Jacob's Soap Box

4 March, 2010

The mere mention of the word “Mossad” immediately ignites the imagination and with good reasons. In fact to many, particular those who know little about it, the Mossad has become a legend, a story in which the fiction tend exceed facts.

The recent assassination in Dubai of Mahmud Mabhouh, a founder and a senior commander in Izz A-Din Al-Qassam Brigades (the military branch of the Hamas) is an example.

The media, right around the world, was quick to point a finger at the Mossad, even before the Dubai police came up with, by now well publicised, an EDITED CCTV footage, allegedly depicting the Mossad agents movements, before and after the assassination, but not glimpse of “during”.

Israeli response was no different than its normal response as to alleged activity of the Mossad, “neither confirm nor deny”, a response you would expect of any government when asked about covert activities of their own security services.

Irrespective of whether this particular mission was carried out by the Mossad or not, it serves Israel’s interest to have the suspicion casted on the Mossad. Israel’s policy of “targeted elimination” ,as they call it,  intended to disrupt the operation of the terrorists, particularly their leadership ability to move freely. It serves Israel’s purpose that they all feel targeted, irrespective of whether they are or not.

True, initially this killing, at least on the face of it, seem to have the Mossad’s fingerprints all over it, but the more information comes out of Dubai AND if indeed that information is correct, a BIG IF, it looks less and less a Mossad operation.

Firstly, there is NO WAY under the sun that the Mossad (or the CIA or MI-5 or ASIO or any other competent security organisation for that matter) would send 27 agents into an Arab country on a covert mission, not even to capture or kill Bin Laden, NO WAY! 27 agents in a small place like Dubai is not a covert mission, it is a traffic jam.

Secondly, there is no way that any covert agents will stay back in Dubai for TWO DAYS after the mission was accomplished,  thereby tremendously increase the risk of being captured, it is sheer madness. One may argue that it was necessary to keep some agents back because the need to spread the departure of 27 operatives, but that only serve as one of the reasons why no one in his right mind would ever send 27 operatives on a covert mission.

(There is the more plausible possibility that there were 27 passports used by a much smaller team, but is not what the Dubai Police is saying.)

Thirdly, two of the agents (with Aussie passports) were reported leaving Dubai by a ferry to Bandar Abas (Iran) and travelled by land to Teheran to take a flight out. This is jumping out of the frying pan into the fire, Alice In Wonderland stuff!

A quick Google search reveals that indeed there is the only one ferry service from UEA and it goes to Iranian ports. The World Travel Guide Website also says about this service:

Ferry services operate to ports in Iran from Sharjah, although these are not recommended for tourists and timetables are erratic.

[Highlights are mine]

Would you plan evacuation of agents, not only via Iran, but also on a an erratic timetable when there are less risky routes such as crossing by land over to a less hostile country and flying from there?

The apparent concentration of the Dubai Police on Israel in a complete exclusion of any other scenario, points only to two possibilities: 1. Incompetence 2. Prior knowledge, or at least more knowledge than they (the Dubai Police) are willing to devalue.

According to the Israeli Debka Files (Hebrew) website, that has proven itself as reliable source when it comes to Israeli security, The Dubai Police has no single piece of evidence that can identify the perpetrators.

Repeating (Israeli) intelligence and anti-terror sources, the Debka Files says that the Dubai Chief of the Police, Lieutenant General Dhahi Khalfan Al Tamim, that they found the assassins’ DNA and fingerprints taken from Mabhouh’s room, but not in their own rooms, is strange to say the least. And even if he has such DNA and fingerprints, the sources say, it is utterly useless without a database to match such fingerprints and DNA.

I would add that if indeed, the perpetrators left DNA and fingerprints behind, it is not theirs own but intended to send the Dubai Police into a wild goose chase, apparently successfully so.

Much was said in the media about the speed in which the Dubai Police came up with CCTV footage, and the apparent oblivious attitude of the team to the security CCTV cameras. Some Israel haters went as far as citing that as a “proof” of the agents “incompetence”.

Not so, say the Debka sources, the team, according to them, had shown high electronic sophistication evident by their ability to enter Mabhouh’s room by electronically overcoming the security lock and latching the inside door bolt from outside the room ON CAMERA.

But, there is 19 minutes gap (between 8:24pm and 8:43pm) in the CCTV footage, the presume time of when the assassination took place. This indicates that the team in fact had the equipment to control the security cameras of the hotel and what is shown was only what the team wanted shown.

The reason, according to the Debka sources, is that whoever carry out that operation WANTED to show their ability to penetrate secured areas, even when it is secured by CCTV, anywhere in the middle east. In any event, the “terminators” were disguised from head to toe making the footage is useless for the purpose of identifying them.

If you look at the video on my site, towards the end, the woman is seen looking at the camera with a smile.

* * * * *

All that is not necessarily a proof that Israel was not involved in the assassination but it certainly shows that the information that comes out of Dubai is anything but a proof that it was a Mossad operation, No identities, no method, no murder weapon, no idea how they got into the room, nothing!

The question is Why? Is it just a populous claim, or is it a purposeful “engineering” of facts and there is more behind the “proofs” that came out? The answer is open to conjecture, your guess is as good as mine but I’ll give it a shot.

So far the only link to Israel lays in the forged passports the perpetrators said to have used. 15 of which bore the names of known Israeli citizens with dual nationality, living in Israel.

On the one hand, if it was the Mossad, it makes sense that it “borrow” identities of real people, people who are, for certain, not using their passport during the operation. One can assume that the Mossad has the ability to detect, through border control records when such person leaves Israel, thus may be using his or her non-Israeli passport, and warn its agents do dump such  identity. The question remains how the Mossad got the details of such passports.

Indeed Israel permits it citizen to have dual nationality, but the foreign nationality of an Israelis with dual nationality is null and void (by Israeli law) once the person is in Israel , they are Israeli citizens and only Israeli citizens, for all intent and purposes. I know, I am one such a person.

By law, Israeli citizens, must enter and leave Israel on their Israeli passports and at no time they are required to produce their foreign passports, Never, except when they enter Israel for the first time as “olim” (immigrants) and during their naturalisation process — yes it is a possibility but only if these people still holding the same passport they naturalised on, I don’t know if this is in fact the case here.

I can tell you with certainty, that in 35 years of having dual nationality, I have never been asked to produce my Australian passport in Israel, or my Israeli passport in Australia, for that matter.

But, passport details are held on many computers, other than immigration; travel agents, airlines, hotels, banks, you name it. Any competent security agency, not only the Mossad, has the capability of braking into such computers and pulling out such passports details. Is there another common denominators to all those passports?

Further many counties, but not Israel or Australia, require arriving passengers to declare ALL their nationalities, if they have more than one. Indonesia is one I am aware of (still I was not require to produce the passport I was not entering on).

In any event the speed in which these forged passport were traced into Israel, raise questions, at least.

Yet, as soon as it transpired that three of the forged passports are Australian, our illustrious Prime Minister and his Foreign Minister, paraded the Israeli ambassador in front of the waiting media into the Foreign Minister’s Office for “an explanation”. It could not have come at a better time for uncle Kev who was up to his eyeballs in a domestic scandal and it gave him a media respite.

“This is not an action of a friend” said the Foreign Minister, Stephen Smith, revealing his conversation with the Israeli Ambassador, “I am not satisfied with Israel’s explanation” said the Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, as if he got any explanation. There was no question in their mind, or so they gave the impression, that indeed it is the Mossad who forged the Australian passports, as the PM publicly dispatch the Australian Federal Police (AFP) to Israel to “investigate”.

(As earlier explained, the people in questions, by Israeli law, are Israeli citizen only, thus the government of Israel has the powers to prevent its citizens from being questioned by a foreign country — Israel did not take such action on this instance in a stark difference when, a few years back,  Israel was prevented from interviewing Australians with dual Israeli citizens. It was when Mr. John Howard was a PM and I doubt that he would have sent the AFP to Israel on such useless mission, but I am digressing).

The Australian mission to the UN was instructed to change Australia’s vote on the Goldstone report from “against” to “abstain” despite the fact that just a few weeks back Australia had voted “against” on a similar resolution.  It was also quite a departure from Australia’s usual pattern vote in unison with the USA on Middle East issues.

Naturally, the DFAT (Dept Of Foreign Affairs and Trade) denied that the vote was a punishment of Israel. Australia is one of the few avid friends Israel has, that has been true irrespective of the colour of our governments since the inception of Israel, thus if this vote was not “a punishment”, it represents a marked departure from an Australian long term standing policy.

It is no secret that Kevin Rudd is trying to get Australia a seat on the Security Council in the next rotation, it is also no secret that Mr. Kevin Rudd has personal aspiration for a UN high position (Secretary General, has been suggested) both which can only be achieved  with the support of the None Aligned Movement (NAM) bloc in the UN, which in turn is controlled by the  Organisation Of Islamic Conference (IOC) block, do you get the picture?

(You may care to get further information as to how the UN works in here.)

Whilst our foreign Minister says that “this was not an act of a friend” (or words to that affect) and the Australian abstention in the UN was not a “punishment”, what was it then? An act of a friend? Well Mr. Smith, with friends like you who needs enemies.

And … it had to come. Our version of the New York Time, the Sydney Morning Herald reported that ASIO (The Australian Security Organisation) is investigating Australian with dual Israeli citizenship. Quoting the AAP the Sydney Morning Herald said that:

ASIO began investigating dual Australian-Israeli citizens suspected of spying for Israel well before last month’s assassination of the Hamas operative Mahmud al-Mabhuh, intelligence sources say.

Give me a break!

I would be surprised if there are more than 15,000 Australian citizens with dual Israeli nationality living in Australia (the question is not asked in the census, not that I recall). Let us see; how does that stuck with the “M-word” on our lefty media? For crying out loud, there are probably twice that number of Australians with dual Lebanese nationality in our jails, but they are not Muslims, just “persons with Middle East appearance”.

* * * * *

And finally, back to Lieutenant General Dhahi Khalfan Al Tamim, the Chief of the Dubai Police; according to the New York Time blog of 2 March, 2010 the generals said  that

It is easy for us to identify [Israelis], through their face or when they speak any other language.

By their look general? I was born in Israel and I can’t do it! Israeli can be black (Ethiopian Jews), with a Scandinavian look and all in between, you must have some extra-perceptional abilities, sir.

True, I can generally pick up an Israelis when they speak English but only native Israelis, not those who immigrated into Israel. My ability to do it, as most native Israelis, comes from years being with NATIVE Israelis, we surely have a distinctive accent but it mostly taken as French (from my experience) for some reason, except for those people who spend a lot of time amongst NATIVE Israelis.

What is you reason sir? Where and when did you acquired that ability general? Hmmmm, food for thoughts, isn’t it?

© Copyright: Jacob Klamer 2010 – All rights reserved.

21 June, 2009.

So there you have it, Mr. Netanyahu bowed to Obama pressure and acknowledged a two states solution or word to that affect, depending on the inspiration of the journalist or the talking heads. I wonder, how many so-called journalist actually listened to (or read transcript of) the speech, They got pre-occupied with one aspect of the speech, perhaps one and a half if we count those who mentioned the settlements too.

Some took the view that if there is an Obama angle in this, it must be historical. Our (Australian) foreign minister, Stephen Smith said on the ABC that:

[He] think[s that] the key point for the international community is for the first occasion we have an acknowledgement that a two-state solution is required as the basis for peace in the Middle East. [My highlighting]

First occasion? Are you kidding me? In his speech Bibi reminded his listeners that Israel agreed to a two state solution 61 years ago! It is in his speech, for crying out loud. I am reminded of the joke about an old man who goes to see his doctor, the following dialogue ensues:

Patient: Doctor, I thing that I suffer from Amnesia.

Doctor: How long you have been suffering from it?

Patient: Suffering from what?

On 29 November, 1947 the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) passed Resolution No 181, commonly known as the Partition of Palestine Plan that, among other sings said:

Independent Arab and Jewish States and the Special International Regime for the City of Jerusalem, set forth in Part III of this Plan, shall come into existence in Palestine two months after the evacuation of the armed forces of the mandatory Power has been completed but in any case not later than 1 October 1948.[My highlighting]

This looks to me as two states solution as two state solution can be AND that the solution includes … a Jewish state. 1947 Messrs. Obama and Smith! Not 2009!

The leadership of the Jewish inhabitants of Palestine (the Ishuv) agreed to the plan whilst the Arab countries (repeat: Arab countries) rejected it, Note that the Arab inhabitants of Palestine, or their leadership, had no say on the matter. (also note that at that time there was no such thing as Palestinians, the inhabitants of area under the British Mandate of Palestine, were known as either Jews or Arabs).

As the last British soldier left Palestine on 15 May, 1948, the Jews of Palestine declare the State Of Israel within the partition boundaries. The same day, the armies of Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Trans-Jordan (Jordan), Egypt, Yemen, Saudi Arabia and a volunteers army called the Arab Liberation Army (note: no “Palestine” in sight) invaded the new country. Israeli War of Independence erupted.

Israel War of Independence 1948

All this is in the Netanyahu’s speech but the corrupt bumper sticker editors of the media would not mention it in a month of Sundays because it runs against the two state solution bumper sticker slogan advanced by the Grand Mufti of Washington DC in Cairo earlier this month.

Have no doubt my friend, the invading Arab armies aim was to annihilate the new independent nation of Israel and carve the spoils amongst themselves, not to create another Arab country. They opposed ANY NEW state, not only the Jewish one.

During the ensuing war some 700,000 Arabs left, BOTH the Jewish and the Arab areas of the partition plan, at the behest of the Arab countries. They were promptly rounded up in refugee camps in Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Egypt. The Arab Refugee problem was born.

Since 1948 the world has known many refugees problems, Europe, Eastern Europe, India-Pakistan, Korea War, Vietnam War, Cambodia, some in Africa and even as late as ten years ago in Bosnia. All such refugees problems has been resolved except the Arab (later renamed Palestinian) refugee problem, why?

From its inception, the so-called Arab/Palestinian refugee problem was kept alive by the Arab government as a diversion from their shaky inept, often corrupt hold on their people. Whilst the Arabs are vocal when it come to Human Rights, they deny basic human rights to Palestinian living in their country.

Yet there some one million Arabs living inside Israel as full citizen with more rights that any other Arabs in the Middle East – there have never been any refugee camps for Arabs inside Israel albeit there were some for Jewish refugees, some from Arab countries, in the 1950’s

Despite Israel continuing declaration that it seek peace with its neighbours, the Arab countries not only steadfastly refused to recognise Israel but also had developed a common doctrine to annihilate Israel in a coordinated invasion as indeed they attempted and failed in 1967 and 1973.

Israel security policies were to meet such threats through a one command military (IDF) which rely on reserve manpower, competent intelligence organisation (Mossad, Shin Beth and the Military Intelligence) and development of military and aeronautical industries to reduce dependency on imports and reduce the effects of Arm embargoes.

Contrary to common belief, America’s relations with Israel were hostile to cold until 1968. Whilst the USA was the first county to recognise Israel, it also adhered to the international embargo on arms shipment to the Middle East in 1948/49 which was in fact an embargo against Israel only

The CIA assessment at the time was that the new state is unlikely to survive the (1948) war and if it did, having regard to its “socialist” background, in all probability it would join and be part of the Soviet bloc. America was “neutral”, the USA has no interest in risking its relation with the Arab world. The word “neutrality” has received a whole new meaning, George Orwell’s one.

Whilst it was quickly realised that the CIA (and the State Department) were wrong on both counts when Israel supported the West in the Korea War, it took a further 20 years before president Johnson agreed to sell American weapon to Israel.

Whilst the Arab countries were receiving weapons from the Soviet Union on a “never never” basis, Israel was forced to scrounge its weapon from whoever was prepared to sell it for cash.

For nearly 19 years (between 1948 and 1967) the West Bank was under Jordanian rule, the Gaza Strip was under Egyptian rule, both busting at the seams with Arab refugees, (that what they were called) yet not a peep about Palestinians let alone about a Palestinian state.

The Arab countries, quietly abandoned their doctrine to destroy Israel by a coordinated military invasion after their defeat in 1973 (Yom Kippur War). Indeed in 1979, Israel signed a peace agreement with Egypt and 1995 with Jordan.

* * * * *

In 1959, Yassir Arafat, together with four others, founded the Fatah organisation and introduced the term “Palestinians” to mean the Arab inhabitant of the West part pf the British Mandate over Palestine that included Jordan of today in it. The aim of the organisation was to provide a venue for the newly created Palestinian identity to take charge of its destiny, namely, taking back Falastin (Israel) by force (terror). It was not until January 1965 when the first terror attack took place as the Fatah failed to sabotage the (Israeli) National Water Carrier.

In 1964 the Arab countries created the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO), a parent organisation for a number of Palestinian terror organisations, including the Fatah, also defining the Palestinian nation and it right for land of Falastin, being Israel, the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

Have no doubt, the Palestinian terror is the forerunner of the Global Islamic terror. The Muslim terror, that has no equivalent in any other religion, born out of Muslim Brotherhood principles, and was surreptitiously developed as “fine art” with training, equipment and propaganda, by the Soviet Union (and China to a lesser degree). The relation between the Left and the Palestinian terror was forged in Soviet training camps.

As Communism itself survived the fall of the Soviet Union, so did the Socialist support to the so-called Palestinian cause. There is no single American university that respects itself that does not have department for Middle East Studies that are no more than a channel for vile Palestinian propaganda and sheer Anti-Semitism dressed up as “academic freedom”.

Since the 1960’s Israel has been warning the West against idolising terrorists in general and Muslim terrorists in particular and calling for international measure against Muslim terror. But with a very few exceptions, most western countries look at the problem as an Israeli only problem, not an international one … until it hit home and even then, the fault was not Islam’s.

No one symbolised such obtuse attitude as the deputy assistant commissioner of the (London) metropolitan police, Brian Paddick who said:

As far as I am Concerned, Islam and terrorists are two words that do not go together.

This is not politically correctness gone mad, this is not moral equivalence gone bad, this is mad!!! If such people are in charge of our safety from terror, God save us all!

Too often the terror apologisers tell us that the terrorist are only a small core of extremists. Have no doubt, Muslim terror is NOT an action of a few radical nutcases, Muslim terror is a well coordinated world-wide movement, it is also known as political Islam.

Political Islam, also referred to as radical Islam or Islamism (I hate this word, but this is another story) is the movement seeks to achieve a global hegemony of Islam, nothing short of that. The Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas, Hezbollah, Al-Qaida, Taliban Wahhabism are all example of Political Islam.

Ehud Yaari, a well known Israeli commentator on Islam and the Arab-Israeli conflict explains that as the Arab countries have given up on destroying Israel (Iran is not an Arab country), Political Islam has stepped into the vacuum in the forms of the Hamas, Hezbollah, Islamic Jihad, and alike. They brought with them a new doctrine, muqawama, a doctrine that many seem to loose sight of its effects.

Muqawama, which, incidentally, forms a part of the Hamas’s name, Ḥarakat al-Muqāwamat al-Islāmiyyah (Islamic Resistance Movement), means “resistance” but the muqawama doctrine is characterised by a lot more than just resistance and its affects are felt far beyond the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Muqawama has the following characteristics:

Fighting against a superior forces: The enemy is always powerful, such as the Israeli, American or Turkish military, depending on the circumstances

Fight not for territory: That may seem strange in the “two states solution” age but the aim is not territory, THE AIM IS BLOOD, plenty of it and on both sides including innocent civilians, children and women. The aim is a war of attrition by blood letting, the more blood spilled the better. The sensitivity of the enemy (us) to our casualties alone will cause public outcry for surrender.

Shahada: Martyrdom and death are objectives on their own right, the afterlife world is more important than the here and now. This is how suicide bombers are glorified.

Fight not for victory: Victory is only a long term objective. This is part of the doctrine to avoid frustrations due to lack of real achievement in the short run.

In fact muqawama doctrine has familiar tone to it, they don’t want to win, they want to fight.

* * * * *

When you examine events in the Israel, West Bank, Gaza Strip, Southern Lebanon, Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan and even Western Turkey in light of muqawama you quickly realise that the Islamic terror is a lot larger than “a few radical Islamists”

Further, if you understand muqawama, you would also understand why the Palestinian Authority, the so-called moderates (NOT the Hamas) was quick on their feet to reject Netanyahu’s speech not for what is in it, but for what is not.

If you have been watching the Palestinian leadership, all of them, you would note that every time it looks as if they are getting closer to achieving a state they run away from it, under one pretence or another – indeed they don’t want a state, they want to fight for one.

© Copyright Jacob Klamer 2009

16 January, 2009

Here is math question for fifth grade:

There are about 900 people in the neighbourhood, half of them went to watch a football game. The number of kids watching the game represents one third of the total neighbourhood and the number of women and kids represent 40% that neighbourhood.

Question: How many of each men, women and children are at the game?

Answer: 90 men, 60 women and 300 children (all about)

What that got to do with anything?

If you have listen carefully to the Hamas propaganda parroted by the UN and the media you will learn over a number of bulletins that: Total casualties is 900 (as of Monday 12 January, 2009) half are civilians, one third are children and 40% are women and children.

In solving this simple arithmetic problem we learn that, according to the Hamas, the ratio of children fatality is two dead children for each non combatant adult fatality or four dead women and children for every man. Can some please offer an explanation for such disproportion?

If you believe the Hamath numbers please tell us why are there two dead children to each adult? what are there four dean women and children for every man? Where are the parents of those kids? and where are the husbands and fathers of those woman and children? why aren’t these disproportionate victims not in bomb shelters? There are many such question but don’t expect the media to ask them.

The media main concern is that Israeli casualties are not higher, plain and simple.

Unless anyone under the age 50 is defined as “child” the number of kids that were hurt are highly exaggerated or kids are being pushed forward to front the Israeli troops to achieve Hamas’s propaganda targets. The true facts of this conflict will come out eventually, as they did nearly seven years ago when Israel invaded the West bank town of Jenin.

* * * * *

In April 2002 after a spates of suicide bombing, Israel invaded the town of Jenin in the West Bank in an attempt to clean it out. The international hysteria that followed included “eyewitness” accounts of Israeli atrocity including 500 dead citizens, mass graves etc. etc. At the same time Israel said that according to reports by the IDF (Israel Defence Forces) the number is about 50, most of which are Hamas and other terror organisation fighters.

On April 18, in an article titled Jenin ‘Massacre Evidence Growing’ the BBC quoted , Prof Derrick Pounder of Dundee University, who they described as “A British forensic expert” saying:

I must say that the evidence before us at the moment doesn’t lead us to believe that the allegations are anything other than truthful and that therefore there are large numbers of civilian dead underneath these bulldozed and bombed ruins that we see

You would think that four months later, the true might finally come out, yet as late as 1 August 2002 the UN General Secretary issue a press statement SG2077 headed REPORT OF SECRETARY-GENERAL ON RECENT EVENTS IN JENIN, OTHER PALESTINIAN CITIES which, among other things, says that:

— Death toll: Four hundred ninety-seven Palestinians were killed and 1,447 wounded in the course of the IDF reoccupation of Palestinian areas from 1 March through 7 May 2002 and in the immediate aftermath. Most accounts estimate that between 70 and 80 Palestinians, including approximately 50 civilians, were killed in Nablus.

Eventually independent investigation has proven that the number of confirmed Palestinian casualties were 54, most of whom (40+) were terrorist. Even a weekly like the Time magazine, not exactly a pro-Israel publication, published the result for its investigation, it concluded that:

… there was no wanton massacre in Jenin, no deliberate slaughter of Palestinians by Israeli soldiers. But the 12 days of fighting took a severe toll on the camp. According to the U.N., 54 Palestinians are confirmed dead. An additional 49 are missing; it is unclear how many of them perished in the fighting and how many either fled or were captured by Israeli troops

[Emphasis provided]

* * * * *

The lesson from Jenin is clear; Palestinians exaggerate their casualties and the media is keen to cooperate spread any information that makes Israel look bad, what else is new?

You may have noticed, that this time there are no calls for investigation of “war crimes” by Israel as was the case during the Jenin operation, the loons have learned that investigation may prove, as it did in Jenin, no Israel wrong doing, which defeat their purpose.

All the reports from Gaza come from local “journalists”. Since the BBC’s Alan Johnston was kidnapped (and released) in Gaza, no foreign journalist is stationed in Gaza (or Ramallah for that matter), journalists seem to prefer the somewhat more secure environment of the Dan Hotel in Tel Aviv, the King David Hotel in Jerusalem and slum Israel from as far away from the Hamas as possible.

This is hilarious, although they parrot Hamas’s propaganda they still prefer to do it from the safety (and comfort) of Israel.

Israel has learnt from their misjudgment of the foreign press in the Lebanon War of 2006 and now bans the foreign press from Gaza area that has been declared a close military zone by the IDF. The bans were not apply to the Israeli press.

An appeal by the organisation of foreign journalists in Israel to the High Court failed on a ground that the Israeli law does not automatically provides equal rights to non-citizen, and the IDF has the legal power to decide who can enter a close military zone. You see, support for the Hamas is not regarded as a “human right” in Israel.

* * * * *

The Palestinian casualties allegedly come from hospital casualty records. It would be a matter of time before the number itself can be verified, particularly of the alleged disproportion of children victims.

However, hospitals can certify death from injury caused by a bullets, shrapnel, falling debris or explosion but they cannot determined if the bullet is from an Israeli gun or a Hamas purge act. Shrapnel can also come from Hamas rocket exploding during production or launching (so-called industrial accident), accidental trigger of Hamas’s mine or booby traps intended for the Israeli troops, and there are plenty of them around.

Here is a Palestinian school in Gaza that had been booby trapped from a neighbouring zoo. Although, the IDF disabled this particular booby trap, there are many other all over Gaza , as indeed was the case in Jenin.

Hamas Booby Trap a School And a Zoo

Why would the Hamas booby trap a whole school? Did they expect IDF using the class rooms for pottery lessons? or were the Hamas waiting for the schools to fill up with kids before they, the Hamas, detonate the charges and claim “Israeli bombing of schools”?

There is of course the possibility that the Hamas simply inflate the number of casualties and the proportion of children fatalities, I have no doubt that this is the case but as the Hamas, the TV networks and the UN all insist that I am wrong how about they explain why are children casualties are disproportionate to adult casualties?

If you accept the Hamath, why are there two dead kids for every adult or why are there four dead women and children for every man? Apparently, the UN who parrots that information on behalf of the Hamas has seen noting unusual about it. they are too busy demonising Israel.

1 January, 2009

As expected the peace loving world did not disappoint. If you watch the BBC in recent days you quickly realise that unlike its rude American cousins, auntie, has class, and more important a genuine concern over the lack more Israeli casualties

How else would you interpret BBC anchormen and woman, mostly with distinct multicultural names and look to go with it (Charley, are you sure it is a British channel you put on? Looks a bit … Pakistani … or something) persistently question Israeli spokesmen and women about the “vast gap” in casualties between Israeli civilian that were killed by the Hamas rockets and those who were killed by Israel response.

You see? If only Israel could allow more civilian casualties on its side, that would make the war in Gaza more … appropriate?

How about bricking in all the bomb shelters In Shderot (except one reserved to BBC camera crews) and advise all its citizens that from now on, when the sirens are sounded in Shderot it is a call for all kids to get out of their homes, run down the street to the nearest civil defence post to collect their free lollies. Don’t worry about explosions, they are just rehearsals for New year celebrations.

Whilst the Israeli cabinet consider the BBC proposal, the world has been united, well, nearly, in its peace seeking mission. I think that we ought to examine them some of the criticism level on Israel to see if they have merits

The United Nation

As we know the Korean Secretary General of the UN, Ban-Ki Moon Issued a statement in which he said:

The secretary general is deeply alarmed by today’s heavy violence and bloodshed in Gaza, and the continuation of violence in southern Israel.

“[He] appeals for an immediate halt to all violence [and reiterates] previous calls for humanitarian supplies to be allowed into Gaza to aid the distressed civilian population.”

I think that Israel must learn from the secretary’s home country experience when South Korea was attacked. The way to handle the dispute is to get the US Army to acquire some UN flags and come to fight the Hamas – indeed, why waste your own ammunition if you can get the American to do it for you?

And don’t forget the royalties from MASH II.

Britain

The British Foreign Office issued as strong statement as follow:

The only way to achieve lasting peace in Gaza is through peaceful means. Whilst we understand the Israeli government’s obligation to protect its population we urge maximum restraint to avoid further civilian casualties.

Yes, the Brits have raised a number of good points, especially when they talk about “peaceful means” and “maximum restrain”.

Israel should follow the British example when they, the Brits experienced rockets attacks falling on London. If you are not sure what was that British “peaceful means” and “restraints” perhaps you care to check with the people of Dresden, Berlin Hamburg and some other German cities.

Russia

The Russian foreign Ministry:

Moscow considers it necessary to stop large-scale military action against Gaza, which has already led to major casualties and suffering among the civilian Palestinian population.

Israel could learn a thing or two from the Russians about how they avoid large-scales military actions in Georgia when provoked and how they put a superior military power to good use. If I remember correctly the Russian Army was helping with seasonal fruit picking in South Ossetia.

You are right Komrad Putin, when it come to dealing with Muslim extremists, Israel should definitely follow the Russian example of never to inflicting “major casualties and suffering”.

Israel is hereby undertakes that the scale of its military action, Hamas’s major casualties and suffering in Gaza shall never exceed those that were experienced by the Chechens. Da?

France

Good old France just called for a “pause” in the fighting to allow the Hamas to restock and regroup.

Does anyone recall France requesting a “pause” in rocket being launch into day case centres in Shderot? Anyone? Anyone? No, I can see no hands.

Be that as it may, Israel should take note and quickly study France’s Algerian War with the FLN (the Algerian Front de Libération Nationale) to see whether the is a lesson to be learnt.

Well, the FLN’s casualties were six times the French ones (approx 150,000 to 25,000) a definite case of … wala! a use of “disproportionate force”!!!

France is not alone! Vive le France!

The Arab League

Amr Moussa, the Arab League Secretary General said:

We are facing a continuing spectacle which has been carefully planned. So we have to expect that there will be many casualties. We face a major humanitarian catastrophe.”

Mr. Moussa, who incidentally is an Egyptian, represents a find organisation, with human right record from Egypt using Chemicals on Yemenite rebels, to Syrian wiping the town of Hama in Syria off the face of the earth in 1982. Israel does not use chemical weapons but wiping Gaza of the face of the earth? Well if you insist.

If you wish to cite more recent Arab human rights achievements how about Darfur, Mr Moussa? Sorry, As much as Israel wish to aspire to your organisation height of human right achievement, it pass.

Kleenex anyone?