Mid-East Conflict
Tears for Gaza: Children, women and elderly among dead
Fighter plane squads intensify Israel's deadliest assaults ever on Palestinian militants, killing more civilians. Aircrafts widen their scope, dropping bombs on smuggling tunnels that allegedly they claim to be a weapons conduit for the Gaza Strip's Islamic Hamas. Israel's Cabinet authorized the military to call up 6,500 reserve soldiers for a possible ground invasion and moved tanks, infantry and armored units to the Gaza border. Since it began Saturday, Israel's offensive against Gaza rocket squads has been carried out exclusively from the air, according to newswires.
Earlier Sunday, in an interview with Egypt’s tourism minister Zoheir Garannah, he said that the Gaza-Egypt border remains open only to the wounded. President Hosni Mubarak gave instructions yesterday for the Rafah terminal - the only one that bypasses Israel - to be opened for wounded Palestinians to be evacuated "so they can receive the necessary treatment in Egyptian hospitals. Egypt has reinforced security on its frontier with Gaza by deploying 500 anti-riot police along the border in the wake of the raids, but AP reporters said hundreds of Gazans, backed by a bulldozer, breached the border wall with Egypt and poured across the frontier to escape the chaos. Egyptian security officials said a border officer was killed in clashes with Palestinian gunmen.
Freelance journalist Fida Qishta, reporting from Palestine, said civilian casualties have been increased in the last hours of filing this story. As she spoke to the eTurbo News, attacks were ongoing. “Minutes ago, they’ve attacked a mosque in Jabalya; it’s still ongoing. A child was killed thus far. In Rafah, they’ve hit the minister’s building 40 minutes ago. It is still ongoing. At 3.30 am, they attacked a police station; at 7, a pharmacy was hit west of Rafah. And then another police station in the city center. After 4 pm today, eleven F-16 rockets were dropped on the Rafah border. After 7, Rafah was attacked again by F-16 fighters. A few minutes ago, the tunnels were hit again by 3 rocket,” she said, adding that one police headquarters has suffered from more than 60 air strikes.
Qishta added that in Gaza a police station was bombed; followed by a prison. Many were killed. Civilians were killed too and a few houses were downed. She said: “As of last count, there are 290 dead. More than 900 are injured. Most of the dead are children and women (10 percent) and (35 percent) are old men (over 40) who were not with the army. Over 45 were young students.
"At the time of the attacks I was on Omar Mukhtar street and witnessed a last rocket hit the street 150 meters away where crowds had already gathered to try to extract the dead bodies. Ambulances, trucks, cars - anything that can move is bringing injured to the hospitals. Hospitals have had to evacuate sick patients to make room for the injured. I have been told that there is not enough room in the morgues for the bodies and that there is a great lack of blood in the blood banks," said Canadian member Eva Bartlett of the International Solidarity Movement.
Natalie Abu Shakhra, a Free Gaza Movement member and activist said: “They’re bombing all around us right now. Local news says the number of dead will rise above 300. This is a war crime. They are not aiming their rockets at Hamas; instead they are killing civilians. They want to get rid of the Palestinian population.”
According to Qishta, the Israelis have prepared for this operation long before the strikes. Immediately after the seize fire, the Israelis began the siege across Palestine, hitting buildings, schools, municipalities etc. “They said they wanted to end the power of the government,” she said.
They are not targeting Hamas bases. “B.S! There are no Hamas bases. We don’t even have guns to defend ourselves. We only have our bodies as their targets. What does Hamas have or can use against a nuclear superpower. None. Our casualties are civilians. They – one soldier. Yesterday, two girls burned to death right in front of my eyes,” said Abu Shakhra, who revealed she’s protecting herself with nothing at all but a dream that “things will change after I die. I will not leave. I will stick to my home, to my land.”
“Israelis say they’re defending themselves. How? When only one Israeli has died versus 300 Palestinians,” questioned Qishta.
"Israeli missiles tore through a children's playground and busy market in Diere Balah, we saw the aftermath - many were injured and some reportedly killed. Every hospital in the Gaza strip is already overwhelmed with injured people and does not have the medicine or the capacity to treat them. The world must act now and intensify the calls for boycott, divestment and sanctions against Israel; governments need to move beyond words of condemnation into an active and immediate restraint of Israel and a lifting of the siege of Gaza," said Ewa Jasiewicz of the Free Gaza Movement. She is on the scene documenting her account.
Speaking from Ramallah, International Solidarity Movement media coordinator Adam Taylor said homes of two correspondents were hit. “There are more casualties on the Palestinian side including children and mothers. One on the Israeli side,” he said.
“This has been ongoing following their policies of genocide. People cannot take the end of the ceasefire out of the context. No border crossings were opened during the seize fire. Attacks in Gaza are the extension of the same policies on widespread civilian deaths,” said Taylor.
“The world is just watching – uninterested. Since Obama is coming to office while Bush leaves, they see this as an opportunity and weakness in decisions and policy-making. They’re also taking advantage of the Arab governments’ silence. Look, Egypt still insists on closing the Rafah entrance – showing that the Arab governments have no influence,” said Abu Shakhra who identifies herself as an Arab girl from Lebanon who does not recognize Israel on the map, but came to the Palestinian occupied land. She said with going to Gaza and staying, as a citizen she’s done something no Arab leader has done.
The bloodbath came just a few hours within Bethlehem’s reporting of extremely high hotel occupancy and tourist visitations over Christmas. The Holy City has surpassed the millionth visitor this year since the start of the Intifada in October 2000.
eTN had scheduled an exclusive interview with Palestinian Tourism Minister Dr. Kholoud Daibes but it was set on the same day the massive air strikes began. Needless to say, the interview never occurred. Before the carnage, Daibes was very optimistic Palestine would see a rebound in tourism this end of year. Until this...
Comments
Journalism?
Is the writer being paid by Metro or Hezbolah?
Are they the same entity?
This is despicable, even for Internet "journalism"
If you want to spew your bias, get a blog!
I can not begin to understand the historical hatred and issues that have led to this event. I am sure lots of people claim the do. Israel was not one of my favorite destinations but I certainly do not wish them any ill will. I really do hope that a reasonable solution is found for the conflict. I don't know what is reasonable.
What I don't understand is why anyone, Gaza or otherwise, would tempt fate. They remind me of a man walking into one of the gang neighborhoods, being surrounded by thugs with guns and outnumbered 50 aginst one and picking a fight you can not win. When one man does it knowing the consenquences, I understand the results and he gets what he ask for.
I realize that this analagy is a little off but I don't understand Gaza taking the chance with the civilians and children unless that is what they hope for. Sure, provoke Israel if you want to be able to show off your dead children to invoke world wide pity but there has got to be a better way for the warlords of Gaza to get their message across than to sacrifice the innocent.
I don't know what the answer to the Gaza problems are but I suspect (and hope) that there is one that does not involve hiding behind children. Sure, they are getting world wide media intrest but mostly, I think, they are insuring that there is no future. What is the use of fighting for a future when you are allowing your future to die? When all the kids are dead, there will be no one to fight future battles for whatever it was you were fighting for in the first place. I am sure there are many ways of fighting and making a difference without hiding behind children. Taking a chance when it is just you or other soldiers is one thing, risking your innocents is just wrong.
Rose Levy
110 Bank Street
Apt. 1-C
New York, NY 10014
ShiranLev@nyc.rr.com
917-533-6759
The Answer to the Crisis in the Mideast:
An Honest Desire to Know – Not Bombs!
By Ruth Oron, Zvia Ratz, Avi Gvili, Harriet Bernstein, Rose Levy
As Israelis who love our country, we feel passionately that Israel is hurting herself by the military incursion into the Gaza Strip. The notion had by Hamas and the Israeli government alike that the conflict between us will be solved through war and bombs is completely false. It has been tried for six decades, since Israel ’s birth—IT DOES NOT WORK!
We respect the many Israelis, including military personnel, protesting the actions taken now by our government. For example, there is Gideon Levy who, in an article in the Israeli newspaper Haaretz (12-29-08) wrote:
“Once again, Israel ’s violent responses, even if there is justification for them, exceed all proportion and cross every red line of humaneness, morality, international law and wisdom. What began yesterday in Gaza is a war crime and the foolishness of a country….
Blood will now flow like water. Besieged and impoverished Gaza , the city of refugees, will pay the main price. But blood will also be unnecessarily spilled on our side.”
Sadly, Mr. Levy was right. And at this time, nearly 800 Palestinians and 12 Israelis have been killed; over 3,000 Palestinians have been wounded. Among the dead and injured are many Palestinian children.
We say this: There will be no peace until Palestinians and Israelis have good will for each other, and see it as their strength. And the first thing in good will is the desire to understand. Nothing else can end three generations of mutual retaliation and hate. Once we did not see this, as most people don’t, because the meaning of good will as tough, practical, is not understood.
The education Aesthetic Realism, founded in 1941 by the American poet and critic Eli Siegel, taught us how to have a deeper, more accurate way of seeing the Palestinian people, and brought out our desire to be fair to them. We learned that in every person, including ourselves, there is a battle between the desire to look down on others, have contempt -- which is “the addition to self through the lessening of something else” -- and the desire to see value and meaning in other people, and want to strengthen them. We, the Jews, who suffered persecution and the concentration camps, should be the first people to understand the Palestinian people’s yearning for a homeland.
In an article titled, "The Only Answer to the Mideast Crisis,” printed in the New York Times in 1990 as an advertisement, Ellen Reiss, Class Chairman of Aesthetic Realism, wrote: “The Mideast situation will not be solved until individuals are trying to see the many people different from themselves as being, also, full individuals real as themselves.” And she recommended that every person in the concerned nations write a soliloquy of 500 words, as deeply as he or she can, describing the feelings of a person in the opposing nation. Palestinians would write about Israelis, and Israelis would write about Palestinians. The soliloquies would be read on radio and television, and commented on, so that persons will have a chance to say whether they feel they are described rightly.
Writing this soliloquy changed each of us profoundly. And twenty-one years ago, on January 7, 1988, in a letter some of us sent to members of the Israeli Knesset, we told about what we learned, and said in part:
“As we thought of a Palestinian person more deeply, granted him the reality he deserves -- we came to see this important fact: we are more the same than different….What does a young Arab in Rafiah hope for? What is a mother in Deir el Balah afraid of? Aren’t their feelings as real as ours? Isn’t their love as passionate as ours? For the sake of our country…and for the sake of the people suffering now in the Gaza Strip, every Israeli, every member of the government, every soldier in the army has to write such a soliloquy. We urge you to begin it immediately."
The Holy Land, ever so rich with history and culture and treasured by both peoples, should lead the world in showing the urgency of good will—the only means for lasting peace in the Middle East!
Death toll of Civilians ESPECIALLY of women and children speak for themselves.
Being welcomed by Palestinians years ago should not have made DIVISION of Israel and Palestine then all would have been nice and dandy but PUSHING Palestinians OUT OF THEIR HOMELAND and calling THAT A DEMOCRACY AND PROTECTING "THE DEMOCRATIC ISRAEL" is BS. Compare the so called israel settlements with the slums of Paleastinians and that in itself is already good enough a reson why Israel state shouldn't have been created in the first place. BECUASE PALESTINIANS have no one to back up, they were bullied and murdered and SENT to Area where there are no resourses. IF all the these amenities and resourses were SHARED with the land owners, this and previous blood would not have been spilled.
IF everyone is blaming Hamas LIBERATORS for firing rockets indiscriminately to civilian population, then why not suggest israel supplier USA to supply the technology of PRESICION to Hamas and then I am sure they will only target military installation !!!
The only reason isreal (no capital letters used !!) has managed to inflict so much pain becuase of USA's interest in the region who EVERYONE who is peace loving and DEMOCRATIC knows this as a fact. One can write a whole website but this si enough to just awaken you with REALITY. I would not accept my guest using 1 bedroom of MY house to start CONTROLLING and INVADING my rooms and on top of it SET BARRIERS as to which room of MY HOUSE I CAN USE AND WHICH I SHOULD NOT USE. Shit man I would also do everything in my power and ability to get him out of my house.
Tears ONLY for Gaza??????????????????????
Like most of the rest of the world you only have tears for Gaza! How come you don't have any tears for Israel?
Why does this extremely one sided article not even mention the last 8 years of Palestinian rockets into Israel? Or all the Israeli civilians men women and children killed and badly wounded, loosing arms and legs.
You also don't mention that Israel has evacuated the whole territory of the Gaza strip over 3 years ago therefore nullifying any reason for continuing acts of violence by the Palestinians. The evacuation was supposed to allow the Palestinians to rebuild and prepare for an independent state but instead the Hamas terrorists kept throwing rockets of all kinds at the Israelis over the border.
You of course don't mention that since the beginning of this effort by Israel to stop the Hamas rockets and while they are asking for the world's tears they are continuing to throw around 80 rockets every day into Israel killing and wounding civilians. You have published outright lies without any comment! If you had checked you would have known that the Israelis attacked only Hamas facilities and ohter related targets like offices, infrastructure, rockets storage places, & rocket launching places. Unfortunately, Hamas conveniently located many such sites inside very densely populated areas. They are doing this so it's hard to find and when it gets bombed they can cry bloody murder and present catchy photos and footage of injured civilians. The "Innocent" cry "We don't even have guns" is of course B.S. They don't need guns, they are throwing rockets!!!!! But they do have guns as well and are using them . More B.S is the disinformation about Israel attacking right away when the last cease fire ended. Israel wanted to extend the cease fire, the Hamas refused and said so loud and clear on their radio. As early as 24 hours before the cease fire ended they started increasing the steady stream of rockets into Israel.
Can you find some tears for the kidnapped soldier, Gilad Shalit whom Hamas terrorists are still holding? He was kidnapped on Israeli soil 2.5 years ago. They were holding him as a hostage and using this as a tool of extortion, throwing rockets and missiles in varying daily numbers starting with 3 ending with 80, at the towns and villages within their range. For 2.5 years they have been relying on Israeli fear that they (The Hamas) would harm the hostage. Israel has indeed been afraid of that and therefore, even with all the thousands of rockets and missiles over the last 2.5 years Israel has not retaliated. Only lately the situation became absolutely impossible forcing .the government, even though its on it's last leg, to finally act.
Unfortunately, war is always horrible for all involved. The civilian population in Gaza is now suffering in addition to all the towns and villages on the Israeli side who are still showered with many rockets and missiles.
The Hamas terroristic regime does not recognize the state of Israel and claims they own everything. They are trained and supported by Iran and El Qaida . They don't want to live and let live. They said many times loud and clear that all Israelis should leave this land and go back to wherever their ancestors came back to Israel from. I don't see anyone on a red carpet waiting with open arms for such an event anywhere ....... If I remember correctly, most people who came here over the last 100 years did so since they had been forced to leave the places they had been living at.
What will it take for you to save some tears for Israel? Obviously millions of people who are vulnerable to rockets falling daily on their head are not enough. People having to spend half their time in bomb shelters are not enough. Dead wounded and damaged people suffering violence for the last 8 years are not enough. Gilad Shalit and his family are not enough.
What is enough? Everyone dead? Looks like Israel is not ready to commit suicide for that.
Save your tears. We will do without them.
Miri Rosental
Tel Aviv, Israel
I must confess, the article written by Hazel Heyer is surely slanted towards feeling sorry for those living in Gaza that started to provoke this whole situation.
It amazes me why Hazel never wrote an article about the rockets that have been the starting of this conflict, and we don't see many jumping up and down blaming Gaza for their rockets.
No doubt Hazel's article was sent directly to GAZA to enflame the locals into thinking, Israel is the cause of this problem. Strange isn't it?
Such poor journalism is 'only reporting the facts', but she could have started off her article:
"After Israel had received numberous rockets aimed at their local towns and killing and destroying , Israel stated they would be starting to reciprocate with the bombing of GAZA", etc.
Thank you Hazel, your article "stated the facts', I know.....one sided!
Palestinians hold the prospect of peace in their own hands, yet constantly throw it away
By Bob Nesoff
Metro Publishing Group/Metro Features
Palestinians are the conduit of their own salvation, yet persistently choose the path of violence over the opportunity to live full, peaceful and productive lives. Yet it is interesting to note that Hazel Heyer, one of your staff writers, can only see the tragedy from the Palestinian viewpoint.
Where was she while the Katyushia rockets rained down on Israeli towns? Did she have anything to say when suicide bombers killed scores or innocent Israeli civilians in market places, on buses and in synagogues?
She says that the Israelis dropped bombs on "...smuggling tunnels that allegedly they claim to be a weapons conduit for the Gaza Strip's Islamic Hamas..."
Claim? Does she wear blinders or is she so biased that she cannot she the bombs for her own political viewpoint? Hamas' penchant for setting up in the midst of civilian and residential areas is well documented. Therefore, no matter how surgical the Israelis are in their strikes there are always collateral civilian casualties. These Hamas cowards know this will happen and yet they use their own people for political propaganda purposes.
It is interesting to note the "protestors" against Israel and the United States. Where were these people when the Twin Towers and Pentagon were attacked with 3,000 innocent civilian casualties? Not a word from them except for the street celebrations as the Towers burned. Then, to add insult to injury, these coward attempted to spread the lie that it was a Mossad plot. Where was Ms. Heyer's voice then?
While there is collateral civilian damage from Israeli air strikes, they have never directly targeted similar areas in Palestinian territory. Yet the brave Palestinians aim at schools, synagogues, market places, hospitals...any target they know cannot fight back. Then when Israel retaliates, they scream for revenge. This is a mind set that belongs in a mental institution, not on the world political stage with civilized people.
Israel has given up territory in is quest for peace. What other nation in the history of the world has done so voluntarily? The list would be pretty small. Russia still occupies islands it took from Japan, the U.S. still hold Puerto Rico, England still holds some of its colonial territory. But Israel cedes land to the Palestinians who simply upscale demands for more and more. They know they will get sympathy and support from the Hazel Hyers of the world.
If she is a "staff writer" for your site, I think I no longer wish to receive such propaganda from a one-sided entity. I have little to no hope that this rebuttal will be made public.
I worked as a reporter at daily newspapers in San Francisco for 23 years, and I have rarely seen such a one-sided piece as Hazel Heyer turned out. Why no sources from the Israeli side as well as the Palestinian? Why no unbiased international sources (not only self-declared pro-Palestinian movement activists)? Why no mention of what triggered the Israeli operation - the lethal rain of missiles on civilians in Israeli by Hamas?
In fact, why venture into political reporting at all while in the guise of covering tourism? Is that even your portfolio?
Horribly one-sided writing, combined with apparently non-existing editing, produce propaganda, not journalism.
You owe your readers a prominently and promptly posted apology.
While tourism and political issues are intersecting, ETN has becoming more political medium.
We all for peace and prosperity, none of us are for war. The Palestinians are the same they wanted peace and prosperity like everybody else. But their govt. in this case Hamas backed by Syria and Iran wanted to engage in a war with Israel so they can create another new wave of intifada against Israel- by raining their old-tired rockets to Israel territories for many months as a bait. Did you know where they launched these rockets? They're using civilian sites including mosques so when Israel retaliates Israel will be hitting civilian targets thus create sympathy for their causes around the world. That's one of the reasons not too many Arab gov'ts quickly condemned Israel for its latest incursions. You know who was the first and aggresively condemned Israel and asking volunteers to fight for Hamas-Ayatollah Ali Khamenei of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
This is a sad time for all. But you don't understand that the islamist world will NEVER have peace with Israel. By cutting off the aid to Israel you will only make it worse. How many times have they already tried to make peace. Please do a little research before you run the anti-semite line of "cut off aid to Israel". The real problem is that Israel has waited too long.
As someone who lives on "the other side" of Gaza, and who has been a victim of Hamas' kassam rockets attacks for the last 8 years, I can only say that the story above is, as usual, the "Palestinian victims" story.
Yes, the actual people in Gaxa are unfortunately the victims of the government they chose -Hamas!!
As this war is now going on, and I sit here on the border in a kibbutz not 2 miles from the border, I can tell you that the "leaders" of these people are all hiding in bunkers underground - pure cowards!! They have done nothing but created terror and war for their people and are themselves animals - not more than that!
And as far as this ridiculous article "tears for Gaza" goes - I love the insinuations eg: "on smuggling tunnels that allegedly they claim to be a weapons conduit for the Gaza Strip's Islamic Hamas." This is not allegedly - it is a fact. Over 5000 rockets have been sent to us over the last years - what country in the world would stand for that?? And yes, many more Palestinians have been killed -but only bvecause their weapens of destruction are more primitive!!! Their desire to kill innocent civilians, women and children - is much greater than Israel's desire to kill them. All we want is quiet - we left the Gaza strip and moved many people out of the area, who had been living in that area for over 20 years - and we did this to have quiet, to give them back the opportunity to build their lives. We even left them the means of building afuture, and whatdid they do? Burn it all, bvecause their only interest was murder and terrorism - this is what these Palestinians feed on -mureder and terrorism! So stop giving us this hogwash about poor Palestinians!!
Sorry, I'v e got to go - another rocket is on its way!!
This is a poor attempt at honest journalism. I am a objective peace loving citizen and your article should have been entitled "Tears for Violence on Both Sides" and focused on ending the cycle of violence. Did you bother to mention anything about the Kassam rockets that have been launched on a daily basis into Israel before Israel's attack on Gaza?? Did you bother to mention that Israel had just relaxed borders as a good faith measure prior to a barrage of rockets being launched into Israel? I don't agree with any of the violence, but if you pretend to be a journalist then let's get the facts straight. Who knows what other propaganda that you and your staff have fed myself and other readers on other countries in the past? Makes me think about boycotting your publication for not giving the full truth.
No war is something to celebrate, but I am very disappointed that eTurbo News would publish such a one sided report, putting little emphasis on the end of the cease fire by Hamas on December 19 and their constant launching of rockets from Gaza targeting Israeli civilians Nor does it mention that Hamas receives support and encouragement in this policy from Iran in an attempt, not only to maim and kill Israeli civilians, but destanalize the middle east. Nor does it mention the efforts taken by the Israeli's to limit civilian casualties and the fact that Hamas purposely places it terrorist operations in civilian neighborhoods. While Egypt and other Arab countries may publicly deplore Israel's actions in self defense, they also fear Iran and privately are not upset by Israel's being their proxy.
What is sad is that when Israel ended their control of Gaza the world, including Israel, did not provide maassive support to the Gaza Palestinians in order to improve their living conditions and act as a dterrent to the gaining of control by Hamas.
The basic problem is not the fact that Hamas organization ruling the Gaza strip has been bombarding Israeli Towns and villages even during cease fire promised times as well as other time incessantly over the last 8 years. The problem comes from the religious belief that a country which is not Moslem can exist in the middle east. It is common knowledge that the Jews are the offspring of bovine and primates and it is a religious commandment to reach a level of Shahada to enter the exclusive area of the garden of Eden and fulfill the desire of Allah by eliminating nonbelievers in the prophet Mohammed namely Chritians, Jews, Hindus and other nonbelievers firstly in the middle east and next every where else on the planet earth. This is why there have been attacks in America, UK, Spain and other parts of the globe. The government in Israel respects and cares for the religious sites and peoples from all religions. This is not true of the Arab and Iranian Moslems. Islam in other parts of the world believes and acts differently. We made a terrible mistake in Israel by leaving Gaza. The only solution is to retake Gaza and administor it withequal rights for all peoples. The land where the Jewish settlements existed were on sand dunes to the south of Gaza city where nobody lived. the arabs living in Gaza called this area "the cursed land". It now has turned into military bases from where missles are shot into Israel. The ruling Hamas group made it quite clear that they under no circumstance will recognise Israels right to exist. considering that McAlister, Samuel Clemens and other explorers have traveled through Israel/Palestine 160 years ago spoke of the land as barren with practically no inhabitants except for a few towns. In their report there was three times the amount of Jews in the town of Jerusalem compared with the amount of Moslems. Ramallah and Bethlehem were completely christian. Beerseva were six bedoin shacks. So who took what away from the Arabs? Between 1946-1948 200000 Arabs immigrated into the country from Syria, Egypt, Turkey, Saudia Arabia. These facts are all recorded in the British records of immigration into Palestine. The problem is purely religious and not really nationalistic and it is not an Israeli problem alone but an international one.
This is my response to Daniela:
Since when did 2 wrongs make a right???
Once again, let's all pray and lobby that all stakeholders, palestinians and israelis alike , as well as their allies, go beyond the symptoms and address the problem. This is the only way that both Israeli and Palestinian children can sleep peacefully.
I wonder dear Oliver if someone would have told you that your hometown is going to be bombed each day for the last 8 years !!!! would you agree ? would you have done something to stop it ? just remember there are children in Sderot and the area that do not know what it is like to live withour booms.
And with regards to the nice statistics please check the American army in Iraq !!!
Inbar ,Just an Israeli who had enough
"Before the carnage, Daibes was very optimistic Palestine would see a rebound in tourism this end of year." Your reporter should have researched such a claim. Had she, it would have been your lead. How indeed could there be tourism at all under an oppressive regime such as Hamas?
It takes courage to publish the story less told. We are all under propaganda in one way or annother, and truly none of us know what is realy happening unless we live in Gaza or Israel. Nonetheless, here are some statistics that can help illustrate, you wont find this on CNN> they are all suported and founded with geniune sources. Numbers dont lie.
www.ifamericansknew.org
8 years ago, you should have published the following headline: "Tears for Sderot" - Palestine attacks Sderot on a daily basis by rockets. Many people were injured and killed. Childeren are panicked and blood is covering all over the streets. There is a huge destruction all over the southern area of Israel buth the whole world is silent and the Israeli government do nothing to protect its citizen. Let's pray that this will end in the coming days. But no!!!! Israel and the whole world were silent for 8 years!! No more, no more and no more. If children in Sderot cannot sleep peacefully then Palestinian children would not sleep well also.
In my view, the " voice to the other side" is all we've been hearing for quite a while now . It is been shouted at from the rooftops by Israel itself and its allies i.e USA et al.
If we're to be fair and give voice to anyone, it should be to the Palestinians. As you put it , Israel is protecting its citizens from rocket,mortar and bombing attacks...but is that the problem or the symptom? Why don't we go deeper and listen to the voice of the Palestinians so that this problem can be solved once and for all.
Loss of life -whether Israeli or Palestinian - under any sort of conflict is unacceptable.
You say that control in Gaza was given back to the Palestinians. I would be interested to know what your defination of control is. I do not believe it is "control" when you can be under siege and refused all basic means of livelihood- exactly what people in Gaza have been going through the last few months. Reduced electricity, reduced necesities such as food -all controled by the Israelis. Now, is that what you call control?
Ultimately, we have to move from the blame game that is currently going on and which you appear to be perpetrating. It is important that we deal with the consequences: women,children ,the elderly are dying and that needs to stop. You scorn the journalist's message yet you have obviously missed the essence of it.
Again ETN has gone from being a website about Travel to one of Politics where it has no business or knowledge of presenting intelligent articles.
Your article is pure propaganda & misinformation!
Here are 2 articles that are slightly interesting found in MEMRI an Arab publication:
Special Dispatch | No. 2163 | December 29, 2008
Hamas
Hamas Leader Khaled Mash'al's Declaration Ending The "Tahdiah" (December 14, 2008)
Tahdiah is defined in the article as "Calm".
So HAMAS has been planning and wanting this confrontation and wanted to break the cease fire!!
And here is the 2nd article.
Special Dispatch | No. 2164 | December 29, 2008 publication.
PLO and Fatah Officials: Hamas is Responsible for the Deaths of Its People
So I suggest ETN stick to travel.
Unless of course you want to be a News Website!
You are running pure propaganda without giving voice to the other side, which belies any pretensions you may have to journalistic standards. You should be ashamed of yourselves. Israel is doing what every nation should do - protecting its citizens from rocket, mortar and bombing attacks which have been ongoing - every day! - for years, even though Israel ceded Gaza back to local control. It is rather telling that the Egyptians - fellow Arabs and Muslims - close their border to Gaza except for the wounded. Why do you suppose they would do that???
What is happening in the border towns in Isreal?? You never hear about what is happening to the the Jewish community? The Palestine's number of killed is always higher then what is true.
This was another typical one-sided story, with a few facts, and a lot of middle eastern emotion.
One big wrong fact ( actually a lie) is this:"We only have our bodies as their targets. What does Hamas have or can use against a nuclear superpower. "
The answer: Iranian missiles, Kassam Rockets,mortars, bombs, bombs and more bombs.
Thousands upon thousands of rockets and missiles exploded in Israeli towns for years!
Israel left the Gaza strip (which by the way is not Palestine, its a Hamas controlled area) 3 years ago, and what did it get for it?
Kassam rockets, thank you very much.
I don't want to waste more of my time on an amateurish article.
My only comment to the publisher is this: If you want to be taken seriously, publish serious articles. Articles that tell the story from two sides, stories that have truth in the content.
Otherwise, you are just a cartoon.
you should be ashamed of not telling the
truth. This is not a one side conflict,
it needs two to tango. Why do you lie
about what does Hamas do to his own
people and to the entire neighbourhood.
You should not publish this kind of
articles.
shame on you. Democracy is not your
strong part.
Unfortunately a small but influential number on both sides want peace. Solution: Cut off all US "aid" and this includes weaponry to the state of Israel for an indefinite period. Within a few weeks they would sit down with their counterparts, guaranteed!
BDS campaign on boycotting the 1 million Israeli arabs or the palestinians who´make their living on the tourism industry to Israel?
Have you ever listened to those who are effected or is this once again a "politicial" standpoint where the "friends of the USA are our enemies" and those ( Hamas islamic fundamentalists) who are the enemy of our enemies ( USA) automatically become our friends.
So why not a boycott on Zimbabwe, Russia, China where 100 of "non conforming people" are killed on a daily basis Mr Hinshelwood
I am just back from Palestine after meeting several friends in the tourism business. I am living in Sweden but I am right now in Jerusalem to prepare for a pilgrim tour in mid february.
Piece in the region is what every "non fanatic" palestinian, christian and jew wants . And tourism in Palestine would boom the same day when Hamas renounces its openly stated goal of establishing a fundementalistic Islamic state in the region by Killing secular palestinians, Christians and Jews.
Does anybody know how many Christians still have their homes and or businesses in Betlehem? Most of them have been bullied away or kiled by Hamas/ Fatah gunmen.
And this conflict would have not escaleted if the Hamas bombardment of southern Israel would stop.Miss Fida does not mention that this has been ongoing for years and escalated the past weeks. The people of Israel( Arabs, Jews and Christians) have been forced to shelters day after day and night after night before the Israeli government now does what is every governments duty . To protect its citizens.
And why does "your reporters" neglect the cruel fact that Hamas , for political reasons, denies victims in Gaza to accept the hospital aid offered by Egypt.
Losses of life can not be accepted, but does it help if ETN plays in the hands of fundementalists by so openly reporting only one sided ??
Andreas K / stcokholm , Sweden
A good, clear article by Hazel Heyer. I hope that ETN pledges support to the BDS campaign against Israel. We should all support tourism in Palestine and boycott Israel.
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