Children among 20 dead as Israeli army begins huge crackdown on Rafah

[muchacho]

Israeli forces attacked Rafah refugee camp yesterday at the start of an operation to crush Palestinian armed resistance, before a planned fresh wave of house demolitions.
The army killed at least 20 people, including children, one of the highest death tolls in a single day of the present intifada, as it occupied the Tel al-Sultan district on the margins of the camp in preparation for an expected assault on the heart of Rafah.

Early this morning, Israeli armour also began moving into the west of the camp, near the al-Brazil area. Extended gunfire was heard but there were no immediate reports of casualties. Palestinians fear much greater bloodshed, however, once the Israelis attack areas of Rafah where resistance is usually stronger.

Hamas and Islamic Jihad fighters, buoyed by inflicting some of the worst casualties of the intifada on Israeli forces in Gaza last week with attacks on two armoured troop carriers, promised the people of Rafah they would defend the camp house by house with guns, mines and grenades.

"The occupiers will not advance and they will not destroy us. Last week we showed that the Israelis are not as invincible as they think they are," said an Islamic Jihad commander in the camp who declined to give his real name.

Many Palestinians were bracing themselves for a long and bloody battle yesterday. With more than 100 tanks and armoured vehicles and thousands of troops mobilised for Operation Rainbow, the Israeli press has likened it to the army's 2002 assault on the West Bank. Operation Defensive Shield resulted in widespread destruction and death in Jenin, Nablus and other cities two years ago.

Defence officials were quoted as saying the assault would last for several days as troops worked their way through the camp.

<snip>
http://www.guardian.co.uk/israel/Story/0,2763,1219823,00.html

[Name removed]

1. Deleted message

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[Nlighten1]

4. Sad isn't it?

The Pro-Israel lobby even infects us DU'ers

[rebellious woman]

25. Israel/Palestine......America/Iraq/ Same thing, different countries...No

difference....Same politicians, mindset, government I expect nothing
more!

[newyorican]

2. This is a forbidden topic...

and will be promptly moved to where few will see it. Tragic...

[newyorican]

5. nevermind that it's story 1 or 2...

on every newscast in the bloody world...

[geoscamp]

28. and on Fox News no pictures

I think the pictures of the dead and wounded children should be on the front page of every newspaper. We in the U.S. are so insulated
from the reality of the cruelty perpetrated by our own army and the army of our ally, Israel.

[oblivious]

7. Let me get this straight. Are you serious?

I'm fairly new here. I thought this was a forum of free speech. Will this be banned?

[newyorican]

8. not banned...

just sent to a forum where few will see it. Just wait.

[Name removed]

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[Name removed]

3. Deleted message

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[newyorican]

6. next time some idiot settler/colonist...

drags their kids into a war zone and gets shot up remember your words...and bring some salt.

[lefty_mcduff]

10. Well that's all right then.

As long as we can blame the death of these children on someone other than the Israelis, all is well.

[Name removed]

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[riverwalker]

9. 100 tanks

in a REFUGEE camp, crushing children.
No more needs to be said.
:mad:
"operation rainbow" another blessing upon the world, like head bags, and torture.

[Tinoire]

11. Sickening. Disgusting. And even though this is DIRECTLY related to Iraq

yes this will be shunted into a dark dungeon where few will see it. Never mind that the entire world is about to blow up because of this brutal, immoral land theft- just remember that denouncing that right wing regime in Israel can only be done in hushed tones & shackled by rules to keep from offending the sensitivity of people who think crushing Palestinian children a flat as "pancakes" is A-ok!

Only in the US is Sharon considered a "man of peace". What a disgraceful charade bringing bad karma to us all.

[Chicago Democrat]

12. This is a War Crime of International Proportions.

Damn Sharon to Hell for it.

[brownsbrun]

14. Tell us

what you really think of him...

[Leilani]

16. I watched some of the pictures today

& it broke my heart.
Children carrying mattresses out of bombed bldgs, trying to salvage anything they can. Many of these people are out on the streets, & they really are not streets anymore. It is just rubble.

It enrages me that my tax dollars go to this destruction.

But what makes me even angrier, is the Israeli response that this is their war on terror, exactly the same as the US is doing.

I was & am COMPLETELY against the Iraq War, however, we were attacked by terrorists on 9/11. At that time we were not occupying another country, nor were we stealing land, & killing innocents. And for the Israelis to always justify everything by 9/11 is outrageous.

But the true irony is that the War in Iraq has made us more like the Israelis than I ever believed possible.

And politicians of BOTH parties rushed to the AIPAC meeting to outdo each other, in pledging their support for these atrocities.

[dArKeR]

17. Gaza teenagers killed while feeding pigeons

By Cynthia Johnston

Gaza Strip - Israel's army killed 19 Palestinians on Tuesday in the heaviest raid in the Gaza Strip for years as tanks and infantry thrust into Rafah refugee camp, a militant hotbed, despite an international outcry.

The assault drew United Nations. and European Union condemnation given Israeli threats to destroy hundreds of Palestinian homes there. Thousands of Palestinian houses have been razed since they began a revolt in occupied territory in 2000, UN figures show.

But the army said there were no plans for any systematic demolition during what it called an open-ended operation to stop the smuggling of arms through tunnels from nearby Egypt.

http://iol.co.za/index.php?click_id=3&art_id=qw1084929486287B253&set_id=1

[Leilani]

18. I would ask the Israeli supporters who condone these actions

Why is it that EVERY country in the world thinks this is wrong, & the US is their only defender?

Are we & the Israelis right, & the rest of the world crazy?

[newyorican]

19. don't forget micronesia...

and one other US puppet/lap-dog island nation that I can't recall at this time.

[newyorican]

20. BTW, it's called Operation Rainbow...

obviously the result of many sick minds...

[Leilani]

21. In Hawaii many things relate to rainbows

kind of like aloha.

It makes me sick for them to use that word.

[dArKeR]

22. An old Palestinian man rests in the street next to destroyed houses

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/photo/2004/05/19/2003131665

[Gimel]

23. Ever think to ask

How many were armed militants?

Answer) 15

How many died while preparing a bomb?

Answer) 1

That leaves 4 who are innocent civilians. Let's wait for the inquiry to see what happened.

[Violet_Crumble]

24. What inquiry?

You mean an 'investigation' swiftly carried out by the IDF where it as usual absolves itself of any responsibility. Or the 'investigation' that was posted in another thread where the jokers from Arutz Sheva announce that the Ayrabs killed those Ayrab kids? While I think the IDF may be slightly more believable than the racists at Arutz Sheva, that's not saying much, considering the IDF has made false claims regarding the deaths of civilians in the past...

Violet...

[LowerManhattanite]

26. The Israeli government is merely following this government's lead...

This government signed off on it. Every bulldozed house. Every bifurcated neighborhood and separated family. Every unjustly maimed and slain person I saw on the footage today. I actually now believe that this brusque, dim-witted fool and his bible-shaking cronies are trying to bring down some sort of apocalyptic war.

This year's election isn't just about ideas...it's an election about lives, people.
 

[Gimel]

27. Deleted - mistake

Posted on other thread.

[dudeness]

29. murderous bastards..

n/t