Gaza raid leaves hundreds homeless

[ze_dscherman]

Up to 1,500 Palestinians have been left homeless by the Israeli army's two-day raid into the Rafah refugee camp, the United Nations estimates.
A senior UN official who went to assess damage said it looked like there had been a severe earthquake at the densely-populated camp in the south of the Gaza Strip, with up to 120 homes demolished.

But an Israeli army spokesman put the damage at "several" buildings destroyed, with the military targeting only structures used by militants.

More: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3185704.stm

[bluesoul]

1. Gaza raid

And that's anti-terrorism for you. Never mind for those families, women, children and other civilians not having anything to do with it and paying the price by losing their lives and homes...

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

2. How to recruit terrorists

Destroy innocent people's homes and hurt or kill their families, ruin their businesses so they have no work, and see how long it takes those innocent people to get very, very mad.

[Muddleoftheroad]

3. How to recruit terrorists

Set up shop in an urban setting against Geneva Conventions. Then wait to either be attacked by Israel or be ignored, because God knows the Palestinians won't shut you down.

If you are attacked, you try to maximize civilian damage and destruction with snipers and bombs to use it for PR. If you aren't attacked, then you build a terror infrastructure because nobody is stopping you.

Of course, in a civilized area, the Palestinian police would shut them down, but don't let that get in the way of your BS.

[SOS]

4. 120 buildings demolished

1,500 left homeless.
Not one weapon found.

"We could not escape. The house was like a jail for two days, but suddenly occupation forces entered our houses yesterday and told us to leave, " camp resident Ayman Abu Shannalah told the agency.

"I refused but then they threatened to kill me with machineguns so my wife and her mother took me outside. In 30 minutes our houses was as flat as the land."

What was this man's crime? What was he charged with?

[Muddleoftheroad]

5. They weren't looking for weaopns

They were shutting down smuggling tunnels that are used to bring in weapons.

[bluesoul]

6. oh come on

And so 1500 (women, children and others) people deserve to lose their homes and property destroyed being without shelter. Come on Muddle there must be more humanity in you, being a liberal as you say you are:(

[calkooni]

7. what smuggling tunnels...?

It would be all over the news, if they existed.... show us evidence of these tunnels.

I don't understand how leaving 1500 (women, children and others) people homeless is justified ...

Is this a war on terrorism? Should we turn a blind eye because the US must stand with Israel regardless?

[calkooni]

8. what smuggling tunnels...?

It would be all over the news, if they existed.... show us evidence of these tunnels.

I don't understand how leaving 1500 (women, children and others) people homeless is justified ...

Is this a war on terrorism? Should we turn a blind eye because the US must stand with Israel regardless?

[bluesoul]

9. oh

"The Israeli army said it had discovered three tunnels in the camp, but no weapons have been found so far. "

This was used as a justification for depriving 1500 people of their homes? Oh God...

[SOS]

10. So three empty tunnels

justifies 120 house demolitions? Seems they should have found 120 tunnels.
Again, what was the man's crime? What did that man do to warrant being marched out of his family home at gunpoint and have all of his possesions and his home destroyed? You ignored the question because you can't answer it.

[SOS]

11. Another point

The Multinational Force and Observers (MFO) include 850 US soldiers in the Sinai. The GOI could ask the MFO to monitor these tunnels from the Egytian side. Of course this wouldn't include bulldozing civilian homes, so Sharon probably isn't interested in shutting the tunnels from the other side.

[Muddleoftheroad]

14. Oh wow, MONITOR THEM

Yeah, that will really cut down on the arms smuggling.

[SOS]

16. How clumsy of me...

I meant to say close the tunnels and guard them, but used the term monitor. Do you disagree with trying to stop the smuggling before they reach the occupied territory?

[Muddleoftheroad]

15. If you home is being used to transport arms

You are sort of naturally a suspect. In this case, the tunnel underneath the homes was used.

Blaming Israel for this is another classic case of blaming the victim. How DARE Israel for shutting down those tunnels used to smuggle weapons that kill women and children.

[SOS]

17. Shutting a tunnel is one thing.

Dynamiting and bulldozing 120 civilian homes is another. You can easily backfill a tunnel. No need to destroy everything above the tunnels route. It makes no sense.

"sort of naturally a suspect" - thank goodness I live in a country where "sort of a suspect" isn't enough for the authorities to destroy my home without due process.

Israel has every right to arrest, try and imprison those who organize suicide bombings.
But that's not the topic here. The topic is the destruction of 120 homes and the ruined lives of 1,500 people.
If a criminal hides a murder wepon in your back yard, without your knowledge, should the police dynamite your home? If not, why?

[Muddleoftheroad]

18. In a normal world, I would agree with you

Trying to take the time you require in a war zone is crazy.

[Jackie97]

12. Are you suggesting?

"Of course, in a civilized area, the Palestinian police would shut them down, but don't let that get in the way of your BS."

Are you suggesting that the area of people who lost their homes are uncivilized, while the people who took their homes when they didn't deserve that are civilized? Now, THAT is BS.

Tell me something, are all areas of Palestinians being attacked (which is basically the whole West Bank and Gaza) full of uncivilized savages?

[Muddleoftheroad]

13. Just uncivilized leadership

Leadership that won't even do the minimum to shut down terrorists.