Israel’s targeting of civilians in Gaza is part of an official, deliberate policy to spread fear and intimidation, and apply pressure on militant groups with the hope of bringing them to their knees.
The incident in which some 40 Palestinian civilians were killed when Israel Defense Forces mortar shells hit an UNRWA school in the Jabalya refugee camp Tuesday surprised no one who has been following events in Gaza in recent days. Senior officers admit that the IDF has been using enormous firepower.
“For us, being cautious means being aggressive,” explained one. “From the minute we entered, we’ve acted like we’re at war. That creates enormous damage on the ground … I just hope those who have fled the area of Gaza City in which we are operating will describe the shock. Maybe someone there will sober up before it continues.” Haaretz
This tactic is analogous to the mafia holding all of your siblings, and killing them one at a time until you tern yourself in, or stop doing what ever made them unhappy. They want the surviving victims to run to the next town and tell of the horror, so that they surrender.
Israel has a rich history of doing applying this murderous strategy. It was first used in 1948 when the terrorist organizations that later formed the Israeli Army destroyed villages, committed mass murder, and mutilated bodies, and told the survivors to run and tell the next town, thereby instigating the massive wave of refuges, effectively ethnically cleansing much of Palestine, on which they declared their state.
In the 60s, 70s, and through the first Intifada, they arrested fathers, sons, and sometimes wives, as means of pressure in activists they wanted to tern themselves in, they often destroyed the family’s home with the same goal.
And specifically the bombing of clear civilian gathering points is rather common as well; Israel bombed the UN building in Qana in southern Lebanon in 1996 and then again in 2006, killing more that 100 innocent people in each attack.
Not to mention the long list of collective punishment and punitive measures, and other war crimes such as check points, theaft of land, and siege and starvation.
Attacking the school in Gaza today, mass murdering dozens of civilians, is part of Israel’s modus operandi, and should not be a surprise, and claims that it was used by militants for any reason, should not fool any mildly intelligent person, especially after Israel made sure that no journalists are allowed into the area months in advance.
Related posts:
- Targeting Civilians: US, Israel and the Palestinians
- Friendly Fire? Israel targets Fox News crew in Gaza
- Israel Targets Palestinian Facilities
- Israel Risks the Talibanization of Gaza: the Long-View on Israel and Palestine
- Media Bias on Gaza Crisis Favors Israel
Israel is trying very hard to justify the genocide of the Palestinian people.
Posted by Anonymous | January 6, 2009, 10:06 pmIt's strange, reading this site, how familiar it all sounds:Something like this.Or this.Or this.Or this.Seven years of bombs falling out of the sky, every day. Harmless "bottle rockets" like I saw someone here say. Welcome to our world.Like the mayor of Sderot said, our children have been crying for seven years. It's time for your children to cry too.
Posted by Anonymous | January 6, 2009, 6:17 pmHow stupid can you be. Even an idiot understands that the biggest enemy for Israrel is not a Hamas but a dead child. That is why they try to avoid killing civilians at all costs. That is the reason why international pressure is mounting. If there would be only dead Hamas fighters, everybody would just applaud.
But what does it tell about Hamas when they fire mortar shells in front of a school boobytrapped and full of explosives. They are begging for martyrdom and world pity by subjecting civilians to war.
Posted by Arno | January 6, 2009, 10:43 pmI support Israel. However, the IDF should have known there would be civilian casualties. They have been excellent at reducing soldier fatalities. Whoever was working on their mission profile should have realized there would be humanitarian considerations.
Letting hundreds of aid trucks in is one thing, and that should have been a no-brainer. They should have known, however, that the hospitals would be overrun with casualties. And now there are reports that Hamas is stealing donated medicines and creating its own underground hospital to treat its fighters.
The IDF should set up an emergency field hospital for civilians and invite physicians from around the world to come (including those being denied entry into Gaza by Egypt). They still have time to do this and make a difference. With the devastation, such a hospital can operate for weeks to relieve the stress on the Palestinian hospitals.
Hamas deserves everything they are getting and more. It is a tragedy that innocents have to suffer.
Posted by Anonymous | January 6, 2009, 11:23 pmThe mortar fire at the Hamas forces outside a building does not kill people inside. Only shrapnel will fly. The booby-trap and explosives inside caused the bigger explosion that killed the people. This kind of activity is purposeful self-inflected martyrdom, last desperate efforts to try to build enough international pressure to make Israel stop a complete Hamas annihilation. But it is too late for Hamas anyway, they will emerge out of this as an underdog, with no political or military power and will be babysitted by international forces.
Posted by Arno | January 7, 2009, 1:19 amWhat the Israelis are doing, and have been doing for 60 yrs, is disgusting. They should give back the stolen land to the Palestinians and go back to Russia or wherever they are coming from.
Not very hard to see who the real terrorists are in this conflict. The terror that Israel produces is unmatched in human history.
Posted by Anonymous | January 7, 2009, 2:29 amI’m curious, if it turns out that a substantial number of civilians (especially children!) were killed by stray Hamas mortars, will Kabobfest have any outrage against Hamas then? Or will they find ways to blame Israel for Hamas’ actions?
Not that Hamas could possibly kill any civilians while launching mortars in urban areas. They’re well known for their expertise and precision. So this is really just a hypothetical.
(Not to mention that civilians wouldn’t be hanging around near Israeli troops, but might be forced to be near Hamas fighters.)
Posted by Roy | January 7, 2009, 5:44 amAnd fayaad has proven himself to be an un=intellectual moron right… NOW!!
Sorry foofie, but you really are a fool. Leave the opinion pieces to the more capable minds like Will.
Posted by Bob | January 7, 2009, 6:03 am“”What the Israelis are doing, and have been doing for 60 yrs, is disgusting. They should give back the stolen land to the Palestinians and go back to Russia or wherever they are coming from.”"
Except that lots and lots of Israelis were born in Israel.
And of the ones who came to Israel in 1948, a lot were Jews who FLED into Israel from their Arab homelands because they’d be killed if they didn’t. About the same number as how many Palestinians were forced out of Israel, in fact.
There are also plenty of Israeli Arabs who enjoy the secular democratic freedoms Israel offers, and would rather not live under an Islamic government.
Posted by Joe | January 7, 2009, 11:11 amI am Israeli. I served in IDF and I know Israel does not “Targets Civilians To Spread Fear, Submission”, the title of yor article.
Just now I realized something. The reason you Palastinians are all writing this stuff, like “liberty or death” is because you are finally feeling some presure.
You FEEL “fear and submission”, because your terrorist resistance is now eliminated.
I work with two Druze programmers, and they support IDF. Not all Arabs are terorizing with rockets and bombs. Some are just normal.
Posted by Anonymous | January 7, 2009, 11:18 amIsraeli / Palestinian body count: 9 vs 600
But mass media told we should not play “the number game”…
Posted by Rocket falls on Rocket Falls | January 7, 2009, 11:38 amHi guys, how come you allow propaganda from Israeli agents on your site? Why not just delete all the obvious ones? The war rages also on the internet and I fail to see why you let through the blatant twisting of facts aimed to distort reality in favour of the morally corrupt state of Israel. Otherwise you’re doing a fine job in spreading the truth about these inhumane and disgusting acts. But please, delete the propaganda.
Posted by Lior | January 7, 2009, 4:37 pmThanks Lior, but it is our blog’s policy not to sensor, no matter how blatant the lie is or offensive the attack may be. We trust our readers are smarter than falling for the rubbish.
Posted by Fayyad | January 7, 2009, 10:10 pm