Israel offensive in Gaza speech?

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kismet

On June 17, 2008, after several months of indirect contacts between Israel and Hamas through Egyptian mediators, Hamas agreed to a cease-fire (tahadiya). Almost immediately afterward, terrorists fired rockets into southern Israel. Despite what it called a "gross violation" of the truce, Israel refrained from military action. In fact, during the six months the arrangement was supposed to be observed, 329 rockets and mortar shells were fired at Israel.

While there were considerably fewer Palestinian assaults after the agreement than before, terror continued. Nevertheless, the IDF did not respond to the provocations. On the contrary, Israel significantly increased the amount of goods delivered to the Gaza Strip.

During this period, Israel also expected to negotiate the release of Gilad Shalit, the Israeli soldier taken hostage by Hamas in June 2006. The group repeatedly increased its demands for the number of prisoners it wanted released in exchange for the lone Israeli captive, but never agreed to grant his freedom.

Violence escalated in early November after the IDF carried out a military operation close to the border security fence on the Gazan side that killed seven Hamas terrorists. Israel acted after discovering that Hamas had dug a tunnel under the fence and planned to abduct more Israeli soldiers. Hamas responded by shelling Israeli towns and has continued the rocket barrage ever since.

When the Hamas-imposed six-month deadline expired in December, Israel hoped an agreement could be reached to extend the cease-fire. Instead, Hamas began firing what would be hundreds of rockets into Israel.

When the bombardment began, it became apparent Hamas had used the lull to upgrade its arsenal with weapons that were too sophisticated to have been designed or built in Gaza. These advanced Qassam and Grad rockets, which have placed 1-in-every-8 Israelis in mortal danger, originated in Iran. They were smuggled into Gaza in pieces, assembled, and fired from launch pads well-hidden and shielded in Palestinian population centers.

Once launched, hundreds of thousands of Israelis have as little as 15 seconds to reach a bunker before a rocket detonates. Hamas has turned all of southern Israel into a place that more resembles a post-apocalyptic world, rather than a modern, civilized society. Imagine never being able to step outside without remaining in sprinting distance of a concrete bunker. Imagine having to dive into the safety of a bunker 30 times a day, every day. Try to imagine the terror of the rocket whistling down, not knowing whether it will land a mile a way, or directly above your head.

Can you imagine the sudden shock when you feel the impact, the relief that overcomes you that you are still alive, and the immediate sorrow and concern that follows when you realize that others like -- your family and friends -- may not have been so lucky this time?

PaperbackWriter JPA

OK, let's start by clarifying the terms :)

It was not an Israeli 'offensive'.
It was Israel's *response* to eight years of terrorism.

Gaza is controlled by Hamas. Hamas is an extremist Islamic group. No different from Al Queda. In fact, both Hamas and Al Queda developed from the 'Muslim Brotherhood'.

Hamas is a terrorist organisation. Its official Charter declares it aims to 'bathe the region in jewish blood'. The Hamas main aim is to destroy Israel - and Hamas OPENLY states this.

Hamas also boasts about using innocent women and children as human shields.

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So... Israel left Gaza, Hamas took control after the Palestinians voted them in, and terrorism against Israel INcreased.

Hamas has sent hundreds of suicide bombers into Israel, murdering numerous Israeli civilians. This is in addition to the thousands of missiles attacking southern Israel.

Then, at the end of last year, it came to light that Hamas had acquired Iranian Grad missiles. These have a far further reach, and placed over ONE MILLION Israelis within range.

After eight years of Hamas terrorism, Israel finally had to **respond**. She had spent a year gathering intelligence about exactly WHERE Hamas leaders lived in Gaza and where their weaponry and munitions were. Israel targeted these sites.

Israel also phoned EVERY SINGLE HOME in Gaza, to ask innocents to leave ahead of attacks. This of course gave Hamas advance warning and placed Israeli soldiers at increased risk.

And it was for nothing a lot of the time, sadly, because Hamas REFUSED to let the woman and children go, instead using them as human shields, which is in violation of the Geneva Convention rules.

--------------------------------------...

Key points:

Hamas were attacking parts of Israel that were NEVER UNDER DISPUTE. Southern Israeli towns like Sderot have had no normal life for years. The children spend their entire time in underground bunkers.

History:

The term 'palestinian' always referred TO Palestinian Jews, who had BEEN living in that area for the past 3500 years, NON STOP.

It was the Arab world that prevented the creation of a separate Palestinian Arab state, next to Israel, back in 1948. This is objective, verifiable, historical **fact**.

Some good resources for you:
http://www.arabsforisrael.com
http://www.honestreporting.com

dandyl

Here is a brief answer to explain the offensive, Hamas is not a â€˜resistance movement,â€™ it is a terrorist organization whose attacks precipitated Operation Cast Lead. The groupâ€™s behavior also violated international legal conventions and its fighters and leaders committed numerous war crimes. Article 51 of the UN Charter reserves to every nation the right to engage in self-defense against armed attacks. As Professor Alan Dershowitz has also noted, â€œThe claim that Israel has violated the principle of proportionality -- by killing more Hamas terrorists than the number of Israeli civilians killed by Hamas rockets -- is absurd. First, there is no legal equivalence between the deliberate killing of innocent civilians and the deliberate killings of Hamas combatants. Under the laws of war, any number of combatants can be killed to prevent the killing of even one innocent civilian. Second, proportionality is not measured by the number of civilians actually killed, but rather by the risk posed. This is illustrated by what happened on Tuesday (December 30, 2008), when a Hamas rocket hit a kindergarten in Beer Sheva, though no students were there at the time. Under international law, Israel is not required to allow Hamas to play Russian roulette with its childrenâ€™s lives.â€3

As the London Times said in response to this charge during Israel's war with Hezbollah, this criticism â€œis lazy and facile in several ways, especially in implying a moral relativism between the two sides that does not exist. This is not the contest between misguided equals that many in the West seem to see. One is the region's lone democracy, which for much of its existence has faced a very real existential threat and would like, if possible, to live in peace with its neighbors. The other is a terrorist organization, bent on preventing such a future.â€4

Furthermore, Since Hamas' stated objective is the destruction of Israel, isn't the appropriate response the destruction of Hamas? Wouldn't random missile strikes on Palestinian cities be proportionate to Hamas rocket attacks on southern Israel? Can you imagine any of Israel's critics accepting those responses?

When Palestinian terrorists plant bombs at Israeli shopping malls and kill and maims dozens of civilians, would the "proportionate response" be for Israelis to plant bombs in Palestinian malls? No one in Israel believes this would be a legitimate use of force. Thus, Israel is left with the need to take measured action against specific targets in an effort to either deter Palestinian violence or stop it.

What would America do if terrorists fired thousands of rockets targeting U.S. cities? After 9/11, we saw that America took the same type of action as Israel by launching military strikes against the terrorists. U.S. forces used overwhelming force and though they never targeted civilians, some were inadvertently killed. Americans believe in Colin Powell's doctrine, which holds that â€œAmerica should enter fights with every bit of force available or not at all.â€

The United States uses overwhelming force against its enemies, even though the threats are distant and pose no danger to the existence of the nation or the immediate security of its citizens. The threat Israel faces is immediate in time and physical proximity, and poses a direct danger to Israeli citizens. More than 6,000 rockets have now fallen on Israel's cities and now that Hamas has acquired long-range missiles, more than 900,000 civilians are in danger. Still, Israel has not used its full might as the Powell Doctrine dictates. The use of force has been judicious and precise.

Israeli soldiers do not deliberately target noncombatants. The murder of innocents is the goal of the Palestinian terrorists. In fact, what other army drops leaflets to warn people to leave an area they intend to attack even though it gives up the element of surprise and allows the bad guys to hide as well as the innocent to escape?

IDF activities are governed by an overriding policy of restraint and a determination to take all possible measures to prevent harm to innocent civilians.

No innocent Palestinians would be in any danger if the Palestinian Authority took steps to stop terrorism or if the international community, especially the Arab world, had pressured Hamas to stop attacking Israel.

No innocent Palestinians would be in danger if Hamas terrorists did not deliberately hide among them. If the peace-seeking Palestinians prevented the terrorists from living in their midst, Israel would have no reason to come to their neighborhoods.

It is a tragedy whenever innocent lives are lost, and Israelis have consistently expressed their sadness over Arab casualties. By contrast, when innocent Israelis are murdered by terrorists, Hamas holds rallies to celebrate the murders.

Simple Simon

The situation in Gaza is very similar to situation with Somali pirates.
For many years innocent Somali pirates hijacked ships, because this is their only source of income. But finally we killed three of them, and now they say that we used disproportional force and massacred three of them.
For the last 8 years Palestinians from Gaza fired rocket onto Israeli towns and villages, because Iranians paid them. And that was their only source of income. (Iranians paid them, because they wanted to divert world attention from them to something else). After 8 years Israelis finally responded military. And innocent Muslims say that the force was disproportional and massacre did happen.
If you would read Quran, you will see that after each battle (except one) the prophet Muhammad massacres the prisoners. Massacres are way of life in Muslim countries. And therefore after each battle, Muslims cry-massacre, massacre.

ishnichmad

you re confused?
we live here and we don't understand it!
what on earth does hamas hope to achieve from attacking israel...that we are going to troop down to the docks bearing white flags?
Not going to happen.
that we will withdraw from gaza?
we already did four years ago!

Calvin79

Israel acted in self defense after the Hamas terrorists captured some Israeli soldiers and then fired missiles into Israel.

Saphira

If you will look at all the offers that Israel has made to the palestinians, you will be able to determine what the conflict is about. It is not so much about the land as it is about who gets to live there and call it by their name. Palestinians have repeatedly refused offers of land for peace. They don't want land. They want complete ownership and control. They want every last grain of sand that belongs to Israel and every last drop of blood that belongs to a Jew.

Arieh

The purpose of terrorism is to garner publicity for a cause. Hamas' cause according to their charter is the destruction of Israel.

The offensive in Gaza was revenge for the killing of hundreds of innocent Israeli civilians during this current Intifada by suicide bombings and by other means of terrorism.

That this occured in an Israeli election year is not a coincidence either.

I believe that these concepts could give you a good start on your further research and eventual informed, realistic, and objective speech.

One in a Million

Take a side and run with it. Predict what criticisms and counter-arguments will come up. E.g. if you take the anti-Zionist side, I'd start with this:

1. You do not necessarily oppose Israel's existence but favor fairness towards Palestinians in the peace process.

2. Rejection of Zionism is not racism.

3. You want Israelis and Palestinians to live together peacefully in some way and work together either in a binational state or fair two-state solution.

4. You deplore the Holocaust and all forms of racism against Jews as well as terrorism.

5. You do not support terrorism, religious fundamentalism or suicide bombings and make it clear that they are forms of fascism and hate that block the peace process. You will damage your arguments if you support terrorism.

6. Avoid calling Israel a terrorist, racist state. A better argument is a parallel between Israel and South Africa or Israel and Algeria under French colonial rule.

7. Do not call for the Israelis to leave their country.

8. Acknowledge that the Arab leaders have approached the refugee problem the wrong way and that they created a Jewish refugee problem by kicking out 850,000 Sephardic Jews from the Middle East in 1948.

9. Point out that you do not agree with Ahmedinejad or Iran's nuclear policies.

10. Point to the suffering of Palestinians under Zionist militarism and colonialism: occupation, roadblocks, lack of aid, lack of self-determination, creation of refugees from the occupation, segregation, settlements, lack of self-determination, the wall that blocks them from Jerusalem, no choices for refugees to return either to Israel or Palestine or at least receive a financial settlement and citizenship somewhere, lack of access to East Jerusalem.

zena e

CHECK THE LIBRARIES, BOOKS, PAPERS . MAGAZINES AND NET
AND MAKE UP YOUR OWN MIND.

RE ISRAELI OFFENSIVE IN GAZA

THERE ARE PLENTY PROS.. SAYING THE ISRAEL STARTED THE OFFENSIVE AND
PLENTY NEGATIVES THAT STATE ISRAEL IS INNOCENT AND IS PEACE LOVING

YOU MAY TAKE BOTH SIDE AND END WITH YOUR CONCLUSION|
BASED ON EVIDENCE YOU WISH TO TAKE . NOT OUR OPINIONS

givebakpalestine

-European Jews immigrated heavily to Palestine between 1914-1948, the Palestinians were of course already there
-Zionists ethnically cleansed Palestine (Stern Gang, Irgun etc.), an example being the Deir Yassin massacre
-Palestinians flee in masses, expect to return in a few days
-In response to Zionist aggression and ethnic cleansing the Arab states attack however they were disorganized with no true unity and thus lost
-Palestinians replace the European Jews as the worlds refugees
-Denied the right of return, UN member brought up the 'right of return' and was assasinated by Zionist terrorists (he saved the lives of over 11,000 Jews during the holocaust, true hero)
-Palestinians been refugees for over 60 years
-Israel continues to expand under the guise of settlements, illegal under international law (UN resolution 242)
-Israel denies Gaza aid, food, water, medicine, electircity etc.
-Israel turns down any offer for peace that involves concessions and compromise.

Important we understand the historical context.

Specifically on the ceasefire:
-Israel broke the ceasefire by limiting food, water etc. from entering Gaza
-Israel again broke the ceasefire on 6th Nov. by killing 6 Palestinians
-Palestinians fire primitive homemade rockets into Israel
-Israel butchers over 1200 people (over 400 kids)

Zeno

Read "The Road Map to Nowhere" by Tanya Rinehart which will bring you up to the blockade as of 2007. The 22-day air attack was an election stunt that cost the lives of 1,400 civilians. The blockade began the minute the last zionist was pulled out of Gaza in 2005.

Duane

Nada is right.

âœ¡

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j61ktUeDDuo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X6p4QouJx98

Shalom

If you are on facebook read this http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=46177167562

NOLA Girl in Texas

Israel wants all of the land. They want to wipe the Palestinians off the face of the map and they are actually doing it and not the other way around. Israel occupied land after Hitler tried to wipe them off the face of the map. The British occupied the land and made a deal with the Zionist for them to have a state of their own. They pushed the Arabs away from key cities such as Jerusalem, they took part of Syria and Egypt. Most of the Palestinians who lived in Jerusalem fled to Gaza. The Israelis have been trying to push the Palestinians off the land by fear, terror and kidnapping, assassination. No one side is perfect, killing innocent civilians in Gaza through genocide is sick.

thom t

Israel has become the aggressor, having driven the Palestinians out of their land. The only solution to the Middle East situation is to have 2 independent states: Israel and Palestine but it is unlikely both sides will agree.

http://www.thereligionofpeace.com/

Aldonbonn

hope that may help

http://www.ifamericansknew.com/

u r asking Israelis, they wont give u the truth...

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