14 more

[g420]

IDF troops kill 14 Palestinians in Gaza

By Haaretz Service and news agencies

At least 14 Palestinian militants were killed by the Israel Defense Forces on Wednesday, in two separate incidents in Gaza.

In a neighborhood at the eastern edge of Gaza City, 12 Palestinian militant were killed and at least 50 wounded in an exchange of fire with IDF soldiers, while in Rafah, two men were killed in an operation aimed at demolishing tunnel used by Palestinians to smuggle arms over the border from Egypt.

The fighting in Gaza City erupted before dawn and continued for several hours. By early afternoon, the troops pulled out, the army and witnesses said.

[tribal]

this isnt progress. its like killing 14 gnats in a swarming hive.

IDF needs to do precision targeting of Hamas leaders including Yassin, and withdraw all settlements from Gaza. the strategic positioning of army units that are protecting less than 10,000 jews amongst 300,000+ palestinians is a drain on the army resources and economy.

once Israel completes the wall, withdraws lone settlements, then the palestinians can declare their own state, thereby making all their attacks against israel, a declaration of war, which will be rightly recognized as that, internationally.

once they have their own state, they will not dare send a bomber through not only because of the wall, but because a massive israeli retaliation will not only be 100% justified, but deadly to PA's control as well.

[g420]

Originally posted by tribal

once Israel completes the wall, withdraws lone settlements, then the palestinians can declare their own state, thereby making all their attacks against israel, a declaration of war, which will be rightly recognized as that, internationally.

I don't know if the international community especially Europe will recognize any attacks against israel as a declaration of war, most of Europe views the conflict over there as some ancient tribal war that coupled with the rise of anti-semitism in Europe, Israel is viewed as the bad guy...(see attached article)

Israelis are not seen as victims

By Ze'ev Schiff

A day after the recent attack on a bus in Jerusalem, The Wall Street Journal reported on the event in its European edition. One had to make an effort to find the item: It was the fourth in a list of foreign news items that appeared on the first page. It included seven lines, beginning with, "A suicide bomber killed 10 bystanders on a bus outside Sharon's residence in Jerusalem." The item continued with the prisoner release transaction with Hezbollah, which took place at the time, with the following words: "Hezbollah will kidnap more Israelis to secure the release of Lebanese detainees, the group's leader said amid a prisoner swap." Fourteen words about the bus explosion, and in the reference to Hezbollah there is a tone of justification for the kidnapping of Israelis.

The Wall Street Journal is known as a fair and professional newspaper, with a pro-Israel bent, which usually levels criticism at terrorist acts. Judging from the latest news item, one can't help but conclude that terrorism against Israeli citizens is seen by many abroad, and especially in Europe, as part of a tribal war in a distant land. That accords with one of the conclusions of a study conducted in Germany (published recently in the professional journal Media Tenor) about the way in which German television covers Israel. "In the news, Israel is for the most part seen as the guilty party. Even when covering stories where Israelis suffer from the acts of their opponents, they are not simply presented as victims. Editors often frame suicide attacks as a reaction to injustices committed against Palestinians." When such a trend continues for years, it's no wonder that in many places Israel is seen as constituting a threat to world peace, much more so than North Korea or Iran, for example. The researchers say there is a direct link between the negative publicity about Israel and attacks on Jews.

On the other hand, a bigger headline is guaranteed if the Israelis dare to defend themselves determinedly. That has always been the approach, long before Israel began to build the separation fence. There is no point in going to the International Court of Justice in The Hague if Israel cannot succeed in convincing anyone that it is on the defense in the face of mass terror. It's true that, inherently, Israeli PR has a difficult problem, due to the very fact that Israel is responsible for a prolonged occupation. But it must be capable of explaining that even occupation cannot justify mass murder of civilians in coffee houses and buses, without distinction. The way to do this is not by displaying body parts of terror victims on an Israeli Web site - as those responsible for Israeli propaganda are doing - because, in response, the other side will display body parts of Palestinian civilians, most of whom were killed because they got into the line of fire when the Israel Defense Forces was trying to assassinate a terrorist.

When there is a substantial difficulty in public relations, sometimes we find an escape hatch by claiming that the source of criticism of Israel is anti-Semitism. However, it is clear that not all those who criticize Israel are anti-Semites. Although it would be a generalization, it would be more correct to say of Europe that it is racist rather than anti-Semitic, as is evident from the attitude of many Europeans toward the Muslims who live among them.

Nevertheless, it is clear that when it comes to Israel - and this is blatant, especially in the European press - there is a willingness to believe anything, almost any lie is easily digested. Recently, for example, I heard a respectable newspaper editor claim there is Israeli-Indian cooperation in the development of nuclear weapons, cooperation that was spurred by Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. Those who are disseminating this information, and who believe it, apparently find it reasonable that Israel would be willing to clash with the United States and China in order to achieve nuclear cooperation, which it doesn't need, with India.