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Israel as Mini-Me
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Bush Administration, Gaza, Hamas, Israel, Israel Airstrikes, Israel Gaza Airstrikes, Israel Gaza Operation, Israeli Airstrikes, Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, Palestine, Puritans, Settlers,
World News
There is a deep affinity between the United States and Israel. I'm not talking about the Israel Lobby, which concentrates its influence in Washington. Or the connections between neoconservatives and the Israeli right wing. Or the rhapsodizing of fundamentalist Christians, who embrace Israel as part of their scenario for the Apocalypse.
The affinity runs deeper: we are both settler states. The Puritans, who escaped oppression in the Old World only to mete out oppression in the New, unfolded their Zionist project in the 17th century with their "city built upon a hill" as the New Jerusalem. Pity any settler--Quaker, Anabaptist--who didn't embrace this vision. But the early American Zionists and their successors were considerably harsher toward the Native Americans who were pushed further and further west, an expulsion as tragic as the Palestinian nakba of 1948. America, like Israel, believed in the "redemption of the land...by settling it." And today, after some backsliding in the redemption department, the reservations of Indian Country, with their limited sovereignty, represent our own two-state solution.
The settlers of North America got away with murder. If there had been a United Nations in the 19th century or an international media catering to an international audience, perhaps Native Americans could have enlisted some allies in their struggle. They largely fought alone.
Not so the Palestinians. The whole world is watching (and blogging). Israel has been pounding away at the Gaza Strip for nearly two weeks. It began a ground assault this past weekend. The UN has condemned the violence and the resulting humanitarian disaster. International diplomats have called for a ceasefire.
The Bush administration and congressional leaders of both parties, on the other hand, have taken Israel's side. "I think what the Israelis are doing is very important," top Senate Democrat Harry Reid (D-NV) said. "I think this terrorist organization, Hamas, has got to be put away. They've got to come to their senses." In the press, Charles Krauthammer has declared the Israel-Gaza war to possess "a moral clarity not only rare but excruciating." Michael Gerson concurred: "This conflict is not a contest between shades of gray in mist and fog. It is a matter of distinguishing between murderers and victims - and of supporting an ally until a clear victory against terrorism is achieved."
Yes, Hamas has been firing rockets into Israeli territory since the last ceasefire broke down following an Israeli incursion in November 2008. Yes, it has supported suicide bombings against Israeli targets. Yes, its charter supports an Islamist state and the destruction of Israel.
But let's introduce some complications into this apparent world of good and evil. According to Israeli scholar Rueven Paz, Hamas devotes 90% of its work to providing social, cultural, and educational services. It has a reputation for honesty that distinguishes it from its main political rival, Fatah. It isn't surprising that the Gaza voters supported Hamas in large numbers in the 2006 elections. Instead of respecting this democratic outcome, Israel and the United States refused to deal with Hamas and worked overtime to isolate the party. It's not surprising that Hamas looks askance at peace negotiations and thinks only in terms of power dynamics.
When Hamas seized control of the Gaza Strip from its rival Fatah in 2007, Israel imposed a blockade of all but staple goods, prompting an international outcry. "A crime and atrocity," said Jimmy Carter. When United Nations Special Rapporteur for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories Richard Falk tried to visit Gaza, Israel detained him at the Tel Aviv airport on December 13 and bundled him onto a plane out of the country. "Denying entry to the UN Special Rapporteur for Human Rights is part of the same occupation playbook as keeping Palestinian human rights defenders such as Raji Sourani, director of the Palestine Center for Human Rights, locked up in Gaza and denied the right to leave to speak to the outside world," writes Foreign Policy In Focus contributor Phyllis Bennis in Detaining the United Nations. "It's at one with the Israeli policy of blocking international journalists who might report on the spiraling humanitarian crisis (especially in Gaza)."
Israel's actions in the current war also do a great deal to muddy the moral clarity that Krauthammer claims. It has killed hundreds of civilians in its disproportionate response to the Hamas rocket attacks. It's probably using cluster bombs. "It is becoming increasingly clear that Israel's latest attack on Gaza was a pre-meditated attempt to destabilize the Hamas regime," writes FPIF contributor Mustafa Qadri in Gaza Attacks: Murder with Impunity. "The Israeli Ha'aretz newspaper recently revealed that even while it was negotiating a ceasefire, the Israeli government drew up a detailed plan to destroy Hamas in Gaza six months ago."
The United States has been Israel's firm backer throughout this sorry affair, one element in the "lethal mix of arrogance and ignorance" that characterized the Bush administration's overall Middle East policy. In turn, no country in the world has more resolutely embraced the Bush world view than Israel. To borrow the black-and-white language of Krauthammer and Gerson, Israel has been Mini-Me to America's Dr. Evil. Israel's attack on Gaza, like its previous attack on Lebanon, looks like the Iraq War in miniature. The similarities go beyond the Palestinian issue. The two countries have taken the same terrible stands at the United Nations (for instance, teaming up with Palau as the only three countries in the UN to vote against lifting the Cuba embargo). The two countries see eye-to-eye on Iran and Iraq.
Of course it's not so black and white. There are important differences between the two countries' foreign policy. Dissidents struggle to transform Israeli policy just as we campaign here in the United States. The two countries are not as evil as the characters Mike Myers and Verne Troyer play in the Austin Powers movies.
Some argue that it's just a matter of time before Israel, for reasons of demography, economics, and pragmatic politics, supports a real two-state solution. Writes New York Times editorial board member David Unger, "Israel is no longer a land of self-denying pioneers. It is a consumerist democracy. Its citizens are increasingly rich, comfortable, and more interested in the individual pursuit of happiness than the ideological pursuit of Arab-inhabited territory. Under such conditions, live-and-let-live pragmatism can be counted on to eventually trump traditional Zionist ideology."
Alas, rich and comfortable consumerism didn't stop the United States from pursuing empire in the 20th and 21st century. Zionist ideology--the notion that redemption comes through the settlement of land--is powerful. It's the heart of the settler state's mythology, in Israel as in the United States.
Crossposted from Foreign Policy In Focus
To subscribe to FPIF's World Beat, click here.
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Eyeless in Gaza
I wish I didn't believe that the events now unfolding in the Middle East are too complicated for unalloyed outrage. I wish the arguments of only one side rang wholly true to me.
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Ceasefire
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Livni and Barak's Gaza Calculus
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Iraqi Parliamentarian to His People: "It's Not Between Palestinians and Israelis, it's Between Terrorists and Moderates"
I spoke over the phone with Iraqi Parliamentarian Mithal al-Alusi, head of the Iraqi Nation Party in Baghdad -- he says, interestingly, a significant number of Iraqis are not reflexively anti-Israel and pro-Palestinian.
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What's Next on Gaza/Israel and Why Americans Should Care
So here we are, in a dangerous escalatory cycle that is already sweeping the region, with scores of Palestinian dead, horrific images, a highly-charged blame-game and no obvious exit-strategy. What needs to happen next?
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Was Israel Punked by Hamas? Are Progressives Attacking Israel Being Punked too?
The only way the Israeli and Palestinian people have a shot at peace is for outsiders to put pressure on both sides to make it happen and to stop the violence. It can be done.
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Israel and Hamas: Two to Tango
What is going on in Gaza is that it is not the result of a sudden decision or an immediate and intolerable provocation by one side or the other -- this thing has been in the planning by both sides for months.
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Even in Sderot, Israelis Say No to Endless War
The people I met in Sderot were not calling for war, they were calling for negotiation. They knew that they would be the ones to catch the brunt of an attack on Gaza, not Tel Aviv, not Jerusalem.
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Hamas Is Responsible for the Civilian Casualties in Gaza
By choosing tactical advantages over the safety of its citizens, the terrorist organization chose its military goals over the safety of its fellow Palestinians in Gaza.
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Indifference to the Dead and Dying
Collectively punishing the mothers and children of Gaza does not just violate international law, it does not just kill the people of Gaza, it kills any chance of a future peace.
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The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict Is An Ancient Story
I've been living in Israel now for almost a decade, and have survived biological warfare threats from Saddam, Intifada #2, terror attacks targeting Israeli civilians, and the war with Lebanon. But today, I feel pissed off.
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Self-Deception and the Assault on Gaza
From the civilian deaths in Gaza will spring more hatred and terrorism. Yet no people are so prone as Americans and Israelis to think admiringly of our own good intentions.
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Letter From Beersheva
I am here in Beersheva -- on the "almost" frontlines of the conflict with Hamas -- to tell you the first thing to go when missiles start to fall nearby, is your diet.
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How to Defeat Hamas -- Face Up to the Truth
Making Hamas into a unique demon is pure propaganda. But no form of Islamic extremism will end until moderate Muslims stand up for their religion.
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Two Paths Ahead for the Palestinians: Nonviolence vs. Violence
There are only two paths ahead, one for Hamas and one for the Israelis, that each must take in order to solve this conflict once and for all.
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In the Shadow of Airstrikes in Jerusalem
With the coming war and intifada on my mind, I realize that thousands of rockets have been fired into Israel in recent years, yet because we in Jerusalem don't get hit by them, it has always seemed removed.
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It's Time for a Sustained Focus on a Lasting Middle East Peace
What we continue to lack is the kind of real political solution to the Israeli/Palestinian conflict that could finally make a "ceasefire" endure.
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Gaza: Fight at the End of the Tunnel?
Any ceasefire must include an ironclad commitment by Egypt to cooperate fully with Israel to shut Hamas' tunnel network once and for all whatever Hamas' political or military wings decide tomorrow in Cairo.
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The Lesson Israel Should Have Never Learned
Israel, torn in anger and exaggerated feelings of vulnerability, is unlikely to stop bombing until it realizes that is has once again shot itself in the foot.
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@Fireslayer
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The bottom line is that you support killing civilians in any event.
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No one SUPPORTS killing of innocent civilians. But the responsibility for their deaths lies with HAMAS..
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May God forgive you.
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Since there is no god, no forgiveness is required..
Michale......
@Fireslayer
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By your definition of "using human shields" all of Gaza is one densly packed human shield.
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I have already proven that this is wrong..
http://maps.google.com/maps?client=firefox-a&hl=en&ie=UTF8&ll=31.573526,34.517326&spn=0.020585,0.04549&t=h&z=15
This depicts the north central Gaza/Israel border.
Take a look around. What you will see are wide open areas that would actually INCREASE the range of Hamas missiles. So why doesn't Hamas use the open areas?? Because they would not get the PR boost that comes with having their own people killed..
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In as much as Israeli locks down the borders and denies humaitarian aid and medical staff to the area, and has done so to a large extent for over two years, ultra-rightists lhave no right to mention Geneva Conventions or any international norms of human decency.
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Please cite the Geneva Conventions articles that Israel is violating..
You should also know that EGYPT also has a border with Gaza and is even STRICTER in it's control than Israel is..
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/01/06/gaza-crisis-doctors-stuck_n_155693.html
This being the case, isn't it logical to conclude that GAZA is the problem and not Israel or Egypt???
Michale....
Someone do the math for me...The Gaza strip is about 360 sq km...what is that in english? It's about twice the size of Wash, DC...Why is it so hard for the IDF to go in there and get this over with ??
Because the areas that ARE urban are heavily so..
And also because the IDF is going to great lengths to minimize civilian casualties..
If Israel really didn't care about the Palestinians, as many claim, they could flatten Gaza in a day.
Michale.....
But many don't care that Israel is trying not to harm civilians..I fear that their efforts will all be for nothing; especially when they pull out and the rockets continue to fall...Hamas must be dealt a blow that ends their terror activities once and for all..
It's really interesting to Google the Gaza Strip and see all the towns you read about...and see exactly what the urban / rural areas actually look like..Lot of open space in addition to the urban areas..
@Paul
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None of those citations apply to Hamas, which is a terrorist organization.
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Exactly...
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The people gathering as human shields apparently are doing so willingly.
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Irrelevant.. The ICC and the Geneva Conventions make NO DISTINCTION whether or not the act is voluntary or not. Both those agencies simply state that HUMAN SHIELDS MUST NOT BE USED. And to do so is a War Crime...
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This puts Israel in the position of having to decide to press the attack, causing great "collateral damage."
Who gains from this? Israel takes out a replaceable Hamas "leader" but kills a number of civilians. Hamas gains political support and Israel alienates allies.
It's all done according to your 20th century International Law, but Israel plays the losing hand.
It's not working - Israel needs to wake up.
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Hezbollah has been awful quiet since '06..
That would seem to show your claim as false..
Michale.....
I should also point out that, according to the International Criminal Court, "voluntary human shields" are no longer considered "innocent civilians". They become combatants.. And, because they are combatants dressed in civilian clothes, they are also committing war crimes..
Again, these are the facts..
Michale....
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Hezbollah has been awful quiet since '06..
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But the invasion of Lebanon - quite costly to israel - increased the political popularity of Hezbollah and Iran. The military action by Israel did nothing to alter the potential for terrorism against Israel from Lebanon. Isn't Hezbollah a terrorist organization? If so, and they have gained political strength in Lebanon, isn't that a failure by israel to achieve its objective to be free from terror? Isn't it just a matter of time before the whole process repeats itself? How is this progress?
Israel has to find a way to strip support from terrorist organizations amongst its neighbors.
I assert that this cannot be done by bombing.
As a Native-American I can say I have no affinity to Israeli expanionism whatsoever.
Congradulations Bush and your Likudzi friends, you have just put Al Quida recruitment on steroids.
This sick invasion is a vast security blow to the US, Europe, the Middle East and, saddly, Israel.
By your definition of "using human shields" all of Gaza is one densly packed human shield. In as much as Israeli locks down the borders and denies humaitarian aid and medical staff to the area, and has done so to a large extent for over two years, ultra-rightists lhave no right to mention Geneva Conventions or any international norms of human decency.
- Hamas" Al-Aqsa TV called upon children to form a human shield at the home of a terrorist in the a-Shouqaf quarter of Sajaiyeh in order to protect the building from an anticipated IDF air strike (March 1).
- Al-Aqsa TV News broadcast a story about how a crowd of civilians gathered on the roof of Abu Bilal al-Ja"abeer in the Northern Gaza strip, used for launching terrorist attacks, in order to cause the IDF to abort a threatened air strike against the structure.
- Al-Aqsa TV called upon the Palestinians in the northern Gaza Strip to go to the house of terrorist Othman al-Ruziana in order to protect it against an anticipated air strike (February 29, 2008).
- Al-Aqsa TV called upon the residents of Khan Yunis to gather at the house of Ma"amoun Abu "Amer due to an anticipated air strike. (February 28,2008). An hour later dozens of Palestinians from Khan Yunis were reported to have gathered on the roof of Abu "Amer"s house to serve as human shields to prevent the house from being hit (Pal-today Website, February 29, 2008).
Michale.....
"Terrorist organizations that hide behind civilians bear the primary responsibility for civilian casualties.
Should civilian casualties ensue from an attempt to shield combatants or a military objective, the ultimate responsibility lies with the belligerent placing innocent civilians at risk."
Dinstein,'Conduct of Hostilities under the Law of International Armed Conflict'
A military target remains a legitimate military target, even if it is located in a civilian area.
"Civilians do not enjoy absolute immunity. Their presence will not render military objects immune from attack for the mere reason that it is impossible to bombard them without causing injury to the non-combatants."
Oppenheim's 'International Law'
The use of civilians as shields to try to prevent attacks on military targets is prohibited.
"The presence of a protected person may not be used to render certain points or areas immune from military operations."
Fourth Geneva Convention, Article 28
Israel - IDF Operational Planning and Orders:
In cases where there is doubt as to whether a civilian object has turned into a military objective... one is to assume that is not a military objective unless proven otherwise.
Michale.....
None of those citations apply to Hamas, which is a terrorist organization.
The people gathering as human shields apparently are doing so willingly.
This puts Israel in the position of having to decide to press the attack, causing great "collateral damage."
Who gains from this? Israel takes out a replaceable Hamas "leader" but kills a number of civilians. Hamas gains political support and Israel alienates allies.
It's all done according to your 20th century International Law, but Israel plays the losing hand.
It's not working - Israel needs to wake up.
Not so sure I buy this human shields business. We heard the same thing during the Israeli bombing of Lebanon in 2006 and it turned out to be hogwash--
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/hizbollah-did-not-use-civilians-as-cover-401638.html
Why should I believe Israel now? It wont even allow independent foreign journalists into Gaza.
poor michale. he makes about as much sense as the sheep in Orwell's animal farm. In the Levant, all are equal; but some are more equal than others.
BTW, what percentage of the Israeli budget goes towards arms? Just curious.....
Thank you for your concession that you have no logical or rational counter to my argument and must, therefore, resort to immature personal attacks.
Your concession of my superiority is appreciated, albeit irrelevant..
Michale.....
PT 2
3. The blockade. It has been proven that Hamas has the ability to evade the blockade to import thousands and thousands of tons of missiles, weapons and military hardware. Hamas has BRAGGED about this. So, apparently the blockade is ONLY effective in preventing Hamas from importing foodstuffs and medicine, right? Does ANYONE really believe that?? Of course not. What sane rational person WOULD believe such felgercarb?? Once again, if the Palestinians are starving, it's because Hamas is more interested in killing Israelis than they are interested in helping their own people. I am also constrained to point out that Egypt also has a border with Gaza and Egypt is even stricter on their blockade than Israel. So, why no harsh words for Egypt??
4. The Stolen Lands.. This is a no-go from the start.. Israel was attacked by several Arab countries. They all lost and Israel won.. To the victor got the spoils.. Israel has NEVER initiated hostilities for the purposes of expanding their territory. NEVER... EVER... NOT ONCE... Anyone who believes that Israel must return all lands to the Palestinians must ALSO believe that the USA must return all lands to the native Americans.. Anything less is pure hypocrisy..
There you have it.. The four reasons why people blame Israel and the FACTS that show it's HAMAS that is responsible and should be blamed..
Michale.....
I am not saying that you should return any land. Keep it. You're right it is a spoil of war. However, you fail to realize that the war is still going on, hence the 6,000 rockets which killed 7 people. They are still fighting and you are still fighting, what we did to the native americans was wrong but TWO WRONGS DON"T MAKE A RIGHT. You either have to kill everyone there (like we did) or force them physically (like we did) off the land- that's it, they will never let you have it, you have to TAKE it, but you are still stealing it, it just so happens that no one can do anything about it. Take the land, go ahead, just stop asking for my approval, you're a thief, enjoy the land. Stop saying the rockets are anything other than an excuse for stealing. You're a thief like me.
The rockets are terrorism... Pure and Simple, Black and White...
Nothing justifies terrorism... Again, pure and simple, black and white..
Until the terrorism stops, Israel pretty much has carte blanche...
Michale.....
great!
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Yes, Hamas has been firing rockets into Israeli territory since the last ceasefire broke down following an Israeli incursion in November 2008.
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Sorry, but you cannot rewrite recent history...
Hamas sent 7 combatants into the tunnels of the north Israel/Gaza border to kidnap Israeli soldiers a'la Cpl Schalit.. An Israeli strike team ambushed and killed them..
A justifiable act in ANY jurisdiction..
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Hamas devotes 90% of its work to providing social, cultural, and educational services.
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Irrelevant. It's terrorist activities negate ANY good Hamas has done...
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. "It's at one with the Israeli policy of blocking international journalists who might report on the spiraling humanitarian crisis (especially in Gaza)."
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Then why don't those reporters enter Gaza thru Egypt?? Oh yea, that's right. Egypt blockades the border too... Strange how it is only Israel that are the bad guys..
Think about it.. Both countries that border Gaza blockade the border with Gaza... It doesn't take a rocket scientist to come to the logical conclusion that GAZA is the problem..
Sorry, but I have to dispute your claim...
Terrorism IS a black/white issue. You either support terrorism and terrorists or you don't...
NOTHING justifies terrorism...
It really is THAT simple...
Michale.....
Excellent piece. Depressing though--what can we do to stop this??
PT 1
The arguments from the Pro Hamas/Anti Israel crowd can be summed up in 4 statements.
1. Anti-Semiticism/Bigotry
2. Israel is killing innocent civilians
3. Israel is blockading Gaza
4. Israel stole lands from Palestinians
Let's take these in order.
1. I'll let that stupidity stand on it's own merits... Or, in this case, lack thereof...
2. It has been proven beyond ANY doubt that there are PLENTY of open areas in Gaza. It has also been proven beyond any doubt that Hamas would actually INCREASE the effectiveness of their missiles if they PLACED them in these open areas. Consequently, there is only ONE reason Hamas chooses to place their weapons and their weapons storage areas in crowded civilian areas. And that is to use the innocent Palestinians as human shields. This is in DIRECT violation of the Geneva Conventions, the International Criminal Court and the rules of warfare.. These acts make HAMAS war criminals... Therefore, the responsibility for the innocent deaths is SOLELY on Hamas...
CONT
Sorry, this should have been a ROOT posting and not a REPLY posting.
My bust...
Michale.....
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