Hamas Fires Rockets Into Israel, Ending 16-Month Truce

[im10ashus]

JERUSALEM, June 10 — Hamas fired at least 15 Qassam rockets from Gaza into Israel on Saturday, ending a tattered 16-month truce with Israel, a day after seven Palestinians were killed on a Gaza beach, apparently by an errant Israeli shell.

Later on Saturday, in Ramallah, the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, announced, as expected, that he had set a date of July 26 for an unprecedented Palestinian referendum on the principles of a unified political platform agreed upon by Palestinian prisoners, which calls for a Palestinian state in pre-1967 boundaries alongside Israel.

In the northern Gaza town of Beit Lahiya, thousands of Palestinians mourned the death of most of the Ghaliya family and wept as Huda Ghaliya, 7, kneeled to kiss her dead father before he, her mother and four siblings were buried. All were killed when the Israeli shell struck the beach where they were having a picnic. Huda had been playing nearby on the beach at the time. On Saturday, she asked mourners, "Please do not leave me alone."

The Palestinian prime minister, Ismail Haniya of Hamas, who called the incident "a war crime," said he would adopt the girl. Later, Mr. Abbas, who called the incident "a dangerous, horrible, ugly crime against civilians," issued a presidential order adopting her.

cont'd...

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/11/world/middleeast/11mideast.html?hp&ex=1149998400&en=b14d573727e323cd&ei=5094&partner=homepage

[acmavm]

1. I wonder, would I be being too suspicious and jaded if I thought that

this is exactly what the IDF wanted to happen?

[Waya]

6. Tought the same thing.....

..... Israel kills 7 on a beach and says 'oooppppsss'...Hamas calls off a 16 month truce.
Clearly you see that Israel is the victim here. They make one little mistake and Hamas scraps the whole Peace Process.

Definately an act of agression on the side of Hamas.

:sarcasm:

[benddem]

2. shouldn't the header be

"Israel murders 7 innocent Palestinians, Hamas retaliates"?

[lonestarnot]

3. retaliated and fired on some of their own fucking people. Can we just

stop with the war shit everywhere. Palestine, Israel, Iraq, Afganistan... just too much death warmed over.

[otherlander]

13. Stop with the war shit...I'll drink to that.

:beer:

[im10ashus]

4. That's what I thought too.

That was the NY Times headline. :shrug:

[Jim Warren]

5. Only in a reality based universe nt

[BlooInBloo]

7. Um, WHO broke the truce?

They fire rockets A DAY AFTER 7 Palestinians are killed, and *Hamas* broke the truce?

I don't have strong feelings either for the Palestinian or the Israeli side - seems to me they both have their share of both fair claims and atrocities.

But this seems like pure anti-Palestinian spin to me. Am I missing something?

[sandnsea]

9. Not that I can see

I asked that question yesterday, why Israel was shelling public beaches. I got no response. I'm not sure that shelling is the way to handle this, just like we wouldn't shell a gang or crack house here, nobody should be shelling neighborhoods in the ME. But it does seem like a response to violence, not an initiation of violence.

On edit.

Israel was responding to Palestinian attacks. Israel did not beak any truce. Palestinians did, before either incident being reported.

[im10ashus]

10. Who did you ask yesterday?

I sent an e-mail to the NY Times asking why it is that "Hamas Fires Rockets Into Israel, Ending 16-Month Truce" in what is clearly a retaliation. I'd say the truce was broken yesterday. But what do I know?

[sandnsea]

11. Which was a response to other attacks

I asked in a different thread about why Israel was shelling a beach. Nobody answered. Because obviously Israel wasn't shelling a beach for the heck of it. They were targeting an area that had been firing rockets at Israel. But around here, that side of the story never gets told.

I don't approve of anybody firing rockets as a means of fighting internal conflicts, by the way. They're both wrong.

[im10ashus]

12. And I agree.

Violence only breeds more violence.

[nedbal]

14. Israel was responding to Palestinian attacks. ?

So on your edit you recalled what attacks Israel was responding to? I never keep up with the I/P saga, but like others here it seems the headlines "hamas breaks truce" is what I would expect of only faux news

[TahitiNut]

8. I see. The NY Times thinks a 'truce' should be unilateral, now.

:eyes: IDF shelling of Palestinian homes doesn't count.

[cali]

15. You and others are reading too much into this

I'm sitting here with the print edition of today's Times. The above the fold large photo is the heart rending picture of the little girl on the beach, in abject grief over the death of her family. Hardly an image that's helpful to Israel. The headline reads: "Hamas Declares It will Resume Attacking Israel: Response to A Shelling". The reason it's news is because Hamas had a self-imposed cease fire. There was no truce. And as deplorable and disproportionate as the the Israeli response to rockets being fired from Gaza into Israel is, it doesn't occur in a vacume.