Red alert over Gaza tensions
Tensions are dangerously high between Israel and Gaza after a dramatic increase in the volume of rocket attacks from Gaza across the border into Israel. Most of them do little damage, but one Israeli has been killed this week, and the major port city of Ashkelon has been hit.
The reports: "Prime Minister Ehud Olmert will return from Japan on Friday to a country feeling increasingly insecure and vulnerable as a result of the [rocket] barrages that have now squarely placed Ashkelon inside the daily rocket attack equation. And in this small country, when the nation feels insecure and vulnerable, the government often has little choice but to act."
According to the news agency: "Israel does not intend to launch a major ground offensive in the next week or two, partly because the military prefers to wait for better weather, defense officials said. But the army has now completed its preparations and informed the government it's ready to move immediately when the order is given ..." Eleven Palestinians, most of them fighters, have been killed in recent days.
And for an idea of what it feels like to live in Gaza or Ashkelon at the moment, there's an account from a Gaza blogger , and from Ashkelon bloggers .
64% of Israeli public according to recent poll support talking to Hamas and ceasefire, not the strategy of ever more death and destruction favoured by the militarised Israeli authorities. Peace groups in both Israel and Palestine have launched a petition for this and need our support. The military response never has and never will produce peace nor will the appalling collective punishment of Gaza where over half the 1.5 million are children. The truly awful existence they endure and the deaths and injuries are under-reported. The continued support by US and others for Israel, regardless of what it does, is shameful. We should insist on observance of International and Humanitarian Law by ALL.
Complain about this postRobin, i heard your 9am EST NewsHour cast here in New York City this morning.
If i am correct, i did not hear the word 'Ashkelon' even once during the entire hour.
The Israelis are very upset by the Palestinians having extended range grad rockets and this, as you have noted here, is the prime mover behind their upgraded response.
This fact was never mentioned during your broadcast.
Even though I can usually count on you NewHour catss alone out of the general rotation to contain the least anti-Israel propaganda, i feel you did not do an adequate job of explaining that:
1) that the israelis are response to putting the city of Ashkelon under terror attack is significant.
2) that the israeli attacks will stop when Hamas stops firing thousands of rockets into civilian towns and cities in israel.
3) If Hamas insists on firing their rockets from inside civilian areas, there will be casualties among people who are being used as human shields.
I know it must be tough to be the only person at the ´óÏó´«Ã½ who does not engage in israel-bashing and terrorist boosting, but that is no excuse for not giving air to israel's explicit explanations of their actions.
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