And Israel shall be safe again

[Mr_Jefferson_24]

By Ramzy Baroud
Online Journal Contributing Writer

http://onlinejournal.com/artman/publish/article_966.shtml

<snip>

Fed up the with the Palestinian response – or lack thereof - Israeli officials coupled their scare tactics with menacing, specific threats, with a bottom line that no Palestinian was immune from Israeli targeted assassinations. Indeed, they lived up to their words.

In an interesting turn of events, Hamas won the parliamentary elections in January in an astounding display of transparency and democratic process. John Hughes of the Christian Science Monitor echoed the mainstream media line that something went horribly wrong in the Middle East and that the “Hamas victory is a setback” to whatever imaginary peace process Hughes knows of.

Comforted by the unconditional support of the US government, Israel’s violent intimidation and scare tactics became much more abound. This time however, the Israeli war on the Palestinians became an extension of an international one, led by the United States along with the ever-compliant United Nations and European Union. While Western donors held back their aid to the point of creating a humanitarian catastrophe in the Occupied Territories, the US led a campaign of political coercion – in a rare display of unity between Democrats and Republicans and all of “Israel’s friends” in the media.

Western media quickly coined various mantras to justify why ordinary Palestinians must suffer for choosing a parliament in a democratic election: because Hamas refuses to recognize Israel and renounces violence, among other pretexts that seem to fit so well in Israel’s political agenda. Top Israeli government advisor Dov Weissglas, optimistic as he had always been, wished to see the humor in starving Palestinians. “is like an appointment with a dietician. The Palestinians will get a lot thinner, but they won't starve to death."...

[Tom Joad]

1. Note to Dov. Some of the children are dying. Still, Palestinians resist

occupation and dispossession.

[applegrove]

2. Still. You have to admit that copying Iraqi style kidnappings is a new

tactic.. one garnered from terrorists outside of the Israel Palestine fight. One that would inevitably result in absolute attack by Israel. Was predictable. So you do have to ask.. after Israel stopped suicide bombing tactics with a wall.. and was searching for peace that way.. what were the terrorist in Palestine thinking? The same thing that the Israel nutbars are thinking.. "NO PEACE".

[Tom Joad]

3. Israel has been kidnapping for decades. 9,000 prisoners. 300 of them

children.

[acmavm]

4. Why point that out? Some people love to live in their fantasy worlds.

It's just so uncomplicated that way.

[applegrove]

5. This particular type of kidnapping is Iraqi or Taliban or al Qaeda in

origine. One used for terrorism and the fear it creates. Not like the kidnappings of old. They don't want anything. They just want to terrorize.

There is a difference.

[Tom Joad]

6. Capturing an oppenents soldier was invented by al-Qaeda?

Seems like a strategy that way predates al-Qaeda.

They don't want anything? Then why the stated demands that Israel release Palestinian prisoners?
More to the point, why does Israel keep Palestinian children locked up?

[Englander]

7. There's nothing new about this tactic.

Irgun were in the business of kidnapping soldiers & using them as hostages, there was a particularly
notorious incident involving two sergeants from British army intelligence corps, I won't give the
details of what happened to those two since it's very horrific, but anyone can find the historical
details of that incident.

Yesterday in the Guardian there was a piece about the Suez war, & an incident where a soldier was
kidnapped;

http://www.guardian.co.uk/egypt/story/0,,1814037,00.html

[pelsar]

8. point out the obvious

the irgun wasnt the govt....hamas is the govt...hamas and others have captured an israeli soldier capturing soldiers is what happens in wars....

its probably best for all if they simply return the soldier...declaring war on israel was not the smartest thing to do.