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Clarifying the Misconceptions
BREAKING NEWS
ISRAEL-HAMAS CEASE FIRE TAKES EFFECT
After eight days of fierce fighting, Israel ends Operation Pillar of Defense undertaken to quell rocket fire from Gaza. Obama in phone call Netanyahu, lauds him for agreeing to truce. PM Netanyahu: More forceful action if it fails. (Ynet News, November 21, 2012)
FULL TEXT: TERMS OF ISRAEL-PALESTINIAN CEASE-FIRE—(Jerusalem) The text of the cease-fire agreement between Israel and Palestinians in Gaza was distributed at the news conference in Cairo with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Egyptian Foreign Minister Mohamed Amr.
Understanding Regarding Ceasefire in Gaza Strip
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1. a. Israel should stop all hostilities in the Gaza Strip land, sea and air including incursions and targeting of individuals.
b. All Palestinian factions shall stop all hostilities from the Gaza Strip against Israel including rocket attacks and all attacks along the border.
c. Opening the crossings and facilitating the movements of people and transfer of goods and refraining from restricting residents’ free movements and targeting residents in border areas and procedures of implementation shall be dealt with after 24 hours from the start of the ceasefire.
d. Other matters as may be requested shall be addressed.
2. Implementation Mechanism:
a. Setting up the zero hour for the ceasefire understanding to enter into effect.
b. Egypt shall receive assurances from each party that the party commits to what was agreed upon.
c. Each party shall commit itself not to perform any acts that would breach this understanding.
In case of any observations Egypt as the sponsor of this understanding shall be informed to follow up. (Washington Post, November 21, 2012)
“[Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu] spoke a short while ago with President Barack Obama and agreed to his recommendation to give the Egyptian cease-fire proposal a chance, and in this way provide an opportunity to stabilize the situation and calm it before any more forceful action would be necessary," an Israeli [government] statement. The Prime Minister said that President Obama showed "unwavering support for Israel's right to defend itself." (Jerusalem Post, November 21, 2012)
"I estimate that we will get a lasting calm. We spoke with our colleagues around the world and explained that we want lasting quiet – not for a week, not for two weeks. After a week of suffering, (we want) at least five or six years of quiet, stability and security." —Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman when asked about what Israel's citizens should expect in the [Gaza] post-ceasefire era. Addressing the government's apparent decision not to launch a ground offensive in Gaza, Lieberman said, "My approach is simple – if our forces enter Gaza, we must go all the way. In Operation Cast Lead we invaded and paid a heavy price as far as global public opinion…and the…Goldstone reports. The government cannot take such a decision (invasion) two months before election. We should leave this decision for the next government.” (Ynet News, November 20, 2012)
“We must declare war on the terrorists wherever they may be. The time for restraint is over. It is time for us to initiate ‘Defensive Shield 2′ against the sources of terror in Gaza, Judea and Samaria, just like we did in 2002. At the same time, we must identify and apprehend those within Israel’s borders who cooperate with the terrorists.” —Likud MK and Deputy Knesset Speaker Danny Danon after learning of the terror attack in Tel Aviv. (Times of Israel, November 21, 2012)
“It’s time to strike at terror with all our might. The IDF and the Shin Bet know how to reach anyone, anywhere. We need a decisive outcome,” —Opposition leader and Kadima chairman Shaul Mofaz on Army Radio, adding that he “fully backs” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should he decide to continue and even expand the Gaza offensive. (Times of Israel, November 21, 2012)
"If what has been done up to now will not return quiet to the south, we have no choice but to expand the operation. The residents of the south – and in recent days not only the south – cannot live under a constant barrage of missiles and rockets. This is an intolerable situation." —Vice Prime Minister Moshe Ya'alon. (Times of Israel, November 19, 2012)
“Our neighbors in the region are watching us, and they see this as a sign of weakness. They see that we have no deterrence left and we want a cease-fire. [Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu] has spoken for years about Iran, but he can’t even handle Gaza. He’s a nebbach [pathetic person], and Israel has to go do what we have to do and go into Gaza like we did in the West Bank in Operation Defensive Shield [in 2002], until the problem is solved.” —Nir Levy, a 45-year-old father of three who lives on the same street as the building [in Rishon Lezion] that was hit [by rocket fire from Gaza] (Jerusalem Post, November 21, 2012)
“I’m in favor of going in [to Gaza] and dealing with this like we need to. I don’t want us to agree to some cease-fire and then in another six months or a year just have them firing on us all over again. They only understand force.” —Erez Ozeri who was sitting with his son Miro in their ground-floor apartment when they heard the rocket warning siren and rushed to their safe room. After the attack, they said, they came outside only to see their apartment entirely ruined inside, even though it was seven floors below the impact. (Jerusalem Post, November 21, 2012)
"Like hidden snakes whose fangs bite in the darkness, the oppressing invaders (i.e., Israel) chase after our children… They have no shame. They are very happy to be snakes that stick out their tongues and slither with malice, and then attack, thirsty and hungry for human blood and liver." —a regular columnist in the official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida. (Palestinian Media Watch, Nov. 19, 2012)
“Go ahead adults, explain to them, go explain Hamas to a child in Sderot, Ashkelon, Ashdod, Beersheba, and now, both Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, why did the world allow these religious terrorists to amass thousands of rockets and to deploy them from amongst their own unwilling civilians; how it is that NGOs, Christian activists and tenured professors still bestow the mantel of victimhood on thugs who hide behind the skirts of women and in bunkers under hospitals; how come so many in the international media depict suicide bombings and thousands of Hamas rocket attacks as legitimate responses to Israeli "occupiers" who occupy not one millimeter of the Gaza Strip?” —Rabbi Abraham Cooper, Associate Dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center on a trip to Jerusalem during the Hamas rocket bombardment of Israel, during which a missile landed in Jerusalem for the first time in decades. (Fox News, November 20, 2012)
"Strike, Strike Tel Aviv," —Palestinian crowds in Nablus chanting, reciting the words made popular by a new hit song. (Jerusalem Post, November 21, 2012)
“The Egyptian people, the Egyptian leadership, Egyptian government and all of Egypt is standing with all its resources to stop this assault, to prevent the killing and bloodshed of the Palestinians. Israelis must recognize that we do not accept this aggression.” —Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi, addressing the crisis in Gaza in a televised address. (New York Times, November 15, 2012)
“…We are always going to be on the side of restraint but we are always with Israel and its right to defend its citizens and its way of life. You cannot negotiate when you are under attack,” —Canadian Defense Minister Peter MacKay, commenting on the war in Gaza between Israel and Hamas. Referring to the Iranian involvement in the conflict he said, “Their actions are despicable and the government is appalling. Knowing they are supplying Hamas [with Fajr-5 missiles] underscores how despicable.” (National Post, November 21, 2012)
“I know the term ‘militant’ is popular in the media, but a lot of people that contacted us feel it is inappropriate – and we do as well.” —Sam Eskenasi, a spokesman for B’nai Brith Canada. “They [Hamas] are a recognized terrorist group in Canada.” He argued that Hamas militants are committing “a double war crime” – first by firing indiscriminately on Israeli civilians, and, second, by launching rockets from positions within schools, hospitals and homes. “Nobody in Gaza wants a rocket fired from their house because they know it will automatically make their house a target,” (Globe and Mail, Nov. 19 2012)
"There is nothing that makes our hearts bleed like the pictures of the martyrs killed in Gaza as a result of Israeli fire and the mistakes of Hamas, which hijacked the [Gaza] Strip and its residents and forced them to accept its control and the control of its allies, in order to carry out a worrying policy that caused dire results. The most dangerous [result] is transforming the Palestinian cause from a national cause based on land and people to a religious issue…Hamas's plans… are never meant to benefit Palestine and the Palestinian cause…Hamas and its dangerous policy… place the entire homeland under a threat, the most…devastating consequence of which would be granting Israel a pretext to invade Sinai and recapture it in response to military operations launched from Sinai by factions associated with jihad organizations like Al-Qaeda and with [organizations] linked to Hamas…" Gamal Al-Ghitani, editor of the weekly culture supplement of the Egyptian government daily Al-Akhbar, in an article. (MEMRI, November 20, 2012)
"…[W]e have a secret weapon which we can use better than guns and machine guns, and this is time. As long as we do not make peace with the Zionists, the war is not over, and as long as the war is not over, there is neither a victor nor vanquished. As soon as we recognize the existence of the State of Israel, we recognize by this act that we are conquered." —Azzam Pasha, Secretary General of the Arab League, 1948. (Quoted in Ynet News, November 1, 2012)
ISRAELIS OPPOSE CEASEFIRE 70% to 24% —(Tel Aviv) Israel Television Channel 2 reported minutes before the ceasefire went into effect that a poll of Israelis finds strong opposition: 70% oppose, 24% favor. (IMRA,November 21, 2012)
IDF ARRIVING AT RISHON LEZION BUILDING HIT BY ROCKETS—(Rishon Lezion)
Yesterday, a long-range rocket fired from the Gaza Strip directly hit a residential building in Israel's fourth-largest city, Rishon Lezion. After the air raid siren sounded, the residents of the apartment entered the reinforced security room – required in all new buildings by Israeli law – and thus were saved. This video shows the severe damage caused to the building and the undamaged security room. Click for Video (IDF YouTube Channel, November 20, 2012)
TERROR ATTACK ON TEL AVIV BUS INJURES 28 PEOPLE—(Tel Aviv) A bomb on a central Tel Aviv bus wounded 28 people on Wednesday morning, in the first bombing in the city since 2006. The bomb exploded on the 142 bus line on Shaul Hamelech street near the Defense Ministry headquarters and around the corner from Ichilov Hospital, blowing out all the windows of the bus and leaving dozens in need of medical assistance. (Jerusalem Post, November 21, 2012)
ISRAEL ‘OUTSHOUTS’ HAMAS TV, RADIO—(Cairo) The IDF took over Hamas television and radio broadcasts, replacing the regular broadcasts with special bulletins aimed at Gaza residents…[T]he messages included information on the success of the Iron Dome system, the importance of staying away from Hamas operatives who may be targeted by IDF missiles, and even information on how Gaza civilians can protect themselves during an IDF attack. Other broadcasts showed clips of the IDF’s successes in killing Gaza terrorists, accompanied by a voiceover urging Gazans to rise up against Hamas, which, it says, has only brought them death and destruction. There [were] also cartoons, such as a one that shows a telephone ringing, unanswered, with accompanying text telling Gazans that “Hamas has run away and is leaving you hanging on the line.” (Times of Israel, November 21, 2012)
LEBANON WAR VICTIMS ALTER GAME OF TERROR FINANCING—(New York) Terror groups may no longer be able to do transactions in US dollars after a groundbreaking ruling by the highest state court in New York, the New York Court of Appeals, announced Shurat Hadin, the Israel Law Center, on Wednesday. (Nov 21) The ruling was issued on Tuesday in favor of victims of Hezbollah rocket attacks from the 2006 Lebanon War and could be a “game changer” in the global financial war on terror financing. Until now, terror financing could avoid scrutiny in the US by making fund transfers through American correspondent banks….[U]sing a new interpretation of an existing law, the appeals court ruled that correspondent banks will now be held liable for civil damages if it is found that they facilitated transactions that ultimately can be traced back to terror entities. (Jerusalem Post, Nov. 21, 2012)
SYRIAN ISLAMIST GROUPS REJECT WESTERN-BACKED OPPOSITION —(Beirut) Syria’s increasingly powerful Islamist rebel factions rejected the country’s new Western-backed opposition coalition and unilaterally declared an Islamic state in the key battleground of Aleppo, a sign of the seemingly intractable splits among those fighting to topple President Bashar Assad. The move highlights the struggle over the direction of the rebellion at a time when the opposition is trying to gain the West’s trust and secure a flow of weapons to fight the regime. The rising profile of the extremist faction among the rebels could doom those efforts. (Washington Post, November 19, 2012)
UN: IRAN TO DOUBLE OUTPUT OF URANIUM USED FOR NUKES—(Salzburg, Austria) Iran is poised to double its output of higher-enriched uranium at its fortified underground facility, the U.N. nuclear agency said Friday, a development that puts Tehran within months of being able to make the core of a nuclear warhead. In its report, the IAEA said Iran was ready within days to ramp up its production of 20 per cent enriched uranium at its plant at Fordo using 700 more centrifuges. That would double Iran’s present output and cut in half the time it would take to acquire enough of the substance needed to make a nuclear weapon, reducing it to just over three months. (Globe and Mail, Friday, Nov. 16 2012)
JORDANIANS CALL FOR END TO MONARCHY—(Amman, Jordan) Public expressions of anger at the Jordanian monarchy intensified as protests sparked by rising prices evolved into a rare show of open defiance aimed directly at King Abdullah II. Thousands of protesters turned out Friday, the fourth consecutive day of demonstrations across the country. In downtown Amman, the capital, a large group of protesters drawn from various groups including Islamists, leftist liberals and independents called for a "revolution," chanting, "People want the toppling of the regime." While demonstrations in Jordan that began during the Arab Spring pro-democracy uprisings have ebbed and flowed over the past 20 months, the protests this week have been unusually large. Open defiance of the king is illegal in Jordan. (Wall Street Journal, November 16, 2012)
EGYPT NABS 108 WARHEADS FROM LIBYA TO SINAI AND GAZA—(Cairo) Egyptian security officials said Wednesday that authorities have confiscated trucks carrying explosive warheads and a variety of small-arms ammunition smuggled from Libya. They said authorities seized the pickup trucks, carrying some 108 warheads for Soviet-designed Grad rockets, near Marsa Matruh, 430 kilometers (270 miles) northwest of Cairo on the Mediterranean coast. A flood of weapons from Libya has added to security concerns in Egypt. Smuggled weapons reach Islamist groups in the Sinai Peninsula, or pass via underground tunnels to the Gaza Strip. (Israel Hayom, November 21, 2012)
GRAVESTONES DESTROYED AT POLISH JEWISH CEMETERY—(Warsaw, Poland) More than 20 gravestones were destroyed at the Jewish cemetery in Lodz, Poland. The damage was discovered on Tuesday; it is believed the vandals entered the cemetery on Monday. Some of the toppled and broken gravestones were from the 19th century. “It was not a random act, tombstones are not easy to topple,” said Symcha Keller, the head of the Jewish community in Lodz. “Some of them can’t be repaired.” Also destroyed was the recently renovated tomb of the Rabbi of Staszow, the grandson of Elimelech of Lizhensk. (Times of Israel, November 21, 2012)
FRENCH JEWS TURN OUT TO SHOW SUPPORT FOR ISRAEL —(Paris) Some 2,000 French Jews demonstrated in Paris to support of Israel’s offensive against Gaza. Addressing the crowd, the president of the Israelite Consistory of France, Joel Mergui, likened “terrorism that wants to kill in Israel” to “the same that attacks Jewish children in France.” A main axis was blocked off for Tuesday’s demonstration just off the famed Champs-Elysees, and riot police vans lined neighboring streets. (Times of Israel, November 21, 2012)
ARAB COLUMNISTS CRITICIZE FIRING OF ROCKETS FROM GAZA—(Washington, D.C.) Alongside the official Arab condemnations of Israel's attack on Gaza, and the popular protests against it in some of the Arab countries, there has also been criticism against Hamas. This criticism is mainly voiced in the countries of the moderate Arab camp (headed by the Gulf states, the PA and elements in Egypt), which opposes the resistance camp (headed by Iran, Syria and Hizbullah). The critics claimed that Hamas's rocket attacks on Israel are reckless and ineffective, and do nothing but give Israel an excuse to attack Gaza. Many also accused Iran of exploiting the Palestinian cause and of igniting the entire region in order to demonstrate its strength, improve its position in its nuclear negotiations, and draw attention away from the crisis in Syria. (MEMRI, November 20, 2012)
Arab Columnists Criticize Firing of Rockets from Gaza: MEMRI, Nov. 21, 2012—Alongside the official Arab condemnations of Israel's attack on Gaza, and the popular protests against it in some of the Arab countries, there has also been criticism against Hamas.
Landmark Court Decision Opens Way for Claims Against Palestinian Authority: Stuart Winer, Times of Israel, Nov. 19, 2012—Israeli man twice kidnapped and tortured by PA security forces wins the right to sue for damages; terror victims may follow suit.
Will the Arab Spring Deliver for Hamas?: Fouad Ajami, Wall Street Journal, Nov. 20, 2012—
Mr. Morsi didn't rise to power to carry the burden of the Palestinian question. Egyptians could rightly claim that they had paid their dues for Palestine. Enough was enough…
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