officials said Saturday evening that Jerusalem is not currently interested in a ceasefire in the four-day conflict with Hamas, adding that the IDF’s campaign might be expanded and could continue for weeks, if necessary. Operation Pillar of Defense would only end after Hamas had been dealt a serious blow, they vowed, as the fourth day of the offensive came to an end.
Some analysts, by contrast, said that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and several of his top ministers would not in fact be opposed to a rapid halt to the campaign if the other side were to commit itself to a ceasefire.
“In parallel to the military effort, there is a diplomatic effort [to stop the rocket fire on Israel],” an Israeli government official told The Times of Israel on Saturday evening. “But the operation will continue until we can be sure that the people of Israel’s south will no longer live under constant fear of rockets — and that goal will be achieved, one way or another.”
The IDF’s OC Southern Command Tal Russo said earlier Saturday that Israel had delivered a serious blow to Hamas’s rocket infrastructure — and wiped out much of its long-range rocket capacity — but added that the IDF still had many targets left to hit. Hamas, he said, had built up “an impressive” arsenal.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan arrived in Cairo on Saturday, where he met with Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi and Hamas political chief Haled Mashaal in an effort to broker a ceasefire. Egypt is trying to convince Hamas to sign on to a proposal for a temporary end to the rocket fire, but Hamas is currently unwilling to discuss a cease-fire, officials close to the contacts said. Erdogan was trying to mediate between the two sides, but without tangible success thus far.
Egyptian defense officials have had “primary” contact with their Israeli counterparts, but so far Cairo has not engaged Israel on the political and diplomatic level, a Foreign Ministry official told The Times of Israel.
“Israel will go ahead [with the military offensive] as long as there’s massive rocket fire from Gaza. It’s not possible to stop unilaterally, while rockets are flying at our towns.”
While Hamas was probably interested in a ceasefire, the Israeli government is keen to continue striking at terrorist infrastructure in Gaza, according to a government official, who was speaking on condition of anonymity.
“Hamas probably wants a ceasefire by now. They want a time out — so that they can rest a bit, and then continue to shoot rockets at us next week. Israel is not interested in that,” the official told The Times of Israel. “We hope to come out of this operation with a new reality — that people in the south will no longer live under threat of rocket attacks.”
Operation Pillar of Defense has three main goals: bringing quiet to the south, establishing Israeli deterrence, and eradicating the long-range missile arsenal of Gaza terror groups, Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman said Saturday. “The only way to live here in peace and security is to create a real deterrent by causing an overwhelming response, so that they don’t test us again,” he said Saturday.
If the IDF found it necessary to launch a wide-scale ground operation into Gaza, “it cannot be stopped in the middle; it needs to go all the way,” he said.
The foreign minister and other top Israeli ministers are “absolutely resolute” to continue and even intensify Operation Pillar of Defense, according to a source close to Liberman.
“They are convinced that this can’t just be another Operation Cast Lead, where we only do what’s necessary and then, after three or six months, Hamas rearms itself and we have the same problem,” the source told The Times of Israel. “This has got to stop. We can’t have a million, or even hundreds of thousands or tens of thousands of our citizens under fire.”
Cast Lead, which began with air strikes in December 27, 2008, and continued with a ground operation into Gaza seven days later, lasted for three weeks and one day.
“It’s absolutely impossible to say that there will never ever be a single rocket fired at Israel again. But we need to restore our deterrence. It has been lost over recent years,” the source added.
Some Israeli analysts, however, said Netanyahu, Liberman and Defense Minister Ehud Barak would not be against a cease-fire, if the opportunity would arise. The three convened Saturday evening at the Defense Ministry in Tel Aviv to discuss further course of action.
Militarily and diplomatically to date, the leadership trio are said to believe, the offensive can be viewed as a resounding success, with several senior Hamas operatives eliminated and a significant blow inflicted to Hamas’s rocket and other military infrastructure.
If Jerusalem were to reach a ceasefire and restore calm to the south at this stage, analysts on Channel 2 news suggested on Saturday night, Netanyahu and his government would likely re-enter the pre-election campaign — temporarily suspended as the rockets fly — with their popularity boosted. If the campaign were to be expanded, and to include a major ground offensive, however, rising Israeli casualty figures and high numbers of Palestinian deaths could possibly turn Operation Pillar of Defense into a quagmire for Netanyahu, they said. It would therefore be likely, these and other analysts said, that Israel would now seek to de-escalate the situation.
Led by the US, much of the West to date seems to share Jerusalem’s position that Hamas bears prime responsibility for the current round of violence and has supported Israel’s right to defend itself. But Jerusalem is not confident that this would last if the conflict expands.
Some officials said that Israel has succeeded in its efforts to convince Western leaders of the righteousness of its cause. But others expressed fear that the messages of support and understanding could soon turn into calls for restraint and then outright criticism if Israel’s military operation comes to be perceived as overly aggressive or heavy-handed.
Along with the US, Britain, Germany, Canada and several other countries have pinned primary blame on Hamas, the officials noted.
“I wouldn’t say that international support for our operation is waning. Every time Hamas shoots a rocket at Jerusalem or Tel Aviv people understand what we’re doing, that we’re acting to defend our citizens,” a government official said Saturday.
The rocket that on Friday night reached the greater Jerusalem area “really takes the mask off Hamas’s face, if anyone still had any illusions,” this official added. “They fired an inexact weapon into city with hundred of thousands of residents, with many holy sites important to three world religions. Who knows where this could have landed? But they don’t care. In fact, the rockets landed in the West Bank and could have easily killed Palestinians. Again, these terrorists don’t care; they are nihilistic.”
On Saturday, Netanyahu spoke with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, UK Prime Minister David Cameron, Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti, Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras, Czech Prime Minister Petr Necas, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, Portuguese Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho and Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov.
Netanyahu told the leaders that no country in the world would agree to a situation in which its population lives under a constant missile threat. He also reportedly asked them if they had any suggestions for how to stop the rocket fire from Gaza, and elicited from them tacit support for Operation Pillar of Defense.
On Friday, European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said the rocket attacks from Gaza “are totally unacceptable for any government and must stop. Israel has the right to protect its population from these kinds of attacks.” Ashton acknowledged that Palestinian terrorist groups are responsible for the current crisis, but also urged Israel “to ensure that its response is proportionate.”
Netanyahu on Friday also spoke to US President Barack Obama, for the second time since the campaign started on Wednesday. The prime minister thanked Obama for the US’s steadfast support and its assistance in purchasing the Iron Dome missile defense system. Earlier last week, Netanyahu spoke to Ashton, French President Francois Hollande, UN Secretary Ban Ki-Moon, and Middle East Quartet representative Tony Blair.
‘International patience is very short. We’re walking on thin ice, and you’ll only know the ice is getting cracking when your feet are getting wet. And then it’s too late’
Over the weekend, Liberman spoke to his counterparts from the US, Russia and Romania to shore up support for Israel’s operation.
On Sunday, Netanyahu, Liberman and President Shimon Peres are scheduled to meet with French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, who is set to visit Jerusalem and Ramallah.
Recognizing that the support of Western countries could easily vanish if the death toll increases drastically or Israeli troops mistakenly hit a civilian target, a government official said, “We are aware of such scenarios, and we are doing our utmost to avoid any civilian casualties.”
A different official said that some individuals and organizations, such as the United Nations Human Rights Council, are likely to censure Israel over a drawn-out military campaign with many civilian casualties.
“There are the usual suspects; there’s nothing we can do about them. But the international community learned a lesson from Goldstone,” the said, referring to a report authored by South African
...
The winner of "The Nose - Picker Award" for November goes to Heinrich
for the post, "I pay taxes!"!
When, sometime back in the 90's?
for your information as of Oktober 1st the government increased the percentage for value added tax from 19 to 21 this means that we have to pay more for our daily purchases further i pay income tax so there is nothing to worry about
...is a half-assed joke...something on the order of Lambsky
calling himself a Canadian. The only "Pillar Of Defense" the
Israeli Yids have is the constant inflow of the privately Yid-
owned Federal Reserve Bank "banknotes," which are becoming
increasingly worthless with each passing day. When that
day comes, those Yids will be consumed.
Mentally ill relative of Hitler's was gassed! ...... Hmmmm, maybe
they'll gas Heinrich & Walter Hampton also, they're both registered
lunatics?
''The Schicklgruber side of the family was especially hard-hit and
"crashed into suicide and mental illness," he added. "The entire line
died out."
Mentally ill relative of Hitler's was gassed
One of the thousands of victims of the Nazi regime's program to kill
mentally ill people was a relative of Adolf Hitler, two historians
said yesterday. The woman, identified only...
By Susanna Loof
The Associated Press
VIENNA, Austria — One of the thousands of victims of the Nazi
regime's program to kill mentally ill people was a relative of Adolf
Hitler, two historians said yesterday.
The woman, identified only as Aloisia V., was 49 when she was gassed
on Dec. 6, 1940, at an institution in the Hartheim castle near the
northern Austrian city of Linz, historian Timothy Ryback said.
Ryback, an American historian who now lives in Salzburg and heads the
Obersalzberg Institute in Berchtesgaden, Germany, said the details
surrounding the woman's death surfaced last week after Obersalzberg
archivist Florian Beierl gained access to her medical file at a
Vienna
medical institution where she had been treated.
That mental illness flourished in Hitler's extended family is nothing
new — a secret 1944 Gestapo report that has been known for decades
described Aloisia's line of the family as "idiotic progeny," Beierl
said.
Wolfgang Eisenmenger, a German expert in forensic medicine who is
involved in the research, warned against drawing any conclusions
about
Hitler's own mental health.
"An expert on hereditary psychological illnesses could perhaps draw
some conclusions from the results of the reconstructed family tree,"
Eisenmenger said in a statement on the Obersalzberg Web site.
Recently released medical files on Aloisia say she suffered from
schizophrenia, depression, delusions and a range of other mental
problems, Ryback said. Her treatment included confinement in cage
beds, a widespread practice even before Nazi times.
It's unclear whether Hitler was aware of his relative's illness and
her fate, Ryback said.
Aloisia was the great-grandchild of the sister of Hitler's paternal
grandmother, meaning she was part of the Schicklgruber side of the
family, Beierl said. Ryback said he and Beierl, who have researched
Hitler's family for five years, kept coming across "cases of either
physical or mental disabilities in Hitler's family."
The Schicklgruber side of the family was especially hard-hit and
"crashed into suicide and mental illness," he added. "The entire line
died out."
Ryback and Beierl plan to map the cases of disabilities in a 1,200-
page genealogy of Hitler's family.
On Sun, 18 Nov 2012 05:34:36 +0100, Dumb Heini, the heavily medicated Dutch
resident Nazi troll and laughing stock of sci and scj, wrote:
<snip the Dutch Nazi pig's usual inane copy & paste troll>
Israel has every right to do everything to protect its citizens from the
murderous Hamas!
-- Dumb Heini admits to living off his wife and being a stay-at-home:
"i told you before my wife and i swapped jobs so i stay at home to do the household and she is going to the office"
MID: <h1Ybs.3823$EP3.1...@newsfe07.iad>
On Sun, 18 Nov 2012 06:42:30 +0100, Dumb Heini, the heavily medicated Dutch
resident Nazi troll and laughing stock of sci and scj, wrote:
> When, sometime back in the 90's?
> for your information as of Oktober 1st the government increased the > percentage for value added tax from 19 to 21 this means that we have to pay > more for our daily purchases further i pay income tax so there is nothing to > worry about
From what "income", you lazy, unemployable, heavily medicated Dutch Nazi
pig? ALL you do is troll on Usenet from early in the morning until late at
night! LOL
-- Dumb Heini admits to living off his wife and being a stay-at-home:
"i told you before my wife and i swapped jobs so i stay at home to do the household and she is going to the office"
MID: <h1Ybs.3823$EP3.1...@newsfe07.iad>
On Sun, 18 Nov 2012 00:56:17 -0500, "All Bark and No Bite", aka Walt
Humpton, aka Caroloony Reb, the subnormal moron and attested schizo from
the States, wrote:
>>Operation Pillar of Defense
> ...is a half-assed joke...something on the order of Lambsky
> calling himself a Canadian. The only "Pillar Of Defense" the
> Israeli Yids have is the constant inflow of the privately Yid-
> owned Federal Reserve Bank "banknotes," which are becoming
> increasingly worthless with each passing day. When that
> day comes, those Yids will be consumed.
LOL!!! Thanks for continuing to entertain us with your schizophrenia,
schizoboy!
-- Bert to our resident schizo:
"The voices in your head are not a reliable source of information."
MID: <XnsA0E69C0A32C1DVeebleFet...@216.250.188.141>
http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=31983 "About 20 convicted Australian pedophiles unsuccessfully tried to
travel to Indonesia and Thailand immediately after the Dec. 26 tsunami
to prey on vulnerable children, a newspaper reported on Saturday."
http://www.uri.edu/artsci/wms/hughes/austral.htm "Child prostitution in Australia was studied by ECPAT, which collected
information from early 471 government and non-government agencies working
with children. The study, the first of its kind, revealed a vicious cycle
leading to child commercial sexual activities."
http://www.atimes.com/oceania/AC27Ah03.html "It also confirmed suspicions the Pacific region has become a new target
for Australian pedophiles fleeing police crackdowns on child sex offences
at home and elsewhere in Asia."
On Sun, 18 Nov 2012 21:41:41 -0800, The Rectum, the resident psychopath of
sci and scj and Usenet's famous sexual cripple, FAKING his time zone again,
farted:
> On Sun, 18 Nov 2012 21:26:47 -0800 (PST), mirjam <mir...@actcom.co.il>
> wrote:
>>On Sunday, November 18, 2012 4:43:57 PM UTC+2, BlastFromThePast wrote:
>>Jerusalem is our capital >>mirjam
> No, it's not, jew cunt. Your temporary capital is Tel Aviv. Your
> permanent capital will be somewhere in the Mediterranean.
ONLY in your delirious psychopathic mind, The Rectum! <BG>
-- Retarded, subnormal and extremely proud of it: our resident psychopath, The Retard (aka "The Rectum").
On Mon, 19 Nov 2012 05:32:22 -0800, The Rectum, the resident psychopath of
sci and scj and Usenet's famous sexual cripple, FAKING his time zone again,
farted:
>>> Jerusalem is our capital
>>> mirjam
>>B'ollocks
> Indeed. Total B"S. Not one country recognises al Quds as the
> capital. Most don't even recognise 'Israel'! LOL
<BG> Blithering idiot!
-- Retarded, subnormal and extremely proud of it: our resident psychopath, The Retard (aka "The Rectum").
In article <37gka85go5h99uso4inlvsjjlnls6ml...@4ax.com>,
The Revd <peel...@degenerate.Grik> wrote:
[...]
Repetition, shiteating limey bastard who sucks the rectum
of a dutch perverted pig who sucks the rectum of a Columbia
SC redneck who sucks the rectums of muzzie donkeys.
