Cyprus-Forum.com

[Cem]

Amazing how a minority can be so destructive ..... I wonder who else has suffered under the hands of a belligerent minority that thinks it constitutes a chosen people, with extra-special Rights?

Good maps Paphitis!

Me too, I wonder which minority has suffered under the hands of a belligerent MAJORITY who wanted to decide on their behalf, by already forcing them to live in enclaves, regarding the union with a country with proven track record of civil war casualties?

I wonder which majority has joined forces with a foreign country in conspiring against its own democratically-elected president and to assassinate him ?

O tempora o mores!

[Talisker]

I am sickened by the Israeli actions.

Here's the scenario - steal land by force, corral the displaced people into the poorest, and least resourced, neighbouring pieces of land, control EVERY aspect of their lives thereby ensuring they live in medieval conditions, if they protest crush them. Surprise, surprise - after generations of this treatment some become radicalised and will attempt to respond using violence - suicide bombers, construction of home-made rockets - so attack, attack, attack those impoverished masses with state-of-the-art military technology. Result - collateral damage, deaths - who gives a shit? - after all they are only Palestinians, and therefore barely human. The Israelis have lost all semblence of humanity - selfish, self-serving bullies.

For an unbiased summary of the Gaza strip see this BBC website produced nearly a year ago:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/5122404.stm
Here are a few snippets:
- Just 40km (25 miles) long and 10km wide, it is home to more than 1.4m Palestinians (it now has one of the highest population densities on earth).
- The majority of Gaza's residents are from refugee families which fled or were expelled from the land that became Israel in 1948.
- Most Gazans live in eight refugee camps to which the United Nations delivers health, education and other humanitarian services.
- Rafah crossing is Gaza's sole contact with the outside world not under direct Israeli control. It is open to pedestrians and can be used to export goods, but imports are not allowed.
- The main vehicle of resistance, as the militants describe it, is the firing of short-range homemade rockets which can reach nearby Israeli population centres, such as Sderot, less than a kilometre from Gaza's north-east corner. These have caused a handful of deaths and injuries, and severe disruption for Israelis living within range. Israeli shelling and missile attacks, meanwhile, which Israel says are meant to stop the rocket fire, have killed large numbers of Gazans, including many civilians.

Israel needs a rethink. Israelis need a visionary leader who realises the strength and security of a nation is tied in with its relationships with its neighbours. Improve those relationships and Israel will become stronger and more secure..........continue to bully, abuse, murder, and subjugate and face a very uncertain future......
IMHO

[Bananiot]

This is not a football match, we do not need to support one of the two teams. Indeed this is true for all clashes that do not concern us in a direct way, but the only inspiring thing here is that we can take an unbiased look at the situation. Thus, we should also listen to what the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, a moderate politician, is saying.

"We want to protect the Gaza Strip and we don't want it to be destroyed. We talked to Hamas and we told them please, we ask you, do not end the truce. Let the truce continue and not stop so that we could have avoided what happened."

Israel has reacted in a disproportionate manner. There is no doubt about it. Our thoughts must lie with the innocent victims of Gaza and the Israeli civilians targetted by Hamas.

[purdey]

Home made rockets, suicide bombers, military surplus. All used by Hamas, not to threaten but to kill Jews. Please don't complain when Israel strikes back.

[Talisker]

Home made rockets, suicide bombers, military surplus. All used by Hamas, not to threaten but to kill Jews. Please don't complain when Israel strikes back.

Purdey, you seem to accept the continued cycle of violence as inevitable. Don't you also accept that as it is the Israelis who have the political power, the military might, the 21st century standard of living, and also the responsibility of subjecting the Palestinians to 60 years of subjugation and death, that it should be the Israelis who find a way to halt the cycle?

[miltiades]

Home made rockets, suicide bombers, military surplus. All used by Hamas, not to threaten but to kill Jews. Please don't complain when Israel strikes back.

Purdey, you seem to accept the continued cycle of violence as inevitable. Don't you also accept that as it is the Israelis who have the political power, the military might, the 21st century standard of living, and also the responsibility of subjecting the Palestinians to 60 years of subjugation and death, that it should be the Israelis who find a way to halt the cycle?

What would you suggest that the Israelis do Talisker ?
One thing is for certain. They will not sit back and accept Hamas rockets on a daily basis. Interesting to know what your suggestion is as to what the Israelis should do , taking into account that Hamas manifesto includes the annihilation of the state of Israel.

[purdey]

Yes I think it is inevitable. No matter what the outside world think Israel will always have to fight and protect it's citizens. If Israel gave the Palestinians what they want do you honestly think the Jew would be left alone to prosper ?
We all refer to history when it suits us, unfortunately when a Jew refers to history we are greeted by derision and opening all wounds. I don't expect the majority of you out there to understand and we don't expect you to understand but understand this Israel and the Jewish people of the world could not give a toss anymore.

[Get Real!]

“Aside from the fact that Israel's response was anything but judicious, the idea that it was Hamas who broke the six-month truce is a complete fabrication.

On the night of the U.S. election, Israel fired missiles on Gaza that were aimed at closing down a tunnel operation they believed Hamas was building in order to kidnap Israeli soldiers. The carnage left in the wake of Israel's bombing of Gaza over the past six weeks has killed dozens of Palestinians.”


http://www.antiwar.com/frank/?articleid=13964

[Talisker]

Home made rockets, suicide bombers, military surplus. All used by Hamas, not to threaten but to kill Jews. Please don't complain when Israel strikes back.

Purdey, you seem to accept the continued cycle of violence as inevitable. Don't you also accept that as it is the Israelis who have the political power, the military might, the 21st century standard of living, and also the responsibility of subjecting the Palestinians to 60 years of subjugation and death, that it should be the Israelis who find a way to halt the cycle?

What would you suggest that the Israelis do Talisker ?
One thing is for certain. They will not sit back and accept Hamas rockets on a daily basis. Interesting to know what your suggestion is as to what the Israelis should do , taking into account that Hamas manifesto includes the annihilation of the state of Israel.

Israel's attitude is that all Palestinians are terrorists. They provide no hope for any Palestinians, including all those (I'd bet the vast majority) who are not actively engaged in terrorist activities. The only way to move ahead is to start trying to integrate, allow Palestinians to make a living in Israel (that wall has stopped this), provide opportunities to educate the children and provide medical help instead of suppress and humiliate. Such a move will require courage, and all the Israeli politicians prefer the chest-thumping military route - as I said already, someone with another vision is required. Rabin provided that (once he'd seen the light - he went from hardliner to provider of hope during his premiership, before some right-wing zionist murdered him), but there is no sign of anyone like him around. A pity, as the Israelis supported Rabin in his efforts to bring peace, so they can be persuaded to take this type of approach.

[Talisker]

And as for the title of this thread, the current military action WILL NOT put Hamas 'in its place' (whatever that means), but WILL produce another generation of Palestinians willing to take up the struggle against Israel.