Posted on 12/31/2008 12:21:21 AM PST by bruinbirdman
Israel has rejected an immediate 48-hour cease-fire with Hamas, saying it will push ahead with its military assault on the Gaza Strip.
Israeli officials say Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and his defense and foreign ministers made the decision after discussing the French-proposed truce during a meeting overnight.
Israeli war planes continued their assault on Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip for a fifth-day Wednesday, despite mounting international pressure for an end to the violence.
Officials say the missiles hit Hamas government buildings and tunnels used to smuggle food and weapons into Gaza from Egypt. Hamas also is continuing to fire rockets into Israel.
Israel began attacking Hamas targets Saturday to try to stop militant attacks, after their six-month cease-fire expired earlier this month.
More than 370 Palestinians have died since Saturday. The United Nations says at least 62 of them were civilians. Four Israelis have been killed.
About 1.5 million Palestinians live in Gaza, which rests along the Mediterranean Sea and is bordered by Israel and Egypt.
Hamas generally fires short-range missiles at southern Israel. But, on Tuesday, a rocket hit an the Israeli city of Beersheba, 46 kilometers from Gaza - farther than ever before. No casualties were reported.
Hamas says it will keep up its attacks if Israel does not stop its assault. The warning came as Israeli troops, tanks and other military vehicles massed along the Israel-Gaza border for a possible ground offensive.
Hamas wrested control of Gaza away from the more moderate mainstream Fatah faction of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas more than a year ago. Mr. Abbas has appealed for talks with his Hamas rivals to form a united front against what he called Israel's massive aggression in Gaza.
Someone is using their thinking cap over there, as my 1st Grade teacher used to say.
Good for Israel. Keep the attacks going until they have killed every member of Hamas and any one else who gets in their way. I have NO sympathy. The Palestinians elected Hamas, and they support their terror attacks on Israel, so as far as I’m concerned they are getting just what they deserve!! The day before Israel started attacking, Hamas leaders said they were ready to die, and that’s just fine by me. Allah is waiting for them with their virgins. lol...
Israel should continue their assault until they are out of targets, period.
I keep waiting for them to break out the napalm or the FAE’s
on the Pal demonstrations and funeral processions .
They did break out about 40 bunker busters today.
yitbos
I’ll have to admit, I was concerned earlier today when I heard that Israel was going to lay off for a while to give Hamas a chance to stop firing missiles into it’s heartland. Frankly, Israel gave them that chance over the last eight years. From here on out, just kick ass and eliminate those who can’t live in peace. End of story.
Let’s see...1,500,000 minus 370 = CONTINUED TROUBLE.
Good for Israel. Keep the attacks going until they have killed every member of Hamas and any one else who gets in their way....
Yeah, you're right. Koranimals seem to come out of the woodwork, don't they? I think the ONLY thing they agree on is destroying Israel and America. Other than that, they want to kill each other........which, btw, is fine with me. ;o)
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
this is a big problem of our time. you can´t fight terrorism only with military strength. it just don´t work very well as we can all see. oh it´s not “only” america and israel they hate. you just get the most attention :-(
Not just Hamas. The people of Gaza voted for Hamas, meaning they voted for war. The people of Gaza wanted war with Israel. As the saying goes, be careful what you wish for.
yitbos
“you can´t fight terrorism only with military strength.”
You are quite correct. Other requirements of fighting (islamist) terrorism, or any other existential opponent, include moral clarity, a belief in cause, and a willingness quite frankly to be as brutal as your enemy. All of those are lacking in the West. The question is will we wake up as a nation before it is too late? (It is already too late to prevent massive bloodshed before this is all done.)
Sorry dude, 100% wrong.
You can only fight terrorism with military strength.
The “big problem” of our time is that we do not wipe out our enemies - like we did to Nazism and the axis powers in WWII - we try to do just enough to defuse the situation.
And that gets us nowhere.
Go in and crush the palis once and for all, destroy so much so as to make sure that the few dazed survivors have lost so much that they must rebuild 100% of everything and never want such a thing to happen again.
The palis are a plague upon this world and have been for decades.
Life magaine, June 1970
ABFT. Don’t let the murderers regroup, rearm, and start killing again.
Now is NOT the time to throttle back! Push the sand monkeys into Egypt.Let Mubarik deal with them.
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