It was an act of unspeakable barbarity. One that has been condemned by governments all over the world.
The US and UN have condemned the shelling of a school housing displaced civilians in Gaza. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said the attack, which killed 16, was "outrageous".
"I condemn this attack in the strongest possible terms. It is outrageous. It is unjustifiable, and it demands accountability and justice. "Nothing is more shameful than attacking sleeping children."
And defended only by those who carried it out, and by the monstrous beast Stephen Harper.
"Obviously no one likes to see the suffering and loss of life that has occurred," Harper told reporters.
"That said, we hold the terrorist organization Hamas responsible for this. They have initiated and continue this conflict and continue to seek the destruction of the state of Israel."
Who would bathe in the blood of children, and defend the indefensible.
Even though nothing can justify that brutal act, or the one on a crowded market near Gaza City...
The attack on the market in Shejaiya killed 17 people and wounded 160 as hundreds tried to buy fruit and vegetables, the Palestinian health ministry said.
One witness, Salim Qadoum, told Associated Press: "The area is like a bloodbath, everyone is wounded or killed. People lost their limbs and were screaming for help. It's a massacre."
And it should be clear by now to all decent people that the Netanyahu regime's war on Gaza is little more than a monstrous act of collective punishment.
What is going on in Palestine today is not really about Hamas. It is not about rockets. It is not about “human shields” or terrorism or tunnels. It is about Israel’s permanent control over Palestinian land and Palestinian lives.
What Israel is doing in Gaza now is collective punishment. It is punishment for Gaza’s refusal to be a docile ghetto.It is punishment for the gall of Palestinians in unifying, and of Hamas and other factions in responding to Israel’s siege and its provocations with resistance, armed or otherwise, after Israel repeatedly reacted to unarmed protest with crushing force.
Just like it should be clear by now, even to many Israelis, that only peace and justice can end this recurring humanitarian nightmare.
There is no military solution for the problem of Gaza, or the West Bank or the Israeli Palestinian conflict. We will be in the same place again in a year, two years, or three years, only much worse.
Israel has lost this war in the international arena. The media around the world (not in Israel) has vividly shown the horrors of Israeli bombing in Gaza. More than 1,200 dead, 5,000 wounded, hundreds of non-combatants, women and children. Yes, Hamas is perceived as a bitter enemy in the world’s media, but Israel is portrayed as being even worse.
Only if we finally address the real issues – the occupation, the continued suffering of the Palestinian people, the need to negotiate a real and comprehensive peace, will we put an end to this suffering, destruction and killing.
And of course just like it should be clear to all of us that Stephen Harper is neither a friend of the Palestinians, nor a real friend of the Israeli people. For he would condemn them both to live like scorpions in a bottle.
Trapped in a never ending nightmare...
You know, never could I have imagined that a Canadian government would defend the slaughter of children.
Or that its leader would act like the stooge of a foreign government.
And I feel exactly like the decent Chris Gunness does.
How low have we fallen.
But as the Deputy General of the United Nations said:
"This is a moment where you really have to say: 'Enough is enough.'"
Do what you can to defeat this monstrous maniac.
Before he shames us further....
Please click here to recommend this post at Progressive Bloggers.
But Hamas began the conflict knowing full well that the Israeli Iron Dome missile defense would knock down 90+% of their rockets.... so why did they embark on this futile mission of failed jihad?
ReplyDeleteNow if the Israelis had no defense against the Hamas rockets, it would be Israeli children who would be slaughtered, but the Jews are too smart for the Hamas terrorists and their Iranian allies.
So now it's Gazan children who are being used as human shields by the Hamas while they launch their rocket and mortar attacks against Israel and the Israeli IDF army rooting out the Hamas fighters hiding amongst their civilian population.... and the children get slaughtered as collateral casualties.
Hamas terrorists are sacrificing the Gazan children by their military tactics and using the deaths of children in their PR propaganda war. Blame Hamas in part for their child casualties because they launch their rockets from civilian buildings and fight the Israelis behind their women and children.
A Hamas terrorist was seen fleeing the field of battle carrying a child so that the Israeli soldiers would not fire on him.... that's your Hamas heroes.
SteveT.......
That is nothing but hasbara Steve. Considering the nightmare that the Israeli hardliners have brought upon this earth, the hasbara is no longer smart or funny, its despicable and disgustingly evil.
DeleteHow easy is it for you to blame the other side when your overlords slaughter sleeping children? Easy as pie, apparently, and what is next? Some propaganda movie with big-nosed Palestinians in dirty burkas murdering Israeli children and laughing all the way to the bank...oh, wait...Half my family is Jewish, and they are so outraged that they cannot contain it, like me...but we will all be tarred with the fascist Israeli brush for decades to come, because of this...just like in the past, but this time, the accusations will be true, so, congratulations.
DeleteSteve T, ... your racism, your hypocrisy, your murderous blood-lust, all combine to make you a truly hateful, pathetic creature.
DeletePerhaps that Hamas fighter was removing a child from a battlefield? If you're not just pulling stuff out of your ass.
It is the IDF shelling UN shelters. Not Hamas. It wasn't Hamas that killed those Israeli youths. even if it was, slaughtering hundreds of innocent civilians is not a justified, let alone even a "proportionate" response.
You don't even realize that you've lost your humanity.
And now the premier of B.C. Christy crunch has come out "in support" of Israeli. Yes, it was most likely only a matter of time before Harper and his herd got some of the other Canadian politicians to take up the chant.
ReplyDeleteIt is doubtful Harper and his herd will permit any children who are of Arab descent and victims of violence into this country for treatment. Harper won't care if they are all under one year old. His good Christian ethics will forbid that type of Christian charity.
This current little fire fight is all about the selling and buying of arms. A lot of people are getting very rich because of this current little war. Hamas is supported by Qatar, who gets it arms from the U.S.A. Israeli gets their arms from the U.S.A. although they are a large manufacturer of them also.
The Israeli armed forces is a very disciplined organization. They are very good at what they do. If bombs are landing on children, hospitals, and parks then that is where they want them to land, or rather benny wants them to land. Benny, to stay in power, has to appeal to his ultra right wing hardliners who think the only good arab is a dead one. Benny wasn't even raised in Israeli. He was raised in the U.S.A. which may explain his blood thirsty attitude.
As one of those who says, "never again", it really is time for this fighting to be over. it isn't even anywhere near a fair fight. If nothing else, Israeli ought to have evacuated all children prior to the fighting started. You'd think with Qatar's money and support for Hamus, they would have provided the children and civilians of Gaza and exit strategy. But no. This isn't about some tunnels. the citizens of Gaza are simply collateral damage in someone else's game and Hamus is just too stupid to see they are also pawns in the game.
Israeli has had some major military successes. A country with their military record does not need this little petty blood bath.
Hamas is a declared terrorist organization by the Canadian government. Why are you trying to validate the Hamas rocket attacks on Israel with the unfortunate deaths of Gazan children being used as human shields by the Hamas terrorists.
DeleteYou cannot deny that the Hamas strategy is to use civilian locations to launch their many rockets knowing full well that the Israelis will retaliate with deadly force. So a few hundreds of Gazans are killed; that will make for good global PR.
Stop the rocket attacks and save Gazan children, Hamas!!
SteveT......
The IDF is firing the weapons that are slaughtering those children Steve T. Quit being such a reprehensible moral failure Steve T. Shut the fuck up and reflect upon how you became such a monster Steve T.
DeleteNobody decent respects your stupid opinions Steve T. You're an apologist for mass-murder Steve T.
No, thwap.... it's the Hamas terrorists who are burying themselves within the Gazan civilian population and using them as human shields to save themselves from IDF soldiers. Hamas is directly responsible for Gazan casualties because of their despicable and cowardly terrorist activities.
DeleteThe Israelis are justified in killing Hamas terrorists who are hiding amongst civilians... they are all fair game.
SteveT.....
if Israeli knows Hamas is using the children and citizens of Gaza as human shields, under best practises in war, they would have found another way to deal with the tunnels and Hamas. Remember this is a country who found their Holocaust enemies, got them in South American and brought them back for trial in Israeli. This is a country who went to war with a number of Arab nations and finished it in 7 days. This is a country which got its citizens out of an airport in Africa when they were being held hostage. This is a country which killed all the murderers of their athletes. Israeli can do better in war and has in the past. What is passing for war these days is more like Benny just getting his jollies and keeping his ultra right wing happy. Remember Benny wasn't raised in Israeli. He was raised in the U.S.A. as are many of the ultra right in Israeli.
DeleteA smart politician doesn't get himself into this mess. He finds another way. It would be interesting to see what the Israeli generals really think. In the past, when Israeli was at war, you saw the generals, not the politicians. Now you just see Benny, like you see Stevie.
Only my grandfather survived the holocaust. Everyone else died in the camps. When our family says "never again" we mean it and we know why. What Benny is doing has nothing to do with "never again". This is not about the survival of the Jews or the Jewish state.
You really should research some of your opinions Steve T. First is what constitutes a war crime, as determined by international treaty. http://www.icrc.org/customary-ihl/eng/docs/v1_cha_chapter44_rule156 International treaty says that the safety of a civilian population must trump military objectives except in certain cases of extreme and clear military advantage and importance. It matters not if Hamas is firing rockets from a hospital or school, the military advantage to destroy that school does not matter more than the lives of the civilians inside. Reminder of Israel reponsibility to civilians here: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2006/jul/25/israelandthepalestinians.unitednations
DeleteThe UN has also studied the tunnels leading out of Gaza, and determined that while they are used to move arms into Gaza, they serve a more important purpose in the movement of building materials, medicines and other products that have been severely restricted by the Israeli blockade. Infrastructure damaged by bombing cannot be repaired as concrete and steel bars and even machinery parts are stopped at the border. Palestinian products are also tightly controlled, meaning the exports are either turned back or allowed only at the whim of crossing guards. This will deepen the economic and social problems and lead to create crises for the population of Gaza economically, spiritually and health wise. Sounds like a credible recipe for creation of terrorism
http://www.vox.com/2014/7/16/5904691/hamas-israel-gaza-11-things
No SteveT, ... it is the IDF who is murdering those children. It is the IDF's surgical, precision firing that is destroying UN shelters and hospitals. You are an apologist for mass-murder SteveT. Human garbage. And you're not even particularly effective at it. You've sold your soul for nothing.
DeleteIsrael has dropped leaflets into the Gazan war zones telling civilians to evacuate; but Hamas will not allow civilians to leave because Hamas uses them as human shields and they want a high civilian casualty count for PR purposes. Gazan babies are dying because Hamas will not allow mothers to leave the war zones, and Hamas is launching their rockets against Israel from amongst civilian residences and public buildings. The blood is on the hands of Hamas!
DeleteSteveT.....
I'm ashamed to be a Canadian these days.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4YAYGi8rQag
Renounce your Canadian citizenship and go to Gaza to help your cowardly heroes.
DeleteI will renounce my citizenship and go to Gaza right after you renounce yours and join the IDF to participate in the murder of children.
DeleteThe IDF doesn't need my help to eradicate the Hamas terrorists and their Gazan supporters. It's obvious that all Hamas supporters in our midst are traitors to Canada and should not stay here... all of them!
DeleteThe fact is your Hamas heroes are hiding behind civilians who have been told to evacuate the war zone. Hamas started the war and the IDF will finish it off notwithstanding the civilians being sacrificed by the Hamas terrorists who are using civilian casualties for global PR. Blame Hamas not Israel. Of course you can't because the Hamas are on their holy jihad and you cannot judge them... only Allah can do that.
DeleteWith a density of 10000 per sq mile, and restricted travel, where can the civilians go? It is like dropping bombs in NYC. Also as I told SteveT, the onus is NOT on Hamas to keep Israeli's from killing Gazan civilians, it is a responsibility of Israel as the occupying power. If Hamas is in violation of international treaties then they should be tried -if the Israelis are in violation they should be tried also. I do find it strange that no comprehensive evidence has been put forward that would support the claims of the Israeli's as to Hamas war crimes. Israel has not had to answer to the International community for it's transgressions thanks to the power of western veto power. That Israel has committed war crimes is not in doubt to me; bombing water purification plants, sewage treatment plants and energy generators are simply collective punishment on the people, and serve very little military purpose.
DeleteAnonymous, you are another arm chair general that really needs to educate themselves on international law and treaties, the treaties and laws that Israel has agree to as well as most of the rest of the world. It is not up to Israel to determine they can ignore these Laws because Hamas may be in violation of them, as a signatory they are expected to adhere to the law. Killing of civilians is wrong. Period. No matter who does it. If you do not understand that it applies to Israel as well as any other nation, then I feel for the lack of humanity in you.
DeleteThe fact that our Premier, Christy Clark, had the gall to declare (at a Jewish senior's residence, no less....trolling for votes, Crusty?) that "BC was behind Israel" to me, beggars belief, and the pushback started within minutes of her cynical ploy...
ReplyDeleteIf nothing else convinces BCers that Clark is nothing but a rightwing whackjob in 'liberal' clothing, then nothing will...the fact that Emperor Steve sides with the apartheid Israelis is no surprise, of course, what is a surprise is that the death of sleeping children doesn't raise more consternation in the world at large...maybe Harper wants to play Mussolini to Netanyahoo's Hitler, who knows?
The Israeli response to Hamas is disproportionate to the extreme. Not only is their bombing of Gazan civilians vile, they back up their actions with knee-jerk lies such as errant Hamas rockets, only to be caught out in their pathetic deception time after time.
ReplyDeleteIsraeli barbarity will not stop until their international backers can no longer stomach blatant Israeli atrocities. So terribly sad that Steve is such an ardent Israeli cheer leader. Its embarrassing to be Canadian under this sad man's "leadership".
Disproportionate you say?! So the Hamas terrorists are just launching fireworks rockets into Israel?
DeleteTell your Hamas heroes to stop the rocket attacks and peace will ensue... go ahead, condemn the Hamas rocket attacks!!
http://www.timesofisrael.com/hamas-fired-rockets-for-first-time-since-2012-israeli-officials-say/
Delete"Hamas hasn’t fired rockets into Israel since Operation Pillar of Defense ended in November 2012, and has yet to take responsibility for this latest barrage."
So Israel launches an attack that kills one person and Hamas responds. Why are we not saying to you "Tell your Israeli heroes to stop the rocket attacks and peace will ensue?" .. It is simply because we know that both sides are looking for excuses to wage war. and yes, most of the rockets launched from Gaza are made from general products found around a well stocked garage.. so they are home made with no guidance system built in and little damage potential except on a direct hit.
Not sure how closely you are following the situation from over there, Simon. Neither the Libs nor NDP have come out clearly to condemn the massacre of civilians that is happening daily in Gaza (they had already made it clear that Israel had a right to defend itself). Not a word from them even over the slaughter of sleeping children in the U.N. school yesterday which the U.N. has clearly said their initial investigations showed were caused by Israelis shelling. The U.N. Sec. Gen, Ban Ki Moon had called it "outrageous" while even the U.S. had condemned the strike while stopping short of naming the Israelis responsible (as the U.N. had done). Harper of course had further blamed Hamas for this carnage. But not a word from either the Libs or NDP. The only leader who had condemned that attack on civilians is Liz May. As I am writing this, protesters are occupying the office of Paul Dewar: https://twitter.com/mattbrett_1984/status/494872130807271424
ReplyDeleteWe do recall Harper's planeload of his degenerates, he took with him to Israel. Harper is encouraging Israel, to make war on Palestine. Believe you me? Harper does not speak for all Canadians, a vast number of Canadians, despise Harper for his, many evil deeds.
ReplyDeleteI am amazed the Jewish people trust Harper. Are they blind to, the way Harper kicks his own citizens in their faces. Harper kicks our Veterans in their faces. Many Canadians did liberate the Jewish people from the concentration camps. One soldier, was one of my own brothers. Quite frankly. Harper is not worth our young Canadian boys dying for.
Premier Christy Clark is a ditz, who works for Harper, just as Harper's favorite henchman Gordon Campbell did before her. Christy certainly does not speak for all BC people. She is just as despised as Harper and Campbell are. Besides which, Christy does not run this province. And, we all know just who does. There is no doubt in my mind? That Harper ordered Christy the ditz, to show support for Israel.
I had read. Israel wants Palestine's water and gas. Israel said, Palestine will never be a state. Palestine must be pushed into the sea. That the children slaughtered on the beach and children that were asleep and/or in schools, were merely collateral damage. Have the people of Israel forgot about their children, with tattoo's on their arms?
I never, ever did have any respect for, the fascist dictator Harper. He was Policy Chief for his, Northern Foundation of 1989. I have no respect for Israel anymore either.
Seems the Common Wealth is turning fascist and is now the new axis of evil. Canada is certainly fascist. The Australians say the same about their country. Britain harbors Harper's degenerates and criminals. Britain fully supports the monster Harper. It is said? We can toss the U.S. into that toxic mix as well.
This worlds decent citizens, are living in very evil times. There is nuclear powered Israel, pounding the hell out of Palestine which, Harper supports. Harper has his fat flapping mouth in, the Russia, Ukraine and Crimea dispute.
It was written, Harper is America's useful idiot.
Hamas are the Nazis of Gaza... executing Gazans who oppose the rocket launchings and the war in their neighbourhoods. Israel will clean out Hamas mad dogs and blow up their underground tunnels into Israel.
ReplyDeleteStop the Hamas idiots !!!!