Commentary on Uri Dromi's article in the Guardian

I thought I would take some time to post a commentary paragraph by paragraph of some of the lies that Israel's professional propagandists wheel out just after Israel has killed more people. Uri Dromi is writing an article for the Guardian and thoughtfully tells us why Israel had to kill all those people and that it regretted doing so, but it had no choice. Here is why I think he's talking absolute rubbish.

In the wake of the Israeli operation in Gaza, aimed at putting an end to years of Hamas harassment of the south of Israel, there are now media reports about the possible use by the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) of white phosphorus and flechette shells. Now Amnesty International issues a report reiterating these claims.

This is not true, Hamas had been observing a ceasefire with the Zionist state, which was continuing its policy of assassination and destruction throughout. In addition, the Israeli state had maintained a two year seige on Gaza and continues to do so along with its Egyptian allies.

Some words about these weapons.

White phosphorous is a chemical substance dispersed in artillery shells, used primarily to conceal the movement of troops. It burns on contact with oxygen and creates a smokescreen to mask the military manoeuvre. Unfortunately, it may have a negative side effect: when it comes into contact with people, it causes severe burns.

Flechettes are an anti-personnel weapon designed to strike a large number of enemy men. Basically, they are tiny metal darts packed into120mm shells. These shells explode in mid-air and scatter many flechettes in a conical pattern over an area around 300 metres wide and 100 metres long.

As frightening as they sound, these weapons are not banned by international law. Therefore, when the Israeli army used them in Gaza, it did nothing unprecedented. Peter Herby, the head of the Red Cross's mines-arms unit, told the Associated Press: "In some of the strikes in Gaza, it's pretty clear that phosphorus was used." However, he added: "It's not very unusual to use phosphorus to create smoke or illuminate a target. We have no evidence to suggest it's being used in any other way."

As for flechettes, whether we like it or not, they are standard weapons for most armies. Again, international law doesn't prohibit their use. Even so, the IDF established a commission of inquiry to investigate whether there were cases in which flechettes and white phosphorous were misused.

This is all true.

Amnesty International, however, didn't wait for any such investigation. Quick as ever to blame Israel, the organisation paid lip service to the launching of thousands of rockets by Hamas on Israel during the last years, aiming intentionally to kill innocent civilians. It hardly denounced them and then went on to conclude that it was Israel that had committed "war crimes".

Your army did kill over 1300 civilians, many of them children, over a period of over 30 days of sustained bombing in the most heavily populated area on the planet. A little perspective please.

Alas, war is a messy business. In urban areas, where the enemy is elusive and is using women and children as human shields, war is even messier. Remember Fallujah in Iraq, in 2004, when during Operation Phantom Fury US forces destroyed one out of every four dwellings of this 40,000-home city, killing 1,350 fighters and an undisclosed number of civilians. No one blamed the US for war crimes, and no one dared threaten to drag American generals to tribunals at The Hague. When it comes to Israel, however, double standards reign.

War is indeed a messy business, but you only say this when you kill Palestinian civilians, it doesn't seem to occur to you that since you are at war with the entire Palestinian people, some of your own civilians will get killed too. The same argument can and has been used that almost the entire Israeli civilian population is involved with the Zionist military establishment or industry which supports it, and since your country is on stolen Palestinian land, there are no cities or areas which are not embroiled in this war.

Does this man really think that anybody has forgotten what happened in Fallujah? He might as well have been an Italian fascist claiming precedence with the Luftwaffe and Guernica. Both of these countries will be held to account for what they have done, sooner or later. As for double standards in dealing with the United States and Israel, the phrase a pot calling a kettle black comes to mind.

Go explain to Amnesty, or to the world media, that Israel, in trying to hit Hamas operatives only, took extraordinary steps not to harm civilians. Millions of leaflets were scattered over Gaza, warning the locals to evacuate certain areas before they were attacked. Phone calls were made to specific residents to leave their homes, because Hamas terrorists operated from there and thus turned them into military targets (yes, read again: you call your enemy and you implore him to leave the area so he is not hurt). Last but not least, after exhausting all those warning measures, the IDF fired close to such homes and gave the residents enough time to leave them safely, before the houses were hit.

This is rubbish, Hamas has been warning the Israelis and the settlers not to occupy Palestinian land for years. It has also warned that any attempt at expansion of settlements, or invasion of Gaza, will be met with retaliation. Needless to say, the Israeli settlements have continued growing, Israelis have continued living on Palestinian land and the Israeli army launched a massive invasion attempt into the Gaza strip. No resistance group in the world would even bother giving an invading army an ultimatum before striking it and yet the Israelis time and again think that they can reside in Palestine with impunity and then have the temerity to complain that they are coming under rocket attack from the people whose land they stole. This is double standards to the extreme if ever there was any.

No other army in the world goes to such lengths to try not to hurt civilians. Yet once a military operation is launched, and especially in a heavily populated area such as Gaza, things happen. Was there a disproportionate use of force? The IDF is checking it. Was there misuse of white phosphorous or flechettes? Again, Israel, as a vibrant democracy, is investigating the matter thoroughly. In the meantime, foreign journalists who entered Gaza when the operation was over reported that the initial stories about the damage were grossly exaggerated.

The same holds true for Hamas attempts to dislodge both the Israeli army and Israeli settlers from their land. It is admirable how serious the self titled Israeli "Defense" Forces take any allegations of disproportionate force or the use of phosphorous and flechettes. I am assured that Hamas has also heard of the allegations made against it and will leave no stone unturned in their investigation of what happened, since they too are part of a vibrant democracy and were elected by the Palestinian people in free and transparent elections. Other foreign journalists who entered Gaza when the operation said that initial stories about the damage were grossly minimised but what is your point exactly?

Last but not least, the Israeli use of force must be put in context. Only after exhausting its patience vis-a-vis an onslaught of Qassam rockets did Israel decide to use its military power, in the most justifiable act of self-defence. If there is one commodity in short supply among the Hamas leaders, it is accountability. Hamas brought on the people of Gaza the wrath of the IDF – white phosphorous and flechettes included. Now its supporters are pointing fingers at Israel.

The Israeli use of force took place after it forced a seige on the people of Gaza for two years, during which time it continued to fire missiles into the territory in spite of Hamas adhering to a ceasefire. In terms of accountability, one thing these people are not in short supply of is that. They are of the people of Gaza themselves and are not some foreign body within the civilian population. It is the leadership, their colleagues, neighbours and very own families who are at the front line. Entire families have been wiped out in missile strikes, the very own families of these Hamas men he speaks of. Let us stop fooling ourselves that Hamas have brought this on the people of Gaza, they are the people of Gaza and they were elected by the people of Gaza.

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The Empire strikes back

The new emperor spoke today, about the challenges of the empire and which men and women he will appoint to deal with the more troublesome parts on its frontiers. John Mitchell gave a boring and irrelevant talk about how committed he was to finding a solution between the Palestinians and the Israelis. I caught his speech from the point where he was saying something about 800 years and how somebody had come over to him and ask him whether he had said 800 years, twice. After replying twice that same person said, "Pah, such a recent argument." I rolled my eyes at such stupid shows, not from Mitchell, but from the quite clearly Zionist charmer who had spoke to him. The Zionists love to orientalise themselves and make themselves to be part of the land. At any point in a conversation with somebody they are trying to impress they will love making some anecdote about how tough and prickly they are from the outside, but sweet on the inside, on how they deal with the harshness of deserts and so on ad nauseum. Forget the fact that they are originally Eastern Europeans or Ashkenazi Jews who are more at home in Europe and North America than in the Middle East. Anyhow, I digress. Obama's speech had nothing but praise for Mubarak's Egypt, he made the usual Israeli pledge of allegiance and reassurance, and he made a number of allusions to the troublemakers in the region, Iran and Syria. For Syria, it was the promise of a potential peace deal, for Iran, a warning against supporting "terror" groups, that is Hamas and Hezbullah, as well as the many armed groups in Iraq. There will be more of the same support for "moderates" in the region, a strong endorsement of Mahmoud Abbas and the Palestinian Authority, and a reiteration of his "commitment" to a "two-state solution". No American president's speech would be complete without an 'acknowledgement' of the suffering on "both" sides of this conflict, Palestinian and Israeli. Duly noted Mr. President. [middle finger here]

Oh and of course he promised not to torture people anymore, ordering the closure of Guantanamo and saying something about the people of the United States possessing values of some sort. I haven't a clue what these are, but I'm sure it would be a good idea if they did. There was actually little mention of Iraq, in the part of the broadcast that I managed to catch, and this was a little bit surprising.

It was very interesting that there is now one vizier, Richard Holbrooke assigned for both Pakistan and Afghanistan. This shows how bad the situation is now and how clear it is that Pakistan is now sinking into the battle between America and whoever it is fighting there. I couldn't help but wonder how soon it would be before there was a full scale American ground assault in the North Western provinces of that country. This might not be Obama's style, I think massive aid to strengthen the government of Pakistan will probably be more likely, but who knows. The first one hundred days of a US presidency are usually the key ones which define what comes later so let us see. I noted with some interest how Holbrooke considered John Negroponte as his friend. Also he felt it very important to reassure listeners that he took Pakistan very seriously, respecting its culture and history and so on. There will be interesting developments there soon I expect.

Doesn't everybody think it very interesting that the United States, said to be the world's greatest superpower, is unable to subdue the people of an area from the Mediterranean to central Asia? A new era of American power is indeed emerging, the empire is gathering its strength for a renewed strike, with flowers and guns this time. When this does reach a good momentum, we will see many people who secretly idolise the United States in the Arab world start singing its praises again. There will be a resurgence of "moderation" again, up until now a dirty word thanks to the honest and frank brutality of the Bush administration. I have surprised many people in the past by saying I preferred John McCain or even George Bush as presidents. People saw the ugly face of America for what it was. Well, the mask is now on and the same fools who always wanted to believe will again believe, and those who always rejected the lies will continue to be steadfast. It will be good now that the lines have become clearer.

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Unusual article on the CNN website where the writer is surprised with the defiance of the Gazans.

"I'm surprised at how buoyant people are given the circumstances. Talking to them, I find morale high and an overall sense of defiance.

At one point I saw a young boy on a donkey cart, unaware I was observing him. As an Israeli jet passed overhead, he shook a fist at the sky."

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أحياء عند ربهم يرزقون

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The inaugaration of Obama is very soon, so the Israeli attack on Gaza should be over shortly. In England, this is all already old news. On the day that the UN headquarters and warehouses got bombed in Gaza, the top news in the UK was about a plane that crashed into the sea near New York city in the United States.

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Video clips are emerging from Gaza showing Hamas operations against the Israeli occupation forces, just as Hezbullah used to do during the 2006 war. The first showed a sniper eliminating one of the Israeli soldiers, his colleagues only notice a few moments later and they appear visibly shaken. In another clip, Hamas assault a residential apartment which has been taken over by Israeli forces. The clip shows what appears to be a direct hit by an RPG on one of the soldiers on a balcony, then gunfire and more explosions as the Hamas fighters enter the residence and again, eliminate the remaining Israeli targets. In another clip, a journalist with Russia today spends a night with the resistance as they prepare to go on operation against the Israeli forces. They appear disciplined, well supplied and focused and this is clearly not the first or the last of many missions they have carried out. You will not see this in Western news media, Arabs fighting against an invading modern Western army and inflicting grave damage. This is day 20, and the Israelis are still unable to overrun Gaza.

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The battles taking place in Gaza are not being covered due to an intense Zionist news and media blackout but I assure you - Israeli casualties are much higher than we are being told. Hamas is holding up remarkably well and the new style of warfare, of which the martyr Imad al Mughniyeh was a pioneer, should now be a template for any group resisting Western imperialism and modern armies. We are in day 19, that's right, 19, of a massive onslaught held by the army that was once "undefeatable" and they are being held off by Arabs. The Gazan people are under seige, under constant bombardment, under constant rains of death and destruction, yet they remain defiant. I can almost see the day when every single Zionist settlement and city will be overrun.

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Mughniyeh's "new school of fighting"

The excellent Amal Saad Ghorayeb writing for the Electronic Intifada:

Hamas' fighting style also seems to bear the hallmarks of the military tactics Hizballah used during the July War such as its use of underground bunkers and tunnel networks, as well as adopting similar rocket tactics, all of which suggest Hizballah's extensive training of Hamas' military forces. Nasrallah came close to admitting as much when he claimed on 31 December that "the resistance in Gaza benefitted more from these lessons [from the July War] than the Israelis." More than simply receiving military training, Hamas's military strategy appears to conform to the "new school of fighting" founded by Hizballah's assassinated military leader, Imad Mughniyeh (himself rumored to have personally trained and equipped several Palestinian groups over the years), which combines conventional and non-conventional, guerilla warfare that functions not only to liberate occupied territory, but to defend it from aggression.

This article is actually extremely good, if read carefully. On a side note which made me more impressed, I had checked the Wa3ad website prior to reading it and had noted how the banner now had a picture of Imad Mughniyeh on it, and an article by Ibrahim al Amin on the legacy of Mughniyeh and the result we find in Hamas' much improved performance against the Israeli invasion. I have said before and I will say again, when Hezbullah make a promise, they will keep it. They have promised a retaliation for Mughniyeh's death and that still hasn't happened yet. There is much much more coming. It was also interesting to see Ghorayeb's comment that Hezbullah have been much more scathing of an Arab regime than ever before, it looks like the gloves are off and the battle lines have been drawn. Those who are against Gaza are enemies. 

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The Israeli's are blowing their own trumpet: Excellent intel on Gaza shows Israel learned from its errors in Lebanon

For the patient, the truth lies in the last paragraph:

However, it is dangerous and premature to boast of intelligence achievements. The longer the war, the lower the chance of continued intelligence successes. And at this stage of the fighting, it is not yet clear how close Israel is to rendering a significant blow to Hamas' strategic capabilities. During the past week, Hamas has fired between 30 and 40 rockets every day. This testifies that the organization is succeeding in maintaining its steady launching capability. The fact that its leadership has ducked underground and it fighters are in no hurry to engage in hand-to-hand fighting with the IDF does not necessarily mean they are in "a state of shock" from the fierceness of the IDF response, as Military Intelligence head Amos Yadlin assessed at a cabinet meeting this week. It is possible that, in fact, this was a well-calculated decision by the guerrilla organization to preserve its leadership and its military capabilities for the crucial confrontation - or for "the day after." 

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From Haaretz:

"It is safe to assume that Palestinian operatives, working in coordination with Hezbollah and sponsored by Iran, are responsible for the rocket attacks in Nahariya and elsewhere in the north. The rocket fire also places Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah among the list of top Arab militant leaders. He doesn't just talk, he acts."

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The giant speaks...

Not even a fly can come into South Lebanon without Hezbullah's approval. The missiles fired this morning are a warning. Initially I thought Hezbullah were not interested in escalating the situation since it would have been almost certain that Israel had prepared plans for a massive assault and only needed a pretext. The pretext is there, let us see what Hezbullah announce and what Israel decide to do.

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The media blackout continues...You see, Gaza is so small and there are so many Israeli troops there, that most of their casualties so far have been from 'friendly' fire. That is why 10 days on there is still fierce fighting taking place, maybe the Israelis are fighting each other in the dark?

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Haaretz: In contrast to the open policy that prevailed during the Second Lebanon War, the Defense Ministry decided to close the Strip entirely to the press. 

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News updates

The Vichy-like Palestinian Authority has banned any pro-Hamas demonstrations in the West Bank.

Also, the Israeli's appear to have learnt one lesson from their 2006 defeat, underpromise and overdeliver to their people, "The aim isn't to topple Hamas".

(Thanks Serene for both links)

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Just like the 2006 war against Lebanon, the Gaza invasion has been planned well in advance and Hamas ending the ceasefire was just the excuse. It is interesting to see how well the Israelis have learned from their 2006 defeat, so far they are applying the same methods they used against Lebanon, ie. inflicting massive damage to infrastucture and killing large amounts of civilians to attempt to draw a wedge between the resistance and the people. They've just started their ground offensive, but unlike in Lebanon, where almost instantly the resistance inflicted heavy casualties, Hamas seems keen on drawing them further into Gaza. They are keeping their cards very close to their chest...Hezbullah are also silent...

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A view from the Israeli military's perspective

Paul Wood from the BBC reported on a conference by a top Israeli military official. In contrast to all the fluffy pageantry of peace we are presented with on a daily basis, the view he has presented is sobre, uncomfortable - and real. When comfortable Arabs who can afford to own pretty things tell me, "Israel is here to stay" I know there is little useful in what they have to say. When I read the opening statement of this BBC article, I know the Israelis are serious:

Israelis sometimes say they can lose only one war. They worry that defeat could mean the destruction of their state.

It is also interesting to know that Jordan and Egypt are still considered enemies, which is a wise thing to do considering how quickly things can reverse in both those countries. As for the country's most serious threats, Iran is top of the list but I was surprised to see al-Qaeda on there. It could be there for the Americans; Sharon was quick to try to connect Israel's war against the Palestinian people with America's so-called "War on Terror" and if that is the case then it is not so surprising that he would include it on the list. The 'talks' which are said to be taking place now about a possible Syrian-Israeli peace agreement are dismissed and trivialised. Hezbullah is a mortal enemy of Israel and the fact that Syria continues to arm them whilst holding these talks means that it is not serious. He also called Abu Mazen (Mahmoud Abbas) a "chief with no Indians" who could lose the West Bank to Hamas should the Israelis stop supporting him.

The article also confirmed what many people already know, Israel will attack Lebanon again, and this time it will be much worse. This does not mean that they were not trying hard enough last time, only that lessons had now been learnt. While a politician can get away with painting defeat as victory or vice-versa, the army cannot afford such luxuries and when it has been beaten it ignores the lessons to its own peril. Sadly, these 'lessons' mean that the Israelis will just kill more people the next time they attack:

The damage to Lebanon wasn't enough to deter [Hezbollah last time]... when the terrorists become the government, the list of targets is longer

So the Lebanese government, following the purge of a few months back, is now composed of terrorists and Israel has lost its main partner on the inside. It also clearly insinuates that the policy of the Israeli military is that of collective-punishment, illegal under the laws of war and the Geneva conventions.

On another note, he was well aware of the ways that Iran could retaliate should Israel decide to attack and made the prudent observation that Iran can hurt the Americans in Iraq too. Note the cosying up of the Americans to Iran recently. All in all, to read something coming directly from the mouth of someone in the top levels of Israel's military establishment was interesting, but not because it contained anything new.

They are building their forces and are not yet ready to strike.

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Three Israeli soldiers killed in Gaza fighting.

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Israeli news...

"Hamas wants Israel to starve Gaza"- so that's what's been happening, ok, we can all go home now.

"Mohammed Dahlan, Abbas's national security adviser and Hamas's arch-nemesis, branded the Islamists an "occupation force" in Gaza, the phrase commonly used to denounce Israel."
- Even the Israeli's are laughing at their own puppets.

"Barak's move came after the High Court of Justice instructed the State Attorney's Office on Tuesday night to do "everything Israel can do to save human life,"... " - no comment

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What shall we bet that the United States, Israel and the European Union are now absolutely thrilled with the schism in the Palestinian government? They now have Hamas isolated in the Gaza strip while their favourite poodle Abbas now runs the West Bank. The news media is already shaping future frameworks for discussion and perception with Haniyah's replacement being touted as a "much respected economist". So a government of "moderates" is now going to be setup and, with Western assistance, will be touted as a model of good governance and economic development thanks to the immense funding it will receive. The entire Palestinian population of Gaza will be left to rot in degrading conditions, ostensibly Hamas will be blamed for radicalising them and for the condition they are in.

The White Man doesn't kill people. He just cuts off their food, water, electricity, and even air. It's not his problem they are dying if they won't surrender to him.

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"What they did not say, but what was understood by all Gazans, was that the leadership of Hamas has a more personal grudge against the deeply unpopular Dahlan. Specifically, they blamed him for ordering a series of killings of members of Hamas that in their view had fuelled the cycle of violence that stepped up after Hamas swept Fatah from power in January last year."

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