Israel launches air raids on Gaza

Israel has launched air raids on the Palestinian Gaza Strip, the first such attacks since a truce ended eight days of crossborder assaults in November.

www.aljazeera.com...

oh... who would have guessed that israel would try to ignite the middle east just right about now?

damn... I hate surprises. Specially the ones that don't.

Guys don't worry, Israel are the good guys!

reply to post by Ronnie6657

I would have thought that the rockets fired into Israel when Obama was there would have been considered the first attacks.

And yet another thread this picture is too perfect for:

reply to post by CranialSponge


That is T-shirt material right there!!!

reply to post by CranialSponge

I don't understand how that cartoon fits into the present situation. Were there cease fire violations after the truce? The first one I heard of was the shelling of Israel a few days ago. Even Al-Jazeera in the OP said Israel was attacked by rockets, then Israel retaliated.

Do you see Israel as the bad guy in this exchange?

Originally posted by charles1952
reply to post by CranialSponge

 

I don't understand how that cartoon fits into the present situation. Were there cease fire violations after the truce? The first one I heard of was the shelling of Israel a few days ago. Even Al-Jazeera in the OP said Israel was attacked by rockets, then Israel retaliated.

Do you see Israel as the bad guy in this exchange?

Sorry, but Israel deserve to be rocketed until they finally disappear. I cannot bring myself to support a bunch of thugs who crushed childrens skulls, murdered families, mulitated bodies and other atrocities in 1948 straight after the holocaust. Bunch of cowards who are only going to get innocent Israeli's slaughtered.

reply to post by DarknStormy

Dear DarknStormy,

I can understand your position. Assume for a moment that every leader in the Middle-East feels as you do. What is the sane and rational thing for Israel to do? It seems to me that it would be to blow the stuffing out of everybody before they unite to destroy Israel.

That's not what you're hoping for, is it?

With respect,
Charles1952

Originally posted by charles1952
I can understand your position. Assume for a moment that every leader in the Middle-East feels as you do. What is the sane and rational thing for Israel to do? It seems to me that it would be to blow the stuffing out of everybody before they unite to destroy Israel.

Israel need to lift the blockade which stops Palestinians from entering their own land which is modern day Israel. Until they can achieve this (Which they never will), they deserve everything that is aimed at them remembering that they were the ones who took the Palestinians land and then annexed them in the West Bank and Gaza after agreeing to treat evry native equally.

That's not what you're hoping for, is it?

There are a lot of things that I have seen in the past which I wouldn't wish upon anyone. But the Zionist movement do not make things easy for themselves by threatening surrounding countries whilst funding extremists to achieve their goals when they cannot get their way on the global stage.

Sadly, this is just another affront against humanity caused by Israel.
Israel would like you to think they are protecting their 'state.'
However, when you cut off the supply of clean water, deliberately open flood gates to flood Gaza, and imprison children regularly; it really doesn't say anything but. "We're going to commit genocide, because we can."
Israel did not intend to keep the peace, and they frequently broke the truce in as many ways as they could, with out going right to mass murder.

I've been watching the various news feeds from there, it's not the Israelis getting killed in the little clashes, but the Palestinians.

I'm a bit biased, but I would expect a nation founded on the ashes of surviving genocide, to abhor it in any form.
If I had to hold a mirror up and compare them to Germany of 1942-... the only thing different would be the uniforms and spoken language.

M.

reply to post by Moshpet


Well if you have heard of Deir Yassin, they pretty much committed a small scale Genocide whilst roughly 800,000 Palestinians became refugees. This man was at the forefront. Disgusting pig who went on to become the Prime Minister of Israel.



Real visionary this bloke.

reply to post by charles1952


I hate conflict of any kind.

But the fact of the matter is that Israel could easily mop the floor of Palestine in two seconds flat. Both parties are guilty of stirring the pot with each other, but it doesn't take away from the reality of that cartoon depiction showing that one side has a drastic advantage over the other... no matter who starts it.

It's not a fair fight.

I've always been the type that sides with the underdog more times than not, so yes, I naturally side with Palestinians on this one. The history between both sides is not pretty, and each strongly believes in what they're fighting for.

As a side note: One of my oldest and dearest friends is an Israeli from Ashkelon, and believe me... her and I have had some, oh shall we say... interesting conversations over this topic many times. But no matter how we view each side's opinion, our love and respect for each other is much stronger than any ridiculous political arena.

reply to post by charles1952


"Do you see Israel as the bad guy in this exchange?"

Yes I do.

What was happening? Were they chopping down olive trees to make way for another settlement on a Palestinian's farmers' land??

Seriously, you defend those monsters??

reply to post by CranialSponge

Dear CranialSponge,

Thank you. I see that I've had a slight misunderstanding concerning that cartoon. I appreciate you setting me straight.

I agree completely that if it were a fight between Israel and Palestine there would be no contest.

Just a couple of quick thoughts? Certainly not an organized argument. 1) Who would Israel be fighting if palestine said "Nuts to it" and launched an all out attack on Israel? Could the other Muslim countries stay out of it? I don't see how.

2) I'm a little worried about the attitude expressed in this thread. It seems to be that some believe that it is perfectly fine and legitimate for Israel to be bombed until it surrenders or it is destroyed. No Israeli government could ever accept that. If the Middle-East takes that position towards Israel, can war be avoided? I think not.

I'm glad to hear of your love and respect for your friend. That doesn't exist between the governments there. Is it hopeless? Sorry, I think so. The best we may be able to manage is an honest cease fire, enforced every which way, and an attempt not to change anything because every change is a deadly insult to somebody.

Sorry for the pessimism. I suppose it's too late at night for cheerfulness.

With respect,
Charles1952

reply to post by charles1952


Well let's look at it from another perspective. Israel are threatening to bomb Iran. Do you think that if Israel do bomb Iran, Iran have the right to launch missiles into Israel? I can tell you exactly what will happen before anything occurs.

Israel will bomb Iran and praise their good work on the Western media, then Iran will retaliate and then we will hear how Iran are a rogue nation who must be destroyed for the sake of Israel. When this occurs (It will be the only way it does play out), I wont have any sympathy for Israel because they brought it on themselves. They will also use this opportunity to use nuclear weapons and then the world will see what a disgusting organisation the Zionists actually are.

reply to post by charles1952


I agree.

It is a hopeless situation, and one that I just don't see ever coming to a resolution until one side or the other (or both) are completely wiped off the map.

Just from having conversations with my girlfriend, I'm not kidding when I say that both sides strongly strongly believe in what they're fighting for. And neither side is willing to give in to the other. It will be a bloodbath until there will no longer be any blood left to shed.

But as I said, I respect her opinion and belief of the situation (even if I don't agree with it) because she and her family have a first-hand history of living there, thus I can understand her point of view.

Me, I'm just an outsider looking in.

I have to be fair and say, hamas violated the ceasefire first, not israel. They actually violated it six days after it was enforced. Although do i agree with their return fire? No.

It's ironic that Israel and Iran together destroyed Iraq's almost functioning nuclear reactor but yet they hate each other. You would think they could just get along but evidently not.

reply to post by DarknStormy and CranialSponge

Thank you both very much for your responses, I'm impressed.

I think CranialSponge has opened an important line of thought (of course, I may be biased, both of my parents are Winnipegers:

Just from having conversations with my girlfriend, I'm not kidding when I say that both sides strongly strongly believe in what they're fighting for. And neither side is willing to give in to the other.

What are they fighting for? I'm not absolutely certain. I know that most Israelis say they just want to be left alone with guarantees for their security. The press tells us that Islamic leaders say they want to remove Israel, take over it's lands, or, in some other way turn it into Islamic territory.

What stories do we believe? What stories do the Middle-East leaders believe? If both groups just wanted to be left alone, and could communicate that to the world, wouldn't the problem be solved? So, since that's not happening, one side (or both) must think that they're not going to be left alone and they want to do something about it.

DarknStormy seems to be interested in the events following a first strike by Israel. Others are worried about a first strike by Iran. DarknStormy, what happens in either case? I'm pretty sure that it would result in Iran needing tanker cars of Windex to polish the glass that used to be their country, and Israel would be badly hurt but would scrape through. If you mix in the possible responses by the other countries interested in this, it gets complicated.

But as I said, I respect her opinion and belief of the situation (even if I don't agree with it) because she and her family have a first-hand history of living there, thus I can understand her point of view.

I'm sad for you, CranialSponge, because you are close to the problem and can see the feelings of those involved. And the feelings are human feelings, we're dealing with real people. It's not just a simulation run on some country's computer.

Besides the obvious horror of seeing millions die, I'm also upset at what I see on ATS (and elsewhere, I have to admit.) If we, who really don't have any immediate stake in the issue, can froth at the mouth, call names and demonize everyone on the other side, I believe we've already killed ourselves and become less than human.

Muslims pray, Jews pray. Yet we can't even get together to do that jointly. I'll tell you a secret hope I have (and don't let anyone else know). Perhaps Pope Francis will be able to untangle this mess.

With respect to both of you,
Charles1952

reply to post by charles1952


@ the Winnipegger thing... yes, I used to be a Winterpegger... now I'm just a country bumpkin living in the northeastern area of the province, far far away from Winterpeg (cottage country).




What are they fighting over ?

A lousy chunk of desert considered to be the "holy land". Israelis, Palestinians, and Muslims alike all believe that the entire area was theirs first. Each believe they have the "inherent" right to ownership of it by way of religious doctrine and "who was there first".

It's the reason why Jerusalem is divided into sectors: The Jewish quarter, the Muslim quarter, the Christian quarter, and the Armenian quarter. It was an attempt to keep everyone happy... An exercise in futility though because none will ever be happy until one of them has full control over it. So the fight goes on... and on... and on.

It's bloody ridiculous, if you ask me.
But I'm an atheist, so I'll never understand any of that "holy land" stuff.

*shrug*