Israel tells Gazans to brace for war escalation

[azurnoir]

Israel pounded rocket sites and tunnels Saturday while its planes dropped leaflets warning of an escalation, and Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas predicted a "waterfall of blood" unless all parties adhere to the U.N.'s call for a durable cease-fire.

Hamas fighters kept up attacks on southern Israel, launching 15 rockets. And with neither side ready to step down, the death toll in two weeks of fighting rose to more than 800 Palestinians, according to Palestinian medical officials, and 13 Israelis.

"The IDF (Israeli Defense Forces) will escalate the operation in the Gaza Strip," said the leaflets in Arabic dropped from planes. "The IDF is not working against the people of Gaza but against Hamas and the terrorists only. Stay safe by following our orders."

The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were discussing classified information, said the army also has a fourth stage planned that calls for a full reoccupation of Gaza and toppling of Hamas.

Hamas has said it won't accept any cease-fire deal that does not include the full opening of Gaza's border crossings. The U.N. resolution emphasized the need to open all crossings, which Israel and Egypt have kept sealed since Hamas militants forcibly seized control of the territory 18 months ago.

Israeli leaders oppose that step because it would allow Hamas to strengthen its hold on Gaza.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/M/ML_ISRAEL_PALESTINIANS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2009-01-10-11-09-51

[bemildred]

1. So, discussing "classified information" is OK as long as you're anonymous?

Could they not at least try to be less obvious?

[azurnoir]

3. seems to alot of that lately

psyops?

[Barack_America]

2. Considering the IDF is targeting houses and schools...

Just WTF do they expect Gazans to do?

The intent of this can only be to encourage fear...to terrorize Gazan citizens. Despicable.

[TomClash]

4. Let's review

The alleged military strategy was to eliminate rocket fire from Gaza. That has mostly been accomplished - rocket firings have been greatly reduced. So now the IDF will ESCALATE operations. How does that achieve the alleged strategy? It doesn't. The public military strategy was another Israeli lie; the goal is to eliminate Hamas, which the US and Israel helped to foster. Fatah will be next unless it bends to Israeli will by disarming and accepting a lopsided "settlement" of the conflict - meaning take whatever morsels Israel is willing to give.

The last paragraph in Khalidi's article in Wednesday's NYT was accurate: This war on the people of Gaza isn’t really about rockets. Nor is it about “restoring Israel’s deterrence,” as the Israeli press might have you believe. Far more revealing are the words of Moshe Yaalon, then the Israeli Defense Forces chief of staff, in 2002: “The Palestinians must be made to understand in the deepest recesses of their consciousness that they are a defeated people.”

[Barack_America]

5. Did you see this....

Where Livni claims that she speaks for "moderate" Palestinians?

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=124x243300

But hey, she's going up in the polls so the mission is so far a success. Perhaps the escalation will allow her to overtake Netanyahu!

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5juHiEiaF7ZeH1cKcPpzKpmGngewwD95JRCG00

[TomClash]

12. Yes

It is not surprising - why should Palestinians be able to speak for themselves when Zippy can do it for them?

[Fozzledick]

6. "Hamas fighters kept up attacks on southern Israel, launching 15 rockets."

You may be willing to accept daily terrorist attacks on Israeli civilians, but Israel is not.

[TomClash]

8. Are you sure?

It tolerated more missile attacks before the 2006 Palestinian election.

15 is a lot less than 80. But keep killing - and ask yourself who benefits.

[azurnoir]

9. I think he already knows n/t

[TomClash]

11. Perhaps you are right nt

[Kurska]

13. 15 isn't 0 and thats the only number thats acceptable

[Fozzledick]

14. Precisely

[TomClash]

17. Yeah, good luck with that nt

[Joe the Revelator]

24. What kind of response is that?

You brought issue that "Israel already accomplished their goal of stopping rocket fire on its people, so why continue", and when confronted with the truth that it has NOT been stopped, you get petulant.

[TomClash]

25. Petulant?

Do I really have to spell it out for you? I know 15 isn't 0 - if you actually read the thread I said the rocket attacks were "greatly reduced." The point of the response is that reducing the attacks to zero will be impossible by military means.

[Fozzledick]

7. For those of you who haven't been paying attention

The IDF halted it's advance two days ago on the outskirts of Gaza City after completing the second stage of their planned counter-attack in order to press for diplomatic negotiations for a reliable and durable cease fire without having to assault the city.

It didn't work.

Hamas has continued their boasting that they will never cease fire until Israel is destroyed regardless of how many Palestinian civilians get killed in the process, Egypt has balked at allowing an international force on it's territory to block Hamas' supply line under their border, and the U.N. Security Council played self-serving political games while failing to pass a serious resolution condemning Hamas' breach of the peace or requiring them to actually cease fire.

Unless one of these conditions change very soon, Israel will proceed with the third stage of their plan:
to engage and destroy the Hamas forces in Gaza city, and to totally destroy their weapon-smuggling tunnels under the Egyptian border from the Gaza side. The Israelis are well aware of the risks of this operation, but they have been studying the tactical mistakes they made in Jenin and Lebanon, and are determined to do whatever is necessary to destroy Hamas' ability to make war against them.

Hamas will continue to do whatever they can to maximize civilian casualties, Israel will continue to do whatever it can to minimize them without giving Hamas a free pass for hiding behind them, and Hamas' supporters will continue to blame Israel whenever Hamas succeeds.

Unless Hamas or Egypt relent, things are about to get a LOT worse.

[Name removed]

10. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Fozzledick]

15. Well, I seem to have found my audience

Now, if I could only get them to pay attention. Examining the contradictions between points 3 and 4 might be a good place to start.

Meanwhile, I'm less concerned with rehashing the usual spin than discussing what I see as about to happen, and why.

[tekisui]

16. Israeli success in the endeavour is a pipe dream.

No military action will bring greater security and peace to the Israeli people. They are going to get bogged down in urban warfare and bleed support from the Israeli public as well as the international community. At some point they will have to leave, and one rocket will mark the action as a failure. Israel took the bait and strategically has a very hard path to claim success. In the meantime, more innocent people and children will die.

There is no military path to peace.

[Fozzledick]

18. The focus now seems to be on the Egyptian border

Security cabinet: Israel to continue Gaza op to pressure Egypt
By Amos Harel, Avi Issacharoff, Barak Ravid and Yoav Stern

The security cabinet decided Friday to continue Operation Cast Lead in the Gaza Strip, but not expand it at this stage. In the coming days Israel will focus its military and diplomatic efforts on pressuring Egypt to work toward the Israeli and international demand to deploy an international force to combat smuggling from Egypt to Gaza.

Palestinian sources told Haaretz that Cairo demanded Saturday morning that the militant group respond to its cease-fire proposal within 48 hours. Egypt warned that if Hamas rejects its offer, Egypt would be unable to stop Israel from continuing its ground offensive.

...

A high-level Israeli political source said Friday that without a solution to the smuggling including an effective supervisory system on the Egyptian border, the Gaza operation will not be brought to an end.

Israel made clear in talks with officials representing the United States, France, Germany and other countries that only a solution including an international presence on the Egyptian side of the Philadelphi route will satisfy Israel and allow it to end the offensive.

Defense officials have noticed heightened Iranian involvement in Hamas' activity in the Strip. It appears the group's leadership has received promises from Tehran to "fill up the warehouses," possibly even with longer-range rockets, if it continues hostilities with Israel.

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1054285.html

[bemildred]

19. Oh yeah, that'll work.

I sure would like to know what "heightened Iranian involvement in Hamas' activity in the Strip" is, too. How are they doing that, exactly?

What we have here is a stalemate, the IDF does not want to go into the cities (and rightly so), the politicians do not want to be seen backing off, and Hamas continues to say "Fuck You".

[azurnoir]

20. If IDF were smart

they would ask the ICRC to help conduct a general evacuation of civilians from Gaza City. As it stands Gaza City could become another Stalingrad

[bemildred]

21. They are not smart.

If they were smart, we would not be here now.

[azurnoir]

22. Thats why I said if n/t

[bemildred]

23. Yeah. nt