Gaza strike is not against Hamas, it's against all Palestinians

[ProgressiveMuslim]

By Amira Hass

Tags: israel, israel news, gaza

At 3:19 P.M. Sunday, the sound of an incoming missile could be heard over the telephone. And then another, along with the children's cries of fear. In Gaza City's Tel al-Hawa neighborhood, high-rise apartment buildings are crowded close together, with dozens of children in every building, hundreds in every block.

Their father, B., informs me that smoke is rising from his neighbor's house and ends the call. An hour later, he tells me that two apartments were hit. One was empty; he does not know who lives there. The other, which suffered casualties, belongs to a member of a rocket-launching cell, but no one senior or important.

At noon Sunday, the Israel Air Force bombed a compound belonging to Gaza's National Security Service. It houses Gaza City's main prison. Three prisoners were killed. Two were apparently Fatah members; the third was convicted of collaborating with Israel. Hamas had evacuated most of the Gaza Strip's other prisons, but thought this jail would be safe.
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At 12 A.M. on Sunday, a phone call roused S. "I wasn't sleeping anyway," he said. "I picked up the receiver and heard a recorded announcement in Arabic: 'This is to warn you that we will bomb the house of anyone who has arms or ammunition at home.'"

Three members of one neighboring family were killed, all young men in their twenties. None of them owned arms or ammunition; they were simply walking down the street when the IAF bombed a passing car. Another neighbor lost a 16-year-old daughter, and her sister was seriously wounded. The IAF had bombed a building that formerly housed the Palestinian Authority's Preventive Security Service, and their school was located next door.

S. saw the results of some of Saturday's bombings when he visited a friend whose office is located near Gaza City's police headquarters. One person killed in that attack was Hassan Abu Shnab, the eldest son of former senior Hamas official Ismail Abu Shnab.

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http://haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1050688.html

[Vegasaurus]

1. Hamas is the government of Gaza

If they wanted to have food, fuel, no war, it could happen in a minute.

But no, they prefer no civil rights, no human rights, starvation of their people, stealing the aid, and using any available money to smuggle in weapons.

Great bunch of leaders.

No wonder the Palestinians are so miserable.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

2. Correct me if I am wrong,

but didn't Israel itself promote Hamas as a counterweight to the PLO?

Wasn't Hamas democratically elected--but not by 100% of the Palestinians?

I didn't vote for Bush in either 2000 or 2004, but by what appears to be Israeli logic, I would be a target for killing simply because I live where Bush is the leader. Is this illogical, or a good analogy?