Annapolis A Charade-Israel Plans Massive Aggression

by Oppose Neo-Fascism Tuesday, Nov. 13, 2007 at 3:15 PM

The meeting is designed to give the impression that Israel is interested in peace, while they're actually plotting against the Palestinians. The media's silence suggests complicity.

The media's virtual silence on Israel's escalation of the crisis in Gaza - a crisis created by the US and Israel - and the imposition of Collective Punishment against the Palestinians suggest that they are planning to present this as a response to the attacks their measures are predicted to provoke, as opposed to a premeditated Act of Aggression.

The timing is interesting, given the upcoming "Annapolis Conference", which serves to be about PR alone, as Olmert has already ruled out any Negotiations or Compromise in the name of peace, but both he and Bush need some positive Public Relations - especially as they gear up for an attack on Iran.

If you followed the events surrounding Israel's "Disengagement" from Gaza, you will quickly understand that this was the plan all along.

While Israel was making a public spectacle of "forcing Jews to leave their homes", it was quietly surrounding the Strip with artillery emplacements, in an operation ominously named "First Rain".

Under this operation, Gaza basically became a "Free-Fire Zone", and several artillery and gunship strikes killed a high number of civilians.

Finally, when one of these batteries fired upon and murdered a Palestinian family - picnicking on a beach that had been Segregated "Jews Only" only weeks before, Hamas finally decided to call an end to its unilateral, two-year cease-fire.

(Israel initially lied about the incident, until international investigators proved that it was Israeli artillery that fired upon the family.)

In essence, Hamas took Israel's bait. After all, Israel can't excuse Aggression and label it "defense" if they're not being intermittently attacked. Never mind the hypocrisy underlying the entire media's framing of that whole debate ...

When the Palestinians responded by electing Hamas to power (yes, elected), Israeli Extremists and their Ideological, corrupt foreign co-conspirators imposed unilateral sanctions on Gaza, a bit of Collective Punishment which increased the hardship of those stuck in the world's largest Concentration Camp.

When they felt Gaza had been substantially weakened, the US and Israel undertook a Coup attempt, using corrupt elements within the Fatah Party, provoking a violent response by Hamas, which expelled the group.

Most of the world's media ignored the events leading to this "crisis", and instead only repeated the Propaganda emanating from the US and Israel, which used this to further increase sanctions against Gaza.

Most recently, Israel stepped up its Collective Punishment, cutting food, electricty, gas, water, and medical supplies - except that human rights groups and legal advisors to the Government halted some of its approved measures, because they run contrary to International Humanitarian Law.

Nonetheless, these measures were fully implemented after a brief stall.

This was sold as another "response to rocket attacks" (again highlighting the hypocrisy of the debate's Framing - are the Palestinians allowed to defend themselves from strikes which actually KILL people ... ?), even though high-ranking officials said that this was NOT, in fact, a response to these attacks, but a way to "distance Israel from Gaza's infrastructure".

The real reason for this whole episode, of course, has been to "soften up" the Gaza Strip for a long-planned military attack, a way to undermine the resolve, and hopefully rid this territory of Palestinians altogether.

Of course, the corporate media says none of this, unless you're able to read between the lines. Then it's all right there in black 'n white ...

THE REALITY OF ISRAEL'S DESIRE FOR PEACE

Countdown to the offensive

Israel is waiting callously for the Annapolis meeting to pass before wreaking intended destruction on Gaza, writes Saleh Al-Naami

Last Sunday Zaher Al-Orr had a surprise for his son Ashraf and his friend Mohamed Abu Herbid. He prepared breakfast for them before going home, after their night shift. The three worked as guards in a bathroom fittings factory near Jabalya refugee camp in northern Gaza. Normally they would have breakfast after returning from work. But this was going to be a special morning. Another worker who clocked in early joined them in the meal. Things didn't go exactly as Al-Orr planned. Minutes after the men sat down to eat, an Israeli artillery shell exploded on their dining table. All four men died.

Not only has Israel's shelling of Gaza grown more brutal, the targets have also changed. Now the Israeli air force is shelling the offices, positions, and patrols of the Palestinian police.

Five policemen were killed at two different police stations. Dozens others were wounded. Citing sources at the Israeli staff command, Israeli radio said that the intensification of military operations in the Gaza Strip aims at "punishing" Palestinians for the shelling of nearby Jewish settlements.

Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak says that an incursion into Gaza is "imminent". Israeli television Channel 10 said last Friday that the international community was siding with Israel. Offer Shelah, presenter of the "Harvest of the Week" on Channel 10, said that, "despite the casualties among Palestinian civilians, the world is showing sympathy and tolerance for Israel's action. This is due to the fact that Abbas is continuing to meet Olmert at a time when the Israeli army is killing the Palestinians. Why be more royal than the king?"

Amnon Abramovic, an announcer at the Hebrew-language Israeli television, put it in a nutshell: "our army killed in 24 hours 10 Palestinians, including children, and yet we didn't hear anyone protesting."

(Did anyone know?)

The continued shelling of the Palestinians in Gaza is not a substitute for an Israeli incursion. Most likely, it is a prelude. In its Friday issue, Haaretz cites Israeli military sources as saying that the likelihood of waging an all-out military campaign in Gaza has grown since the military realised that the collective punishment Israel is imposing on the Palestinians wasn't stopping the firing of homemade rockets.

(Israeli defense analysts predicted that this would actually increase Gaza's response - and Israel plans to use this as a pretext for their long-premeditated assault.)

According to Israeli television Channel Two, a heated debate is taking place within the Israeli Joint Chiefs of Staff over military attacks on Palestinian police stations. Although the police stations are an "easy target", army generals note that attacking them may undermine security in Gaza and thus cause further complications for Israel. The generals want any incursion into Gaza to be postponed until the Annapolis summit is held, for fear of weakening the Israeli negotiating position.

Israel has already rallied international support for a military operation in Gaza. In its Sunday issue, Maariv reported that during his recent visit to Washington, Barak obtained a US green light for an offensive in Gaza. Barak, the newspaper says, brought intelligence officials with him. Reportedly they told the Americans that Palestinian resistance groups in Gaza were stockpiling weapons and that Hamas now has a virtual army.

(See below. The Israel Defense Forces were caught two weeks ago by Egypt, helping to smuggle weapons into the strip. Keep in mind that Israel has been caught on several occasions enabling and creating attacks against Israel - including the creation of a phony "al Qaeda cell" - in order to provide a pretext for planned attacks.)

According to Israeli intelligence reports, Hamas has stepped up the smuggling of weapons in an unprecedented manner to consolidate its military capabilities. The Islamic Jihad movement is also said to have doubled its arsenal of weapons and succeeded in recruiting a large number of security officials in Gaza following the Hamas takeover.

(Which was a response to Israel-America's failed Coup attempt by proxy, using corrupt members of Fatah.)

Meanwhile, the Fatah-affiliated Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades are believed to have received considerable assistance, partly from Lebanon's Hizbullah.

Israel's retired army generals have reservations about a major campaign in Gaza. General Yaeir Naffe, a former commander of Israeli occupation forces in Gaza, believes that an incursion would be "useless unless it lasts for a minimum of two years." He warns that unless the Israelis stay for a long time in the Strip, the firing of rockets will resume. Speaking to Israeli Hebrew- language radio last Sunday, Naffe argued, "contrary to the situation in the West Bank, in Gaza we don't only need to stop the firing of rockets, but to guarantee that the Palestinians won't be able to produce rockets in the future." If the Palestinians succeed "to fire one rocket after our withdrawal, the whole operation would be seen as a failure," he added.

(But why aren't the Palestinians allowed the right to their own security? The hypocrisy surrounding this whole 'debate' is ludicrous.)

Some Israeli politicians linked the escalation in Gaza with Barak's personal motives. Former Israeli Education Minister Shulamit Aloni said that Barak was using Gaza to become prime minister. In an interview with the Nazareth- based newspaper Events, Aloni described Barak as "the most dangerous man for Israel, because of his nature, because he is a man of war, and because of his arrogance. He is taking an extreme position because he thinks that by committing crimes he would be able to defeat Netanyahu in the upcoming elections."

Aloni called for Barak to be tried as a War Criminal in The Hague.

The Palestinians are taking Israel's threats seriously. Dismissed Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh said Sunday that he was aware that the US administration gave Israel a green light to attack Gaza, and warned that Gaza would "be a tomb for the invaders".

The Ezzeddin Al-Qassam Brigades, the military arm of Hamas, called on other resistance groups in Gaza to form a "joint operations room" to confront Israel's escalation. Abu Obeida, spokesman for the Al-Qassam Brigades, said that Israel's invasion of the Strip would be a "great folly... they will know that they had committed a big mistake by invading the Strip. They say they're angry at the abduction of soldier Gilad Shalit. Let me assure them that we will kidnap many more of their soldiers if they invade the Strip," he told Al-Ahram Weekly.

The Palestinian Ministry of Interior maintains that Israeli attacks on the Palestinian police are designed to throw Gaza into "chaos". Interior Ministry spokesman Ihab Al-Ghosein told the Weekly that the ministry has no plans to evacuate police stations in anticipation of further shelling, but he didn't rule out such a move in the future.

Abu Ahmed, spokesman for Al-Quds Brigades, the military wing of the Islamic Jihad movement, promised that the firing of rockets at Israel would continue, both during and after any Israeli offensive. For Gaza's beleaguered Palestinians, one thing is clear: following the Annapolis meeting, Israel will attack.

desertpeace.blogspot.com/2007/11/reality-of-israels-desire-for-peace.htm

ISRAEL ADMITS THERE WILL BE NO PEACE AFTER THE SUMMIT

Desert Peace

November 7, 2007

It looks like Israel is realy serious about the upcoming 'peace talks'... according to the Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak (which btw means lightening in Hebrew), there will not be a planned invasion of the Balata refugee camp until AFTER the talks are finished.... key word is AFTER.

In other words, Israel has already admitted that NOTHING WILL CHANGE as a result of the talks. And you, my dear American readers are paying for that farce with your tax dollars....

The following short report deals with this.....

Barak: Nablus and Gaza invasions will be postponed until after Annapolis Summit

Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak announced late on Tuesday night that he was calling off a planned invasion of the Balata refugee camp, near the West Bank city of Nablus, according to Israeli media sources. The announcement comes just hours after a similar statement about delaying an attack on the Gaza Strip.

The Israeli military has invaded Balata camp and the city of Nablus nearly every night since 2002, allegedly to abduct so-called 'wanted' Palestinians.

Occasionally the Israeli military has engaged in more wide-scale invasions of the camp and surrounding areas, resulting in many casualties of Palestinian fighters and civilians.

But the latest invasion planned for the Nablus area has apparently been called off, says Barak, because the Palestinian Authority security forces under the command of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas have taken control of the city, and will do the Israeli military's work there.

Barak is hoping the move will gain some credibility for Israel, as the Annapolis Peace Summit, planned for November 26th, quickly approaches. Such a move, according to analysts, may also be an attempt to draw attention away from Israel's failure to carry out any of its commitments under signed agreements with the Palestinians.

www.uruknet.info/?p=m37959&hd=&size=1&l=e

Long-Planned Gaza Assault Imminent?

When the Palestinians respond, just remember who started all this, and direct your anger at them.

Report: After Annapolis, Israel will make war on Hamas Army in Gaza

By Israel Insider staff November 9, 2007

Once upon a time, the Government of Israel would make war against the Palestinian Authority. Now, apparently, Olmert's coalition is giving the PA the timing and scope of its battle plans.

(Actually, they supported Hamas in order to fracture the PA, to prevent future peace talks.)

According to the Friday edition of the London based Al-Quds Al-Arabi, Jerusalem has informed PA authorities in Ramallah of its intention to send the IDF into the Gaza Strip to regain control of the Philadelphi Corridor and to put an end to Hamas smuggling of weapons and cash through tunnels from Egypt.

IDF Complicit In Gaza Arms Smuggling

www.haaretz.com /hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=914200&contrassID=1&subCo

And disclosure of the battle plan is not limited to the Palestinians. According to the report, Israel has told several Arab states that, following conclusion of the Annapolis conference, reportedly scheduled to begin on November 29, the IDF will embark on an extensive operation in the Strip.

Palestinian sources obtained explicit information from the Israelis, detailing that in the first stage of the operation, Israel would seek to regain control of Rafah and a wide swathe along the Egypt-Gaza border as far north as Khan Yunis, the paper said. The second stage will reportedly include an incursion into the central and northern Gaza Strip, the areas from which most rocket fire against Israeli civilian populations has been emanating.

Al-Quds Al-Arabi reports that PA leader Mahmoud Abbas is doing his best to thwart the plan that the Israelis so generously disclosed. Abbas reportedly rejected out of hand Israel's plan to recapture the Philadelphi Corridor and plans to send emissaries to countres in the region to bring pressure on Israel to stop its planned incursion.

web.israelinsider.com/Articles/Security/12329.htm

As Zionism's support and sympathy steadily wanes, this appears to be a final push for them to drive out Palestinians, and annex their land.

Last Call For A Two-State Solution

http://www.iht.com /articles/2007/11/01/opinion/edwallerstein.php

As Zionism's support and sympathy steadily wanes, this appears to be a final push for them to drive out Palestinians, and annex their land.

Barak: Israel to proceed with power cut

IMEMC & agencies

Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak on Sunday stated that the Israeli government will proceed with plans to limit the supply of electricty to the Gaza Strip, despite the Attorney-General's ruling concerning the illegality of the move.

Barak announced the move during a cabinet meeting on Sunday, telling fellow ministers that the process of restricting supplies had already begun.

"We are in the process of restricting the fuel supplies to the Gaza Strip and power cuts are not far behind, we want to weaken Hamas' ability to service its people," the Defense Minister stated.

Barak's decision is reported to have the backing of Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Justice Minister Daniel Friedmann, and Vice Premier Haim Ramon, in addition to a number of other senior officials.

www.imemc.org/article/51424

This will probably kill a good number of the most fragile of Gazan Palestinians (the elderly, the medically infirm, and children) without firing a shot.

Collective punishment is one skill at which the Israel government excells brilliantly.

Original: Annapolis A Charade-Israel Plans Massive Aggression