Discussion for article #226126
SAD ! IMHO very SAD.
“Within minutes after the temporary truce expired at 8 a.m. (0500 GMT), Gaza militants began firing rockets.”
Yup.
I’m sure there are TPM commenters who will find a way to blame this on Israel, too.
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The NYT has it that Hamas fired rockets BEFORE the ceasefire ended. Yet the headline here makes it seem otherwise. Which is true? Anyone?
The “Truce” lasted just long enough for both sides to reload…
I’ll bite.
Israel is stonewalling on their illegal, punitive blockade of Gaza.
They have no right to cut off Gaza from the rest of the world, and if they refuse to budge on that point, then Gaza is justified in fighting back. If I have my hands around your neck, cutting off your air, I can’t complain about you kicking my shins and trying to punch my nose.
Telling Hamas to disarm a few days after Israel invaded them is crazytalk. How about Israel, pretty secure behind Iron Dome (according to Israel) opens the border under international supervision to prevent advanced weapons from coming in, and Hamas promises to avoid mounting attacks inside Israel as long as the border is open?
International aid for rebuilding can come in as well, but will be suspended every time Hamas takes offensive action against Israel. Israel promises to absolutely leave Gaza alone, respect its territorial waters for fishing and gas extraction, and no assassinations or incursions into Gaza.
Then we see what happens. Israel has proclaimed Iron Dome a success, and Hamas has never used tunnels to attack Israeli citizens. So it would seem we have an opportunity to ratchet down tensions if Israel will only release its illegal, immoral and inhuman strangehold on the trade and lives of the people of Gaza.
Hows that?
P.S. Very disappointed that the ceasefire is ceasing, and hope that some measure of progress can happen that will allow it to be restored.
Moon of Alabama said the initial rockets were fired by Islamic Jihad, not Hamas. And that Israel had walked out of the peace negotiations BEFORE the truce expired, indicating they had no intention of discussing lifting the blockade.
M of A also reported that Hamas has announced it will be trying to target the Ben Gurion airport ('We’re pretty sure it’s thataway, G_D willing!").
Which is an appropriate strategic target to go along with the blockade of Gaza. “You shut down our border, we’ll shut down your international airport.” I just wish Hamas could actually pull off a sustained shutdown of the airport. That would apply real pressure to Israel to deal fairly on the blockade issue.
Moon of Alabama, of course. Not always accurate, but, then again, neither is AP or the New York Times, the other two sources we have…