I posted yesterday saying that I doubt Nassaralla can really stop launching rockets at us. He proved me right today, by launching over 70 of them and counting... Quite a few people injured, at least one man killed.
Some interesting tidbits in the news here today.
Same as with the Scuds of the first Gulf War, some Palestinians are so overjoyed by the Katyusha attacks that they are celebrating them in song and dance. Well, looks like some of them almost got to see it up-close, as apparently some of the long-range rockets launched at Israel last Wednesday crossed the lines over to the Western Bank. Apparently, they don't mind:
The Fatah member related that local residents cheered when they heard the rocket fall and saw the resulting flames. “Even if it were to fall on our heads, it wouldn’t have spoiled our joy. All of us here are praying for Hizbullah’s success and victory," he said.
Another thing about the Qana incident. Rumors here are that the Hezbulla housed invalid children in the building, to create maximum effect in world public opinion. They set them up as bait, then launched from next to the building and took the launcher back inside, knowing the IDF will shoot at it. I have to say, this seems a bit too diabloic even for me. I am not at all sure this is true. That said, the following article makes it quite clear that they were focused on making the maximum gain from the whole set. Looks pretty cold hearted, cynical and calculated use of dead children's bodies. I used to think it was just poor taste (in Israel, we avoid showing dead bodies of people who were hurt in terror attacks, out of respect to the dead and their families). Looks now like it was more than the usual display of poor taste though -
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3284546,00.html
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Hi there,
Couple of comments and questions. What is this website? Is it like the BBC and so? I mean how much credit does it have in people’s eyes? I have come cross many articles but they all seem a bit one sided. I mean it seems only to support the war and just oppose anything which might say otherwise! Or maybe it should be that way! I don’t know.
I am not sure what do you mean by invalid children! I do agree with you in respecting those who died and not miss-use the pictures but how outsiders would get the seriousness of the situation?
I think there is a point which is getting overlooked and that’s the death of so many children. Everyone is trying to say it’s IDF or HA fault. Does it really matter which one fault is it? Is it gonna bring them back? Is it gonna stop other children from getting killed? Neither of them has any feeling for these children. And I am not just saying it, I have read so many blogs by Israeli and HA people and they don’t care in their own ways. I do really feel sorry for the people trapped in this conflict.
[Also is it true that in 1982 when Israel attacked Lebanon 17000 Lebanese (mostly refugees from Palestine) was killed? And was Kana 1 same as this one? It seemed the whole camp was bombardon?
I asked these two questions because I don’t really see neither IDF nor HA care about people’s lives]
Janjo, your questions are good ones. While I agreed that Israel has a right to protect itself, I have to admit, I am way past ready for this one to end. When watching the news tonite, I saw that Israel had recommenced bombing Beirut and I got almost physically sick, I swear.
Jonjo, babies, old folks, Moms, that's who dies in wars. Everyone knows that but that never stops anyone, does it?
There is this question that keeps bothering me and although some people are asking it, there is no real investigation into it:
Hezbollah seems capable of firing rockets at will at anytime they want. Three weeks into the Israeli bombing blitz and Hezbollah's capabilities seem unfazed! Does anyone not see something is terribly wrong?
Know this is off the topic but thought you'd like to follow what's being sad about QANA. it has generated a hot debate on British and American forums as well.
http://eureferendum.blogspot.com/2006/07/milking-it.html
anonymous (strange name you have there) I went there and appreciate this view. To keep things from being one-sided, I want to stress what Janjo and I both referred to about this and all wars. No one wins, do they? What could be worse than seeing a baby maimed and dusty from bombings? At the same time as they perform the transparent feat of appalling us all, they also illustrate what wars accomplish, in every instance. And here they lose badly.
The attempt to shock us with the appalling behavior of Israeli bombings merely illustrates the stupdity of those fanatics who insist on waging war and, especially, perhaps, those that begin them. Furthermore, what does it say about a force who slings rockets into the abyss, hoping, somehow, that they will land, once again, on some Hospital in Haifa?
To quote Shakespeare, after the deaths of Romeo and Juliet: "All are worsened. All are hurt."
Janjo, sorry about the lateness of my reply.
Ynetnews is the English version of ynet.co.il. It's the leading news portal in Israel, run by the same people that run the #1 bestselling newspaper (though not the best) - Yediot Aharonot. I don't usually agree with the views expressed there, they're a bit too "nationalistic" and "patriotic" for my taste, but they are a very reliable source when it comes to giving you the facts. If you want a more balanced view by an Israeli news resource try www.haaretz.com.
As for the use of pictures. I don't know, maybe it's a cultural thing? I mean, when we had children killed by rockets (and previously by Palestinain suicide bombers), we never showed the pictures of the dead bodies. One picture that I remember only too vividly from recent days is from the incident on Meron village where an eight years old Israeli child has been killed. The picture showed his father laying down next to the body and crying. But, the child's body was covered up with a sheet, there was no way for you to see any part of the body. I think it showed the intensety of the tragedy while maintainig the dignity of the dead child and his family. So, yes, there are ways of getting the message across without showing disfigured bodies. In fact, I think the bodies may have a desensethizing effect, making all look like some low-grade horror movie.
Does it matter whose fault it is? Well, not for the ones that died, but perhaps for future children. The hope is that if the international community and the Lebanese people realize that it's the HA's responsibility, they will be quicker with disarming the HA and putting an end to this war.
Kana 1 was tragically similar actually. The HA launched a rocket from next to a UN position where hundreds of refugees huddled together seeking shelter. One Israeli artillery shell, shot at the position where the rocket was launched from, was all it took to kill about 100 people :(
Steve -
I agree that any loss of life is regrettable - especially civilians.
However, i think that acknowledging the fact that there is a problem is a way to make things more balanced and possibly end this conflict.
The minute world oppinios puts its weight on the Lebanese government, Syria, and the other Arabs... even Iran (if at all possible), is the minute we are going to see the soldiers being released and an agreement for a total cease-fire happening....
Not happening yet.
Regarding my last post - here is an article worth reading:
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1154525792640
(for those who do not know Jpost is admittedly a right-tending paper, but the article was written by a former British correspondent from the daily Telegraph)
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