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Saturday, 26 May 2007

Rockets being fired at Sderot described as a 'trickle of Rockets'


Continuing airstrikes, Israel hits at Hamas

JERUSALEM: The Israeli Army continued its air campaign against the Hamas infrastructure in the Gaza Strip late Thursday and Friday, striking at least eight locations, an army spokesman said.

I couldn't believe some of the statements made in this article, if you would like to see the article and read a few of my thoughts then click read more.

One attack struck a guard post near the home of Ismail Haniya, the Palestinian prime minister and a member of Hamas, in the Shati refugee camp in Gaza City, Palestinian officials said.

'Near the home', what exactly is this? The same refugee camp? Its basically a metal shipping container, probably closer to 100 other buildings, but all of a sudden it becomes 'a guard post near Haniya's home'
The army spokesman, speaking on the condition of anonymity under army rules, said Haniya had "definitely not" been the target of the nighttime attack on Shati. Instead, the army had aimed at, and hit, "a building used by Hamas" in the camp, he said.
"A building used by Hamas" a considerably different meaning to the personal guard post for Haniya.
The guard post, described by local residents as little more than a container or a tin shack, was empty at the time of the attack. Haniya was photographed soon afterward inspecting the damage.
So all of a sudden this essential guard house protecting Haniya, is described as being little more than a tin shack and empty. It doesn't sound like a guard house for Haniya, I think it might be safe to hypothesize there might be more guards protecting Haniya right now rather than less.
So if it was a guard hose why was it empty? Is the reason because it wasn't a guard house, the newspapers and the Palestinians would like to make out it was more than it was?
[In another strike, two Hamas militants were killed and five people were wounded after an Israeli missile hit their car, security officials said, according to The Associated Press in Gaza City. The army confirmed that it had targeted militants of a Hamas rocket production team on their way to attack Israel.]
'and Five people were wounded', whats this? were they moderately wounded? Severally wounded? Pride wounded? Severally traumatized in seeing their blood thirsty murdering terrorist martyrs blown to smithereens? If I was within 5 km and I have a headache does that make me a wounded statistic?
The Israeli military campaign began May 17, soon after Hamas said it would resume its rocket attacks on Israel from Gaza, ending a fragile six-month cease-fire. Smaller Palestinian factions had consistently violated the cease-fire, firing a trickle of rockets throughout. But the number of rocket launchings rose sharply in mid-May, and about 220 rockets have been fired toward Israel since then, according to the Israeli Army.

"soon after Hamas said it would resume its rocket attacks on Israel from Gaza", interesting that the Hamas leadership can promise the stopping of rockets when it suits them, but any other time, its by independent uncontrollable smaller Palestinian factions.

Fragile cease fire? You can't be talking about when Hamas was firing rockets under the guise of being members of other 'uncontrollable' smaller organizations, at Israel almost every day.

But the mother of all quotes has to be "firing a trickle of rockets throughout" If the Journalist who wrote this article would forward their address I'm sure we could organize a trickle of rockets to be fired towards their family, then we shall see if this "so called trickle" stays a trickle. Since when does hundreds of rockets equal a trickle?? I can't believe I just read that tripe in a national news paper.
On Friday afternoon, a rocket hit the yard of a house in the Israeli border town of Sderot, slightly wounding three civilians, army officials said. The Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, claimed responsibility for that attack and for firing six rockets at Israel on Friday morning.
Note the 'slightly wounding three civilians' report from the IDF, opposed to an alternative reports from Hamas which would sound like: seriously wounding 2 elderly grandmothers, 3 mothers with babies and 7 young children .
Other Israeli airstrikes on Friday targeted buildings that the army said belonged to Hamas. There were strikes in Khan Yunis and Jabaliya. A structure that the army described as an Islamic Jihad weapons-manufacturing facility was hit in the southern town of Rafah. Palestinian officials described it as a metal workshop. In Gaza City, missiles hit a money-changing business that the army said was "involved in transferring funds to terror organizations."

The old "Metal Workshop' , why is it that the Palestinians seem to have more 'metal workshops' per capita base than any other of the world's population. Why is it in such a 'depressed economy' the metal workshop always seems to be doing a flourishing business in the Palestinian territories?
At least 21 Palestinians were wounded Friday, said Dr. Moawiya Hassanain, a spokesman for the Palestinian Ministry of Health. He said 2 of the wounded were members of the Hamas police militia known as the Executive Force, while 19 were civilians, including 3 women and 7 children.
So taking this statement at facing value, and ignoring the fact the their might be an ample supply of injuries already generated by the ongoing Palestinian infighting, we're supposed to believe that in targeting two Hamas militants who were actually good guys ('police') the Israeli armed forces managed to injure 19 other civilians of which 7 were children and three were women. Aspirin any one?
Ahmad Youssef, an adviser of Haniya, said the attack on the guard post was meant to send "a message of threats." He added, "These are all messages and signals that aim to undermine and hamper the movement of the prime minister."
No, we wouldn't be hampering the free movement of Haniya, cause that would be so morally wrong. Its alright to send hundreds of missiles across the border into Israel, but you dare not hamper the free movement of some one who advocates the complete extermination of the state of Israel. That would be just wrong!
Israeli officials have recently suggested that leaders of the political wing of Hamas should not consider themselves immune. On Thursday, the Israeli Army arrested 33 prominent Palestinians associated with Hamas in the West Bank, including a cabinet minister and several legislators and mayors. The army described those arrested as "senior members of the Hamas terror organization."
Well overdue!
The United States voiced mild criticism over the arrests. "The detention of elected members of the Palestinian government and legislature does raise particular concerns for us," said Tom Casey, a State Department spokesman.
Yes Tom Casey your absolutely right, and that's why were going to simply round them all up and have them living next to you firing a 'trickle' of missiles into your back yard.
Israel, the United States and many Western countries define Hamas as a terrorist organization. The United States refuses to deal with the Hamas ministers in the Palestinian unity government.
Terrorists? That's a bit harsh. All these guys want is a fair go at killing civilians. Geez no need to be so down on them. Things used to be so much easier when you threw passengers out plane windows and people in wheel chairs overboard.
The Israeli military has focused its attacks on rocket-launching cells, Hamas military positions and weapons storage facilities. One Israeli woman has been killed and two civilians have been seriously wounded by the recent barrages of rockets fired from Gaza.
How many of Sderots residents have been incapacitated by psychological trauma? Can you imagine sitting your higher school certificate whilst rockets were being fired around you? Whats the cost to the population of Sderot? An entire city is slowly being destroyed by the actions of these terrorists.
Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president and a member of Fatah, has been trying to persuade the various Palestinian factions, including Hamas, to cease the rocket fire, in the hope of restoring the cease-fire.
Yes lets cease the fire of rockets, reach a cease fire agreement and then we'll let the 'uncontrollable' smaller factions fire rockets at Israel. Ok who wants to be in a smaller uncontrollable faction? Put your hand up? Ok no need to rush here fellows the cease fire talks will give us plenty of time to organize a few uncontrollable elements.
[The factions met at Abbas's offices in Gaza, but Abbas did not attend, The Associated Press reported. Participants said it ended without agreement.]
Can't see why Abbas wouldn't attend? Its not like Hamas was trying to assassinate him or anything?
[Egypt will act as host to talks in the coming days with Palestinian politicians, Palestinian and Egyptian officials said Friday, Reuters reported from the West Bank city of Ramallah. The Palestinian deputy prime minister, Azzam al-Ahmad, a close aide to Abbas, said he and another Fatah leader, Rawhi Fattouh, would travel to Cairo on Saturday to meet Egyptian officials.]
Yes nothing like a little bit of Egyptian input to get things going. How are those negotiations going for the three soldiers, Egypt?
Though Fatah sits in the unity government with Hamas, they remain bitter rivals. About 50 Palestinians were killed in a recent bout of fighting between the two factions.
Bitter rivals? No that's not true they just like practicing killing each other in preparation for the real deal when Israel makes the concessions required to make Israel a totally indefensible state.
At a rally in the Jabaliya refugee camp in northern Gaza on Friday, a Hamas leader, Nizar Rayyan, criticized Abbas for trying to end the rocket fire. "We will not listen to him," Rayyan said of the president, according to Reuters. "Abbas hates rockets just like we hate the Jews."

Nizar Rayyan you're the prefect example of the real intentions of most Palestinians especially Hamas supporters.


References:

International Herald Tribune: Continuing airstrikes, Israel hits at Hamas

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Friday, 25 May 2007

JPix 8 is up!


Rafi G from Life in Israel
has just posted JPix 8
make sure you drop in and visit it.




JPix 8 has just been finished by Rafi G at Life In Israel with loads of great photos to go have a look at, so make sure you pop over and take a look.


While on the topic of JPix, Mottel from Letters Of Thought will be hosting the next edition in a fortnight so if you have any photo posts be sure to submit them to be included in JPix.

If you are interested in hosting an edition of JPix you can contact Aaron here.





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Thursday, 24 May 2007

Jerusalem: The magic of Shavuot 1967

On the morning of Shavuot, June 15, 1967 just 6 days after Jerusalem was Liberated 200,000 Jews converged into Jerusalem to the visit Kotel.

This article is taken from Aish.com

Over
the last two millennia, Jews have visited Jerusalem in honor of the festivals, in lieu of the biblically-ordained pilgrimages. On the holiday of Shavuot, there was also the custom to visit the purported grave of King David on Mount Zion, since the date of his death was on Shavuot.

When Shavuot arrived in 1948, it was a month after the establishment of the State of Israel, and Jews could no longer continue to make the pilgrimage to the Western Wall. The Jordanians, who occupied the eastern half of the city since the War of Independence, blocked all rights of passage to the Jews.

However, the pilgrimage to King David's tomb on nearby Mount Zion, located on the Israeli side of divided Jerusalem, continued. Over the next 19 years, crowds made their way to Mount Zion, where across barbed wire they could view the Old City and the Temple Mount.

On the morning of Shavuot, June 15, 1967 -- just six days after the liberation of the Old City of Jerusalem in the Six Day War -- the Old City was officially opened to the Israeli public. (The army wanted to be sure there were no landmines or snipers still in the Old City.) For the first time in almost 2,000 years, masses of Jews could visit the Western Wall and walk through the cherished streets of Judaism's capital city as members of the sovereign Jewish nation. Each Jew who ventured to the Western Wall on that unforgettable day was realizing their ancestors' dreams over the millennia. It was one of those rare, euphoric moments in history.

From the late hours of the night, thousands of Jerusalem residents streamed toward the Zion gate, eagerly awaiting entry into the Old City. At 4 a.m., the accumulating crowds were finally allowed to enter the area of the Western Wall. As the sun continued to rise, there was a steady flow of thousands who made their way to the Old City.

The Jerusalem Post described the epic scene:

Every section of the population was represented. Kibbutz members and soldiers rubbing shoulders with Neturei Karta. Mothers came with children in prams, and old men trudged steeply up Mount Zion, supported by youngsters on either side, to see the wall of the Temple before the end of their days.

Some wept, but most faces were wreathed in smiles. For 13 continuous hours, a colorful variety of all peoples trudged along in perfect order, stepping patiently when told to do so at each of six successive barriers set up by the police to regulate the flow.

In total, 200,000 visited the Western Wall that day. It was the first pilgrimage, en masse, of Jews to Jewish-controlled Jerusalem on a Jewish festival in 2,000 years, since the pilgrimages for the festivals in Temple times.

An eyewitness described the moment:

"I've never known so electric an atmosphere before or since. Wherever we stopped, we began to dance. Holding aloft Torah scrolls we swayed and danced and sang at the tops of our voices. So many of the Psalms and songs are about Jerusalem and Zion, and the words reached into us a new life. As the sky lightened, we reached the Zion gate. Still singing and dancing, we poured into the narrow alleyways beyond."

On Shavuot, 3,279 years earlier, the Israelites stood at Mount Sinai and forged a unique relationship with their Creator. On the day of Shavuot following Israel's amazing victory in the Six Day War, multitudes ascended to the Western Wall, and they, too, felt the eternal magic of this moment. After all, "For from Zion shall come forth Torah, and the Word of God from Jerusalem."

This "pedestrian pilgrimage" has now become a recurring tradition. And on this year as well, early on Shavuot morning - after a full night of Torah learning -- the streets of Jerusalem will be filled with tens of thousands of Jews, walking with and anticipation and awe to the Western Wall.

Published Aish.com on 13 May 2007

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The Cost of Freedom?


Chaim from Freedoms Cost was interviewed a few nights back in a talk back segment, by Rabbi Yaakov Spivak in New York on 'Talkline' [620 on the am dial]. The discussion was loosely based on Chaim's experiences being in Jerusalem at the Kotel the week of Unification in 1967. [Shavuot 1967]

Chaim makes no apoligies for being Pro Israel, and it would seem he attracted a few apologists who would like to make a lot of apologies. It was a very heated debate, and provides some insight into just how controversial this 'theme' is in some New York house holds. Its an hour show, its about 12.8 mb download but I throughly recommend it.

Reference: Intense Radio


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Wednesday, 23 May 2007

Plane loaded with cocaine crashes in Venezuela

A small plane loaded with cocaine crashed in eastern Venezuela, killing the two people aboard and revealing a drug shipment that was seized by troops.

National Guard soldiers confiscated 480 kilograms (1,058 pounds) of cocaine from the Cessna that crashed on Monday night, the attorney general's office said in statement Tuesday.

The wreckage was found near the town of El Tigre, about 400 kilometers (250 miles) southeast of Caracas.

The bodies of the pilot and another person were found in the Venezuelan-registered plane. Authorities did not give details about the suspected causes of the crash, nor details about where the plane departed from or was headed.
_________

In an apparent unrelated story Hugo Chavez the President of Venezuela is rumored to be receiving a delivery of 480 kilograms of baking powder and is convinced he is loved by one and all as he slowly destroys the once flourishing Venezuela. [satire]

References:
JPost: Plane loaded with cocaine crashes in Venezuela


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Mr Bagel was up all night


Hag Shavuot Sameach


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