Israel's Barak Cites Obama While Defending Gaza Offensive

Haaretz:

Facing catcalls from Arab lawmakers, Defense Minister Ehud Barak told a stormy Knesset session on Monday that the operation in Gaza will be "widened and deepened as is necessary."

"We have an all-out war against Hamas and its kind," Barak said, using a term he has employed in the past to describe a long-term struggle against Israel's Islamist enemies.

Read the whole story: Haaretz

Comments

[solarian]

israel was to stop building settlements in the occupied territories. but did they. who is worse israel or hamas count the dead for a answer

[Right-turn]

Barak said "if the criminal rocket fire aimed at Israeli civilians does not stop immediately, Israel will use all its resources and all the legal tools it possesses to force the enemy to stop this aggressive, illegal behavior," Barak declared.

They are just doing what our new president suggested. They feel they have his backing, plain and simple.

[edwarvir]

I wish they could all live in peace, but I don't
think we as Americans would just sit back and
let anyone fire rockets our way.

[cjacks]

I have seen Obama’s quote that he would do everything in his power to stop rockets from coming into the place where his daughters sleep but I wonder under what conditions he would accept his daughters being subjugated by occupiers/colonizers. If there are any then he should be barred from taking office. And if there are none then what excuses does he have to accept that happening to someone else. Any person that excuses occupation/colonization has a spurious and corrupt humanity.
Israelis have occupied the Palestinians’ land for decades, denying them the vote and common human rights on the basis of race, religion and national origin. Recently they have embargoed the Palestinians and tried to annul their election for selecting for themselves people that would fight for their human rights instead of kowtowing to the whims of occupying squatters.
Of course we know the psychopaths Bush and Blair will probably expedite the shipment of cluster bombs to Israel to use on civilian population centers like they did with Israel’s attacks on the population of Lebanon.
If you support Israel then may your children and your children’s children suffer under occupiers as heartless as Bush, Blair and the Israelis.

[texasrodeoqueen]

good post cjacks The abused have become the abusers

[Emlyn]

I can never understand why the Arabs and Jews can't live in harmony. They may not always agree but I am so sick and tired of the two fractions fighting.

[harriscrl3]

Frankly getting rid of Hamas leadership in Palestine may not be a bad idea. The people of Palestine would be better off. I just dont see how peace can be achieved with Hamas in power. Its kind of impossible to find common ground with someone who dont think you have a right to exist and is bent on your destruction.

But we can thank American for insisting on free election.

Carol

[GravitonX]

Israel is overplaying it's hand. Now, Obama has no choice but to check Israel else look like a finger puppet and lose all credibility in negotiations. You can never let someone mock you into doing something.

[bayside]

Bush is running out of time to start WW3 and declare martial law. He is really working hard now..Wont work..

[windypaperboy]

Obama will continue Bush foreign policy towards Palestine.

[dashcat]

I don't think so.

Do any of you remember when republicans were widening the list of subversives and traitors and terrorists that BO was palling around with? One of those names was Rashid Khalidi, a respected ( well respected by some) American expert on Palestine. Yes he did represent the PLO in peace talks.

Obama did/does have a relationship with him and I'm sure they have had some meaningful conversations on the subject of Israel/ Palestine. I believe Obama has a lot of information about both sides of this conflict, historically and current. I am going to trust him to find a way to bring peace to the region. I trust his depth of knowledge and his desire to solve this mess.

[iwantpie]

I must disagree with you.

[PoliticalAmazon]

Oh great. They slaughter children and say Obama is their inspiration.

I'm just waiting for the GOP to credit Obama's choice of invocation speaker to Obama's new "outreach" program to big0ts.

[DotMatrix]

Looks like Biden was right about Obama being tested. I wish I could say that was a good thing.

[ChicagoSuz]

Hello.... not President yet.

More like a Final exam for Bush.

[HARVIN]

Mr.Barak is, sweet irony, the reincarnation of Hitler.

[windypaperboy]

On Sunday, the US blocked a UN Security Council resolution that called for an immediate halt to the ongoing assaults on Gaza.

[haval2]

Fight terrorism now.

[FairTalk]

So now they are using the words of president elect Obama to justify this overthetop bloodshed?

""Obama said that if rockets were being fired at his home while his two daughters were sleeping, he would do everything he could to prevent it," Barack told the plenum. "

Now I wonder what Obama would say if it were his daughters that had been crushed by their own house collapsing on them because Israel had bombed a Mosque in their neighborhood in the middle of the night?

The Gaza Ghetto:: David and Goliath:: only David isn't Jewish anymore.

[bdd]

israel, a real piece of work these days.

[SurrealPumpkin]

All Obama related posts should come with a warning. Caution - Barack Obama says exactly what he means. Read with caution.

- - - there is an urge - - - nothing said about acting upon that urge
- - - I would do everything possible to protect my daughters - - - everything means, every thing. Does that include bombing? yes. Does that include bombing exclusively? No. Talks, negotiations, sanctions, who knows what else.