The settlers' retreat was the theatre of the cynical

[Englander]

There was no 'sensitivity training' when bulldozers went into Rafah

Jonathan Steele
Friday August 19, 2005
The Guardian

Contrast the world's overwhelming coverage, especially on television, of the departure of Israeli settlers from Gaza with the minimal reporting of larger and more brutal evictions in previous months.
There was no "sensitivity training" for Israeli troops, no buses to drive the expellees away, no generous deadlines to get ready, no compensation packages for their homes, and no promise of government-subsidised alternative housing when the bulldozers went into Rafah.

Within sight of the Gush Katif settlements that have been handled with such kid gloves this week, families in Rafah were usually given a maximum of five minutes' warning before their houses, and life savings, were crushed. Many people did not even have time to go upstairs to collect belongings when the barking of loudspeakers ordered them out, sometimes before dawn. Fleeing with their children in the night, they risked being shot if they turned round or delayed.

As many as 13,350 Palestinians were made homeless in the Gaza Strip in the first 10 months of last year by Israel's giant armour-plated Caterpillar bulldozers - a total that easily exceeds the 8,500 leaving Israeli settlements this week. In Rafah alone, according to figures from the UN relief agency Unrwa, the rate of house demolitions rose from 15 per month in 2002 to 77 per month between January and October 2004.

Parts of Rafah now resemble areas of Kabul or Grozny. Facing Israeli army watchtowers and the concrete wall that runs close to the Gaza Strip's boundary, rows of rubble and ruined homes stretch for hundreds of yards.

The house where I stayed three years ago, which was then one row back from the frontline, has gone. So have three more lines of houses behind it, thanks to Israel's remorseless policy of clearing the zone for "security" reasons even after Ariel Sharon announced his plan to leave Gaza.

More at;
Guardian Unlimited

[Burried News]

1. After seeing all of this surely we realize how impossible it would be to

remove settlers from the West Bank. :sarcasm:

[Violet_Crumble]

3. You got it in one!

n/t

[barb162]

2. The one and same Rafah with weapons smuggling tunnels?

Somehow sensitivity training and weapons smuggling tunnels don't mesh

[Violet_Crumble]

4. So every home destroyed covered a tunnel??

Wow! It's totally understandable that no sensitivity at all be shown to any Palestinian who had their home destroyed!!

Violet...

[barb162]

5. Weapons-smuggling tunnels under homes,

snipers from rooftops and windows of homes.... Yes, smugglers and snipers should be shown sensitivity at all times. It is very important that their psyches not suffer in any way from the people they are trying to kill.

[Violet_Crumble]

6. So all Palestinians are smugglers and snipers?

That is, all Palestinians who have had their homes destroyed by the IDF? That's a might broad brush-stroke there...

So do you feel the same way about the Israeli settlements that have sheltered those who attack Palestinian civilians?

[barb162]

8. So every home of every Palestinian has been destroyed?

Wow, that's news. When did that happen? How did this turn from a point about Rafah to a point about ALL Palestinians again? That's a very mighty broad brush-stroke there....

[Violet_Crumble]

10. Uh, I didn't say that...

I was talking about every Palestinian who's home has been destroyed. I can copy and paste my exact words if yr confused..

btw, you didn't answer the question I asked you.


Violet...

[barb162]

12. Here's your question: So all Palestinians are smugglers

and snipers? Words such as "all" and "every" are a bit high on over-generalization, wouldn't you say?

[Violet_Crumble]

13. I do like to assume you read more than the title of a post...

Because if you'd read my post you would have seen this at the very start: 'That is, all Palestinians who have had their homes destroyed by the IDF?' Is there something unclear about it?

[barb162]

17. And why are you asking me?

Why would you want to know my answer any more than I would have any interest at all in yours. For example , I could ask you: So, and you know NONE of the Palestinians in that town have arms smuggling tunnels? Again, use of absolutes in questions as none, all, blah, blah, blah often ends up in generalizations, then exceptions, etc. I hope there is nothing unclear about this.

[Violet_Crumble]

16. Here's my other question...

So do you feel the same way about the Israeli settlements that have sheltered those who attack Palestinian civilians?


The silence is starting to become telling...

[barb162]

19. One last post and that's it for tonight or this morning or whatever

Silence? Now that's beyond a monumental stretch. Perhaps it's reluctance to be dragged into some silly argument? Frankly I am tired of terrorism on all sides of this never-ending conflict, aren't you? Blame upon blame upon blame upon blame by all parties involved and I doubt things will ever see resolution there.

[Violet_Crumble]

7. Something for you to read...

This report documents these and other illegal demolitions. Based on extensive research in Rafah, Israel, and Egypt, it places many of the IDF’s justifications for the destruction, including smugglers’ tunnels and threats to its forces on the border, in serious doubt. The pattern of destruction, it concludes, is consistent with the goal of having a wide and empty border area to facilitate long-term control over the Gaza Strip. Such a goal would entail the wholesale destruction of neighborhoods, regardless of whether the homes in them pose a specific threat to the IDF, and would greatly exceed the IDF’s security needs. It is based on the assumption that every Palestinian is a potential suicide bomber and every home a potential base for attack. Such a mindset is incompatible with two of the most fundamental principles of international humanitarian law (IHL): the duty to distinguish combatants from civilians and the responsibility of an Occupying Power to protect the civilian population under its control.

<snip>

Based on interviews with the IDF, Rafah residents, the Palestinian National Authority (PNA), members of Palestinian armed groups, and independent experts on clandestine tunnels, Human Rights Watch concludes that the IDF has consistently exaggerated and mischaracterized the threat from smuggling tunnels to justify the demolition of homes. There is no dispute that tunnels exist to smuggle contraband, including small arms and explosives used by Palestinian armed groups, into the Gaza Strip. But despite the tremendous burden that demolitions have imposed on the civilian population, the IDF has failed to explain why non-destructive means for detecting and neutralizing tunnels employed in places like the Mexico-United States border and the Korean demilitarized zone (DMZ) cannot be used along the Rafah border. Moreover, it has at times dealt with tunnels in a puzzlingly ineffective manner that is inconsistent with the supposed gravity of this longstanding threat.

http://www.hrw.org/reports/2004/rafah1004/index.htm

[barb162]

9. I read it a while back and would not have included the

two paragraphs you chose

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11. And what two paragraphs would you have chosen?

Do you agree with the report? If so, why are you making accusations that HRW have shown to be false?

[barb162]

14. Are you saying there are no arms smuggling tunnels?

Hmmm. Not the way I read that particular report.

[Violet_Crumble]

15. Of course not...

The report was very clear about that. In fact it was included in the paragraph I posted that you think you wouldn't have chosen:

"There is no dispute that tunnels exist to smuggle contraband, including small arms and explosives used by Palestinian armed groups, into the Gaza Strip. But despite the tremendous burden that demolitions have imposed on the civilian population, the IDF has failed to explain why non-destructive means for detecting and neutralizing tunnels employed in places like the Mexico-United States border and the Korean demilitarized zone (DMZ) cannot be used along the Rafah border. Moreover, it has at times dealt with tunnels in a puzzlingly ineffective manner that is inconsistent with the supposed gravity of this longstanding threat."

http://hrw.org/campaigns/gaza/

Now, if you want to try to argue that the report didn't say that the IDF exaggerate and mischaracterise the threat from tunnels in order to justify home demolitions, you'd be wrong. Again, I'd already posted this bit, but it looks like you ignored it.

"Based on interviews with the IDF, Rafah residents, the Palestinian National Authority (PNA), members of Palestinian armed groups, and independent experts on clandestine tunnels, Human Rights Watch concludes that the IDF has consistently exaggerated and mischaracterized the threat from smuggling tunnels to justify the demolition of homes."

As for the obligation of the IDF under international law:

"Under international law, the IDF has the right to close smuggling tunnels, to respond to attacks on its forces, and to take preventive measures to avoid further attacks. But such measures are strictly regulated by the provisions of international humanitarian law, which balance the interests of the Occupying Power against those of the civilian population.

In the case of Rafah, it is difficult to reconcile the IDF’s stated rationales with the widespread destruction that has taken place. On the contrary, the manner and pattern of destruction appears to be consistent with the plan to clear Palestinians from the border area, irrespective of specific threats."

and

"It is based on the assumption that every Palestinian is a potential suicide bomber and every home a potential base for attack. Such a mindset is incompatible with two of the most fundamental principles of international humanitarian law (IHL): the duty to distinguish combatants from civilians and the responsibility of an Occupying Power to protect the civilian population under its control."

This is all in the summary of the report itself. As for the recommendations of the report:

"This report recommends that the Israeli government cease its unlawful demolitions, allow displaced Palestinians to return, pay reparations to victims, pay to repair unlawful damage, and address the emergency needs of the displaced. The international community, which funded some of the infrastructure destroyed by the Israeli military and continues to pay for emergency relief, should press Israel to take these steps. In the meantime, if donors allocate funds to rehouse victims and repair unlawful destruction, they should demand compensation from Israel."

Not quite sure how you read that particular report so that yr reading something different into it than is actually there. I already asked you what two paragraphs you would have chosen. I'm not actually seeing anything in there that you could post as evidence to support yr claim that every home demolished in Rafah was covering a tunnel..

Violet...

[barb162]

18. Your last sentence (and paragraph) are incorrect on content

and I would also like to point out that although I think HRW is a very good organization I wouldn't consider it the only outfit on the planet that's the end -all on facts on the tunnels, sniping, etc., in Rafah. Oh and there's that absolute word "every" showing up in that last sentence. Not good. Somehow or other and also strangely, the subject of weapons smuggling tunnels gets transformed into some "claim" when I noticed a series of questions/posts versus "claims." You might be confused here or misreading something or other. Questions aren't claims, wouldn't you agree? I did not have time to read any of the quoted material in your post. Sorry, it's late.

[newyorican]

20. Oy....

Such a headache I'm getting reading this...

[barb162]

21. oy, meet vey (you and me both)

[Violet_Crumble]

22. It gave me one too...

Which is why I gave up. It gets really obvious when someone appears who isn't interested in having a genuine discussion...

Violet...