JTA: The Global News Service of the Jewish People

10/15/09 12:32 AM

This is a very significant development in Turkey and something which Israel should heed.  Israel should consider this just another sign of the growing impatience of “friends.” Turkey has been a loyal friend of Israel for many, many years; however, the Turkish government has come to realize their friendship with Israel is a domestic political liability.  Don’t discount this as simply an outward sign of Islamist influence in Turkey—the secular nationalist right is similarly critical of Israel’s actions in the occupied territories (the wall, excesses in Gaza, continued settlement building, travel restrictions - general apartheid-style oppression).  I pray for peace in Palestine and Israel and I wish the citizens of these lands (and the citizens of the world) weren’t held hostage to the Israeli Government’s decade’s long intransigence.

10/15/09 09:38 AM

From B’Tselem, the Israeli center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories: 

“Data summary

From the beginning of the intifada on 29 September 2000, until 31 December 2007, 4,332 Palestinians were killed in the Occupied Territories. Among them were 865 minors (under the age of 18). At least 2,050 of those killed were not participating in the fighting at the time of death, and 225 were objects of targeted killing. Thousands more were wounded.

During 2007, Israeli security forces killed 377 Palestinians, 53 of them minors. 84 were from the West Bank and 293 from the Gaza Strip. In comparison, in 2006, the total number of Palestinians killed by Israeli security forces was 657: 523 from the Gaza Strip and 134 from the West Bank, among them 140 minors. Of those killed in 2007, at least 132 (about 35 percent) were civilians who were not taking part in the hostilities at the time they were killed. B’Tselem has been unable to determine the cause of death of 50 persons (about 13 percent). In 2006, 348 Palestinians were killed when not taking a direct part in the hostilities at the time of death, representing 54 percent of Palestinians killed that year by Israeli security forces. In arrest operations carried out in 2007 in the West Bank, Israeli forces killed 50 Palestinians (some 60 percent of all Palestinians killed in the West Bank). Among those killed, 19 were not the target of the operation. In 2006, 97 Palestinians were killed in arrest operations, constituting 72 percent of the total number of Palestinians killed in the West Bank. n 2007, security forces killed 55 Palestinians in the “death zone,” the area near the Gaza perimeter fence, while they were trying to cross the fence or while they were situated in the zone. In some cases, persons were killed more than 100 meters from the fence. Of tho se killed in the “death zone”, at least 16 were unarmed and not engaged in the hostilities at the time they were killed, including four minors. In 2006, these figures stood at 43 dead (18 of them were not taking part in the hostilities at the time they were killed).” http://www.btselem.org/english/Firearms/

10/15/09 09:46 AM

More from B’Tselem:

“Open-fire Regulations and Rules of International Humanitarian Law

[. . . . ] Despite the existence of the Open-Fire Regulations, over the years there have been cases in which IDF soldiers killed and wounded innocent Palestinians. One main reason for this was the routine use of lethal gunfire in situations that were non-life-threatening either to soldiers or to civilians. Another reason was Israel’s failure to acquire non-lethal means to disperse violent demonstrations, thus reducing the number of Palestinian casualties. [ . . . . ] Since the beginning of the al-Aqsa intifada, Israel has continuously violated the laws of warfare, primarily during its massive incursions into Palestinian cities. These violations include, inter alia, indiscriminate firing that has caused injury to bystanders, use of ammunition and means of warfare that are incapable of sufficiently distinguishing between persons taking part in the hostilities and those who are not, and extensive destruction of houses and other property in violation of the principle of proportionality. [ . . . . ] A very small percentage of cases in which Palestinians were killed has been investigated. Furthermore, indictments have been filed in a minority of the cases in which a Military Police investigation was conducted. This new policy sends a message to soldiers that Palestinian lives are cheap; it creates an atmosphere of immunity from prosecution.” http://www.btselem.org/english/Firearms/

10/15/09 04:26 PM

Excerpt from essay by Stephen Walt in Foreign Policy, Oct 14th, 2009

“The Price of Occupation

If you ever questioned whether Israel’s occupation of the West Bank and Gaza was bad for the United States and for Israel too, you ought to ponder Turkey’s decision to suspend a multinational air-force exercise last weekend. Why? Because it’s a prime example of how pursuing the goal of “greater Israel”—which means retaining control of the West Bank and Gaza and preventing a true two-state solution—is undermining U.S. and Israeli interests. [ . . . . ] Israel’s defenders often claim that it is a major strategic asset for the United States, but Israel’s pariah status within the region reduces its strategic value significantly. It explains why Israel could not participate in the 1991 or 2003 wars with Iraq, and why it is difficult for Arab governments who share Israel’s concerns about Iran to openly collaborate with Israel or United States to address that issue. And make no mistake: The occupation is now the main barrier to Israel’s full acceptance within the region, as the 2007 Arab League peace plan makes clear. If the Israeli-Palestinian conflict were resolved and Israel had normal relations with the Arab world, then the United States would not pay a diplomatic price for backing Israel so strongly and Israel could join forces with us (and with other regional powers) when common challenges arose. Ending the occupation would also safeguard Israel’s relations with countries like Turkey, instead of undermining them. In addition to its obvious human costs, in short, the occupation is a strategic liability for Israel and the United States.” http://walt.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2009/10/14/the_price_of_occupation

10/15/09 04:42 PM

RE: “Michael Levin”, Jew imposter, Pali “copy and paste” compensated marionette (today it’s the lying Jew-hater Stephen Walt and the traitorous, cowardly JINO vermin, B’Tselem). It must be a plague for you to live with the Palis and their camels and the vomitous stench (coming from the Palis, of course)!

10/15/09 04:43 PM

JD,
Just another Pali puke trolling the Web in search of Jewish sites to contaminate.

10/15/09 05:14 PM

Name-calling aside, when I watched the 10 minute film clip, I noticed:
1. The Palestinians are shooting at the soldiers while other Palestinians are darting in front of them.  So the soldiers can only fire back through the stone throwers in order to hit the gunmen. This is an unintended or subconscious indictment of Hamas, which hides behind civilians.  Undoubtedly, any Palestinian who gets hit from behind by his own people will be listed as a casualty of Israeli brutality.
2. After the boy is shot and the battle moves on, the boy’s mother comes outside to cry over his body and curse the soldiers.  This of course raises questions such as, why didn’t she keep her young boy inside the house while there is a gun battle on her block?  Why did she not try to drag him inside even during the battle?  When you teach your kids to hate and teach them martyrdom, you should not be surprised when one of them gets killed.  Let’s also remember that these parents voted a terrorist organization into power in Gaza.  Real productive.
3. The film clip shows the mother crying over her son.  I’m waiting for the reaction shot of the mother of the soldier who got shot during the same battle.

10/15/09 05:46 PM

GK,
Why are you so sensitive about name-calling? If the name being called is 100% accurate, then it’s simply a factual observation. The rest of your comments here are spot on, as is usually the case. Please don’t get caught up in the “sticks and stones” issue. The swine who post on this site don’t deserve any better!

10/15/09 08:58 PM

Blackie,
It’s because our arguments don’t gain power through name-calling; they lose power.  It’s somewhat analogous to a stand-up comedian who gets laughs with swearing and vulgarity, versus a comedian who gets laughs without any of that.  The latter might be more challenging, but, in the long run, you might appreciate the clean comedian’s creativity more.

10/18/09 03:40 AM

GK,
In the long run, many might appreciate the other.
Think of comedians (living or dead) who work(ed) “dirty”. Are you going to tell me that you didn’t appreciate any of them? Of course you did, or you’re so thin-skinned that you’re offended by comedic profanity used to get laughs as opposed to used simply for obscenity.
At the risk of beating a dead horse, labelling an anti-Semite with an insulting name shows the courage to stand up to the putrid enemy (putrid here is thoroughly appropriate since nothing is too insulting when used against someone who hates Jews merely because they’re Jews). It’s about time that the Jewish People stood up and spit back in the faces of those who spit in our faces every day. Only courage, strength and confrontation will give credence to the words, “Never Again!”