Posted on 07/16/2005 9:44:40 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel could launch a ground offensive in the occupied Gaza Strip "within hours" unless the Palestinian Authority cracks down on Islamic militants there, a senior government official was quoted as saying on Sunday.
Israel Radio quoted Deputy Defense Minister Zeev Boim as saying tanks and troops that massed near Gaza over the weekend would begin a sweep of the coastal strip "within hours" if Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas failed to meet the crackdown demand.
Abbas urged Hamas and kindred Islamic militants on Saturday to halt attacks on Israel and return to a ceasefire seen as key to securing an orderly Israeli withdrawal from Gaza as planned next month. He also blamed Israel for the truce's near collapse.
The Palestinian president's appeals came amid escalating violence and vows of revenge by Hamas over the killing of seven of its gunmen in Israeli strikes.
Calm in Gaza is seen as key to securing an orderly Israeli withdrawal from the territory next month as planned.
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, who ordered military actions against militants stepped up after a Palestinian suicide bombing and a rocket attack killed six Israelis last week, has vowed not to withdraw from Gaza under fire.
Israeli officials have said the army might carry out wide-scale raids and reoccupy Palestinian areas near the 21 Jewish settlements to be evacuated.
"I never mentioned Israeli schools."
Then the equivalency is even more false since the Palestinian negation of Israel is official - in school texts and their government maps. That was the context in this thread. Comparing individual Israelis with official Palestinain positions is inherently false and unfair.
"I am just pointing out that most people on this board and in Israel do not recognise "Palestine" for understandable reasons so why would Palestine recognise Israel? "
Not so. Israel is in the process of giving away land for a Palestinian state. That was the point of Oslo too. How can you still claim most people in Israel are against a Palestinian state?
Further many people here and in Israel who are against giving away what was Israeli Mandate Land believe there already exists a Palestinian state created by Britian called (Trans)Jordan. Can such a claim be made anywhere else about Israel?
This was the original comment made by zerosix(#21)
"The U.N. and other terrorist organizations have always claimed that it was Israeli "Occupation" of the ground that they fought and died for in 1967, as the reason for the Intafada but the real reason is as it always has been - to wipe Israel off the face of the map, as the Palestinian maps used by the school children show no Israel there at all."
You responded:
"Well many Israeli do not recognise Palestine either hence the ongoing conflict."
Your attempt to paint the two sides as the same and the fault of the "ongoing conflict" as the equal responsibility of the Israelis because they "do not recognise Palestine either" sounds like you are an apologist for terror.
I'm sure that is not true.
Israel recognizes Jordan, Syria, and Egypt. The "Palestinians" are not and never have been a nation or even a religious or ethnic group.
Israel recognizes them for what they are: a group of Arabs from a variety of countries who have been exploited by their fellow Arabs, and who turned to mass murder out of ignorance and malice.
The USA never recognized the sovereignty of the Koresh compound, either.
You responded:
"Well many Israeli do not recognise Palestine either hence the ongoing conflict."
Your attempt to paint the two sides as the same and the fault of the "ongoing conflict" as the equal responsibility of the Israelis because they "do not recognise Palestine either" sounds like you are an apologist for terror.
I'm sure that is not true.
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All I am saying is that a significant proportion of Israel and a even larger percentage of this board reject Oslo and the whole idea of land for peace and dis-engagement and many of the responses on this thread indicate this.
There are probably (definitely) even more Palestinians who do not recognise Israel but I think that it is fair to say that there are people on both sides who do not recognise the right to exist of two states otherwise settlements would not be built on "occupied" land and terrorists would not blow up pizza parlours.
...I think it is slightly hypocritical to say they do not recognize Israel when many Israelis do not recognize them.
Israel recognizes Jordan, Syria, and Egypt. The "Palestinians" are not and never have been a nation or even a religious or ethnic group.
Israel recognizes them for what they are: a group of Arabs from a variety of countries who have been exploited by their fellow Arabs, and who turned to mass murder out of ignorance and malice.
The USA never recognized the sovereignty of the Koresh compound, either.
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Just to be clear I think Israel has the moral high ground (but I do not think that her or any other secular Government are perfect).
Your opinion is an example of not recognising "Palestinians" so why would they recognise the Israel you support?
Koresh is a different matter entirely and from what a lot of freepers say the people in the compound were a lot less loopy than the jihadis.
Just thought I would clarify as well (probably should have done this originally):
Israel has acknowledge the pallies when they were a part of Jordan and numerouus other times. Then came war after war after which Israel did the whole Oslo thing. Israel has held back and has advanced its society culturally and in terms of respect of human rights while the pallys have not. The textbooks should be burnt and we should not fund
an education system that teaches hate.
My first statement was vague, which in the whole Israeli/Arab situation is a bit stupid as it is so complex.
There are conflicting opinions on both Israel and Palestinians but in Israel it is not condoned in schooling. And with dis-engagement the possibility of a Palestinian State is more likely so my first statement should be put down to idiocy/tiredness/left-wing brain washing.
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