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Technorati'Gaza Strike is Not Against Hamas, It's Against all Palestinians'
GAZA CITY - At 3:19 P.M. Sunday, the sound of an incoming missile could be heard over the telephone. And then another, along with the children's cries of fear. In Gaza City's Tel al-Hawa neighborhood, high-rise apartment buildings are crowded close together, with dozens of children in every building, hundreds in every block.
![[The remains of the Islamic University following an Israeli air strike in Gaza City. Israeli warplanes have pounded Gaza for a third day as tanks stand by to join Israel's "all-out" war on Hamas that has killed at least 345 people and prompted deadly rocket fire from the Palestinian enclave. (AFP/Mahmud Hams)]](http://www.commondreams.org/files/article_images/gaza1229.jpg "gaza1229.jpg")
Their father, B., informs me that smoke is rising from his
neighbor's house and ends the call. An hour later, he tells me that two
apartments were hit. One was empty; he does not know who lives there.
The other, which suffered casualties, belongs to a member of a
rocket-launching cell, but no one senior or important.
At noon Sunday, the Israel Air Force bombed a compound belonging to Gaza's National Security Service. It houses Gaza City's main prison. Three prisoners were killed. Two were apparently Fatah members; the third was convicted of collaborating with Israel. Hamas had evacuated most of the Gaza Strip's other prisons, but thought this jail would be safe. At 12 A.M. on Sunday, a phone call roused S. "I wasn't sleeping anyway," he said. "I picked up the receiver and heard a recorded announcement in Arabic: 'This is to warn you that we will bomb the house of anyone who has arms or ammunition at home.'"
Three members of one neighboring family were killed, all young men in their twenties. None of them owned arms or ammunition; they were simply walking down the street when the IAF bombed a passing car. Another neighbor lost a 16-year-old daughter, and her sister was seriously wounded. The IAF had bombed a building that formerly housed the Palestinian Authority's Preventive Security Service, and their school was located next door.
S. saw the results of some of Saturday's bombings when he visited a friend whose office is located near Gaza City's police headquarters. One person killed in that attack was Hassan Abu Shnab, the eldest son of former senior Hamas official Ismail Abu Shnab.
The elder Abu Shnab, whom Israel assassinated five years ago, was one of the first Hamas politicians to speak in favor of a two-state solution. Hassan worked as a clerk at the local university and played in the police band for fun. He was performing at a police graduation ceremony on Saturday when the bomb struck.
"Seventy policemen were killed there, not all Hamas members," said S., who opposes Hamas. "And even those who supported Hamas were young men looking for a job, a salary. They wanted to live. And therefore, they died. Seventy in one blow. This assault is not against Hamas. It's against all of us, the entire nation. And no Palestinian will consent to having his people and his homeland destroyed in this way."
16 Comments so far
Show AllAs an American Jew, I -- in the strongest of terms -- condemn Israeli actions and the American complicity in what are clearly war crimes against the Palestinian people. Given the history of not so long ago (the Warsaw Ghetto comes to mind), one would hope that Israel would not cage and now brutally kill hundreds of people who Israel has already subjected to devastating treatment (killings, closing of borders, lack of supplies and medicine, lack of food, barriers to fishing...the list goes on).
The situation is horrifying. Hamas was elected by the Palestinian people, but the war criminal Bush, along with Israel, and others refused to recognize the rightful Hamas gov't but instead did their best to topple Hamas, going so far as to stage a coup. Israel says it wants "peace and quiet." Then, STOP the bombing, apologize (many times over) to the Palestinians, fully open the borders to humanitarian aid.
The killing perpetrated almost entirely by Israel has got to be stopped. As one American Jew, I cry out against the terrible injustice being committed by Israel and the participation/silence of U.S. politicians.
S. Cohen
God Bless You!!!!!
Thanks for cogently denouncing the Zionist slaughter. IMO it's important for honorable decent Jewish people to denounce these killings by the GOVERNMENT of Israel so our rightful disgust at bad policy doesn't turn into harmful anti Semitism.
'Gaza Strike is Not Against Hamas, It's Against Civilization'
Israel in Gaza, US in Iraq and Afghanistan, all a result from the same cause. Our dominant culture is one one that not only allows for, but breeds violence. All for the economic benefit of the elite, all at the expense of society-at-large.
www.NotOneMore.US
Israel is vying for votes and trying to erase its image after the Lebanon loss.
You wont see Israel going toe to toe with Hizbollah again.
Its much easier to drop bombs on a prison. The last time Israel sent tanks into Gaza they got a few surprises.
The IDF is cowardly.
But I agree that Palestinians have no international friends--they have no power, no clout, and unlike the jews and blacks, who could use the Holocaust and Slavery for sympathy votes, arabs didnt have that sort of historical propaganda image.
But they really need to work on their arab neighbours. The lack of arab unity is what is really hurting them.
Especially when Abbas appears and blames Hamas for it.
And sends his forces against its own citizens.
Forget Israel.
As long as Abbas and Dahlan are around, its going to be the same cycle over and over.
Hamas should have blown the Egyptian border wide open instead of helping to reseal it.
Israel is a global embarrassment, a diseased mistake, but if they want to change things for the better, palestinians need to look in their own backyard because its really a mess with their traitorous leaders who seem to care more about israelis being attacked than their own.
Bizarre.
Israel is illegally occupying Palestine and should be held accountable for the crimes they commit against all humanity.
The great irony here is that Israel being illegally established after the carnage of WWII at one time had the sympathy of much the world for having suffered at the hands of the Nazis. Now Israel commits the same crimes against humanity under the false color of law. The United States VP Cheney on Dec 15, 08 admitted to having ordered many of the same crimes against humanity but the Media has either glossed over it; or blatantly ignored it.
The world becomes more dangerous every day and there is little hope for improvement as long as powerful nations like the USA, support and finance illegal activity in their own country and in others (Israel is just one of many, and I would remind the reader that Pinochet was brought to justice, not by Chile, but by Spain---he died before it could be pronounced).
My point, not very ably made I am afraid, is that injustices committed by mankind against mankind are never forgotten as long as there are those who will not let it be forgotten. The Israelis often use the "Holocaust" to strengthen their argument, yet now they commit many of the same atrocities and and receive billions of dollars in support from an even larger and wealthier nation that has a VP that has openly confessed to atrocities. Neither the Israelis or the USA will ever escape the justice that they themselves demanded just sixty years ago.
Join an ever growing number of people who do not participate and will not be silent in these terrible crimes against humanity. Help bring the Bush administration to justice, then Israel will have no other choice but to comply with the example set by their wealthiest supporter; the USA.
Your silence is your consent.
nurembergrevisited@gamil.com
protest in front of jewish center around the globe.
AldoinSF
Wrong strategy, many Jews like Amy Goodman, Noam Chomsky and Norman Finkelstein oppose Israel's crimes. Don't blanket blame Jewish people that is NOT helpful. If you had said protest in front of an Israelis consulate or any pro Zionist organization then I am with you.
Would someone please tell me how it is possible to oppose Israeli atrocities and still support Israel? Or put the other way, how is it possible to support Israel and somehow selectively oppose Israeli atrocities? Israel was founded on violence and racism. The very nature of Israel is racist and violent. This is like saying "We hate your actions but we love you, and we're going to keep right on loving you regardless of how much we oppose your actions." Let's hear one of those progressive intellectual American Jews come out in favor of dismantling Israel and giving that area back to the Arabs. When Goodman, Chomsky and Finkelstein say THAT I'll sit up and listen.
No! I didn't say support Israel, not all Jewish people support Israel and it is disingenuous of you to imply they do. The courageous speaking of truth by Chomsky, Goodman, and Finklestein has raised awareness of Israel's crimes among literally millions of people. And what does your blanket hating on Jews accomplish here on CD? Squat...
And though I shouldn't have to say this I am not Jewish nor am I anti Semitic like you seem to be, but rather I am a poor caucasian leftist opposed to bad POLICY decisions that are crimes and ethical abominations by Israel's government.
The world witnesses a genocide in real time and sits with their thumbs up their collective arses. The sad thing is that the ME leadership are all in on this as their position in power is directly tied to towing washington and london lines which are collectively towing the zionist line.
And they are going to continue doing just that because Palestine means nothing to the rest of the nations of the world. They don't produce science, industry, technology, art or anything else. Israel does. Every country on the face of the earth does business with Israel and none of them is going to do a damned thing to stop them from cleaning up the trash in Gaza.
Palestine broke the cease fire, now they collect their reward. Israel can go on like this for months. This progressive is happy to watch them actually do something that might force Hamas into peace.
Remember, come back in a week. NO country will have done ANYTHING substantive for Gaza. None.
That's funny. When I attended CSUN back in the eighties, there were many Palestinians pursuing engineering and other types of degrees. Must have been figments of my imagination.
Are you a proud racist fascist Goose Step or does it bring you secret shame? Genocide as you advocate didn't do your people any favors did it?
You know why that is the case? it is because the US backs this atrocity. And the US also backs the dictators in the ME. The US is pretty much owned by the zionists. Half your governing people in the beltway are jews or are dependent on the AIPAC lobby for their job and wealth. Piss on AIPAC and your career is in the shitters.
No, the ME has a long memory. Unlike most Americans who have an attention span of a gnat. Hizbullah proved that the mighty IDF is not invincible. Watch for indirect retaliation. I have no sympathy of the racist apartheid govt of Israel. And they deserve every misery that will be coming their way.