Bracing for the worst-electricty cut off, bridges bombed, sonic boom attacks resume
In process of packing and moving down to North Carolina on Thursday...and writing some columns and lengthier post on the situation back home...but for now...just a brief post:
Friends and family in Gaza have told me they are bracing themselves for the worst, while praying for the best. In Rafah, the refugee camp that has not been spared the wrath of the Israeli Army on so many occasions in the past, where 16, 000 Palestinians lost their homes to armoured bulldozers, families have holed themselves indoors, fearing for their lives.
Israel has taken control of the border area, including Rafah Crossing, and the Airport. Colleague, friend, and activist Fida Qishta with whom I toured the northeast US is on her way to Egypt, where she will have to remain until she will be allowed to enter her home in Gaza in Rafah by Israeli forces, who have sealed off the Gaza Strip in its entirety. I was worried about her safety, since she is from Rafah, but I received a frantic telephone call from her in London airport where her flight was delayed, and where is making plans to remain exiled in Egypt. Meanwhile, journalist colleagues have told me that CNN and BBC crews from Jerusalem were also not allowed through the Erez Crossing into Gaza yesterday.
UPDATE: Israeli F-16s bombed Gaza's main bridge, right next to my father's farm, between northern and southern Gaza. They have also destroyed Gaza's ONLY power plant, and electricity in most of Gaza has been cut off as a result. I've just spoken to my grandmother in Khan Yunis, who confirmed the entire Strip has plunged into darkness, with people stocking up on food and supplies. The electricity of course has also been cut off in hospitals and clincs, though I'm not sure how long the generators can last.
Friends in Gaza City also tell us that terrorizing sonic boom attacks have resumed, stronger than before, full force, by low-flying jets breaking the sound barrier throughout the night over the civlian population-illegal in Israel, the united States, and most all of the world.
FYI I have re-enabled comment moderation due to spamming of the comment section.
posted by Laila @ Tuesday, June 27, 2006
94 Comments:
Well, maybe those Kassam rockets weren't such a good idea, eh?
Release the boy from Itamar and Gilad Shalit, and then we won't blast you to smithereens. Or maybe it doesn't bother your people too much to sacrifice the women and children, those trusty human shields. They come in handy for times like these.
Honestly, don't you ever learn? If we combined all the Palestinians, do you think we could scrape together an IQ of 100? Here are a couple of words to look up in the dictionary: CAUSE and EFFECT.
Israelis do not kill for no good reason. You know it, I know it, and everyone knows it. If you wanted your own state, you could have had it by now.
Well, good to hear that she is at least safe and sound.
laila you are in 'counter punch' :)
http://www.counterpunch.org/hughes06272006.html
sorry forgot link :)
any thoughts on why all this activity is happening, Laila? hmmm?
go back to Khazaria where you were spawned from hell Am Yisrael Chai
ok lets try to work this out sensibly k?
you of the zionist entity (which has no right to be) say the Palestinians have kidnapped one of your boys (who was tresspassing at the time like you all are)
you have kiddnapped over 9000 Palestinians illegally and hold them
trade?
No, khabibi, no trade. You vermin are about to get a whole lot of presents coming to you, for free, and at high speed. Enjoy!
Get it into your retarded heads: we have stopped being your dhimmies.
"Hey, Habibi! I see fighter jets, and tanks, and ships, and rockets, and . . . Habibi! What are you doing? Get away from that car swarm! Quick, call the news stations. Let's say we recognize Israel, wink, wink. And pull those women off the Kassam launchers -- they never can seem to hit their targets anyway. Habibi? Habibi? Turn the lights back on . . ."
As a non follower of the Holocoustian faith, I wonder if it would be blasphemous for me to ask:
How does an IDF boy go missing, I mean how far does he have to run away in order to be missing from Israel either the slob is dead or he is alive, unless of course the Zionist are looking for their own Jesus and the "boy, perhaps child or lets just say IDF baby" will be resurrected as the missing link for the Holocoustians...
and suppose harris is right? suppose joo boy just got lost? i mean it happens right? 40 yrs to cross the sinani?
what amazes me is how all you idiots found you way to am pigreal chai
but you had a lot of xtian zionazi paying your way and guiding you
Empathy for our fellow human beings is the only thing that will save us. Palestinians and Jews have more in common with each other than differences in the grand scheme of things. Each side is not going to go anywhere. Why not just accept this and decide not to kill anymore.
-Jeff in the USA
To my correspondent: Please read something beyond your own side's propaganda. Immigration is not invading, buying land is not stealing land, the ethnic cleansing was at the very least mutual, and I suggest you look up genocide in the dictionary.
Dan
Well, here's a hint: quit attacking us joo boys and not one of you will get hurt any more.
But if you keep at it, vermin, you will keep learning this simple lesson: We Are Not Your Dhimmies.
hey you are attacking arab and muslims
it is you who are doing the hurting
go back to khazaria and we promise we wont follow you :)
There is no Khazaria. There never was, either. And a good portion of us used to live among you Arabs and know better than to take promises from you.
the fence goes...you share jerusalem with the democratically elested PA
you leave the occupation
you set the hostages free
then we talk and consider if you have to leave
but first you apologize
Then, while you're apologizing, apologize to the Kuwaitis, for supporting Saddam while he stomped them.
Then apologize to the Iraqis for supporting Saddam while he kept them under a thumb. Apologize to the Kurds for supporting Saddam while he made of them refugees... It sure didn't bother you that he was destroying their villages, while you whine to no end about the homes you lost.
Then apologize to the Lebanese for being such wonderful guests.
Then when you're done, we have some matters to discuss with you.
can anyone tell me what happens when a large arsenal of atomic weapons...oh say like pigsreals is hit with a nuke?
or just with conventional weapons?
good idea making all those nuke judastan :)
i had nothing to do with saddam or kuwait
those were all your wars joo boy
try to stay on topic inbred moron
vewrmin
you call all goy that or just the ones presently your victums?
anyway i am not arab but am muslim and i promise you my brothers and sisters are not alone and we do intend to 'immigrate' to palestine...all of it
Then you're going to die troubled, vermin. We were around before you and we'll be around after you are gone and forgotten.
look in the mirror vermin
you need a can of raid
spay it all over
no actually you were not around before us
and you will be gone soon :)
and if you didn't think so you wouldn't bother arguing with poor little me
boom!!! there go tel aviv!!
so danny boy what does happen to 400 nukes in a confined space like pigreal when youy hit it with a nuke?
does sitting on a powder keg ring true?
does sitting on a powder keg ring true?
What has happened to this Comment Box? No matter what side of the "fence"- so to speak- Laila's commenters were on, most of them tended to post thought-provoking and interesting material. I have always appreciated that Laila allowed most comments, but now... I am not so sure it is in anyone's best interest to allow such filth. What a waste of time and energy.
The following list of massacres is by no means exclusive, but they reflect the nature of the Zionist occupation of Palestine and Lebanon and show that massacres and expulsions were not aberrations that happen in any war, but organized atrocities with only one aim, that is to have a Zionist state which is 'goyim rein'.
The King David Massacre
The Massacre at Baldat al-Shaikh
YEHIDA MASSACRE
KHISAS MASSACRE
QAZAZA MASSACRE
The Semiramis Hotel Massacre
The Massacre at Dair Yasin
NASER AL-DIN MASSACRE
THE TANTURA MASSACRE
BEIT DARAS MASSACRE
THE DAHMASH MOSQUE MASSACRE
DAWAYMA MASSACRE
HOULA MASSACRE
SHARAFAT MASSACRE
Salha Massacre
The Massacre at Qibya
KAFR QASEM MASSACRE
Khan Yunis Massacre
The Massacre in Gaza City
AL-SAMMOU' MASSACRE
Aitharoun Massacre
Kawnin Massacre
Hanin Massacre
Bint Jbeil Massacre
Abbasieh Massacre
Adloun Massacre
Saida Massacre
Fakhani Massacre
Beirut Massacre Sabra And Shatila Massacre
Jibsheet Massacre
Sohmor Massacre
Seer Al Garbiah
Maaraka Massacres
Zrariah Massacre
Homeen Al-Tahta Massacre
Jibaa Massacre
Yohmor Massacre
Tiri massacre
Al-Naher Al-Bared Massacre
Ain Al-Hillwee Massacre
OYON QARA MASSACRE
Siddiqine Massacre
AL-AQSA MOSQUE MASSACRE
THE IBRAHIMI MOSQUE MASSACRE
THE JABALIA MASSACRE
Aramta Massacre
ERETZ CHECKPOINT MASSACRE
Deir Al-Zahrani Massacre
Nabatiyeh (school bus) Massacre
Mnsuriah Massacre
The Sohmor Second Massacre
Nabatyaih Massacre
Qana Massacre
Trqumia Massacr
Janta Massacre
24 Of June 1999 Massacres
Western Bekaa villages Massacre:
sp i guess it is the threatened flattening of gaza
and the threat of pisreal nuking iran
why do we have to put up with them?
yes, we Jews care about life, thus we mobilize an entire army to rescue one soldier.
You Palestinians do not care about human life and hide your Kassams between women and children, and also raise them to be martyrs...........
So, lets stop this charade and start talking about peace, because the longer your Hamas does not deal with Israel the more lives and territory will be lost.
Keep talking, vermin. Show the world what you're like. Let the mask fall and slip. Keep talking, Palestinian.
Oooooh! And you're going to ALLCAPS now!
Makes you feel like a BIG MAN, eh, Muslim?
Well, I'm fine with that. You are a fine example of a Muslim, and now you've left your comments here so people can learn what your kind are really like. Keep at it.
About the welfare check, America started paying it in order to be able to control us. That is why time and time again when you trash bit off more than you could chew, we'd set out to kick you where you deserved it and America would tell us not to.
You'll regret the day when the money stops flowing, because then the leash will be cut.
you have nothing you haven't recieved in welfare or stolen
you are filth of the earth
anyone can kick you ass as proven over and over
cept for your welfare high teck weapons
no you kill civilians to steal more land
you have nothing you havent stolen or gottewn on welfare
I am glad you and your child are safe and I mourn for all the blood shed.
May peace be upon you and all of us soon.
you know joo piggie it doesn't matter
soon you be dead and good ridence to bad rubbish
that welfare check gets less and less likely everyday :)
hahahahah :)
The following list of massacres is by no means exclusive, but they reflect the nature of the Zionist occupation of Palestine and Lebanon and show that massacres and expulsions were not aberrations that happen in any war, but organized atrocities with only one aim, that is to have a Zionist state which is 'goyim rein'.
The King David Massacre
The Massacre at Baldat al-Shaikh
YEHIDA MASSACRE
KHISAS MASSACRE
QAZAZA MASSACRE
The Semiramis Hotel Massacre
The Massacre at Dair Yasin
NASER AL-DIN MASSACRE
THE TANTURA MASSACRE
BEIT DARAS MASSACRE
THE DAHMASH MOSQUE MASSACRE
DAWAYMA MASSACRE
HOULA MASSACRE
SHARAFAT MASSACRE
Salha Massacre
The Massacre at Qibya
KAFR QASEM MASSACRE
Khan Yunis Massacre
The Massacre in Gaza City
AL-SAMMOU' MASSACRE
Aitharoun Massacre
Kawnin Massacre
Hanin Massacre
Bint Jbeil Massacre
Abbasieh Massacre
Adloun Massacre
Saida Massacre
Fakhani Massacre
Beirut Massacre Sabra And Shatila Massacre
Jibsheet Massacre
Sohmor Massacre
Seer Al Garbiah
Maaraka Massacres
Zrariah Massacre
Homeen Al-Tahta Massacre
Jibaa Massacre
Yohmor Massacre
Tiri massacre
Al-Naher Al-Bared Massacre
Ain Al-Hillwee Massacre
OYON QARA MASSACRE
Siddiqine Massacre
AL-AQSA MOSQUE MASSACRE
THE IBRAHIMI MOSQUE MASSACRE
THE JABALIA MASSACRE
Aramta Massacre
ERETZ CHECKPOINT MASSACRE
Deir Al-Zahrani Massacre
Nabatiyeh (school bus) Massacre
Mnsuriah Massacre
The Sohmor Second Massacre
Nabatyaih Massacre
Qana Massacre
Trqumia Massacr
Janta Massacre
24 Of June 1999 Massacres
Western Bekaa villages Massacre
Close
Israel launches Gaza offensive
by
Tuesday 27 June 2006 9:19 PM GMT
The incursion followed air strikes on Gaza targets
Israeli troops and tanks have moved into southern Gaza after diplomatic talks failed to secure the release of a soldier abducted by Palestinian fighters.
An Israeli army spokesman confirmed the incursion that occured early on Wednesday shortly after Palestinian security forces stationed near the border town of Rafah said they were ordered to leave by the Israelis.
The offensive followed air strikes overnight that took out three strategic bridges and hit the main power station, causing a huge fire and plunging Gaza City into darkness.
Palestinian witnesses reported the strikes on Tuesday and early on Wednesday, after Ehud Olmert, Israel’s prime minister, approved a "limited operation" in the south of Gaza.
Military officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the operation was aimed at "terrorist infrastructure".
The deployment seems to be the start of a major Israeli incursion into the territory to recover 19 year-old Corporal Gilad Shalit who was captured on Sunday in an attack that left two other soldiers dead.
Strategic hits
Tensions have been high ever since with large numbers of Israeli troops deployed to the border and on Monday Olmert promisied a punitive strike if Shalit was not freed.
The air strikes plunged Gaza City
into darkness
One of the bridges hit by the airstrikes was in central Gaza, another near the town of Deir al-Balah and the third south of Gaza City, the Israeli military and Palestinian security officials said. There were no reports of casualties.
An Israeli military statement said the aim of attacking the bridges was "to impair the ability of the terrorists to transfer the kidnapped soldier".
Palestinian security officials said Gaza would be cut in two by hitting the bridges.
Negotiations to secure Shalit’s release appeared to have failed when the Israeli television station, Channel Two, quoted a source close to Egyptian and French-led mediators saying there was "zero chance" of recovering the soldier through talks.
Threat
Meanwhile, in a phone call to AFP, the armed Palestinian group the Popular Resistance Committees threatened to kill a Jewish settler it claims to have kidnapped, unless Israel stopped the offensive.
Although there has been no official Israeli confirmation of the kidnapping, police confirmed they are looking into reports that a Jewish settler is missing in the West Bank.
Agencies
By
You can find this article at:
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/7757D8BA-CF11-4401-9BD7-593AD3D9C0EB.htm
Close
Thank God, Laila turned on the comment moderation again.
I wish you anonymous cowards, you cheerleaders of the murderers of children would take your bile to oh, I don't know, how about israpundit or olah's blog. They're probably breaking out the champagne over there.
Meanwhile I am literally nauseous with the news. I don't have phone numbers for my hosts (whose street, Abu Jamil St. was destroyed during Operation Rainbow. Abu Jamil, how is Abu Jamil?
To the last commenter, no. No one in Israel is breaking out the champagne, I assure you. This is a very tense time for all of us, and we are all very worried about the soldier and the teenager who are being held by terrorists.
As opposed to the Palestinians, who celebrate when Israelis are murdered, the Israelis wish no harm to Palestinian civilians. But if we must invade Gaza to rescue our citizens and stop the Kassam rockets which have been fired into Israel almost every single day since we left Gaza, we'll do it.
this upsets me!!
this situation is bad!!
im tired from the sadness..
only bad things are happining!!
http://almanarasquare.blogspot.com/
The killing of two Israeli soldiers and the abduction of a third inside of Israel's internationally recognized borders is a crime. Israel's destruction of Gaza's civilian infrastructure in retaliation is a larger crime. It is a larger crime because it punishes all Palestinians for the actions of a few, because it further cripples the already-weak Gazan economy, and because it will undoubtedly lead, indirectly, to many deaths by hunger, by lack of medical treatment, etc., over the next few months. It also reinforces in the harshest way a message that Israel has repeatedly sent the Palestinians--your lives are worth nothing, our lives are worth everything. Because this occurs in the the aftermath of a series of incidents where civilans were killed and maimed as "collateral damage" to attacks on militant leaders in Gaza, this message is especially clear--and reprehensible.
Sonic booms are against the law?
What do you call tunneling into a foreign country, killing two of its soldiers and kidnapping a third?
Get it straight this time: Israel LEFT Gaza. They wanted nothing more but to leave you alone to develop an economy and independent lives.
It is no ones fault but your own that they are back.
Maybe in the darkness, the Palestinians will begin to see the light. Return our two boys. Act like a civilized nation. Abandon barbarity. Practice diplomacy. Discuss peace seriously. If not, it's time to turn the water off.
I can only copy Abu Shaar's word - thank GOD you turned on the comment moderation again!!
What baffles me most is the fact that ALL THOSE "smart guys" are in fact outgrown cowards who dare only under the umbrella of anonymity to spill their vile and utter nonsense! I guess that speaks for itself ...
Laila - I follow the news very closely and am more than terrified!! May Allah protect your family and friends .. and ALL people in Gaza!! Stay strong!!!
Thanks for your sensitive and excellent blog. You seem to be reaching people, judging by the range of comments. Keep it up. And good luck to your loved ones -- may they survive this latest savagery.
I totally agree with Karin "I love Munich" those idiots making comments and hiding under anonimity are cowards!! This is a sad situation going on for both sides and ALLOT of INNOCENT people are going to be hurt by the actions of a few. May God protect them all!
Leila, you are doing a good gjob in reporting this issue. Those who wish to come on this blog and make rude comments are only doing so because they fear the truth. If they believe that your blog is not worth they're time, then why do they constantly come back? Keep up the good work and don't let the idiots get you down!
Marhaba ya Leila,
This is my first visit to your blog. I am very proud of you for reporting what is going on in Gaza right now.
As for the "Anonymous" comments: They all sound the same to me. I suppose I shouldn't be surprised about that. It (this tit for tat fighting) reminded me of two brothers fighting to be their parent's favorite. However, the sad thing is that there is no parent to step in and put a stop to this madness. So, although I do not like it, it seems that this will be duel to the death and that means that the world will probably have to witness the fact that any and every advantage will be used by both sides.
I truly hope that you and your family and friends remain safe. Inshallah, you will one day be able to live something close to a normal life. I will be visiting here again to see what's going on with you. Please be as safe as you can!
ma'a salaama
Near as I can tell, Israel is collectively punishing a group of 1.3 million civilians this evening for the capture of a single soldier. Dozens will die this evening because of the loss of power. If water is not restored soon, that number will rise to hundreds. It will not be the Palestinians with Harvard educations who die. It will not be the freedom fighters, the terrorists, or the police men. It will be the poor, the elderly, the women, the child: those least able to defend themselves. It will be they who die.
Some time ago, the world community came to the conclusion that it is immoral for a group of people to be targeted for the actions of a view. It has been immoral in Europe and the Middle East since the Middle Ages to target a group of people for actions that their government did not commit or support. We even set up a world governing body, twice, to end these sorts of travesties of modernity. It did not, and it does not act.
Israel's actions are the actions of a well fed and strong bully. They impose their will subjectively. Instead of knocking over all stones and salting the land at once, it is happening slowly.
We citizens of the world tolerate this today in Palestine. Henry Kissinger showed us in the 70s how to control Israel. But the United States has no will to do this. The only people who win through this inaction are the terrorists and the terrorists.
The slaughter will continue for as long as Americans do not realize that they are funding it. Americans often ask why the world hates them. The answer is obvious. The world watches the evening news.
This is our doing.
I dare not write as anything but anonymous because I can't be bothered with little people who attack you from their places of safety however I wish you and your family, and your people as a whole, all the safety in the world, and I'm sorry that my country and many others are failing you so badly in these days. I feel like crying as I write this ... be safe, you're an important voice.
Just heard Israel cut of water & power in Gaza, I hope this doesn't last long & everyone stays safe!!
How is blowing up the main Gaza power plant anything to do with finding the captured soldier? But indeed is everything to do with collective punishment of a civilian population of a brutal rogue state.
Might be a good time to repost the link to the Middle East Children's Alliance who is collecting money to send to Laila's aunt, Dr. Mona:
When will Israel learn?
Rifat Odeh Kassis writing from occupied Palestine, Live from Palestine, 28 June 2006
Israeli army amasses troops near the border with the Gaza Strip, June 27, 2006. (MaanImages/Moti Milrod)
When I first heard about the Israeli soldier who was "kidnapped" by Palestinians and heard the appeal of Abu Mazen to the Palestinian factions, followed by many other Arab and foreign leaders, calling for his release, I thought that the soldier was kidnapped from a coffee shop in Tel Aviv. This feeling was emphasised when I heard the Israeli army spokesman talking to Al-Jazeera, calling upon the kidnappers to save his life and send him back to his family and parents. I finally realized this was not the case, when I read on the BBC that "the missing man was the gunner on a tank attacked in a pre-dawn raid by militants from a 300 metre tunnel under the Gaza border fence near the Kerem Shalom crossing." Calling him a "man" and not a "soldier", however, confused me a bit.
I learned that this soldier/man (not to upset the BBC) was kidnapped in a battle at a military checkpoint inside the green line. Since he is a gunner on a tank, I assume he has participated in shelling Gaza and is probably responsible for the deaths of some civilians, maybe even children and picnickers on the Gaza shoreline.
Israel immediately and as usual blamed the incident on the Palestinian Authority, including the President, although the incident involved the military and not civilians.
The Associated Press wrote: "Despite Abbas' ongoing efforts to pressure his Hamas rivals into moderation, Olmert said he blamed the entire Palestinian leadership, including the president, responsible for the spiraling violence."
"It should be clear that we see the Palestinian Authority on all its levels, from the chairman on downward, as the responsible element for this operation and all that happens from it," Olmert said, referring to Abbas.
Later I found out that the soldier, besides being an Israeli, is also a French citizen. The French government was alerted and announced that they will do their best to save the life of the soldier and bring him back to his beloved family and friends - a French citizen serving in illegally occupied territories violating the Fourth Geneva Convention, to which France is a signatory. I am not sure about the official position of the French government, but as far as I am aware, they usually encourage their citizens not to be in the West Bank or Gaza. So I really cannot understand how the French government can in this case endorse the presence in Gaza of a French citizen who is not there for a picnic, but deliberately violating international law.
I admit that I am a non-violent person. I disagree with all violent activities and don't believe that any conflict can or should be solved by force and violence. Yet I also fully believe in International Law, which gives occupied people the right to resist their occupiers by all means. Gaza, just like the rest of the West Bank and East Jerusalem, is still under occupation and not liberated, or "contested" as Israel and some media try to say.
Back in 2004, well before Israel’s unilateral disengagement from Gaza took place, the United Nations Commission on Human Rights’ Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Prof. John Dugard wrote in his official report to the Commission:
"Israel does not plan to relinquish its grasp on the Gaza Strip. It plans to retain ultimate control over Gaza by controlling its borders, territorial sea and airspace. Consequently, it will in law remain an Occupying Power still subject to obligations under the Fourth Geneva Convention".
In his latest briefing following his 9-17 June 2006 visit to the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Prof. Dugard wrote:
"Gaza is under siege. Israel controls its airspace and has resumed sonic booms, which terrorize and traumatize its people. The targeted killing of militants is on the increase. Inevitably, as in the past, such killings have resulted in the killing and wounding of innocent bystanders. Israel also controls Gaza's territorial sea and fires missiles into the territory from ships at sea...Within Gaza, medical services have been seriously affected by the prohibition on the funding of medical equipment and medical supplies managed by the Hamas-led Palestinian Authority. The non-payment of salaries to Palestinian Authority employees has affected both hospitals and schools as employees cannot afford to travel to work. Unemployment and poverty are on the increase. After a long period of closure of the Karni commercial crossing, this crossing has been re-opened but it still processes only a limited number of trucks with the result that Gaza is still short of basic foodstuffs and is unable to export its produce."
To make matters worse, when a military spokesman was asked by Al-Jazeera whether Israel will stop its planned invasion of Gaza should the soldier be released, he said that these were two different stories. In other words Gaza will be invaded one way or the other. According to Israeli daily, Yediot Ahronot, the invasion of Gaza was planned much earlier than the kidnapping of the soldier. This means not only will child prisoners not be released in exchange for the soldier’s life, but more children will most likely be killed in the coming invasion.
Thus, the Palestinian president and the other regional and international leaders are in effect asking for the release of the soldier but at the same time for Gazans to prepare themselves for a widespread Israeli invasion. The message is that Palestinians should not resist - they should just wait for the Israelis in their homes, schoolyards and on the streets, ready to die. Palestinians should not defend themselves or defend their children; they simply need to wait to be killed without resistance because any resistance, even if it comes from a victim, is an act of terror.
Meanwhile, Associated Press and Reuters wrote:
"… the soldier's family broke its silence on Monday to plead with his captors to treat him humanely and to remember he has a loving family who misses him dearly. Noam Shalit, in an interview with Associated Press Television, described his son as a quiet, helpful boy who followed his older brother into the military’s armored corps. 'The only thing we have left right now is hope, nothing more,' he said."
Reading these heartbreaking lines pushed me to compare this with what a Palestinian mother had said on Al-Jazeera, following a recent shelling by Israel, when she stated that the very concept of hope has been erased from her consciousness.
What the Shalit family is feeling now is exactly how most Palestinian families are feeling or have felt at one time. All Israelis need to know that. They need to know that Palestinians are humans just like them. Palestinians mourn when their children are killed and they feel desperate when their children are imprisoned. This vicious cycle of violence needs to be stopped. Israel should end its occupation for once and for ever and not leave any outstanding issues as it usual does. They should fully withdraw from Gaza and the West bank including East Jerusalem and give the Palestinians their political and economic rights. Israelis need to give Palestinians the chance to live next to them in prosperity and peace – a just peace.
Kidnapping an Israeli soldier will not bring us one inch closer to peace, yet neither will Israeli revenge attacks, pre-emptive attacks or collective punishment, like cutting food supplies, electricity or water. The only Israeli logical response which would satisfy the Shalit family and other bereaved Israeli and Palestinian families would be to end the occupation. The time is now. The time has always been now – Israel, when will you learn?
Rifat Odeh Kassis is a Palestinian human rights activist and president of Defense for Children International.
(what the hell! are ppl posting in comments option. com'n!!!)
all our prayers and well wishes for your fellow countrymen and women. waLlahu khairun hafeez.
The whole situation makes me angry and sad, especially the media coverage which seems to be incredibly one sided (this is in the UK) the only place where I found a balanced story was http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/087CE7F6-233F-4AB7-A48F-E42A2C3C7676.htm
I can only hope and pray that the Palestinian people will find justice soon.
I understand most Gaza residents want a peaceful life and it's only a small number (in comparison) of those who attack Israel. But I must ask myself this: how smart are those who attack a military giant and what do they expect in return? Someone tell me; what do they expect?
"They need to know that Palestinians are humans just like them"
this is the massge that these israelies need to understand!!
we are not bad human beings! we need to live our live, just like all he people in the world..!
without any distractions... and killings and damage...
:(:(
im upset again now...
please someone encourge me :(:(
(or- will it be good again??)
http://almanarasquare.blogspot.com/
or
http://ramalla.org
http://almanarasquare.com/
News reports tell of a hole blown in the fence between Gaza and Egypt; evidently to allow access out of Gaza. Leila...I imagine it will be hard for you to get back IN Gaza now, but I must ask why would you want to? Stay here in USA.
Hi,
I give to palestinian people all my support. I went to gaza strip in 2002, now I'll transleter your post and I pubblic it in my mailing list and also in www.italy.indymedia.org
Warm cheers from italy
Pan
I really don't see the point for such an operation of rescue of the soldier unless it is an excuse to increase violence to its climax.
We must STOP this stupid never ending war.
I am just a human beeing like YOU ALL.
One should be overwhelmed by your hate ( some people here) and your desire of revenge...
Laila I am leaving NY soon. I will be in the West Bank, and writing about what I see, hear, and feel...
www.apuntespalestine.blogspot.com
Why would Egypt need a fence?
THIS IS WHAT IS COMING:"...............Now it's time for the IDF, especially the Air Force, to really go to work on the terrorists in Gaza. There will no doubt be more innocent Palestinian children killed accidentally - but such tragedies happen in the most justified of wars, and Israel's war against Gazan terror is absolutely justified.
If there was another way to stop the gunmen and rocket-launchers, the Israeli government would take it, but the Gazans aren't offering any other way.
They know, or should know, that as soon as they leave Israel alone, Israel will leave them alone. And then, but only then, Israel will also be able to start leaving the West Bank and ending the occupation altogether.
I'm afraid I don't have much confidence anymore that the Palestinians will do the right thing or the smart thing, but I do have a lot of confidence that the IDF will ultimately force them into it. The new Israeli unilateralism - "Sharon's way," as it's called - is going through a terrible few weeks, but this is a setback, not a defeat.
Israel in 2006 has far too much strength, justice and smarts not to win this fight against the Palestinians. I think it's only a matter of time"
FROM THE jpOST.
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Israel arrests Hamas leadership
by
Thursday 29 June 2006 1:57 AM GMT
The latest incursion is Israel's largest since last year's pull out
Israeli forces have rounded up dozens of Palestinian Cabinet ministers and lawmakers from Hamas, increasing pressure on militants to release a captured Israeli soldier.
Witnesses said on Thursday that tanks moved into northern Gaza, widening Israel's largest military operation in the year since it pulled out of the seaside territory.
Adding to the tension, a Palestinian militant group claimed on Thursday that it had killed an 18-year-old Jewish settler kidnapped in the West Bank. Palestinian security officials said they believed the body of Eliahu Asheri had been found in the West Bank city of Ram Allah.
Hamas officials said more than 30 lawmakers have been arrested in the West Bank.
Palestinian security officials said Israeli forces detained Nasser Shaer, the Palestinian deputy prime minister, and three other Cabinet ministers, as well as four lawmakers in Ram Allah. Several others were arrested in the town of Jenin, they said.
Israeli media reported a roundup of Hamas lawmakers in Jerusalem and other locations. Also, the Hamas mayor of the West Bank town of Qalqiliya and his deputy were detained, security officials said.
The Israeli military refused to comment. Israel blames Hamas for the Sunday attack in which two soldiers were killed and a third captured when militants tunnelled under the border and attacked an army post, setting off the invasion.
According to the witnesses, before daybreak on Thursday, Israeli tanks and bulldozers moved into northern Gaza, stopping about 200m inside Palestinian territory across from the Jabaliya refugee camp. No clashes were reported. But the military denied its forces had moved into northern Gaza.
No casualties
Despite the size of the Israeli operation, with large troop movements, artillery barrages and many air strikes over two days, no one was hurt.
Israel held the Palestinian government, headed by Hamas, responsible for the fate of the soldier. It also blamed the Hamas leadership in exile in Syria.
Israel says Khalid Mishaal is a
target for assassination
An Israeli Cabinet minister said Khalid Mishaal, the Syria-based Hamas leader, was a target for assassination. In a bold warning to the country that shelters him, Israeli warplanes buzzed the seaside home of Bashar Assad, the Syrian president, in the port of Latakia.
Syria confirmed that Israeli warplanes entered its airspace, but said its air defences forced the Israeli aircraft to flee.
Israel's concern goes beyond the rescue of the soldier and the negative precedent abducting soldiers would set. Ehud Olmert's government is alarmed by the firing of homemade rockets at Israeli communities around Gaza and support for Hamas in the Arab world, especially from Syria.
Earlier, witnesses reported heavy shelling around Gaza's long-closed airport, and Israeli missiles hit two empty Hamas training camps, a rocket-building factory and several roads.
Humanitarian crisis
Palestinians filled up on basic supplies after warplanes knocked out electricity, raising the possibility of a humanitarian crisis. The Hamas-led government's information ministry warned of "epidemics and health disasters" because of damaged water pipes to central Gaza and the lack of power to pump water.
In Rafah, Nivine Abu Shbeke, a 23-year-old mother of three, hoarded bags of flour, boxes of vegetables and other supplies.
The Israeli move has raised the
spectre of a humanitarian crisis
"We're worried about how long the food will last," she said. "The children devour everything."
Dozens of Palestinian militants - armed with automatic weapons and grenades - took up positions, bracing for attack.
Olmert, the Israeli prime minister, threatened harsher action to free the soldier, though he said there was no plan to re-occupy Gaza. Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president, deplored the incursion as a "crime against humanity".
Abbas and Egyptian dignitaries tried to persuade Assad to use his influence with Mishaal to free the soldier, Corporal Gilad Shalit. Assad agreed, but without results, said a senior Abbas aide. Israel refused to negotiate with the militants and rejected their demand - freeing Palestinian prisoners - outright.
The US pressure
The Popular Resistance Committees (PRC) in Gaza said they had killed Asheri, kidnapped in the West Bank. Palestinian security officials said the body had been found, and Israeli security sources said the youth had apparently been killed. The PRCs had said it would execute the hostage if Israel did not halt its invasion of Gaza.
The US kept up pressure on Israel
and Hamas to show restraint
Also, militants said they kidnapped another Israeli, and police said they had a missing person report about a 62-year-old Israeli from the central Israeli city of Rishon Lezion.
Meanwhile, the European Union on Wednesday urged both Israel and the Palestinians to "step back from the brink" and, echoing a statement from Condoleezza Rice, the US secretary of state, to give diplomacy a chance.
The White House kept up its pressure on Hamas, saying the Palestinian government must "stop all acts of violence and terror". But the US also urged Israel to show restraint.
Kofi Annan, the UN secretary-general, urged restraint in a phone call to Olmert, saying he had spoken to Assad and Abbas and asked them to do everything possible to release the soldier. Amr Mussa, the Arab League secretary-general, called on the US to assume its role as "honest broker" and to make the Palestinian-Israeli conflict its top priority in the Middle East.
Agencies
By
You can find this article at:
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/087CE7F6-233F-4AB7-A48F-E42A2C3C7676.htm
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To anonymous - Spend some time reading your own comments and maybe you will get some idea why you are in the predicament you are in. Any sympathy I may have had for you in the past just got flushed down the toilet. So rant all you want but just remember one thing, all your ranting will not make your penis grow beyond its three inches. That is the only possible explanation for your hatred.
I heard you on BBC this morning. Masha'Allah.
You know, for years I have sat and watched and listened to Israeli spokespeople who always spoke so well, without accents, so polished and pretty.
I know, that as Americans, we often have a hard time understanding people with thick accents, so you'd get this polished Israeli apologist who spoke perfect English, then a representitive from one Palestinian group or another, who although he spoke good English, had an accent that was so thick I am sure many Americans didnt understand a word he/she said and just tuned them out.
It is sad to say, but perceptions are everything. When someone talks "like us" it makes it easier for them to get their point across. I dont have an issue with accents as my wife is Arab, but I know most Americans do.
I was glad to hear you and listen to you speak so well. Perception is everything and if Palestine had more young men and women like yourself, it would help.
Just sad that substance doesnt mean more here, but that is the case.
I am here saying prayers with the people of Palestine in mind.
GOSH I am so SICK of all these ignorants!!!
Right now they are pounding Gaza with bombs, "limited targets" they say but in fact it is nothing more than destroying the left-over infrastructure in order to say to Hamas "SEE, we DO HAVE the power to destroy you"! Nevermind how many people die ... so nearby!
What these ignorants do NOT see nor even think of is that by doing that they create only MORE and MORE ansd MORE hatred - which in return will backfire, this way or the other! WHEN WILL THEY WAKE UP????
To remain fair I want to stress that it was DEAD-WRONG in my eyes to kidnap this soldier - it is a crime and two WRONGS do never make ONE RIGHT!! It was a crime as well to kill the settler-boy ... IT IS DEAD-WRONG TO KILL IN GENERAL!!!
This nightmare has GOT to stop, this occupation has GOT to be lifted ... God this all is driving me crazy!! Why are INNOCENT PEOPLE punished?? Collective punishment is a crime - just like occupying other people is a crime!!
It has more that 30°C there - without water and electricity ... how long will people be able to stand that? I feel so terrible for the people and pray, this nightmare will be over fast !!
dear laila
i put your blog on my weblog so the dutch people can read about the situation in gaza. please try to update what you hear.
greetings
stan van houcke
http://stanvanhoucke.blogspot.com/
May Allah swt protect All Palestian ppl, sister.
Can somebody explain to me why did Hamas kidnapp three people?
What is the purpose on escalating what is already a disaster situation for the Palestinians?
and
What are the Palestinian people in Gaza achieve with this act?
Laila,
I would love to hear you over here in the states as well. Abu Sinan is right perception and PR is everything in the US and I have long wondered and hoped that we would have an intelligent well spoken Palestinian to represent us!!
All this crap about terrorists targeting civilians (as if they weren't objectively part of the problem in the West Bank), and now Israelis launch a blitzkrieg against civilians and infrastructure to retaliate against the taking of a single (bonafide military) prisoner-of-war.
Just when you think the crap can't get any deeper, it does.
I just found this blog today, in a google search of 'gaza strip blog', with what's going on over there right now, I wanted to find out more information.
I haven't read most of the comments, as just reading the first dozen or so was not worth it. A total lack of the real history from both the extreme pro-palestine and pro-israel sides and their attitudes towards one another made me sick.
It's a shame, but from what I see here, it looks like we won't see any peace for a long time.
I wonder, Laila, do you have your opionions of things posted somewhere, like a FAQ?? I would like to know what you think of the Rockets that are shot at Israel, what you think of suicide bombers, and what you think about the kidnapping of the soldier and others? Do you think there can be a two state solution? There is so much more that I would like to know your position on, but will learn by reading, I hope.
I will be coming back often to read your writing, and commenting in threads that are hopefully not as filled with garbage as this one.
For a long time, I have felt that people can be niether pro-israel or pro-palestine, but only pro-peace.
just a voice (ann arbor, mi, usa)
Can somebody answer to "anonymous@
8:47 pm?
I am trying to understand a mpm-understandable situation.
Can you answer why the Israeli government would jeopardise the lives of 1.3 million Palestinians by destroying the main power to the hospitals and the water supply? Why they would hold over 1000 Palestinians in administrative detention without charges?
may God bless & help you & the people of Palestine. God is with the patient.
Can you answer why, if their goal is ethnic cleansing and genocide, the only person killed so far was standing next to a Kassam launcher?
The power cut is making the people holding Shalit uncomfortable. Since those people are Hamas and the gov't you elected is Hamas, the inability to keep the lights on is their problem.
After all, they started this damned war. Israel left Gaza, Hamas as much as demanded they come back with guns blazing.
Guess they got what they wanted.
Answer for anonymous 08:47 ...
Abu Shaar - you are right of course but this is not an answer to the question!
You ask why they kidnapped three people? FIRST I want to emphazise I do NOT find this OK, it was WRONG to do that as two wrongs do not make one right!
You have to consider the desperate situation of the Palestinians though ... they stand - with NOTHING in their hands - vis-a-vis one of the mightiest and most technically advanced military-mychines of the world! These hand-made Quassams or stones .. what are these against Merkava tanks, Appachies and F-16!! NOTHING!!
As Abu Shaar correctly started, there are more than 1000 people detaines "administrative detention" this is called - without any charges and VERY OFTEN with totally phoney reasons! As the Palestinians do not see ANY possibility top get these people out and the entire world, in particular the ARAB world is sitting quiet aln mostly only watching ... what choices do they have? Put yourself in their shoes ... what would you resort to in despair? Do you know that children at the age of 14 (and I guess even under) are detained .. together with adults? Like criminals ... they are CHILDREN!!! Where in the world is that permitted ... just there nobody asks??
I give you a link ... look carefully at the pics but WATCH OUT - some are NOT easy to stomach - but they give the REAL situation .. one of utter despair! Once someone is totally desperate and feels he/she has NOTHING to lose ... he/she is capable of EVERYTHING - this is human nature! People should NEVER be pushed to that stage ...
AGAIN I want to tell you - kidnapping is WRONG in my eyes .. I just try to explain it to you from the psychological point of view!
Here's the link ...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/rafah/
and another one ...
http://www.miftah.org/Display.cfm?DocId=79&CategoryId=4
I just want you to get the a realistic picture!
anonymous 12:10 -- There was nothing for the Palestinians to do but leave the Israelis alone. They had their own, independent territory in Gaza. They had their own border with Egypt under PA and Egyptian control with European observers -- no Israelis!
Why are they firing Kassams at residential areas in Sderot, now that the Israelis have left? Why were they so stupid as to cross the border into Israel, kidnap a young soldier, and instigate a protracted war that brings the Israelis back in?
There were no Merkava tanks, no Apache helicopters, no F-16s in all of Gaza -- except when tracking down those launching Kassam rockets and planning acts of terror like this one.
Leave a sleeping lion alone, if you're smart. What the Palestinians have done to themselves is best portrayed by Cox and Forkum.
If God is with me
who shall I fear
If Love is with me
who shall I hate
Life is more than flesh & bones
The Spirit only God can judge
Peace, Shalom!
Salam Aleikum!
There are many Israelis and Jews abroad who are living in ignorance of what the Israeli government is doing to Palestinians, Christians, and even fellow Jews living in this war torn region. The fact that many media outlets are owned/operated/controlled by regimes that offer us a filtered, watered-down version of events on the ground, gives them the power to control what we think. Many Israelis living in Israel, favour diaologue with the palestinians, but there voices are unheard. This latest offensive by Olmert is not unlike the recent Sharon full out "response" against the few rockets that were fired from gaza, that 'lightly wounded' civilians, which warranted his full out barrage of the occupied areas. I can't condone what the PLC has done, but it is a response to the governments (Israel's) stimulus, disregarding UN resolution, not heeding to demands from Human rights associations, this sort of thing should be expected. Unfortunately, it does give Olmert an excuse to step up his war machine into 6th gear.
war is not easy to stomach for ANYBODY.
I have another question for everybody in this forum:If the Palestinian people could have REAL free voting e.g.without Al Aksa, Hamas, Fateh, pointing a secret gun at them how would they vote to the following:
I WANT TO LIVE IN PEACE WITH THE ISARELIS. Answer Yes or No?
the palestinian people have democratically elected hamas
there was no gun
everyone would like to live in peace with eachother except the zionist who want to steal more land
"war is not easy to stomach for ANYBODY"= maybe it is right,, but still.. my friends in gaza dont have too much water or electricity!
there are many many problems with the last few days...but i can surely see some hope!
i hope we all have some hope to change things for the better future!
:_(
Asad al nimr .
almanarasquare.blogspot.com
almanarasquare.com
ramalla.org
Wow, what a load of nonsense I have read here.
First of all, the genocide in Sudan is Muslim on Muslim, not Muslim on Christian.
Secondly, the original sin is the illegal 40 year occupation. Israel may pretend to have left Gaza, but since they control the borders, the airspace, have carried out 700 air strikes in the last year in the face of a unilateral Hamas cease-fire, have carried out extra-judicial murder, and now this, the disengagement is a farce. The home-made Qassam rockets have caused hardly any casualties, certainly no where near the casualties caused by the Israeli 500 lb bombs dropped indiscrimiately on houses without regard for the safety of people who are not the target.
Israel is illegally holding 9000 Palestinians, a contravention of its obligation under the 4th Geneva Convention. In response to the kidnapping of one soldier (a legitimate military target), Olmert has revealed that he is no Sharon in his decision to kidnap 64 democratically elected politicians.
Only organised criminals kidnap people to hold them as bargaining chips, not respected state actors. The only ones I can think of are Iran and Iraq, and they simply detained people as security chips rather than kidnapping them from their homes.
The Palestinians kidnappers have now put Olmert under pressure by stating that their demands must be met by a deadline, or the soldier will be killed. Olmert, unfortunately, seems to have the tactical finesse of a petty thug, and will no doubt fumble this badly.
And, as usual, it is the American taxpayer who will have to pick up the bill for Israel's actions in Gaza.
i don't know why since you all know what you are saying don't put your name on.anyway.i hope once again the best for childs in Palaistine.hope once again that Gaza will be a free place.hope,hope,hope for all of u.
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Palestinian children seek prisoner swap
by
Sunday 02 July 2006 9:57 PM GMT
The children want their fathers to be freed from Israeli jails
Children of Palestinian prisoners have called for a deal under which Israel would free their fathers and Palestinian fighters would release an Israeli soldier being held hostage.
The children also urged Aviva Shalit, the mother of the Israeli captive, 19-year-old Corporal Gilad Shalit, to understand the grief they have suffered by having relatives taken into custody.
At a news conference in the West Bank city of Ramallah on Sunday, several of the children read statements addressed to the captured Israeli soldier's mother, Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president, Hosni Mubarak, the Egyptian president, and Kofi Annan, the UN secretary-general.
Mubarak's government is leading negotiations aimed at persuading Palestinian fighters who captured Shalit near the Gaza-Israeli border on June 25 to free him.
Israeli forces have invaded Gaza in an effort to find Shalit or to force the fighters to free him.
Appeal
"We want you to care about our fathers the same as you do about the Israeli soldier," said Ansar Bayoud, 13, son of Yousef Bayoud, a Palestinian detained in the Israeli prison camp of Ketziot in southern Israel.
Eman Abu Shalbak, 13, the daughter of Mohammed Abu-Shalbak, another prisoner there, said to Shalit's mother: "We know that you are so eager to have your son back in your lap, eager to hold him, to know anything about him and this is your right. But could you stop for a while and think of the thousands of Palestinian prisoners in your jails?"
AP
By
You can find this article at:
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/F8438864-78DD-4E91-A2D1-298737793D1A.htm
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Does Eman know that the children of Ashkelon are sick and tired of being shelled by Kassams?
I've lived in the Middle East for 5 years and met many displaced Palestinians. They could find work, but not a home. None of their Arab brothers wanted them. Jordan took a good portion of their land. Israel the other. I am sure that the truth of what Israel does to the Palestinians is not told to us by the media. What I am also absolutely sure of, is that American sentiment against the Palestinian people will never stop until young kids are no longer used as
indiscriminant bombs. We will not support a people who have schools teaching the youth of the glories of dying for the cause. We cannot comprehend the killing of the young that is practiced "as a wonderful thing" there. Stop that....and you'll have American sentiment on your side immediately.
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