All you really need to know about Israel's attack on Gaza in one picture...

[Watser?]

This is what Israel calls 'targeted assassination' and this is also what they consider 'human shields' I suppose, because they keep bringing that up.



Only one of them is an adult male and the likely target of the attack. 3 of them are pregnant women, one is an elderly woman and 19 of them are children of 14 or younger. Almost an entire family wiped out.

[Ari]

Following in the US's footsteps.
Next all males will be considered enemy combatants.

[Watser?]

They already do that. That's apparently why they targeted those boys on the beach.

This is the same pattern as that attack that I saw the aftermath of in Gaza in 2002. They also targeted one Islamic Jihad member then and took out his family and the neighbors for good measure. That was the first 'targeted assassination' and it was making a mockery of the word targeted even then.

[wei yau]

The posts on the feed from my FB friends indicate that the Hamas is forcing children and elderly to stay at missile launch sites, so that they would be amongst the casualties from Israeli attacks.

There's so much propaganda from all sides on this conflict, that I can't even begin to figure out what's true.

[Ari]

I don't buy it, for a couple reasons. One being that this 'human shield' claim has been used in the past by bully countries (like the US) trying to make the opposition look inhuman, 'You made us kill them' seems a common justification (I'm surprised they haven't claimed that Palestine 'deserves it because of how it was dressed'). Two because there's clearly enough civilian casualties to blame Israel for already, there's no point in making more, it's not like the UN/media requires a certain number of children to be killed before they will speak out.

[Watser?]

Originally Posted by wei yau

The posts on the feed from my FB friends indicate that the Hamas is forcing children and elderly to stay at missile launch sites, so that they would be amongst the casualties from Israeli attacks.

There's so much propaganda from all sides on this conflict, that I can't even begin to figure out what's true.

That isn't.

For one thing Palestinians in Gaza deny it. For another: there is way too much evidence that Israel is targeting all kinds of civilian buildings: hospitals (3 hospitals have been hit, at Al-Aqsa there were five dead, Wafa has been virtually destroyed), nursing homes (they hit 2), a center for the disabled, a beach cafe where people were watching the World Cup, a car clearly marked press and 4 kids on a beach who the Guardian correspondent said were clearly targeted on purpose, a man looking for his relatives who was shot by a sniper and then finished off with a second shot on camera and gods know how many private homes like the one in the OP, where one of the people present was a member of Islamic Jihad or Hamas and the rest of them were just expendable (sorry: human shields).

Oh, erm, what Ari said I mean!

[Watser?]

And also a German/Palestinian family of 7:

Germany's Foreign Ministry says it appears that a German-Palestinian family has been killed in Gaza.

A Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, who did not give her name in accordance with government policy, said Tuesday that "based on multiple concurring indications, we understand that the family lost their lives."

Government: German family likely killed in Gaza - World - NZ Herald News

[Watser?]

Well, actually THIS is all you really need to know about Israel's attack on Gaza in one picture



And of those two Israeli civilians, one was delivering food to the Israeli army near the border with Gaza who was killed by mortar shrapnel, so a) humans shield, dur and b) not killed by those rockets they are supposedly retaliating for. And the other one was a bedouin Palestinian with Israeli citizenship but no rights to air raid shelters or Iron Dome. So this one person that Israel didn't find worth defending is now their only claim to self-defence...

[Stormlight]

This whole situation is so fucked up it's unbelievable. This nonchalant random destruction of human life by the Israeli army is just disgusting.

I watched the documentary "5 broken cameras" this weekend. It's about a Palestinian farmer in West Bank who filmed the non-violent resistance/protests of a small village called Bil'in (near Rammalah) to the land-grab of Israeli settlers. One especially shocking scene illustrated the attitude of the army towards the Palestinians perfectly:

One of the farmers stood hand-cuffed next to several soldiers. They were just standing there, the farmer wasn't moving when casually one of the soldiers lifted his rifle and shot the guy in the leg. Just like that. As you do. Fucking disgusting.

[Dragar]

Originally Posted by Ari

I don't buy it, for a couple reasons. One being that this 'human shield' claim has been used in the past by bully countries (like the US) trying to make the opposition look inhuman, 'You made us kill them' seems a common justification (I'm surprised they haven't claimed that Palestine 'deserves it because of how it was dressed'). Two because there's clearly enough civilian casualties to blame Israel for already, there's no point in making more, it's not like the UN/media requires a certain number of children to be killed before they will speak out.

Does it even matter? The rocket attacks on Israel are clearly ineffective in terms of military attack. It's best described as terrorism, if anything. If the Hamas terrorists are basing their operations in family homes, hospitals and schools, we should be calling those civilians hostages, not human shields - they sure as hell didn't volunteer for that duty! - and acting accordingly. That doesn't mean bombing the hell out of those locations and shrugging because 'they made us kill them'.

What it comes down to is that Israel's government doesn't place a value on Palestinian lives anywhere close to its value on Israeli ones.

[wei yau]

Originally Posted by Dragar

What it comes down to is that Israel's government doesn't place a value on Palestinian lives anywhere close to its value on Israeli ones.

And neither does the majority of my FB friends...and some family.

I've lost count of the number of times I damn near bit off my own tongue when reading their posts.

[Ari]

There's a sad irony that Israel has been so effective at labeling another group inhumans that need to be purged.

[MonCapitan2002]

I wonder how gung-ho the Israeli government would be about pursuing their war against the Palestinians if the US were to actually back sanctions against their government. I notice in some of the corporate media in the US, there are statements floating around about how Israel has the right to defend itself.

I actually agree with that statement. Unfortunately, in this case, Israel isn't defending itself. It's engaging in an act of ethnic cleansing it calls self-defense. What also gets me is how people defend the IDF by saying how the Palestinians are warned to evacuate before they're bombed. There's one problem with that though. The Israeli government has made sure they have nowhere to fucking go!

[Sock Puppet]

Unfortunately, US companies are flat-out prohibited from participating in a boycott of Israel. There are exceptions, but for the most part US companies can't take a stand without severe penalties. Some of my job is actually antiboycott law compliance -- not because I agree with a word of the law, but because I know more about it than is strictly healthy.

[erimir]

Something something free market.

I've never heard any Libertarians or Republicans complain about those laws.

[Ensign Steve]

Hey, it's not like Israel's asking for birth control.

[Stormlight]

Originally Posted by erimir

Something something free market.

I've never heard any Libertarians or Republicans complain about those laws.

But ... Palestinians are poor!

[Sauron]

Originally Posted by wei yau

And neither does the majority of my FB friends...and some family.

I've lost count of the number of times I damn near bit off my own tongue when reading their posts.

I just saw some obscene "Friends of the IDF" group pop up on my feed. Asking Americans to send CARE packages to support the brave IDF soldiers.

What.The.Fuck.

[Watser?]

Last of Warsaw Ghetto Survivors Calls for Rebellion Against Israeli Occupation Tikun-Olam Tikun Olam-תיקון עולם

[Watser?]

Originally Posted by Watser?

Well, actually THIS is all you really need to know about Israel's attack on Gaza in one picture



And of those two Israeli civilians, one was delivering food to the Israeli army near the border with Gaza who was killed by mortar shrapnel, so a) humans shield, dur and b) not killed by those rockets they are supposedly retaliating for. And the other one was a bedouin Palestinian with Israeli citizenship but no rights to air raid shelters or Iron Dome. So this one person that Israel didn't find worth defending is now their only claim to self-defence...

Latest:

Israel announced that three of its soldiers were killed by explosive devices on Wednesday, lifting the army death toll to 32. Three civilians have also been killed in rocket attacks out of Gaza, including a Thai laborer hit on Wednesday.

So if you're paying attention the number is now 2, because one of those civilians was killed by mortar shrapnel. Neither of those killed by rockets were Israeli Jews. What are the odds, huh?

[ShottleBop]

Originally Posted by Watser?

Last of Warsaw Ghetto Survivors Calls for Rebellion Against Israeli Occupation Tikun-Olam Tikun Olam-תיקון עולם

Thanks for that. I had woken up this morning thinking exactly that--i.e., how the situation in Gaza brings to mind the Warsaw rebellion.

[Nullifidian]

Originally Posted by Sauron

I just saw some obscene "Friends of the IDF" group pop up on my feed. Asking Americans to send CARE packages to support the brave IDF soldiers.

What.The.Fuck.

America's CARE package to Israel for FY 2014 was $3.5 billion. Wasn't it enough?

And, of course, those IDF soldiers need shipments of food and toiletries because they're all of 20 minutes from the home front via the excellent roads that the Palestinians aren't allowed on. It's amazing to think of the hardship the IDF has encountered... and then sprayed with bullets or blasted out of existence from the sky.

[Watser?]

Oh yeah, FIDF...

Jewish activists arrested in civil disobedience action at Friends of the IDF offices in NYC protesting the assault on Gaza | Jewish Voice for Peace

[Ari]

Birthright trip, all expenses paid for Jewish Americans.
You get to ride camels!

[Janet]