So why do people hate Israel?
Yossarian
Forum Resistance Leader
Israel used White Phosphorus on civilians in 2006 I believe, and then this year fired 7,000 rounds of High Explosive in a walking barrage into a Gaza Neighborhood in just 7 hours from over 258 Guns as if the Soviets were invading. ONLY a few thousand Palestinians killed.
Hell even Kerry shed a tear, seems like they were doing just fine.
MontyB
All-Blacks Supporter
There are also strong rumours that Hamas have been training with Hezbollah as the similarities between the two's fighting styles are noticeable
How Hamas is taking on the Middle East's most powerful army — and holding its own
PRI's The World
Producer Christopher Woolf
July 22, 2014 · 10:15 PM EDT
Credit: Baz Ratner/Reuters
Smoke rises after an Israeli strike over the northern Gaza Strip Tuesday. Military and civilian casualties are mounting as Israeli forces push into urban areas like this.
The incursion into Gaza is exacting a price on the Israeli military. The Israeli Defense Forces said Tuesday that 27 of its soldiers have been killed, and more than 120 wounded. Another soldier is missing in action.
That might not sound like a lot compared to the death toll among the Palestinians, which now exceeds 600 — including many civilians and dozens of children. But 27 dead makes this conflict one of Israel's bloodiest in recent years. In fact, the toll is greater than the combined number that the IDF has suffered in all of its other conflicts in Gaza since 2005, when Israel ended its occupation of the Palestinian territory.
So what's Hamas doing differently?
For one, they're actually fighting. Several IDF officers in Gaza have told the media they’re surprised at how Hamas fighters are standing their ground instead of using their usual shoot-and-scoot tactics.
That's because Hamas has been able to draw the IDF into areas of Hamas' choosing. Positions are heavily fortified, allowing Hamas fighters the ability to shoot at Israeli troops from many angles. There are Iraq-style improvised explosive devices and booby traps on streets where Israelis are likely to move. Tunnels also allow ammunition and replacements to move easily from place to place.
And because this is all happening in urban terrain, the IDF loses its edge in terms of technology and firepower.
The Israeli military knows all of this. In the past, they've largely avoided entering areas like the ones Hamas has been able to set up. But Hamas isn't just on defense. Because of its rocket attacks and infiltrations into Israel — their version of a ground offensive — they've forced Israel into acting.
The raids do little damage and fighters rarely survive. But the Israeli government has decided it has to destroy them, and that means pushing into the urban centers of the Gaza Strip to find their points of origin. Israel has also indicated it wants to destroy another network of tunnels that connect command centers and many of the rocket launching sites.
The downside, of course, is that civilians are put at risk. The IDF says Hamas has deliberately placed its military assets and positions in densely populated areas, often next to — or under — schools, mosques and hospitals. They also say Hamas has not invested in shelters for the civilian population. Palestinian activists argue that Gaza is simply so small that there's nowhere else to go.
Hamas appears to have been preparing for a conflict like this for years. It has invested huge resources in building its underground tunnels and fortified defense lines. It has painstakingly accumulated reserves of rockets and missiles. And it has recruited and trained brigades of men and women willing to go on raids into Israel despite the likelihood of death.
These are all tactics similar to the ones Hezbollah used when Israel invaded Lebanon in 2006, and Hamas may hope to emulate Hezbollah’s perceived success in that war. The goal would be to fight the IDF to a stalemate and deny them the ability to say it they've achieved their objectives.
Israel is unlikely to hand Hamas such a propaganda coup. That suggests that — despite US and international pressure for a ceasefire — the fighting is likely to continue.
http://www.pri.org/stories/2014-07-...-easts-most-powerful-army-and-holding-its-own
MontyB
All-Blacks Supporter
About 560 since the beginning of the second intifada in 2000 but given the 50 years of occupation that is a relatively small price.
I think the important aspect is that Israel was in and out of Lebanon at will until the casualty rates began to climb and then they stopped, they were much happier to sign a peace agreement with Egypt once it became apparent that the Egyptians were getting stronger and now they are taking greater numbers of casualties in Gaza.
Basically they have achieved little more than to make groups like Hamas and Hezbollah stronger at the same time weakening their own position internationally.
MontyB
All-Blacks Supporter
The 30,000 civilians might be about right but I would suggest that the number of Hamas and Hezbollah killed was closer to 8000.
The ludicrous part of this is that there are only two possible outcomes to this conflict:
1) Palestinians will become Israelis once/if Israel annexes the territories, the current situation can not go on forever as the world is slowly developing sympathy toward the Palestinian cause as seen by Sweden, Ireland and Britain government actions recently.
2) Palestinians get a state, lets be honest here the only thing that will stop the UN recognising Palestine within the next couple of months is the US veto.
Neither of which is a win for Israel, unless they come to terms with the Palestinians sooner or later they are finished.
If they go for option one but don't afford full citizenship (equality) to the Palestinians then they will be regarded as an apartheid state and sanctioned into oblivion.
moxen
Active member
The answer is simpler as you can find:
50 Days war.
500+ palestainan children killed.(by f16s, Merkavas, Artillary, Ship cannons, Unconventional weapones and etc.)
1 Israely child killed by an unguided missile(like a mortar with power of a grenade)
Do you need mor discusses?
50 Days war.
500+ palestainan children killed.(by f16s, Merkavas, Artillary, Ship cannons, Unconventional weapones and etc.)
1 Israely child killed by an unguided missile(like a mortar with power of a grenade)
Do you need mor discusses?
moxen
Active member
anaisbored
Active member
because it's a creepy backwards middle eastern country. it's like a muslim country, but accept of having men in turbans you have men with little black hats.