Day: July 17, 2014

The Two-State Solution Is Dead by Flynt Leverett and Hillary Mann Leverett — Antiwar.com

Since 1967 the Us has been searching for a way to have peace in the Middle East….we have tried to make both sides of the argument happy……and because of that we have failed miserably….

The most popular solution is the two state one……we have been trying to push that since the beginning….but is it a doable solution?

 

The Two-State Solution Is Dead by Flynt Leverett and Hillary Mann Leverett — Antiwar.com.

The Gaza Saga

Yep, we all know that Israel is kicking the crap out of the civilian population of Gaza….there are many views, many reports and many opinions…….I would like to bring my reader up to date on some of the stuff that may not be making into our MSM reports….after all they only have about 30 seconds to help make Israel’s case for them…..

Every Western media outlet has been reporting on the casualties in Gaza…..30…..50…..100 and now 200+ and it continues to rise……but now Israel does not have to hang its head when the dead civilians are brought up……for you see after 1200+ rockets fired by Hamas Israel now has a death……one single death……..

An Israeli man was hit with a mortar and killed near the Gaza border today, making him the first Israeli to die in a lopsided conflict that has seen nearly 200 Palestinians killed. The man was delivering food to soldiers when the mortar struck, a police spokesman tells the AP. Hamas has claimed responsibility for the rocket, according to al-Jazeera.

Then there is the humanitarian needs……but first….I recall back about a year ago when Syria was starting to get ugly people like McCain and Graham were all bitchy and demanding that the US supply humanitarian aid to the Syrians….and yet they are so silent about the needs of Palestinians….why is that you think?

Gaza is in dire straights…….

Israel has intensified its efforts against Hamas, claiming to have intercepted four rockets in Tel Aviv and bombed 39 targets—including the homes of several high-ranking Hamas leaders last night—after a brief ceasefire yesterday, the New York Times reports. But now residents of the Gaza Strip have a new problem: no water and overflowing sewage systems, reports NBC News. The continued airstrikes have reportedly caused massive damage to water and sewage infrastructure in Gaza and destroyed at least 560 homes, according to the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees, which is calling the situation an emergency. The Red Cross says the issue could “quickly turn into a catastrophe.” “Within days, the entire population of the Strip may be desperately short of water,” the Red Cross’ Israeli chief said in a statement. “Water is becoming contaminated and sewage is overflowing, bringing a serious risk of disease.”

Israel has had the support of most of the Western world for their recent actions taken against Hamas…..but that may be coming to an end…….

GAZA (Reuters) – Four Palestinian children were killed and one was critically wounded on a Gaza beach on Wednesday by a shell fired by an Israeli naval gunboat, a Palestinian health official said.

Asked about the incident, an Israeli military spokesman in Tel Aviv said he was checking the report.

“The kids were playing football on the beach. They were all … under the age of 15,” said Ahmed Abu Hassera, 22.

“When the first shell hit the land, they ran away but another shell hit them all,” said Abu Hassera, whose shirt was stained with blood.

“It looked as if the shells were chasing them,” he told Reuters.

Ashraf al-Qidra, spokesman for the Gaza Health Ministry, said four of the youngsters were killed and a fifth youth was in critical condition. “This is a cowardly crime,” he said.

The Gaza beach area has been shelled frequently since Israel began its offensive in the enclave on July 8 following a surge in Palestinian cross-border rocket strikes.

This will give Israel the bad press they richly deserve……I think that they will be looking for a way to end this current conflict……….they cannot afford to lose too much western support….it is what keeps them in control……

But Bebe has said unequivocally…..

Netanyahu was asked a number of times whether the government had certain political goals and whether he was in contact with Egypt or other countries to try to bring about a cease-fire through diplomatic means, MKs said.

“I am not talking to anybody about a cease-fire right now,” Netanyahu told the committee. “It’s not even on the agenda.”

Funny how events can make you out a liar…ain’t it?

P.S.  Israel in an attempt to control any bad press from the deaths of those children have declared a 5 hour ceasefire for “humanitarian” reasons…..

As I was writing this word came down that Israel will cease fire on Friday……funny how ‘humanitarian concerns kick in when the bad press starts, huh?

Israel Runs Up the Score | The American Conservative

Don’t have a stroke!  I do read the American Conservative…….it may be the only conservative publication that is worth reading….they do not hold on to the daily talking points of the GOP….they give a true conservative point of view which to me is very refreshing….I may not agree with them on much but their articles are well worth reading….especially if one has a logical and rational mind.

This is a good analysis of the current situation in Gaza….brings up many points that do not normally come up in our pundits and their analyses……read it well worth the time…..

 

Israel Runs Up the Score | The American Conservative.

Gaza Under Seige–Yet Again

Inkwell Institute

Middle East Desk

The attacks has one single goal………to stop the firing of Hamas rockets into Israel proper……that was in 2008 and is as it is today…….the problem is that NO amount of airstrikes and ground forces have stopped the rockets and their deadly intention…….I believe that Einstein had an observation on this type of action……

Israel says that they are not targeting civilians but rather are going after Hamas members….the problem with that statement is that the bombs cannot telling Hamas from a civilian…….

Recently Israel was magnanimous….they offered a cease fire….if Hamas will stop firing rockets they will stop bombing……that was the deal in 2008 also……of course Hamas would reject the deal and once they did Israel would have a clear path for escalation.  In 2008 with Egypt’s assistance a deal was offered……….the terms were this…….

Israel shall stop all hostilities in the Gaza Strip land, sea and air, including incursions and targeting of individuals.

All Palestinian factions shall stop all hostilities from the Gaza Strip against Israel, including rocket attacks and all attacks along the border.

Opening the crossings and facilitating the movement of people and transfer of goods and refraining from restricting residents’ free movements and targeting residents in border areas. Procedures of implementation shall be dealt with after 24 hours from the start of the ceasefire.

Once the deal was accepted then missiles no longer were fired into Israel…….that worked out well for Israel but they did not live up to terms….there were airstrikes, there incursions into Gaza and fishermen were harassed and arrested and the economic blockade remained…..of course the tried and true excuse for a continuation of violence is that they had intel that Hamas was planning something and they had to act…..

On the 24th of December 2012 the rockets resumed to target inside Israel…..and of course the condemnation of Hamas began all over again and the killing resumed……

Like I wrote Israel offered a deal for the hostilities to stop…..it was rejected by Hamas.  But why did Hamas reject the proposal?  Hamas remembers how well Israel accepted the terms of the last ceasefire…..not much changed other than Hamas was silent for a period of time…….Hamas sees this deal NO better than the screwing they took in the deal of 2008.  Plus since Hamas took over in Gaza there has been an economic blockade of the region that Hamas wants ended so the people of Gaza can have a normal life…..

Hamas did not like the deal the Egypt and Israel had come up with and has offered Israel a 10 year truce deal….a counter proposal……

The first demand, according to Maariv, is the withdrawal of Israeli military tanks from the border fence area to a distance that enables Gaza farmers to access their fields and tend them freely.

In addition, Israel must free all Palestinian prisoners detained after the abduction and killing of three Israeli teenagers in the southern West Bank including those who were freed as part of Gilad Shalit prisoner swap. This precondition also includes softening procedures against all prisoners in Israeli custody.

A third demand stipulates that Israel ends the crippling siege on the coastal enclave, which means reopening all border crossings and allowing the entry of construction materials and all requirements needed to run the Gaza Strip’s power station.

The fourth demand stipulates the opening of an international seaport and international airport in the Gaza Strip to be run and monitored by the United Nations.

Hamas and Islamic Jihad also demanded that Israel increases the Gaza fishing zone to 10 nautical miles and allows Gaza fishermen to use large fishing ships.

Furthermore, the Rafah crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip should be monitored by international crews from friendly and Arab countries.

Israel must commit to a ceasefire for 10 years which includes closing Gaza airspace to Israeli aircraft, it added.

Moreover, Israel must give Gaza residents permission to visit Jerusalem and pray in the al-Aqsa Mosque.

Another stipulation demands that Israel abstain from any intervention in Palestinian internal affairs including political arrangements and the reconciliation agreement and all its consequences.

Finally, the Gaza industrial zone must be re-established.

A 10 year peace deal?  Why would Israel balk at the prospect?

About the only item that would appeal to Israel is the ceasing of rockets into Israel……there is NO way that either side is going to control themselves for 10 years…..

Any agreement regardless of who proposes it should include a couple conditions……

1. An agreement must be clear in terms of what constitutes a violation so that the actors will have to consider the ramifications of public condemnation before committing a violation.

2. An agreement must take into consideration the dramatic imbalance of power between the sides. If there is a Palestinian violation, Israel retains the capacity to hold them accountable independently and at will, often inflicting disproportionate causalities leading to escalation. But when Israel violates the cease-fire, Palestinians cannot hold them accountable. The absence of any mechanism for monitoring Israeli violations and holding them to account creates incentives for Palestinians to do so in other ways, like firing projectiles.

3. An agreement must ensure that Israel does not use its position of power to unilaterally change the terms. The previous cease-fire included an easing of restrictions as part of the detailed understanding between the parties negotiated through Egypt. This meant fisherman could fish up to six nautical miles from the coast instead of the previously imposed three nautical mile mark. It also meant Palestinians could access farm land up to 300 meters from the fence, previously Israel had fired at Palestinians as far as 1500 meters away. But during the course of the cease-fire, Israel unilaterally changed those terms, reinforcing the three nautical mile mark and going back to shooting Palestinians near the fence even as far away as 1500 meters.

4. An agreement must take into account the devastating human rights crisis and humanitarian situation in Gaza that lies at the foundation of discontent there. As mentioned above, when it came to “easing restrictions” the previous agreement was mostly about determining what would be the dimensions of the prison cell that is the Gaza Strip. For real progress, an agreement must challenge the very notion that Palestinians should be stuck in this prison at all and move toward ending the collective punishment that is Israel’s siege on the Strip.

There can be a sustainable peace in the region but all sides MUST sign on and hold up their end of the agreement……and ALL sides have got to want peace…….unfortunately I do not see that has a priority….and since it is not then this cycle will continue and the West will sit on their hands and wait…….and while they wait and do nothing more Palestinians will die.