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December 28, 2010
Another Gaza Slaughter?

Just in:

Israeli forces have killed a Palestinian man and wounded five others in tank shelling and gunfire attack on Khan Yunis in the Gaza Strip.
…
The incident comes two days after two Palestinians died in Khan Yunis after Israeli soldiers launched a gun battle in the area.

There has been an increase in incidents this month with Israel shooting and bombing Palestinians on Gaza while various Israeli officials threaten further attacks:

"The IDF is working hard to deal with this issue. I'm not waiting for a disaster to happen," said [Deputy Defense Minister] Vilnai

Historian Ilan Pappe fears that Israel is planing another Gaza massacre:

There is no new plan for Gaza – there is no real desire to occupy it and put in under direct Israeli rule. What is suggested is to pound the Strip and its people once more, but with more brutality and for a shorter time.
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The scenario for the next round is unfolding in front of our eyes and it resembles depressingly the same deterioration that preceded the massacre of Gaza two years ago: daily bombardment on the Strip and a policy that tries to provoke Hamas so that more expanded assaults would be justified.

I have no idea if Israel really plans another slaughter party. Already feeling delegitimized, it would only further international opinion into that direction. But would it really care?

Posted by b on December 28, 2010 at 17:35 UTC | Permalink
Comments

I have no doubt they can be that evil. But can they be that stupid? Time will tell.

Posted by: Lysander | Dec 28 2010 17:47 utc | 1

Breathtaking.
What’s to gain?

Posted by: beq | Dec 28 2010 17:47 utc | 2

ynet reports the idf says they were planting explosives.

Posted by: annie | Dec 28 2010 21:24 utc | 3

“Historian Ilan Pappe fears that Israel is planing another Gaza massacre … “
They need some sort of diversion to cover another Gaza massacre; at least if they plan a large one. Something to do with Iran perhaps?

Posted by: Joseph | Dec 28 2010 23:53 utc | 4

Hmm Annie it is important to note that whatever the victims of these attacks were doing, they were doing it within Gaza, so if they were planting explosives that explosion would occur on the Gaza side of the wall, which makes the IDF excuse suspect. If the blokes were planting sufficient explosives to damage the illegal wall on the illegal border (a fact the western media tends to ignore), then firing mortar shells at them would surely be counterproductive since there would be a good chance the whole lot would go up causing greater damage to the wall.
It is more likely that these attacks were made against Palestinian citizens who had been lulled into a false sense of security by the fact that previous shortcuts close to the border in what the IDF has declared as verboten areas, had been ignored.
This would explain the second set of murders, freedom fighters would have been alerted by the first aggression and changed their tactic, but citizens may not have known that israel was indulging in payback for the quassam which did no damage, by murdering Gazaains who strayed too close to The Wall.
Israel which is becoming more concerned at the war crimes potential of admitting they are indiscriminately murdering citizens, holding Palestinians collectively responsible for acts they allege were the work of Palestinian freedom fighters, would certainly be a war crime, so the explosives excuse was used as cover.
But the odds are reasonably high that the quassam rocket was fired by an agent provocateur. It may have been the prelude to an escalation of zionist aggression, or it may have been just a simple PR exercise to keep the palestinian=terrorist lie bubbling away at a time of the year that is normally hard news lite. That is an ideal time for the world’s media to beat the issue up a bit and put it close to the top of their news bulletins.
There is one other possibility which like the others is far more likely than the ‘official’ untruth. That is we tend to forget that ordinary israelis have to be kept in a state of fear to prevent too many from deciding ‘Ay-rabs’ are human. The quassam and mortar kabuki may have been intended purely for local consumption.

Posted by: Debs is dead | Dec 29 2010 0:46 utc | 5

Debs,”Israel which is becoming more concerned at the war crimes potential of admitting they are indiscriminately murdering citizens”
Yes, maybe Israel is a little concerned. The UN News Center posted this last year. But I doubt the leaders are losing any sleep over their crimes.
My personal guess is the usual modus operandi, that, is, the Israelis are hoping for a Palestinian response to justify escalation.
For further disgust, while checking the PressTV link, I see this story today:
Dozens of senior rabbis recently signed a letter advising Jews not to sell or rent property to non-Jews. I guess even fairness, not even charity, is asking too much from these rabbis.

Posted by: Rick Happ | Dec 29 2010 1:42 utc | 6

But the odds are reasonably high that the quassam rocket was fired by an agent provocateur.
what quassam rockets? they could have been planting friggin seeds for all i know. the iof murdered a shepherd on saturday. the preemptive murder alleging someone was about to commit a crime is all they need to get their war on.
But the odds are reasonably high that the quassam rocket was fired by an agent provocateur.
you’re preaching to the choir baby. don’t i know, don’t i know.

Posted by: annie | Dec 29 2010 4:44 utc | 7

hey, it just occurred to me some of you might not been aware of the mondo awards over @ mondoweiss. tonight is the last call to entries..so go for it and write something..please. the judges are susie adulhawa, omar barghouti, helena cobban, joseph dana, adam horowitz and phil. if you don’t enter at least read them because they are awesome, a little birdie told me so.

Posted by: annie | Dec 29 2010 4:51 utc | 8

Fuck….
WARNING: This is pretty graphic.

Posted by: Uncle $cam | Dec 29 2010 6:01 utc | 9

Xinhua: Israeli army ups alertness along Gaza border following skirmishes

JERUSALEM, Dec. 29 (Xinhua) — The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has intensified operational readiness along the Israel-Gaza Strip border following a clash on Tuesday night in which one Palestinian militant was killed and several civilians wounded.
Israeli aircraft and tanks opened fire at a number of militants who were spotted planting explosives near the security fence in the southern Strip and confirmed hitting one of them, according to a statement issued by the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit.
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Senior Israeli officials earlier this week cautioned Hamas of the repercussions of violating the delicate ceasefire. “Hamas knows that if it renews the conflict, our response will be harsh. Israel will not return to the situation that existed prior to the 2009 offensive,” local news service Nana10 quoted Vice Prime Minister Silvan Shalom as saying.
Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz hinted that the IDF would eventually have to respond more harshly to the surge in violence in the area, saying that “sooner or later Israel will have no choice but to subdue Hamas’ regime in Gaza. I estimate that eventually we’ll be forced to do so,” Steinitz said.

Posted by: b | Dec 29 2010 18:54 utc | 10

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