What Is This World Coming To?

During the Gaza War, Ban ki Moon visited the site of an Israeli tank strike on a UN school and thundered and waxed wroth against Israel etc., etc.    

Turns out that Hamas really was hiding on the UN site and forced the Israeli counter-attack, just as Israel initially said.   The UN is now admitting that it was wrong, but quietly and without fanfare. 

Noted the IsraelToday Newswire: Now that the war is over, and fewer people are paying attention, UN officials are admitting otherwise.

Speaking before the UN Security Council on Tuesday, UN Humanitarian Affairs Chief John Holmes blasted Hamas for making “cynical” use of public civilian facilities across Gaza during the fighting.

“The reckless and cynical use of civilian installations by Hamas and indiscriminate firing of rockets against civilian populations are clear violations of international humanitarian law,” said Holmes.

Holmes also acknowledged that it is Hamas meddling that is largely responsible for humanitarian aid not reaching the people of Gaza.

Unsurprisingly, the mainstream international media brushed aside most of what Holmes had to say and focused only on his call for Israel to fully throw open the border crossings into Gaza

Senior Hamas official Khalil al-Hayeh addressed more than 5,000 supporters rallied in Gaza on Friday, declaring;  “We say proudly that Gaza has won the war, the resistance has won the war, and Hamas has won the war.” 

I don’t know anything about the UFO abduction thing, but it is about as meaningful as the Hamas declaration of victory.   Hamas has been decimated.  According to some Israeli estimates,  its top level organization has been shattered.  

The fighting left 1,284 Palestinians dead, according to the Palestinian Center for Human Rights.  But according to Palestinians not affiliated with Hamas, the figure is less than half that.     President Barack Obama immediately authorized $20 million of US taxpayer money to aid Gazan efforts to rebuild.  

The Jerusalem Post reported today;  “Hamas cabinet minister carried a carton stuffed with checks worth nearly $2 million into a Gaza tent camp pitched on the ruins of the Salam neighborhood, close to the Israeli border. 

But before hundreds of homeless residents could collect, they had to listen to a political speech. Social Affairs Minister Ahmed al-Kurd told them Israel’s military machine was defeated and that the Hamas government would rebuild their neighborhood bigger and better.”

Good thing those taxpayer dollars are going to a worthy cause.  Besides, its just a measly $20,000,000.00 — America’s got deep pockets. 

The Center for Strategic and International Studies said the Israeli air force combined manned and unmanned aircraft to target and strike Hamas operatives and facilities throughout the Gaza Strip.The Washington-based center, said to be close to members of the incoming administration of President-elect Barack Obama, said the air force has eroded much of the Hamas command.

“One should not underestimate Israeli success in purely military terms,” the CSIS report, titled “The Fighting in Gaza: How Does It End?” said. “The IAF flew roughly 150 sorties on December 27, the first day, and over 100 the next three days. Hamas quickly dispersed both its personnel and weapons and equipment, but the IAF has continued to have excellent targeting support from its unmanned aerial vehicles and other technical intelligence assets, and support from anti-Hamas elements inside and outside of Gaza.”

The report, authored by former Defense Department official Anthony Cordesman, said Israeli air strikes have eroded Hamas’s military command. Cordesman cited such air force targets as Hamas weapons tunnels, shelters and other facilities.

“The IAF may not be able to find and hit every target, and some tunnels and sheltered areas, but Hamas has clearly lost some key leaders and is losing most of its key facilities and much of its equipment,” the report said. “It may be able to fire limited numbers of rockets indefinitely into the future, but it will lose a significant amount of its weapons, as well as its training facilities and communications facilities.”

Cordesman said Hamas has failed to reach the military capabilities of the Iranian-sponsored Hizbullah. The report said Hamas does not have the training, experience or the equipment of the Lebanese-based militia.

“Hamas is not Hizbullah,” the report said. “It has not fought the IDF [Israel Defense Forces] for years. Its forces are limited in training and experience, and do not seem to have had anything like Hizbullah’s access to the more modern and lethal manportable and crew served weapons — although it may well have some anti-tank guided weapon and manportable surface to air missiles in reserve.”

CSIS determined that the Israeli military could quickly overpower Hamas in urban strongholds in the Gaza Strip. The report cited the lack of a Hamas military infrastructure, hampered by the refusal of the rival Fatah movement to battle Israel.

By Ephraim Sneh

When demands are made of Israel to halt its military activities in Gaza, a brief historical reminder is in order.

In September 2005, Israel vacated Gaza, dismantled all the settlements in the Gaza Strip and did not leave a shred of a presence there.

In January 2006, rule over Gaza passed to the Hamas government under Ismail Haniyeh. Instead of bringing investors to Gaza, the Hamas government brought the guerrilla-warfare trainers of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard. Instead of launching economic projects, this government launched rockets every day at Israeli towns and villages across the border. They smuggled in vast amounts of explosives, weapons and rockets; they prepared themselves for battle. Read the rest of this entry »