20 missiles found in UN-run school in Gaza

[WatermelonRat]

Source: Times of Israel

Some 20 rockets were found Wednesday in a school in Gaza operated by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, the organization confirmed Thursday.

The weapons were found in “the course of the regular inspection of its premises,” UNRWA said in a statement, adding that the school was vacant.

“UNRWA strongly condemns the group or groups responsible for placing the weapons in one of its installations. This is a flagrant violation of the inviolability of its premises under international law,” the statement read.

The discovery would seem to confirm Israel’s oft-repeated claim that Hamas and other Gazan terror groups use civilian infrastructure to hide weapons.

Read more: http://www.timesofisrael.com/20-missiles-found-in-un-run-school-in-gaza/

[Fred Sanders]

1. So the UN is also a human shield, will Israel try out how effective the people there are as shields?

More "breaking news" news propaganda, the administrators should take notice.

Missiles in the headline, rockets in the first line of the story, propaganda can be subtle.

[WatermelonRat]

3. I think UN premises being used to store weapons is a rather important piece of news

[Igel]

17. The point is straightforward.

Places like schools and hospitals and houses of worship are off limits as military targets. (Such things get hit as collateral damage--nobody's perfect, nor expected to be perfect by reasonable, imperfect people.)

However, as soon as they're used for a military purpose they become licit military targets, the appropriateness of hitting them depending on the value of the military goal and the nature of the civilian building (and any civilians).

However, whoever put the munitions in the school assumed all responsibility for making the school a military target. Bomb and destroy the school and the IDF is no more responsible for destroying the school than it would be for destroying an empty cow shed. They destroyed weapons; but the people who put the munitions there are responsible for the fact that it was a school that was destroyed.

Human shields work the same way. If you hold human shields and you're a sufficiently valuable target or need to be disposed of for a sufficiently important goal, then you're responsible for those civilians deaths. If it's something you're trained to do or under orders to do, then responsibility for those deaths falls not on the person pulling the trigger or dropping the bomb but on the person holding the hostages. If the human shields are there in order to be human shields and protect fighters, then they've reduced themselves to the status of drywall or shrubbery. Legally. Those actually pulling the trigger or dropping the bomb may not think so and may pay a high price psychologically and emotionally for what they do. Uninvolved self-righteous bystanders who have no skin in the game may not think so, esp. if they'd rather see one side win.

Even agitprop is sometimes true.

[azurnoir]

32. so now schools in Gaza are legitimate targets right? n/t

[ManiacJoe]

43. Not all of them, just the ones being used as weapon depots.

But you knew that already....

[azurnoir]

45. well how does one ascertain that until after the fact? n/t

[ManiacJoe]

47. The most common methods are

to either see the weapons being brought into the building (by helicopters, drones, or man on the street) or to see the weapons already in the building (by man on the street).

[azurnoir]

48. well someone certainly missed these all around and it was UNRWA who found them

doing a building inspection on a vacated building

[ManiacJoe]

49. That would certainly give one reason

for the vacant school building not being bombed.

[azurnoir]

50. well once in 2007 IJ used a car marked TV in a terror attack now when Israel takes out journalists

that's the go to, ditto ambulances, not to mention Hamas being near at the time is used to justify any attack that kills civilians such as the 4 kids on the beach in Gaza, no proof just say so

[ManiacJoe]

51. No proof of what? Are you still on topic?

We were talking about how hidden weapon caches get found before they are destroyed by bombs/missiles.

[azurnoir]

52. I said "no proof" to claims made of Hamas proximity as justification for not just the 4 kids

but almost any bombing where uninvolved civilians are killed it was part of a larger set of examples it is that there is a history, sorry if you didn't understand

[ManiacJoe]

53. Yup. Lots of those "no proof" actions happen.

You lost me when you abruptly changed the topic.

[HERVEPA]

27. Damn. You really are a one-trick pony, aren't you.

[Judi Lynn]

65. The headline alone has a strange odor. Jeez. n/t

[delphi72]

2. Planted by the IDF, Obviously n/t

[iandhr]

4. Are you serious?

[sgtbenobo]

5. I call Bullshit!

Remember the USS Liberty. Israel has a credibility problem.

[geek tragedy]

6. That is insane. That territory is controlled by Hamas, not Israel. nt

[WatermelonRat]

10. Does UNRWA have credibility problems? Because they admitted it.

[closeupready]

14. According to ... the Times of Israel?

[WatermelonRat]

35. According to their own press release

http://www.unrwa.org/newsroom/press-releases/unrwa-strongly-condemns-placement-rockets-school

[Violet_Crumble]

61. That doesn't say that they have credibility problems at all.

btw, when it comes to credibility problems, those who point to Hamas doing the wrong thing as a justification for Israel attacking civilians are the ones with massive credibility problems.

[Adrahil]

63. It's a very tangled knot. How to untangle it?

Hamas, like many terrorist/guerrilla organizations tends to mix with civilian populations deliberately. Not only does it make them harder to detect, but if there is a strike, civilian casualties are a propaganda victory.... never mind that they often/usually strike soft civilian soft targets themselves!

I have a lot of problems with Israel and its occupation of Palestinian territory, and it's ill treatment of the Palestinian people. But let's not forget the kind of people we are dealing with. People who routinely aim and launch ballistic rockets into Israel with the HOPE of causing civilian casualties, not as an accidental occurrence, but the GOAL.

[King_David]

39. The USS Liberty is a favorite meme

On some very extremist right wing websites.

[freshwest]

57. That it is. Celebrated annually on air as a marathon...

[Adrahil]

62. I admit I don't trust the gov of Israel.

I resent the billions we send there every year in the name of protecting them, meanwhile they have universal health care. WTF?

Make no mistake.... Israel has only as much regard fro us as it serves their own interests. Nothing wrong with that, really, but never forget it.

[Codeine]

44. Man, the dog whistles are being blown

all over DU right now. The USS Liberty has been invoked a dozen or more times that I've seen, people are linking to anti-Semitic websites and juries are letting it slide, and all manner of thinly-veiled bigotry is seeping into the conversation.

DU is developing a bit of a problem, IMO.

[bossy22]

54. DU has always had an antisemitism problem

like pretty much the rest of the western world.

[Psephos]

59. the camel sticks its nose under the tent flap

without resistance, you end up with the camel in the tent

good call

[Archae]

7. The "Palestinians can do no wrong" people will be along shortly...

They'll say "Well, Israel puts white phosphorus bombs in food containers! Neener neener neener!"

[King_David]

40. I already saw an USS Liberty post. nt

[Archae]

42. I noticed that.

How long ago was that?
(Looks it up)
Ah...1967.

The fact is, Hamas and other radicals in Gaza are hiding their rockets in schools, hospitals, etc, and launching them from those same schools, hospitals and playgrounds.

[geek tragedy]

8. Scumbags playing chicken with children's lives. nt

[azurnoir]

24. yes 'they' Hamas/IJ/ Palestinians (?) I'm not sure who you mean however the group that put

weapons in a school even one is vacant are scum, in part because now Israel has carte blanche to shell/bomb schools in Gaza referring back to this one as the go to example and now that the ground invasion has begun.........

[Rhinodawg]

55. + 1000

Children are just pawns to them... They call them martyrs to make it sound good.

What the hell don't the people of gaza rise up and throw these murderers out?
Do the people of gaza support them ?

[geek tragedy]

56. and replace them with what, the IDF? Islamic Jihad?

Abbas is about as good as the Palestinians are going to get, and he can't help the people of Gaza.

[yurbud]

9. true or not, it doesn't change the big picture: one side has most of the weapons, does most of the

killings, and has taken most of the land from the other.

When was the last time Palestinians seized Israelis homes and land, expelled them, moved in, and held the area permanently?

The last time I can remember Israel leaving Palestinian territory was the unilateral withdrawal from Gaza Sharon did.

[yeoman6987]

12. I hope Israel continues to be protected

I feel so bad for the Israelis. So many countries are wanting them destroyed. I hope our Humanitarian aid gets to them in time to be useful.

[azurnoir]

21. Do you consider weapons to be humanitarian aid?

because that is what the US gives Israel 3+billion dollars a year for weapons/ military aid

[yeoman6987]

28. I just hope it is enough money to protect them

They need protection big time with the many countries that want this small country destroyed.

[azurnoir]

31. Like Egypt and Jordan and Saudi Arabia? n/t

[yeoman6987]

33. And many other countries

My stomach has been upset over the situation with the three teens murdered and then I just found out today another Israeli was killed. So much senseless killing in Israel. For what? So sad. I fear for them. I am just so glad that the United States is stepping up to the plate and graciously helping them out. England and Israel are our closest allies for years.

[azurnoir]

34. Israel signed peace treaties with both Egypt and Jordan long ago as for Saudi's

Israel and Saudi Arabia: Unlikely Allies

Media outlets have been speculating about the emerging alliance between Israel and Saudi Arabia. The International Business Times (December 2, 2013), quoted London’s Sunday Times as saying that “Israel and Saudi Arabia were working together to bring down Iran’s nuclear activities.” Clearly, having a mutual interest in stopping the threat of a hegemonic and nuclear Iran has made the two unlikely allies.

http://www.frontpagemag.com/2013/joseph-puder/israel-and-saudi-arabia-unlikely-allies/

also Israel is I believe the 4th largest producer of weapons in the world and the only nuclear armmed country in the region

[Igel]

18. But it does change the little picture.

And that's what's at issue here, the little picture.

I should point out, though, that lots of little pictures can add up nicely to a big picture.

[tjl148]

22. Big picture?

Maybe the big picture is Hamas tries to kill innocent civilians? Even during a cease fire. I can understand defending Palestinians, but how on earth could anyone defend Hamas and what they do?

[Orrex]

11. Well, that's fucked up.

I wonder how they got there and how long they've been there.

Idiots.

[closeupready]

13. Is there an impartial source for this "news" item?

??

[Behind the Aegis]

15. Will their actual website be suffcient enough for you?

UNRWA Strongly Condemns Placement of Rockets in School

Agency Demands Full Respect for the Sanctity of Its Premises in Gaza

East Jerusalem

Yesterday, in the course of the regular inspection of its premises, UNRWA discovered approximately 20 rockets hidden in a vacant school in the Gaza Strip. UNRWA strongly condemns the group or groups responsible for placing the weapons in one of its installations. This is a flagrant violation of the inviolability of its premises under international law. This incident, which is the first of its kind in Gaza, endangered civilians including staff and put at risk UNRWA’s vital mission to assist and protect Palestine refugees in Gaza.

Immediately after discovery, the Agency informed the relevant parties and successfully took all necessary measures for the removal of the objects in order to preserve the safety and security of the school. UNRWA has launched a comprehensive investigation into the circumstances surrounding this incident.

UNRWA has strong, established procedures to maintain the neutrality of all its premises, including a strict no-weapons policy and routine inspections of its installations, to ensure they are only used for humanitarian purposes. UNRWA will uphold and further reinforce its procedures.

Palestinian civilians in Gaza rely on UNRWA to provide humanitarian assistance and shelter. At all times, and especially during escalations of violence, the sanctity and integrity of UN installations must be respected.

http://www.unrwa.org/newsroom/press-releases/unrwa-strongly-condemns-placement-rockets-school

[iandhr]

16. Goes to what Golda Meir said

"peace will come when the Arabs love their children more then they hate us"

People will be here to defend this quite soon. This has become Hamas Underground the last few days.

Here comes an alert in 5,4,3,2

[Fred Friendlier]

19. Golda Meir the War Criminal?

The one responsible for the massacre of all those innocent people?

You worship some real moral paragons there, fellah.

[tjl148]

25. Really?

You can't be serious. Quoting someone means you are worshiping them?

[EX500rider]

64. I just read her entire Wiki page...missed the whole "war criminal" part..maybe u could point it out?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golda_Meir#Legacy

I did see this however:

"Meir was elected Prime Minister of Israel on March 17, 1969, after serving as Minister of Labour and Foreign Minister. Israel's first and the world's third woman to hold such an office."

"In 1975, Meir was awarded the Israel Prize for her special contribution to society and the State of Israel. In 1974, Meir was awarded the honor of World Mother by American Mothers. In 1974 Meir was awarded the James Madison Award for Distinguished Public Service by Princeton University's American Whig–Cliosophic Society."

[GeorgeGist]

38. Sounds like Golda was advocating the killing of Arab children ...

as a means of subduing Palestinians.

[MrBig]

41. Wow

That's a very perverted reading of the quote

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

20. "...UNRWA said in a statement, adding that the school was vacant..."

It seems that some posters failed to notice that last word.

[Behind the Aegis]

23. So? It is still illegal.

[enid602]

26. joke

News flash: Israel caught hiding behind high tech 'Iron Dome,' and bombing the hell out of Gaza while shielding its 'first class' citizens. We paid 650 million this year, and 1.2 billion next. I guess the joke's on us.

[MrBig]

30. I don't get your post

You sound like you're saying Israel is evil for using a defense system to protect its citizens from hundreds of rockets raining down on them. If they didn't have the Iron Dome, death counts would be significantly higher.

[earthside]

29. "the school was vacant"

You know, it is not like Gaza is a sovereign nation -- it doesn't have an army, a navy, an air force -- it doesn't have a 'military' in any conventional sense of the term.

Yet, the Israelis and their apologists like to make this equivalence between the Palestinian's rather pathetic resistance to Israel like they were some kind of comparable power.

An oppressed people fighting for dignity, self-respect, and freedom are going to use whatever resources are available to them ... including the use of empty buildings.

[MFM008]

36. Alex Wagner reported

the building was empty. She had to SCHOOL Andrea Mitchell on this bit of information as well.

[Codeine]

46. That wouldn't have been the focus

if Israeli warplanes had hit the school, would it have? There would be righteous indignation. But because our friendly neighborhood Hamas operatives did it it's all good.

[Roy Serohz]

58. Vacant? No civilians in it? Then why not strike it?

I have many problems with Netanyahu, but taking out an arms cache without harming innocent people isn't one of them.

[christx30]

60. This whole thing has reminded me

of the movie Speed (1994). Hamas hiding their weapons among civilians hoping to stave off counter attacks from the Israelis.


Harry: "Alright, pop quiz: The airport. Gunman with one hostage, he's using her for cover, he's almost to the plane. You're a hundred feet away. (Long pause) Jack?"
Jack: "Shoot the hostage.""
Harry: "What?"
Jack: "Take her out of the equation. Go for the good wound and he can't get to the plane with her. Clear shot"
Harry: "You are deeply nuts, you know that? 'Shoot the hostage'... jeez..."

Israel is ignoring the hostage and obliterating the gunman. Maybe it's time Hamas changes it's strategy, because it's not working.