Fewer Israelis killed in 22 years of terrorism than Palestinians killed in 51 days

Terrorism is usually described as violence with a political goal, and it is meant to be a cheap form of fighting, for example set off one bomb and make society spend lots more preventing next attack. Before 9/11, I would say that two societies, Israel and Ireland, were the best known examples. It is generally acknowledged that terrorism is not really about killing people, but more about striking fear into the rest of the population.

I just found this on the website of the Jewish Virtual Library, a list of every victim of terrorism in Israel since 1993 when the Oslo peace agreement was signed.

Here are the total number of victims for the last 22 years.

From the Oslo Accords (Sept. 1993) until September 2000 - nearly 300 Israelis were killed in attacks.

During the Palestinian Al-Aqsa Intifada (Sept. 2000 - Dec. 2005) another 1,100 Israelis were killed.

Since December 2005, Palestinian terrorist attacks have claimed at least another 154 Israeli lives.

300 + 1,100 + 154 = 1,554 Israelis killed by terrorism in 22 years.  

2,310 Palestinians killed by Israel in Gaza in 51 days of 2014 war

Compare that to the number of people, mainly civilians and more than 500 children killed in last years 51 day war in Gaza.

Governments focus on terrorism, but rarely acknowledge how few people it actually kills.

Since 9/11, an average of nine American Muslims per year have been involved in an average of six terrorism-related plots against targets in the United States. Most were disrupted, but the 20 plots that were carried out accounted for 50 fatalities over the past 13 and a half years.

As Israel bombs Gaza again, there are talks of a summer war in Lebanon

**Update June 4, 2015 from Richard Silverstein's Tikkun Olam Blog

IDF Chief of Staff Promises 1.5-Million Lebanese Refugees in Next War

Israel’s chief of staff, Gadi Eizenkot told Israeli media that his forces were preparing for the next war with Hezbollah. He promised that when (not if) it happens, Israel will force 1.5-million Lebanese to flee for their lives while it invades the country and destroys it in worse fashion than it did in 2006 (the last time Israel came knocking). Israeli media only identified the source of this threat of war crimes as a “very senior IDF source.” But an informed Israeli source confirms that it was none other than Eizenkot himself.

Main Article

Israel is bombing Gaza again this week after reporting rockets were fired at Southern Israel.

Ma'an News Agency reports that the Arab League condemned Israel's attacks

The Arab League condemned the Israeli air strikes.

"The extremist Israeli government is trying to find pretexts to divert the international community's attention from resuming (peace) negotiations," Arab League deputy head Ahmed bin Heli told reporters in Cairo.

Wafa reports on Israeli airstrikes in several cities in Gaza.

There were no reports of any casualties.

Yesterday, Israeli media sources said a projectile which was fired from Gaza exploded in an open area near the port city of Ashdod, some 20 kilometers north of the Gaza Strip.

It said that there was no damages reported, but medical services said a 15-year-old girl from Ashdod arrived at the Barzilai Medical Center in Ashkelon suffering from shock, the Israeli daily Haaretz reported. There was no immediate claim of responsibility in Gaza for the rocket launching.

Shortly afterwards, the Israeli army issued a statement saying it had struck Hamas and Islamic Jihad facilities in the southern Gaza Strip, and blamed Hamas for the rocket fire.

The Guardian reports that Hamas arrested members of Islamic Jihad who were behind the attacks but

An Islamic Jihad spokesman was not available to comment. Hamas officials had no comment on the reported arrests.

returning to my role as media critic, this is blatantly wrong from The Guardian

The region has been largely quiet since an Egyptian-brokered ceasefire that halted seven weeks of fighting.

When you follow the daily news from Israel and Palestine even casually, you see how wrong that is immediately.

News happens every day that is not reported, even within the country, because like in the US when it's Muslims who are the victims of white Christian violence, that is not considered “terrorism” by our news media standards

I didn't hear anything about this incident in the Israeli news , not just that, this settler was not even arrested https://t.co/nADOB6N3nr

— ❤ Palestine (@Pales601) May 27, 2015

Israeli soldiers regularly shoot at Palestinian fisherman, and that is never reported in the West as violence.

Egyptian forces injured a Palestinian fisherman with live fire on Monday, shortly after two other Gazan fishermen were shot and injured by Israeli forces earlier in the day for allegedly leaving the designated fishing zone.

Israeli forces also reportedly opened fire on boats Sunday.

Restrictions on fishing zones off the coast of the Gaza Strip have been heavily enforced by Israeli forces as part of a blockade imposed on the strip since 2006, as forces repeatedly opened fire on Palestinians on land and at sea, confiscated fishing boats and equipment, and detained fishermen.

March alone witnessed a total of 35 incidents of shootings and incursions into the coastal enclave according to the Palestinian Center for Human Rights.

Israel agreed to expand the fishing zone off Gaza's coast as part of last summer's ceasefire between Israel and Palestinian militant groups, however fishermen are regularly prevented from fishing within the agreed limits.

It is only when Palestinians retaliate that the media pays attention.

In contrast to The Guardian reporting that “The region has been largely quiet since an Egyptian-brokered ceasefire that halted seven weeks of fighting” Ma'an News Agency reports that

Tuesday's rocket was the third fired from Gaza since the ceasefire, in addition to two mortar bombs reportedly fired at Israel since September, according to the Shin Bet internal security agency.

The UN Special Coordinator (UNSCO) released a report Monday saying the ceasefire that ended the latest war remains "perilously fragile."

While Palestinian armed groups have test-fired around 150 rockets into the sea, Israeli forces have carried out a range of military incursions into the coastal enclave, including two air strikes, the report said.

Gaza-based Israeli watchdog Al Mezan documented Israeli forces opening fire in the border areas inside of the Gaza Strip six separate times during the first ten days of May, leaving four injured including one child.

Wednesday's air strike was the third since the end of the 2014 war.

While Israel is bombing Gaza there is another war that is being talked about, a summer war in Lebanon against Hezbollah, possibly to strike a death blow to the Iran nuclear deal being reached by the P5 + 1

Trita Parsi, President of the National Iranian American Council just wrote in Huffington Post that

There are signs Israel may be at war again this summer. This time, not with Hamas in Gaza but with Hezbollah in Lebanon. Such a war may be the result not only of spillover from the Syrian war or ongoing Israeli-Hezbollah tensions. The deciding factor may be an Israeli calculation that war will shift momentum in the U.S. Congress decisively against the pending nuclear deal with Iran -- a deal that critics say will increase Iran's maneuverability in the region, including its support for Hezbollah.

In spite of AIPAC, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the Saudis and some of its GCC allies having done everything they could to kill the pending nuclear deal with Iran, they have failed. The negotiations are on track.

continued

a case for a war with Hezbollah has been made in Israel for the past few months. On May 12 the New York Times reported that Israeli is preparing for "what it sees as an almost inevitable next battle with Hezbollah." An Israeli official added in comments to the Times: "We will hit Hezbollah hard."

The Israelis argue that Hezbollah is engaged in a massive military buildup, and that Israel is publicizing Hezbollah's armament "to put the problem on the international agenda in case there is another conflict." According to the Israeli military, Hezbollah now has the capacity to hurl 1200 rockets a day at Israel.

Israel has been pushing this angle for several months. In February, 28 US lawmakers came to Israel's aid and wrote the Secretary General of the UN Ban Ki-moon,demanding that the UN stop Hezbollah from rearming. The letter accused the UN of failing to enforce resolutions, including one that requires the "disbanding and disarmament of all Lebanese and non-Lebanese militias."

Then I saw (via Uprooted Palestinians) that Press TV reported on a conference in Beirut of Islamic Scholars aiming to unite against Israeli aggression

Islamic scholars from around the globe participating in a conference in Lebanon’s capital Beirut have underlined the need for the Muslim world to unite against Israel, saying the Zionist regime has launched an open war on Muslims.

Participants, both Sunnis and Shias, at the International Union of Resistance conference in Beirut on Wednesday discussed ways to promote unity and solidarity in the Muslim world and focus on the problems facing the Islamic world. They highlighted the cultural and religious commonalities among Muslim countries and stressed the need for them to set aside their differences.

The organizer of the event, the International Union of Resistance, was formed in the Lebanese capital last year to create a unified front in the face of the Israeli threat in the strategically important region of the Middle East.

continued  

On January 8, 2015, the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas called on all Islamic states to stand by the Palestinian nation in its struggles against Israeli atrocities.

We are seeing Israeli attacks against Gaza right now, and we may see another war in Lebanon, but the true goal may be broader than any stated goals.

Israel has been playing up fears about Iran's nuclear ambitions for decades, despite Iran's right to nuclear enrichment for energy, and their long history of not wanting a nuclear weapon, even at the height of the 8 year long Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s.

But efforts to keep the Middle East nuclear free were squandered once again as we found out when Netanyahu thanked Obama and Kerry for blocking an Egyptian proposal at the UN review conference of the Nuclear Non-proliferation treaty (NPT) (UNODA)

Israel’s prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, thanked the US secretary of state, John Kerry, for blocking an Egyptian-led drive on a possible Middle East nuclear arms ban at a United Nations conference, an Israeli official said on Saturday.

continued

A month-long review conference on the 1970 nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) ended in failure on Friday, over disagreements on the issue of a Middle East atomic weapons ban. Washington blamed the failure on Egypt, which in turn blamed the US, British and Canadian delegations.

Netanyahu spoke with Kerry “to convey his appreciation to President Obama and to the secretary”, a senior Israeli official said on condition of anonymity.

“The United States kept its commitment to Israel by preventing a Middle East resolution that would single out Israel and ignore its security interests and the threats posed to it by an increasingly turbulent Middle East,” the official added.

Israel also thanked Britain and Canada for joining the US in blocking consensus at the conference, the official said.

Last month, Egypt, backed by other Arab and non-aligned states, proposed that the UN secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, convene within 180 days a regional conference on banning weapons of mass destruction (WMD) as called for at the 2010 NPT review meeting.

Ban voiced disappointment that NPT parties were “unable to narrow their differences on the future of nuclear disarmament or to arrive at a new collective vision on how to achieve a Middle East zone free of nuclear weapons and all other weapons of mass destruction (WMD)”.

According to Egypt’s proposal the conference could take place with or without Israel’s participation, and could be held without agreement on an agenda or discussion of regional security issues – two of Israel’s conditions for participating.

Israel neither confirms nor denies the widespread assumption that it controls the Middle East’s only nuclear arsenal. Israel, which has never joined the NPT, agreed to take part in the review meeting as an observer, ending a 20-year absence.

The call for a 2012 conference on a regional WMD ban, approved at the 2010 NPT review meeting, infuriated Israel, though it eventually agreed to attend planning meetings. The 2012 conference never took place, which annoyed Egypt and other Arab states. Egypt’s proposals, western diplomats say, were aimed at pressuring Israel.

Washington and Israel say Iran’s nuclear programme is the real regional threat.

Iran says its programme is peaceful. It is negotiating with world powers to curb it in exchange for lifting sanctions.

Israel has said it would consider joining the NPT only once at peace with its Arab neighbours and Iran.

But according to The Forward, quoted by Lobelog, while Israeli political leaders are "worrying" about a nuclear Iran, IDF fears Hezbollah more, showing more signs of agreement with Trita Parsi's reporting that there are rumors of a war in Lebanon this summer.

one key group of experts doesn’t buy into that threat assessment: namely, the heads of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).

The Forward’s J.J. Goldberg reported on Tuesday that:

Israel’s military General Staff and intelligence services are in the midst of a series of formal discussions focused on just the opposite assumption: the likelihood that the emerging nuclear agreement between Iran and the major powers could minimize the Iranian threat for an extended period, allowing the military to redirect budgets and resources toward areas of more immediate concern. The discussions are chaired by the deputy chief of staff of the Israel Defense Forces, Major General Yair Golan, under the supervision of the chief of staff, Lieutenant General Gadi Eizenkot.

And what does keep the IDF awake at night? “[The] likelihood of renewed flare-ups within the next few years with the heavily armed Islamist militias on Israel’s northern and southern borders, Hezbollah and Hamas,” reports Goldberg.

What keeps me up at night is Israeli and American misguided foreign policy that creates the enemies it tells us to fear.... 

Israel's Reaction to ISIS in the Golan

The cease-fire that has ended the current war in Gaza is holding for now. (pay attention to the disgusting way this article was written) 

The cease-fire was still holding Wednesday, and that was good news in a conflict beset by breaches by Hamas and the other militant resistance groups operating in the Gaza Strip.

Israeli drones could still be heard flying circles overhead, but there was no rocket or missile fire. In Gaza, fishermen went further out to sea than they have in years, and farmers were allowed to work fields close to the Israel fence line.

After seven weeks of intense fighting that's killed more than 2,000 people, Hamas and Israel have announced a long-term cease-fire deal.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas made the announcement in Ramallah on Tuesday, saying both sides will return to the negotiating table to deal with other demands. Abbas suggested he wanted an outcome that ends the cycle of war in the region.

 Hamas, Israel reach long term cease-fire deal

The BBC reports "Palestinian negotiators said "Israel had agreed to ease its blockade of Gaza to allow in aid supplies and building materials."

Haaretz reports that the terms do not include "a seaport, an airport" nor "the release of prisoners."

NPR's Emily Harris reports that a senior Israeli official says the big difference between this cease-fire and others is that this one is open-ended.

The official said if the cease-fire is respected, Israel will reconsider its blockade. Broader peace talks, the official said, will restart "pretty quickly" in Cairo. Once there, an Israeli delegation will talk about demilitarizing Gaza.

It's important to remember that other cease-fire deals have quickly dissipated. In fact, minutes after the cease-fire was supposed to begin, Al Jazeera reported that rocket alarms were still sounding in Israel.

Let's compare the Israeli government's reaction to  

A) Hamas (after the collapse of peace talks, the formation of the unity Palestinian government, the kidnapping and murder of 3 Israeli teens, and the rockets fired into Israel) which led to a nearly 2 month long bombing campaign, ground invasion, and killing over 2,000 Palestinians in Gaza (the West Bank was mostly ignored in the media after the war started)

B) with news this week that ISIS (some report it was not ISIS but another Syrian rebel group) had captured a border crossing in the Golan Heights.

Syrian Rebels Take Control of Crossing in the Golan

Islamist opposition fighters in Syria, including members of an Al Qaeda affiliate, took control of the Quneitra crossing point on the demarcation line with the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, activists said on Wednesday. [August 27]

The move could bring Islamist forces within 200 yards of territory controlled by Israel.

continued

The Israeli military said one soldier and an Israeli civilian were wounded by “errant fire” from the clashes at Quneitra on Wednesday, prompting an artillery barrage against two Syrian Army positions in the Golan Heights — the latest of several occasions when Syria’s civil war has spilled into Israel, prompting retaliation. Israel has said it has no interest in further involvement in the fighting. (emphasis mine)

continued

Yaakov Amidror, a former Israeli national security adviser, said reports of the Nusra Front taking control of the Quneitra crossing could be “very significant” if the group managed to link that position to its stronghold in Dara’a, in southern Syria, and other areas.

But Mr. Amidror, who served under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, said Israel should not interfere in the conflict and should respond only if attacked or to provide humanitarian assistance to wounded people on the demarcation line.

Shelling on the Golan Heights: Syria Testing Israel’s Resolve? Fierce fighting across the border around Quneitra; the crossing may now be in rebel hands. Bad news for Israel?

Although an open-ended cease-fire is in force with Gaza, two people were wounded in northern Israel on Wednesday in the course of three shelling attacks from Syria.

emphasis mine

It was the third attack in a single day, the most intensive shelling from Syria in months. No one was physically injured and no property damage was reported in the attack.

Hours earlier, in the morning, an IDF officer was moderately wounded and two Israeli vehicles were damaged in a similar attack. A barrage of Syrian mortar shells was fired from across the border – again, from the Quneitra area.

The IDF attacked two Syrian positions in response to the mortar fire. IDF officials said Jerusalem holds the Syrian army responsible for maintaining order on the Syrian side of the border.

At least two of the three opposition factions involved in the war have vowed to dedicate themselves to Israel’s destruction when they have ‘completed their task’ in Syria. One of those is the Islamic State, or ISIS (Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.)

The IDF has ordered farmers and civilians to stay away from the border and part of the area has been closed to civilians as a precaution.

It is an understatement to say that the reaction is different.

Hamas builds tunnels and forms a unity government and is accused of kidnapping 3 Israeli teens?

• Israel kills more than 2,000 people in Gaza (as well as arrests and injuries in the West Bank)

Syrian rebels, possibly Al Qaeda-linked capture a border crossing in Syria along the border with Israel?

• Israel closes the border and tells farmers to stay away.

 

Israel knows this is not the first unity government and that it is not a threat to it's security

One of the many reasons Israel gives to justify it's current round of bombing Gaza (the tunnels, rockets, etc) is the 2014 unity government between Hamas in Gaza and the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank.

Besides any issues with Hamas' role in the current unity government, one problem with this excuse is that this is not the first time there has been a unity government.  Israel may fear that a unity government may work out because it would change the status quo situation in Palestine, which Israel has said openly it wants to continue.

It is also important to report that the government fell apart due to internal conflicts between Hamas and the Palestinian Authority, leading to the coup that put Hamas in control of the Gaza Strip today.

The Palestinians: Background and U.S. Relations January 2014

After Hamas won January 2006 PLC elections, a factional standoff between Fatah and Hamas ensued—with Abbas as PA president and Hamas controlling the PLC and the government ministries.  These tensions ultimately led to armed conflict that led to Hamas’s forcible takeover of the Gaza Strip in June 2007. In response to the Hamas takeover, PA President Abbas dissolved the Hamas-led government and appointed a “caretaker” technocratic PA government in the West Bank. 

I have not seen the 2007 unity government mentioned  when discussing the history behind the recent conflict. If it is mentioned at all it is buried near the bottom of the page as I show in this BBC article (3 paragraphs from the bottom). Yes, this is a mention, but hardly prominent.

I have since found some mentions, but they are hardly considered American Mainstream Media or enough consistent coverage to be considered adequate to inform the American public of a complicated history.

Hamas could claim to have eased the blockade; Israel could claim to have forced Hamas to concede security control on the ground to the rivals it ejected in 2007.

Since neither Israel nor Egypt wants to govern Gaza, the only chance these goals have of being implemented is if the moderate Palestinian Authority here in Ramallah, led by President Mahmoud Abbas, is invited back into Gaza (from which it was evicted by Hamas in 2007).

A bit of history can help us appreciate what's at stake here. In 2006 Fatah (headed by Mahmoud Abbas) lost to Hamas in a national election for seats in the Palestinian Legislative Council. Abbas continued as president of the Palestinian Authority and Hamas joined with Fatah in a unity government.

NYT 2014 Unity Government with no mention of 2007

NYT here mentions 2007

The schism between Hamas and Fatah began in 2007, with a brief but bloody civil war that followed a failed unity government after Hamas’s victory in 2006 Palestinian elections. It left Palestinian territory divided, with Hamas ruling Gaza, the impoverished and isolated coastal expanse, and the Fatah-dominated Palestinian Authority governing the larger and more populous West Bank.

Some Palestinian elections history

International Reaction to the Palestinian Unity Government May 2007

Hamas, a U.S. State Department-designated Foreign Terrorist Organization, surprised most observersby winning a majority of seats in the Palestinian legislative election in January 2006. The election was judged by international observers to be competitive and “genuinely democratic.”

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas: Overview of Internal and External Challenges March 2006

On January 9, 2005, the PA held presidential elections (which Hamas boycotted), and Fatah candidate Mahmoud Abbas was certified winner and President-elect. Between 2004 and 2006, Palestinians voted in multiple municipal elections to fill 900 local council seats, the first such elections since 1976. 

Palestinian Elections February 9, 2006

Seven candidates competed in the poll. Mahmoud Abbas (a.k.a. Abu Mazen) won 67% of the vote and was appointed to a four-year term, Mustafa Barghouti received 21%, and five candidates split the remaining 12%.

Israel’s Blockade of Gaza, the Mavi Marmara Incident, and Its Aftermath 2010

Under pressure from Saudi Arabia, Hamas and Fatah formed a unity government in February 2007, which proved to be short-lived. In what it considered a pre-emptive act to prevent Fatah from striking it first, Hamas took control of the Gaza Strip by force in June 2007. This “coup” prompted PA President Mahmud Abbas to dissolve the Hamas-led government and replace it with the current one under Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, who administers only the West Bank. Hamas remains in control of Gaza. Israel and the United States reestablished relations with the new PA government, and Israel imposed a tight land, sea, and air blockade on the Gaza Strip, in what it describes as an act of self-defense to prevent arms from reaching Hamas. With the blockade, Israel also hoped to turn Gazans against Hamas by contrasting Hamas rule with the better life of Palestinians in the West Bank. Instead, the blockade isolated the territory and helped to strengthen Hamas’s control.

http://www.canadafreepress.com/2007/inss022407.htm
emphasis mine

On February 8, [2007] Saudi-sponsored negotiations in Mecca produced agreement on a Palestinian national unity government signed by Mahmoud Abbas on behalf of Fatah and Khaled Mashal on behalf of Hamas.

http://www.arabnews.com/node/296042

The new Hamas-Fatah unity government won overwhelming Parliament approval yesterday, clearing a final formal hurdle before taking on the challenge of persuading a skeptical world to end a crippling yearlong boycott of the Palestinian government."

The vote was 83-3.

In all, Parliament has 132 members, but 41 are in Israeli detention.

http://www.canadafreepress.com/2007/inss022407.htm

Nine portfolios will be given to Hamas, six to Fatah, four to other parties, and five (including the central ministries of Foreign Affairs, Finance and Interior) to independents. The Interior Ministry controls most of the security forces and was the most contentious issue and it was agreed that Abu Mazen will choose the minister from a list of independents recommended to him by Hamas. The Prime Minister will remain Ismail Haniye, a Hamas leader.

continued

This formulation represents a compromise between Fatah's attempt to get wording that would accept the three demands of the international Quartet (renunciation of terror, recognition of Israel and endorsement of signed agreements), thus bringing about an end to the sanctions imposed by the Quartet and Israel, and Hamas' desire to avoid any commitments that contradict its basic ideology and positions. 

Hamas takes over Gaza
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2007/jun/15/israel4

The Hamas takeover of the Palestinian Authority's security and military intelligence headquarters came after a three-day siege.

Sources close to the Palestinian president said Israel had ignored repeated requests to allow deliveries of ammunition to Palestinian Authority forces, leaving them outgunned by Hamas who have relied on smuggled munitions.

Hamas prime minister, Ismail Haniyeh was deposed in the coup.

The Hamas takeover of the Palestinian Authority's security and military intelligence headquarters came after a three-day siege.

Sources close to the Palestinian president said Israel had ignored repeated requests to allow deliveries of ammunition to Palestinian Authority forces, leaving them outgunned by Hamas who have relied on smuggled munitions.

The Final Outcome of the failed unity government led Israel and America to restart negotiations with Abbas now that Hamas was not considered a government.

CRS Israeli-Palestinian Peace Process: The Annapolis Conference December 2007

Factional fighting between Fatah and Hamas in May/June 2007 resulted in Hamas seizing total control of the Gaza Strip. PA President Mahmoud Abbas then declared a state of emergency, dissolved the Hamas-led government, and replaced it with one led by independent, technocrat Prime Minister Salam Fayyad. In practice, the Abbas/Fayyad government now administers only the West Bank while Hamas dominates the Gaza Strip.  The Bush Administration and the Israeli government viewed the ouster of Hamas as an opportunity to return to diplomacy.

We must also remember who has been rejecting recent peace deals while they proclaim that they "will do anything for peace"

The Palestine Papers Document Leak 2011

http://www.aljazeera.com/palestinepapers/

Now we know Israel had a peace partner

What's more, the documents blow apart what has been a staple of Israeli public diplomacy: the claim that there is no Palestinian partner. That theme, a refrain of Israeli spokesmen on and off for years, is undone by transcripts which show that there is not only a Palestinian partner but one more accommodating than will surely ever appear again.

In American media we always here how Arafat in 2000 rejected "95%" of what he wanted, and there is a saying that he "never missed an opportunity to miss an opportunity"

But who ever mentions Israel rejecting peace deals because it is not enough? The Guardian

Emphasis Mine

The concession in May 2008 by Palestinian leaders to allow Israel to annex the settlements in East Jerusalem – including Gilo, a focus of controversy after Israel gave the go-ahead for 1,400 new homes – has never been made public.

All settlements built on territory occupied by Israel in the 1967 war are illegal under international law, but the Jerusalem homes are routinely described, and perceived, by Israel as municipal "neighbourhoods". Israeli governments have consistently sought to annex the largest settlements as part of a peace deal – and came close to doing so at Camp David.

Erekat told Israeli leaders in 2008: "This is the first time in Palestinian-Israeli history in which such a suggestion is officially made." No such concession had been made at Camp David.

But the offer was rejected out of hand by Israel because it did not include a big settlement near the city Ma'ale Adumim as well as Har Homa and several others deeper in the West Bank, including Ariel. "We do not like this suggestion because it does not meet our demands," Israel's then foreign minister, Tzipi Livni, told the Palestinians, "and probably it was not easy for you to think about it, but I really appreciate it".

Thanks to the Palestine Papers leak we can see Israel behind the scenes.  The problem is when American Mainstream Media keeps these facts behind the scenes.

Terror in Israel, Death in Gaza, Israeli Occupation and Palestinian Resistance

Israel/Palestine will be a continuing topic covered here......

I am torn watching the news.  I support Israel, but just like with our government here in America, I cannot sit idly by and accept what any government says when there is evidence that shows otherwise.  Yes there is propaganda on both sides of the conflict, but there is also truth that needs to be told.

While I cannot justify Hamas launching rockets into civilian Israeli cities, I also cannot condone Israel bombing homes, schools, mosques, hospitals, etc and defending every bomb dropped by Israel saying simply that "Hamas is to blame because they are firing rockets at Israel and using human shields."

International law does not say that this is legal either.

The statements used to defend Israel should also apply to Palestinians, and are even wrong when applied to Israel using historical examples.

• "Israel has a right to defend itself" (but apparently Gaza does not)

• "No country would tolerate rockets raining down on its civilians" (even though when Iraq was bombing Israel in the Gulf War with (believed to be Gas or Chemical weapons) George HW Bush told Israel not to respond, and they didn't respond, but took actions to defend it's civilian population.

For Gulf War, see for example CFR "Friendly Restraint"

The U.S. decision to side-line and restrain Israel was successful due to a balanced strategy of positive and negative inducements. It was carefully crafted and executed by President George Bush and his most senior advisors.

continued

Once the war started and Scud missiles began to fall, the Israeli leadership came under increasing pressure from top government and military officials to retaliate. Some members of the Israeli cabinet, as well as the Air Force chief of staff, lobbied Prime Minister Shamir to take military action.(34) Shamir was also under the pressure of precedent -- Israel had never before stood idle while under attack.

BBC News 1991: Iraqi Scud missiles hit Israel

Iraq has attacked two Israeli cities with Scud missiles, prompting fears that Israel may be drawn into the Gulf War.

The American President, George Bush, issued an appeal to Israel to hold back from retaliation for the attack.

Foreign Minister, David Levy, told journalists no decision had yet been taken on whether to retaliate.

"Israel reserves the right to retaliate in the manner and with the scale and method of its own choosing," he said.

Amnesty International responds to questions about the Israel/Gaza Conflict
Amnesty International 25 July 2014

This applies to Israel

The principle of proportionality requires that an attack must not be launched if it would cause excessive civilian casualties or damage to civilian objects in relation to the concrete military advantage anticipated. 

This is why Iron Dome plays such an important role in the conflict, not just in defending Israeli lives but also in determining proportionality.  If Israel is bombing a weapons cache in a home, hospital, or mosque, claiming that these dozens of rockets would cause harm to Israelis, Iron Dome proves them wrong because it is effective in preventing damage and death in Israel, even if it is not as effective as claimed.

For Iron Dome analysis, see for some examples

Billion Dollar Boondoggle: Israel’s Iron Dome Misfires

Less than two weeks after the US announced yet another $429 million in funding for Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system (which had already gotten over $900 million from the US), the system malfunctioned badly on Tuesday, resulting in the firing of two interceptor missiles by the system. The mishap frightened citizens in Eilat, where the incident took place around 7:30 am. Iran was quick to note the event and picked up on an important point: initial reports inside Israel claimed another “success” from the Iron Dome system, saying three rockets were incoming to Eilat and two of them were destroyed. The report later was withdrawn and the firing was blamed on an accident.

As Debunking Continues, Congress Pushes for US Contractors to Profit Off Iron Dome

With more rockets now being fired fired from Gaza and Israel responding by massacring Palestinians who have no escape, the Iron Dome system is getting renewed attention. And as with much in the Israel-Palestine situation, there is the propaganda we see in much of the main press and then there is the stark reality behind it that is vastly different.

Writing in The Atlantic, James Fallows noted a week and a half ago how the Washington Post had swallowed the propaganda completely, putting up the headline ‘Israel’s “Dome’ changes the fight”

No one wants Israelis to die (other than Hamas) but the fact that Israelis are not being hit by rockets does affect what the world sees.  If Israelis were dying in larger numbers (besides IDF soldiers who are in Gaza) then the proportionality and justification would be easier to say that the bombing in Gaza was worth it, even with higher deaths in Gaza than in Israel.

This applies to Hamas

Firing munitions which cannot be precisely aimed at military targets, such as artillery and mortars, into densely populated residential areas does not comply with the obligation to take all feasible precautions, even if they are aimed at  military targets located in these areas, and would constitute indiscriminate attacks. 

This applies to Hamas AND Israel 

co-locating military objectives in the vicinity of densely populated civilian neighborhoods. This means the parties should avoid endangering civilians by storing ammunition in, and launching attacks from, populated civilian areas.

This applies to both Hamas and Israel, as Hamas places bombs in civilian buildings, and Israel has its army headquarters in downtown Tel Aviv, as well as the argument that "every Israeli is obligated to serve in the military, and is therefore a military not civilian target."


This is from a Democracy Now! interview with Israeli Army Reservists who refused to fight

continued from Amnesty International

In addition to the points listed above, Israel continues to have obligations as the occupying power and as a party to the conflict during the hostilities, including ensuring the welfare of the population of the Gaza Strip and adhering to the prohibition on collective punishment.

The Daily Show explains Iron Dome and retaliation in Israel from 2012
November 26, 2012
http://thedailyshow.cc.com/videos/sk307z/conflict-in-the-gosling-stripped

"The conflict started last week when Hamas fired rockets into Israel, although it was retaliation for the killing by Israel of a Hamas leader, which was retaliation for the kidnapping of Gilad Shalit, which was retaliation for expanding settlement building, etc etc"


See Also 
In Gaza, Who is a Civilian? 2009

A Glance at Israel's Blood Soaked History in Gaza 2014

The Long History of Gaza's Tunnels 2014



In the long history of conflict in Israel, it is never as easy as "take the government at its word."  The media is full of defenders of Israel no matter what they do.  But as Rula Jabreal said regarding the larger context of the current conflict

"What do you think is happening?" they will tell you, "Well, Israel was minding its own business. The Palestinians started shooting missiles out of the blue." This is not the reality. This is not what’s going on. And the context of this is what’s leading the public opinion to support unconditionally Israel. And politicians will do what’s popular, not what’s right. We need to do what’s right. We, in the media, have a mission. Whether it’s MSNBC, Democracy Now!, CNN, we have a mission. We are truth tellers, and we can shape public opinion to protect public interest.

Explaining the larger context Rula said that

this policy with Gaza has been failing for the last eight years. We had six bombardments in the last eight years, and this did not topple Hamas and did not limit, weaken Hamas. Actually, it empowered more and more Hamas. And moderates like myself—and, for me, Hamas is the ultimate liability for the Palestinian people—but this did not empower moderates. Moderates have been telling Israel over and over, "We want a peace deal. We will agree on most conditions that you want." And as Gideon Levy said in this venue, in this same venue, the problem with our policy, that we want to keep the status quo. That means military occupation in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, and Gaza under siege.

War in Gaza, It's Not [Only] About the 3 Kidnapped Teens

Although the Arab-Israeli conflict is a constant news story waiting to blow up into a full blown crisis at any moment, like the current Operation Protective Edge, which many link to the kidnapping and death of the 3 Israeli teens Eyal Yifrah, Gilad Sha'er and Naftali Frenkel, it is important to remember that in reality the conflict never ends, it just disappears from the front pages.

Recent articles show the history of Operation Protective Edge stemming from the kidnapping of the 3 Israeli teens.

The Month That Brought Gaza Back To The Breaking Point

June 12

Three Israeli teens — Eyal Yifrach, Naftali Fraenkel, and Gilad Shaer — attempt hitchhike back to their homes. All three go missing. The youth are studying in Jewish settlements in the territory, the oldest age 19, the other two only 16.

Timeline Of Events In Gaza and Israel Shows Sudden, Rapid Escalation

Although Israel’s offensive started July 8, this set of clashes started bubbling last month when a set of kidnappings and murders in the West Bank and Jerusalem set fire to the Israel and Gaza tension tinderbox. 

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June 12, 2014

The tipping point of the latest clashes between Israel and Gaza, by most accounts, was the kidnapping of three Israeli teens in the West Bank. The West Bank is sprinkled with Israeli settlements, which is why the teens, Eyal Yifrach, 19; Naftali Fraenkel, 16 and Gilad Shaar, 16, were in disputed Palestinian territory.

In the hours following the news, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the Palestinian Authority, the newly sworn in unity government comprising of both Hamas and Fatah members in the West Bank, was responsible for the attacks.

But a look at other headlines show that the conflict was as always burning in the background until it exploded with the kidnapping of the teens, which many critics of Israel view as only an excuse to break up the unity Hamas/Fatah government which Israel opposed from the beginning.

Rockets Fired From Gaza Draw Airstrikes From Israel

APRIL 21, 2014

JERUSALEM — Seven rockets fired from the Gaza Strip landed in southern Israel on Monday morning, prompting Israeli airstrikes that hit at least one training site of Hamas, the militant Palestinian faction that rules Gaza.

The exchange of fire between Palestinian militants and Israeli forces, as Jews celebrated the last day of Passover, was the most significant clash in more than a month. Combined with recent violence in the Old City of Jerusalem and in the West Bank, the exchange increased tensions as Washington was struggling to salvage peace talks before a deadline next Tuesday.

Two Hamas security officers were slightly injured by one of the three airstrikes in the early afternoon, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. No injuries were reported in Israel. One rocket damaged a road in the Israeli border town of Sderot, one of several communities where residents were warned to be on alert as they went about their holiday barbecues, hikes and prayers.

Israel launches fresh air strikes on Gaza

24 Dec 2013 17:19

A three-year-old Palestinian girl was killed and at least six other people wounded in a series of Israeli air and tank strikes on the Gaza Strip, medical sources said.

Medics named the girl as Hala Abu Sabikha from the central Gaza Strip, noting "three other members of her family were wounded" on Tuesday.

Emergency services spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra said six people had been wounded in a series of strikes, which came in response to the shooting to death earlier of an Israeli repairing the security fence separating Gaza from Israel.

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The Israeli army said aircraft, tanks and infantry "targeted terror sites in the Gaza Strip" in retaliation for the shooting of the Israeli.

"The sites targeted were a weapon-manufacturing facility and a terror infrastructure in the southern Gaza Strip, a terror site and another terror infrastructure in the central Gaza Strip and a concealed rocket launcher in the northern Gaza Strip," an army statement said.

Two Are Wounded After Israel Orders Airstrike in Gaza

JAN. 19, 2014

JERUSALEM — The Israeli military said it carried out an airstrike in Gaza on Sunday aimed at eliminating an Islamic Jihad operative responsible for recent rocket fire against southern Israel, part of a growing cycle of border clashes in recent weeks that reflect the fragility of the 14-month cease-fire between Israel and the Palestinian coastal enclave.

A Palestinian man who was riding a motorcycle was seriously wounded in the missile strike, and a bystander, a boy of 12, was also hurt, according to a Health Ministry official in Gaza. There was no immediate confirmation from Gaza that the motorcycle rider was Israel’s intended target, though a website close to Islamic Jihad said the wounded man was a member of the group’s armed wing.

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In 2013, nearly 50 rockets were fired out of Gaza into southern Israel, and the Israeli Air Force carried out 10 attacks, striking 24 sites, according to the military. So far this year, 12 rockets have been launched, and Israel has carried out six airstrikes, hitting a dozen targets.

The conflict never ends, it's just that sometimes it gets big enough for the media to decide to pay attention.  If only they got the story right when they decided to pay attention, we would all be better informed.