Who won the weekend mini-war in Gaza?

When wars -- and even battles -- are over, we naturally ask: who won?
Normally, victory brings with it the acquisition of advantages like increased power and land, while losing brings not only a certain degree of humiliation, but also surrendering land and control.
And stalemates -- those often bring recriminations and political headaches, especially when you are more powerful and are expected to win.

Over the years, wars between Israel and Hamas have brought a series of ceasefires with each side claiming victory:

• Operation Summer Rains / Operation Autumn Clouds (2006)
• Operation Cast Lead (2008–2009)
• Operation Pillar of Defense (2012)
• Operation Protective Edge (2014)

And now, another clash -- one that wasn't even given a name.

Lies, Damn Lies and The Gaza Riots

Not surprisingly, journalists and the media in general continue to take their cue from Hamas terrorists and insist on describing attacks on Israel's border and attempts to infiltrate as peaceful demonstrations.

At the start of the organized riots, NBC informed us that

The sit-in demonstration is set to culminate on May 15 — the day after Israeli independence
NBC News, April 5, 2018

Sit in?
If you listen closely, the voices you will hear are definitely not singing kumbaya.

Still, after 6 weeks, the media has begun to notice a thing or two, interspersed among the required proclamation of peaceful demonstrations.

International Law Is Not Keeping Up With The New Ways Hamas Exploits Human Shields

Hamas terrorists may very well have elevated the exploitation of human shields to an art. For years, they have taken advantage of the civilian population in Gaza by hiding among them, while targeting the civilian population of Israel with their rockets.

Now Hamas has done something new. The media would have you believe that Gazans in general, and Hamas in particular, are experimenting for the first time with peaceful protests, reminiscent of Martin Luther King and Selma. In reality, what is new is that Hamas has been using tens of thousands of Gazans -- including children -- as cover while trying to infiltrate Israel, both on land by breaching border fences and by air using kites carrying Molotov cocktails.

Palestinian child throwing rocks at IDF forces and the Gaza security fence during Gaza border riot.
Source: IDF Spokesperson's Unit)

What Does the ICRC Say About Civilians Rioting in Support of a Military Objective?

Someone limited to just the media coverage of the "Gaza March," could be forgiven for thinking that the issue of the IDF's Rules of Engagement (RoI) during those riots is e a simple matter of math - most of the Gazans rioting at Israel's border are civilians, so that should be the guiding rule for Israel's response.

But it is not that simple.

To The New York Times, Hamas Isn't Terrorist - It Is "Pragmatic"

Pragmatic: relating to matters of fact or practical affairs often to the exclusion of intellectual or artistic matters : practical as opposed to idealistic.
Merriam-Webster

To be a pragmatist is to be a realist, someone who understands that there are times that one's idealism or ideology has to give way to different means, even if contrary to that ideology, if one is going to achieve a successful end.

And that is what the new philosophy of Hamas is all about - at least that is what The New York Times believes.

This week, David Halbfinger - who took over last year as the new Jerusalem Bureau Chief for The New York Times - reported that Hamas Sees Gaza Protests as Peaceful — and as a ‘Deadly Weapon’. Halbfinger went on to write approvingly of the Gazan riots controlled by the Hamas terrorists:

Its experiment with popular resistance may or may not be wholehearted, but it is indisputably pragmatic. [emphasis added]

Pragmatic?

For A While Gaza Actually Was Another Singapore -- Before They Blew It In the 1970's

A couple of weeks ago, Israeli Defense Minister Liberman offered to provide Gaza with a huge level of assistance in return for Hamas shutting down their rocket attacks and closing their attack tunnels. In return, senior Hamas leader Mahmoud al-Zahar turned down the offer, claiming that if Gaza wanted to be like Singapore, it would have already done so.

The truth is that for a while, in the 1970's, Gaza rivalled -- and even surpassed -- Singapore.

Bernie Sanders Has Family Living in Israel -- Just Like Hamas Terrorist Leader Haniyeh

Update: Sanders suspends Jewish outreach director who blasted Israel, Netanyahu

Just how does one prove their pro-Israel credentials these days, especially if you are a politician looking for the Jewish vote?

Well, if you are Bernie Sanders you might be expected to have an easier time than most.

During the Bernie Sanders interview with The Daily News Editorial Board, he certainly did seem to hit all the right notes, and then some:

• “Here’s the main point that I want to make. I lived in Israel. I have family in Israel. I believe 100% not only in Israel’s right to exist, a right to exist in peace and security without having to face terrorist attacks..."
  
  
• "Israel will make their own decisions. They are a government, an independent nation..."
  
  
• “There are going to be demands being made of the Palestinian folks as well...for a start, the absolute condemnation of all terrorist attacks. The idea that in Gaza there were buildings being used to construct missiles and bombs and tunnels, that is not where foreign aid should go. Foreign aid should go to housing and schools, not the development of bombs and missiles.”

Anthony Delmundo / New York Daily News Speaking with Sanders

One could question how much weight having family in Israel should carry -- after all, Hamas terrorist leader Ismail Haniyeh has three sisters secretly living in Israel as full citizens -- and 35 years ago, he used to visit his sisters in Israel as well. Of course, Haniyeh does not go around bragging about this. That's probably because Ismail does travel in different political circles than Bernie.

Then again, during that same interview, Sanders found another way to outdo Hamas, saying that

my recollection is over 10,000 innocent people were killed in Gaza. Does that sound right? I don't have it in my number...but I think it's over 10,000. My understanding is that a whole lot of apartment houses were leveled. Hospitals, I think, were bombed. So yeah, I do believe and I don't think I'm alone in believing that Israel's force was more indiscriminate than it should have been.

The Sanders number of "over 10,000" civilians killed exceeds the Hamas figure of 1,617 civilians killed. According to the UN the number was 1,462 civilians killed, and Israel estimates the number of Gazan civilians killed as 762.

Odd.

As Varda Epstein writes, If You Love Israel You Don’t Exaggerate Civilian Deaths by a Factor of Ten. Nor do you allow yourself to be ignorant of what was happening at those schools and hospitals in Gaza and what Israel did to minimize casualties there.

And if you love Israel, you generally don't hire people to be in charge of Jewish outreach who hate Israel.

It turns out that the Sanders campaign’s newly hired Jewish outreach director condemned Israeli PM Netanyahu as a mass-murderer:

Zimmerman later cleaned up her post, substituting the words "politician" and "Shame on you" where appropriate.

In her favor, when she rounded up the number of Gazans killed, Zimmerman did not exaggerate as much as Sanders did.

Sanders does seem a bit tone deaf when it comes to Israel. Take for example the incident at the Apollo Theater when Bernie Sanders was challenged with an antisemitic statement:

“As you know,” opened the questioner, “the Zionist Jews–and I don’t mean to offend anybody–they run the Federal Reserve, they run Wall Street, they run every campaign.” As this unfolded, Sanders began wagging his finger in dissent, and interjected to deem “Zionist Jews” a “bad phrase.” His interlocutor, pressed to articulate a question, concluded by saying, “What is your affiliation to your Jewish community? That’s all I’m asking.”

“No, no, no, that’s not what you’re asking,” Sanders quickly replied, in a nod to the question’s underlying prejudice. “I am proud to be Jewish,” he declared, to cheers from the audience. But then Sanders did something odd. Rather than using the question as a teaching moment to address and rebuke its anti-Semitic underpinnings, Sanders instead immediately pivoted to his stump speech on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. “Talking about Zionism and Israel,” he said, “I am a strong defender of Israel, but I also believe that we have got to pay attention to the needs of the Palestinian people.” He never challenged the actual contents of the question, let alone labeled it anti-Semitic.

While there may be valid reasons to try to explain his reluctance to address this antisemitic slander head on, the fact remains that Sanders did not address the comment and failed to take advantage of the moment. Instead, he changed the topic to Israel in order to push his claim of balance by blaming both Israel and the Palestinians equally.

Bernie Sanders does not make an issue of his Jewishness, and that is fine. Nor is he the most outspoken defender of Israel -- and that is OK too. But when he addresses Israel as a political issue in his run for for presidential nomination, Sanders should not be given a pass on his stands and statements on Israel. The fact he lived on a kibbutz for a few months in 1963 or that he has family there is not relevant.

But what Bernie Sanders says about Israel, that he hires people who accuse Israel of mass murder and how he hides behind the issue of Israel rather than address antisemitic slanders -- that is relevant.
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Technorati Tag: Israel and Gaza and Hamas and Bernie Sanders.

Hamas Terrorists Exploits Arabs in the West Bank As Well As Those in Gaza

When Evelyn Gordon asks Are Palestinian Stabbings Ending?, she points out that the Palestinian stabbing attacks will continue only so long as the perceived reward outweighs the cost.

And the numbers indicate that a turnaround has begun. Thus:

in a poll taken just three months ago, fully 67 percent of Palestinians supported the stabbing attacks, including 57 percent of West Bank residents. Yet in the latest poll, not only did overall support fall to 56 percent but, in the West Bank, 54 percent of respondents opposed the stabbings.

Gordon explains that this cost of the stabbings -- to the West Bank Arabs -- is three-fold:

Steven Salaita's Academic Activism Against Israel Leaves No Stone Unturned

"Moreover, all journalism is a form of activism. Every journalistic choice necessarily embraces highly subjective assumptions — cultural, political or nationalistic — and serves the interests of one faction or another."
Glenn Greenwald, quoted in "Is Glenn Greenwald the Future of News?"

If the future of journalism really is that it will be reduced to emotional assumptions instead of fact-based assertions, we can also ask if that is the future of other formerly respected endeavors as well.

Take for instance Steven Salaita, described by Wikipedia as an American scholar, author and public speaker currently holding the Edward W. Said Chair of American Studies at the American University of Beirut.

Arlene Kushner on Reason For Hope -- While Reasons for Concern During "Ramadan Rage"

From Arlene Kushner:
July 2, 2015

Facing Down Violence

As has become my practice of late, I’m going to start with a good news item, saving the somber stuff for later.  Here we have a brief video that should put a smile on your face and a touch of hope in your heart:

הרפורמציה הפרוטסטנטית החלה במאה ה-16 ונמשכה גם למאה ה-17.היא החלה כמחאה ואי קבלה של הכנסיה הקתולית ומרותה שכן רבים הרגישו כי האליטה השלטת אופיינה בשחיתות וריקבון. המנהיג הבולט ביותר של הרפורמה הזו היה הכומר מרטין לותר שיזכר לדורות כפורץ דרך אמיץ. בתקופה ההיא, היו המון נוצרים שהאמינו באדיקות בדתם, אך לא הסכימו לשחיתות ולטרור שהושלט ע״י הכנסייה הקתולית (מסעות הצלב והאינקוויזיציה בין היתר). כך החל תהליך של שינוי שגרר גם תגובת נגד מצד הזרם הקתולי. הזרם הקתולי הבין שאם לא תהיה רפורמה גם שם, הם יאבדו את כל המאמינים שלהם לטובת הפרוטסטנטיים.ככה התמתנה הדת הנוצרית והפכה סובלנית יותר כפי שאנחנו מכירים אותה היום.בדיוק את אותו התהליך גם האסלאם צריך לעבור.כשנתקלים במישהי מדהימה כמו שרה זועבי, זה מחזק את האמונה שהתהליך הזה בוודאות יקרה.השינוי יכול להגיע רק בזכות אנשים אמיצים כמוה, כמו הבן שלה וכמו רבים שאוהבים את דתם אבל סולדים מהשחיתות והטרור שהשתלטה עלייה.מי שסובל בעיקר היום מהטרור המוסלמי, הם המוסלמים עצמם. במזרח התיכון הם סובלים ממשטרים טוטאליטריים שמענים את עמם ואף מוציאים להורג ללא משפטבמדינות ערב מתחילה להתעורר איסלאמופוביה שפוגעת גם במוסלמים שלווים.המוסלמים הם הראשונים שאמורים לצאת נגד האיסלאם הקיצוני.לגבי המציאות הישראלית,הגאולה לא תבוא מארגונים קיצוניים שרצים לפרלמנטים אירופאיים בשביל להציג מצגי שווא ולהתחנף ע״י הלשנה מסולפת על מנת להכריח את עמם לפעולות לא הגיוניות על פי דעת הרוב. הגאולה גם לא תבוא מגזענים חשוכים שחושבים שהפתרון הוא סילוק כל מי שלא חושב כמוהם או נמנה ביו בני דתם המונעים משנאה בוערת. הגאולה תבוא אך ורק מאנשים אמיצים ופורצי דרך כאלו שהדבר המהותי שמניע אותם היא גאווה ואהבה לכל הזהויות שלהם.הדו קיום היפה הזה ששרה זועבי מציגה בצורה מושלמת, לא אומר לוותר על הזהות שלך. יש פה עיקרון של שפע. שרה זועבי מצליחה להעביר מסר חד וברור של אהבה וגאווה ללאום שלה עם היכולת לקבל את האחר, להכיל אותו ולמזג בין התרבויות בלי לגרוע מאף אחת מהן.היא ערבייה מוסלמית בהוויתה ויחד עם זאת ישראלית ציונית גאה. אין פה שום סתירה בין הזהויות. יש פה מיזוג מרהיב של שתי תרבויות יפות והבסיס הוא אהבה לשתיהן.העולם המערבי בכלל והחברה הישראלית בפרט צריכה ללמוד לאזן בין חמלה לכוח.אנחנו חייבים מצד אחד לאמץ לחיקינו את האנשים המדהימים האלו ולעזור להם להתמודד עם הקשיים הנוראיים שהם עוברים בשל היותם פורצי דרךומהצד השני אנחנו חייבים להראות אפס סובלנות לטרור ותומכיו.חלק מהעיקרון של אפס סובלנות לטרור בין היתר כולל לא למסור שטחים לטרור ולא לאפשר לו להשליט את המשטרים האפלים והמדכאים שלהם שם. ישראל חייבת לשמור על גבולותיה הרמטיים ולחנך את האזרחים בגבולות האלו מהי אהבת חינם. אין לי ספק שהשינוי הזה יקרה. אי אפשר לדעת כמה זמן זה יקח, אבל זה בוודאות יקרה וזה יקרה הודות לאנשים כאלו.Sara ZoabiMuhammad Zoabi
Posted by Miri Lavi on Wednesday, June 24, 2015

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We had better hold fast to that hope, because there’s a whole lot that is very ugly facing us at the same time.  In recent weeks, we have seen an increase in the number of attacks in Judea and Samaria, and Jerusalem:

Today: Experts Provide Alternative Voice to UN Gaza Report: Events and Interviews

Press Release  June 29, 2015   Contact: Lena Bakman NGO Monitor 02-566-1020 communications@ngo-monitor.org Experts Provide Alternative Voice to UN Gaza Report: Events and Interviews Jerusalem - As the UN report on the 2014 Gaza War is submitted to the Human Rights Council today, a group of military, legal, and Middle East experts will present an alternative voice in Geneva. Through statements to the Council and in side events, NGO Monitor and UN Watch, along with Colonel Richard Kemp, Prof. Gerald Steinberg, Jonathan Schanzer, Anne Herzberg, Uzi Rubin and Hillel Neuer, will critique the UNHRC report and identify key issues that the UN failed to properly investigate.

Human Rights Voices: UN Report Denies Israel's Right of Self-Defense, Advocates Arrest of Israelis Instead

For Immediate Release: June 23, 2015

Contact: info@humanrightsvoices.org Follow us on Twitter

Shocking UN Report Calls for Arrest of Israelis Around the World This article by Anne Bayefsky originally appeared on Fox News. Arrest Benjamin Netanyahu and any other “suspected” Israeli war criminals wherever and whenever you can get your hands on them. That is the shocking bottom line of a scandalous report released today from the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva. The Human Rights Council, at the European headquarters of the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland. (AP2012)

Arlene Kushner on Hamas, And Signs of Trouble Down the Road

From Arlene Kushner:
December 24, 2014

Back to Work

The Chanukah week, which is now closing, was a blessing.  Now, invigorated, I see that it is time to return to the serious and painful matters that face us.

This posting will be brief because I’ve spent hours today working on the plans for the Legal Grounds Campaign, which will up and running in a short while. Those of us who are working on it are excited about what is in the planning.  My readers will be kept informed, as we progress.  Here I make mention of the fact that time is quite short for Americans to secure a tax deduction for 2014, for a donation to our work.  If you indeed would like to make such a gift, please, contact me without delay.

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Here I would like to focus on Hamas, as signs of trouble down the road with this group are strong.

Arlene Kushner: On The UN -- After Failing in Syria, It Will Guarantee Success in Gaza!

From Arlene Kushner:
September 17, 2014

Surreal

Much of what goes on in the world these days has a surreal quality. But here’s a case that is sort of emblematic of a host of situations:

“Syrian rebels linked to Al-Qaeda have seized UN weapons, uniforms and vehicles from peacekeepers in the Golan and set up a ‘safe zone’ to wage attacks, the Syrian ambassador said Tuesday.

“The United Nations on Monday was forced to pull back hundreds of peacekeepers to the Israeli-occupied sector of the Golan (sic) after Syrian rebels advanced on their positions.

Timeline: Does Everyone Remember That Hamas Rocket Attacks Preceded The Kidnapping Of the 3 Israeli Teens?

People who claim Israel's retaliation against the Hamas terrorist rocket attacks seem to forget that the Hamas attacks preceded the kidnapping of Naftali Fraenkel, Gilad Shaer and Eyal Yifrah -- and those rocket attacks continued while the country-wide search went on to find the boys.

The rocket attacks continued on the day the bodies of the boys were found.
The rocket attacks preceded the tragic murder of Mohammed Abu Khdeir as well.

The point is that the ongoing and escalating rocket attack on Israeli civilians is a deliberate effort by Hamas to heat up the situation in both the West Bank and Gaza Strip and has nothing to do with Mohammed Abu Khdeir.

And it is those attacks that are at the heart of Operation Protective Edge.

Here is the timeline:

Arlene Kushner: Analysis of Israel's Operation Protective Edge In Gaza

From Arlene Kushner

July 8, 2014

“WAR”

It took a long time in coming, but it’s very serious now.  The military action, called Operation Protective Edge, was announced in the wee hours of Tuesdaymorning. 

As I write, well over 140 sites in Gaza have been hit by the Israeli Air Force and some 14 people have died, including an Hamas official, and some 80 have been injured.

 

Credit:chron.com

Videos: BBC Exposes Faked Images of Israel Attacks on Gaza -- Again

BBCtrending asks Are #GazaUnderAttack images accurate?

Graphic images are being shared on social media to show how people have been affected by the renewed tensions between Israel and the Palestinians.

Over the past week the hashtag #GazaUnderAttack has been used hundreds of thousands of times, often to distribute pictures claiming to show the effects of Israeli airstrikes on Gaza.

A #BBCtrending investigation has found that many of these images are not from the latest conflict and not even from Gaza. Some date as far back as 2009 and others are from conflicts in Syria and Iraq.

Here is the BBC video:

Media Will Ignore Hamas Attacks On Israel, Until Israel Responds -- So Read This

Giora Eiland, IDF Major General, and former Israeli National Security Advisor, was interviewed on Israel's Reshet Bet radio show, about the overnight rocket Hamas rocket barrages from the Gaza Strip.

Eiland noted that Israel is working very hard to deescalate the situation, but if things do not calm down in the next few days, there will be no stopping an escalation -- and Israel would be forced to launch a major operation to stop the rocket fire.

Here is part of what he said:

“I assume it’s a matter of days for us to know if we succeeded [together with other parties] to create the required calm, or if not we will certainly be prepared to carry out a larger process than the [current] spontaneous responses... a hard/harsh Israeli action against Gaza would be accepted, maybe not with encouragement, but with great understanding in Washington and most places in the world...

Arlene Kushner: US Claims Credit For Tracking Iranian Arms Shipment, While Iran Denies Sending It

From Arlene Kushner:
March 10, 2014

Just Call Me Dubious

When last I wrote, I said I would be watching for the US response to the Israeli capture of the ship – operated under Iranian direction - that was carrying rockets intended for Gaza. As it turns out, besides the boiler plate response we might have expected, there was something else:

Why Are Those Who Claim To Care About The Fate of Gaza Quiet Now?

Each time the Palestinians get involved in internal conflicts in the Arab world, they always end up being the biggest losers.
Khaled Abu Toameh

When Israel blockades Gaza to prevent the influx of materials that Hamas terrorists use to fire rockets at civilians in violation of international law -- the world is in a uproar and claims that Israel does not have the right.

Indeed, after the UN Security Council claimed Israel's blockade of Gaza was illegal, the UN Palmer Commission concluded it was legal.

But when Egypt blockades Gaza, the self-appointed human rights activists are silent -- as Khaled Abu Toameh writes about the hypocrisy of the West when Egypt Punishes the Palestinians.