Debunking Israel's 11 Main Myths About Gaza, Hamas and War Crimes

Hey all,

I came across an interesting article, of which i thought would be worth sharing here.

I notice that many members push specific lines of which are either wrong, or mostly questionable. Some of these points are covered, and truthfully explained in the link.

I will provide some of the pertinent points, but if you want to view the entire list, just click on the following link:

www.huffingtonpost.co.uk...

The Gaza Strip isn't occupied by Israel

Boston Globe: "Israeli-imposed buffer zones.. now absorb nearly 14 percent of Gaza's total land and at least 48 percent of total arable land. Similarly, the sea buffer zone covers 85 percent of the maritime area promised to Palestinians in the Oslo Accords, reducing 20 nautical miles to three." Human Rights Watch: "Israel also continues to control the population registry for residents of the Gaza Strip, years after it withdrew its ground forces and settlements there." B'Tselem, 2013: "Israel continues to maintain exclusive control of Gaza's airspace and the territorial waters, just as it has since it occupied the Gaza Strip in 1967."

Israel wants a ceasefire but Hamas doesn't

Al Jazeera: "Meshaal said Hamas wants the 'aggression to stop tomorrow, today, or even this minute. But [Israel must] lift the blockade with guarantees and not as a promise for future negotiations'. He added 'we will not shut the door in the face of any humanitarian ceasefire backed by a real aid programme'." Jerusalem Post: "One day after an Egyptian-brokered cease-fire accepted by Israel, but rejected by Hamas, fell through, the terrorist organization proposed a 10-year end to hostilities in return for its conditions being met by Israel, Channel 2 reported Wednesday.. Hamas's conditions were the release of re-arrested Palestinian prisoners who were let go in the Schalit deal, the opening of Gaza-Israel border crossings in order to allow citizens and goods to pass through, and international supervision of the Gazan seaport in place of the current Israeli blockade." BBC: "Israel's security cabinet has rejected a week-long Gaza ceasefire proposal put forward by US Secretary of State John Kerry 'as it stands'."

Israel, unlike Hamas, doesn't deliberately target civilians

The Guardian: "It was there that the second [Israeli] shell hit the beach, those firing apparently adjusting their fire to target the fleeing survivors. As it exploded, journalists standing by the terrace wall shouted: 'They are only children.'" UN high commissioner for human rights Navi Pillay: "A number of incidents, along with the high number of civilian deaths, belies the [Israeli] claim that all necessary precautions are being taken to protect civilian lives." United Nations Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict, 2009: "The tactics used by the Israeli armed forces in the Gaza offensive are consistent with previous practices, most recently during the Lebanon war in 2006. A concept known as the Dahiya doctrine emerged then, involving the application of disproportionate force and the causing of great damage and destruction to civilian property and infrastructure, and suffering to civilian populations. The Mission concludes from a review of the facts on the ground that it.. appears to have been precisely what was put into practice."

Hamas use the civilians of Gaza as 'human shields'

Jeremy Bowen, BBC Middle East editor: "I saw no evidence during my week in Gaza of Israel's accusation that Hamas uses Palestinians as human shields." The Guardian: "In the past week, the Guardian has seen large numbers of people fleeing different neighbourhoods.. and no evidence that Hamas had compelled them to stay." The Independent: "Some Gazans have admitted that they were afraid of criticizing Hamas, but none have said they had been forced by the organisation to stay in places of danger and become unwilling human-shields." Reuters, 2013: "A United Nations human rights body accused Israeli forces on Thursday of mistreating Palestinian children, including by torturing those in custody and using others as human shields."

This current Gaza conflict began with Hamas rocket fire on 30 June 2014

Times of Israel: "Hamas operatives were behind a large volley of rockets which slammed into Israel Monday morning, the first time in years the Islamist group has directly challenged the Jewish state, according to Israeli defense officials.. The security sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, assessed that Hamas had probably launched the barrage in revenge for an Israeli airstrike several hours earlier which killed one person and injured three more.. Hamas hasn't fired rockets into Israel since Operation Pillar of Defense ended in November 2012." The Nation: "During ten days of Operation Brother's Keeper in the West Bank [before the start of the Gaza conflict], Israel arrested approximately 800 Palestinians without charge or trial, killed nine civilians and raided nearly 1,300 residential, commercial and public buildings. Its military operation targeted Hamas members released during the Gilad Shalit prisoner exchange in 2011."

Hamas rule, not Israel's blockade, is to blame for the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip

US State Department cable: "Israeli officials have confirmed to Embassy officials on multiple occasions that they intend to keep the Gazan economy functioning at the lowest level possible consistent with avoiding a humanitarian crisis.. Israeli officials have confirmed.. on multiple occasions that they intend to keep the Gazan economy on the brink of collapse without quite pushing it over the edge." The Guardian: "The Israeli military made precise calculations of Gaza's daily calorie needs to avoid malnutrition during a blockade imposed on the Palestinian territory between 2007 and mid-2010, according to files the defence ministry released on Wednesday under a court order.. The Israeli advocacy group Gisha.. waged a long court battle to release the document. Its members say Israel calculated the calorie needs for Gaza's population so as to restrict the quantity of food it allowed in."

I thought the above list to be interesting. Some of the information should be general knowledge for some, but a lot of it definitely does a good job at pushing through the propaganda.

- Daas

a reply to: daaskapital

This anti-jew propaganda, is more than just a little tiresome ... it's beyond pathetic.

Accept Israel, and live with it ... or leave.

a reply to: daaskapital

Be prepared to have it ignored daas, I have tried putting it up on a few threads and because they can't debunk it they call it lies.

Cheers for the thread

originally posted by: sosobad
a reply to: daaskapital

Be prepared to have it ignored daas, I have tried putting it up on a few threads and because they can't debunk it they call it lies.

Cheers for the thread

Thanks mate.

I was (am) kind of expecting to get hammered by some of the hardcore guys, but i trust your statement. The article is 100% truth, and there isn't much some of the propaganda pushing members on here can do about that, haha.

Thanks again!

originally posted by: bjarneorn
a reply to: daaskapital

This anti-jew propaganda, is more than just a little tiresome ... it's beyond pathetic.

Accept Israel, and live with it ... or leave.

I do accept the existence of Israel.

Now since you're calling the list propaganda, would you care to provide any contrary evidence to those expressed in the article?

a reply to: daaskapital

I know its the truth because it uses western and Israeli sources to debunk nearly all 11, so it can't be called propaganda but they will try to call it lies.

originally posted by: sosobad
a reply to: daaskapital

I know its the truth because it uses western and Israeli sources to debunk nearly all 11, so it can't be called propaganda but they will try to call it lies.

Yeah.

Too true, lol. Ah well. We'll see where this goes.

originally posted by: daaskapital

originally posted by: sosobad
a reply to: daaskapital

Be prepared to have it ignored daas, I have tried putting it up on a few threads and because they can't debunk it they call it lies.

Cheers for the thread

Thanks mate.

I was (am) kind of expecting to get hammered by some of the hardcore guys, but i trust your statement. The article is 100% truth, and there isn't much some of the propaganda pushing members on here can do about that, haha.

Thanks again!

Is there a reason why you think Al Jazeera will be non biased when it comes to Israel?

Well done ... though it barely scratches the surface on how harsh life really is in gaza ...

a reply to: daaskapital

I try to be as objective as possible on this issue and I think both sides are wrong. Hamas needs to stop shooting rockets at Israel. It is pointless and just brings Israel's military destruction on them and the people of Gaza. Israel is killing too many civilians. Both sides hate each other so much it's hard to see if there will ever be peace. I don't see how you can support Hamas they are morons. And Israel's use of military power seems far too unrestrained and is killing too many people.
If Hamas shot no rockets at all less people would die. I don't know why they even both with their useless rocket attacks. The whole thing is so hopeless and pathetic.

originally posted by: uncommitted

originally posted by: daaskapital

originally posted by: sosobad
a reply to: daaskapital

Be prepared to have it ignored daas, I have tried putting it up on a few threads and because they can't debunk it they call it lies.

Cheers for the thread

Thanks mate.

I was (am) kind of expecting to get hammered by some of the hardcore guys, but i trust your statement. The article is 100% truth, and there isn't much some of the propaganda pushing members on here can do about that, haha.

Thanks again!

Is there a reason why you think Al Jazeera will be non biased when it comes to Israel?

Al Jazeera isn't the only source used in the article. In fact, where Al Jazeera is used, in one instance, the Jerusalem Post is also referenced. Indeed, it is the Jerusalem Post which actually provides deeper information regarding some of information

originally posted by: daaskapital

originally posted by: bjarneorn
a reply to: daaskapital

This anti-jew propaganda, is more than just a little tiresome ... it's beyond pathetic.

Accept Israel, and live with it ... or leave.

I do accept the existence of Israel.

Now since you're calling the list propaganda, would you care to provide any contrary evidence to those expressed in the article?

It's nice that you accept the existence of Israel, but Hamas doesn't, and never will.

a reply to: JimTSpock

If Hamas shot no rockets at all less people would die. I don't know why they even both with their useless rocket attacks. The whole thing is so hopeless and pathetic.

Jewish Daily Forward: "Hamas hadn't fired a single rocket since [2012 Gaza conflict], and had largely suppressed fire by smaller jihadi groups. Rocket firings, averaging 240 per month in 2007, dropped to five per month in 2013.

the Israeli security establishment testified to the aggressive anti-rocket efforts made by the new police force Hamas

So ask yourself this, by Israels own admission, if it wasn't Hamas firing the rockets, why did they blame them? I am under no illusions, Hamas is firing them now but they tried to stop the smaller jihadists groups at the start and Israel still blamed them.
Why?

originally posted by: Expat888
Well done ... though it barely scratches the surface on how harsh life really is in gaza ...

Well, you can blame terrorists for the tight security measures and blockade. After hundreds of incursions by Palestinians into Israel that resulted in countless suicide bombings for decades, Israel had no choice.

As for the poverty, I think that the hundreds of millions of dollars in foreign aid that Hamas has diverted towards building an arsenal of missiles and terror tunnels would have gone a long way towards easing the suffering of Palestinians in Gaza, don't you?

It's not a coincidence that under the moderate leadership of Fatah, the quality of life in the West Bank is much better than in Gaza.

a reply to: sosobad

Who ever shoots rockets at Israel is not a very smart thing to do. And obviously Israel will respond with their military. Hamas and the rest have no chance of defeating Israel by military means so it is futile to try. That is where they are so pathetic. If they were serious about fighting Israel they could attack with 10,000 or so fighters with AKs PKs RPGs but they just sit back and shoot their hopeless rockets then complain about getting the utter crap blown out of them by Israel. I think the rocket attacks are probably about the stupidest thing they can do.

originally posted by: JimTSpock
a reply to: sosobad

Who ever shoots rockets at Israel is not a very smart thing to do. And obviously Israel will respond with their military. Hamas and the rest have no chance of defeating Israel by military means so it is futile to try. That is where they are so pathetic. If they were serious about fighting Israel they could attack with 10,000 or so fighters with AKs PKs RPGs but they just sit back and shoot their hopeless rockets then complain about getting the utter crap blown out of them by Israel. I think the rocket attacks are probably about the stupidest thing they can do.

As sosobad stated though, Hamas hadn't fired any rockets since 2012. Indeed, they only started firing rockets on June 30 2014, after an Israeli airstrike on Gaza killed one and injured 3. It's all in the article...

As for Hamas' attempts at rocket fire. I think it is less about military victory, and more about raising international awareness towards Gaza's situation. Either that, or Hamas is ruled by delusional retards who have no concept about warfare and tactics...which i very much doubt.

a reply to: JimTSpock
The thing is they blamed hamas from the off set, first it was the three kidnapped teen who were murdered, no proof and now the admit it wasn't hamas, then the rocket fire which was in response to an airstrike that Israel carried out while arresting over 800 Palestinians on false pretenses for the kidnap and murder of those 3 poor teens.
The start of this war

Times of Israel: "Hamas operatives were behind a large volley of rockets which slammed into Israel Monday morning, the first time in years the Islamist group has directly challenged the Jewish state, according to Israeli defense officials.. The security sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, assessed that Hamas had probably launched the barrage in revenge for an Israeli airstrike several hours earlier which killed one person and injured three more.

But yet they blame hamas for starting it. The real reason is a lot more shady

Henry Siegman, former national director, American Jewish Congress, writing for Politico: "Israel's assault on Gaza..was not triggered by Hamas' rockets directed at Israel but by Israel's determination to bring down the Palestinian unity government that was formed in early June,

a reply to: Humanity4Ever

As for the poverty, I think that the hundreds of millions of dollars in foreign aid that Hamas has diverted towards building an arsenal of missiles and terror tunnels would have gone a long way towards easing the suffering of Palestinians in Gaza, don't you?

This........but no one ever in any of the threads i have been on, and broached the subject of accountability for issues like this, EVER holds Hamas to standards for things like this.......

You can blame a lot of things on Israel yes, but Hamas has plenty of things they ar doing that are directly contributing to the conditions of the Palestenian people

a reply to: daaskapital

I think the Palestinian campaign of terrorism and violence has harmed not helped the plight of the Palestinian people and I can't help but think they would have been much better off with a diplomatic non violent approach from the start. Like Gandhi. Might have worked better and now they are in such a terrible situation.

originally posted by: bjarneorn
a reply to: daaskapital

This anti-jew propaganda, is more than just a little tiresome ... it's beyond pathetic.

Accept Israel, and live with it ... or leave.

I can't say that's it's anti Jewish. The first reports about the children on mainstream TV here did not mention them being fired on, it simply said that a shell exploded on the beach as if that wasn't bad enough, that same report remained unchanged for some time, even though it had been reported online. Not good enough, the truth always hurts, but it's still the truth.
There is also plenty of video of IDF beating up children in the street, and it is obvious that there is deliberate overkill on the part of the Israel government's shelling, that is something out of the hands of ordinary people in Israel, and it's nothing to do with anything Jewish. I suppose someone had to pull the Jewish card though. Anything goes, other than humanitarianism.