Israeli raids, Gaza rocket fire continue as death toll rises

[KingKhanWC]

In a recent survey, 43% of Israeli Jews claimed they were secular Jews, about half of which believed in God. Some of them are likely to be Atheist Jews. I think Zionism is the prevailing ideology for them claiming a homeland as opposed to religion.

They always contradict themselves. Israel claims to be secular, yet it also claims to be Jewish state. It claims it's a modern democracy yet it claims land in the west bank is soley theirs. You cannot reason with such extremist clowns. Zionism is the ideology but most Jews are Zionists, this is a fact.

 

[Patriot]

They always contradict themselves. Israel claims to be secular, yet it also claims to be Jewish state. It claims it's a modern democracy yet it claims land in the west bank is soley theirs. You cannot reason with such extremist clowns. Zionism is the ideology but most Jews are Zionists, this is a fact.

I think it needs to be made clear that there is a difference between a Jew who follows Judaism and a Jew who is of the Jewish race. For example, there is the possibility of someone being a Jewish Muslim or a Jewish Atheist or a Jewish Christian but you can’t have a Muslim Hindu or a Muslim Atheist, etc. So when they say they are Jewish, they may not be referring to Judaism.

 

[KingKhanWC]

I think it needs to be made clear that there is a difference between a Jew who follows Judaism and a Jew who is of the Jewish race. For example, there is the possibility of someone being a Jewish Muslim or a Jewish Atheist or a Jewish Christian but you can’t have a Muslim Hindu or a Muslim Atheist, etc. So when they say they are Jewish, they may not be referring to Judaism.

Again, it's all contraditions. Jews claim to be a race , they may have genes from other Jews going back 1000 years but Jews are those who follow Judaism, it's a religous term. There are black Jews but you canot be a Muslim Jew, you either believe in Islam or Judaism. This is done so any critcrism esp in western nations is then seen as racism. Jews are now saying any criticism of Israel is also racism lol.

 

[Patriot]

Black Jews are those who follow the religion Judaism and are not of the Jewish race. It’s why they are treated as second class citizens in Israel. However, the Jewish race is clearly established and is agreed. Hence you can be a Jewish Muslim, I.e. someone who is of the Jewish race but has converted to Islam.

Even the Quran establishes the Jewish race, by referring to them as Bani Israel.

 

[KingKhanWC]

Black Jews are those who follow the religion Judaism and are not of the Jewish race. It’s why they are treated as second class citizens in Israel. However, the Jewish race is clearly established and is agreed in science. Hence you can be a Jewish Muslim, I.e. someone who is of the Jewish race but has converted to Islam.

Even the Quran establishes the Jewish race, by referring to them as Bani Israel.

No offence bro but please dont use the Quran unless you are 100% sure on what the meaning is. The Quran actually stops referring to them as Bani Israel and then refers to them Jews. This implies once they were exiled they were no longer Gods people but now they are known as Jews who have made alliances with Chrisitians, meaning they are Zionists now. This is the great knowledge of God who ofcouse is the knower of all and predicted this. Bani Israel is not the same as Jews, different beliefs, ideologies.

The Quran does not say Jews are a race. If my family have been Muslims for 600 years, does this mean I am from the Muslim race?

 

[Patriot]

No offence bro but please dont use the Quran unless you are 100% sure on what the meaning is. The Quran actually stops referring to them as Bani Israel and then refers to them Jews. This implies once they were exiled they were no longer Gods people but now they are known as Jews who have made alliances with Chrisitians, meaning they are Zionists now. This is the great knowledge of God who ofcouse is the knower of all and predicted this. Bani Israel is not the same as Jews, different beliefs, ideologies.

The Quran does not say Jews are a race. If my family have been Muslims for 600 years, does this mean I am from the Muslim race?

Allah makes subtle changes to differentiate. Yahud is used for all Jews, I.e. those who follow the religion. Bani Israel is for the tribe/race which is Jewish.

The Jews (race) are decedents of Ishaq and Arabs are the descendants of Ismail, hence why both are referred to as Semitic people. People who convert to the religion aren’t of the Jewish race.

The difference is that Judaism started off with the Bani Israel. They have never really expanded, i.e. not many converts to the religion (with some exceptions). They kept the religion to be within their race. Hence why it’s easier to identify them. This is not the same with Christianity or Islam which has spread so much and hence why you can’t say the Muslim race.

 

[Patriot]

https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/islamqa.info/amp/en/answers/225721

This answer in IslamQA traces their history and explains how the original Jews (sons of Yaqub AS) are the ancestors of the Jewish tribes who followed Musa AS and eventually took over the holy land.

 

[Patriot]

It shows clear descent and unlike Islam or Christianity, there is no examples of mass conversions. Judaism did not spread as much as Islam or Christianity across the globe and stayed within the tribes of Israel or Bani Israel. Hence why they are different and can claim to be part of the Jewish race as opposed to Muslims being part of a single race.

 

[KingKhanWC]

Allah makes subtle changes to differentiate. Yahud is used for all Jews, I.e. those who follow the religion. Bani Israel is for the tribe/race which is Jewish.

The Jews (race) are decedents of Ishaq and Arabs are the descendants of Ismail, hence why both are referred to as Semitic people. People who convert to the religion aren’t of the Jewish race.

The difference is that Judaism started off with the Bani Israel. They have never really expanded, i.e. not many converts to the religion (with some exceptions). They kept the religion to be within their race. Hence why it’s easier to identify them. This is not the same with Christianity or Islam which has spread so much and hence why you can’t say the Muslim race.

https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/islamqa.info/amp/en/answers/225721

This answer in IslamQA traces their history and explains how the original Jews (sons of Yaqub AS) are the ancestors of the Jewish tribes who followed Musa AS and eventually took over the holy land.

IslamQA is not a single authority, I never use this site because it follows an ideology which has only been around for 200 years. Israelites were followers of monotheistic ideology but once they broke the covenent, they were expelled so no longer are refered to as Bani Israel but Jews because of their sinful acts , i/e money lending on interest etc. The Quran also says do not make friends with Jews who are friends with Christians, who is this refering too?

It shows clear descent and unlike Islam or Christianity, there is no examples of mass conversions. Judaism did not spread as much as Islam or Christianity across the globe and stayed within the tribes of Israel or Bani Israel. Hence why they are different and can claim to be part of the Jewish race as opposed to Muslims being part of a single race.

Irrelevant. There are Muslims who have had Muslim ansectors going back to the time of the Prophet(pbuh), over 1400 years, so why arent they a Muslim race? How many years does it need to be?

 

[Patriot]

IslamQA is not a single authority, I never use this site because it follows an ideology which has only been around for 200 years. Israelites were followers of monotheistic ideology but once they broke the covenent, they were expelled so no longer are refered to as Bani Israel but Jews because of their sinful acts , i/e money lending on interest etc. The Quran also says do not make friends with Jews who are friends with Christians, who is this refering too?



Irrelevant. There are Muslims who have had Muslim ansectors going back to the time of the Prophet(pbuh), over 1400 years, so why arent they a Muslim race? How many years does it need to be?

Because they are called Arabs. If Islam had stayed within the Arabs, then Muslim would be the same as Arab.

 

[KingKhanWC]

Because they are called Arabs. If Islam had stayed within the Arabs, then Muslim would be the same as Arab.

This is a flawed argument.

Race is not considered by numbers or regions but DNA. Your view is because Islam was more succesful, they cant be race. Please think what you are writing here, makes no sense at all. I know what you are trying to say but you are just plain wrong. Yes Jews are considered a race but they are not. In fact most Jews today have no connection to the Bani Israel in terms of dna. Here is the proof.

https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2013/10/did-modern-jews-originate-italy

 

[Patriot]

This is a flawed argument.

Race is not considered by numbers or regions but DNA. Your view is because Islam was more succesful, they cant be race. Please think what you are writing here, makes no sense at all. I know what you are trying to say but you are just plain wrong. Yes Jews are considered a race but they are not. In fact most Jews today have no connection to the Bani Israel in terms of dna. Here is the proof.

https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2013/10/did-modern-jews-originate-italy

https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2010/06/tracing-roots-jewishness

And this article from the same Journal says the opposite. To deny them their race is anti-Semitic and racist.

 

[Patriot]

This is a flawed argument.

Race is not considered by numbers or regions but DNA. Your view is because Islam was more succesful, they cant be race. Please think what you are writing here, makes no sense at all. I know what you are trying to say but you are just plain wrong. Yes Jews are considered a race but they are not. In fact most Jews today have no connection to the Bani Israel in terms of dna. Here is the proof.

https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2013/10/did-modern-jews-originate-italy

That’s not my view. My view is that non Arabs became Muslims, hence why you can’t refer to Muslims as a single race. Pushtoon Muslims aren’t the same as Anglo Saxon Muslims.

However, with Judaism, other races did not convert outside of the decedents of Jacob/Yaqoob AS with exceptions. Those that did were few and far between. Therefore, you can say that modern Jews are the descendants of the original tribes of Israel. The article I posted is one study that agrees with this.

 

[KingKhanWC]

https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2010/06/tracing-roots-jewishness

And this article from the same Journal says the opposite. To deny them their race is anti-Semitic and racist.

Interesting thanks, I was thinking a while back this chap may change his mind after the heavy backlash.

Perhaps we need an new independent research but either way, my principle still stands of you Judaism is a religion not a race. A Jew is only someone who believes in Judaism otherwise there would be Mulsim Jews and by the same argument, there would be Muslim athiests, it would be absurd.

Lets disagree.

Im still waiting for you to show me why Hamas is worse than Israel. I've read some strange statements but this is right up there. Please detail as much as you can, strong arguments or take back your claim.

 

[KingKhanWC]

That’s not my view. My view is that non Arabs became Muslims, hence why you can’t refer to Muslims as a single race. Pushtoon Muslims aren’t the same as Anglo Saxon Muslims.

However, with Judaism, other races did not convert outside of the decedents of Jacob/Yaqoob AS with exceptions. Those that did were few and far between. Therefore, you can say that modern Jews are the descendants of the original tribes of Israel. The article I posted is one study that agrees with this.

I can post a number of studies to refute yours, we will be going in circles.

If you want to believe you can be a Jewish Muslim, well there is nothing I can say to change this. lol

Lets stick to the conflict as with my post above.

 

[Patriot]

Interesting thanks, I was thinking a while back this chap may change his mind after the heavy backlash.

Perhaps we need an new independent research but either way, my principle still stands of you Judaism is a religion not a race. A Jew is only someone who believes in Judaism otherwise there would be Mulsim Jews and by the same argument, there would be Muslim athiests, it would be absurd.

Lets disagree.

Im still waiting for you to show me why Hamas is worse than Israel. I've read some strange statements but this is right up there. Please detail as much as you can, strong arguments or take back your claim.

I don’t know about who is worse but I detest Hamas as an organisation. However I will agree with you that Hamas is a product of Israel’s actions and that in the long run, Israel has committed a number of atrocities. For example, I can’t believe someone in this thread defending what Israel has done, including them shooting dead Palestinians. As if putting holes in people who have been killed is OK. It made me sick.

 

[Patriot]

I can post a number of studies to refute yours, we will be going in circles.

If you want to believe you can be a Jewish Muslim, well there is nothing I can say to change this. lol

Lets stick to the conflict as with my post above.

What would you call a Jew who converts to Islam?

Btw, most organisations that provide DNA results through people providing saliva samples, categorise Jew as a race. For example, someone being 20% Anglo Saxon and 80% Jewish, they would categorise it.

You are right that we are going in circles and there is no point arguing over it.

 

[KingKhanWC]

What would you call a Jew who converts to Islam?

Btw, most organisations that provide DNA results through people providing saliva samples, categorise Jew as a race. For example, someone being 20% Anglo Saxon and 80% Jewish, they would categorise it.

You are right that we are going in circles and there is no point arguing over it.

A Muslim. Those labels , definitions or whatever are refering to ones belief. Even if they had 100% dna to the holy land, they would still be a Muslim. Besides everyone has the same dna to some extent, all humans ever born have had the same DNA in some parts.

Sure, thanks for the discussion. Apologies for any offence.

Perhaps listening to Noam Chomsky who is a Jew, will give you some non-propaganda information.

 

[Patriot]

A Muslim. Those labels , definitions or whatever are refering to ones belief. Even if they had 100% dna to the holy land, they would still be a Muslim. Besides everyone has the same dna to some extent, all humans ever born have had the same DNA in some parts.

Sure, thanks for the discussion. Apologies for any offence.

Perhaps listening to Noam Chomsky who is a Jew, will give you some non-propaganda information.

I know of Chomsky and he is one of the greatest intellectuals alive today.

Interestingly, did you know that Chomsky doesn’t support BDS. He only supports boycott of goods which come from illegal settlements. Where Israel produces goods which has nothing to do with illegal settlements, he has no issues with that. I actually agree with him on that. Why penalise all Israelis because not all are involved in atrocities against the Palestinians.

 

[sweep_shot]

GAZA CITY: Exchanges of fire triggered by Israel’s targeted killing of a top militant in Gaza raged for a second day on Wednesday and showed little sign of easing as the Palestinian death toll shot up to 23.

Fresh rocket barrages were fired at Israel, which responded with strikes on what it said were Islamic Jihad militant sites and rocket-launching squads in the Gaza Strip.

On Wednesday afternoon, it said it targeted two Islamic Jihad militants preparing to fire anti-tank missiles.

Air raid sirens wailed and fireballs exploded as air defence missiles intercepted rockets, sending Israelis rushing to bomb shelters.

In Gaza, residents surveyed damage and mourned the dead outside a mortuary and at funerals.

UN envoy Nickolay Mladenov was to hold talks in Cairo on halting the fighting, a diplomatic source said, but a source close to the discussions aimed at mediating a truce warned that the risk of further escalation remained high.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Islamic Jihad must stop its stop rocket attacks or “absorb more and more blows”.

He reiterated his warning that “this could take time” and said Israel would respond to attacks “without mercy”.

Islamic Jihad spokesman Musab al-Barayem said the group was not interested in mediation for now as it retaliated to the killing of one of its commanders.

Israel killed senior Islamic Jihad commander Baha Abu al-Ata and his wife Asma in a targeted strike early on Tuesday, prompting barrages of ***-for-tat rocket fire and air strikes.

According to Israel, Ata was responsible for rocket fire at Israel as well as other attacks and was planning more violence, with the military calling him a “ticking bomb.” The flare-up raised fears of a new all-out conflict between Israel and Palestinian militants in Gaza, who have fought three wars since 2008.

A total of 23 Palestinians have been killed so far, including Ata and his wife, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry.

Islamic Jihad confirmed the dead included other members of its armed wing, while the health ministry said three children were also among the dead, and that more than 70 people were injured.

Since Israel’s killing of Ata in what was believed to be a drone strike, at least 220 rockets have been fired into Israel from Gaza and dozens have been intercepted by air defences, according to the army.

There have been no Israeli deaths, though damage has been caused and one rocket narrowly missed cars on a busy highway.

Israeli medics said they had treated 48 people with light wounds, while schools were closed in areas near the Gaza border for a second day running.

Schools in the blockaded Gaza Strip, an enclave of two million people, have been closed since Tuesday.

Unusually and in a sign it was seeking to avoid a wider conflict, Israel’s announced targets were confined to Islamic Jihad sites and not those belonging to Hamas.

It normally holds Hamas, the Islamist movement that rules the Gaza Strip, responsible for all rocket fire from the enclave as the territory’s de facto rulers.

Israeli analysts were quick to highlight the change of approach.

“For the first time in the current era, Israel drew a distinction between Hamas and Islamic Jihad,” commentator Ben Caspit wrote in Israeli newspaper Maariv.

“By so doing, Israel deviated from its iron-clad principle that Hamas, as the sovereign power in Gaza, has to pay the price for any action taken by anyone in the Gaza Strip. That is now no longer the case.” Islamic Jihad is the second most-powerful militant group in the Gaza Strip after Hamas and has taken responsibility for rocket fire. Hamas, however, said it would not abandon its ally.

“As long as the Israeli warplanes bomb the Gaza Strip, the resistance will respond to the Israeli aggression and defend the Palestinian people,” a joint statement from Gaza militant groups said. The flare-up comes at a politically sensitive time for Israel.

A Sept 17 general election ended in a deadlock and a new government is yet to be formed.

It was the second election since April, when polls also ended inconclusively.

The violence has drawn international calls for calm.

Britain’s Foreign Office said: “We call on all sides to rapidly de-escalate the situation, and support the UN and Egyptian efforts to achieve that objective.”

Source: https://www.dawn.com/news/1516606/gaza-death-toll-reaches-23-as-situation-aggravates.

 

[The Viper]

A ceasefire between Israel and militants in Gaza appears to be holding, despite the launch of several rockets hours after it took effect.

The truce ended two days of intense fighting in which militants fired some 450 rockets towards Israel and Israeli aircraft carried out waves of strikes.

Early on Thursday, a family of eight were killed in an air strike in Gaza.

The fighting left 34 Palestinians dead and 111 injured in total, while 63 Israelis needed medical treatment.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said 25 of the Palestinian fatalities were militants.
The escalation began on Tuesday when a senior commander of Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), Baha Abu al-Ata, and his wife were killed in an Israeli air strike.

The Israeli prime minister said Abu al-Ata was "responsible for most of the terror attacks in the last year from the Gaza Strip" and called him a "ticking bomb".

PIJ spokesman Musab al-Buraim said early on Thursday that it had agreed to a ceasefire brokered by Egypt after Israel was "forced to accept the conditions set by the Palestinian resistance".

Those conditions were to stop "assassination operations" and the use of live fire against protesters near the Gaza border fence, and to start implementing steps to end the blockade of Gaza, he added.

Israel did not publicly confirm the ceasefire, but Foreign Minister Israel Katz told Army Radio that "quiet will be answered with quiet".
He also said he considered it a "matter of success" that the dominant militant group in Gaza, Hamas, had not been involved in the hostilities.

Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan denied any concessions had been made to PIJ, tweeting that the group "wanted a ceasefire and it received no commitments in exchange".

IDF Spokesman Brig Gen Hidai Zilberman said its operation in Gaza, dubbed "Black Belt", had achieved all of its objectives.

"With a combination of military personnel from a variety of units who specialize in SIGINT [signals intelligence], HUMINT [human intelligence], we were able to attack cells and close the circle against targets very quickly. That's what killed 25 terrorists who were in the midst of carrying out hostile activity," he added.

UN Middle East peace envoy Nickolay Mladenov said both the UN and Egypt had "worked hard to prevent the most dangerous escalation in and around Gaza from leading to war" and called on all sides to "show maximum restraint".

However, five rockets were launched from Gaza about five hours after the ceasefire came into effect, the IDF said. Two were intercepted by the Iron Dome air defence system.

There were no immediate reports of any injuries or damage.

In the late afternoon, rocket alert sirens sounded in Israeli communities near the Gaza border and the IDF said another rocket was shot down.

Meanwhile, Gaza's health ministry said eight members of the Abu Malhous family, including five children and two women, were killed in an Israeli air strike on a house in Deir al-Balah, in central Gaza, before dawn on Thursday.

The ministry said the dead were all civilians. But the IDF insisted that the head of the family, Rasmi Abu Malhous, was a commander of a PIJ rocket-launching unit.

"He was an Islamic Jihad commander and he, like many others, had the tactic of hiding ammunition and military infrastructure in their own residence," spokesman Lt Col Jonathan Conricus told AFP news agency. "Of course we try always to minimise the amount of non-combatants killed or injured."

A neighbour, Mohammed Mazro, disputed the IDF's account.

"They were children, civilians, not militants and they have nothing to do with politics," he told AFP. "They were innocent people, asleep. We were shocked by four rockets landing on the tin house, this is not normal."

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-50414810

 

[sweep_shot]

GAZA CITY: Israel targeted Hamas in air strikes on Gaza early on Saturday after rockets were fired at it from the Palestinian enclave, the army said, two days after a fragile ceasefire began.

Hamas, the Islamist movement that has de facto control over the Gaza Strip, had been spared the brunt of Israeli bombardment during this week’s flare-up which focused on its hardline ally Islamic Jihad.

A ceasefire has been in place since Thursday morning following the wave of ***-of-tat air strikes and rocket fire between Israel and Islamic Jihad — the territory’s second most powerful militant group.

The army said it launched Saturday’s strikes after “two rockets were fired from the Gaza Strip towards Israeli territory” and were intercepted by air defences. It was not immediately known who fired the rockets.

Palestinian security sources said the Israeli strikes were aimed at two Hamas sites in the north of the territory.

“Among the sites targeted was a military camp of the Hamas terror organisation and a military compound used by the Hamas naval forces,” a statement from the Israeli military said.

“In addition an underground terror infrastructure was also targeted.” There were no reports of casualties.

It was the first time Hamas had been hit since this week’s escalation began with Israel’s targeted killing of a top Islamic Jihad commander early on Tuesday.

That strike triggered almost immediate retaliatory rocket fire from Islamic Jihad, which set off air-raid sirens and sent Israelis rushing to bomb shelters in the country’s southern and central regions.

The Israeli military said around 450 rockets were fired at its territory during the fighting and air defences intercepted dozens of them.

The military responded with air strikes it said targeted Islamic Jihad militant sites and rocket- and missile-launching squads.

After two days of fighting which killed 34 Palestinians and no Israelis, a ceasefire was agreed.

But it has so far been precarious, with fire coming from both sides after the agreement went into effect.

There have been three wars since 2008 between Israel and Palestinian militants in the blockaded territory which is home to some two million people.

Israeli analysts said that the focus on Islamic Jihad rather than Hamas earlier this week was a clear signal that the army sought to avoid a major new conflict.

Hamas repeatedly said it would not abandon its ally, but keeping out of the fighting helped it maintain a fragile truce with Israel that has seen tens of millions of dollars in Qatari aid flow into Gaza since last year. It was criticised in Gaza for not joining the fighting.

Likewise, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu came under fire from political rivals at home for not holding Hamas accountable for attacks from the territory it rules.

The violence came at a politically sensitive time for Israel, with no new government in place since a September election ended in deadlock.

On Thursday, Israeli military spokesman Jonathan Conricus told reporters that the army had “wanted to keep Hamas out of the fighting”.

“Throughout the operation, we of course distinguished between Hamas and Islamic Jihad, and all of our operations were measured, proportionate and focused only on military assets belonging to Islamic Jihad,” he said.

But there was a marked shift in tone in Saturday’s statement.

The military said it “holds the Hamas terror organisation responsible for events transpiring in the Gaza Strip and emanating from it”.

“Hamas will bear the consequences for actions against Israeli civilians.”

Source: https://www.dawn.com/news/1517198/israel-strikes-hamas-targets-in-gaza-after-rocket-fire.

 

[MenInG]

The Israel army says it struck "subterranean Hamas terror facilities" in Gaza in response to a rocket fired at Israel on Sunday evening, with the Palestinian group calling it a "clear message of escalation".

The Israeli army said early on Monday its fighter jets carried out the attack. "We hold Hamas responsible for all activity emanating from Gaza," it said in a tweet.

Hours earlier, the army said some families watching a film at a drive-in theatre in southern Israel had to run to bomb shelters when "terrorists from Gaza fired a rocket at Israel".

No casualties were reported.

Hamas on Monday said it would not allow Gaza to be "a theatre for these crises".

"[Our] policies in dealing with the enemy will remain fully consistent with the continuing struggle and resistance of our people," it said in a statement.

The Israeli army said the rocket, which was intercepted by its Iron Dome system, was the first to be fired from the Palestinian coastal enclave since the first week of July.

Israel captured Gaza from Egypt in the 1967 War, but unilaterally pulled its army out and evacuated its settlements in the Strip in 2005.

Israel, however, continues to control Gaza's borders, along with Egypt, and frequently closes crossings in response to rocket fire and other violence along the border.

The last major conflict between Israel and the Hamas movement, which de facto controls the coastal enclave, was in 2014.

Since then, violence flares from time to time, despite an informal Egyptian-brokered Hamas-Israel truce.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/08/israel-army-attacks-hamas-targets-gaza-200803060440420.html

 

[Kashur_Kalkharab]

Israeli military is no saint. During conflicts, some inhumane acts happen. However, one needs to look at the bigger picture. Israel has shown great restraint when it comes to dealing with Palestinian aggression and constant state of war that has been imposed upon them by the Arab countries.

I will still address your points:

<b>1. Using chemical weapons on civilians?</b>
International laws allow use of white phosphorous against non-combatants. It was Hamas and Hezbollah who used illegal human shields which caused civilian causality.

<b>2. Shooting dead women, children, elderly and disabled people?</b>
They are already dead, so what's the big deal? It is not like it would hurt them even more? When you are used as human shield, you lose the right to complain about shooting dead or disabled people.

<b>4. Picking up and imprisoning young girls who are protesting?</b>
What do you have to say about the Tel Aviv massacre in 2001 which killed 16 Israeli teenagers? So, it is ok for Palestinian kids to spit, slap, and kick at Israeli soldiers? They should be grateful that they were not shot.

<b>5. Harvesting organs from Palestinian families</b>
Israel admitted it and the practice ended more than a decade ago. Moreover, only Palestinians were not subjected to this ill practice. They even used bodies of Israeli soldiers.

<b>6. Chopping down olive trees so Palestinians have no income.</b>
Israeli army had no role in it. In fact, the soldiers dispersed the settlers who carried out this act.

<b>7. Building roads on occupied land which Palestinians cant use.</b>
They own the land now. They can build whatever they want on it.

<b>8. Stealing more land.</b>
They bought the land legally or won it war that was started by the Arab countries. Did Pakistan steal AJK?

Yaar who is this joke?
I mean are people really debating with him.He seems to be contradicting himself in every sentence.

And not surprised that lot of indians, ex hindus, ex Muslims, other x, y and z just making themselves look joke.

They lack the very basic fundamentals of logic and thus there are absolutely all over the place.

 

[MenInG]

The Israeli military said it carried out overnight attacks on Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip after incendiary balloons were launched from the Palestinian enclave.

The army on Wednesday said the attacks were "retaliation" for the floating of multiple fire balloons from the Hamas-run enclave in recent days.

Fighter jets, attack helicopters, and tanks struck a number of Hamas targets including "underground infrastructure and observation posts", a military statement said.

No casualties were reported and there was no immediate response from Hamas.

Fire services in southern Israel said the incendiary balloons caused 60 fires on Tuesday alone but no one had been hurt.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020...tions-gaza-fire-balloons-200812064320471.html

 

[MenInG]

Attacks on Gaza continued for the seventh straight night as Israeli warplanes targeted Hamas observation posts in response to Palestinian fire balloon attacks across the border, the Israeli army said.

Tuesday's air raids came as visiting Egyptian security officials strove to defuse the latest uptick in violence.

"Fighter jets and [other] aircraft struck underground infrastructures belonging to Hamas in the Gaza Strip," an Israeli military statement said, linking the attack to "explosive and arson balloons launched from the Gaza Strip into Israel".

Gaza security sources and witnesses said Tuesday's raids hit Hamas lookout posts at Rafah in the south of the territory and Beit Lahia in the north.

Tensions have been rising for more than a week, with Israel accusing Hamas of firing rockets and launching bundles of balloons across the border fitted with incendiary or explosive devices.

Israel has closed the Karem Abu Salem (Kerem Shalom) goods crossing with the Gaza Strip, imposed a ban on fishing off the Gaza coast and staged nightly air raids for seven nights.

The Palestinian territory has been under a crippling Israeli blockade since 2007, with Israel citing security threats from Hamas for its land, air and naval blockade.

A Hamas source told AFP news agency that the group held talks with the Egyptian delegation in Gaza on Monday before the delegation left for meetings with the Israelis and the occupied West Bank-based Palestinian Authority.

It was expected to return to Gaza after those talks, the source added.

"The occupation continued its aggression and carried out air strikes on Gaza after midnight," the Hamas source said, adding that the attacks were seen as a "negative response" to the truce feelers.

There were no casualties in the raids, he added.

Despite a truce last year - backed by Egypt, Qatar and the UN - tensions between Hamas and Israel rise sporadically.

Hamas says Israel did not honour previous understandings which stipulated that Israel ease the blockade it has imposed on Gaza since Hamas's takeover and allow for large-scale projects to help rescue the collapsing economy.

The only power plant in Gaza is scheduled to shut down due to the crossing's closure, which has cut fuel supplies, exacerbated the power crisis and left Gaza's two million residents with about four hours of electricity a day.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020...a-seventh-straight-night-200818060902391.html

 

[Abdullah719]

Israel attacks Hamas positions after rockets fired from Gaza

Israel’s military says it attacked positions in the Gaza Strip following rocket fire from the area.

Two rockets were fired into southern Israel from the Gaza Strip late on Saturday, the Israeli army said, although there were no immediate reports of casualties or any damage.

The Israeli army tweeted that it “struck Hamas underground infrastructure and military posts in Gaza” on Sunday morning – using fighter jets, helicopters and tanks – and it “is conducting an ongoing situational assessment & remains prepared to operate against any terror activity”.

Security sources in Gaza said there were a number of air raids overnight, including in Khan Younes, Rafah, and Beit Hanoun, without reporting any casualties.

Turkey’s Anadolu news agency said Israeli helicopters bombed the southern city of Rafah and tanks bombed areas in the east, as well as the western resort of Beit Lahia.

In a statement, the Israeli military said two rockets were launched into Israel with one reaching the southern Israeli city of Ashdod and the other stretching into central Israel. The projectiles landed in open areas.

There was no immediate comment from Hamas officials.

On high alert
The rocket fire from Gaza – which has not been claimed – comes days after the anniversary of the assassination of senior Islamic Jihad leader Bahaa Abu al-Ata, who was killed in an air strike on his home in Gaza City on November 12 last year.

Islamic Jihad is one of the armed groups operating in Gaza, which is ruled by Hamas.

Ahead of the anniversary, the Israeli military was reportedly on high alert and monitoring the Strip, where roughly two million Palestinians live.

Israel and Hamas have fought three wars and several smaller skirmishes since 2007.

Egypt and Qatar have brokered an informal ceasefire in recent years in which Hamas has reined in rocket attacks in exchange for economic aid and a loosening of an Israeli-Egyptian blockade, but the arrangement has broken down on a number of occasions.

Israel and Egypt have maintained a crippling blockade on Gaza since Hamas seized control of the territory in 2007.

A number of Palestinian armed groups operate in Gaza, but Israel holds Hamas responsible for all attacks and typically responds to rocket fire with air raids.

https://www.aljazeera.com/amp/news/...hamas-positions-after-rockets-fired-from-gaza

 

[Firebat]

Israel promotes settlement plan for sensitive East Jerusalem area

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel moved ahead on Sunday with a settler housing plan in a sensitive area near East Jerusalem, a step critics said was aimed at shoring up the project before U.S. President-elect Joe Biden takes office.

On its website, the Israel Land Authority (ILA) invited contractor bids for building 1,257 homes in Givat Hamatos, under a plan revived in February by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after it had been effectively frozen by international opposition.

Bidding ends on Jan. 18, the ILA said, two days before Biden is to be sworn in to replace President Donald Trump, whose administration has been supportive of Israeli settlement on occupied land Palestinians seek for a state.

Nabil Abu Rudeineh, a spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, said in a statement that settlements were illegal under international law and the tender was part of Israeli efforts “to kill the internationally-backed two-state solution”.

Opponents of the project in the Givat Hamatos area said it would sever parts of East Jerusalem from the nearby Palestinian town of Bethlehem in the West Bank. The ILA gave no date for the start of construction.

Peace Now, an Israeli anti-settlement group, accused Netanyahu’s government of “taking advantage of the final weeks of the Trump administration in order to set facts on the ground” at Givat Hamatos.

As vice president in Democrat Barack Obama’s administration, Biden, on a visit to Israel and the West Bank in 2010, publicly scolded Israel over a plan it announced during his trip to build 1,600 homes in the Ramat Shlomo settlement.

But Biden said during the recent presidential campaign that he will not reverse Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem, whose future status is at the heart of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, as Israel’s capital.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has said Washington no longer viewed Jewish settlements in areas captured in the 1967 Middle East war as “inconsistent with international law”. He is to visit Israel as part of a foreign trip now under way.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...r-sensitive-east-jerusalem-area-idUSKBN27V0DU

 

[Firebat]

Clashes on Gaza border as Ramadan violence flares in Jerusalem

Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip fired dozens of rockets into Israel on Saturday drawing retaliatory air strikes, the Israeli military said, after nightly Ramadan clashes between Palestinians and Israeli police resumed in Jerusalem.

The pre-dawn exchange of fire broke months of relative quiet on the Israel-Gaza frontier.

Signalling it did not expect an immediate wider escalation, the military said it would not impose safety restrictions on Israelis living near the border.

But in a sign violence could continue, Israel's chief of staff Aviv Kohavi postponed a visit to Washington on Sunday, expected to focus on Iran, due to the "events and possible developments," according to a military statement.

In Jerusalem, Israeli-Palestinian tension has been higher than usual during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Protests turned violent on Thursday with scores of arrests and injuries.

The unrest resumed on Friday night, when Palestinian youths gathered outside the walled Old City and scuffled with hundreds of Israeli police in riot gear.

Palestinians threw stones towards police firing water cannons. Others hurled rocks at an Israeli court building and smashed security cameras. The Palestine Red Crescent said eight Palestinians were injured.

Israeli police said the unrest later extended to a nearby Palestinian neighbourhood with Palestinians hurling fire-bombs at officers and throwing stones at Israeli vehicles and homes. Three Palestinians were arrested and four officers were injured.

In the occupied West Bank, Palestinians clashed with Israeli troops around military checkpoints near West Bank cities. Israel's border police said it dispersed hundreds hurling stones and fire-bombs.

In Gaza, Palestinian militants fired 36 rockets at Israel during the night, Israel's military said, soon after Gaza's Islamist rulers Hamas and other armed groups issued a joint call for Palestinian resistance in Jerusalem.

Israeli aircraft retaliated with strikes on Hamas rocket launchers and underground infrastructure, the military said. There were no immediate reports of casualties in Gaza or on the Israeli side of the border where most the rockets fell in open areas and six were intercepted.

The U.N. Middle East envoy Tor Wennesland said the United Nations was working with all parties to deescalate the situation. In a written statement he condemned the violence and called upon all sides to exercise restraint.

Read more: https://www.reuters.com/world/middl...t-jerusalem-tensions-flare-during-2021-04-23/