Like many others, I am outraged at the acts of aggression being committed by Israel in the name of national security. Nothing justifies violence of the nature we are reading about, the killing of innocent non-combatants cannot be justified as collateral damage.
I am not in any position to write on Gaza in a way that would do justice to the very nuanced subject. Emotions do not always guide us in the right direction. I have however been following John Hilley's commentary on the subject. Perhaps you would like to as well (start here and go to related posts).
I am not in any position to write on Gaza in a way that would do justice to the very nuanced subject. Emotions do not always guide us in the right direction. I have however been following John Hilley's commentary on the subject. Perhaps you would like to as well (start here and go to related posts).
MIS
12 comments:
Hamas does not seem to care that many of their own innocent people will be killed if they start a war with Israel by firing rockets into Israel.
It is the same scenario in the 2006 summer war of Hezbollah with Israel in Lebanon. So much damage is done and so many normal people killed/injured but Hezbollah does not care just to get/gain political mileage.
So far, 4 people killed in Israel due to rocket firing by Hamas.If someone fire rocket to your house,you ignore them or fight them back in order to save your family? I think Israeli govt is doing the same thing in order to protect their people but unfortunately innocent peoples were killed.Hamas should care for their own people instead of doing all these rockets firing business.
The worst part is now they're planning for suicide bombing.The Hamas is out of their mind.Hamas should show some concern to their own people instead of trying to earn International sympathy in the name of religion.
I can understand how you feel and that is exactly what Hamas want the whole Muslim world to feel!
I don't think Hamas give a damn about their own innocent people. They know very well the reaction of the Israel and they went ahead to stir the hornet's nest.
Who started the attack?
The only way to bring real, lasting justice, peace and prosperity to Palestinians and to all the peoples of the region is through common mass struggle against oppression and the pro-capitalist, corrupt regimes. The overthrow of capitalism and landlordism and the creation of a genuine socialist society – putting people before profit and ending poverty – would see real collaboration between all working people of the region, pooling together all the rich resources for the benefit of the many and bringing about real self-determination for the oppressed.
Whilst Israel's aggression and disproportionate response should be condemned, so should Hamas. They know that Israel is going to retaliate in a disproportionate manner (this is not the first time Israel behaved in such a manner), but yet went ahead and attacked Israel first. I say they did it on purpose to gain sympathy and support at the expense of their own people.
SP Lim
Hamas was pretty stupid to launch attacks it know it cannot finish. They just asked for it and they are getting what they deserve. Israel's response was disproportionate in its force.. No it is NOT.
Can someone answer me why (I mean really, not rhetorically) the gulf Arabs haven’t supported the infrastructure in Gaza?
For the cost of a single multi-billion dollar tower in Abu Dhabi and/or an A380 private superjumbo with gold fixtures a lot of good could be done, no?
The Jews have always been generous with their financial support of Israel.
Why is it anything that Isreal does makes headlines the world over but news such as the one below are buried away. Are the lives of Africans less in value to those in Gaza. The residents of Gaza are paying the brunt for voting in a militant govt which even went against even their brothers - the ruling Fatah. But the massacre in Congo is much much more henious. Don't get angry due to religious lines but get angry for all inhumane actions being done.
- frustrated doctor
Ugandan rebels kill 400 in DR Congo: charity
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20081230/wl_africa_afp/ugandadrcongounrest
KINSHASA (AFP) – Ugandan Lord's Resistance Army rebels killed more than 400 people in Christmas massacres in northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo, the Caritas aid charity said Tuesday.
The rebels denied any responsibility and accused troops from DR Congo, Uganda and South Sudan of "bombing" the victims, but a statement from the United Nations Secretary General condemned the alleged LRA atrocities Tuesday.
The LRA targeted a town where a Christmas Day concert was being held and a Roman Catholic church, and attacks were going on along the Sudanese border, the Catholic charity said in a statement.
Caritas workers say that "over 400 people have been killed in the attacks in an area of northern Congo including Faradje, Duru, Gurba, Doruma, and Province Orientale," it added.
The archbishop of Dungu-Doruma, Monsignor Richard Domba, told AFP that at least 150 people had been killed at a Christmas Day service at Faradje and later, 80 at Duru and at least 200 others at Doruma and in the surrounding villages.
"It is a dramatic situation that we are living through here," he said. The rebels "are indescribably barbarous and savage.
"They kill with machetes, axes and clubs. They burn people alive with their property in their homes."
The LRA also "captured young boys and girls whom they will conscript and force to work in their fields," he said.
In Bangadi, near the border with Sudan, 48 people died, and in Gurba 213 people were killed. Approximately 6,500 people have found refuge in the area with the Catholic church, Caritas said.
"The rebels have committed terrible acts of violence," said the director of Caritas in Dungu-Doruma, Abbe Come Mbolingaba.
"They decapitated several people. In the villages hardly anybody is moving.
"Everyone is in psychological shock. The death toll could be above 400 because it is difficult to find all the bodies."
Aid workers are worried by the lack of access in the region to local people who are wandering in search of shelter and help.
The Caritas statement said that the areas had been plundered, leaving the population in desperate need of aid. It said that the number of dead bodies risked spreading disease.
From New York, United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon condemned the alleged LRA atrocities in a statement issued by his office Tuesday.
"The Secretary-General condemns in the strongest possible terms the appalling atrocities reportedly committed by the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) in recent days" in both DRCongo and southern Sudan," it said.
Ban called on the LRA to "respect all rules of international humanitarian law."
He also repeated his support for the December 22 UN Security Council statement that "welcomed the joint measures taken by Uganda, DRC and southern Sudan to address the security threat posed by the LRA."
The United Nations mission in DR Congo (MONUC) said the LRA attacks followed the launching on December 14 of the joint military operation against it by the three countries.
The operation followed the repeated refusal of LRA leader Joseph Kony, who is believed to be accompanied by several hundred supporters, to sign a peace deal with Kampala.
A spokesman for the LRA said it was not responsible for the massacres, blaming the deaths on bombs dropped by the three African forces and said it had never harmed anyone
He questioned how the three countries would let LRA forces kill civilians.
In April the Ugandan authorities initialled a peace deal designed to end one of Africa's most savage and long lasting civil wars.
Tens of thousands of people have been killed and nearly two million displaced in Uganda in two decades of fighting between the Ugandan government and the LRA. The group is notorious for abductions of children for use as soldiers and sex slaves.
The Ugandan army said Sunday that rebels had massacred 45 civilians in a church Friday, most of them women, children and the elderly.
The rebellion began in northern Uganda in 1986 after Yoweri Museveni came to power. It blends a form of Christianity with traditional beliefs and extreme cruelty and brutality.
Recruits may be forced to kill a family member to ensure they are not tempted to desert and go home.
What can the men , women and children of Gaza can do ? the Israel is far too strong for them they have the best weapon in the world Israel is the superpower just like the US and NATO.
The rest of the world is too busy with the economic problem created by another superpower the US.
The Palestine have the right to return to Jeruselam just like the jews have the right to return .
There's a little thing we can do i.e. sign up the petition below to give our support:
http://www.avaaz.org/en/gaza_time_for_peace
Reading from Internet and from various sources, more than 3000 rockets fired into Israel by Hamas. Most people kept quiet about it. It is just the vigilant action of Israeli that kept them from massive casualties.
On Hamas end, they gladly used innocence as human shields when Israel attacked, using mosque to stockpile weapons, gladly pronounced the dead as martyr. Well, do not know what to say. Also, when international channel aids to them, they looted the supply and prevent them from getting to the needy average folks.
Hamas is more like liabilities to Palestinian.
-woody
Has anyone forgotten that this war did not start a few days ago? Since Gaza 'disengagement' in 2005 Israel has been terrorising the population with sonic booms and the incursions into Gaza. The 18 months of sanction effectively starved the Gaza of food and fuel. The rockets STOPPED FIRING until, when the world was celebrating Obama's win last November, Israeli tanks rolled acros the border and shot 6 Palestinians youth for no good reason. Then the rockets resumed.
The people of Gaza will fight this oppression and intimidation. They do not have sophisticated weapons.
Put yourselves in their shoes and walk a mile in them, then you know why the will continue to fire.
Dear MIS,
I do wonder what you think about Aisehman's perpective in his lastest blog posting
http://aisehman.org/?p=860
I am in no way an apologist for Israel, but it would seem to me that many (Muslim?) Malaysians view this 'nuanced subject' through polarised lenses. Some of the vehement responses to Aisehman bear testimony to this.
Regards,
CPK
Post a Comment