h/t Barry Shaw via Real Jerusalem Streets.
Shuja'iya in Gaza has been identified by the IDF and Shin Bet intelligence as an area rife with Hamas and Islamic Jihad terror hideouts. These terror groups store weapons in Shuja'iya, launch rockets from Shuja'iya, and dig tunnels to be used for terror attacks from underneath Shuja'iya.
Shuja'iya in Gaza has been identified by the IDF and Shin Bet intelligence as an area rife with Hamas and Islamic Jihad terror hideouts. These terror groups store weapons in Shuja'iya, launch rockets from Shuja'iya, and dig tunnels to be used for terror attacks from underneath Shuja'iya.
The IDF warned the residents of Shuja'iya to leave for several days. Leaflets were dropped, thousands of phone calls were made, and text messages were sent, telling the residents to evacuate the area. While thousands of residents managed to get out, others were prevented from vacating the area by Hamas. Hamas prevented civilians from leaving the area because, like the residents themselves, Hamas knew that the IDF intended to target and eradicating several years worth of stockpiled weapons and the significant terror infrastructure they have built in this heavily populated urban neighborhood.
Shuja'iya: Neighborhood for civilians, fortress for Hamas terrorists. pic.twitter.com/HUhAKvDuWN
— IDF (@IDFSpokesperson) July 20, 2014
It is from Shuja'iya that hundreds of rockets have been launched into Israel.
Hamas asked for and received a humanitarian ceasefire, a lull in the fighting in Shuja'iya. Israel agreed to a humanitarian ceasefire of two hours, from 1:30-3:30 PM. During this time, Hamas brought in the foreign press corps to tell them about the "genocide" in Shuja'iya. Many civilians were killed and wounded because Hamas prevented them from leaving. The press reported the so-called "genocide" without mentioning that several dozen terrorists were the real targets and were among the many killed and wounded.
The humanitarian ceasefire gave the terrorists an opportunity to treat and evacuate the wounded and to move their weapons and explosives from the area, ahead of the serious fighting expected to take place in this neighborhood later today. It is believed that ambulances were used both to remove the wounded AND the weapons stockpile from Shuja'iya during the ceasefire period.
The ceasefire was still meant to be in effect when Gaza launched rockets into Israel, at 2:15 PM. These rockets were intercepted by the Iron Dome system. IDF artillery responded shortly after, shooting several rounds of shells into Gaza.
This report has been confirmed by Reuters.
This is the third ceasefire in the current conflict hat Hamas has failed to honor.
Let's start at the beginning of this particular episode in the conflict. Three Israeli students were criminally kidnapped and murdered by unknown assailants. Mr Netanyahu claimed to have evidence that Hamas were responsible. Israeli forces raided the West Bank looking for them.
ReplyDeleteWe'll pause just here because Mr Netanyahu forgot to divulge a very important detail.
He already knew they were dead because the distress phone call by a student revealed the sound of a gun being fired. The 'bring our boys home' appeal was therefore completely bogus from the start and so was the hundreds of raids on the West Bank, the 700 hundred arrested Palestinians and the numerous that were killed. If this wasn't meant as a deliberate provocation aimed at Hamas then it was extremely foolish. I believe it was the former.
Sure enough, Hamas responded (only after the demolition of the homes of two suspects) by firing rockets towards Israel, not in my view a legitimate response but considering the inaction of the world community, the only way to express anger.
The IDF interpretation of what happened in Shuja'iyya is, if I may say an uncritical approval of the Israeli version of events. Reports soon after had indicated an Israeli soldier had been kidnapped and that the Hannibal Protocol had been initiated. This is one possible reason for flattening Shuja'iyya but the massacre that followed was frenzied and unparalleled. Just as the writer has no evidence that the IDF maps are genuine and not merely justification after the event, I have another theory that can't be verified. The slaughter in Shuja'iyya was in response to the killing of two Israeli soldiers by a very loyal group of soldiers.
Confirmation by Reuters hardly makes it a slam dunk after Reuters admitted using pro FSA activists as genuine journalists not that long ago. Other news outlets have stated that the IDF were still militarily active in searching for tunnels before the ceasefire had ended. So if the IDF were indeed still active and they encountered resistance fighters, who is in the wrong? The IDF for not adhering to a ceasefire deal or the Palestinians for defending themselves?
The act of dropping leaflets, making phone calls and sending text messages ignores a very important aspect of the problem. Where are they expected to go to? Moreover, it's been proved beyond doubt that Israeli soldiers have been shooting many people who ventured out during the attack. I'm not Jewish, nor am I Muslim. I have no axe to grind, I just cannot see anything positive about Israeli actions in the slaughter of so many innocent people and the equally criminal destruction of Gaza homes. An accurate description of who initiated this most recent conflict is vital to an honest debate, something that the writer of this item failed to mention.
You write: "He already knew they were dead because the distress phone call by a student revealed the sound of a gun being fired. "
DeleteAll of us knew there was a high probability they were dead. None of us knew that for sure. Hearing a gunshot does not prove that all three were dead or even that only ONE of them was dead. It might just as easily have been a warning shot.
You write: "The 'bring our boys home' appeal was therefore completely bogus from the start and so was the hundreds of raids on the West Bank, the 700 hundred arrested Palestinians and the numerous that were killed."
The Bring Our Boys Home was not completely bogus. We wanted them back, alive or DEAD. It is important to Jews to bury their dead. At the funeral, Naftali's mother spoke about the IDF promising to bring home the boys and how they kept that promise, how this too was a kindness!
It was also important and remains important, to find the perpetrators of this ghastly deed to put them behind bars so they can't repeat the act on other innocent young school boys. They are dangerous terrorists who should not be on the loose.
Foolish? A provocation? It is foolish to think that wanting to bury the dead or capture a dangerous terrorist might be a provocation.
You write: "Sure enough, Hamas responded (only after the demolition of the homes of two suspects) by firing rockets towards Israel, not in my view a legitimate response but considering the inaction of the world community, the only way to express anger."
And what made them angry during the 11,000 rockets they shot at Southern Israel prior to their massacre of three young schoolboys. And if anyone has a right to be angry, it is Israel, for the rockets, the violence, and the killing of innocent civilians, yet we don't purposely target civilians with Kassam rockets or use human shields in defending our people. I've never stoned anyone's car either. No matter how angry I got.
You use words like "flatten" "slaughter" "frenzied" and "unparalleled" instead of offering facts.
You write: "The act of dropping leaflets, making phone calls and sending text messages ignores a very important aspect of the problem. Where are they expected to go to? "
They were expected to go to the safe area in the MAP DETAILED ON THE LEAFLETS dropped by the IDF for their convenience and safety. The map showed where the IDF would NOT be firing so that they could be ensured safety.
You write: "Just as the writer has no evidence that the IDF maps are genuine and not merely justification after the event, I have another theory that can't be verified."
But yes I can offer verification for the maps. See:
http://www.israellycool.com/2014/08/24/assessing-the-ocha-gaza-crisis-atlas-2014-report/
and:
http://www.israellycool.com/2014/08/25/further-analysis-of-gaza-crisis-atlas-2014-damage-clusters/
You write: "Moreover, it's been proved beyond doubt that Israeli soldiers have been shooting many people who ventured out during the attack."
You offer no source (credible or otherwise) for this assertion which is a bold lie.
So yes, you DO have an axe to grind. You have misrepresented the facts , and not I.