are closed," the Dalai Lama said. He said that the only way to tackle terrorism is through prevention. The head of the Tibetan government-in-exile left the audience stunned when he said "I love President George W Bush." He went on to add how he and the US President instantly struck a chord in their first meeting unlike politicians who take a while to develop close ties. [« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5] » RE: Dalai Lama Loves W Posted by: surfreality

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