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1. Salvo Of 12 Mortar Shells From Gaza Hit Southern Israel
by Gavriel Queenann
Twelve mortar shells fired from northern Gaza landed in open areas in the Eshkol region. No injuries were reported.
Friday's barrage was the first mortar fire since Gaza terror groups declared a unilateral ceasefire, Thursday.
Israel Air Force fighter jets struck a location east of the Gaza city of Khan Yunis earlier Friday. Khan Yunis is regarded as a terror hub by Israeli security officials. The IDF confirmed hits on its intended target.
Sources in Gaza reported three people were killed and others were wounded in the air strike, bringing the death toll in Israel's retaliatory raids to 12. The casualties are believed to be members of a Hamas' Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades cell.
The IDF sorites on Gaza follow Thursday's anti-missile attack on an Israeli school bus that left a teenager critically wounded and barrage of over 45 rockets fired from Gaza into Israel's south.
IDF tanks also fired on two groups of armed terrorists approaching the Gaza security fence, reporting injuries among the terrorists in each case.
Israel's Iron Dome missile interception system also reportedly intercepted a second rocket fired from Gaza.
Thursday night terror groups in the Gaza Strip attempted to unilaterallly declared a ceasefire in an apparent attempt to stave off IDF retaliation.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Friday morning from the Czech Republic, "Iron Dome's results are impressive - intercepting two missiles, one after the other, is an important success."
Netanyahu also said "We will act even if the defensive measures we have also offensive measures to protect Israeli citizens from rocket attacks from Gaza."
Netanyahu will return to Israel this afternoon
Comment on this story
by Gavriel Queenann
Twelve mortar shells fired from northern Gaza landed in open areas in the Eshkol region. No injuries were reported.
Friday's barrage was the first mortar fire since Gaza terror groups declared a unilateral ceasefire, Thursday.
Israel Air Force fighter jets struck a location east of the Gaza city of Khan Yunis earlier Friday. Khan Yunis is regarded as a terror hub by Israeli security officials. The IDF confirmed hits on its intended target.
Sources in Gaza reported three people were killed and others were wounded in the air strike, bringing the death toll in Israel's retaliatory raids to 12. The casualties are believed to be members of a Hamas' Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades cell.
The IDF sorites on Gaza follow Thursday's anti-missile attack on an Israeli school bus that left a teenager critically wounded and barrage of over 45 rockets fired from Gaza into Israel's south.
IDF tanks also fired on two groups of armed terrorists approaching the Gaza security fence, reporting injuries among the terrorists in each case.
Israel's Iron Dome missile interception system also reportedly intercepted a second rocket fired from Gaza.
Thursday night terror groups in the Gaza Strip attempted to unilaterallly declared a ceasefire in an apparent attempt to stave off IDF retaliation.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Friday morning from the Czech Republic, "Iron Dome's results are impressive - intercepting two missiles, one after the other, is an important success."
Netanyahu also said "We will act even if the defensive measures we have also offensive measures to protect Israeli citizens from rocket attacks from Gaza."
Netanyahu will return to Israel this afternoon
Comment on this story
2. 'Gaza Has Become a Terrorist State'
by Maayana Miskin
Gaza has become a terrorist state, President Shimon Peres said in a meeting with foreign ambassadors. “Hundreds of thousands of mothers and their children in southern Israel cannot sleep at night as a result of the rocket attacks from Gaza,” he said.
The ambassadors hailed from countries represented on the United Nations Security Council, as well as countries in the Middle East.
“Can the United Nations guarantee that terror attacks will not happen again? None of you would give up on the safety and security of your citizens, just as Israel will stand in its own defense,” Peres declared. He tied recent terrorist attacks to international “flotillas” attempting to break Israel's naval blockade of Hamas, saying, “Whoever wants to help Gaza should insist that Gazans stop firing on Israel.”
He also took issue with the UN over Iran, whose head, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, has called to destroy Israel. “Why do you permit him to do this while allowing him to continue to be a member?” he asked.
The UN is inherently anti-Israel due to its organization, but Israel is committed to membership nonetheless, Peres added. “We can never benefit from a majority. The blocs in the UN are based on being anti-Israel and we don't have an opportunity for justice. In spite of this we will continue to struggle on and fight for peace.”
Peres' remarks followed a terrorist attack on an Israeli school bus in which one boy was critically wounded. Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack.
Both Britain and the United States condemned the attack on Thursday. British Foreign Secretary William Hague called it “despicable” and “cowardly.”
“I unreservedly condemn today's attack from Gaza on a bus carrying school children in southern Israel,” he said.
A U.S. State Department official said, “We condemn the attack on innocent civilians in southern Israel in the strongest possible terms... As we have reiterated many times, there is no justification for the targetnig of innocent civilians.”
The State Department expressed “deep concern” over the use of an advanced anti-tank missile in the attack, and noted that all countries are obligated to prevent weapons smuggling.
The IDF responded to the attack by hitting several terrorist targets in Gaza, including smuggling tunnels and launch sites. Nine people were killed, eight of them Hamas terrorists.
Comment on this story
by Maayana Miskin
Gaza has become a terrorist state, President Shimon Peres said in a meeting with foreign ambassadors. “Hundreds of thousands of mothers and their children in southern Israel cannot sleep at night as a result of the rocket attacks from Gaza,” he said.
The ambassadors hailed from countries represented on the United Nations Security Council, as well as countries in the Middle East.
“Can the United Nations guarantee that terror attacks will not happen again? None of you would give up on the safety and security of your citizens, just as Israel will stand in its own defense,” Peres declared. He tied recent terrorist attacks to international “flotillas” attempting to break Israel's naval blockade of Hamas, saying, “Whoever wants to help Gaza should insist that Gazans stop firing on Israel.”
He also took issue with the UN over Iran, whose head, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, has called to destroy Israel. “Why do you permit him to do this while allowing him to continue to be a member?” he asked.
The UN is inherently anti-Israel due to its organization, but Israel is committed to membership nonetheless, Peres added. “We can never benefit from a majority. The blocs in the UN are based on being anti-Israel and we don't have an opportunity for justice. In spite of this we will continue to struggle on and fight for peace.”
Peres' remarks followed a terrorist attack on an Israeli school bus in which one boy was critically wounded. Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack.
Both Britain and the United States condemned the attack on Thursday. British Foreign Secretary William Hague called it “despicable” and “cowardly.”
“I unreservedly condemn today's attack from Gaza on a bus carrying school children in southern Israel,” he said.
A U.S. State Department official said, “We condemn the attack on innocent civilians in southern Israel in the strongest possible terms... As we have reiterated many times, there is no justification for the targetnig of innocent civilians.”
The State Department expressed “deep concern” over the use of an advanced anti-tank missile in the attack, and noted that all countries are obligated to prevent weapons smuggling.
The IDF responded to the attack by hitting several terrorist targets in Gaza, including smuggling tunnels and launch sites. Nine people were killed, eight of them Hamas terrorists.
Comment on this story
3. 'Daniel Needs Prayers'
by Maayana Miskin
The family of a 16-year-old critically wounded in an attack on a bus is calling on the public to pray. Daniel Viflic of Beit Shemesh remains in intensive care, and is fighting for his life.
“We ask that the entire Jewish people pray for the recovery of Daniel Aryeh ben Tamar,” relatives said.
The attack took place near Kibbutz Saad in southern Israel. Terrorists in Gaza opened fire on the bus using an anti-tank missile.
Minister of Education Gidon Saar condemned the terrorists Thursday, saying, “This is a particularly serious attack – intentionally firing on a bus carrying students.” He said he would raise the matter with Education Ministers worldwide, “in order to show that Palestinian terrorism is murderous and knows no limits.”
Minister of Homefront Defense Matan Vilnai has ordered that three armored buses be sent to the region to bring children to and from school.
The IDF responded to the fire on the bus, and also hit several other terror targets. Sources in Gaza said seven people were killed in the strikes, at least six of whom were members of Hamas.
Comment on this story
by Maayana Miskin
The family of a 16-year-old critically wounded in an attack on a bus is calling on the public to pray. Daniel Viflic of Beit Shemesh remains in intensive care, and is fighting for his life.
“We ask that the entire Jewish people pray for the recovery of Daniel Aryeh ben Tamar,” relatives said.
The attack took place near Kibbutz Saad in southern Israel. Terrorists in Gaza opened fire on the bus using an anti-tank missile.
Minister of Education Gidon Saar condemned the terrorists Thursday, saying, “This is a particularly serious attack – intentionally firing on a bus carrying students.” He said he would raise the matter with Education Ministers worldwide, “in order to show that Palestinian terrorism is murderous and knows no limits.”
Minister of Homefront Defense Matan Vilnai has ordered that three armored buses be sent to the region to bring children to and from school.
The IDF responded to the fire on the bus, and also hit several other terror targets. Sources in Gaza said seven people were killed in the strikes, at least six of whom were members of Hamas.
Comment on this story
4. WikiLeaks Revelations on Israel
by Gavriel Queenann
The latest media-barnstorm by Wikileaks founder Julian Assange reveals the private concerns and assessments of Israel's intelligence services, the Guardian reports.
The documents on Israel and the Middle East come as Assange agreed to be interviewed by the Hebrew-language Yedidot Acharonot this week to defend his organization from charges of anti-Semitism.
According to the cables,
Israel Forecasted Mideast Upheaval in 2007
Classified documents from 2007 – long before unrest swept though the Mideast – revealed Director of Military Intelligence Major-General Amos Yadlin had told Americans that Syrian President Bashar Assad's regime is unlikely to survive another war with Israel.
Mossad Chief Meir Dagan echoed the sentiment at the time, further expressing his concern over the instability of several Middle East regimes.
Dagan intimated the Israel's security community felt that the regimes in Egypt, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon were unstable – an assessment proved right in early 2011.
Tantawi Obdurate On Arms Smuggling
Mohammed Tantawi, the head of the interim junta ruling Egypt who has expressed solidarity with the Palestinian Authority, was an obstacle to efforts to stop arms smuggling within the Gaza strip, according to Israeli security forces in 2009. The cables also revealed praise for former Egyptian intelligence minister Omar Suleiman, who was described as "supportive".
Egypt is the primary route for weapons and munitions into the Gaza strip, and the US has been facilitating co-operation between Israel and Egypt to tackle this for several years. Israel routinely bombs smuggling tunnels transiting the southern Gaza boundary in retaliatory strikes.
Bahrain-Israel Cooperation
The King of Bahrain, whose Sunni-ruled Arab state has recently been shaken by Shiite protests, has had friendly links with Israel's Mossad intelligence agency. The US learned of the contacts during a private conversation between US ambassador, William Monroe, and King Hamad of Bahrain in the king's palace on 15 February 2005.
Monroe reported back to Washington: "He [the king] revealed that Bahrain already has contacts with Israel at the intelligence/security level (ie [sic] with Mossad) and indicated that Bahrain will be willing to move forward in other areas."
Such cooperation is not overly surprising in light of tenion between Sunni-Arab states and Shiite Iran in the Persian Gulf. The Mossad has had back-channel contact with Arab counterparts, most notably Morocco and Jordan (prior to the Israel-Jordan Peace Treaty) in the past.
Hizbullah Ready To Slam Israel With 400-600 Rockets Per Day
Hizbullah's mounting capability to strike directly at Tel Aviv rests on an arsenal of more than 20,000 missiles.
Israeli intelligence chiefs briefed their US counterparts during a regular Joint Political Military Group (JPMG) session on November18, 2009 about the scale of potential Hizbullah attacks from Lebanon when hostilities next erupt between Iran's Shiite terror proxy and the Jewish State.
Washington was told, "Hizbullah possesses over 20,000 rockets ... Hizbullah was preparing for a long conflict with Israel in which it hopes to launch a massive number of rockets at Israel per day. A Mossad official estimated that Hizbullah will try to launch 400-600 rockets and missiles at Israel per day – 100 of which will be aimed at Tel Aviv. He noted that Hizbullah is looking to sustain such launches for at least two months."
Israeli Leaders Muddled On Gaza
Other cables detail secret talks between Shin Bet head Yuval Diskin and US diplomats over the role of Hamas in Gaza. On November 12, 2009 the embassy reported the views of Major General Yoav Galant, then head of Israel's Southern Command, that Hamas needed to be "strong enough to enforce a ceasefire."
Galant told the Americans: "Israel's political leadership has not yet made the necessary policy choices among competing priorities: a short-term priority of wanting Hamas to be strong enough to enforce the de facto ceasefire and prevent the firing of rockets and mortars into Israel; a medium priority of preventing Hamas from consolidating its hold on Gaza; and a longer-term priority of avoiding a return of Israeli control of Gaza and full responsibility for the well being of Gaza's civilian population."
Galant was to be made Israel's chief of defense staff earlier this year, but the appointment was canceled due to scandal.
Arab-Israeli Leaders Flirting With The Enemy
Diskin also offered the Americans the Shin Beth's stance on the of Israeli Arabs, of whom he said many "have taken their liberties too far."
Diskin said some Israeli-Arab leaders see themselves as Arabs and Muslims first, and Israeli citizens last. He also criticized Arab MKs, saying they were "flirting with the enemy."
He allegedly said "…these people don’t spread Israel's democratic values and principles, and abuse their diplomatic immunity." He also attributed the problem to Arab refugees who returned to Israel and "brought bad ideas" with them.
The Shin Bet Chief was quoted as having criticized the Israel Police in the documents, saying it was their "incompetence" that forced the Shin Bet to involve itself in former Balad Chairman Azmi Bishara's supposed espionage case, saying his organization "would welcome him back to Israel."
Bishara fled Israel in 2007, and is facing a lengthy prison sentence should he return.
Comment on this story
by Gavriel Queenann
The latest media-barnstorm by Wikileaks founder Julian Assange reveals the private concerns and assessments of Israel's intelligence services, the Guardian reports.
The documents on Israel and the Middle East come as Assange agreed to be interviewed by the Hebrew-language Yedidot Acharonot this week to defend his organization from charges of anti-Semitism.
According to the cables,
Israel Forecasted Mideast Upheaval in 2007
Classified documents from 2007 – long before unrest swept though the Mideast – revealed Director of Military Intelligence Major-General Amos Yadlin had told Americans that Syrian President Bashar Assad's regime is unlikely to survive another war with Israel.
Mossad Chief Meir Dagan echoed the sentiment at the time, further expressing his concern over the instability of several Middle East regimes.
Dagan intimated the Israel's security community felt that the regimes in Egypt, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon were unstable – an assessment proved right in early 2011.
Tantawi Obdurate On Arms Smuggling
Mohammed Tantawi, the head of the interim junta ruling Egypt who has expressed solidarity with the Palestinian Authority, was an obstacle to efforts to stop arms smuggling within the Gaza strip, according to Israeli security forces in 2009. The cables also revealed praise for former Egyptian intelligence minister Omar Suleiman, who was described as "supportive".
Egypt is the primary route for weapons and munitions into the Gaza strip, and the US has been facilitating co-operation between Israel and Egypt to tackle this for several years. Israel routinely bombs smuggling tunnels transiting the southern Gaza boundary in retaliatory strikes.
Bahrain-Israel Cooperation
The King of Bahrain, whose Sunni-ruled Arab state has recently been shaken by Shiite protests, has had friendly links with Israel's Mossad intelligence agency. The US learned of the contacts during a private conversation between US ambassador, William Monroe, and King Hamad of Bahrain in the king's palace on 15 February 2005.
Monroe reported back to Washington: "He [the king] revealed that Bahrain already has contacts with Israel at the intelligence/security level (ie [sic] with Mossad) and indicated that Bahrain will be willing to move forward in other areas."
Such cooperation is not overly surprising in light of tenion between Sunni-Arab states and Shiite Iran in the Persian Gulf. The Mossad has had back-channel contact with Arab counterparts, most notably Morocco and Jordan (prior to the Israel-Jordan Peace Treaty) in the past.
Hizbullah Ready To Slam Israel With 400-600 Rockets Per Day
Hizbullah's mounting capability to strike directly at Tel Aviv rests on an arsenal of more than 20,000 missiles.
Israeli intelligence chiefs briefed their US counterparts during a regular Joint Political Military Group (JPMG) session on November18, 2009 about the scale of potential Hizbullah attacks from Lebanon when hostilities next erupt between Iran's Shiite terror proxy and the Jewish State.
Washington was told, "Hizbullah possesses over 20,000 rockets ... Hizbullah was preparing for a long conflict with Israel in which it hopes to launch a massive number of rockets at Israel per day. A Mossad official estimated that Hizbullah will try to launch 400-600 rockets and missiles at Israel per day – 100 of which will be aimed at Tel Aviv. He noted that Hizbullah is looking to sustain such launches for at least two months."
Israeli Leaders Muddled On Gaza
Other cables detail secret talks between Shin Bet head Yuval Diskin and US diplomats over the role of Hamas in Gaza. On November 12, 2009 the embassy reported the views of Major General Yoav Galant, then head of Israel's Southern Command, that Hamas needed to be "strong enough to enforce a ceasefire."
Galant told the Americans: "Israel's political leadership has not yet made the necessary policy choices among competing priorities: a short-term priority of wanting Hamas to be strong enough to enforce the de facto ceasefire and prevent the firing of rockets and mortars into Israel; a medium priority of preventing Hamas from consolidating its hold on Gaza; and a longer-term priority of avoiding a return of Israeli control of Gaza and full responsibility for the well being of Gaza's civilian population."
Galant was to be made Israel's chief of defense staff earlier this year, but the appointment was canceled due to scandal.
Arab-Israeli Leaders Flirting With The Enemy
Diskin also offered the Americans the Shin Beth's stance on the of Israeli Arabs, of whom he said many "have taken their liberties too far."
Diskin said some Israeli-Arab leaders see themselves as Arabs and Muslims first, and Israeli citizens last. He also criticized Arab MKs, saying they were "flirting with the enemy."
He allegedly said "…these people don’t spread Israel's democratic values and principles, and abuse their diplomatic immunity." He also attributed the problem to Arab refugees who returned to Israel and "brought bad ideas" with them.
The Shin Bet Chief was quoted as having criticized the Israel Police in the documents, saying it was their "incompetence" that forced the Shin Bet to involve itself in former Balad Chairman Azmi Bishara's supposed espionage case, saying his organization "would welcome him back to Israel."
Bishara fled Israel in 2007, and is facing a lengthy prison sentence should he return.
Comment on this story
5. Jews in Judea, Samaria Get Their Guns Back
by Maayana Miskin
Following a series of meetings in the Knesset's Internal Affairs Committee, police have agreed to reconsider hundreds of weapons confiscations involving Israelis living in Judea and Samaria. Many of those whose guns were taken have reported that they were returned.
While most Israelis are not allowed to own a personal gun, an exception has traditionally been made for Jews living in Judea and Samaria due to the frequent terrorist attacks in the region. However, in 2007 the IDF began an operation to confiscate weapons and “put gun permits in order.”
Jews living in the region, and their supporters in Knesset, accused Defense Minister Ehud Barak of “making the settlers fair game” by leaving them unarmed.
Tension over gun permits reached a boiling point with the murder of four Jews near Beit Chaggai in 2010. One of the victims, Yitzchak Imas, had owned a gun, but his gun was confiscated just weeks before the attack that killed him, his wife, and two others – leaving the four with no way to fight back when terrorists open fire on their car.
The shooting led to the Internal Affairs Committee's involvement. MKs told police in no uncertain terms that they must review the confiscations within the month, noting, “This could be a matter of life or death.”
“We must not have a 'quick trigger finger' when it comes to taking away their weapons,” said MK Aryeh Bibi (Kadima). He hinted that the confiscations may have happened for political reasons, saying, “You need to look at the officers who are involved in this, who they spend time with. It could be with the left wing... We need the best officers, those are the ones who need to redo the whole examination.”
Bibi added that police should review the confiscations “in one day, two days, a week. The inspection should not take months.”
Hevron Hero Gets Weapon, Payment
One of the cases often mentioned in discussions of weapons confiscations was that of Uri Amsali of Kiryat Arba, whose gun was confiscated shortly after he used it to fight off terrorists during a shooting ambush in 2002 that left 12 Israelis dead.
While most were praising Amsali for his bravery, the Interior Ministry called on him to hand in his weapon. Amsali successfully fought the order in 2003 with help from the Judea and Samaria Human Rights Organization.
However, five years later when he went to register the birth of a daughter, Amsali was told that there was an outstanding order for him to turn in his weapon – and that without doing so, he would not be allowed to register the birth. His appeals were rejected, with officials saying that they could not hear his case until he gave his weapon to police.
In 2010 Amsali filed a court case, which dragged out for several months. During that time he was forced to travel without a gun on roads on which fatal shooting attacks took place.
Days after the Internal Affairs Committee finished its work in the matter, Amsali was informed that he would be getting his gun back. Amsali decided to file for compensation as well, and the Jerusalem District Court backed his claim, awarding him nearly 7,000 shekels to cover the court fees and lawyers' bills he had incurred while fighting the confiscation order. The Amsali case cost the state a total of approximately 10,000 shekels.
Comment on this story
by Maayana Miskin
Following a series of meetings in the Knesset's Internal Affairs Committee, police have agreed to reconsider hundreds of weapons confiscations involving Israelis living in Judea and Samaria. Many of those whose guns were taken have reported that they were returned.
While most Israelis are not allowed to own a personal gun, an exception has traditionally been made for Jews living in Judea and Samaria due to the frequent terrorist attacks in the region. However, in 2007 the IDF began an operation to confiscate weapons and “put gun permits in order.”
Jews living in the region, and their supporters in Knesset, accused Defense Minister Ehud Barak of “making the settlers fair game” by leaving them unarmed.
Tension over gun permits reached a boiling point with the murder of four Jews near Beit Chaggai in 2010. One of the victims, Yitzchak Imas, had owned a gun, but his gun was confiscated just weeks before the attack that killed him, his wife, and two others – leaving the four with no way to fight back when terrorists open fire on their car.
The shooting led to the Internal Affairs Committee's involvement. MKs told police in no uncertain terms that they must review the confiscations within the month, noting, “This could be a matter of life or death.”
“We must not have a 'quick trigger finger' when it comes to taking away their weapons,” said MK Aryeh Bibi (Kadima). He hinted that the confiscations may have happened for political reasons, saying, “You need to look at the officers who are involved in this, who they spend time with. It could be with the left wing... We need the best officers, those are the ones who need to redo the whole examination.”
Bibi added that police should review the confiscations “in one day, two days, a week. The inspection should not take months.”
Hevron Hero Gets Weapon, Payment
One of the cases often mentioned in discussions of weapons confiscations was that of Uri Amsali of Kiryat Arba, whose gun was confiscated shortly after he used it to fight off terrorists during a shooting ambush in 2002 that left 12 Israelis dead.
While most were praising Amsali for his bravery, the Interior Ministry called on him to hand in his weapon. Amsali successfully fought the order in 2003 with help from the Judea and Samaria Human Rights Organization.
However, five years later when he went to register the birth of a daughter, Amsali was told that there was an outstanding order for him to turn in his weapon – and that without doing so, he would not be allowed to register the birth. His appeals were rejected, with officials saying that they could not hear his case until he gave his weapon to police.
In 2010 Amsali filed a court case, which dragged out for several months. During that time he was forced to travel without a gun on roads on which fatal shooting attacks took place.
Days after the Internal Affairs Committee finished its work in the matter, Amsali was informed that he would be getting his gun back. Amsali decided to file for compensation as well, and the Jerusalem District Court backed his claim, awarding him nearly 7,000 shekels to cover the court fees and lawyers' bills he had incurred while fighting the confiscation order. The Amsali case cost the state a total of approximately 10,000 shekels.
Comment on this story
6. NATO Complains of Qaddafi's Human Shields
by Amiel Ungar
The news world is volatile, as one crisis competes for public attention with another. Libya is no longer news item number one in the United States and has been supplanted by the threat of a government shutdown that is coming to a head before this Friday's deadline.
The downgrading of Libya is also a function of a decline in interest. Hopes for a quick military victory or a Qaddafi decision to throw in the towel have abated. One day the rebels take Brega, the next day they are driven out of Brega, and the story repeats itself. The public and media sense is that everything has bogged down.
Increasingly, the term political solution is being bandied about. This is a phrase favored in Ankara, Beijing and Moscow but one that is starting to make inroads in the United States as well. Political solutions leave intaqct the question of what happens to Qaddafi. Does this imply the partition of Libya into East and West? Who keeps the peace between them?
NATO inherited the leadership of the Libyan intervention from the United States. It is increasingly bedeviled by self-imposed limitations - No troops on the ground and a code of ethics for the mission dedicated to protecting civilians rather than harming them.
This has played into the regime's hands. NATO leaders voiced their irritation at the strategy employed by the Libyan regime to nullify the coalition's air superiority. Qadaffi simply positioned his tanks and artillery batteries in close proximity to civilians using them as human shields.
Even ground troops occasionally injure innocent bystanders, but the risk is compounded when the coalition forces rely totally on air or missile power. Even in an age of precision, a munitions war is not all that precise. So the West is confronted with the dilemma that it cannot eject Qaddafi without running the risk of injuring civilians.
Since the protection of civilians rather than regime change was the presumed mission, one has to avoid injuring civilians even if it gives Qaddafi and his supporters a new lease on power. We are now witnessing the eruption of tensions between NATO and Benghazi as the insurgents clamor for more air strikes.
The there is a certain poetic justice to the situation. The West has encountered the human shields tactic before, notably in Iraq against Saddam Hussein. However, it is Israel that has been forced to tread a fine line when Hamas and Hizbullah used human shields to deter Israel.
Hizbullah also would position rockets near UN positions, daring Israel to strike at them and risk hurting the blue berets. However carefully Israel would strike, eventually there would be a case where air or artillery strikes would hurt civilians. Western public opinion would then come down hard to "stop the bloodshed". Instead of a clear-cut victory, Israel would at best be allowed a win on points.
Due to Western temerity about collateral damage, war has not been rendered more humane but less humane. The human shields tactic works against the side that recoils from inflicting civilian casualties, whereas the practitioners of the human shields approach have no similar qualms.
Secondly, instead of achieving a decisive result at the cost of civilian casualties, but in the long run inflicting less suffering to human life, the result is a protracted war and eventually a greater number of civilian casualties and more extensive human suffering.
During the Second World War, military installations and arms factories near civilian concentrations were considered legitimate targets. When the Allies were about to invade France, they made the hard but necessary choice of attacking targets even at the risk of inflicting casualties on civilians who were not enemy nationals, but people whom they intended to liberate. This policy was understood by the French population and the French Government in Exile.
It needs to be understood today.
Comment on this story
by Amiel Ungar
The news world is volatile, as one crisis competes for public attention with another. Libya is no longer news item number one in the United States and has been supplanted by the threat of a government shutdown that is coming to a head before this Friday's deadline.
The downgrading of Libya is also a function of a decline in interest. Hopes for a quick military victory or a Qaddafi decision to throw in the towel have abated. One day the rebels take Brega, the next day they are driven out of Brega, and the story repeats itself. The public and media sense is that everything has bogged down.
Increasingly, the term political solution is being bandied about. This is a phrase favored in Ankara, Beijing and Moscow but one that is starting to make inroads in the United States as well. Political solutions leave intaqct the question of what happens to Qaddafi. Does this imply the partition of Libya into East and West? Who keeps the peace between them?
NATO inherited the leadership of the Libyan intervention from the United States. It is increasingly bedeviled by self-imposed limitations - No troops on the ground and a code of ethics for the mission dedicated to protecting civilians rather than harming them.
This has played into the regime's hands. NATO leaders voiced their irritation at the strategy employed by the Libyan regime to nullify the coalition's air superiority. Qadaffi simply positioned his tanks and artillery batteries in close proximity to civilians using them as human shields.
Even ground troops occasionally injure innocent bystanders, but the risk is compounded when the coalition forces rely totally on air or missile power. Even in an age of precision, a munitions war is not all that precise. So the West is confronted with the dilemma that it cannot eject Qaddafi without running the risk of injuring civilians.
Since the protection of civilians rather than regime change was the presumed mission, one has to avoid injuring civilians even if it gives Qaddafi and his supporters a new lease on power. We are now witnessing the eruption of tensions between NATO and Benghazi as the insurgents clamor for more air strikes.
The there is a certain poetic justice to the situation. The West has encountered the human shields tactic before, notably in Iraq against Saddam Hussein. However, it is Israel that has been forced to tread a fine line when Hamas and Hizbullah used human shields to deter Israel.
Hizbullah also would position rockets near UN positions, daring Israel to strike at them and risk hurting the blue berets. However carefully Israel would strike, eventually there would be a case where air or artillery strikes would hurt civilians. Western public opinion would then come down hard to "stop the bloodshed". Instead of a clear-cut victory, Israel would at best be allowed a win on points.
Due to Western temerity about collateral damage, war has not been rendered more humane but less humane. The human shields tactic works against the side that recoils from inflicting civilian casualties, whereas the practitioners of the human shields approach have no similar qualms.
Secondly, instead of achieving a decisive result at the cost of civilian casualties, but in the long run inflicting less suffering to human life, the result is a protracted war and eventually a greater number of civilian casualties and more extensive human suffering.
During the Second World War, military installations and arms factories near civilian concentrations were considered legitimate targets. When the Allies were about to invade France, they made the hard but necessary choice of attacking targets even at the risk of inflicting casualties on civilians who were not enemy nationals, but people whom they intended to liberate. This policy was understood by the French population and the French Government in Exile.
It needs to be understood today.
Comment on this story
7. Hamas Plans to Kidnap Israeli Civilians In Israel
by Gavriel Queenann
Hamas intends to kidnap Israeli civillian in Israel with a special focus on the Jewish population of Judea and Samaria, the National Security Council Counter-Terrorism Bureau warned Wednesday.
The warning comes as intelligence sources cited tangible reports from reliable sources.
In addition, Israelis who plan to travel abroad for Passover have been warned of hotspots for kidnapping attempts. Countries on the list include Turkey, Jordan, Egypt, Morocco, the United Arab Emirates, Georgia, Armenia, Kenya and Nigeria.
The Council Counter-Terrorism Bureau advises Israelis in these countries conceal their identity, use air travel as their means of transportation, and only travel during the day.
Last Saturday the Counter-Terrorism Bureau also issued a strong warning to Israelis to leave Sinai immediately. "Terrorist elements remain in Sinai and are making preparations for kidnappings along with extremists among the local Bedouin tribes," the warning stated
The warning also asked Israelis with relatives staying in Sinai to contact their relatives and tell them of the warning, saying, "recent and reliable information obtained by the security services indicates terrorist organizations continue to plan to kidnap Israelis in Sinai to use as bargaining chips. The Counter-Terrorism Bureau strongly recommends Israelis refrain from going to Sinai and is calling on all Israelis currently there to leave immediately and return to Israel."
Counter-Terrorism Bureau officials explained "the security situation in the Sinai, which is characterized by instability, produces a real danger of attacks on Israelis there. Over the weekend the IDF a hit Hamas cell in Gaza, which was involved in planning attacks in the Sinai. This demonstrates the reality."
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by Gavriel Queenann
Hamas intends to kidnap Israeli civillian in Israel with a special focus on the Jewish population of Judea and Samaria, the National Security Council Counter-Terrorism Bureau warned Wednesday.
The warning comes as intelligence sources cited tangible reports from reliable sources.
In addition, Israelis who plan to travel abroad for Passover have been warned of hotspots for kidnapping attempts. Countries on the list include Turkey, Jordan, Egypt, Morocco, the United Arab Emirates, Georgia, Armenia, Kenya and Nigeria.
The Council Counter-Terrorism Bureau advises Israelis in these countries conceal their identity, use air travel as their means of transportation, and only travel during the day.
Last Saturday the Counter-Terrorism Bureau also issued a strong warning to Israelis to leave Sinai immediately. "Terrorist elements remain in Sinai and are making preparations for kidnappings along with extremists among the local Bedouin tribes," the warning stated
The warning also asked Israelis with relatives staying in Sinai to contact their relatives and tell them of the warning, saying, "recent and reliable information obtained by the security services indicates terrorist organizations continue to plan to kidnap Israelis in Sinai to use as bargaining chips. The Counter-Terrorism Bureau strongly recommends Israelis refrain from going to Sinai and is calling on all Israelis currently there to leave immediately and return to Israel."
Counter-Terrorism Bureau officials explained "the security situation in the Sinai, which is characterized by instability, produces a real danger of attacks on Israelis there. Over the weekend the IDF a hit Hamas cell in Gaza, which was involved in planning attacks in the Sinai. This demonstrates the reality."
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8. Danon: Goldstone Must Publicly Apologize, We've Filed a Lawsuit
by Elad Benari
MK Danny Danon (Likud) returned on Thursday from a visit to the United States, where he oversaw the drafting of a lawsuit against Justice Richard Goldstone, author of the Goldstone Report.
“I just returned from the U.S.,” Danon said during an interview on Thursday with Arutz Sheva’s Hebrew website. “I sat together with Jewish lawyers and together we formulated a libel suit against Judge Goldstone.”
Goldstone, who accused Israel in his report of committing war crimes during the 2009 Operation Cast Lead in Gaza, wrote an article which was published in The Washington Post last Friday, in which he said: “If I had known then what I know now, the Goldstone Report would have been a different document.”
Goldstone recanted the accusation that Israel had deliberately targeted civilians in his article. “While the investigations published by the Israeli military and recognized in the UN committee’s report have established the validity of some incidents that we investigated in cases involving individual soldiers, they also indicate that civilians were not intentionally targeted as a matter of policy.”
Later, however, Goldstone said that he will not retract his report despite his admission that Israel did not intentionally attack civilians.
“It is obvious to everyone that Goldstone hates Jews, and now that he has published an article in which he claims that some of the things he wrote were not accurate, we demand a public apology from him,” MK Danon told Arutz Sheva.
He added that he and his partners to the libel suit will not settle for less than a full public apology from Goldstone.
“When the report came out I ripped it from the Knesset podium,” he said. “Now it is time that he publicly apologize for his slander. He defamed all the IDF soldiers and he should apologize for that publicly. If he does not apologize the issue will go to court, and the suit will also be filed against the other members of the Goldstone Commission.”
According to Danon, a public apology by Goldstone is important so that historical justice is done. “It’s true that the damage is done,” he said, “but if he submits an apology to the UN General Assembly it will go down in history as well. Meanwhile, as long as he does not apologize, he must be chased everywhere just as he chased us.”
On Wednesday, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice said that she wanted the Goldstone Report to “disappear.”
“I’m not sure it can be amended,” said Rice. “What we want to see is for it to disappear and no longer be a subject of discussion and debate in the Human Rights Council or the General Assembly or beyond.”
Rice added that “we see no need for the Goldstone report to be considered and now that its principal author has said what he said, frankly, our view is reinforced that this should go away and that’s what we’ll work to do.”
Meanwhile, Andrew Standley, the Head of the EU delegation to Israel told Arutz Sheva on Thursday that the Goldstone Report “still stands.”
“We've read with interest what Justice Goldstone has written recently,” he said. “I think that the report still stands. What we have noticed in the comment written by Justice Goldstone is that if he had had access, at the time of writing the report, to all of the information which he now has, the report might have taken on a slightly different form. And I think that points, and he says so explicitly in his recent comment, that fuller access to information, including from the Israeli authorities, would have changed the report.”
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by Elad Benari
MK Danny Danon (Likud) returned on Thursday from a visit to the United States, where he oversaw the drafting of a lawsuit against Justice Richard Goldstone, author of the Goldstone Report.
“I just returned from the U.S.,” Danon said during an interview on Thursday with Arutz Sheva’s Hebrew website. “I sat together with Jewish lawyers and together we formulated a libel suit against Judge Goldstone.”
Goldstone, who accused Israel in his report of committing war crimes during the 2009 Operation Cast Lead in Gaza, wrote an article which was published in The Washington Post last Friday, in which he said: “If I had known then what I know now, the Goldstone Report would have been a different document.”
Goldstone recanted the accusation that Israel had deliberately targeted civilians in his article. “While the investigations published by the Israeli military and recognized in the UN committee’s report have established the validity of some incidents that we investigated in cases involving individual soldiers, they also indicate that civilians were not intentionally targeted as a matter of policy.”
Later, however, Goldstone said that he will not retract his report despite his admission that Israel did not intentionally attack civilians.
“It is obvious to everyone that Goldstone hates Jews, and now that he has published an article in which he claims that some of the things he wrote were not accurate, we demand a public apology from him,” MK Danon told Arutz Sheva.
He added that he and his partners to the libel suit will not settle for less than a full public apology from Goldstone.
“When the report came out I ripped it from the Knesset podium,” he said. “Now it is time that he publicly apologize for his slander. He defamed all the IDF soldiers and he should apologize for that publicly. If he does not apologize the issue will go to court, and the suit will also be filed against the other members of the Goldstone Commission.”
According to Danon, a public apology by Goldstone is important so that historical justice is done. “It’s true that the damage is done,” he said, “but if he submits an apology to the UN General Assembly it will go down in history as well. Meanwhile, as long as he does not apologize, he must be chased everywhere just as he chased us.”
On Wednesday, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice said that she wanted the Goldstone Report to “disappear.”
“I’m not sure it can be amended,” said Rice. “What we want to see is for it to disappear and no longer be a subject of discussion and debate in the Human Rights Council or the General Assembly or beyond.”
Rice added that “we see no need for the Goldstone report to be considered and now that its principal author has said what he said, frankly, our view is reinforced that this should go away and that’s what we’ll work to do.”
Meanwhile, Andrew Standley, the Head of the EU delegation to Israel told Arutz Sheva on Thursday that the Goldstone Report “still stands.”
“We've read with interest what Justice Goldstone has written recently,” he said. “I think that the report still stands. What we have noticed in the comment written by Justice Goldstone is that if he had had access, at the time of writing the report, to all of the information which he now has, the report might have taken on a slightly different form. And I think that points, and he says so explicitly in his recent comment, that fuller access to information, including from the Israeli authorities, would have changed the report.”
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