Israel strikes Hard at Hamas In Gaza- Dec/ 27/ 2008

[Nfld Sapper]

Regular service

National military service is mandatory for Jewish and Druze men and Jewish women over the age of 18, although exceptions may be made on religious, physical or psychological grounds

Men serve three years in the IDF, while women serve two. The IDF allowed women who volunteer for several combat positions to serve for three years because combat soldiers must undergo a lengthy period of training. Women in other positions, such as programmers, who require lengthy training time may also serve three years. Women in most combat positions are also required to serve as reserve for several years after their dismissal from regular service.

Reserve service
Following regular service, men may be called for reserve service of up to one month annually, until the age of 43-45 (reservists may volunteer after this age), and may be called for active duty immediately in times of crisis. In most cases, the reserve duty is carried out in the same unit for years, in many cases the same unit as the active service and by the same people. Many soldiers who have served together in active service continue to meet in reserve duty for years after their discharge, causing reserve duty to become a strong male bonding experience in Israeli society.

Although still available to be called up in times of crisis, most Israeli men, and virtually all women, do not actually perform reserve service in any given year. Units do not always call up all of their reservists every year, and a variety of exemptions are available if called for regular reserve service. Virtually no exemptions exist for reservists called up in a time of crisis, but experience has shown that in such cases (most recently, Second Lebanon War in 2006) exemptions are rarely requested or exercised; units generally achieve recruitment rates above those considered fully-manned.

Recently, legislation has been proposed for reform in the reserve service, lowering the maximum service age to 40, designating it as a purely emergency force, as well as many other changes to the current structure (although the Defence Minister can suspend any portion of it at any time for security reasons). The age threshold for many reservists whose positions are not listed, though, will be fixed at 49. The legislation is set out to take effect by 13 March, 2008.

 

[tomahawk6]

A conscript after his/her active duty of 3 years becomes part of the reserve where he will serve 45 days annually until he is in his early 40's. Women serve 2 years and serve until 24,marroed pr pregnant.

 

[tomahawk6]

This UAV grab shows two Israeli soldiers attacked from concealment by Hamas fighters. The bad guys throw a grenade and one soldier grabs the body of a tango and shields himself from the blast. Pretty cool.

http://elderofziyon.blogspot.com/2009/01/literal-human-shield.html

 

[geo]

Does anyone know anything about the alleged use of Dense Inert Metal Explosive (DIME) weapons in Gaza ???
From what I've heard on the news wire, I get mixed feelings on it.  Blast effect & shrapnel dispersal is kept to a very restricted zone BUT those who are caught in it's blast radius are facing horrendous injuries.

 

[OldSolduer]

I have a question:

Why is when a war breaks out, a whack of Canadians demand evacuation from that war torn area. It seems to me that many of them hold dual citizenship or are naturalized Canadians who opt to live in their former homeland.

Am I the only one who sees this or are we too politically correct to point that out?

 

[George Wallace]

I have a question:

Why is when a war breaks out, a whack of Canadians demand evacuation from that war torn area. It seems to me that many of them hold dual citizenship or are naturalized Canadians who opt to live in their former homeland.

Am I the only one who sees this or are we too politically correct to point that out?

Good Question.  One that has been asked, not just by you, but many others have asked the same thing of this case, as well as the case last year with Lebanon.

 

[thunderchild]

If I was planning to go someplace and something like this(GAZA) was going on, why after the first airstrike did I not get the hell out of there.  Or go there to begin with, it makes no sense and is irresponsible. 

  Enough with this crap either you are Canadian whole heartily or you are not!  The other thing that really P***** me off is not being able to go to the ROM because Palestinians and Israeli protesters are yelling at each other across Bloor st.  I don't want my kid scared or possable hurt she wouldn't understand what was happening. If they feel so strongly go back! Don't hide safe and sound in our country and bring your fights here.  I'm all for free speech, and learning about other cultures in the world but not having them fight their wars in my streets.

 

[George Wallace]

........... Don't hide safe and sound in our country and bring your fights here.  I'm all for free speech, and learning about other cultures in the world but not having them fight their wars in my streets.

Well.  I must say I am surprised.  I agree with you.  Come to my country.  Live in Peace.  Enjoy the good life.  DON'T BRING YOUR WARS AND HATRED WITH YOU.

 

[PanaEng]

This UAV grab shows two Israeli soldiers attacked from concealment by Hamas fighters. The bad guys throw a grenade and one soldier grabs the body of a tango and shields himself from the blast. Pretty cool.

http://elderofziyon.blogspot.com/2009/01/literal-human-shield.html

Now that is some cool and collected and quick thinking!

 

[zipperhead_cop]

Okay Tourza, help me out with one thing...

Name:  tourza
Posts:  33 (0.037 per day)
Position:  New Member
Date Registered:  July 26, 2006, 17:01:12
Last Active:  January 11, 2009, 00:11:44

Funny how the questions that are simply put but difficult to answer get put on ignore by some people.  Nothing new, and ultimately predictable. 

 

[GAP]

Another "defensive" tunnel found
Article Link


Last week, Jimmy Carter called the tunnel that Israel bombed in November at the Gaza border, meant to kidnap Israeli soldiers, a "defensive tunnel."

Well, today they found another one, where the poor defenseless Hamas activists must have been digging a tunnel in order to purchase some cigarettes from Israelis.

How long before Jimmy starts calling Qassams "resistance rockets?"
More on link


 

 

[Edward Campbell]

Here, reproduced under the Fair Dealing provisions (§29) of the Copyright Act from today’s Globe and Mail is an opinion by (law) Prof. Michael Byers:
--------------------
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20090112.wcoisrael13/BNStory/specialComment/home

In the case of Israel v. Hamas, two wrongs don't make a right

MICHAEL BYERS

From Tuesday's Globe and Mail
January 13, 2009 at 12:00 AM EST

"Canada continues to fully support Israel's right to defend itself," junior foreign minister Peter Kent said after an Israeli air strike on a United Nations school in Gaza killed 42 Palestinians last week.

"Canada has to support the right of a democratic country to defend itself," said Liberal Party Leader Michael Ignatieff.

I agree. But I also agree with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who called the attack on the school "totally unacceptable." And I agree with Navi Pillay, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, who called for "credible, independent and transparent" investigations into possible war crimes. I can agree with all these comments because they concern different strands of international law.

Self-defence: Messrs. Kent and Ignatieff are focused on the right of self-defence, which governs the recourse to force. Self-defence is a recognized exception to the UN Charter's general prohibition on taking up arms. Historically, it was available only in response to an attack by another state's armed forces. After 9/11 and the intervention in Afghanistan, self-defence now extends, in some circumstances, to the use of force against terrorism.

But self-defence is always limited by requirements of necessity and proportionality. It's not sufficient to say Israel has a right to defend itself. We must consider whether the Israel Defence Forces are acting in a necessary and proportionate way.

After a six-month ceasefire, Hamas launched rockets at Israel before the Israeli military began its air campaign. Two weeks into the conflict, more than a dozen Israelis have died, three of them civilians. All of this is serious, but Israel's existence is not at risk from Hamas.

According to Palestinian reports, more than 900 Palestinians have been killed, nearly half of them civilians, including many children. Israeli F-16s have bombed crowded neighbourhoods, and hundreds of homes have been destroyed along with scores of government buildings. The viability of Gaza has been severely compromised.

International humanitarian law: Messrs. Ban and Pillay are focused on "international humanitarian law," which constrains how force may be applied once a conflict is under way. These rules are set out in the 1949 Geneva Conventions, which Israel ratified in 1951. For the most part, they apply to Hamas as customary international law.

The direct targeting of civilians is prohibited, as are indiscriminate attacks. The Israeli military's use of white phosphorous shells is almost certainly illegal in a densely populated area such as Gaza. Individual targets may only be selected if the direct military advantage anticipated from the strike exceeds the expected harm to civilians. Hamas rocket attacks on Israeli towns rather than specific military targets are illegal. So, too, is the use of powerful bombs in crowded neighbourhoods.

The Israeli government points to the fact that Hamas is using civilians as human shields. Hiding behind civilians is illegal, but two wrongs do not make a right. The relevant question is, again, whether the direct military advantage of a particular target exceeds the risk to civilians. Is destroying a mortar position next to a school worth 42 innocent lives?

It is also illegal to target aid workers. Last week, a UN driver was killed when his clearly marked truck was struck by an Israeli shell. The incident forced John Ging, the director of UN aid in Gaza, to suspend operations. The decision was "heartbreaking," he said, but the organization had "lost confidence" in verbal assurances from the Israeli military.

War crimes: Violations of all these rules constitute war crimes, which are subject to universal jurisdiction in the sense that the perpetrators may be prosecuted in any country's domestic courts. This raises the possibility of trials if they are foolish enough to travel abroad and the local authorities are brave enough to arrest them. (In 2005, a former head of Israeli forces in Gaza said he was warned by diplomats not to leave an aircraft that had landed in London after a tip-off that British police were waiting to arrest him on war-crimes charges.) There is no possibility of prosecutions in the International Criminal Court, since Israel has not ratified the court's statute. Hamas, as a non-state actor, cannot do so.

The absence of a reliable mechanism for prosecuting Hamas and Israeli perpetrators is unfortunate. But so, too, is the support that some Canadian politicians have given to apparent violations of international law. The long-term viability of these rules depends on our willingness to speak out in defence of them - against all perpetrators.

Michael Byers is Canada Research Chair in Global Politics and International Law at the University of British Columbia. He was a visiting professor of law at the University of Tel Aviv in April of 2004.
--------------------

I’m not going to disagree with anything specific Prof. Byers has said; I will, however, take issue with the things he did not say:

Self Defence – so long as Israel is attacking, continues to attack the Hamas offensive. Rocket launching sites, supporting infrastructure and C2 apparatus (including people) it continues in a legitimate campaign of self defence. In this case proportionality is not an issue. The immediate threat against which Israel is defending itself is from the Qassam rockets that, as of yesterday, were still being fired at Israeli civilian targets. When the rockets stop then, but only then, so will Israel’s right to defend itself by taking military action – after some militarily necessary consolidation and mopping up is done.

International Humanitarian Law – Prof. Byers is very careful to not say that Israel is directly targeting civilians and he is equally careful to qualify is allegation that using white phosphorous in populated areas may be illegal – under some circumstances, and so on and so forth.

Prof. Byers asks an important and heartbreaking question: “Is destroying a mortar position next to a school worth 42 innocent lives?” Who gets to answer that question: the Israeli commander who must expose his/her soldiers to deadly mortar fire or a professor in a quiet, book lined study far from the madness of battle? But there’s another question: If, as Prof. Byers suggests is the case, Hamas is, indeed, hiding behind civilian human shields then why is the mortar’s site not a crime against international humanitarian law?

War Crimes – with respect, this is a red herring. Yes, indeed, some overzealous prosecutors with political agendas – people like Profs Byers and Attaran will try to discomfit a few Israeli politicians and generals and will, no doubt, disrupt a few travel plans – heaven forbid anyone would even think of doing such a thing to a Hamas or Hezbollah official, they might find their children slaughtered in their homes by end of day – but that’s about it.

Prof. Byers last sentence is important: ”The long-term viability of these rules depends on our willingness to speak out in defence of them - against all perpetrators.” In fairness, he has pointed a finger at Hamas but his main argument is against Israel and it rests, almost exclusively, on the issue of proportionality. There are some thoughts on proportionality here and here. Clearly the issue matters – to almost everyone, including Israeli judges and generals but, broadly, excluding Arabs. It must start mattering and being applied, equally, to all.

 

[tomahawk6]

Israel has established that Hamas was firing on Israeli troops from the school both inside and on the grounds.This wouldnt be the first time that a terror group being in close proximity to a UN facility to fire on Israeli troops.I would speculate that there are plenty of facilitors working for the UN in Gaza and Lebanon.

 

[Rifleman62]

I would assume that most, if not all, of the UN workers are locals with the possible exception of some of the supervisors/managers. Even the UN would not import thousands of Norwegians as truck divers, clerks etc.

 

[Edward Campbell]

Here, reproduced under the Fair Dealing provisions (§29) of the Copyright Act from today’s Globe and Mail, is another SITREP from Gaza:
-------------------
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20090113.wgaza0113/BNStory/International/home

Israeli forces enter Gaza City neighbourhood

IBRAHIM BARZAK AND JOSEF FEDERMAN
Associated Press

January 13, 2009 at 5:52 AM EST

GAZA CITY, GAZA STRIP — Israeli ground troops battled Palestinian militants in the streets of a densely populated Gaza City neighbourhood early Tuesday, destroying dozens of homes and sending terrified residents running for cover as gunfire and explosions echoed in the distance.

Israel's push into Tel Hawwa neighbourhood was the farthest it has moved into Gaza City during its 18-day offensive against Hamas militants, and brought Israel's ground forces within two kilometres of the crowded city centre. Palestinian hospital officials say more than 900 Palestinians, half of them civilians, have been killed.

Israel launched the offensive on Dec. 27 to end years of Palestinian rocket attacks on its southern towns, and Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has vowed to press forward with an "iron fist," despite growing international calls for an end to the fighting. UN chief Ban Ki-moon was headed to the region Tuesday to press for a ceasefire.

Palestinian witnesses said the Israeli forces moved overnight about 300 metres into Tel Hawwa, a neighbourhood of high-rise buildings on the southeastern edge of Gaza City. Palestinian medical officials reported at least 16 people killed in fighting, though the Israeli army suggested the number could be much higher.

One resident, Khader Mussa, said he fled his house while waving a white flag as the Israeli forces advanced. He spent the night huddling in the basement of a relative with 25 other people, including his pregnant wife and his parents.

"Thank God we survived this time and got out alive from here. But we don't know how long we'll be safe in my brother's home," Mr. Mussa, 35, told The Associated Press by telephone.

Several buildings were on fire, witnesses said, including a lumberyard. Sounds of the battle could be heard clearly around the city of 400,000 as the Israeli forces, backed by artillery and attack helicopters, moved into neighbourhoods east and south of Gaza City. Israeli gunboats shelled the coast from the west.

The Israeli military said it carried out some 60 air strikes overnight, hitting groups of Hamas militants holed up in a hotel, a house and a mosque. It said it also struck 15 squads of gunmen, rocket launching sites and 15 smuggling tunnels along the Egyptian border.

The army said it had killed or wounded about 30 militants, and that three soldiers were wounded in overnight fighting. Among them was an officer who was seriously wounded when a bomb exploded in a northern Gaza house that he was searching. Weapons, including a machine gun, were later found in the house, the military said.

Dr. Moaiya Hassanain, a Palestinian Health Ministry official said dozens of calls for ambulances had been received, but they could not be dispatched because of the fighting.

The Gaza fighting has raised tensions around the region and galvanized anger toward Israel throughout the Arab world. On Tuesday, at least one gunman opened fire at an Israeli army patrol along the desert border between Israel and Jordan, the military said. There were no casualties, and Jordan said the claim was "baseless."

There was a similar shooting incident on the Israel-Syria border on Sunday, and last week militants in Lebanon fired rockets into an Israeli town in an apparent attempt to draw Israel into a second front.

The Israeli military has tightly controlled information from the battlefield, but indications have been that Hamas has not put up a serious fight. Of the nine Israeli soldiers killed during the offensive, four were killed in "friendly fire incidents," a military inquiry concluded. Repeated Hamas claims of spectacular attacks on the Israelis have turned out to be false.

Speaking in parliament on Tuesday, Israel's military chief said his troops have achieved a lot but "still have work to do" in fighting Hamas in Gaza.

"The soldiers are doing exceptional work, with many achievements in inflicting damage on Hamas, its infrastructure, its government and military wing," he said.

Palestinian rocket fire has been greatly reduced, but not halted altogether, since the offensive was launched.

As diplomats struggled with the truce efforts, Mr. Olmert said Israel would end the military operations only when Hamas stops rocketing Israel and halts weapons smuggling across the porous border.

"Anything else will be met with the Israeli people's iron fist," Mr. Olmert said, "We will continue to strike with full strength, with full force until there is quiet and rearmament stops."

He spoke Monday in the town of Ashkelon, where life has largely been paralyzed by rocket fire from Gaza.

Later, he tempered his tough talk, saying: "I really hope that the efforts we are making with the Egyptians these days will ripen to a result that will enable us to end the fighting." Egypt, which often mediates between Israel and Hamas, and international diplomats have been furiously working toward a solution that would stop the fighting.

In a speech broadcast on the group's Al Aqsa TV station, Hamas' prime minister, Ismail Haniyeh, claimed his group would continue fighting, but said it was pursuing diplomacy to end the conflict. He said any truce would require an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and the opening of the territory's blockaded borders.

"As we are in the middle of this crisis, we tell our people we, God willing, are closer to victory. All the blood that is being shed will not go to waste," Mr. Haniyeh said.

Like other Hamas leaders, Mr. Haniyeh is in hiding, and it was not clear from where he was speaking.

Inside Gaza on Monday, an Israeli battalion commander identified only as Lt. Col. Yehuda said troops had not met significant resistance. He said troops found several houses booby-trapped either with regular explosives, or by sealing the windows and doors and opening cooking gas valves.

"A couple of days ago, an armed squad popped up from a tunnel that was concealed by a nearby building. We took them out with tank fire and a bulldozer," he said.

The officer's comment was approved by Israeli military censors. He spoke to a small group of reporters who accompanied Israeli units inside Gaza. Israeli forces have not allowed journalists to enter Gaza to cover the war.

Much of the diplomacy focuses on an area of southern Gaza just across the Egyptian border that serves as a weapons smuggling route, making Egypt critical to both sides in any deal.

Israel wants smuggling tunnels along the border sealed and monitored as part of any peace deal, and has been bombing the tunnels throughout the campaign.

The UN Security Council has already passed a resolution calling for a ceasefire. Mr. Ban was headed to the Mideast on Tuesday to enforce the measure.

Speaking at UN headquarters in New York on Monday, Mr. Ban said he has been on the phone constantly with top officials in the Middle East, Europe and the United States promoting the ceasefire. But he said phone calls are not a substitute for direct talks with leaders who have influence on the parties.

"To both sides, I say: Just stop, now," the UN chief said. "Too many people have died. There has been too much civilian suffering. Too many people, Israelis and Palestinians, live in daily fear of their lives."

The secretary-general said he plans to meet senior officials in Egypt and Jordan on Wednesday, then head to Israel, the West Bank, Turkey, Lebanon, Syria and Kuwait.

Israel's point man in the cease-fire efforts, Defence Ministry official Amos Gilad, planned to travel Tuesday to Egypt for talks.
--------------------

Referring to Prof. Byers’ point, above, Israel is still in the self defence mode according to Prime Minister Ehud Olmert who “said Israel would end the military operations only when Hamas stops rocketing Israel and halts weapons smuggling across the porous border.”

 

[Edward Campbell]

I would assume that most, if not all, of the UN workers are locals with the possible exception of some of the supervisors/managers. Even the UN would not import thousands of Norwegians as truck divers, labours, clerks etc.

You would be quite correct. It (hiring locals to create local jobs) is part of the mandate.

 

[a_majoor]

You would be quite correct. It (hiring locals to create local jobs) is part of the mandate.

That in itself would be a huge problem for either side to accept, and the importation of thousands of Egyptian or Jordanian workers would be equally problematic. Maybe in this case we really would need to consider hiring thousands of Norwegians or Icelandic citizens as workers for any putative UN force.

Of course, the rather blatant bias of the UN really makes this a non starter for Israel anyway. The only consensual democratic governments in the region besides Israel are Turkey and Iraq, so perhaps a large part of the solution needs to come from these nations.

 

[Shec]

Given the friendly and cooperative state of relations between Turkey and Israel this could be unacceptable in some cirdes.

 

[CougarKing]

A female Israeli Army soldier is seen in a staging area near Israel's border with Gaza, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2009. Israeli troops advanced into Gaza suburbs for the first time early Tuesday, residents said, hours after Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert warned Islamic militants that they face an 'iron fist' unless they agree to Israeli terms for an end to war in the Gaza Strip. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus)

In this photo released by the Israeli army, Israeli soldiers walk towards the northern Gaza Strip as seen from the Israeli border with Gaza, Monday, Jan. 12, 2009. Israeli ground troops battled Palestinian militants in the streets of a densely populated Gaza City neighborhood early Tuesday, destroying dozens of homes and sending terrified residents running for cover as gunfire and explosions echoed in the distance. (AP Photo/IDF, Neil Cohen, HO)

(AP Photo/IDF, Neil Cohen, HO)

Israeli reservists are reflected on a visor mounted on a weapon before crossing into the northern Gaza Strip January 12, 2009. (Jerry Lampen/Reuters)

An Israeli tank moves across the border with the northern Gaza Strip January 11, 2009. (Amir Cohen/Reuters)

An Israeli tank rolls outside the northern Gaza Strip January 13, 2009. Israeli forces tightened their hold on the outskirts of the city of Gaza on Tuesday and Israel's top general said "there is still work" ahead against Hamas in an 18-day-old offensive that has killed more than 900 Palestinians.
REUTERS/Amir Cohen (ISRAEL)

Israeli soldiers hold up a national flag atop an armoured personnel carrier (APC) after crossing into Israel at the border with the Gaza Strip January 13, 2009. Israeli forces tightened their hold around the city of Gaza on Tuesday and Israel's top general said "there is still work" ahead against Hamas in an 18-day-old offensive that has killed more than 900 Palestinians. REUTERS/Amir Cohen (ISRAEL)

 

[Kilo_302]

Earlier on this thread I  had asked about the use of WP arty rounds and was accused of trolling. It was also explained that there are a variety of legitimate military uses for WP (such as smoke screens). The Globe and Mail article Mr. Campbell posted mentioned the use of WP, stating that it was illegal in urban areas. So are the photos we are seeing of WP evidence of war crimes? Or are they photos of a legitimate use of WP?