When they began demolishing the houses there was no way to warn the bulldozer driver we were there.

international | anti-war / imperialism | news report

Friday May 21, 2004 14:04

by Rafah Kid

"My parents live in the house next door. We called them to make a hole in the wall [to] escape. They brought hammers and they made the hole.

"First of all I helped my children escape and then I carried the old woman through the hole. Then they destroyed my parents' house and we had to run to another, bigger house nearby."

According to Reuters five minutes ago the IDF is pulling out of Rafah. This now confirmed on BBC and from people in Rafah. Israeli military sources said that the withdrawal of forces was merely a "redeployment". There is no way that the army's operation is complete, far from it. If this is true that they are leaving then they must have been badly stung by the criticism or have realised that they completely screwed the whole thing up. Or both. You can't claim to be shooting only gunmen say you are not demolishing houses when you have journalists from all over the world reporting it. When the U.S. abstains from a security resolution against Israel then you know its army must have done something really really bad. According to the Reuters piece Palestinians said most of the Israeli tanks had left the Tel Al Sultan neighborhoodand and others were pulling out of Al Barazil. As the tanks trundled out hundreds of residents rushed into the streets to inspect the damage but Israeli forces opened fire and leaders urged people to remain indoors [a local doctor said].

Yesterday has to be remembered as the day when some visitors (we had nearly 4000! In a day!) to this site finally found the comment button and the day that even the ostriches in Rafah became homeless. Reuters picked up on the story from yesterday and stated that the IDF denied destroying the zoo and that the animals had just 'escaped' somehow. It's impossible to confirm one way or another at the moment but the animals are definitely gone. We know all about the ostriches but have no confirmed sightings of the monkey or the pony painted with black stripes to make it look like a zebra. It would be funny if it wasn't so tragic. It's notable that the army denied destroying the zoo as they also denied destroying any houses in Al Barazil. In a Guardian article today an army spokesman denied there had been any demolition: "Since the beginning of the activity in the Brazil neighbourhood, Israeli forces did not demolish any structures." The same article features a number of interviews with residents who had their houses demolished, some while they were still in the houses hiding from the fighting.

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Sounds like Anne Frank

by Ali Mc

Fri May 21, 2004 15:30

when she was hiding out in her attic hoping the Nazis wouldn't find her.

Operation "Rainbow" is now "named" by Israel as it is being "downscaled".

by iosaf - (link to anne frank online please Ali or else you're dodgey)

Fri May 21, 2004 16:14

has Bush been brave?
has Bush been couragous?
has Bush been a peacemaker?
has Bush dictated?
has Sharon heeded?
or did something else occur?
here follow an open as always email:-

from
Mission Control.
Barcelona (a sephardic city)
to
Isreali Embassy.
Ireland.

Hi!
we were the first operation rainbow,
we've got the rights and the flags and the slogans. If you use our established mobilisation name we will sue you.
Our operation rainbow downscales every summer, it's ok. It's our social economic class. Some of us leave university and find mc Jobs, and some of us just starve coz there's no teaching work and we spend all our low wages on campaign costs through the year.
While you're explaining to us all what's really going on, which you've noticed has got our chattering socio-economic class quite uptight, you could also think about renaming your military mobilisations as they serve the future image of Israel poorly and might become confused with our own Global Image.

Shalom.
Iosaf.
*******************************

"lets not get mired in Gaza":-
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=430227&contrassID=1
"we're in bad hands"
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=430226&contrassID=1

"operation rainbow far from over"
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1085023349605

The English Guardian says Kerry is a bones.
and that Bush is a bones. Sharon isn't a bones. Nor is Arafat. Nadar isn't bones either.
The world is very scary.

Interesting Haaretz link Iosaf

by kokomero

Fri May 21, 2004 17:33

Sounds like these guys face an uphill struggle trying to sell "plucky little Israel" to all and sundry as long as they continue wholesale slaughter in Gaza.

The Israel Project works to ensure an accurate portrayal of Israel in the press in order to increase public support of Israel, reduce anti-Semitism and promote pride in Israel and the Jewish people. The Israel Project utilizes state-of-the-art strategic communications techniques, including public opinion research, message formulation, media analysis, public relations, and targeted TV ads to meet these goals.

A non-profit and non-partisan organization, The Israel Project uses cutting edge proactive communication techniques to work with key Israeli spokespeople, members of the Conference of Presidents of Major Jewish Organizations, and pro-Israel activists from across the globe. Our team also provides journalists, leaders and opinion formers with accurate information on Israel.

Yes, I agree with you

by avi H.

Sun May 23, 2004 12:31

trying to reduce anti-Semitism is a very bad objective, as is trying to counter the highly successful Palestinian information warfare strategies. Don't tell that to my boss, though, or I'll be out of a job and back to demolishing houses and just victimizing Palestinians for fun.

the words have been uttered Avi.

by Baphomet.

Sun May 23, 2004 22:02

an Isreali minister has used the term "like Nazis" in reference to the barbarism in Rafah.
I somehow think the irony will at long last stick. Till you end Sharon and the relationship with the US Extreme Right who manipulate you completely you have made so many new enemies.

bzzzz bzzzz bzzzz goes the fly
bite bite bite. So many of you statesmen and office propaganda minions underestimate us so.

http://barcelona.indymedia.org/newswire/display/92030/index.php

Lapid

Mon May 24, 2004 09:38

didn't say that: you misquoted him. He said (in Hebrew), it reminds me of photos of my mother in Europe during WWII. He then later clarified that in no way was he comparing Israel to Nazi Germany. Thing is, you see, if people insist on trying to kill you all the time and refuse to negotiate, you have no option but to set the dogs on them. Whatever damage they then suffer while you are using reasonable force to defend yourself is entirely their fault (or their government's).

At last Avi sees the Palestinian side of the argument

Mon May 24, 2004 09:50

if people (Israelis) insist on trying to kill you all the time and refuse to negotiate, you (the Palestinians) have no option but to set the dogs on them.

No doubt Lapid was pressured into a retraction of his statement, but the cat is out of the bag. No doubt there are many more reasonable Israelis who sympathise with him also.

How is it that the most virulent Zionists seem to always come from Brooklyn or other Middle Eastern countries such as yourself Avi?

Probably because you have never experienced the horrors of total war first hand (as opposed to your own glorified border skirmishes to date, irrespective of how you choose to exaggerate them).

There is no basis

Mon May 24, 2004 10:33

for the assertion that Israel refuses to negotiate, whereas there is plenty of evidence that the Palestinians refuse to negotiate. Incidentally, I don't care for your racist comment regarding the origins of certain people. You have no idea where I come from: For all you know, I might come from Tel Aviv, New York, London, Buenos Aires, Cairo, Bagdad or Dunmanway.

There's nothing

Mon May 24, 2004 11:57

racist about pointing out that those with no experience of war are the most gung-ho for it. This is true the world over not just of Zionists.

As for your own ethnicity I believe you disclosed it in a previous rant on this forum (n'est pas IMC?).

Its pretty sick that you also earn a living in this way but hardly surprising in that previously having killed Palestinians for a living (your euphamism was targeted if I remember correctly) that you should have graduated up the shit-pile a little and now make excuses professionally for the crimes of others.

If you are the class of person Israel uses to fight it's infowar then it's hardly surprising that you're loosing it.

Perhaps it's time you helped the fatherland by doing the decent thing by changing job seeing as you and your colleagues are failing so miserably in your task?

Lapidation

Mon May 24, 2004 19:05

Israel wrestles with Nazi insults
Comparing Palestinians to Nazi victims got a minister in trouble
Israeli Justice Minister Yosef "Tommy" Lapid stunned Cabinet colleagues on Sunday by saying a picture of an elderly Palestinian woman searching through rubble reminded him of his grandmother.

Mr Lapid is a Holocaust survivor.

His grandmother was not. She died in Auschwitz.

In an interview with Israel Defence Forces radio, Mr Lapid said he was "talking about an old woman crouching on all fours, searching for her medicines in the ruins of her house... she made me think of my grandmother".

Prime Minister Ariel Sharon reprimanded Mr Lapid for comparing a Palestinian to a victim of the Nazis, calling the remarks "unacceptable and intolerable".

Mr Lapid later denied that his comment about his grandmother was intended to compare Israel to Nazi Germany.

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When they began demolishing the houses there was no way to warn the bulldozer driver we were there.

Comments (10 of 10)