Pics from Palestine

The Geneva convention lays out the guideline for ethical conduct of war, even for insurgents. Here are some highlights as I remember them:

- militants must wear a recognizable, unique uniform that identifies their allegiance as combatants as well as their unit.

-masks are the tools of criminals, and forbidden for soldiers unless part of defensive equipment or life support (evironmental equip.).

-ethical combatants will not use civilians, public buildings, cultural or religious centers as depots or areas for offensive operations.

-weapons must be designed and used to minimize fatalities, particularly among non-combatants.

-enemy combatants must be given the chance to surrender.

Terrorism flies in the face of all these rules. The UN resolutions chastising Israeli conduct disregard rule-of-war accords. From a legal standpoint, palestinian insurgents are in the same category as muggers and rapists.

I don't have much knowledge on what the whole situation is about at this time, but whatever is happening over there is not good.

Also, I would like to point out that the actions and protests of people like this are not going unnoticed.

Peace out.

Immortal you are 100% right in your assessment that what's going on there is terrible. I agree with you on this.

In reference to your link to the protestor being killed, quite frankly I shed no tears for people like that. I find that it would be moronic to stroll into the middle of the battlefield in Iraq and I find it moronic that anyone would stroll into the middle of crazy fighting in Gaza or the West Bank. The fact is if it's your hobby to walk along the rim of a volcano that's no one else's problem but your own. I appreciate the fact that she protested for peace, god bless her cause, but her decision making leaves much to be desired.

Dr. Strangecraft in reference to your comments on the conduct of insurgents: The fact that the United Nations is busy flogging the United States over supposed human rights violations periodically, and busy boring the world with other stupid acts, rather than doing something relevant speaks for itself. It is amazing that this group of corrupt hypocrites can criticize people yet ignore groups of masked men beheading innocent civilians so as not to upset anyone. This simply adds another nail to the coffin of irrelevancy that they sit in. I have to laugh at their "resolutions" and "opinions" when they turn a blind eye to atrocities committed by Islamic militant groups ON VIDEOTAPE.

[edit on 7-12-2004 by Djarums]

I'm on the same page w/ djarums.

My point was to show how dignifying gangsters as "insurgents" and "insurrectionists" is like giving someone a seat at the UN because they have successfully robbed a liquor store in queens.

I think the whole Geneva concept is a waste of time when what is really going on is that the WHOLE of western civilization is under assault.

I lived over there, and was in Lebanon and Israel when the intafedah began in the summer of 1987.

I spent a lot of time among muslims, and have good friends who are. When I have quoted from the Quran on this site, it is from a gorgeous edition given me by a person I consider to be a spiritual peer and sibling, a sufi scholar from Iraq.

I have to say that based on my own reading of the Quran and Hadith, I see that there is no place for Western civilization in the Islamic worldview; no room for 'peaceful co-existence.'

The idea of all islam as "dar-et-salaam" means that there is no place for democratic elections for muslims. The peoples' voice is irrelevant compared to the mandate of heaven. Juries are a slap in the face at centuries of the Ulama interpreting the Hadith. Justice doesn't come from 12 peers, but from correct interpretation of the traditions given by the Prophet.

The arabic term for non-muslim nations is "dar-et-harb" literally, "The land of war."

If you followed the recent clerics' conference in England, you will notice that several speakers reinforced the concept of Jihad into Europe, referring to it as 'reconquest,' particularly of Spain.

As far as Israel goes, the "eradication of their crusader state within the bosom of Dar-et-salaam" is only an intermediate goal, a waypoint on the road to destroying the "Great Satan." Not Israel, Not Rome. America.

The only acceptable compromise with the west is a temporary, half-way respite on the road to total victory. Peace will only come when there is no one alive who does not acknowledge the supremacy of Islam.

Until westerners begin to accept this obvious truth for themselves, they will never be able to withstand the onslought of an implaccable and remorseless enemy.

Well, for some 'official' points of view on Israel & Palestine, here are a few websites I found:

Here's the official website of the State of Israel:

www.israel.org...
or perhaps
www.mfa.gov.il...
(I'm not sure which, or perhaps both?)

And here's the official website of Palestine -- or at least, as close to one as I could find:
www.un.org...

And finally, the CIA World Factbook (excellent resource for any country on the planet -- even the U.S.!) and its entry for Israel:

www.cia.gov...

"Following World War II, the British withdrew from their mandate of Palestine, and the UN partitioned the area into Arab and Jewish states, an arrangement rejected by the Arabs. Subsequently, the Israelis defeated the Arabs in a series of wars without ending the deep tensions between the two sides. The territories occupied by Israel since the 1967 war are not included in the Israel country profile, unless otherwise noted. On 25 April 1982, Israel withdrew from the Sinai pursuant to the 1979 Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty. Outstanding territorial and other disputes with Jordan were resolved in the 26 October 1994 Israel-Jordan Treaty of Peace. In addition, on 25 May 2000, Israel withdrew unilaterally from southern Lebanon, which it had occupied since 1982. In keeping with the framework established at the Madrid Conference in October 1991, bilateral negotiations were conducted between Israel and Palestinian representatives (from the Israeli-occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip) and Syria to achieve a permanent settlement. On 24 June 2002, US President Bush laid out a "road map" for resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which envisions a two-state solution. However, progress toward a permanent status agreement has been undermined by the outbreak of Palestinian-Israeli violence since September 2000."

Palestinian Children are instructed to kill and are taught to aspire to give their lives as suicide bombers, creating a new generation of terrorists


Sky News has gained access to a young people's camp in Gaza:

At a young people's camp in Gaza, the only lesson taught is how to kill Israelis. Children as young as 10, some of whom are dwarfed by their AK-47 assault rifles, are being recruited to fight for the Palestinian cause.

(There is also a pictures gallery on this story)

Sky News, UK: Gaza's Killing School


Rebekka