(Israel) Left-wing rally: Negotiate with Hamas, Hizbullah

[sabra]

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3276906,00.html

Left-wing rally: Negotiate with Hamas, Hizbullah

Some 1,000 people take part in march held in protest of Israeli operations in Lebanon, Gaza. Demonstrators call on government to cease military actions, negotiate for release of hostages
Moran Rada

Some 1,000 protestors joined Sunday evening in a rally in Tel Aviv to protest the IDF strikes in Southern Lebanon. Police have arrested three of the protesters claiming they were holding a demonstration without a permit.

The protesters, who marched from Hen Boulevards toward King George Street, chanted slogans such as "Olmert agreed with Bush: War and occupation." "Stop the war monstrosity," and "Say no to the brutal bombardments on Gaza." They also accused Defense Minister Amir Peretz of murdering children in Gaza, and recited: "Peretz, don't worry, we'll be seeing you at The Hague."

"They keep telling us that there is a consensus in support of the war, and that's not true. They keep telling the citizens that this is the only way, and I think that there is another way," said Abeer Kopty of Mossawa, The Advocacy Center for Arab Citizens in Israel.

[greccogirl]

1. You can't

negotiate with these people. Israel withdrew from Gaza and south Lebanon and look what it has gotten them.......................

[madrchsod]

3. ?

ahhh,that`s what was said about Egypt and Israel...oh no, they never ever could come to terms. let`s see how about the usa and japan, of course germany,or those commie russians. china? out of the question! oh i forgot veit nam...no can`t talk to anyone, can`t negotiate,can`t come to terms.

[xxqqqzme]

5. Yea - that indiscriminate bombing of whatever israel identifies

as a 'threat'; some 'terrorist's headquaters/house/office has worked so well so far.

That 'insanity' policy is a real winner. :sarcasm:

[KingFlorez]

6. And I'm sure the bombings will change everything

[winter999]

18. Like suicide bombing?

[KingFlorez]

26. Uh, no

I'm talking about Israel bombing Lebanon

[saigon68]

7. guess its just better to KILL THEM ALL and let god sort them out

[ShockediSay]

8. Israel got months of truce during whichthe IDF conducted raids,

arrests, assassinations, murder on the beach and other actions from the Right Wing that were obviously intended to provoke the Palestinians.

And we support all this in the name of what?

[w4rma]

13. Logically there are two choices.

Kill everybody, and their families, and anybody who has a problem with the killing.

Or negotiate.

Which one is ethical? Which one is more economical? Which one would Satan choose? Which would Jesus choose?

[winter999]

20. Considering Hamas and Hezbollah don't negotiate.

And when you consider that this is Muslims vs. Jews, I don't think Jesus figures into the equation.

[Igel]

15. Rather than simply diss you, I'll suggest a change to what

you said.

"You can't negotiate with these people unless they're ready to negotiate, or unless you're ready to accept their demands."

Israel could easily negotiate with Hezbollah and Hamas. But they reject the minimum demands by those organizations.

[furman]

16. Minimun demands: The destruction of Israel

Hamas and Hezbollah do not even recognize Israel as a sovereign country.
How can you have serious negotiations with them?

Lebanon is not even a border in dispute, and Hezbollah still crossed into Israel to capture the Israeli soldiers.

[The Stranger]

19. TELL THAT TO ISRAEL -- THEY HAVE NO PROBLEM WITH IT.

Israel, Hezbollah swap prisoners

(CNN) --Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah conducted a historic prisoner swap Thursday after years of tense, secret negotiations brokered by Germany.

Two planes left Cologne, Germany, after the exchange -- one touching down in Beirut, Lebanon, to an enthusiastic greeting and the other landing in Tel Aviv, Israel, amid great national sorrow and anger.

Israel Defense Forces said more than two dozen Lebanese and Arab prisoners -- including two senior Hezbollah officials, Mustafa Dirani and Sheikh Abdel Karim Obeid -- flew to Beirut after the exchange occurred at an air base in Cologne. Stephan Smyrek, a German who worked with Hezbollah, also was freed.

http://edition.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/meast/01/29/prisoner.exchange/

Israel, Hezbollah move on possible POW exchanges

AFP AND NY TIMES NEWS SERVICE , JERUSALEM
Thursday, Sep 25, 2003,Page 7

Advertising Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said on Wednesday any prisoner exchange with the Lebanese Hezbollah militia would need Cabinet approval and ruled out West Bank Fatah leader Marwan Barghuti's release.
"I intend to put approval of the prisoner exchange deal, if we reach an agreement, before the entire Cabinet plenum for it to decide," Sharon said in an interview, which were published Wednesday.

"This is a complex problem of the first order, an issue that is not simple, and a very difficult decision on a moral level. Therefore, in my opinion it should be brought before the entire Cabinet ... Let there not be one minister who is not part of the discussion," Sharon told Maariv newspaper.

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/world/archives/2003/09/25/2003069190

Israel and Hezbollah set date for swap

By Mariam Karouny, Corinne Heller
Jerusalem
January 27, 2004

Two of the most bitter enemies in the Middle East, Israel and Hezbollah, will carry out the first stage of a German-mediated prisoner swap later this week, according to the leader of the Lebanese guerilla group.

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, defending the exchange against claims that it would strengthen Hezbollah and Palestinian militants, called the agreement a "correct, moral and responsible decision".

http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/01/26/1075087956180.html

Israel OKs prisoner swap with Hezbollah

Israel's Cabinet narrowly approved a prisoner swap with Hezbollah after eight hours of anguished debate Sunday, overriding warnings that the deal could signal weakness and encourage more kidnappings of Israelis.

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon lobbied hard for the swap, which excludes Israel's most famous missing serviceman, Air Force navigator Ron Arad, shot down over Lebanon 17 years ago. The vote was one of Sharon's toughest leadership tests in three years.

http://english.people.com.cn/200311/10/eng20031110_127971.shtml

[Tom Joad]

22. We should support negotiations over mass murder and destruction

of civilian infrastructure.

[Tesha]

24. In the long run, there is only one other alternative.

> You can't negotiate with these people.

What other choice do you/we/they have? Short of coming
to some sort of negotiated peace, in the long run, there
is only one other alternative:

One or both of the combatants must be totally annihilated.
And given the fact that nuclear weapons *WILL* be involved,
the odds are fairly high that both combatants will kill
each other.

Realistically, a negotiated settlement is the only rational
end to this; the only other end is death.

Tesha

[BillZBubb]

27. Bullshit!!!

Israel had no business in Gaza and Lebanon. It cruelly occupied them for years and mistreated the inhabitants. Then they pull out for their own reasons and expect those they brutalized to be thankful and play nice????

Get a clue. Israel has used heavy handed tactics for decades and what has it gotten them??????????

[Spazito]

2. There was another thread about Israelis speaking out against

what their government was doing, I wish I had bookmarked it so I could add it to this thread. It seems Israelis are not unlike Americans, held hostage by their government's actions.

[DavidDvorkin]

4. The Israeli left has been fragmented and dispirited for a long time

Every time there's a crisis, I hope that that will provide an impetus for revitalizing the Israeli left. Perhaps this one will do it.

But I hoped the same thing about the American left during the protests against the invasion of Iraq before that happened, and that all faded away.

[ShockediSay]

9. "American left protests against Iraq ... faded away." Look again!

The left got drowned out by MSM, sold out by war lobbyists and sabotaged by NeoCons like Cheney and the PNAC.

[killbotfactory]

11. Same with palestinians

"held hostage by their government's actions"

[Spazito]

21. Sadly, the governments in the Middle East, on all sides, seem to

less represent the majority of their populations once elected/selected and answer only to the hardliners and this is on ALL sides, imo.

[maddezmom]

14. was it this one from GD?

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=364&topic_id=1649346

[Spazito]

17. That was one of them, thanks maddezmom, for posting the link

there was another that was posted on Friday or Saturday, I think, with an article about the peace movement in Israel and their condemnation of their government's actions.

Edited to add correct punctuation.

[killbotfactory]

10. Must be anti-semite fundamentalist Islam lovers...

:sarcasm:

[Andromeda]

12. Must be.

[jonnyblitz]

25. no, they are self loathing jews like noam chomsky

:sarcasm:

[Tom Joad]

23. IN San Francisco, too. Jewish-led protest

Join us for a rally…
MONDAY JULY 17, 2006, AT NOON
ISRAELI CONSULATE, 456 MONTGOMERY STREET, SAN FRANCISCO

A CALL BY BAY AREA JEWS: Break the Siege on GAZA and LEBANON
BEFORE OUR EYES, the people of Gaza and Lebanon are being brutally and collectively punished by Israel. Israel is using a single captured Israeli soldier as a pawn to employ its enormous military might and terrorize an entire people.

The humanitarian situation in Gaza, already dire from 39 years of occupation, and a recent Israeli blockade of basic supplies, is now desperate .Israel’s bombing of power stations and bridges and cutting off fuel supplies in Gaza deprives people of electricity, refrigeration, pumped drinking water, and sewage disposal. The relentless deadly attacks by the Israeli military are compounded by the threat of epidemics and starvation.

Presenting this as an isolated hostage-taking incident ignores Israel's regular abduction of Palestinians from their homes. Israel holds over 9,000 Palestinians in prison, including almost 400 children. Thousands of these prisoners are held in "administrative detention" without charges or trial. They too need to be returned to their families.

With the recent arrest of 64 members of the Palestinian Parliament and many members of the Palestinian cabinet, Israel is also using this opportunity to wage an assault on Palestinian democracy. All of this is being done with diplomatic support and $3 billion in tax-funded annual aid to Israel from the U.S. government.

Since then, more than 90 civilians in Gaza and over 60 in Lebanon have been killed in Israel’s escalation of the situation through the continued siege on Gaza and the wide scale bombing of civilian targets in Lebanon that threatens to spark a regional war thus endangering the safety and lives of all people living in the region.

As Jews, we cannot and will not remain observers of crimes committed in our name. We call on other Jews and all people who believe in justice and peace to take a principled stand against this brutality.


MAKE YOUR VOICES HEARD! JOIN WITH US TO PROTEST THE SIEGE OF GAZA--

Organized by: Break the Silence, Jewish Voice for Peace, Jews for a Free Palestine
http://jewishvoiceforpeace.org/