Neuste Hintergrundinformationen zu den aktuellen Verteidigungsmaßnahmen, die der Staat Israel unternimmt, um seine Bürger vor dem ständigen Raketenbeschuß der Hamas zu schützen…

1. ESCALATION IN THE SOUTH – KEY FACTS ABOUT THE CURRENT OPERATION…
   
   

   1. The reason: Ongoing and insufferable terrorist fire on a quarter of a million Israeli citizens.
      Hamas recently decided to completely break the truce that was brokered by
      Egypt. Just in the past few days, Hamas and its partners fired hundreds of rockets and mortar shells at Israeli population centers in southern Israel. Following a period of maximum restraint on Israel’s part and an attempt to return to the calm, the situation mandates military action for the sake of defending our citizens and giving them a normal life. A quarter of a million Israeli citizens have been under incessant terror attacks from the Gaza Strip with thousands of missiles fired over the past eight years. No country in the world would be willing to accept this kind of onslaught on its citizens.
      

          

   2. The goal: To give a major blow to Hamas‘ terror infrastructure and protect our citizens.
      As the military action is intended to defend the residents of the State of Israel, its goal is to heavily strike the growing infrastructure of terror and the ability of Hamas and its allied organizations to launch missiles and mortar shells at Israeli citizens and execute terror attacks of various kinds, such as kidnapping Israeli civilians. If Hamas would renounce the path of terror, there would be no need for the action. As we have stated repeatedly – quiet will be answered with quiet, but terror will elicit a response.

       

   3. The responsibility: The deterioration in the situation is the direct result of Hamas policy. It violated the calm, is firing against and attacking Israeli citizens, and is investing all its resources in arming itself and gathering power.

      The truce agreement brokered by Egypt was exploited by Hamas not only to employ terror against Israel’s citizens but also to gain strength and massively arm itself with weapons and means of warfare, with the intention of increasing their capacity for terror and expand the range of the threat against Israeli citizens. This takes the form of smuggling in and manufacturing thousands of rockets and mortar shells of various kinds and diameters, including antitank and antiaircraft rockets, and a distinct effort to increase the range of the rockets and their warheads, smuggling in and manufacturing dozens of tons of explosives, charges, and weaponry – machine guns, light weapons and ammunition, preparing an extensive underground system of tunnels for smuggling and combat purposes, training fighters in Iran and Syria, raising massive funding to finance terrorist activity, and allying themselves with international terrorist organizations. Israel cannot allow the establishment of an organization similar to Hezbollah on its southern border. The residents of Gaza are hostages to Hamas‘ extremist agenda.

       

   4. The government will use all tools at its disposal to provide essential services to residents in the south.
      The Home Front Command, the government ministries, the local authorities and the security, emergency and rescue forces are all prepared for immediate action. The ongoing war on terror requires stamina and endurance from Israel’s citizens, despite the inherent difficulties. The policy of all the administrations has always been that „we will not overprotect ourselves.“ The government has invested some two billion shekels in protection, but no one really thinks that every civilian can be protected.

       

   5. The government trusts the IDF to deal Hamas a severe blow.
      The Israel Defense Forces is prepared for action and has excellent operational and command capabilities, and excellent combat soldiers. We must let the army do its work and leave it out of the political dispute being waged especially these days.
      

   6. Additional Information:

       

      1. Israel does not want a humanitarian crisis. The Hamas authority in the Gaza Strip is the only cause of the suffering and distress of the population there and the deterioration in their situation. Just a few days ago, Hamas prevented humanitarian supplies from being brought in from Egypt to Gaza. For purposes of comparison: in the first months of the calm, 17,000 trucks entered Gaza, as opposed to 9,000 (almost double) in an identical time span before the truce.

          

      2. The terrorist organization work out of the Palestinian population centers and cynically exploit them, so the responsibility for Palestinian civilians getting hurt rests on their shoulders. Israel for its part directs its activity at the terrorist elements and does its utmost to refrain from harming the innocent. Hamas brings women and children up to the roofs of buildings housing terrorist activity in an attempt to prevent air strikes; it sends civilians to the line of fire; it works out of schools and mosques; it fires rockets out of crowded population centers; and it sends Palestinian mothers to murder Israeli children in suicide attacks. Omar Fathi Hamad, a Hamas member of parliament said in a television interview (Feb. 2008), „The Palestinian people has developed its own methods of killing…it has become an industry…it has turned women, children, and old people into human shields.“

          

      3. Most of the countries in the world and the United Nations have pronounced Hamas to be a terrorist organization, and they are boycotting all contact with it. We expect the world’s nations to support Israel’s war against this terror organization and even join the campaign. Even Arab leaders testify to this: Palestinian President Abu Mazen recently said in an interview that Hamas helped Al Qaeda enter Gaza, and the president of Egypt expressed a fear that „due to the situation in the Strip, we actually have a border with Iran.“

          

      4. At the same time it is fighting terror, the Israeli government is deliberately and openly maintaining a political process with the elected Palestinian government headed by President Abu Mazen and Prime Minister Fayyad. Hamas opposes these negotiations and any settlement with Israel, and constitutes an unstable element in the region.

          

      5. Israel is prepared and ready to respond harshly to any attack or provocation by any factor in the region. This is a fight between Israel and terrorist elements acting against Israel’s citizens, so there is no cause for any outside party to intervene.

          

      6. Israel completely withdrew from the Gaza Strip in 2005, to enable Palestinians to live their lives in peace alongside Israel. In the disengagement, Israel evacuated all its settlements and military bases, and 9,000 residents who lived in the area. But since then Hamas took control of the region and is subjecting Israeli citizens to rocket attacks inside sovereign Israeli territory, in flagrant violation of international law.

          

      7. The situation of Israeli citizens in the south is intolerable. The Hosen Center in Sderot recently reported the spread of developmental problems among children living in the area, such as speech difficulties, fear of sleeping alone, juvenile diabetes, hair falling out, and more. The reality of real life is expressed in the descriptions of journalists who visited the city: 7-year-old Sagi will only agree to go to sleep in his parents‘ bed, 8-year-old Yanai bought a first-aid kit with money he saved up, 9-year-old Neria has nightmares that her parents will be killed, children are scared to go to the bathroom for fear they will not make it to the shelter in the 15 seconds given by the warning system. The first words of Alon, two years old, were „red“ and „boom.“ The trauma centers report high stress among children and adults alike. The residents do not use the seat belts in their cars, so they can get out quickly in case of attack. They never change radio stations lest they miss a warning. Schools have become „concrete monsters,“ in some of which the children do not see daylight all day long.

      8. Hamas belongs to the school of extremist elements espousing violence, such as Iran, Syria, Hezbollah, Al Qaeda, the World Jihad, and others. This is manifested in instructions to carry out terror, training and drills, smuggling means of warfare, supplying monies, etc. In an interview with the Sunday Times published on March 9, 2008, a Hamas official related, „The Iranian Revolutionary Guards have been training Hamas operatives in Tehran ever since Israel withdrew from the Gaza Strip…in field warfare tactics and weaponry. The operatives come into the Strip with skills they have acquired in advanced technologies, rocket firing, setting off charges, sharpshooting and other tactics similar to those used by Hezbollah.“
         
         

2. Statement Diaspora Affairs Adviser to the Prime Minister…
   1.           Hamas unilaterally suspended the Egyptian-brokered truce with Israel, launching hundreds of rockets at civilian targets in southern Israel over the past week.  Israel has exercised maximum restraint, but – after eight years of missile barrages from Gaza – must come to the defense of the 250,000 Israelis living within range of Hamas attack.  Any other sovereign nation would do the same.
   2.           Under cover of the truce, Hamas engaged in a major campaign to upgrade its terrorist capabilities, manufacturing and smuggling massive quantities of weapons into Gaza – including rockets, explosive charges and machine guns – and constructing a network of underground tunnels for combat purposes.  Israel cannot acquiesce to the presence of a Hizballah-like organization on its southern border.   
   3.          The objective of the IDF operation is to cripple the terrorist infrastructure in Gaza, impairing the ability of Hamas and its allies to launch attacks on the citizens of Israel; IDF action would have been unnecessary had Hamas abandoned the path of terror.  Israel is engaged in self-defense, and will respond assertively to any provocation by other parties in the region.       
   4.           Hamas belongs to the „A“ League of extremism, alongside Iran, Syria, Al Qaida and Hizballah.  The United Nations and a majority of its member states have designated Hamas a terrorist organization and will not engage in any contact with its representatives.  Israel expects the international community to lend its support to the war on Hamas terror.              
   5.            Israel has done everything possible to avert any humanitarian crisis in Gaza, allowing for the regular entry of supplies and international aid.  In fact, just last week, it was Hamas that acted to prevent the delivery of humanitarian assistance from Egypt.
   6.            While the IDF takes pains to direct its activities exclusively against terrorists, Hamas callously places Palestinian civilians in harm’s way – positioning its forces inside schools and houses of worship, and launching attacks from crowded areas.  The unintentional injury of any civilians in Gaza is the sole responsibility of Hamas. 
   7.            Hamas objections notwithstanding, the Government of Israel will continue its pursuit of peace with the Palestinian people, led by President Abbas and Prime Minister Fayyad.  Israel withdrew from the Gaza Strip in 2005 precisely to further this goal, but Hamas seized control of Gaza, turning the area into a launch pad for terrorism against Israel.
   
   
3. PHOTOS…
   Web site with photos concerning the attacks in the South.
   www.israelnewsphotos.com
   
    
   1. Netivot – 2008-12-27
        
       
      Pictures Courtesy of Yehuda Peretz for The Israel Project

   2. Ashkelon – Barzilay Hospital – 2008-12-27
      Palestinian and Israeli families underground [im Keller] in the Barzilay Hospital in Ashkelon…
       
       
       
       
       
      
      Pictures Courtesy of Edi Israel
      
      
4. MFA – Israel strikes back against Hamas terror infrastructure in Gaza
   
   Hamas base and training camp in central Gaza (IDF Spokesperson)
   The IDF has attacked dozens of targets affiliated with the Hamas terror organization in the Gaza Strip: command centers, training camps, various Hamas installations, rocket manufacturing facilities and storage warehouses.
   • Video: Hamas launches rockets, Israel supplies humanitarian aid
   •  Video of PM Olmert press conference
   •  IDF strikes underground missile launching pad in residential area in Gaza

5. MFA – Emergency instructions for civilian population within range of rocket fire
   The firing of rockets at Israeli communities surrounding the Gaza Strip is expected to continue over the next few days, and may expand to additional area. Therefore, residents are requested to follow directions for preparing a protected room and act in accordance with the instructions at the sound of an alarm, an explosion, or a „Color Red“ alert.
   Residents of villages adjacent to the security fence are asked to remain within shelters tomorrow, in close proximity to protected areas, and are requested not to assemble in groups.
   All schools and commercial centers will remain closed, with the exception of vital services, such as medical centers, grocery stores and public transit will operate on a limited schedule.
   Residents in the rest of the villages within range of up to ten km of the Gaza security fence are directed to ensure that they are no more than fifteen seconds from a protected area. Public gatherings in this perimeter are forbidden….
   
   
6. IDF – 4 progressive photos of an attack on underground bunker…
    
     
   
   • The video version of the same attack can be seen at:
     http://switch3.castup.net/cunet/gm.asp?ai=58&ar=UndergroundLaunchingPad-View&ak=null
     • Note the path of the Hamas missile that misfired as a result of the attack.
       
       
7. Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center at the Israel Intelligence Heritage & Commemoration Center (IICC) – Escalation in attacks from the Gaza Strip as Hamas announces the end of the lull arrangement
   
   

   Family in front of its ruined house in the village of Tequma, not far from the city of Netivot (Gil Cohen Magen for Reuters, December 24).		Adults comforting children terrified by rocket attack in Ashqelon (Amir Cohen for Reuters, December 24).

   Overview
   1. On December 24, five days after the lull arrangement ended, the cities of Ashqelon , Netivot and Sderot, the towns and villages near the Gaza Strip, the crossings and IDF bases were subjected to a massive rocket and mortar shell attack. At least 60 rockets and mortar shells were fired, most of them by Hamas . It was the heaviest barrage in since the lull arrangement went into effect six months ago. Dozens of civilians were treated for shock and there was extensive property damage.
   2. Hamas’s excuse for the attack was the killing of three of its operatives, shot by IDF forces to prevent them from placing an IED near the village of Netiv Ha’asara , north of the Gaza Strip, on the evening of December 23. In our assessment, however, Hamas’s real purpose behind the barrage (and behind threats to increase the number of shells fired and to resume suicide bombing attacks ) was to change the rules of engagement in the post-lull period. As part of the change, Hamas’s intentions are to restrict Israel ’s freedom of action and response by exacting a high price every time the IDF successfully prevents an terrorist attack, and to force Israel to open the Gaza Strip crossings even when all the terrorist organizations bombard Israel with rocket and mortar shell fire….
   

8. President’s Spokesperson – Statement by President Shimon Peres on IDF operation in Gaza (Communicated by the President’s Spokesperson)

   This morning, President Shimon Peres made a special statement to the media regarding Operation Cast Lead (Israel’s attack on the Hamas terror infrastructure in Gaza) and the ongoing Palestinian rocket fire on civilian areas in southern Israel: 

   It is the first time in the history of Israel that we, the Israelis, cannot understand the motives or the purposes of the ones who are shooting at us. It is the most unreasonable war, done by the most unreasonable warriors.

   The story is simple. Israel has left Gaza completely, out of our own free will, at a high cost. In Gaza there is no single Israeli civilian or soldier. They were evacuated from Gaza, our settlements, which called for a very expensive cost. We had to mobilize 45,000 policemen to take out our settlers from there. We spent $2.5 billion. The passages were open. Money was sent to Gaza. We suggested aid in many ways – economically, medically, and otherwise. We were very careful not to make the lives of the civilian people in Gaza difficult. Still I have not heard until now a single person who could explain to us reasonably: why are they firing rockets against Israel? What are the reasons? What is the purpose?

   And I must say also that the phenomenon about Israel is the restraint of the army and the unity of the people. The army waited and waited; the Palestinians asked for a ceasefire, and we agreed. They themselves have violated the ceasefire. Again, we didn’t know why, until it came to a point where we were left without a choice but to bring an end to it. The operation was planned carefully and the army was true to its principles: namely, to be precise in its targets and careful not to hit civilian life. There is a problem because many of the bombs were stored in private houses. We have contacted the owners of the houses, the people that dwell there, and told them leave it. You can’t live with bombs. We have to bring an end to the source of the bombs.

   Israel doesn’t have any ambition in Gaza. We left out of our free choice. We have never gone back to the idea of returning to Gaza. It’s over. But we cannot permit that Gaza will become a permanent base of threatening and even killing children and innocent people in Israel for God knows why. I feel that in our hearts, we don’t have any hatred for the Gazan people. Their suffering doesn’t carry any joy in our hearts. On the contrary, we feel that the better they will have it, better neighbors we shall have. Now that Hamas is turning to the Arab world for help, the truth is that the Arab world has to turn to Hamas for the help of Hamas. If Hamas will stop it, there is no need for any help. Everything can come again to normalcy. Passages: open; economic life: free; no Israeli intervention; no Israeli participation in any of the turnarounds in Gaza.

   As a nation, we feel united. As a nation, there is wholehearted support for the army, the way they handled it, their restraint, their discrimination, and their responsibility. The great winner can be reason, and reason will lead to peace. We are very serious, in a serious mood. Many of our children are still in the shelters, and we would like them, like the children of Gaza, to breathe fresh air again. This is the story, and whoever asks us to stop shooting – they have to change the address. Let them turn to Hamas and ask them to stop shooting, and there won’t be shooting. Thank you very much.

   
    

9. HC – VIDEO: So kann es doch nicht weitergehen…

    

10. HC – VIDEO: Merry Christmas, Israel…
    
    
    

11. HONEST REPORTING –
    Israeli citizens have been under the threat of daily attack from Gaza for years.
    Only this week – hundreds of missiles and mortars shells were fired at Israeli civilian communities including the firing of 80 missiles on a single day.
    See how the international media is reporting on these events.
    
    

    
     

12. Vorstand von SPME-Germany  – Presse-Erklaerung:  Die deutsche und österreichische Sektion der  Organisation „Akademiker für Frieden im Nahen Osten“ (Scholars for Peace in the Middle East – www.spme.net) bekräftigen Israels Recht auf Selbstverteidigung 
    Seit seinem Rückzug aus dem Gazastreifen musste Israel nahezu 6000 Raketenangriffen auf sein international anerkanntes Territorium hinnehmen. Auch während des vor sechs Monaten vereinbarten Waffenstillstandes erfolgten Raketenangriffe auf Zivilisten in Israel. Israels Regierung  verhielt sich bemerkenswert zurückhaltend, um Opfer unter der Zivilbevölkerung zu vermeiden. Israel hat sich bis zuletzt bereiterklärt, checkpoints zu öffnen, um materielle Güter nach Gaza bringen zu lassen.  
    Nachdem die Hamas den Waffenstillstand beendet, die Vereinbarung eines neuen Waffenstillstands abgelehnt und den Raketenbeschuss auf Israel radikal intensiviert hatte, blieb Israel keine andere Wahl, als die Hamas mit gezielten Verteidigungsmaßnahmen davon abzuhalten, weiterhin Raketen auf israelisches Staatsgebiet, insbesondere auf die Städte Sderot, Ashkelon und Beersheeva, abzufeuern. 
    Die Hamas verfolgt mit ihren Angriffen das erklärte Ziel,  die Israelis aus Israel zu vertreiben 
    Die israelischen Streitkräfte verfolgen mit ihren Präventivangriffen das Ziel, die inakzeptable tödliche Herausforderung durch die Hamas zu beenden. 
    Unter Verletzung der Genfer Konvention missbraucht die Hamas Zivilisten als Schutzschilde, indem sie ihre Abschussvorrichtungen in dicht bevölkerten Gebieten versteckt und damit  zivile Opfer unvermeidlich macht. Deshalb trägt die Hamas die Verantwortung, wenn jetzt auch unschuldige Zivilisten getötet werden. 
    Israel hat ausdrücklich erklärt, dass es seine derzeit notwendigen Selbstverteidigungsmaßnahmen beenden wird, sobald auch die Raketenangriffe und andere tödliche Bedrohungen gegen Israel aus Gaza beendet werden. 
    Der Vorstand von SPME-Germany 
    Prof. Dr. Diethard Pallaschke 
    Dr. Elvira Grözinger 
    Dr. Matthias Küntzel 
    RA Stefanie Galla 
    Prof. Dr. Ralf Schumann 
    Dr. Karl-Ernst Roehl 
    Dipl-Pol. Jörg Rensmann

13. PMW –  Mahmoud Abbas: Hamas responsible for violence 

    In a news conference today from Cairo, Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas placed the blame for the violence in the Gaza Strip squarely on the shoulders of Hamas. He described how he repeatedly made contact with Hamas and implored them not to break the ceasefire. He lamented that the violence in the Gaza Strip could have been avoided had Hamas not broken the ceasefire.
    The following is Mahmoud Abbas’s statement at a joint press conference with Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmad Abu al-Gheit.
    „I say in all honesty, we made contact with leaders of the Hamas movement in the Gaza Strip. We spoke with them in all honesty and directly, and after that we spoke with them indirectly, through more than one Arab and non-Arab side… We spoke with them on the telephone and we said to them: We ask of you, don’t stop the ceasefire, the ceasefire must continue and not stop, in order to avoid what has happened, and if only we had avoided it.“
    PA TV Dec. 28, 2008

    
    

    1. REUTERS – Abbas: Palästinenser hätten Gaza-Offensive verhindern können
       Kairo (Reuters) – Palästinenser-Präsident Mahmud Abbas hat der radikalen Hamas die Hauptschuld an der Gewalteskalation im Gazastreifen gegeben.
       Die palästinensische Seite hätte die israelische Offensive verhindern können, wenn sie sich an den Waffenstillstand mit Israel gehalten hätte, sagte Abbas am Sonntag in Kairo. „Wir haben mit ihnen gesprochen und gesagt ‚Wir bitten euch, haltet euch an den Waffenstillstand’… also, wir hätten es verhindern können“, sagte Abbas mit Blick auf die innerpalästinensischen Gespräche zwischen Fatah und Hamas. Abbas gehört der moderateren Fatah-Bewegung an, die seit dem Umsturz im Gazastreifen durch die radikal-islamische Hamas nur noch das Westjordanland kontrolliert.
       Die Hamas hatte in den vergangenen Tagen wiederholt Raketen vom Gazastreifen auf Israel abgefeuert. Als Reaktion startete das israelische Militär am Samstag die schwerste Offensive gegen den Küstenstreifen seit Bestehen des jüdischen Staats. Dabei wurden nach palästinensischen Angaben mehr als 270 Menschen getötet. In Israel starb ein Mann beim Einschlag einer Rakete.
       • JP – Abbas: Hamas could’ve prevented ‚massacre‘
         
         

14. PMW – Hamas celebrates targeting Israeli civilians – Al-Aqsa TV (Hamas), Dec. 28, 2008
    Along with today’s TV propaganda in which Hamas depicts itself as a victim, Hamas continues to portray itself as the heroic killer of Israelis.

    A video on Hamas TV this morning blended pictures of Hamas fighters shooting at Israel with pictures of injured Israelis and medical evacuation scenes.
    In addition, the visuals include pictures of skulls dripping with blood, captioned: „Let them taste violent death“.
    Other narrations and texts include:
    „Send them to Hell! Tear them to pieces!“
    „Send them to Hell, Qassam missile!“
    Click here to view the Hamas video clip
     
    Click here to view the Hamas video clip
     

15. PMW –  Hamas TV: Ahmadinejad threatens Israel over Gaza events

    Hamas TV reported that Iranian President Ahmadinejad threatened Israel in response to Israel’s attack on Hamas. 
    The Hamas TV news ticker reported numerous times:
    „The President of Iran [Ahmadinejad]: These crimes will not change the Zionist entity’s condition. Rather, its situation will be even blacker and its fate even worse.“
    Iran’s support of the Hamas is not surprising as Hamas is a major supplier of weapons for Hamas and Hamas military units have undergone training in Iran.

    Hamas TV,  Dec. 28, 2008  

16. PMW – Hamas TV: 180 killed are from Hamas armed forces – Among those killed Hamas Police Commander, Tawfik Jaber

    Hamas TV acknowledged this morning that the vast majority of those killed are from the Hamas military. A news ticker running repeatedly from 10:00 AM announced:

    „More than 180 Palestinian policemen were killed including the [Police] Commander, General Tawfik Jaber.“

    In the background Hamas TV is repeatedly broadcasting the same scenes of dozens of bodies of the uniformed Hamas soldiers who were killed in Israel’s first attack yesterday when Israel hit the Hamas officer’s course graduation ceremony.

    Hamas TV,  Dec. 28, 2008

17. MEDIEN BACKSPIN – Hamas verhindert Behandlung der Verwundeten von Gaza – Posted 28. Dezember 2008 by heplev
    honestreporting.com Media BackSpin, 28. Dezember 2008
    Die Hamas lässt verhindert, dass verletzte Palästinenser medizinische Versorgung in Ägypten erhalten. Reuters zitiert den ägyptischen Außenminister:
    „Wir waren darauf, dass die Palästinenser herüberkommen. Ihnen wird nicht erlaubt zu kommen“, sagte er Reportern. Auf die Frage, wer dafür verantwortlich sei, sagte er: „Fragen Sie die Partei, die den Gazastreifen kontrolliert.“
    Beschwert sich die Hamas nicht immer, dass die Grenzen geschlossen seien…?
    [Anmerkung heplev: HRs Redakteur hatte sich offenbar im Original ein wenig mit der Richtung

18. MEDIEN BACKSPIN – Gaza-Krieg: 4 Medien-Mythen, vor denen man sich hüten sollte  – Posted 28. Dezember 2008
    honestreporting.com Media BackSpin, 27. Dezember 2008 
    Israel wehrt sich jetzt im Gazastreifen wehrt. Deswegen hier vier Medien-Mythen, auf die man aufpassen sollte:
    Mythos 1: Israels Antwort auf die Raketen ist unverhältnismäßig und unangemessen.
    Wenn man die Reaktion auf einen Feind im Krieg messen will, dann überlegt man nicht einfach nur die Menge an Streitkräften, die nötig ist, um die unmittelbare Bedrohung zu beenden. Man wägt die Notwendigkeit ab vor zukünftigen Angriffen abzuschrecken. Alles, was weniger ist, sorgt für einen Abnutzungskrieg. Richard Cohen von der Washington Post fasste das 2006 am besten zusammen:
    Für Israel, ein kleines Land, leicht zu erreichen, wie wir feststellen werden, für eine Rakete, die aus dem Garten eines Feindes abgeschossen wird, ist Proportionalität nicht nur nicht anwendbar, sie ist Selbstmord… Es reicht nicht aus, diese oder jene Raketen-Batterie auszuschalten. Man muss die Abschreckung wiederherstellen: Wenn du mich schlägst,, dann werde ich dir das Licht ausknipsen.
    Mythos 2: Die Hamas will nur die Belagerung des Gazastreifens brechen.
    Äh, Raketen sind seit 2001 vom Gazastreifen aus abgeschossen worden. Sie wurden auf Israel sowohl vor als auch nach dem Abzug geschossen. Sie wurden in Zeiten geschossen, als die PA den Gazastreifen „kontrollierte“ und sie sind verschossen worden, seit die Hamas die Macht übernahm. So ziemlich jeder Vorwand ist als vernünftiger Grund zum Abfeuern von Raketen nach Israel gewesen.
    Mythos 3: Das ist eine Eskalation im „Kreislauf der Gewalt“.
    Wenn man wirklich glaubt, dass die Kämpfe zwischen Israel und dem Gazastreifen einfach ein „Kreislauf der Gewalt“ ist, dann wird man diese Denkweise so zu ihrer logischen Schlussfolgerung bringen, wie es der Economist im März tat:
    In den vorher gehenden Wochen war der Schlagabtausch palästinensischer Raketen und israelischer Raketenangriffe auf den Gazastreifen, bei dem Ursache und Wirkung in ein nahtloses Kontinuum übergingen, intensiviert worden.
    „Kreisläufe“ und „nahtloses Kontinuum“ haben keine klaren Anfänge oder Enden. Das Wasser zu trüben macht es den Beobachtern draußen schwieriger eine sich ständig verändernde Lage zu beurteilen, was den Bösen nutzt ihre Raketen zu schießen. Der Sprachgebrauch ermutigt zu weiterem Terror.
    Mythos 4: Die Kamera lügt nicht.
    Doch, sie lügt. Palästinensische Journalisten haben von der Hamas ausgegebene Presseausweise, so wie jeder andere Stringer, auf die die westlichen Zeitungen sich verlassen. Lenny David bringt bereit auf, dass bei der AP Fauxtographie vorliegt.

19. BLICK AUF DIE WELT – Raketenreichweite 
    Veröffentlicht in Dezember 28, 2008 von beer7 
    Heute sind die ersten Gradraketen im Raum Ashdod niedergegangen, 40 km vom Gazastreifen entfernt. Beer Sheva liegt im selben Radius vom Gazastreifen entfernt. Wir haben bisher kein Flugblatt des Heimatschutzes (Pikud HaOrev) bekommen.
    Eigentlich rechne ich nicht damit, dass Raketen auf uns abgefeuert werden. Das Land ist in der Wueste viel duenner besiedelt als in der Kuestenregion. Bei der Zielungenauigket der Raketen macht es fuer Hamas und Konsorten mehr Sinn, ihre Raketen nach Norden zu richten als nach Osten. Die Chancen, dass irgendetwas getroffen wird, sind einfach besser.
    Ich vertraue auch darauf, dass die Hamas schon ziemlich aus dem letzten Loch pfeift, nie viele Langstreckenrakten besass und kaum noch dazu kommen wird, noch viele abzuschiessen.
    Ein eigenartiges Gefuehl ist es aber doch, sich nun innerhalb der Raketenreichweite zu wissen.
    

20. COP SONDERAUSGABE…

    1. News Resources – North America, Europe, and Asia:

       
       

       1. Israel Retaliates for Gaza Rocket Fire – Samuel Sockol
          Israeli planes pounded Hamas installations across the Gaza Strip on Saturday in retaliation for rocket attacks from Gaza into Israel. At least 225 Palestinians were killed and more than 400 wounded. Palestinians in Gaza had fired more than 60 rockets and mortar shells into southern Israel on Wednesday and more than 80 on Thursday, sowing fear in Israeli towns. (Washington Post)

       2. Rice: U.S. Holds Hamas Responsible for Gaza Violence
          The United States holds Hamas „responsible“ for the renewal of deadly violence in Gaza after the Islamist group broke its ceasefire with Israel, Secretary of State Rice said Saturday. „We strongly condemn the repeated rocket and mortar attacks against Israel and hold Hamas responsible for breaking the ceasefire and for the renewal of violence there.“ The six-month ceasefire, which Hamas said last week it would not renew, „must be restored immediately and fully respected,“ she said. On the day the truce expired, she warned that renewed violence against Israel by Hamas would only hurt the Palestinians, and that the movement „needs to concentrate on turning away from violence.“ (AFP)
              See also White House Puts Onus on Hamas to End Escalation of Violence – Robert Pear
          The Bush administration issued blistering criticism of Hamas on Saturday, saying the group had provoked Israel’s airstrikes on Gaza by firing rockets into southern Israel. Gordon D. Johndroe, a White House spokesman, said that Hamas, the group that controls Gaza, was responsible for the outbreak of violence and called its rocket attacks „completely unacceptable. These people are nothing but thugs,“ he said. „Israel is going to defend its people against terrorists like Hamas.“
              During the presidential campaign, Mr. Obama made statements that sounded similar to those issued by the Bush administration on Saturday. „If somebody was sending rockets into my house where my two daughters sleep at night, I’m going to do everything in my power to stop that,“ Mr. Obama said in July. „And I would expect Israelis to do the same thing.“ (New York Times)
              See also Britain and U.S. Refuse to Demand End to Israeli Airstrikes on Gaza – Nicola Smith (Times-UK)

       3. UN Security Council Calls on Israel, Palestinians to Halt Violence – Purnell Murdock
          The UN Security Council Sunday called for an immediate halt to all violence in Gaza amid ongoing Israeli airstrikes that followed days of rocket and mortar attacks on Israel by Palestinian militants. (VOA News)
              See also Israel Defends Gaza Operation to UN – Jonny Paul
          Israeli UN Ambassador Gabriela Shalev on Saturday defended Israel’s decision to embark on a military operation in Gaza to put an end to Palestinian rocket attacks. In an urgent letter to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the head of the UN Security Council, Shalev wrote that Hamas „holds the sole responsibility for the latest events.“ Israel „has exhausted all means and efforts to reach and maintain quiet and to respect the state of calm….No country would allow continuous rocketing of its civilian population without taking the necessary actions to stop it.“ (Jerusalem Post)
              See also below Observations: The Operation in Gaza – Prime Minister Ehud Olmert (Prime Minister’s Office)

       4. Abbas: Hamas Could Have Avoided Gaza Raids – Alaa Shahine
          Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas said on Sunday in Cairo that Hamas could have avoided the Israeli attacks on Gaza. „We talked to them and we told them ‚please, we ask you, do not end the truce. Let the truce continue and not stop‘ so that we could have avoided what happened,“ he said. (Reuters)
              See also Egypt: Hamas Responsible for Israeli Response – Roee Nahmias
          At a press conference Saturday, Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit held Hamas responsible for Israel’s military action in Gaza, saying that „Egypt warned for a long time, and someone who ignores warnings is responsible for the outcome.“ Earlier, Gheit had said, „we suspected this would happen. Hamas didn’t stop shooting rockets at Israel.“ (Ynet News)
              See also Egypt: Hamas Denying Gaza Wounded Treatment in Egypt – Alaa Shahine
          Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit said on Sunday that Hamas was not allowing Palestinians wounded in Israel’s attacks on Gaza to cross into Egypt for treatment. „We are waiting for the wounded Palestinians to cross. They are not being allowed to cross,“ he said. Asked who was to blame, he said: „Ask the party in control on the ground in Gaza.“ Hamas has been in control in Gaza since June 2007. (Reuters)

       5. Palestinian Rocket Falls Short, Kills Girls in Gaza – Sheera Frenkel
          Two Palestinian girls died Friday when militants in Gaza bombarded southern Israel with homemade rockets and mortars, one of which fell short and hit the victims‘ home. (Times-UK)

    2. News Resources – Israel and the Mideast:

       
       

       1. Three Top Hamas Officers Killed in Airstrikes on Gaza – Yoav Stern
          Three senior Hamas officers were killed in the Israeli air raid on Gaza on Saturday: Tawfik Jabber, commander of Hamas‘ police force; his adjutant, Ismail al-Ja’abri, commander of the defense and security directorate; and Abu-Ahmad Ashur, Hamas‘ Gaza central district governor. (Ha’aretz)

       2. Palestinian Rocket Hits Netivot; One Israeli Killed, Five Wounded – Ilana Curiel
          Beber Vaaknin, 58, was killed and five other Israelis were wounded after a rocket fired from Gaza hit an apartment building in Netivot. At least 10 rockets were fired toward Netivot. (Ynet News)
              See also Video: Rocket Attack on Netivot (YouTube)
              See also Palestinian Rockets Hit Ashdod, Ashkelon
          Two rockets fired by Palestinians in Gaza on Sunday exploded near Ashdod, about 38 kilometers from Gaza. At least three rockets exploded in Ashkelon. (Ha’aretz)
              See also Map: The Increasing Range of Palestinian High-Trajectory Fire Against Israeli Cities and Towns (Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center/Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs)

    3. Global Commentary and Think-Tank Analysis (Best of U.S., UK, and Israel):

       
       

       1. Israel Must Defend Its Citizens – Amos Oz
          The systematic bombing of the citizens in Israel’s towns and cities is a war crime and a crime against humanity. The State of Israel must defend its citizens. It is obvious to everyone that the Israeli government does not wish to enter Gaza; the government would rather continue the ceasefire that Hamas violated and finally revoked. But the suffering of the citizens surrounding Gaza cannot go on.
              Hamas is actually eager to cause Israel to embark on a military operation. The Arab world will rally together around the atrocious sights that Al-Jazeera will air from Gaza, and the world court of public opinion will rush to accuse Israel of war crimes. This is the same court of public opinion that remains unmoved by the systematic bombing of population centers in Israel. Hamas‘ calculation is simple, cynical and evil: If innocent Israelis are killed – good. If innocent Palestinians are killed – even better. (Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs)

       2. Israel Tries to Change the Rules of the Game in Gaza – Ron Ben-Yishai
          What started in Gaza on Saturday is a limited move aimed at securing a long-term ceasefire between Hamas and Israel on terms that are favorable to Israel. These include: An end to mortar and rocket attacks; an end to terror attacks across the Gaza fence; serious negotiations on the release of Gilad Shalit; and an end to Hamas‘ military buildup. The means for securing these objectives is shock treatment – literally. This way, Hamas will no longer be initiating and setting the pace of developments, while Israel makes it clear that it would respond „disproportionally“ every time Israeli residents are hurt. At this time, we are not talking about an attempt to topple Hamas‘ regime in Gaza. (Ynet News)

       3. A Time to Fight – Editorial
          On Friday, a Hamas spokesman made Israel the following proposal: You keep the stream of humanitarian aid and supplies flowing into Gaza and we will keep launching rockets and mortars at Israeli civilians. It was an offer Israel had little choice but to refuse. On Saturday, Israel finally told Hamas that it would not be bled, slowly, to death. The Islamists need to decide whether they want to go down in flames or are prepared to take on the responsibilities that come with control over Gaza.
              That over 200 Palestinians have been killed compared to only one Israeli leads some journalists to conclude that Israel is inherently in the wrong. If one Jew is killed, we get very little piety. If, heaven forbid, an Israeli kindergarten was to take a direct hit – Israel might, temporarily, gain the sympathy of news anchors from Paris to London to Madrid. At that price we would rather forgo their sympathy.
              We wonder how an international community that can’t bring itself to explicitly support Israel’s operation against the most intransigent of Muslim fanatics expects to play a positive role in facilitating peace in this region. Hamas must be stopped. And the civilized world must help stop it. (Jerusalem Post)

    4. In-Depth Issues:

       
       

       1. IDF Hits Prime Hamas Targets – Yaakov Katz (Jerusalem Post)
              The initial Israel Air Force strike hit 50 targets including Hamas bases, training camps, headquarters and offices.
              A second wave struck at 60 targets, including underground Kassam rocket launchers – placed inside bunkers and missile silos – that had been fitted with timers.
              Targets included the Hamas headquarters and training camp in Tel Zatar; a Hamas operations center and armory in Gaza City; the Hamas police academy, which was bombed during a graduation ceremony, killing 70-80 people; training camps in southern and central Gaza; the former office of Yasser Arafat in Gaza City that is now used by Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh; and the Izzadin Kassam Brigades headquarters in northern Gaza.

       2. Not Just Another „Surgical Strike“ in Gaza – Amos Harel (Ha’aretz)
              Israel’s opening salvo on Saturday was not merely another „surgical“ operation or pinpoint strike. This is the harshest IDF assault on Gaza since the Six-Day War in 1967.
              Palestinian sources in Gaza report that 40 targets were destroyed in a span of three to five minutes.
              See also Video: Israel Air Force Attacks Underground Rocket Launching Pad in Residential Area (Israel Air Force)
              See also Aerial Photographs of Hamas Targets (Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs)

       3. Report: Hizbullah Will Not Join Hamas in Fighting Israel (Jerusalem Post)
              Hizbullah will not join Hamas in fighting Israel and will not open a second front against it in the current conflict, the London-based Al-Hayat quoted a Hizbullah source as saying Sunday.
              The source explained that Hizbullah was not interested in a conflict with Israel at this time.

       4. Israeli Disinformation Took Hamas by Surprise – Barak Ravid (Ha’aretz)
              According to defense officials, an Israeli disinformation effort took Hamas by surprise and served to significantly increase the number of its casualties.
              The Israeli cabinet met on Wednesday for a five-hour discussion about the operation, at the end of which the ministers unanimously voted in favor of the strike.
              In parallel, it was announced that Prime Minister Olmert would hold more deliberations on Sunday.
              „Hamas evacuated all its headquarters personnel after the cabinet meeting on Wednesday,“ one defense official said, „but the organization sent its people back in when they heard that everything was put on hold until Sunday.“

       5. Israeli Defense Minister: Would U.S. Accept Ceasefire with Al-Qaeda? (FOX News)
              Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak told FOX News on Saturday: „For us to be asked to have a ceasefire with Hamas is like asking you [the U.S.] to have a ceasefire with al-Qaeda….It’s something we cannot really accept.“

    5. Observations:
       

       1. The Operation in Gaza – Prime Minister Ehud Olmert (Prime Minister’s Office)

          • For seven years, hundreds of thousands of Israeli citizens in the south have been suffering from missiles being fired at them. Life in the south under missile barrages had become unbearable. Israel did everything in its power to fulfill the conditions of the calm in the south and enable normal life for its citizens. The quiet that we offered was met with shelling.
          • No country can countenance such a reality. The lives of our citizens are not forfeit. In recent days, it became clear that Hamas is bent on conflict. In such a situation we had no alternative but to respond. We do not rejoice in battle, but neither will we be deterred from it.
          • The operation in Gaza is designed, first and foremost, to bring about an improvement in the security reality for the residents of the south. This is liable to take time and each one of us must be patient so that we can complete the mission. We want to restore the quiet and the tranquility and give the residents of the south the ability to live the normal lives that every country provides its citizens.
          • On Thursday I made it clear to the residents of Gaza [in an interview on Al-Arabiya television] that we are not acting against them and that we have no intention of punishing them for the actions of Hamas. We will see to the needs of the population in Gaza and will do our utmost to prevent a humanitarian crisis that will impinge upon residents‘ lives.
          • Residents of Gaza, we are not your enemies and we are not fighting against you. This terrorist organization has brought disaster to two peoples. Israel is not fighting the Palestinian people but the Hamas terrorist organization that has taken upon itself to act against the residents of Israel. 

        

TEIL 3 – SONSTIGES…
 

1. ACHGUT – Henryk M. Broder – Die Hamas kämpft um ihre Ehre.  Die ARD und pax christi kämpfen mit. 
   Übler noch als die Hamas sind die Beiträge der Banausen, die aus ihren vollklimatisierten Studios heraus das Geschehen vor der Tür kommentieren. Ein besonders schönes Beispiel ist der ARD-Mann, der täglich vom Windbeutel zum Kraftwerk mutiert:
   Der Zorn der Israelis und ihrer Regierung ist verständlich. Die jüngste Raketen-Offensive der Hamas und der mit ihr verbrüderten Gruppierungen war eine sinnlose und aussichtslose Provokation, ein hilfloser Kampf um die Ehre.
   http://www.tagesschau.de/kommentar/kommentargaza100.html
   http://www.tagesschau.de/multimedia/audio/audio31266.html
   Ebenso schön wie sachkundig ist auch die Stellungnahme von pax christi, die auch nach drei Jahren noch nicht mitbekommen hat, dass Israel den Gaza-Streifen geräumt hat:
   pax christi unterstützt die Forderungen der israelischen Friedensbewegung wie New Profile und Gush Shalom, die Verhandlungen statt Massaker und ein Ende der Blockade von Gaza fordern. Es sei die israelische Regierung gewesen, die den Waffenstillstand gebrochen hat, schreibt Gush Shalom, und verweist auf die Militäraktion der israelische Armee in Gaza in der Nacht der amerikanischen Wahlen, während der Palästinenser getötet wurden. Schon seit Monaten ist die Lage der palästinensischen Zivilbevölkerung besorgniserregend, da die israelische Besatzungsmacht wiederholt lebensnotwendige Einfuhren nicht zulässt. Israel als Besatzungsmacht ist dafür verantwortlich, dass die Bevölkerung des Gazastreifens ausreichend versorgt wird.
   http://www.paxchristi.de/news/kurzmeldungen/one.news.km/index.html?entry=page.news.km.469
   Und hier melden sich lauter Hobby-Köche zum Dienst in der Küche des Waldorff-Astoria:
   Israels Optionen im Gazastreifen
   http://www.tagesschau.de/ausland/gazastreifen162.html

2. ACHGUT – Gil Yaron: Überraschung!
   Der Vergeltungsschlag der Israelis kam als völlige Überraschung für die Hamas im Gaza. Normalerweise taucht die Führung der Hamas bei Spannungen in den Untergrund ab, doch am Samstag war sogar Taufik Jaber, der Hamas-Polizeikommandant, im Hauptquartier in Gaza erschienen. Er wohnte einer Abschlusszeremonie neuer Kadetten bei. Das wurde ihm zum Verhängnis: Die israelische Luftwaffe brauchte Samstagvormittag nur 3 Minuten und 40 Sekunden, um mehr als 100 Installationen der Hamas in Schutt und Asche zu legen. Polizeistationen, Waffendepots, Ausbildungslager, Kommunikations- und Kommandozentralen wurden in einem koordinierten Angriff von 110 Flugzeugen mit mehr als 100 Tonnen Sprengstoff dem Erdboden gleichgemacht. Generalleutnant Jaber und rund 80 Kadetten fanden dabei den Tod, etwa 270 Palästinenser sollen in den Angriffswellen, die Gaza seither an mehr als 250 Stellen heimsuchten, getötet, an die 800 verletzt worden sein: „Wir werden die Infrastruktur der Macht der Hamas im Gazastreifen vernichten“, erklärte ein hochrangiger Militär…
    
   
3. From: ICAN-Alert
   Sent: Saturday, December 27, 2008 11:26 PM
   Subject: ICAN ACTION Gaza ans letter writing
   
   

    

   Israeli Citizens Action Network             

      ICAN     For volunteer Public Diplomacy

                

   

   Dear ICAN members, 

    

   In addition to the sound bytes I sent in the previous mail, below is more detail from the Foreign Office which can be used in letters to the press or in answering the negative letters that are bound to appear.

    

   It is vital that we don’t give the media the opportunity to „brainwash“ their viewers and readers in the style of the infamous BBC who headlined their programme with the statement the „Israeli airplanes have bombed several targets in Gaza killing 200“. No mention of why, no mention of the fact that most of those killed were Hamas terrorists. Even Hamas were reported to have stated that they were caught by surprise. See report and vireo at http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1230111714969&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

    

   1.         The Reason:

   Ongoing and insufferable terrorist fire on a quarter of a million Israeli citizens.

   Hamas recently decided to completely break the truce that was brokered by Egypt. Just in the past few days, Hamas and its partners fired hundreds of rockets and mortar shells at Israeli population centers in southern Israel. Following a period of maximum restraint on Israel’s part and an attempt to return to the calm, the situation mandates military action for the sake of defending our citizens and giving them a normal life. A quarter of a million Israeli citizens have been under incessant terror attacks from the Gaza Strip with thousands of missiles fired over the past eight years. No country in the world would be willing to accept this kind of onslaught on its citizens.

    

   2.         The Goal:

   To give a major blow to Hamas‘ terror infrastructure and protect our citizens.

   As the military action is intended to defend the residents of the State of Israel, its goal is to heavily strike the growing infrastructure of terror and the ability of Hamas and its allied organizations to launch missiles and mortar shells at Israeli citizens and execute terror attacks of various kinds, such as kidnapping Israeli civilians. If Hamas would renounce the path of terror, there would be no need for the action. As we have stated repeatedly – quiet will be answered with quiet, but terror will elicit a response.

    

   3.         The Responsibility:

   he deterioration in the situation is the direct result of Hamas policy. It violated the calm, is firing against and attacking Israeli citizens, and is investing all its resources in arming itself and gathering power.

   The truce agreement brokered by Egypt was exploited by Hamas not only to employ terror against Israel’s citizens but also to gain strength and massively arm itself with weapons and means of warfare, with the intention of increasing their capacity for terror and expand the range of the threat against Israeli citizens. This takes the form of smuggling in and manufacturing thousands of rockets and mortar shells of various kinds and diameters, including antitank and antiaircraft rockets, and a distinct effort to increase the range of the rockets and their warheads, smuggling in and manufacturing dozens of tons of explosives, charges, and weaponry – machine guns, light weapons and ammunition, preparing an extensive underground system of tunnels for smuggling and combat purposes, training fighters in Iran and Syria, raising massive funding to finance terrorist activity, and allying themselves with international terrorist organizations. Israel cannot allow the establishment of an organization similar to Hezbollah on its southern border. The residents of Gaza are hostages to Hamas‘ extremist agenda.

    

   4.         The government will use all tools at its disposal to provide essential services to residents in the south.

   The Home Front Command, the government ministries, the local authorities and the security, emergency and rescue forces are all prepared for immediate action. The ongoing war on terror requires stamina and endurance from Israel’s citizens, despite the inherent difficulties. The policy of all the administrations has always been that „we will not overprotect ourselves.“ The government has invested some two billion shekels in protection, but no one really thinks that every civilian can be protected.

    

   5.         The government trusts the IDF to deal Hamas a severe blow.

   The Israel Defense Forces is prepared for action and has excellent operational and command capabilities, and excellent combat soldiers. We must let the army do its work and leave it out of the political dispute being waged especially these days.

    

   Additional Messages

    

   6.         Israel does not want a humanitarian crisis. The Hamas authority in the Gaza Strip is the only cause of the suffering and distress of the population there and the deterioration in their situation. Just a few days ago, Hamas prevented humanitarian supplies from being brought in from Egypt to Gaza. For purposes of comparison: in the first months of the calm, 17,000 trucks entered Gaza, as opposed to 9,000 (almost double) in an identical time span before the truce.

    

   7.         The terrorist organization work out of the Palestinian population centers and cynically exploit them, so the responsibility for Palestinian civilians getting hurt rests on their shoulders. Israel for its part directs its activity at the terrorist elements and does its utmost to refrain from harming the innocent. Hamas brings women and children up to the roofs of buildings housing terrorist activity in an attempt to prevent air strikes; it sends civilians to the line of fire; it works out of schools and mosques; it fires rockets out of crowded population centers; and it sends Palestinian mothers to murder Israeli children in suicide attacks. Omar Fathi Hamad, a Hamas member of parliament said in a television interview (Feb. 2008), „The Palestinian people has developed its own methods of killing…it has become an industry…it has turned women, children, and old people into human shields.“

    

   8.         Most of the countries in the world and the United Nations have pronounced Hamas to be a terrorist organization, and they are boycotting all contact with it. We expect the world’s nations to support Israel’s war against this terror organization and even join the campaign. Even Arab leaders testify to this: Palestinian President Abu Mazen recently said in an interview that Hamas helped Al Qaeda enter Gaza, and the president of Egypt expressed a fear that „due to the situation in the Strip, we actually have a border with Iran.“

    

   9.         At the same time it is fighting terror, the Israeli government is deliberately and openly maintaining a political process with the elected Palestinian government headed by President Abu Mazen and Prime Minister Fayyad. Hamas opposes these negotiations and any settlement with Israel, and constitutes an unstable element in the region.

    

   10.      Israel is prepared and ready to respond harshly to any attack or provocation by any factor in the region. This is a fight between Israel and terrorist elements acting against Israel’s citizens, so there is no cause for any outside party to intervene.

    

   11.      Israel completely withdrew from the Gaza Strip in 2005, to enable Palestinians to live their lives in peace alongside Israel. In the disengagement, Israel evacuated all its settlements and military bases, and 9,000 residents who lived in the area. But since then Hamas took control of the region and is subjecting Israeli citizens to rocket attacks inside sovereign Israeli territory, in flagrant violation of international law.

    

   12.      The situation of Israeli citizens in the south is intolerable. The Hosen Center in Sderot recently reported the spread of developmental problems among children living in the area, such as speech difficulties, fear of sleeping alone, juvenile diabetes, hair falling out, and more. The reality of real life is expressed in the descriptions of journalists who visited the city: 7-year-old Sagi will only agree to go to sleep in his parents‘ bed, 8-year-old Yanai bought a first-aid kit with money he saved up, 9-year-old Neria has nightmares that her parents will be killed, children are scared to go to the bathroom for fear they will not make it to the shelter in the 15 seconds given by the warning system. The first words of Alon, two years old, were „red“ and „boom.“ The trauma centers report high stress among children and adults alike. The residents do not use the seat belts in their cars, so they can get out quickly in case of attack. They never change radio stations lest they miss a warning. Schools have become „concrete monsters,“ in some of which the children do not see daylight all day long.

    

   13.      Hamas belongs to the school of extremist elements espousing violence, such as Iran, Syria, Hezbollah, Al Qaeda, the World Jihad, and others. This is manifested in instructions to carry out terror, training and drills, smuggling means of warfare, supplying monies, etc. In an interview with the Sunday Times published on March 9, 2008, a Hamas official related, „The Iranian Revolutionary Guards have been training Hamas operatives in Tehran ever since Israel withdrew from the Gaza Strip…in field warfare tactics and weaponry. The operatives come into the Strip with skills they have acquired in advanced technologies, rocket firing, setting off charges, sharpshooting and other tactics similar to those used by Hezbollah.“

    

    

   Stuart Palmer

   Director

   Blog www.haifadiarist.blogspot.com

   
    

4. From: Ulrich B
   Sent: Sunday, December 28, 2008 5:04 PM
   To: Sacha Stawski
   Subject: Tagesschau: Israel brach den Waffenstillstand
   
   
   bin gerade nur in einer pause und habe keine Zeit fuer eine ordentliche email, aber vielleicht kann jemand der tagesschau schreiben und auf die falsche berichterstattung hinweisen.

    

   http://www.tagesschau.de/ausland/gazastreifen162.html
   

   Wie könnte es weitergehen?
   Israels Optionen im Gazastreifen
   
   Drei Jahre nach seinem Abzug hat Israel den Gazastreifen mit den schwersten Angriffen seit Jahren überzogen. Die israelische Regierung sagt, sie habe keine andere Möglichkeiten gehabt als zu handeln. Der im Juni in Kraft getretene Waffenstillstand mit der Hamas begann bereits Anfang November zu bröckeln, nach einem israelischen Vorstoß über die Grenze. Seitdem haben palästinensische Extremisten zahllose Raketen abgefeuert. Israel hielt sich mit einer Reaktion zunächst zurück, offenbar auch in der Hoffnung, einen neuen Waffenstillstand erreichen zu können. Nun, auch mit Blick auf die Wahl am 10. Februar, wollte die Regierung nicht länger als entschlussunfähig dargestellt werden. Die Koalitionsparteien der zentristischen Kadima und der Arbeitspartei Baraks sehen sich mit einer erstarkenden Opposition des Hardliners Benjamin Netanjahu konfrontiert. Welche Strategie könnte Israel nun weiter verfolgen? Im Wesentlichen bieten sich drei Optionen.
   
   
5. From: Ulrich B
   Sent: Saturday, December 27, 2008 11:23 PM
   To: c.radler@tagesschau.de; gniffke@tagesschau.de; kocher@tagesschau.de; redaktion@tagesschau.de; zured@daserste.de; ard zuschauerpost; doecke@tagesschau.de; h.richter@tagesschau.de; zuschauerpost@tagesschau.de
   Subject: Ihre Behauptung von einem angeblichen „Ultimatum“ gegen Israel entspricht nicht(!) der Wahrheit
   
   
   Sehr geehrte Damen und Herren der Tagesschau,

    

   in Ihrem Artikel „200 Tote nach israelischen Angriffen“ von Clemens Verenkotte behaupten Sie, dass Israel der Hamas ein „Ultimatum“ gestellt hätte und ein Tag vor dessen Ablaufen angegriffen hätte:

    

   „Einen Tag vor Ablauf eines Ultimatums hat Israel seine Drohung wahr gemacht und massive Luftangriffe auf den Gazastreifen geflogen.„

    

   (Von einem angeblichen „Ultimatum“ sprechen Sie schon gestern, am 27,12,2008 in der 20.00 Uhr Sendung)

    

   Dabei erheben Sie nicht nur unwahre(!) und faktisch falsche(!) Behauptungen und verbeiten diese als Wahrheit, Sie erzeugen darüber hinaus beim Leser den negativen Eindruck, Israel hätte „unehrenhaft“ sein Wort gebrochen.

    

   Ein derartiges Ultimatum hat nicht existiert und ich frage mich, wie Ihre Mitarbeiter darauf kommen, ein solches zu erfinden?

    

   Anscheinend meinten Sie damit vielleicht die für den Sonntag angekündigte Kabinettssitzung Israels in der über das Vorgehen in Gasa entschieden werden sollte. Eine derartige Ankündigung hat nichts mit einem Ultimatum zu tun und ich möchte wirklich gerne wissen, wo Ihre Mitarbeiter eine Aussage über ein „Ultimatum“ von israelischer Seite her aufgenommen haben wollen?

   Zu solchen Behauptungen sollte der gute und seriöse Journalist schließlich zumindest zwei Quellen prüfen und angeben können und in dem Falle, dass Sie eine Aussage über ein Ultimatum machen, dass angeblich von einem Akteur ausgesprochen wurde, sollten Sie diesen Akteur auch fragen, ob er dies getan hat? Da ich aber keinerlei Aussage des israelischen Regierungssprechers von einem angeblichen „Ultimatum“ finden konnte, kann ich mich um Ihr unprofessionelles Vorgehen nur wundern oder eine tendenziöse Berichterstattung vermuten(?).

    

   Sollten Ihnen ein Statement des israelischen Regierungssprechers, der Aussenministerin, des Verteigungsministers oder des Premierministers vorliegen, in dem von einem „Ultimatum“ bis Sonntag die Rede ist, korrigieren Sie mich bitte.

    

   MfG,

    

   Ulrich J. Becker

6. —–Original Message—–
   From: rjbennett
   Sent: Sunday, December 28, 2008 7:56 PM
   To: feedback@mfa.gov.il; BBC World; HonestReporting; Honestly Concerned
   Subject: Israel and Its Critics
   
   To the Israeli Foreign Ministry:

   I am sure there are countless ordinary people around the world who, like me, believe that Israel is doing the right thing now in Gaza, the only thing that Israel can do.

   I would also like to say that people like me occasionally watch BBC World, and – although we should now be accustomed to it – we are nevertheless appalled at the apparently inexhaustible pro-Hamas, anti-Israeli bias of that once-respected news organization.

   What was the BBC’s reaction to the Hamas rocket attacks on Israel from Gaza, attacks that every knowledgeable person in the world knows have been going on day after day, week after week, month after month – for years?

   The BBC’s reaction was almost complete silence, day after day, week after week, month after month – for years.

   That silence itself can only be described with the word that the BBC used today to characterize the Israeli air strikes: „brutal.“

   That silence has also been unconscionable.

   Sincerely,

   Robert John Bennett
   40219 Dusseldorf
   Germany