Syria: Outrage at the “Massacre in Gaza”
The Arab world is somber today. The feeling of shock and disgust at the events of yesterday can be felt at every blog. As the Israeli Defense Forces bombed and wrecked havoc in besieged Gaza the blogosphere had a sense of disbelief at what is happening and the international reaction to it.
The IDF launched on Saturday, December 27, 2008, Operation Cast Lead, in response to local Qassam rockets being fired from Gaza. An intensive bombing of the Gaza strip that resulted (in its first 12 hours) in 230 dead and more than 700 wounded.
The news about Egypt's blessings for the campaign and its reported disinformation of Hamas helped make the words on the blogs even more bitter.
Qunfuz relays his feelings about what's happening on the eastern Mediterranean:
In other circumstances it might seem strange that a population on the Mediterranean coast is being besieged and starved without a murmur from the rest of the world. But this is Gaza, Palestine, and the victims suffer alone. Reports say Mubarak had given his assent to a ‘limited blow’ before today’s blood; he’s been keeping the Egyptian border with Gaza sealed, keeping the ugly oppressed in their cage very effectively since they briefly broke out last January. Tony Blair – who should be in prison but is instead poncing about in Ramallah and Jerusalem – has been winking to Israeli journalists about necessary change in Gaza. No response to today’s crime is likely in Lebanon, or Jordan, or Egypt. The peoples of Europe and America are, by and large, silent.
Jabs from Arabian Camel puts things into context and summarizes the last few months that lead to what happened yesterday:
I am sure everyone has heard about the 225 people that have been massacred in the latest Zionist aggression on the Palestinian people. This is just unbelievable, and the anger cannot be described, the anger not from what the Zionists have done, but from the silence of the Arab and Islamic nations towards this massacre and from those betraying governments, especially that of Egypt whose president (the fascist dictator) sold an entire nation, their cause and their future in order to keep his damn seat under his fat butt.
Anger from the blogosphere is being equally directed at the collective Arab decision makers. At their incompetence and utter inaction. Kinan Jarjous from Jar of Juice says:
Earlier they were listing every single leader I have heard of condemning the assault on Gaza that left 225 dead (as of this writing), and an urgent Arab Summit is to be called.
Till when is condemnation a sufficient “action”?
The latest campaign comes a few weeks before another campaign, that of the Parliamentary elections of Israel. In 1996's elections there was the Grapes of Wrath, in 2001, there was the Second Intifada. Could it be that these lives are just another campaigning effort for Israeli politicians. The irony of it all did not escape Sasa‘s post:
140 DEAD, 200 injured and Tzipi Livni surges ahead in the polls.
More coverage:
Maysaloon posts photos from Gaza, titled: Gaza Massacre.
Dubai Jazz write about safety, and the utter lack of hope.
15 comments
If Israel’s reason for war is to stop missiles from coming across the border, they will have to annihilate every person able to shoot, fire, etc. How will even Hamas (if they wanted to) control every single individual in Gaza? It is impossible.
President-Elect Obama said that he wouldn’t want his children living somewhere were a rocket could be fired and hurt them. This has been taken to mean that he agrees with Israel, but either side is just as dangerous. I think that has been interpreted incorrectly.
So if the mission is impossible, why carry it out? Why not do as Israel has done in the past. Why a full scale war. I think it is politics. President Bush is firmly on Israel’s side, so they can do what they want with him still in office. President Obama is not just going to look the other way. The neo-cons are in a rush, and when they are in power and in a rush they don’t think anything through. Consequences do not matter to them.
to civax: \Look how Israel is talking with Abbas in the west bank\ i’d like to say : Look how Palastenians are talking ABOUT Abbas in Gaza!!! now evenafter all the suffering & deaths ppl in Gaza still refuse to have peace WITH ISRAELI CONDITIONS,they dont simply refuse peace.and not all of them are from Hamas. anyway the governement of Hamas was democratically ELECTED!it’s being thrown because their goals dont simply satisfy Israel,so that kind of givesu an idea about why democratic, western values is actually rejected and despised.
In reality, Israel is the manifestation of terror. The fact is that is that no modern state has so systematically and inhumanely relied on terror by using all the modern killing technology freely available to the IDF. Why? Because Israel must use its military hardware indiscriminately against those who only seek to be granted justice and to be free from an inhumane occupation, siege and ongoing oppression that continuously defies comprehension by any civilized observer.
Badi Ali says: “In reality, Israel is the manifestation of terror.”
You are correct!
Badi Ali says: “Why? Because Israel must use its military hardware indiscriminately against those who only seek to be granted justice and to be free from an inhumane occupation, siege and ongoing oppression that continuously defies comprehension by any civilized observer.”
Another reason Why: They answer to no one. They are accustom to their allies just shaking their heads in disbelief. They believe that America will back them no matter what. It took 5 years before Bush would look in Arafat’s direction in the U.N. while the previous President Clinton had Arafat at the White House 17 times during his 8 year administration.
I really firmly believe that this is being done now, prior to Obama’s inauguration. Obama stated today that as far as international issues he had nothing to say because there is intense negotiations ongoing, and he didn’t want two presidents sending different messages to Israel or Palestine. Obama IS going to be different. He knows and understands history, plus he is a uniter not a
divider.
We can all be cynical, or we can hold out hope. That is what the Palestinians have been holding onto for a long time. Surely if they can hope; we can as well.
What I find really scary how the west is overlooking this massacre. Zionists are evil. They want to take over the world by killing other people because they believe they are superior. Israel is evil and scary. One of the mistakes Hitler once did was not killing all the Jews. I don’t mind Judaism as a religion but I do mind the Israel Zionist belief to take over the so called “holy land”. Arabs are not angels either. They are small minded and traitors but they don’t deserve to be killed. May the lord put an end to the reign of those merciless, heartless Zionists.