Saturday, July 19, 2014
Two soldiers killed by Hamas infiltrators Saturday morning
Two IDF officers were killed Saturday morning when Hamas terrorists infiltrated Israeli territory via a tunnel under the border fence from the central Gaza Strip and ambushed a military vehicle patrolling on the Israeli side of the border, the IDF said Saturday evening.Douglas MurrayThe Greatest Possible Problem for Europe
The two were named as Amotz Greenberg, 45, a major in the reserves from Hod Hasharon, and Sgt. Adar Barsano, 20, from Nahariya. The information was cleared for publication after the families were informed.
The deaths were the first of soldiers killed by Hamas since Operation Protective Edge began on July 8.
The terrorist cell infiltrated Israeli territory through a tunnel, in an apparent attempt to carry out a major attack on one of the nearby communities, the army said.
Israel, one can probably say with some confidence, can very well look after itself. Like everyone else who has spent time in the country, and admires and even loves it, I worry for it, but I can think of no nation on earth that is better equipped or better motivated to look after itself and its people. So when I see these young protestors in London, protesting against Israel, I do not worry for the country they are shouting against. They cannot touch her. But I worry for my country -- Britain. It is a country that is finding it so difficult to integrate the millions of Muslims who have come here that (in a figure that ought to be better known) there are now at least twice as many young British Muslims who have gone to Syria to fight alongside ISIS and other such groups, than there are Muslims fighting for Queen and country here in the British armed forces.Charles Krauthammer: Moral clarity in Gaza
By any standards, this is a symptom of a disastrous immigration and integration problem. The people shouting outside the Israeli embassy -- the knackered and foolish old minority of Trots aside -- can do Israel no harm. But they can do great harm to the country they are in. Europe's Israel-haters are no real problem for Israel, but they are the greatest possible problem for Europe.
Israel accepts an Egyptian-proposed Gaza cease-fire; Hamas keeps firing. Hamas deliberately aims rockets at civilians; Israel painstakingly tries to avoid them, actually telephoning civilians in the area and dropping warning charges, so-called roof knocking.Hamas: We Place Civilians in the Line of Fire
“Here’s the difference between us,” explains the Israeli prime minister. “We’re using missile defense to protect our civilians, and they’re using their civilians to protect their missiles.”
Rarely does international politics present a moment of such moral clarity. Yet we routinely hear this Israel-Gaza fighting described as a morally equivalent “cycle of violence.” This is absurd. What possible interest can Israel have in cross-border fighting? Everyone knows Hamas set off this mini-war. And everyone knows the proudly self-declared raison d’etre of Hamas: the eradication of Israel and its Jews.
While the IDF does everything that it can to avoid civilian casualties, Hamas deliberately puts Palestinian civilian lives in danger.Hamas: We Place Civilians in the Line of Fire
Hamas hides weapons and missile launchers in densely populated areas. Instead of keeping its citizens out of harm’s way, Hamas encourages and even forces Gazans to join its violent resistance against Israel. It sends men, women and children directly into the line of fire to be used as human shields for terrorists. (h/t Bob Knot)
Jon Stewart is completely clueless about Gaza
Watch: Sderot Residents Kick Out 'Peace' Bus
Ultra-leftists and Arabs who came to Sderot in a "peace bus" were met by angry residents of the southern town, which has been tortured by over 10,000 missiles fired from Gaza in the course of 14 years. "Come here with your children," the residents shouted, "and see how you feel when they can't sleep all night."Elliott Abrams: The Kerry-Qatar Axis
"What are they doing here, these scum? Kick them out of here," the residents shouted. "Hamasniks... terrorists... you have chutzpah!"
A woman from Sderot screams at the leftists: "You're stepping on our blood!" Others say: "Go to Gaza!"
The leftists and Arabs decided to get back on the bus and drove onward.
Sympathy and support for Hamas are much lower in the Arab world than in past Israeli-Hamas conflicts–except in Qatar, whose government has a special relationship with Hamas. Indeed Hamas’s political leader Khaled Meshal spends most of his time in Qatar’s capital, Doha. Qatar has poured money into Hamas-ruled Gaza.War-Induced Insanity
So what’s the American position on the negotiation of a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas? Do we want Egypt, with its hostility to the terrorist group and desire to weaken it, to be the negotiator, or Qatar? The answer should be obvious: we want Egypt to play this role, because Egypt will push Hamas harder, show it less sympathy, and try to ensure that it emerges from the war without any gains.
But that has not been the American position. Secretary of State Kerry has happily kept the Qataris in the loop from the start, as if whether they or the Egyptians play the key role is a matter of indifference to us. Israeli and Egyptian officials have noticed and have been at a loss to understand his position. “What is Kerry doing?” has been the tone of the comments. The United States should be insisting that Egypt, with its long border with Israel and its border with Gaza, must be the mediator.
It has never happened in the history of wars, other than the ones fought by the Israeli Jews in defense of their homeland and their lives. The conduct of Hamas and certain media outlets is overwhelmingly insane. It is a unique phenomenon.From "Fabrication" to Validation: UNRWA and Hamas
The list below is by no means complete. Readers are free to complement it with their own observations.
Insanity 1: The Iron Dome missile defense system—developed and deployed by Israel to protect its citizens from Hamas rocket fire—has been saving hundreds of Palestinian Arab lives. Had Hamas been successful in inflicting massive casualties and property damage on the Jewish State, the Israeli response would have been much less restrained. It would have comprised an early land invasion accompanied by considerably more aggressive bombing resulting in many more Palestinian casualties.
Arutz Sheva consistently reported our findings, despite protests from UNRWA, which on its own website went so far as to claim falsely that Arutz Sheva had retracted its reports.Compared to Hamas, Even the Nazis had Some Shame
At the invitation of legislative staff of the Israeli Knesset, US Congress, the Canadian Parliament, the British Parliament and the European parliament, our office has screened the films we shot on location in UNRWA facilities, providing findings of our studies of UNRWA with donor countries that provide $1.2 billion each year fir this UN agency
Our agency has also shared documented reports which show that Hamas has embedded itself into the administration of UNRWA.
In that context, our agency has also documented that the new curriculum used by UNRWA prepares the organization's half a million students to engage in attempts to "return" - by force of arms - to Arab villages that they have never seen and that existed before 1948, some of which have been replaced by Israeli cities such as BeerSheva, Askhelon and Ashdod - all of which are now pummeled by aerial attacks launched from Gaza, fired under the slogan of the "right of return" by means of "the armed struggle"
Hamas commits all of the war crimes mentioned above and will commit any others it can devise for precisely the same reason that Nazi Germany committed them. Because just like Nazi Germany, Hamas is committed to genocide against the Jewish people.Max Blumenthal Compliments Anti-Semitic Tweet
And unlike Nazi Germany, Hamas exists for no other purpose than to commit genocide. Not even the Nazis claimed their only purpose was to murder the Jews. Adolf Hitler’s first job as a young member of the brand new National Socialist German Worker’s Party in 1920 was to draft the group’s founding principles, goals and values. He called it the National Socialist Program and it contained 25 points. The National Socialist program contained provisions demanding everything from the unification of all Germans inside one Germany, the abrogation of the hated Versailles Treaty and expulsion of all non-Germans from Germany, the abolition of all unearned income, the confiscation of all war profits, the division of all profits and the expansion of all old age pensions. Only two of the 25 points mentioned Jews.
Not so Hamas. Hamas stands separate and distinct from all their evil predecessors, even Hitler’s Germany, which was strongly supported by the Arab world.
Anti-American and anti-Semitic blogger Max Blumenthal made another inflammatory decision on social media on Thursday afternoon, complimenting an anti-Semitic image that portrays the founder of modern Zionism, Theodor Herzl, as giving birth to Nazism and Adolf Hitler.Anti-Israel hate speech on our streets
“ISRAEL is an illegitimate state. Israel has no right to exist,” shouted the speaker, to thunderous applause and cheers from the thousands packed into the square."Jihad City": The Hague
Flying alongside the sea of Palestinian flags were also Hezbollah flags, Jihadist flags and signs equating Israel with Nazi Germany.
But this wasn’t in Gaza or Ramallah. It wasn’t in Tehran, or even Cairo. It was Sunday’s pro-Gaza rally at the Town Hall in Sydney.
The former Netherlands Chief of Defense, Peter van Uhm -- whose son was killed by an IED in Afghanistan the day after Van Uhm was appointed Chief -- recently caused a controversy during a radio show about native fallen sons. He stated that Dutch youths who have chosen to fight in Syria should be respected for their idealism and their willingness to defend the women and children of Syria against Assad.
Van Uhm's views are quite typical for Western Europe, where cultural relativism is still the norm. He says he respects fighters because they seem to be fighting for an ideal. That this ideal refutes every Western ideal he himself holds dear, apparently does not affect his apparent respect for jihadists.
His view is typical: one should not consider one value superior to another value, no matter what these values actually are. There is no such thing as better or worse, there is only different. And it had better be different the way one thinks different should be: not "politically incorrect." The thought that a Dutch Chief of Defense had also fallen prey to this philosophy is saddening.
Meanwhile, after two consecutive days of pro ISIS demonstrations by Muslim extremists, The Hague has now been dubbed by their followers "Jihad City."
Wiesenthal Center to Dutch Prime Minister: ISIS Threatens Netherlands Jews After Terror Group Demonstration in The Hague (VIDEO)
Jewish human rights group the Simon Wiesenthal Center warned Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte on Tuesday that the radical terror group Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) is a threat to Netherlands’ Jewry.IDF Targets Civilian Structure in Gaza Used to Fire Rockets
The warning came in a letter sent four days after protesters at an ISIS rally in The Hague called for the murder of Jews.
“The ISIS rally in The Hague, the Netherlands capital and seat of government, openly promises death to the Jews of Holland and beyond – a genocidal intent to be taken very seriously,” Shimon Samuels, the Center’s director for International Relations, said in the letter. “Unless Jihadism in your country is totally quashed, Dutch returnees from their Syrian baptism of fire and Jihadist websites at home will menace Jewish, Muslim and all other citizens of the Netherlands.”
IDF Soldiers Uncover Tunnel Used for Terror in Gaza
IDF Targets Terror Tunnels in Gaza
IDF Calls Off Airstrike After Target Enters Ambulance
IDF Soldiers Find Gaza House Rigged with Explosives
IDF Hits 260 Terror Targets in Gaza
Among the targets that were hit are leadership and governance infrastructure, weapons production and storage sites, tunnels and homes of senior Hamas officials.The treacherous task of tunnel demolition
So far, according to the IDF, 22 entrances to terror tunnels have been uncovered. The tunnels are used for both smuggling of weapons as well as for combat purposes.
IDF forces have killed more than 40 terrorists in Gaza and some 21 terrorists have been caught and arrested by the troops.
The tunnel threat, the unknowingness of it, has eclipsed the threat of rockets in Israel’s war with Gaza. This may change in the future, if detection methods improve. For now, though, after narrowly thwarting a mega-attack in the Eshkol region on Thursday, Israel has sent in troops to find, probe, and destroy the underground arteries that stretch beneath the border, all along the border.Watch: IDF Troops Detect Terror Tunnel
Conversations with current and former officers illustrate some of the challenges those forces now face in Gaza.
IDF troops from the Givati Brigade have so far discovered 13 terrorist tunnels during their operation in Gaza.Bedouin ‘defenseless’ as man killed, 4 injured by Gaza rocket
The following video [video pulled on copyright grounds there are still pix], released by the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit, shows the troops as they operate to locate the tunnels.
A 32-year-old man from a Bedouin community near Dimona, Ouda Lafi al-Waj, was killed Saturday and a 3-month-old girl was seriously injured after their family was hit by a rocket fired by terrorists in the Gaza Strip. Three other family members, including a 4-year-old boy and two women, were lightly-to-moderately wounded.Siren Interrupts Obama and Netanyahu's Telephone Call
The incident in Dimona highlighted the severe lack of bomb shelters and protective cement structures in Bedouin villages across the Negev. Since many Bedouin communities are unrecognized by the government, many basic services are not provided to them. They are also not protected by Iron Dome, which registers their homes as “open areas” and allows rockets to fall there without attempting interception.
“Their homes are what’s called ‘open areas,’” one relative, Yasser al-Beit, told Ynet, “so Iron Dome doesn’t intercept the rockets. And there’s no warning siren. When you hear of impacts in open areas, sometimes it’s fallen (near) one of our homes. This time it fell on people’s home; hit everyone, a mother and children. We have no protection,” he said.
As the two were speaking, a siren was heard in the background, indicating that rockets were being fired towards Tel Aviv. Netanyahu remarked to Obama that this is the reality in which Israelis have been living recently.UN chief headed to Mideast in Gaza peace bid
Speaking to reporters after the conversation, Obama said, “We discussed Israel's military operation in Gaza, including its efforts to stop the threat of terrorist infiltration through tunnels into Israel. I reaffirmed my strong support for Israel's right to defend itself. No nation should accept rockets being fired into its borders or terrorists tunneling into its territory. In fact, while I was having the conversation with Prime Minister Netanyahu, sirens went off in Tel Aviv.”
Obama also said expressed concern about “the loss of more innocent life.”
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will leave Saturday for the Middle East to help mediate the conflict in Gaza between Israel and Hamas, a UN official said Friday.U.S. urged to oppose Bokova’s bid to head UN post over pro-Hamas bias
Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs Jeffrey Feltman also said at a UN Security Council emergency meeting on the conflict in Gaza that a ceasefire is “indispensable” for urgently needed humanitarian efforts to succeed. He said the UN refugee agency was already stretched to its limit.
The independent Geneva-based monitoring group UN Watch today called on U.S. Ambassador Samantha Power to oppose the candidacy of UNESCO chief Irina Bokova to replace Ban Ki-moon as UN Secretary-General so long as she continues her “selective outrage in support of the Hamas line.”Qatar’s ceasefire offer adopts most Hamas demands
According to UN Watch executive director Hillel Neuer, Bokova, the Bulgarian-sponsored candidate for the UN’s top post, has “rushed to aggressively condemn Israel for alleged violations of freedom of the press, yet failed to defend UNESCO’s mandate regarding Hamas’ flagrant violations to basic rights of culture and education” when the terror group placed 20 rockets in an UNRWA school, and launched long-range rockets at Israel from “somewhere near” another school.
In a stinging complaint filed by Israel’s representative to UNESCO, Bokova was accused of turning a blind eye as Hamas fired 1500 rockets that robbed Israeli students of their ability to study and take exams, a fundamental exercise of the right to education, and also endangered UNESCO-protected heritage sites across Israel.
The draft stipulates that in exchange for a ceasefire, Israel will free Hamas prisoners who were released in the Gilad Shalit deal and rearrested recently in the West Bank following the kidnapping and murder of three Israeli teenagers; Israel will allow construction of a seaport or “sea crossing” in Gaza; Israel will fully open all crossings to Gaza; Egypt will open the Rafah border crossing into Egypt 24 hours a day; and Israel will allow Gaza fisherman to venture out 12 nautical miles from the Gaza coast.Israel says Gaza has used up or lost half its rockets
The document is intended to counteract the Egyptian ceasefire offer which stated that Israel and Hamas must first stop their attacks on each other and only then discuss their respective demands. Egypt’s offer was endorsed by Israel, the US, the Palestinian Authority and the Arab League on Tuesday before being rejected by Hamas, with the group saying the offer only satisfied Israel’s interests, and met none of the Palestinian demands.
The IDF said on Saturday Gaza-based militants had used up or lost about half of their rockets in 12 days of fighting - though the Islamist fighters say they have been replenishing their arsenal.Gaza terrorists attempt to attack IDF forces with explosives-laden donkey
The Israeli military said Palestinian fighters had fired at least 1,705 rockets out of an estimated stockpile of about 10,000, a depletion of about 17 percent.
"I think that we have hit and destroyed 30 to 40 percent of the rockets," chief military spokesman Brigadier-General Moti Almoz said, referring to an Israeli offensive on Gaza that escalated on Thursday.
Terrorists in Gaza attempted to attack IDF soldiers with an explosives-laden donkey on Friday, the military said.Regev: Israel ‘Had No Option But to Act’
IDF forces operating in the Rafah area near the Gaza-Egypt border located the donkey suspiciously approaching their position and were forced to open fire at it, causing the explosives to detonate.
No injuries were sustained to the soldiers.
The military expressed its regret over the "shocking" incident, and condemned terrorists in Gaza for strapping bombastic devices to innocent animals as a means of attacking Israeli forces.
"This cruel incident is the most recent attempt by Gaza terror organizations to make such an abominable use of animals as explosives couriers," the IDF said on its website. (h/t Bob Knot)
“We’re prepared to expand if need be, ultimately to commit ground forces to combat operations inside Gaza is not an easy decision, it’s only been taken after we looked at all the different options,” he explained. “There is also a price in not acting, in not moving to protect our people against those terrorist tunnels.”Regev: Israel 'Had No Option But to Act'
“When will you know you’ve won?” Asked CNN’s Carol Costello.
“You know, victory for us is actually peace and quiet. Victory for us is the Israeli civilian population not having to live in fear of an incoming terrorist rocket from Gaza. Victory for us is just having a normal life,” said Regev.
Israel’s Ambassador Dermer on Gaza Child Deaths: ‘I Have No Doubt Hamas Was Celebrating When These Children Were Killed’ (VIDEO)
Israel’s Ambassador to the United States, Ron Dermer, said on Thursday he is certain that Hamas terrorists rejoiced in the deaths of four children killed on Wednesday in Gaza when the IDF targeted a “nearby shipping container used in the past by Hamas security forces,” according to a witness.Report: Lebanese Army finds second rocket launching site in southern Lebanon
“I have no doubt that Hamas was celebrating when these children were killed,” he told CNBC’s John Harwood. “No one in Israel was celebrating when these children were killed.”
An additional rocket launching pad found in southern Lebanon by the Lebanese Army Saturday was the point from which the roughly 10 Katyusha rockets were launched into northern Israel in the last week, according to Lebanese newspaper The Daily Star.Zoabi handcuffed as Arab Israelis in Haifa protest Gaza offensive
The rockets were launched from a field in the Hasbaya village of Rashaya al-Foukhar, the Star reported.
One man was arrested by Lebanese authorities last week in connection with shooting rockets into Israel when his rocket launching pad was discovered.
Some of the protesters were reported to have waved Palestinian flags as they chanted slogans welcoming Hamas rocket fire at Tel Aviv. The demonstrators also shouted out slogans against Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.Katz Hits Back at Erdogan: What About the Armenian Genocide?
Thirty protesters were arrested, including Zoabi, who was handcuffed by police officers at the site. The Balad MK was released from police custody a short while later.
Protests were also held in Acre, Tamra, and Arab Israeli communities in the Wadi Ara area.
“The Israeli government is not just conducting a war, it is committing war crimes and crimes against humanity,” former MK Taleb el-Sana told Ynet reporters during an interview following the demonstrations.
“The Israeli government’s goal is to collect blood from the Palestinians.”
Transportation Minister Yisrael Katz (Likud) hit back at Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday, after the latter accused Israel of attempting a "systematic genocide" of Palestinian Arabs in Gaza, in his strongest attack yet on the Jewish state over self-defense campaign Operation Protective Edge.Bill Maher: Hamas Like a Homicidal 'Crazy Woman' Who Needs to Be Slapped
In a post on his Facebook page, Katz reminded Erodgan of the Armenian Genocide, when in 1915 more than a million Armenians were murdered by Ottoman troops.
“In 1915 the Turks massacred a million and a half Armenians and he accuses us, who are fighting his friends in the Islamic movement, of genocide? Who wants a relationship with such a person?” wrote Katz.
Bill Maher can say almost anything about anyone and not worry about the P.C. police storming his home or office.On the Indy’s hypocrisy over that Bill Maher Tweet
He's a reliably liberal voice in popular culture, and he routinely says the ugliest things about conservatives like former Gov. Sarah Palin.
In short, he gets a pass thanks to both his choice in targets and the progressive nature of his long-running HBO show Real Time with Bill Maher.
The following Tweet Maher fired off last night, though, might be different.
"Dealing w/ Hamas is like dealing w/ a crazy woman who's trying to kill u - u can only hold her wrists so long before you have to slap her"
Note that readers are informed that Maher is Jewish, despite the fact that he’s only half-Jewish, and is a well-known agnostic and fierce critic of religion – a gratuitous reference which may be inconsistent with the section of the Editor Code which warns against providing details of an individual’s religion unless relevant to the story.Pro-Israel Mensch Of The Day: Vivian Bercovici
However, for some reason, editors at the Indy covered the story of a British comedian named Alexis Sayle – who gave an interview where he likened Israel to a child rapist and a psychopath – in a context which appeared to at least legitimize his comparison:
Vivian Bercovici, Ambassador of Canada to Israel, is continuing the recent Canadian tradition of staunchly supporting Israel and standing up for good over evil.Pro-Israel Christians Rally For Israel In Amsterdam
"Hamas doesn't kill many Israeli civilians due to huge gov't and civilian efforts, not from lack of intent or effort"
Yesterday a large group of over 1000 CIDI and Christians For Israel members held a Pro-Israel rally in Amsterdam.Protesters Express Support for Intifada in the Shadow of Boston Marathon Bombing
This is truly awesome support coming from the good folk of Holland. Dank jullie wel
“Intifada! Intifada! Long live the Intifada!”Pro-Hamas Protest in Berlin: 'Jews, Jews, Cowardly Pigs, Come Out and Fight'
That was a chant heard at a rally that took place in Copley Square in Boston on Thursday July 17, 2014.
The chant which has been used to promote violence against Israel for more than a decade, was shouted within earshot of where of two young men, Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev, allegedly placed two pressure cooker bombs near the finish line of the Boston Marathon on April 15, 2013 and killed three people and injured 264 others.
A pro-Hamas rally in Berlin Thursday featured anti-Semitic slogans such as "Jews, Jews, cowardly pigs, come out and fight!"Anti-Israel protesters in Paris defy ban, clash with police
The JTA reports that the American Jewish Committee's Berlin office filed a police report after the incident and publicly called on the German parliament to protect the Jewish residents of the city.
The demonstrators were protesting against Israel’s Operation Protective Edge, using the event to also chant against the French government and French President Francois Hollande in particular, for issuing the ban, France 24 reported.Tens of thousands rally in London against Israel’s Gaza op
The demonstrators threw rocks and bottles at anti-riot squads, which responded with tear gas lobbied into the streets.
Several protesters climbed onto a building under construction, burning an Israeli flag. Others waved a Palestinian flag from atop a street sign.
Led by speakers on a podium, protesters holding placards and banners chanted pro-Palestinian and anti-Israel slogans.Protests worldwide as Gaza offensive intensifies
At one point, a woman on the podium shouted “from the river to the sea” — a call for the elimination of Israel — and protesters responded by yelling “Palestine will be free.”
The crowd also directed shouts of “Shame on you” at Cameron, who publicly backed Israel’s right to defend itself against Hamas rocket fire aimed at the Israeli civilian population.
In Turkey, rioters attempt to storm Israeli consulate; Polish pro-Palestinian demonstrators assault Jewish touristsBelgian bus company disassociates itself from Palestinian flag display
Thousands of protesters in numerous cities worldwide took to the streets Thursday and Friday, from Cairo to Istanbul to Washington, to demand an immediate halt of Israel’s ground incursion in the Gaza Strip and call on the international community to intervene on behalf of Gazans.
In Turkey, Egypt and Jordan, rallies were held in solidarity with the Palestinian cause, some of them turning violent as demonstrators clashed with police forces and vandalized public property. There were also protests in cities including London, Madrid, New York, and Cape Town.
A public Belgian bus company distanced itself from employees who displayed the Palestinian flag on at least one of its vehicles.CNN Pulls Reporter From Israel-Gaza After Tweet Calling Group of Israelis ‘Scum’
A spokeswoman for the Brussels-area Stib bus company disassociated his company Friday from the flag display.
The spokeswoman, Françoise Ledune, told the broadcaster RTL that while employees have the right to their opinions, they are not allowed to associate their views with the company.
A CNN correspondent who has been covering the Israel-Hamas war was removed from her post after she referred to a group of Israelis she encountered as “scum.”Kristol: Obama ‘Finger-Wagging’ at the Israelis, Slapping Putin On the Wrist
Diana Magnay made the comment on Twitter on Friday and quickly deleted it.
“Israelis on hill above Sderot cheer as bombs land on #gaza; threaten to ‘destroy our car if I say a word wrong.’ Scum,” she wrote.
Later on Friday, a CNN spokeswoman said Magnay has been re-assigned to Moscow.
Kristol ripped Obama for his “moral preening” on the issue, given Israel’s well-documented code of conduct in warfare and warnings given to Gaza civilians before conducting strikes. In addition, Hamas has a policy of using human shields and hiding rockets in civilian areas.Kristol: Obama slapping Putin's wrist, finger-wagging at Netanyahu
“Think about what it implies that he’s nagging and finger-wagging at the Israelis about civilian casualties,” Kristol said. “Does he really seriously think the Israeli military doesn’t care about civilian casualties? That they don’t have the most elaborate code of conduct in war of any military, maybe even more elaborate than ours, to try to prevent civilian casualties in very difficult situations? Do they really need a lecture from Barack Obama about how to fight humanely? That’s what’s so annoying about this.”
BBC’s Paul Adams amplifies Nazi analogy in coverage of Gaza ground op
In fact, the hospital’s staff were directly alerted to the need to evacuate the premises by the IDF on the evening of July 15th –47 hours before the ground operation commenced – even according to B’Tselem. General warnings were also issued to residents of that neighbourhood and others on the morning of July 16th. Contrary to the impression which readers receive from Adams’ report, the actual reason for the evacuation warning was the presence of terrorist infrastructure located near to the hospital.Deadline for Iran nuke deal extended by 4 months
Perhaps unwittingly, Adams provides evidence of the practice of locating weapons stores and missile launchers in the vicinity of medical facilities and other civilian structures when he goes on to write:
“As he recalled the scene, surrounded by his evacuated patients, two deafening salvoes of rockets took off from somewhere very close by – rockets fired by fighters from Hamas or one of the other armed factions.” [emphasis added]
Iran and world powers struck late Friday a deal to extend their Sunday deadline to strike a nuclear accord easing fears Tehran will get the bomb, negotiators in Vienna revealed. With the extension of talks, Iran committed to taking additional steps that US officials said would set back their progress toward a nuclear bomb, and will receive in return an additional $2.8 billion in assets that are currently frozen in overseas banks.Sherman Blasts Al Jazeera on Al Jazeera
The High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Catherine Ashton, and the Foreign Minister of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Mohammad Javad Zarif issued a joint statement in which they announced the four-month extension that would continue the talks until November 24.
In Jerusalem, The Show Must Go On
This year’s Jerusalem Film Festival, which ends Sunday, will surely go down as one of the annual event’s most memorable editions—and mainly for the right reasons. The festival opened last week at the Jerusalem Cinematheque, which from its breathtaking perch above the Valley of Hinnom, across from the Old City walls, regularly serves as this complicated city’s greatest cultural refuge. Festival and Cinematheque alike have weathered worse storms than Operation Protective Edge—two Intifadas, for example—and the festival, which prides itself on hosting an impressive contingent of international guests, has faced this latest uphill battle with aplomb.We Stand with Israel
That said, there were still some hiccups. Korean director Chan-wook Park (Oldboy) was on hand to give a master class, but Spike Jonze, the festival’s other major headliner, despite having already arrived in Israel, decided to opt out of the festival at the last moment, writing:
"It felt like the wrong time for me to be talking about movies with everything going on. I hope you understand. I will come back again and screen movies and talk film with you when the time is right."
Screenings were interrupted by the occasional siren. At one point, I found myself huddling with a couple dozen mildly amused cinephiles in the building’s basement, surrounded by ceiling-high stacks of old film reels. The whole situation added new a new wrinkle to the Israeli slang for “don’t freak out”—“al tikanes lesratim”—which translates literally as, “don’t go into movies.”
