And it updates in real time, too.
(h/t dabney_c)
I have no idea what "Eaten Straw" means*, but that is the official translation of the operation from Hamas' viewpoint.A military statement issued by the
.. ::: Brigades of the Martyr Izz al-Din al-Qassam ::: ..
Battle of Eaten Straw
On the initiative of the alleged cease-fire between the resistance and the Zionist enemy
There is talk in media interviews and the news about the initiative for a cease-fire between the resistance and the Zionist enemy, and we in the Brigades of the Martyr Izz al-Din al-Qassam want to give clarification for our people and in order to prevent confusion we emphasize the following:
First: the (terms) of this alleged initiative were not presented at any point to the Qassam Brigades, formally or informally.
Second: The true content of this initiative is one of bowing and meekness, the Qassam Brigades rejects in toto, which for us is not worth the ink that it was written with.
Third: Our battle with the enemy is ongoing and will increase in ferocity and intensity, and we'll be loyal to the blood of the innocent martyrs of the battle of "Eaten Straw" and all the martyrs of our people, and we promise our people that the blood and sacrifices will not be lost in vain.
It is a Jihad, victory or martyrdom.
I wonder whether, when the settler-colonial army of Israel is pounding Gaza, Palestinians should grab guitars, pianos, and white ribbons, look up at their oppressors flying over their heads in apaches and F16s, and sing a lullaby of peace. Perhaps, then, we can impress Middle East "experts" and "non-violent resistance" -mind you, I am using the V word- butterflies. I wonder, moreover, what authority, defined by what experience, entitles these experts and butterflies to ask us, the Palestinians, to put down our arms. Nonsense.There is a lot more nonsense in the article, but this is enough to demonstrate the lengths some people will go to in order to justify the rabid antisemitism that the Arab world has towards Jews - which is the real root cause of the conflict.
...Resistance rockets fired from the Gaza Strip provide a necessary counter-discourse. The Israeli Jewish public must understand that there shall be no security so long as they do not turn their anger and frustration at their very supremacist privilege and ideological system which is embodied in the Israeli government, left-wing, centrist, or right-wing. No one is asking them to leave, but they must accept Palestinian resistance insofar as they accept the arrogance which characterises the Zionist ideology. The radical potential of Palestinian rockets, of sirens going off, lies in these rockets' ability to disrupt a system of privilege which Israeli Jews enjoy at the expense of colonised and displaced Palestinians. Rockets, in other words, are a radical declaration of existence and unmediated expression of self-determination.
...Israel was born in May 1948 after a mass wave of ethnic cleansing which led to the expulsion of more than half the native Palestinian population. This is the aggression to which every Palestinian rocket, demonstration, and burned tire, is a response. Until Palestine is liberated, and by Palestine I mean historical Palestine, Palestinian resistance cannot be expected to wane. To be clear, Palestinians fire rockets into what belongs to them in the first place.
Rana, I wonder if you realise what brilliant piece you just penned down. As Arundhati Roy wrote " Gandhi get your gun" in Walking With The Comrades I say keep those rockets from Gaza coming and let the siren echo in every stolen corner, square, street, park and home.Baker provides the veneer of intellectualism to justify terror for those who are still uncomfortable with the concept. The murderous rampages in Paris and Frankfurt are a natural result of the sickening supremacist of Rana Baker - because if proudly targeting civilians is a moral obligation, then so is attacking Jews wherever they might be.
The following is the article in the PA daily claiming that the Protocols of the Elders of Zion teaches Jews that their God wants Passover "Matzah made from the blood of our children"EXCLUSIVE: Inside Brandeis University's Faculty Listserv
"Under the fire that has been burning against us for a month now, our national unity has endured in an exceptional manner. Our unity, which extends from the northern tip of the Galilee (northern Israel) to the southern tip of the Negev (southern Israel); from Gaza to the West Bank and Jerusalem, from the farthest place of exile to the homeland...
We are one nation, one cause, one entity, one hope and one right, and we will not leave this land, for it is our land. All tales and myths can go to hell; Jerusalem will remain our capital, even if they use their nuclear bombs against us...
We have nothing with which to speak to these Israeli murderers, who go too far with their crimes, and whose God, 'Yahweh', is called the Lord of Hosts and demands, according to the Protocols of the Elders of Zion, that they offer him sacrifices during Passover in the form of Matzah made from the blood of our children. We have nothing with which to open a dialogue but these rockets. Have all the Arab, Islamic and Palestinian peace initiatives managed to draw even a single voice to engage in dialogue with us?"
This listserv, entitled “Concerned,” was created in 2002. It began “out of concern about possible war with Iraq.” It contains 92 subscribers, including professors from outside of the university. Participants express their fear and disdain on issues ranging from United States foreign and domestic policy, the “American system,” and “the Israelists,” to “President ‘Obomber’” and “ Hillary ‘Obliterate Iran!’ Clinton.”Giving Turkey a dose of its own medicine?
“Houston, we have a problem,” warned Mary Baine Campbell, a Brandeis English professor. “Ayaan Hirsi Ali claims to have had a difficult early life, and it may be true. However, she's an ignorant, ultra-right-wing extremist, abusively, shockingly vocal in her hatred for Muslim culture and Muslims, a purveyor of the dangerous and imaginary concept, born of European distaste for the influx of immigrants from its former colonies, ‘Islamofascism’ – which has died on the vine even of the new European right wing. To call her a ‘woman's rights activist’ is like calling Squeaky Fromm an environmentalist.”
“To honor someone at graduation who is notorious for inciting hate, defending violence and insulting the bearers of one of the world's most populous faiths, including many students and faculty, not to mention parents, is not 'hosting.' It's complicity in defamation,” she added.
An Israeli NGO has assisted Cypriots in filing a war crimes complaint with the International Criminal Court prosecutor against Turkey over its occupation of Northern Cyprus. The complaint, filed on Tuesday and referred to as a communication, was made on the 40th anniversary of Turkey’s occupation of the northern part of Cyprus.Israel Under Fire: HonestReporting Statement on the Media
The NGO, Shurat HaDin-Israel Law Center, has been involved in a wide range of human-rights cases and substantially assisted in researching and drafting the complaint on behalf of Greek Cypriot groups, including Cypriots Against Turkish War Crimes (CATWR) and MEP Costas Mavrides.
CATWR is an association comprised mainly of Cypriots and refugees from the Turkish invasion of Cyprus.
The petitioners call on the ICC prosecutor to open an investigation into ongoing alleged Turkish crimes against Cyprus, in particular the continued maintenance and establishment of Turkish settlements in the occupied territory. (h/t Bob Knot)
As the IDF’s military operation enters its second week, HonestReporting is increasingly concerned about media coverage casting Israel as the aggressor against innocent Palestinians in Gaza.
We emphasize that the casualty figures reported in the media do not represent the true intentions of the two parties. Israel has made and continues to make every possible effort to save the lives of civilians on both sides while the Hamas terrorist organization fires rockets indiscriminately at Israeli civilians and calls on its own people to act as human shields, even at the cost of their lives.
Regardless of the outcome on the ground, victory in the current conflict will be determined in the court of public opinion. We therefore call on all media outlets to report fairly and accurately on the conflict, provide proper context, and acknowledge the true aims of both sides so that people can be informed enough to make a proper assessment of the conflict.
Meanwhile, the Rafah crossing was opened last Thursday but only allowed 11 people to cross. Today it was opened for pilgrims en route to Saudi Arabia.Following is a compilation of various hosts of Egyptian TV shows slamming Hamas, which aired July 9-12, 2014:
Al-Nahar TV, July 9, 2014
Talk show host Khaled Salah: We want to stand by [the Palestinians], but we don't want to pay a price for this. Our hospitals will receive their [wounded], and the Rafah crossing is expected to be opened for humanitarian needs. The position of our Foreign Ministry is very clear in favor of convening the U.N. Security Council in order to discuss the Israeli aggression against our people in Gaza. Our people there are one thing, and the Hamas movement is another.
But our people n Gaza must come to the realization that such idiotic decision-making pertaining to religion and politics forces the Gaza Strip and its people, as well as the entire Arab Nation in its entirety, to pay a very steep price in fragmentation, in humiliation, in martyrs and, unfortunately, in blood - shed in vein, with no prospects for victory.
We pray for Allah to bestow upon the Hamas leaders a bit of common sense, so they will get a grasp of the map of the region, and of the degree to which the Arab nation is fragmented. Unfortunately, it was they and their ilk in other Arab countries who caused this fragmentation.[…]
Sada Al-Balad TV, July 12, 2014
Talk show host Ahmad Musa: Khaled Mash'al is waging Jihad from Qatar, along with his brother, Al-Qaradhawi. Guess the number of Israeli casualties. Give me your best guess. Who wants to say 200? Who says 400? Who says 5? The grand total of Israeli casualties in the past few days is four: Three yesterday at a gas station, and another one I don't know where. That's it. So what's next? What is the solution?[…]
Khaled Mash'al commented a couple of days ago about the Egyptian army…
An image of Khaled Mash'al exercising at a gym
You can see how Khaled is waging Jihad in Qatar.
Image of Mash'al eating a lavish meal
This is brother Khaled Mash'al's version of Jihad. Khaled, the Jihad is in Gaza…
Image of Mash'al watching TV
Or, of course, he is watching their TV channel. This is the Jihad of Khaled Mash'al and his comrades, the honorable and great mujahideen. As they wage this sort of Jihad, they abandon the people to get killed. If you were a real man, you would be back in Gaza first thing tomorrow morning.
You should take the first flight tomorrow morning. We will let you in. Come to Egypt, and we will open the Rafah crossing for you. We will let you in, safe and sound, to the other side of the Rafah crossing. Your Palestinian brothers will welcome you, and you will go hide underground with your brother, what's his name… Ismail Haniya.[…]
Image of Ismail Haniya playing soccer
When his weight still enabled him to run, Ismail used to play soccer. You can see how he plays with the ball, Allah be praised…
Image of Haniya sitting next to a blond young woman
This is his Jihad, Allah be praised… This is the greatest Jihad performed by Isamil Haniya and his brothers in Hamas.[…]
Why do you, in the Al-Qassam Brigades, [hide] among civilians? Why do you use people's homes? You should keep your hideouts away from people's homes. You know full well that when you launch a missile form a home, a missile will land on that home within one minute. You are bringing another nakba upon your people.
[…]
Al-Mihwar TV, July 11, 2014
Talk show host Mohamed Mustafa Sherdy: None of them apologized for the thousand tunnels they had dug, and through which they smuggle all of Egypt's wealth [into Gaza]. None of them said a word, because they are all on the take. All of them! They are all being paid off for their statements. They are all on the take. They all fly luxurious planes, and keep Swiss bank accounts.[…]
Al-Tahrir TV, July 12, 2014
Talk show host Mazher Shahin: Just like we died in the past in defense of the Palestinian cause, we are ready to die today in defense of the Palestinian cause – but we are not ready to die in defense of Hamas. Not a single drop of blood will be shed… Sorry, a drop of blood is too precious… We are not prepared to sacrifice even a single hair from the eyebrow of an Egyptian soldier or civilian, for the sake of Hamas and all the people who wage Jihad, while indulging themselves in all kinds of dishes at the swimming pool.[…]
We are afflicted with a bunch of people who pretend to be Muslims, but do not understand anything, or else, they think people are stupid. They goad people into fighting, terrorism, and violence, under the pretext of "Jihad," while they themselves sit at a hotel, a swimming pool, or a nudist beach, eating a variety of dishes, marrying four wives, and driving the latest model luxury cars. What is this?! What kind of men are you?
You know where the border between Israel and Palestine is. If there is a real man among you, I am willing to drive him in my own car and at my own expense to the Gaza border. I will drop him there and say: "Go. May God be with you. Gaza is there. Jihad awaits you. Go in and show us you're a real man."[…]
You are a bunch of liars. We don't believe you anymore. People are revolted by you. Get lost. You make us nauseous. The whole world goes to hell because of you.
Egypt's security forces seized 20 Grad rockets being smuggled in from the Gaza Strip through a tunnel by militants in northern Sinai, security officials said Friday.Smugging Grad rockets out of Gaza to Egypt? Why would they do that?
The rockets, along with their launch pads, were seized late Thursday after a firefight between security forces and militants in the town of Rafah bordering the Palestinian enclave, they said.
Egyptian military sources in Cairo told Ma’an that the army raided a rocket launching center south of Rafah near the Israeli border and seized two grad missiles and two rocket launchers.Either Hamas is trying to shoot rockets from Egypt where Israel is less likely to fire back, or they are recruiting Sinai jihadists to do the job.
“The attackers splintered off an anti-Israel demonstration and advanced toward the synagogue when it was full,” Alain Azria, a French Jewish journalist who covered the event told JTA.So it is entirely predictable that the Muslims who wanted to kill a couple of hundred Jews are now claiming that they were attacked:
Azria said that when the demonstrators arrived at the central Paris synagogue, the five police officers on guard blocked the entrance as the protesters chanted anti-Semitic slogans and hurled objects at the synagogue and the guards. He said nearly 200 congregants were inside.
“They were determined to enter and the police did not have enough forces,” he said.
Azria said the mob was kept away by men from the SPCJ Jewish security unit, the Jewish Defense League and Beitar, who engaged the attackers in what turned into a street brawl.
“Thank God they were there because the protesters had murder on their minds and it took awhile before police reinforcements arrived,” he added.
Jewish extremists on Sunday evening attacked Paris demonstrators denouncing the Israeli aggression on Gaza.I imagine that the media will now start to take into account this competing narrative when describing what happened. Because truth isn't nearly as important as allowing violent rioters to be given equal time.
The French media said that 15,000 demonstrators turned out in demonstrations condemning the Israeli aggression on Gaza and demanded that it stop, prompting a group of Jewish extremists to attack them with sticks and stones, and the police intervened to break up the clash.
A demonstration in Frankfurt against Operation Protective Edge erupted into violence, with protesters tossing stones at the police.I'm sure they just wanted to toss flowers.
According to the Frankfurter Rundschau paper, about 2,500 protesters appeared in downtown Frankfurt, screaming “God is great,” and slogans such as “freedom for Palestine” and “children-murderer Israel.”
Eight police officers were injured. One sign at the rally was titled, “You Jews are Beasts.”
German media reported that after the protests, groups sought to locate Jewish institutions. The Frankfurt police said Jewish institutions would be protected. It is unclear if the goal was to attack said institutions.
"[H]ere's the difference between us. We are using missile defense to protect our civilians, and they're using their civilians to protect their missiles. That's basically the difference. They're embedding these rockets that they're firing wholesale into our cities, terrorist rocketing, trying to kill as many as they can.Benjamin Netanyahu Fox News Sunday We Use Missiles to Defend Civilians Hamas Uses Civilians..
They're not succeeding because of two reasons. One is because we've developed this incredible missile defense system, which I think is a historic development in the history of defensive warfare ...
But the other reason we're succeeding, you have to understand some of the rockets do pierce through this shield. The reason we're succeeding is also because we're targeting the rocketeers. The rocketeers are firing from homes, these homes are actually command posts of the Hamas and Islamic jihad army. So, that's where they have their secure communications, weapon caches, rockets hidden, map rooms, so on. These are the command posts.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appeared on CBS's Face the Nation Sunday from Tel Aviv just as another round of sirens sounded, sending the city under yet another red alert. The prime minister asked viewers to imagine this scenario happening in every city in America:Dermer: Hamas Deliberately Targets Civilians, Israel Does Not
Well, the sirens went off because Hamas have fired rockets on Israel's major city. They're firing rockets at all our cities. I want your audience to imagine what it would be like if all the cities of the United States -- I'm not just talking about New York and Washington, I'm talking about all the cities of the United States from the East Coast to Colorado. 80% of your population would be in bomb shelters, with a minute to a minute and a half red alert warning time to get into those shelters. That's what we're experiencing right now as we speak. So this is an unconscionable terrorist attack on civilian populations and of course we have to act to defend ourselves.
Israeli ambassador to the U.S. and Face the Nation guest Ron Dermer said Sunday while Hamas was deliberately targeting civilians during its fighting, Israel would continue to make all efforts to avoid killing or hurting civilians on its end.
Host Bob Schieffer played a video during the interview from the Israel Defense Forces of a pilot being told that a target set to be attacked in Gaza had children inside, and thus he backed off.
“When our pilots are targeting a particular site, they try to make sure that it’s clear of civilians,” Dermer said. “There are many, many military operations that are called off, because we see that there are civilians that are going to come into harm’s way. That’s the difference between us and Hamas. Hamas is deliberately targeting our civilians. They want to kill as many civilians in Israel as possible.”
The relatively low number of casualties in Gaza during the operation so far, despite the IDF’s’ intensive attacks, which are even stronger than the IDF attacks during “Cast Lead”, result from the precise and optimized use of advanced warning such as “Knock on the Roof”, and avoiding direct hits on schools, hospitals and mosques, even when it is a known thing that rockets and other weaponry are being hidden there.
In light of the IDF’s responsible conduct, Hamas is finally seen, not only in Western media, but in the Arab media as well, as a cynical, cruel, and irresponsible terror organization. An organization that uses a civilian population as human shields, and even calls for them to use their bodies to protect Hamas leaders and their rockets, while the Hamas terrorists and leaders themselves stay well-hidden and protected in underground tunnels and warehouses set in the midst of a civilian populace.
Arab rioters in Shuafat, the hometown of murdered Arab teenager Muhammad Abu Khdeir, launched bombs at three light rail stations over the July 4th holiday weekend and severed the train lines to ensure that the system is beyond repair, according to sources on the ground who toured the city.A new IMRA report shows that not only did Israel manage to get the light rail up and running again, but it appears that these attacks were anything but spontaneous:
Shuafat has been one of the main epicenters of violence and riots in Jerusalem since it was announced that Israeli citizens killed Khdeir in an apparent revenge attack for the recent kidnapping and murder by Hamas of three Jewish teenagers.
Rioters in the city were spotted pulling up pieces of the sidewalk near the rail station and using handheld saws to cut into the rail line, which was completed about three years ago.
Others spray painted violent messages against Israel, including one that read: “Death to Israel,” according to photographs.
The CityPass Jerusalem light rail service wasn't just trashed by rioters in the Arab Shuafat neighborhood, it was systematically destroyed.Spontaneous rioters don't usually form into teams to grab jackhammers, cement trucks and chainsaws.
Arab teams came in with jackhammers to reach the copper cable wire running by the tracks while other teams came with equipment to saw off massive electric poles as others brought in trucks to pour cement on tracks while fuel was poured on the tracks to burn off the rubber elements. Discussion groups on the Internet speculated that it would take up to a year to restore service and that service would run next to Shuafat rather than through the middle of the neighborhood.
Why the systematic destruction? One veteran Israeli reporter told IMRA that Fatah was behind the move as they control the taxi service from Shuafat to the rest of the city and destroying the light rail was a move to restore a major source of income.
But it didn't take a year to restore service.
This Sunday CityPass was already running their trains per the regular schedule.
CityPass COO Shay Eisenberg told IMRA that while the service is up and running that there is a lot of work yet to be completed. Since the traffic lights in the neighborhood and communications were destroyed, the train "has to cross intersections like a car without a traffic light". The two stations in Shuafat were completely destroyed so passengers board in a
makeshift arrangement.
I'm in Paris.
I've seen these videos where they shout "Death to the Jews" in the streets of Paris. But the truth is that with a video, we are still not that aware of this reality.
So when I, completely by chance, ended up at Republic Square in the middle of the afternoon, and I saw this pro-Palestinian rally, .... But I wanted to see it more closely.
I do not have the peace of mind enough to write about it as it happened. It's too hot.
But then:
- Death to the Jews
- Death to Ashkenazi!
- Hitler was right
- Hamas Resistance!
- Jihad! Jihad! Jihad!
- Palestine must finish the job (started by Hitler)
At the microphone, to approach the Place de la Bastille, (yes, the microphone also) they shouted "Death to the Jews!"...
In restaurants passersby do not know what to say. In any case, they do not dare move. France has worked the same way: the good people were too scared to move.
We see Palestinian flags, Algeria, Iraq. Signs of support to the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas. Not a word about the children of Syria. Or carnage in Sudan. Or slavery in Qatar. Or women's rights in Saudi Arabia. Tolerance, respect and love? No, simply hate. Eyes that scream "Die!"
And even ... And even a replica of a Palestinian missile that crashed on an Israeli nursery is paraded. Widely applauded. Those who can, embrace. Admiration.
There are 200,000 deaths in Syria. This afternoon the demonstration in Paris is to denounce the 150 dead in Gaza.
Rue des Rosiers, rue de la Roquette, the place of Voltaire, violence. Wounded also, at least 4. Blood. The blood of innocents.
And in the streets, scooters reversed. Police remains speechless. Jews who lock themselves in synagogues.
"Fuck the Jews" on boulevard Voltaire. Sticks, keffiyeh and "dead Jews" in St. Paul. Attempt of a rampage of Jewish shops on rue de Turenne.
The attack on the synagogue has been denounced by politicians in France, but the real problem of huge numbers of Muslims who have no desire to act in a lawful manner, and who can be easily whipped up into a pogrom, does not seem to be a high priority for the French police.
In the swamp, fifty barbarians, iron bars in hand, walk to cause fear. And hit. And hurt. Break the Yid. ..The Jewish minority of France is forced to hide in the halls of buildings in the center of Paris.
Joel Mergui prend la parole: "nous ne sommes plus en danger, nous sommes chez nous, dans cette syna et en France". pic.twitter.com/a4FXAwZAML
— Gary Assoulinho (@garyassouline) July 13, 2014
On the Boulevard Beaumarchais, projectiles flew toward the police, who responded with tear gas.
[T]he Ayman Judah Brigades, an offshoot of Fatah's al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, said in a statement that its fighters fired a missile at Kibbutz Miflasim and two homemade projectiles at Kibbutz Beeri.And a fourth:
[T]he National Resistance Brigades, a military wing of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine, and the al-Asifa Army, an offshoot of Fatah’s al-Aqsa Brigades, said in a joint statement that their fighters fired two Grad missiles at Eshkol regional council.Wow, those "moderate" Fatah terrorists are multiplying faster than Mahmoud Abbas can pretend to dismantle them!
The Al-Ansar Brigades said in a statement that its fighters fired four missiles toward Kerem Shalom military base.Yes, they are shooting rockets at the place where Israel is sending them food, fuel and medicines.
Operation We-Are-Going-to-Kick-Your-Ass.I like that better than Operation Protective Edge.
The prophet, prayer and peace be upon him, said: The time will not come until Muslims will fight the Jews (and kill them); until the Jews hide behind rocks and trees, which will cry: O Muslim! there is a Jew hiding behind me, come on and kill him!Now, you can call me old-fashioned and some will call me a racist, right-wing war-monger, but what I say is that when the Jewish people have an organization on the border of the Jewish State that screams to the heavens for the destruction of that state, and for the murder of its Jewish citizenry, then Israel has a moral obligation to eliminate that organization.
Hamas needs to go away.The question, of course, is how to do it?
Israel is not ruling out a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip if it results in a significant change in the situation inside Gaza and a restoration of quiet to the South, diplomatic officials said Saturday night.Hamas rejected Egyptian proposal to hold fire
Israeli officials were not speaking of the conditions they would demand for a cease-fire, but among the ideas that have been discussed are the dismantling of the rocket capabilities inside Gaza, similar to the manner in which the chemical weapons were dismantled in Syria; developing a mechanism to enforce the cease-fire; and a restoration of Palestinian Authority – not Hamas – control over the area.
As part of Egypt’s efforts to halt the fighting between Hamas and Israel, Cairo proposed to the Palestinian organization’s leadership and to the Israeli government that they mutually stop the fire for 40 hours, after which a broader ceasefire agreement would be discussed — but Hamas rejected the offer, The Times of Israel learned from Israeli and Hamas sources.What Stands Behind the IDF's Targets in Gaza?
The offer was presented to the deputy head of the Hamas political bureau, Moussa Abu Marzouk, by Egyptian intelligence officers last week. Abu Marzouk rejected it after a brief consultation with the terror group’s military wing, the Izz al-Din al-Qassam brigades, the sources said.
Buy EoZ's book, PROTOCOLS: EXPOSING MODERN ANTISEMITISM
If you want real peace, don't insist on a divided Jerusalem, @USAmbIsrael
The Apartheid charge, the Abraham Accords and the "right side of history"
With Palestinians, there is no need to exaggerate: they really support murdering random Jews
Great news for Yom HaShoah! There are no antisemites!