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The war against the Jews (3)

Monday, 3rd March 2008

Since there is clearly precious little chance of any objectivity or balance about the situation in Gaza from the British media, which has decided that Israel’s actions were ‘disproportionate’ and is filtering its reporting through that prism, here is an account on Israel’s Foreign Ministry website of a briefing given by security sources to the world’s media on Saturday — which as far as I can see, with the exception of one brief paragraph buried in the Times story this morning, has not been reported at all:

The IDF operation began on Wednesday morning (27 February), when word was received of the intention of a special team of Hamas terrorists that had arrived from Syria and Iran to enter Israel and to cause damage and to perhaps abduct soldiers or civilians. Under cover of bad weather, they intended either to enter Israel through a tunnel or to use ropes to cross over the security wall and then penetrate an army outpost or civilian settlement in attempt to abduct civilians.

The orders for the operation came directly from Damascus and Teheran. Israeli forces managed to locate and kill the five members of the team, and in response, Hamas attempted to create a new equation in the region, whereby Hamas would fire rockets in retaliation to every Israeli attack. Hamas has been following a policy of brinkmanship since June 2007, in an attempt to retain its power.

Iranian-made 122 mm. GRAD missiles, which were smuggled into Gaza, were launched at Ashkelon during the events in Rafiah. The rockets were employed as a means of increasing the range of Hamas missiles, placing more Israelis into the line of fire. The current supply of rockets held by the Hamas is adequate for the launching of a few dozen daily, for many days. This, however, is also dependant on Israeli actions.

On Saturday (1 March 2008), Israel hit one of the rocket sites, destroying several hundred mortars. The IDF strategy is to try to hit rocket storage and launching facilities. Some of the rockets have a range of 20 kilometers; they originated with the Hizbullah in Lebanon, and Syria and Iran managed to smuggle them into Gaza when the border to Rafah was breached. The exact quantity of rockets that were smuggled in is unknown.

A large Israeli force, formed by the Givati Brigade stationed near Jabaliya, entered the Gaza Strip on Friday (29 March) and engaged the terrorists. The number of Palestinian casualties is not clear, as media reports differ from actual fact. While there are definitely civilian casualties, it is a recognized Hamas tactic to use civilians as shields and to launch rockets from population centers. When civilians protest these actions, Hamas transfers them elsewhere.

Current Israeli estimations predict that rocket fire will continue. Some of the Hamas leadership has fled, while all the living quarters of the leadership are empty. It seems apparent that the Israeli government has decided to show the Hamas leadership that it was a mistake to launch extended range missiles.

The length and extent of the operation will be decided by the government. At this stage it seems that the extent of the operation will be greater than previous operations, as it is necessary to contend not only with Hamas capabilities, but also with their intentions, and to show them that they cannot keep shooting at Sderot and Ashkelon with impunity. This is not the broad operation into Gaza spoken of previously. If Hamas, supported by Iran and Syria, increases its activities, the Israeli government has additional options. The Hamas leadership is not currently targeted but this may change in the future as it is a question of policy.

While no limited operation can stop all the rockets, the current operation has two aims:

The operation was initiated in Jabaliya, the area from which most of the launchings take place.

To demonstrate to Hamas that they will suffer additional casualties if the rocket launchings continue. If Hamas continues its rocket launching policy, it will bring the broad military operation upon itself.

Hamas and Islamic Jihad instructors who were trained in Iran and Syria and who entered Gaza via Egypt, are now training the Hamas forces in the Gaza Strip.

While it was problematic for Hamas to smuggle certain types of weapons through the dozens of tunnels beneath the border, during the period the border was open they managed to bring in heavy trucks filled with armaments and ammunition. The Syrians and Iranians were able to arrange the supply of new weapons, which is why Israel must now contend with previously unknown weapon types.

In the Telegraph, the normally sound Con Coughlin wildly misreported the already mistranslated remark by deputy defence minister Matan Vilnai (see earlier posts). Coughlin wrote:

The unfortunate, and unworthy, comments made last week by the Israeli deputy defence minister, Matan Vilnai, who said the Palestinians faced a ‘bigger holocaust’ than those suffered by the Jews in Europe during the Second World War if they did not desist from their rocket attacks, provoked widespread protests from Israelis, and Mr Vilnai has been obliged to apologise.

Vilnai said no such thing. This is what he actually said:

The more Qassam (rocket) fire intensifies and the rockets reach a longer range, they (the Palestinians) will bring upon themselves a bigger ‘shoah’ because we will use all our might to defend ourselves.

The word ‘shoah’ (as extensively discussed in earlier posts) was translated by Reuters as ‘holocaust’, whereas in Hebrew it is not used to mean that without the definite article which was absent here. Vilnai subsequently clarified accordingly that he had not meant ‘holocaust’ but ‘disaster’. He certainly did not say anything about the Jews in Europe, and he did not apologise.

Meanwhile, here is further evidence of Israel’s ‘disproportionate behaviour in Gaza:

Humanitarian aid in the form of medical supplies and food were transported into Gaza from Israel on Sunday despite ongoing rocket attacks on western Negev communities emanating from the region. Thousands of units of blood and other medical supplies, as well as basic food items were brought through the Sufa crossing in 62 trucks from Israel.

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phil

March 3rd, 2008 11:48am

Melanie it is good that you keep everyone up to date with what we believe is the truth -sadly the truth is only heard by those that want to hear it .

osama

March 3rd, 2008 12:51pm

For many years, Hizbullah was careful not to implicate Iran in its terror operations. However, in a 15 April interview with the Iranian Arabic language TV station ‘al Qawthar’, Hizbullah Deputy Secretary-General Naim Kassem, told the interviewer that suicide bombings, terrorist attacks and even artillery barrages against Israeli civilians all receive prior approval from the Ayatollahs in Teheran: "The religious doctrine which dictates Hizbullah’s actions in general and those relating to the Jihad in particular, is based on the rulings of the spiritual leader in Teheran. The spiritual leader has the power to permit our actions, and the spiritual leader can forbid them.
"In order to know what is permitted and forbidden regarding the Jihad, we ask for and receive overall permission and only then do we carry out the operation.
“Even with regard to the suicide bombings, no one is allowed to kill himself without religious authorization.
“Even the rocket attacks on Israel, against the civilian population [Aug 2006] … in order to apply pressure, even this required overall religious authorization."
Iranian Parliament Speaker Gholam Hadad has warned that the "countdown to Israel's destruction has begun," in an interview published in an Iranian newspaper.

London Calling

March 3rd, 2008 12:55pm

On a lighter note,as a Dyslexic, Melanie is playing havoc on my visuals, I keep seeing Jews as Jaws, 1,2,3, the movie. The problem here Melanie is in truth as you are Jewish your opinion will be seen as biased as you are seen as inside the box, whereas us outsiders know the box has many sides and we should remember that, however you have a right to defend your beliefs and express truths, of which much is founded. Phil, there are many truths, the question is, are we open to all of them and from all sides, before we come to a full blown conclusion? I think your posts are great Melanie... we need to debate these important issues. When is Jaws 4 coming out? I can't wait.....tee hee

osama

March 3rd, 2008 1:39pm

For those who think Ahmadinejad has only Israel's best interests at heart:
"On this occasion, Ahmadinejad launched a new verbal attack on Israel: "The countdown for the Zionist regime's destruction started at the hands of Hizbullah's children," he said, adding, "God willing, in the near future we will witness the destruction of this regime, thanks to the endeavors of all Palestinian and Lebanese fighters."
"Thanks to people's wishes and God's will the trend for the existence of the Zionist regime is downwards and this is what God has promised and what all nations want…Just as the Soviet Union was wiped out and today does not exist, so will the Zionist regime soon be wiped out" December 12, 2006
“Israel must be wiped off the map … The establishment of a Zionist regime was a move by the world oppressor against the Islamic world . . . The kirmishes in the occupied land are part of the war of destiny. The outcome of hundreds of years of war will be defined in Palestinian land." October 26, 2005 (In an address to 4,000 students at a program titled, 'The World Without Zionism') NB The translation of this quote is debated and has also been read as "Israel must disappear from the page of history"
"The Zionist regime is an injustice and by its very nature a permanent threat. Whether you like it or not, the Zionist regime is heading toward annihilation. The Zionist regime is a rotten, dried tree that will be eliminated by one storm." April 14, 2006 >br> "A new Middle East will prevail without the existence of Israel." August 4, 2006
"With God's help, the countdown button for the destruction of the Zionist regime has been pushed by the hands of the children of Lebanon and Palestine . . . By God's will, we will witness the destruction of this regime in the near future." June 3, 2007
"Although the main solution is for the elimination of the Zionist regime, at this stage an immediate cease-fire must be implemented." August 2, 2006
and for Time Team's Tony Robinson who declared that the USA's 'End of Timers' religious fundamentalists were going to destroy the world but managed to avoid mentioning the Iranian 'End of Timers' there's this: "Our revolution's main mission is to pave the way for the reappearance of the Twelfth Imam, the Mahdi."

David Boland

March 3rd, 2008 1:48pm

Much as I do agree with you, and share your anger, at the way Israel is reported by the Western media, I can't help but think that Vilnai did make an error in leaving himself open to be misinterpreted in this way. It may be that the absence of the definite article does give the word 'shoah' a different meaning in Hebrew. However 'shoah' in the west (cf Lanzmann's famous film of that title) without the definite article does connote the Holocaust. If Vilnai was unaware of this, his ignorance is culpable.

MartinW

March 3rd, 2008 3:33pm

Thank you agian, Melanie, for providing us with information that we do not get from the MSM. The output from the BBC is mendacious in the extreme; I have long since disregarded anything that emanates from H. Sykes or J. Bowen or their fellow travellers, and treat it with contempt and disgust.

Sempronius

March 3rd, 2008 3:34pm

"However 'shoah' in the west (cf Lanzmann's famous film of that title) without the definite article does connote the Holocaust. If Vilnai was unaware of this, his ignorance is culpable." And maybe Israelis should give up Hebrew and speak English instead. The guy was speaking his own language properly. It's not his fault that a journalist (who probably had an axe to grind anyway) misrepresented him.

David Boland

March 3rd, 2008 4:16pm

Sempronius - Vilnai wasn't speaking at a private meeting of fellow Hebrew speakers who would understand the correct connotation of "shoah". He was speaking publicly on the radio. If he didn't expect his words to be translated into English, the lingua franca of the world media, he should have done.

Ann

March 3rd, 2008 7:20pm

"It may be that the absence of the definite article does give the word 'shoah' a different meaning in Hebrew" - there is no 'maybe' about it. Why is it that the non-Hebrew-speakers persist in posting opinions about a language they don't speak? --- Vilnai may have made a PR error in view of the proven antisemitism of the world's media (which is a PLURAL noun, Melanie: do keep up). However, how does that excuse said antisemitism of said media? -- It's gob-smacking to see the Telegraph adding more and more lies, with Coughlin now inventing further and even more extreme statements that were not, could not have been made by Vilnai: after all, had this fabrication been true, it would have made the statements mendaciously attributed to him even worse, and they would have been reported days ago.

field

March 3rd, 2008 11:02pm

Good post. Israel can't expect balanced reporting. All democrats have to get behind Israel now and speak up for it. No country can tolerate this sort of direct assault on its citizens. Do we know yet who the Reuters journalist was.

Joe Strummer

March 4th, 2008 2:44pm

If Israel's response to the latest rocket bombardment is labelled " disproportionate", what could be the adjective to describe relentless missile attack on Israel for 7 years from Gaza.?

Andy Gill

March 4th, 2008 5:04pm

It is astounding that these details are not being reported. The UK media is deliberately repressing information that doesn't fit the narrative of poor little beleaguered Gaza, and uncritically relaying unconfirmed information from Palestinian sources. So we are not getting 'the whole truth', and we are not getting 'nothing but the truth'. Which means we are not getting the truth at all.

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Melanie Phillips is a Daily Mail columnist. She also writes for the Jewish Chronicle and is a panellist on BBC Radio Four's Moral Maze. Her most recent book is 'Londonistan', published by Encounter and Gibson Square.

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