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Posted by realistic bird under Politics Tags: Gaza, Hamas, Hezbollah, Israeli crimes, Israeli policies, new offensive, news, palestine, Palestinians, PoliticsAshkenazi: “Next Battle Likely In Gaza”
by Saed Bannoura, Wednesday November 04, 2009 – IMEMC & Agencies
Israeli Army Chief of Staff, Gabi Ashkenazi, stated Tuesday that he believes a new war in Gaza is nearing, and that the army is readying to target Qassam launching pads, located in densely populating areas in the Gaza Strip.
He said that the army could be fighting in cities, mosques, hospitals, schools and even kindergartens and added that “the enemies want to force us to fight this way”.
His statements came during a graduation ceremony for army cadets, and were aired by the Israeli Radio.
Meanwhile, the Hamas movement in Gaza said that the Israeli statements regarding Hamas’ successful tests on news “missiles’ clearly prove that Israel is trying to divert world attention from the Goldstone report.
Fawzi Barhoum, spokesperson of Hamas, said that the statements of Ashkenazi were made in an attempt to justify war crimes against humanity in Gaza, and could as well be meant to justify future crimes.
Israeli Military Intelligence Chief, Amos Yedlin, claimed that Hamas is trying to obtain more weapons and missiles, and that it successfully tested an Iranian missile that could hit Tel Aviv, 60 kilometers (27.28 Miles) away.
He added that during the war on Gaza earlier this year, Hamas fighters fired shells that managed to hit targets 45 kilometers (27.9 Miles) away.
Yedlin also claimed Hamas obtained Iranian missiles, similar to those obtained by Hezbollah, and that the missiles were likely smuggled through the tunnels.
Haaretz: Israel Preparing Public for a New War in Gaza
04/11/2009 Israeli Maj. Gen. Amos Yadlin, director of Military Intelligence, announced Tuesday that Hamas launched a rocket some 60 kilometers into the sea, apparently as an experiment. Such a rocket, if fired from the northernmost point of the Gaza Strip, could strike the southern cities of the Gush Dan area – including Rishon Letzion, Holon and Bat Yam – and possibly reach as far as Tel Aviv itself.
Although Yadlin didn’t specify the type of the weapon used, it appears to be a standard, foreign-made rocket smuggled into Gaza. Yadlin told the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Israeli Defense Committee that Hamas has accumulated an arsenal of rockets slightly larger than the arsenal it possessed before last winter’s Operation Cast Lead.
Israeli daily Haaretz said that the experiment hardly caught Israeli intelligence by surprise, as it had assumed Hamas had acquired a similar type of rocket several months ago. However, the importance of Yadlin’s report should not be underestimated as this is the first tangible piece of evidence that Hamas holds a weapon capable of striking Gush Dan. It would seem Hamas has used the lull in fighting with Israel to not only restore, but improve its capabilities. Still, and similar to Hezbollah, restoring the arsenal hardly testifies to restoring motivation to confront Israel militarily.
Israeli military sources claimed that despite the improved rockets, Hamas’ ability to launch missiles into central Israel is limited, but added that it was only a matter of time before this ability is improved, with Iran’s support.
In the meantime, the Home Front Command is not preparing to hand out instruction manuals or implement other plans in the communities which are subject to the new threat, mainly due to the fact that the threats from the Gaza Strip and southern Lebanon already over most of the country’s areas.
The rocket was fired in rough weather, apparently in an attempt to hide the experiment from Israeli eyes. But Israel’s radar installations registered the launch, even if the exact spot where the missile hit the sea is unknown. Israel believes Hamas considers the new rocket a strategic asset, a “doomsday weapon” of sorts, and therefore avoided publicizing the experimental launch, in the hope of using the weapon as a surprise during some later confrontation.
Hamas is also busy improving its own production capabilities, as well as equipping itself with new anti-tank missiles and older anti-aircraft missiles.
Haaretz report said that Yadlin’s announcement should be seen as part of an attempt by the Israeli military to prepare the public for a new attack against the Strip. The General Staff is not remotely eager for another round, especially with the Goldstone report conclusions still haunting Israeli commanders of the previous operation when they travel abroad.
The Israeli army, however, is not waiting for the Iron Dome anti-missile system to become operational in mid 2010, and is preparing for an escalation in other ways. “Just like the Israeli army was prepared for Operation Cast Lead, it is operating now by preparing and training in order to respond powerfully to any development,” a military official said.
It added that what Israel should be doing in the meantime is improving its anti-missile defense systems. Iron Dome, the Israeli answer to the Katyusha and Qassam rockets, is moving along satisfactorily.
At first, a spokesman for the Islamic resistance organization’s military wing, Abu Obeida, refused to confirm Yadlin’s statement on the missile launch. Abu Obeida remarked that “the occupation can say whatever it likes, and whatever it says is dubious.”
A few hours later, Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhum issued a new statement saying the Israeli announcement was aimed to influence world public opinion ahead of the UN debate. Barhum said the diplomatic crisis triggered by the report “has led the Zionist enemy to make up excuses in an attempt to instigate public opinion against Hamas.”
Ashkenazi: Next war on Gaza would include attacks on densely populated areas
Rami Almeghari writing from the occupied Gaza Strip, Live from Palestine, 4 November 2009
Azzam Salim used to be one of the leading construction contractors in the central Gaza Strip. Today, however, he spends most of his days idly chatting with other unemployed friends near a bank that he helped build several years ago.
"As a human first and foremost, I need to live normally like before. This situation is unprecedented -- before the siege was enforced here, I didn't have time to sit. But now things have changed, now we are professional talkers."
What prevents Salim from returning to work is the lack of raw building materials in the Gaza Strip, due to Israel's crippling Israeli blockade of the territory since June 2007. In March 2009, international donors including the US, Europe and Saudi Arabia met in the Egyptian resort town of Sharm al-Sheikh pledging at least $4 billion to reconstruct Gaza following last winter's 22-day Israeli invasion of the territory. However, the promised funds have yet to reach Gaza as the international community continues to boycott the governing Hamas party.
"In order for us to rebuild houses, facilities, schools, mosques and other [buildings], we need basic building materials like cement, iron, aluminum, wood, plastic, etc. At the very least, we need cement and iron to start reconstruction immediately," said Salim.
According to local and international estimates, the Israeli assault on Gaza rendered tens of thousands of homes, schools, governmental buildings, mosques and other facilities either partially or completely destroyed. As a result, more than 51,000 residents are homeless.
"I used to live happily with my children in a regular house in the Jabaliya refugee camp, but now I live miserably in this tent, where even animals could not get by. We appeal for help that will rid us of this miserable life," said Mahmoud Abu Alanzain, a displaced father of three children, while in his tent in the al-Rayan refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip. The tents were set up as temporary shelter after the fighting stopped.
Hundreds of families in Gaza are in a situation similar to Abu Alanzain's. Many of those whose houses were partially or completely destroyed are now staying in newly established camps, rented apartments or with relatives or friends.
Another scene of destruction in the coastal enclave is that of the local universities. Israeli shelling targeted the Islamic University and al-Aqsa University's agricultural school.
"We in the Islamic University of Gaza have lost a significant scientific laboratory building because of the bombing by Israeli warplanes. This laboratory used to serve not only the university's tests, but also those of other sectors of the Gaza community such as the agricultural or water sectors. We used to perform needed tests for poisonous substances, checks that cannot be done, except in the university's laboratory," Dr. Kamalin Shaath, president of the Islamic University of Gaza, explained.
In recent weeks, the Hamas government undertook a widespread campaign to remove the rubble of destroyed buildings. Also, local engineers, based on the idea that need is the mother of invention, have begun using available materials like mud to rebuild some facilities.
"We have embarked on removing the ruins of knocked down buildings throughout Gaza, in an attempt to repair some of the damage, using mud. Unfortunately, our attempts have failed so far due to technical reasons. One of the main reasons is the fact that we don't have enough land space to build vertically, besides the lack of many essential raw materials such as electrical or sanitation supplies," said Dr. Yousef al-Mansi, minister of works and construction in Gaza.
Al-Mansi added that his ministry is willing to cooperate with any international body for the sake of reconstructing the war-torn Gaza Strip, but without preconditions designed to undermine Hamas' governance.
"It is unnecessary that we get cash into our hands; what is needed is that the reconstruction begins, so that the people can be housed again. We have given a chance for contractors, companies, institutions and countries to come and implement the reconstruction in coordination with us. For those who want to reconstruct, there are many clear means for them to start building, but we reject any political extortion. In the last war, we lost our children, our families and our homes; all we want is to live in dignity."
The US and European Union have boycotted Hamas since the party came to power in internationally monitored and recognized elections in 2006. They have placed demands on Hamas to recognize Israel as a "Jewish state," renounce violence and accept previously negotiated agreements.
Visibly frustrated, contractor Azzam Salim said, "I am so eager to return back to my work, it is like someone who is left in a desert without water."
Images by Rami Almeghari.
Rami Almeghari is a journalist and university lecturer based in the Gaza Strip.
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