Saturday, January 10, 2009

The Truth about Gaza from CNN.

Well, better late than never that CNN is finally reporting how the early November Israeli raid into Gaza seriously undermined the six month truce between Hamas and Israel, something we have been pointing out here at Mosquito Blog for over a week.

3 comments:

Dust In Bliss said...

Thanky you for the wonderful blog.

And a little something more:

Chavez hailed in Jordan - He derided the Israeli military, saying, "They are cowards... bombing innocent people. What great soldiers they are, how brave the soldiers of Israel are.''

PRESSTV - Sat, 10 Jan 2009 03:40:10 GMT
Hundreds of Jordanians demonstrated outside the Venezuelan embassy in Amman praising President Hugo Chavez for expelling Israel's ambassador.

The Jordanian participants on Thursday, some carrying flowers, chanted slogans and raised placards praising the step taken by Chavez and urging Arab countries with diplomatic ties with Israel to follow Venezuela's lead.

Venezuela's president, on Tuesday ordered the expulsion of Israel's envoy to his country in protest over the high casualty toll of civilians in the ongoing Israeli attack on the Gaza Strip.

This is while Jordan and Egypt have only summoned their ambassadors to Israel to express discontent with the ongoing Israeli strike on Gaza.

Jordan's largest political party, the Islamic Action Front (IAF), has also praised Venezuela's decision.

'Your decision represents a spotlight in the middle of a wide area of black collusion by forces of arrogance and their subservient parties,' IAF Secretary General Zaki Bani Ershaid said in a letter to Chavez. He said that Venezuela's move represented a 'blow to those governments which maintain silence over the killing of children' in the Gaza Strip.

In a televised speech on Tuesday, Chavez said, "How far will this barbarism go?"

"The president of Israel should be taken before an international court together with the president of the United States, if the world had any conscience," he added.

Chavez also urged the people of Israel to 'stand up' against Tel Aviv's 'new Holocaust'.

He derided the Israeli military, saying, "They are cowards... bombing innocent people. What great soldiers they are, how brave the soldiers of Israel are.''

Meanwhile on Friday, the Israeli ambassador in Venezuela, Shlomo Cohen, left the country.

Cohen told Associated Press that his expulsion is "the most difficult moment in the more than 50-year history of relations between Venezuela and Israel.''

Anonymous said...

You must mean the truce that Hamas violated over 100 times. Gee I wonder why Israel felt compelled to launch a raid to try to stop the rockets that Hamas was firing during the one-sided truce that only Israel was complying with.

Plutonian Mac said...

You are being one-sided Anonymous. Here is a scorecard, although I don't agree with all of it, and I don't accept Israel rationale why they raided that tunnel without any proof.

So here is the list of rocket/mortar attacks and Israeli attacks on Gaza since the ceasefire in June through the end of November from Wikipedia, which at least gives you an idea of the tit for tat going on:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_rocket_and_mortar_attacks_in_Israel_in_2008


June 19, 2008 Through Egyptian mediation Israel and Hamas agreed to a six month cease-fire on June 17th that went into effect on June 19, 2008 at 6:00 AM.[48]

June 20, 2008 Gilad Herman, an Israeli settler in the West Bank settlement of Yashif, unintentionally fires upon an Israeli when he launches a home-made rocket towards Palestinian West Bank. The rocket lands "meters away from a Breslov hassid who was praying in the area." No one is hurt.[49]

June 23, 2008 A single mortar shell was also fired from Gaza late Monday night and landed on the Israeli side of the border fence.[50][51] No organization claimed responsibility for the attack.[52]

June 24, 2008 Three Qassam rockets fired from Gaza on Tuesday struck the Israeli border town of Sderot and its environs, causing no serious injuries but constituting the first serious breach of a five-day-old truce between Israel and Hamas.[53]


Islamic Jihad rocket exploding in the distance, breaking the 5-day truce
Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the attack and said it had been a response to an Israeli military raid in the West Bank city of Nablus at dawn on Tuesday, in which a senior Islamic Jihad operative Tareq Abu Ghali, 24 and another Palestinian university student Iyad Khanfar, 21 were killed. An Israeli Army spokesman said that Abu Ghali had been involved in terrorism and that he was "killed in an exchange of fire." The man killed with him was armed, the spokesman said.

The rocket attack occurred hours after Olmert met President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el Sheik to discuss the next steps in the tenuous Egyptian-mediated truce and the renewal of efforts to resolve the case of Gilad Shalit, an Israeli corporal held by Hamas in Gaza since June 25, 2006.
Israeli Defense Ministry decided that Israel would keep the Gaza border crossings closed Thursday, except for special humanitarian cases, in response to Tuesday's Qassam rocket attacks[54]

June 26, 2008 A rocket hit an open area of the industrial zone outside Sderot. There were no reports of injuries or damage, according to army sources. The Fatah-affiliated Aksa Martyrs Brigades claimed responsibility for the attack. In a text message sent to reporters, it said "the truce must include the West Bank and all sorts of aggression must stop."

On Thursday morning, Hamas accused Israel of violating the terms of the Gaza cease-fire a day after Israeli Defense Ministry decided that Israel would keep the Gaza border crossings closed Thursday, except for special humanitarian cases, in response to Tuesday's Qassam rocket attacks - "If the crossings remain closed, the truce will collapse", Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said Thursday morning.[55]

June 27, 2008 Early on Friday, two mortar shells were fired at Israel from the northern Gaza Strip. One landed near Kibbutz Kfar Aza in the Sha'ar Hanegev Regional Council, and the second one hit an open area. There were no reports of injuries or damage in the latest violation of the fragile ceasefire.

Following yesterday's rocket attack by Aksa Martyrs Brigade a spokesman for the Hamas government, Taher al-Nunu, called Fatah's actions "unpatriotic". He said Hamas was considering the possibility of taking action against those perpetrating the attacks against Israel.

Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh called Friday on Palestinian factions to adhere to the Gaza Strip lull agreement with Israel. "The factions and the people accepted the lull in order to secure two interests – an end to aggression and the lifting of the siege. Therefore, we hope that everyone honors this national agreement", he said following Friday prayers.[56]

June 28, 2008 Mortar shells were fired at the Karni crossing. No one claims responsibility for the attacks. Israel blocks all shipments into Gaza except fuel, in response to the rocket and mortar attacks.[57]

June 30, 2008 A rocket falls near the town of Mefalsim. Nobody claims responsibility for the attack. In response Israel once again closes the crossings that had previously been reopened on June 29, 2008.[58]

[edit] July

July 2, 2008 There were no rocket or mortar attacks so Israel reopens the four Gaza crossings on Wednesday July 2. Since a truce began June 19, Israel has closed the passages a total of six days in retaliation for rocket attacks.[59]

July 3, 2008 A rocket lands in an open area north of Sderot. A previously unknown organization calling itself the "Badr Forces" claims responsibility for the attack. In response Israel temporarily closes the crossings on July 4, 2008.[60]

July 7, 2008 A mortar shell is fired at Israel from Gaza on Monday and lands near the Karni crossing.[61]

July 8, 2008 After two mortar attacks from Gaza at the Sufa crossing, one fell just inside Gaza and the other at the crossing. Israel closed all the crossing. After an Egyptian request they reopened the crossings. Hours after the crossings opened at noon, militants fired another shell into Israel, causing no casualties or damage, the Israeli military said. Israel kept the crossings open. No Palestinian group immediately claimed responsibility.

In all, 15 rockets and mortars have been fired from Gaza since the truce took effect on June 19. Israel has responded automatically by snapping shut the crossings, which have been closed about half of the time. So far the truce has not eased conditions in Gaza because of the frequent closures.[61]

July 10, 2008 Two qassam rockets were fired at Israel, but caused no damage, after an unarmed Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades infiltrator was killed at the Kissufim crossing. An Israeli Army spokesman said they fired warning shots and when the man did not stop they killed him. The Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades vowed revenge.

In the West Bank city of Nablus, Israeli troops continued for a fourth straight day a crackdown on institutions it links to the militant Hamas movement. On Wednesday July 10 they shot dead a Hamas member near the West Bank city of Jenin.[62]

July 12, 2008 A rocket lands in an open area in Sha'ar Hanegev regional council. Nobody claims responsibility for the attack.[63]

July 13, 2008 Two mortar shells are misfired and they land on the Gaza side of the border security fence in the Nahal Oz region. Nobody claims responsibility for the attack. Israel responds by only closing the Nahal Oz and Sufa crossings.[64]

July 15, 2008 A mortar hit is identified.[65]

July 25, 2008 A rocket misfires and lands in Gaza near the Kissufim crossing.[66]

July 29, 2008 Another rocket is launched from Gaza and mistakenly lands in Gaza.[67]

July 31, 2008 Again, a rocket misfires and lands in Gaza.[68]

[edit] August

August 1-31st In the month of August 7 rockets and 12 mortars were fired from Gaza into Israel.[69]

[edit] September

September 1-30th

The month of September represented a considerable lull in the number of rocket and mortar attacks. In this month 3 rockets and 2 mortars were fired from Gaza into Israel. They caused no injuries or deaths.[70]

[edit] October

October 11th One rocket attack occurred(number of rockets used in attack unknown).[71]

[edit] November

November 6th Israel attacks a 250 meter tunnel going from Gaza and under its border. The tunnel is to designed to capture additional Israeli soldiers and hold them hostage. Six Gaza fighters are killed and four Israeli special forces wounded. Hamas responds by firing 30 Qassam rockets at Israel. The truce agreed to five months ago is starting to founder.[72] Between October 29th and November 6th 48 rockets and 21 mortars were fired from Gaza into Israel.[73] Then, between November 5th and November 12th, 22 rockets and 9 mortars were fired into Israel.[74]

November 12-19th

In this week 62 rockets and 26 mortars were fired from Gaza into Israel. The results of these attacks were that 16 people were wounded, 13 from shock and 3 from light wounds.[75]

November 21st

A rocket hit the Ashkelon industrial area.[76]
November 22-23rd

Four Qassam rockets were fired from Gaza into Israel over the weekend.[77]

November 24-25th

Two Qassam rockets landed in Israel.[78]

November 26-27th

Four Qassam rockets landed in the western Negev, one damaging a house on a kibbutz. [79]