In the big battle scene in the movie Braveheart, terrified whispers ran up and down the ragged ranks of sword-waving Scots that the English were ranged before them with “500 heavy horse” – armoured cavalry of devastating power in those days.
But the wild-haired hero-general William Wallace (actor-director Mel Gibson) rode his pony up and down the front ranks shouting: “We don’t have to beat them. We just have to fight them!”
That was in the 14th century. But 700 years later it seems to be the same cry from the Gaza Strip, where Palestinian fighters allied to the Islamic fundamentalist cause led by Hamas pursue a lopsided battle against Israel, pitching erratic, homemade rockets into nearby Israeli lands, until they trigger a major offensive and start taking the heaviest casualties in 60 years of conflict, from Israel F-16s and Apache helicopters.
The warplane is today’s ‘heavy horse’, of course, but it can represent a far, far superior advantage. The Israelis fly with virtual impunity over the crowded Gaza enclave, picking out designated targets in their own good time, capable of selecting individual apartments in a block if they need to. Should it come to ground fighting, Israel has equally advanced tanks with state-of-the-art optics and sensors, plus plenty of modern armoured personnel carriers and artillery that the Islamists do not possess.
The score in Gaza, to state the facts in the crudest terms, was 300 to 1 dead in the first 48 hours.
Monday was day three of the air campaign. In 1999 NATO found itself in its first war, against Serbia over the conflict in Kosovo. The air campaign was conducted at the safety altitude of 22,000 feet because the Serbs, unlike Hamas, did indeed possess anti-aircraft missiles and cannon. A committee of 19 states, the 45-year-old alliance was a nervous newcomer to actual fighting. It gambled that air power would inflict just enough pain to persuade the Serbs to capitulate. But when that did not happen in the first five days, NATO was in a panic, and facing the unthinkable – an invasion.
Some generals had warned the allies that, if you start a war, you must be ready to go all the way and ‘put boots on the ground’. But they had preferred wishful thinking.
Israel, of course, is no newcomer to war, does not need lessons in the limits of air power, and knows that a ground offensive in Gaza cannot be ruled out. Even if Gaza’s Islamist militants number 35,000 as estimates say, there is little doubt who would be likely to come out on top. But it would probably be on top of a land of rubble, with a storm of Arab and Muslim defiance gathering above the entire region.
As the smoke rises from Gaza, anger and defiance seems to be spreading across the Arab world, fuelling protests and violence in the occupied West Bank, stoking anti-Israel sentiment in the wider Arab world, where the young, especially, despise seemingly weak, or complacent regimes unwilling or unable to do something. Islam is their “rock n roll” now, as one writer recently put it, and the militants of Islam have no moral problem with “asymmetric warfare” — the return of the suicide bomber to Israeli cities, the weapon no Apache or F-16 can stop.
If this is what the defiance of Gaza’s puny rockets begets, then Braveheart’s romantic injunction that “you just have to fight them” could prove to be correct.
(Smoke rises after an Israeli air strike in the northern Gaza Strip December 28, 2008. Israel launched air strikes on Gaza for a second day on Sunday, piling pressure on Hamas after killing more than 270 people in one of the bloodiest days in 60 years of conflict between the Palestinians and the Jewish state. REUTERS/Baz Ratner)
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Let me see if I’ve got this right, 400,000 black men , women, and children are murdered in Darfur in the worst genocide in recent memory,we do nothing. Four hundred Palestinians are killed and the world is coming to an end, wonderful.
- Posted by eyeman1*As the rest of the world protest…
… the US voted a few hours ago to Block UN Condemnation and Sanctions against Israel .
Protester all over Europe by the thousands are Braving Freezing cold tempters and protesting the Deliberate Slaughter of unarmed civilians trapped and denied to flea the onslaught….Watch Live coverage at http://www.presstv.ir/watch_live3.aspx
All the Hospitals will run out of Fuel in a few Hours and all the Babies and Wounded Patience on Life support will Die.
_
Gaza
Obama, “WILL BE TESTED IN HIS FIRST 90 DAYS IN OFFICE”, THIS IS THE TEST……….. will he condemn Israel, will he pass the Test?
What an How he does and doesn’t reply to over the Gaza situation will be referenced and revered to by the other Middle East Nations and Political factions .
It will set the tone and mindset of the rest of his presidency, It Will Effect how our troops will be able to? operate even in Afghanistan .
- Posted by ubuibiok_
UBUIBIOK
Have a Better Day !
Raymon
It’s so easy to throw words like “nonsense” “baseless” and “made up facts” without an iota of substantiation, (unless you are referring to your own unsubstantiated claims).
You say “Israel is waging a war on a helpless population. they are determined to cripple the palestinains more then they already were before.”
Absolutely untrue. Israel pulled out unilaterally from Gaza over two years ago. She had no choice but to do so as there was no-one on the other side prepared to negotiate a bilateral agreement. Since then the rocket attacks against innocent civilians have been unrelenting (unless you consider the population of Sderoth and other towns non-civilians). This started from day one after the pullout. Israel’s biggest mistake was not taking firm action with the first rocket, because by not doing so she lost the deterrent. The price both sides are having to pay because of this has escalated for this reason. I am truly sorry that there are civilians in Gaza who are picking up the tab run up by Hamas. However this is the only way to return the deterrent, and possibly by doing so finally sit down at the negotiating table to reach an agreement beween the two peoples. Hamas violence is not the solution.
You say “hamas did not help the situation at all by choosing to fire rockets and continuing to do so.”
Now here is something we can agree upon, but I must commend you on your excellent use of understatement. Hamas has knowingly and deceitfully to its own people provoked this situation. The only thing they want more than casualties on the Israeli side is casualties on their own side.
You say “israel has been violating every human rights accord ever written for decades now, with the U.S’s approval and the UN incapable of doing anything about it.”
Human rights issues are definitely a severe problem but I would like to ask you to come up with a solution that does not create the infrastructure to support human rights problems in the interim period till a solution is found. At least Israel acknowledges the problem and has High Court to which Palestinians can appeal and often receive solutions. This is true to the extent that many Israeli criticize the High Court for being too sympathetic to the Palestinians.
You say “Israel is the “super power” backed by U.S tax payer dollars and U.S made weapons. hamas is a rag tag street gang with home made rockets. so who has the “power” to put an end to this?”
Can we paraphrase to “The US is the “super power” backed by U.S tax payer dollars and U.S made weapons. El Quaida is a rag tag street gang with home made rockets. so who has the “power” to put an end to this?”
You say “this is not the first time israel has done anything like this and it won’t be the last.”
True, As long as we are attacked we reserve the right to defend ourselves.
You say “actions like this will only create more resentment in the arab/muslim world, giving iran, syria and other to aquire more weapons and another reason to pursue nuclear weapons.”
The demonic Arab states such as Iran and Syria have their own agenda and if they didn’t have Israel they would create a reason to aquire weapons and nuclear capability, probably to shoot at each other.
You say “these “islamist” terrorist groups were created based on the actions of the U.S and Israel to the people livign in these areas. the terrorits groups are a product of decades of oppresion and discrimination. so therefore the terrorist groups are a product of the creation U.S and israel.”
Islamic terrorism is based on an extreme and fundamentalistic interpretation of the Koran, which espouses zero tolerance towards all non-Islamic religions.
You say “the egyption, jordanian, and saudi governments do no speak for the middle eastern countries. let’s face it, they are western stooges set in place and do not represent the people, and are part of the problem in this region”
I suppose you think that Iranian and Syrian governments best represent the will of their people. Well if so thank God for the “Western Stooges”.
You say “Iran exploits the palestinian situation do a certain extent and this type of chaos only benefits them.”
Did you say “certain extent”? How about the possibility that Middle Eastern unrest is the Iranian cause d’etre? That Iranian wants only one thing, to institute Shariy’an law all over the world, including in your own back yard! Look over your shoulder, they’re just waiting for the opportunity.
You say “this situation will be the cause of WW3, with millions who will die because of it.”
Interesting prophecy, and if I read you correctly the Jews will be the ones held responsible again just like WW2.
- Posted by KoushnirDear misguided Ali,
I ask you indeed “How is Israel a bully?”
Are you referring to the countless times that Israel has been attacked by its neighbours?
Or could it be the ridiculous and unprovoked shelling of Israel and kidnapping/murdering of Israeli soldiers By Nasrallah which provoked the war in Lebanon?
Or perhaps might it be the 6,464 rockets directed at Israel over the last three years?
Wake up and smell the smoke! It’s the Arab nations who put us where we are, not our need for expansion.
Please explain, does withdrawing from Gaza make us expand or shrink? Please take a look at a map of the Middle East. We were actually very lucky to win the war of 1967 between Israel and its Arab “neighbors” Egypt, Jordan, and Syria. (Not very “Neighborly”) especially since Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Tunisia, Morocco and Algeria also contributed troops and arms to the Arab cause.
But since then we have made a peace of sorts with Egypt and RETURNED SINAI, and also made peace with Jordan, also making territorial arrangements with Jordan.
So it is only the Palestinians who have a gripe with us. Perhaps the should go back a couple of years and blame Arafat, was offered about 95% of Palestine for peace and in return offered us ………….the Entifadah! One more brilliant decision by a Palestinian leader.
Israel has been far less than perfect in its relations with the Palestinians since 1967. There are indeed hugh moral issues involved in dealing with mostly innocent people at cticical junctures such as border crossings, checkposts, the enabling of religius practice etc. It is sad that the Palestinians are being misled by their leaders into thinking that violence is the solution to all their woes. The difference between the Israelis and the Palestinians is that we constantly put ourselves under a magnifying glass and debate our actions. We have not only freedom of thought but the need to think.
- Posted by KoushnirMany people here in Israel believe they have the solution to the Middle East crisis, but most will agree that someone else might actually be right. There is no such debate among the Palestinians. There is no moral dilemma in the sending of Rockets over Israel, no questions asked about the legitimacy of sending suicide bombers to explode in crowded malls or buses. The moral ground of the Palestinians is no higher that the depth of the tunnels used to smuggle rockets to be fired at Israel.
Alan
My comments were not intended to justify anything, merely to describe the current situation as I see it.
I don’t feel a need to justify the right of my people to defend itself against unprovoked, indiscriminate, interminable rocket attacks that have been going on for the last six years, just as I don’t see the need to justify the existence of Israel, or my own very existence. As far as I’m concerned, vis-a-vis Hamas, it’s either them or us. We don’t deny the Palestinians’ right to exist in peace. Hamas denies the right of Israel to exist at all.
Now if you want to actually conduct a dialog based on the truth you will have to start reading something else beside Hamas propaganda on which to base your claims.
Firstly Israel does not target civilians. In fact Israel when possible has WARNED civilians about impending attacks on buildings CONTAINING WEAPONS by calling them by phone and urging them to escape. It is the custom of Hamas when forewarned to force their own civilians to stand on the rooftops of buildings to protect their weapons from being destroyed. Now that’s what I call priorities!!!!
Nizar Rayyan, the “cleric”, as called so sympathetically by a Reuters correspondent, who was targeted yesterday by Israel was killed along with his family, because he PREVENTED them from leaving his home after he was warned by his own Hamas friends that he was in danger. So who is “murdering babies”????. This top Hamas terrorist has been one of the major architects of the rocket attacks against Israel and even SENT HIS OWN SON ON A SUICIDE MISSION against Israel. What kind of religion has “clerics” who think nothing of dispatching their own children in the name of GOD?
No one has asked the Palestinians to “sacrifice” anything to give Jews a home. It was actually the leaders of the free world who saw the need to reinstate Israel in its historical homeland after the Holocaust. Our ties to this land are absolute, but still, in the Jewish tradition of peaceful coexistance we were prepared to “split” what was then called “Palestine” between ourselves and the Arabs. In return we were attacked by every Arab nation with which we share a border.
Unfortunately the Arab nations have made countless errors in their dealing with the existence of Israel, ordering up pointless wars, but leaving the Palestinians with the tab. It’s time moderate Palestinians let their voice be heard and put an end to being victimized by the Arab “brethren”
- Posted by Koushnirto the bloggers in this blog,I find in intereting how you like to call out the moderators and writers of this article on how they are moderationg this blog and what they are writing in order to get your opinions posted in here. I don’t know if most of you have realized that majority of the stuff posted in here by you is nonsense, baseless, and made up facts.most people in here trying to give justifications for the events that are currently taking place for what they have a biased for and not what is really happening. let’s state the facts and call it what is is:
1.) israel is waging a war on a helpless population. they are determined to cripple the palestinains more then they already were before.
2.) hamas did not help the situation at all by choosing to fire rockets and continuing to do so.
3.) israel has been violating every human rights accord ever written for decades now, with the U.S’s approval and the UN incapable of doing anything about it.
4.) israel is the “super power” backed by U.S tax payer dollars and U.S made weapons. hamas is a rag tag street gang with home made rockets. so who has the “power” to put an end to this?
5.) this is not the first time israel has done anything like this and it won’t be the last.
6.) actions like this will only create more resentment in the arab/muslim world, giving iran, syria and other to aquire more weapons and another reason to pursue nuclear weapons.
7.) these “islamist” terrorist groups were created based on the actions of the U.S and Israel to the people livign in these areas. the terrorits groups are a product of decades of oppresion and discrimination. so therefore the terrorist groups are a product of the creation U.S and israel.
8.) the egyption, jordanian, and saudi governments do no speak for the middle eastern countries. let’s face it, they are western stooges set in place and do not represent the people, and are part of the problem in this region
9.) iran exploits the palestinian situation do a certain extent and this type of chaos only benefits them.
10.) this situation will be the cause of WW3, with millions who will die because of it.
7.)
- Posted by raymonkoushnir….
You write a full page to justify the killing babaies, children, mothers, fathers, agression, occupation, land sezuire, illegal settlements and you should be ashamed of urself. These people the Palestinians sacrifieced everything and even their lands to give you selfish Jews a home which no one on this planet wanted to. This is how the treat the indegnious people but I guess you have learned from your masters in the West, how the red indians were opressed in USA, abrugnees in Australia and blacks in South Africa. But you are doing is worser then all, personaly I think you should be awarded for that by the West maybe a knighthood by the Queen or something.
The media has hidden the truth in such a deep grave, the agressor is shown in the Western media as the victim and the victim as aggressor.
Shame on all the Jews, Torah and the Western so called “civilised ” world…. SHAME ON YOU!!!
- Posted by Alanresponse to WJ-
How is Israel a bully? By opressing the Palestinian people, humiliating them, murdering babies, occupiing their land as we speak, buldozing their homes n farms, violating human rights and all this for the past 60years under Zionist regime.
The strongest in the middle East is Israel and therefore has no security threat from any other country well at least not till USA is behind it.
Well which country in the Middle East is violating UN resoulution, Human Rights, Illegal settlements and still expanding? = Israel
Which country is occupying lands of different countries which it captured in 1965 war and still occupies it by force = Israel
Which Middle East and the only has Nuclear weapons = Israel
Wasnt it Israels Ariel Sharon that was involved in the mascre of palestinians in the shatila refugee camps. You argue it is sourouded by Arabs. Well more then half of those countries have peace treaty with Israel thanks to USA for installing puppet regimes in those countries so dont give me that Israel is scared of Arab Nations. It has inhilated Arabs can do so now…will till USA is behind it.
So stop your excuses and give Palestinians their homeland which they deserve after more then half a century of humilation and the only reason I can think why Israel does not want to agree is…HOW WILL IT CARRY ON WITH ITS EXPANSTION POLICY!!!!
- Posted by aliI suppose israel is proud that is was able to take out one of hammas’s leaders today. however i would like to see how they would justify killing 7 of his children and his wife? infact i would like any one of you to justify the murder of any of the kids that have been killed this far. most of of you think all this glorified and are condoning these actions. i guess its for the those whose lives are privilaged and ignorant about the real world to be able to confuse real like killing with that of the killing you might do in of your video games. this act of genocide is going to inspire hundreds more to commict acts of terrorisim. the terrorisim problem just got a whole lot worse and we have israel to thank for it
- Posted by sammyI am a yank, exhausted with paying taxes that the State of Israel bleeds out of America each. LET Israel pay for itself. U.S. taxpayers are completely fed up with footing the bill for Israel. Let Israel pay for itself. It CERTAINLY has that capability.
- Posted by RogueIt’s useless to argue whether Israel is right or wrong. The quantum of retaliation is surprising neither. What i wonder is why doesn’t Hammas and the palestinian people in general realize that violence is not their solution for sure. If anything i can see the extinction of palestine in a few years at this rate. When a ceasefire was in place they should not have violated it, not because it’s not the right thing but simply because it’s foolishness. It gives israel an opportunity and all the blame comes to them for starting it all. Today, Palestine faces a choice between dignity and survival, it’s high time they choose the latter.
- Posted by ammarHow is Israel a bully? You have the surrounding Arab nations who aid and abet the Palestinian cause and profess openly to want Israel “wiped off the face of this planet”.
- Posted by WJWithout the technological advantage and nuclear capability, there would be no Israel. Is that what most Palestinian sympathizers on this blog want?
Congratulations to the Zionist regime for minimising the civilian casulties but the fact is Picture coming out of besieged Gaza tell a totaly different story.
I see some posts saying its not the number of civilians killed, so for 4 Israilis killed (any loss of life is wrong)you go and kill 400 inncent Palestinians.
Israel needs to respect the UN resoulutions, stop acting like a bully.
Most of all why is Israel allowed to have Nuclear arsnal but not others on the same note of a resoultion was passed for Iraq you the West enforced it with force not even considering the death and destruction it brought to Iraq. But when it comes to Israel no one cares and they have freehand.
But Zionist regime should remember how long can this go on. The Pharihs come n gone, Romans come n gone, British empire came n gone how long will the USA be the superpower…What will happen after that… Treat others how you would like to treated and stop all the Palestinian humiliation we all know what they are.
If any Jew want to experience it go and stay a night in the Gaza Strip and your eyes may be lit up with reality.
Peace to all may the new year bring little bit of justice and less of double standards!!!
- Posted by KhanWhat are you smoking, and why aren’t you sharing?
Also, what color is the sky on your planet?
Israel is to be commended for the restraint they have shown. If it were Russia or China, we’d be looking at a parking lot paved in radioactive glass. That the IDF are minimizing the civilian casualties and the collateral damage speaks much for them and condemns Hamas.
Hamas goes out of their way to maximize civilian casualties, which useful idiots like Reuters then blame on Israel. Drop a dime and buy a clue.
- Posted by SteffanTo the Moderator of this blog.
I really must protest the fact that my response to this blog was deleted.
So much for unbaiased press.
Until the blog is removed again, just in case someone is interested in reading my unworthy thoughts, here they are
Untrue. Too bad you don’t LISTEN to what the Israeli leaders actually say, which is that Israel has no agenda to topple Hamas, although I don’t know any sane person who doesn’t think that the world would be a better place without Hamas, (and Hizbollah and El Quaida which are more of the same).The current attacks on Hamas targets is send a loud and clear message to the Hamas terrorists that from now on there will be price tag on terrorist acts against the Israeli people.
- Posted by KoushnirWhat Israel wants is peace and quiet, and a complete cessation of the indiscriminate rocket attacks against innocent bystanders. The Israeli public believed that the unilateral disengagement from Gaza (TWO years ago) and complete uprooting of Israeli settlements from Gaza would prompt a change in the insane pattern of rocket firing over Israel. And what did Israel get in return? More rockets!
You say “Hamas was elected by the Palestinian citizenry in an open election.”
Great! so was the Japanese Government that sent Kamikaze planes to bomb Pearl Harbor!” Are you saying that by the same token, The US should not have declared war upon Japan?
You say “Within my parents life Isreal was created and the Palestinians ( primarily involved in agriculture 60 years ago) were pushed into the tightest living quarters on earth.”
Read the Bible. The blame for the present situation in Gaza actually lies at the feet of its Arab “brethren”. If they had one percent of the compassion for the plight of the Palestinians that the Jews had for their own people after the Holocaust things would be different today. It has been in the vested interests of the Arab nations to perpetuate the terrible conditions under which the Palestinians have been living since modern day Israel came into being. If you actually read a little history in addition to the Arab hate propaganda you would know that Israel agreed to split “Palestine” between the Jews and the Palestinians in 1948. It was the Arabs who declared war upon Israel instead of agreeing to the proposal that was backed by the entire world.
You say “….While their resources dwindle and they starve for food, power, medicine and other staples the west condemns them as terrorists for defending themselves as best they can.”
How stupid can one be to take that kind of reasoning? If the Hamas had spent a little of the six months truce to bring provisions, medicine etc to Gaza through the tunnels instead of stockpiling rockets & arms, contrary to the cease fire agreement, maybe the Palestinians wouldn’t be in the situation they are in.
You say ” The Isreali method of divide and conquer, sit and wait, starve them out has not worked ever to diffuse the military problem. Knowing this it is obviously a pogrom against Palestinians to continue.”
The truth of the matter is that person who has decided to set himself and the Palestinian people apart from the Hamas terrorists is Mahmoud Abbas, the President of the Palestinian authority. He is the one who has been engaged in talks and negotiations with the Israeli leaders. If there is anyone who can bring about a change on the Palestinian side it is he. Why don’t you check out the situation of the Palestinians in the West Bank, (which Israel still happens to be occupying as opposed to Gaza from which it withdrew two years ago)? You will see that life there is different. The standard of living on the West Bank is constantly improving. Bethlehem had a record tourist turnout this Christmas. Surely someone is doing something right? How come, Abbas as well as the Moubarack, the Egyptian President condemn Hamas for inciting the violence? Why does the Egyptian President refuse categorically to open the Rafiah border crossing between Egypt and Gaza?
You say “America needs to stop all aid to Isreal and let the 2 parties determine their own fate. We look like hippocrites (I guess you mean hypocrites) assisting one of the most powerful armies in the world as it stomps on a people armed with home made rockets and small arms.”
These “home made rockets” as you call them so endearingly have been raining over Israel for the last eight years. Israel is not a shooting gallery and we are not prepared to be ducks to be fired upon indiscriminately and blindly any longer. There comes a point where one says enough is enough, and we reached this point this week. I don’t know where you live but I would like to see you spend eight minutes (not eight years) in the shadow of constant rocket attacks and then hear what you have to say about who is to blame for the current situation. I want to hear you say, “please, pretty please no more attacks” to the El Quaida. By the way, more and more of the rockets being shot at Israel are by no means “home made” They actually arrive with the compliments of the Ayatollas of Iran, and with the help of Syria.
You say” Every developed nation in the world except the US is shying away from the obvious brutality and unipolar view of Isreal. We should use the obscene amounts of aid money we give to Isreals military to revamp our medical and education systems domestically.”
More wishful thinking on your part. Get on the internet and read some news. Almost the only governments condemning Israel are Islamic governments, and most of it is lip service. The last thing Egypt wants in her back yard is a militant fundamentalist Hamas state run by people who want nothing more than to stir things up in Egypt too, at the behest of Iran.
Why don’t you ask yourself honestly what the Hamas has to show its people after 8 years of terrorizing Israel? How closer are they to achieving Statehood for the Palestinians? What kind of future can the average Palestinian “Joe” expect in terms of education, health, prosperity etc if the Hamas continue to run things their way? Believe me, here in Israel the vast majority of the people are just waiting for a sane voice to come out from Gaza –the voice of reason.
1948…1967 and 1972. the world forgets that Israel was attacked 3 times by the Arab world. The PLO still has the destruction of Israel as its prime mission. Look at the news footage. The Palestinians have war vioence and hatred in their minds and hearts.They need to be stopped once and for all!
- Posted by Tony Roth