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THE MACCABEAN ONLINE: URL:http://www.freeman.org/online.htm
Self-Inflicted Ignorance Is Suicide
The Freeman Center Is A Defense Against Ignorance
by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu
Israeli ground soldiers fought Hamas in Gaza Saturday night and early Sunday morning and killed more than 30 terrorists.
A Hamas mortar shell was the cause of most IDF injuries. Two soldiers were evacuated to the Soroka Medical Center in Be'er Sheva and are in serious condition. Two others were moderately wounded, and 24 more soldiers suffered light injuries, including from the extreme cold; eight of them treated in the field.
Email readers: Click here to see video [after Hebrew interviews, see footage of tanks preparing for entry to Ga
In the video above released by the IDF, Israeli soldiers give messages to loved ones and to the residents of the south before entering Gaza, explaining in Hebrew that they are going in, knowing it is dangerous, in order to protect them and to put an end to the rocket fire that has endangered their lives for so long.
Most of the ground soldiers are in northern Gaza, but fighting also was reported in central Gaza. Morale was reported high among the soldiers as well as among thousands of reservists who have been called to duty.
The IDF thoroughly prepared Givati Brigade, Golani Brigade, engineer and tank units for the ground incursion, with the mission to stop rocket fire on southern Israel.
One Kassam rocket hit a house in Sderot shortly after 8 a.m. Sunday, injuring one person lightly. Two rockets exploded in open areas in Netivot around 7:30 a.m. Six other rockets were fired on open areas in the Sderot and Eshkol regions since the ground troops crossed into Gaza around 7:00 Saturday evening, and an uncertain quiet permeated highly populated southern areas.
An Israeli Air Force strike bombed the broadcast center of the Hamas-run Al Aqsa television station, according to the Arabic-language Al Jazeera network. IAF planes struck over 45 targets including tunnels, weapons storage facilities, mortar shell launching squads and a number of mortar shell launching areas.
The IAF also bombed a terrorist target in Rafiah around 7:30 a.m. Monday, killing one terrorist.
IDF commander of Gaza operations Yoav Galant ordered an extension of the closed military zone in the Gaza Belt area to include Ofakim and Netivot.
Comment on this story
by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu
The ground invasion of Gaza is aimed at putting an end to Gaza rocket fire as worldwide pressure grows for a truce. The United States Saturday night rejected a Libyan-sponsored United Nations Security Council draft proposal for a ceasefire.
U.S. President George W. Bush stated in a radio address earlier in the day that the U.S. opposes a "one-sided" truce. The American delegation to the U.N. insisted that a resolution identify Hamas as a terrorist organization. The Libyan proposal expressed "serious concern at the escalation of the situation in Gaza, in particular, after the launching of the Israeli ground offensive."
United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon telephoned outgoing Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to communicate "disappointment" at the ground invasion while pushing for a truce.
The State Department is talking with Jordan, Egypt and Saudi Arabia to come up with an agreement, and Egypt has talked with Hamas leaders for the first time in weeks.
Israeli media and most political parties have shown unusual solidarity for the Cast Lead counterterrorist operation. A determined diplomatic offensive has made it clear that Israel will not allow a repeat of the June 19 ceasefire agreement, under which Hamas sporadically attacked southern Israel and smuggled hundreds of tons of explosives and advanced arms into Gaza while Israel remained silent.
The only retaliation was the occasional closing of Gaza crossings after rocket and mortar fire.
Pressure will grow on Israel to halt the Gaza campaign as the U.S. prepares to inaugurate President-elect Barack Obama on January 20.
"The Israelis certainly want the operation over before Barack Obama enters the White House on Jan. 20, so as not to demand of him a crisis response to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict," TIME magazine reported.
One of the key issues in a new ceasefire will be the stationing of international troops on the Egyptian border with Gaza, where years of smuggling left Gaza terrorists with hundreds of tons of explosives, anti-aircraft missiles and long-range Katyusha-style rockets.
A second issue is the opening of the crossings, including the Rafiah passage between Gaza and Egypt, which has objected to its being re-opened out of fear that terrorists and civilians would overrun the country.
No mention has been made of kidnapped IDF soldier Gilad Shalit, who is a major trump card for Hamas and one that the terrorist organization is not likely to give up without receiving demands that Israel is not likely to meet.
Comment on this story
The View from Here.
Subject: Where was Annie Lennox?
Several demonstrations are taking place this weekend to protest Israel's attack against Hamas and other terror organizations in the Gaza Strip.
Most are led by pro-Palestinian supporters, and Muslims wordwide. Many are plainly anti-Israel, and possibly anti-Semitic, but they have recruited prominent but misguided public figures.
One ill informed spokesperson is singer Annie Lennox. No doubt she legitimately grieves for innocent civilians who have been killed or wounded in the recent fighting.
My question is where has she been up to know?
Where was Annie Lennox the last eight years when innocent Israelis have been bombarded by Palestinian missiles and mortars? Where was Annie Lennox when the children of Sderot, Ashkelon, Nahal Oz, have become shell-chocked from the rain of five thousand rockets?
Let's go back a little further. Where was Annie Lennox when the north and central Israel came under intensive attack from Hamas's big brother, Hizbollah?
The answer is she was silent. Not one word in support of the thousands of Israelis cowering from prolonged Islamic missile attacks over many years both from across our northern and southern borders. Not one word.
Now, when the Israeli Government, under duress from an angry population, strikes against the terror organizations that have been allowed to strengthen their weaponry and manpower, Annie Lennox finds her voice.
Annie Lennox is unable to differentiate between targeted civilians and active terrorists.
In June 2007 Hamas took over the Palestinian Authority's main compound in the north Gaza Strip in a bloody coup that killed many Fatah fighters. Over this incident Annie Lennox was silent. It was from this compound that Hamas terrorists set out in two vehicles to attack the Kerem Shalom Crossing (which is the main transit point for humanitarian supplies from Israel into the Gaza Strip) on 19th April, 2008. Their attack injured seven Israelis before the Hamas attackers were driven off by the IDF. Again, Miss Lennox held her tongue.
On 27 December this was one of the initial targets of the Israeli air force. The compound was destroyed and many Hamas personnel, not expecting an attack from Israel on the Shabbat, were killed.
Now Annie Lennox finds her voice.
Tel Zaatar in the Jabaliya district was transformed by Hamas into a military training base. It also became the main headquarters and weapons storage facility of the Izz al-Dinn al-Qassam Brigade, another Islamic terrorist organization that has lethally struck at innocent Israeli civilians and children.
This terror training center and weapons dump was totally destroyed by the Israeli air force killing numerous terrorists in the process.
Now Annie Lennox weeps.
The Al-Islam base in the northern Gaza Strip was the Palestinian Preventive Intelligence headquarters that was commandeered by Hamas in their civil war against Fatah.
It became the main building for the Hamas Executive Force. Many Palestinian Fatah prisoners were brought in for interrogation, torture, and execution by Hamas. It was also the offices of the special Hamas naval patrol.
This building was destroyed in the surprise air strike by Israel on 27 December killing many Hamas operatives.
This has upset Annie Lennox.
Hamas's main headquarters in the center of Gaza city was hit killing many Hamas terrorists.
Annie Lennox is now voicing her protest about the loss of life.
At Tel al-Hawa, south of Gaza city, is the Hamas security services headquarters and weapons storage facility. The Izz al-Dinn al-Qassam Brigade also stored weapons and vehicles, and had their offices there. No civilians lived in this compound. During fighting, Hamas snipers were positioned in the building, and rocket launchers were placed on the roof of the building.
The Israeli air attack destroyed this building killing many terrorists.
This has clearly caused Annie Lennox to side with the pro-Palestinian protesters.
The disproportionate killing of Islamic terrorists has forced Annie Lennox to find a voice that was silent when innocent Israelis endured decades of bombardment from the north and south.
Palestinian casualties include:
i) Tawfiq Jabber , chief of the Hamas police in Gaza City . In the past a trusted colleague of Arafat, during the past two years he was often attacked by Fatah for making it possible to suppress Fatah activists in the Gaza Strip.
ii) Ismail al-Ja'abari , responsibility for Hamas's security and police defense services in Gaza . His role consisted mainly of providing protection for senior Hamas figures. He held the rank of Lieutenant Colonel and was appointed to his post by his brother, Ahmed al-Ja'abari, commander of the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades in Gaza , in June 2007 (Hamas's PALDF Forum, Al-Zeituna and Al-Jazeera TV forum website, December 28).
Ismail al-Ja'abari (Al-Jazeera TV forum website, December 28).
iii) Ten Popular Resistance Committees operatives, among them Muhammad al- Adgham, commander of the artillery unit . On December 28 the PRC website reported that he died in the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood of Gaza City .
iv) Police officers' course cadets.
v) Ahmed ‘Ashur , governor of the Central Gazan District.
Most of the casualties either wore Hamas uniforms and carried its weapons or worked for it. According to Palestinian media reports, a small number of civilian were also injured because Hamas headquarters and bases were located in populated areas
Following are some examples of terrorist operatives killed in the attacks, taken from Palestinian websites:
a. In the poster which appears on the front page of the present Information Bulletin, there are photographs of 17 Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades operatives killed in the attacks.
b. On December 27, the Popular Resistance Committees announced that ten operatives were killed, including Muhammad al-Adgham, the organization's artillery officer (PRC website, December 27, 2008).
c. Photographs of terrorist operatives which appear on the PALDF forum on the Hamas website.
Examples of photographs of terrorist operatives killed in the IDF attacks
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| Hamas terrorist operative who served in the Palestinian police The Palestinian police in Gaza is a manpower resource pool for military operatives of the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades. Killed in the Israeli Air Force attacks were Hamas police officers and members of the interior security who serve in its military infrastructure. One example follows: | ||
| Muhammad Yahya Muhanna in a Hamas police officer’s uniform (PALDF, December 30, 2008) |
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Last night another senior Hamas terrorist, Ali Zacharia Al-Jamal, was killed in an air strike.
This weekend, Annie Lennox will lend her voice to the pro-Palestinian demonstrators who would have Israel stop killing their Islamic heroes.
They recruit misguided people, like Lennox, to spout sympathy for their cause and, too quickly, people like Annie Lennox take to the cameras and microphones.
We in Israel regret the loss of innocent lives but we have a war going on right now. It is a war against a vicious, cynical, Islamic enemy that hates Jews, hates Israel, is determined to see the eradication of the Jewish state, and is preventing the prospect of a peace agreement by hijacking the moderate Palestinian majority.
I like Annie Lennox music. I have many of her songs of my ipod. However, if she cannot see the justice and need for our current campaign against this dangerous cancer she should keep her mouth shut until she is able to use it for the gift that God gave her – to sing, and not to give comfort to those who would harm us.
Barry Shaw
The View from Here
Israel
IDF soldier dies of wounds sustained in Gaza mortar fire
Yaakov Katz and JPost.com staff , THE JERUSALEM POST
Double Standard Watch: Israel's actions are lawful and commendable
| Sunday, January 4, 2009 |
| Sakhnin: Over 10,000 protest Gaza operation |
| Sakhnin: Over 10,000 protest Gaza operation YAAKOV LAPPIN and Jerusalem Post staff , THE JERUSALEM POST Jan. 3, 2009 www.jpost.com /servlet/Satellite?cid=1230733152340&pagename=JPArticle%2FShowFull Over 10,000 people demonstrated against Operation Cast Lead in the northern town of Sakhnin on Saturday, by far the biggest such protest in Israel so far. According to organizers, it was the largest protest held by the Israeli-Arab sector in many years. Marchers held Palestinian flags and even a smattering of green Hamas flags. They also held pictures of children said to have been killed during the IDF operation. There were no reports of violence. The protest opened with a minute of silence, in memory of Palestinians killed in Gaza since the operation began. The event was attended by several Arab Knesset members including Muhammad Barakei (Hadash) and Jamal Zahalka (Balad), as well as Arab mayors and other public officials from the Arab sector. Zahalka demanded that Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Defense Minister Ehud Barak, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and IDF chief of General Staff Lt.-Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi be tried in an international tribunal for what he called "war crimes in Gaza." The demonstration ended peacefully on Saturday afternoon, Police Northern District chief Cmdr. Shimon Koren said. Koren added that police preparations and the ongoing dialogue between police and Arab communal leaders have "once again resulted in a peaceful demonstration," and called on the dialogue to "continue in the coming days." Police Commissioner Insp.-Gen. Dudi Cohen, who toured the northern district on Saturday, said, "We approve demonstrations on the condition that they are held with a license and in a peaceful manner." Cohen warned, however, that "all disturbances will be dealt in an uncompromising manner." Meanwhile, Israel Beiteinu activists held counter-demonstrations at four junctions in the North. During the protests at the Megiddo, Mahanayim, Tishbi and Golani junctions, 100 demonstrators held signs and chanted slogans including, "No citizenship without loyalty!" Israel Beiteinu chairman Avigdor Lieberman said that "in the same way that the Israeli government knows that it is impossible to stop the operation in Gaza until Hamas is eradicated, [the government] must act against those Israeli citizens who are not loyal to the State of Israel." "The demonstration in Sakhnin in which 10,000 protesters are participating, proves that their loyalty is to Hamas and to those who want to destroy Israel," Lieberman continued. Over the past week, 210 Arabs were arrested in the North for endangering lives, rock throwing, and other offenses. A total of 126 suspects remain in custody, and 16 indictments have already been served. Across the country, 442 Arabs have been arrested for violent disturbances, 149 of those minors. A total of 384 Palestinians who crossed into the country illegally have been arrested since the Gaza operation began. Police remain mobilized in a three-ring formation stretching from the Green Line to city centers, and continue to operated under the Special C level of alert. Twelve thousand officers are patrolling across the country. In the South, police are focusing on protecting lives and reaching all rocket-landing zones. |
| Sunday, January 4, 2009 |
| Sources: U.S. truce efforts have yet to address Israel's needs |
| Sources: U.S. truce efforts have yet to address Israel's needs By Barak Ravid, Haaretz Correspondent Last update - 07:33 04/01/2009 www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1052481.html The U.S. has been engaged in intensive efforts with Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia to formulate a framework for an agreement to end the fighting in the Gaza Strip and to reach a stable and long-term ceasefire. However, according to senior diplomats, the American initiative has not yet reached a formula that addresses Israel's terms, and which Hamas is also ready to accept. Diplomats in Jerusalem did say the existing draft includes components that would probably also feature in a future agreement if such an agreement is reached. On Monday, French President Nicolas Sarkozy is expected to visit Israel. Paris is seeking to persuade Israel to agree to a 48-hour cease-fire, although Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni rejected such an initiative. The first element of the U.S. draft proposes a cease-fire that could end the firing of rockets and mortar rounds on Israel. In turn, the Israel Defense Forces would refrain from any activity in the Gaza Strip. Smuggling is an additional issue mentioned in the existing U.S. draft for an agreement, which also affords for the possible stationing of an international military presence on the Egyptian side of the border with Gaza to monitor the frontier zone. In addition, the draft calls for international observers to oversee the implementation of an agreement. As for the crossings, the rudimentary document stipulates that they would be permanently open to humanitarian aid, with a special emphasis on the Rafah crossing, in line with an agreement reached in 2005. The draft also speaks about renewing the presence of Palestinian Authority troops in the Gaza Strip possibly inside the Rafah crossing. Israeli diplomats have described Arab involvement in the efforts to reach an agreement as "intensive." Eight Arab foreign ministers are expected to arrive at the United Nations headquarters in New York this week, with the apparent intention of applying pressure on the UN Security Council to issue a resolution calling for a cease-fire. "The ground operation will help Israel improve its ability to realize the regional objectives it has set for itself in launching Operation Cast Lead," a senior official in Jerusalem told Haaretz on Saturday. Another source said he estimated Israel had "several days" to pursue these goals. Over the weekend, Israel has continued to its diplomatic efforts to stave off international pressure to stop the Israel Defense Forces action in Gaza. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni have spoken to several leaders and foreign ministers. |
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