Maine Owl

Over 100 Gaza residents reported dead in days of Israeli aerial bombardment

The NY Times plays it like it's some kind of battlefield face-off, Israeli "defenses" versus Palestinian "positions" where "advanced Iranian rockets" are being fired. But if you read far enough, even the Times reports the civilian carnage, "as 19 Palestinian civilians also died in the heavily populated area, including 4 children."

Following threats last month to "wipe out Gaza neighborhoods," the Israelis have made good on that and are, according to the Times, taking the "Gaza fight to a new level." The latest news just in is that Israel has "attacked Palestinian positions in northern Gaza on Saturday, killing at least 54 people and wounding more than 100 in the deadliest day of fighting in more than a year."

Some Israeli officials are showing little restraint in describing what their program is about. Ali Abunimah of The Electronic Intifada posted Friday that "Israeli minister threatens "holocaust" as public demand ceasefire talks."

On Israeli army radio deputy defense minister Matan Vilnai said, "The more Qassam [rocket] fire intensifies and the rockets reach a longer range, [the Palestinians] will bring upon themselves a bigger shoah because we will use all our might to defend ourselves."

That's pretty amazing language being applied to the Palestinians given the place of the word shoah in Jewish historical consciousness.

Oh, and according to Secretary of State Rice, it's all the fault of Hamas:

Press Availability in Tokyo
Secretary Condoleezza Rice - February 28, 2008

QUESTION: (Inaudible). There?s been collateral damage in Gaza, including the death of the six-month-old baby, according to our reports and five other civilians. Did you raise any concerns about that?

SECRETARY RICE: As I said, I?m concerned about the humanitarian condition there and innocent people in the Gaza who are being hurt. We have to remember that the Hamas activities there are responsible for what has happened in Gaza, the illegal coup that they led against the Palestinian Authority institutions, the legitimate institutions of the Palestinian Authority. And so it?s very clear where this started. But of course, we are concerned about the innocent people and we are concerned about the humanitarian situation.

She seems to have forgotten that Hamas won a parliamentary majority in free and fair elections two years ago and has been under attack from nearly every Western government since. So what she's really saying is the attack is justified because the Palestinian people chose the wrong representatives. And for all her concern about "the humanitarian condition," she can't bring herself to call for a ceasefire.