Operation Cast Lead (Day Fifteen)

Their is some evidence that Hamas is falling apart, or is at least suffering more then they are letting on. The current setbacks that Hamas is facing could be specifically fear related to the current offensive in which case many may reassert themselves after the conflict; depending of course on how it ends. The IDF is reporting seeing cases of desertions, unauthorized leaves, and people who are refusing to come out of hiding. A senior Hamas member was killing launching mortal shells. The report suggests that he was forced to fire the shells himself because his subordinate's refused to fire the munitions themselves (read more at http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3653796,00.html and http://idfspokesperson.com/2009/01/10/senior-hamas-commander-killed-10-jan-2009-1745-ist).

This comes as Israel may be preparing for a "new phase" in the conflict. Leaflets were dropped in Gaza telling the residents that the IDF will escalate the operation. There is nothing specific to indicate exactly what that means. It seems logical that the escalation is either a psychological tactic or an indication that Israel will start making serious incursions into more high dense population areas in Gaza (read more at http://washingtontimes.com/news/2009/jan/10/israel-pounds-targets-draws-near-gaza-city).

The Islamic Republic of Mauritania has recalled it's ambassador to Israel in what it is calling the first step in cutting ties to the Jewish State. Mauritania was one of three Arab League members that had full diplomatic ties to Israel. The country recently had a coup which resulted in a curtailing of aid from some in the western world. Cutting ties with Israel will allow it to secure aid from some in Libya and the Gulf (read more at http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3653858,00.html and http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7013553148).

The IDF has said that it did not fire on the UN truck and was not responsible for the death of the aid worker. The IDF soldiers in the field said that it was Hamas snipers that fired at the aid workers. The UN now promises an investigation. Just so you understand the chronology here; first the UN accuses Israel, then it promises an investigation. So, unconfirmed and likely bias reports were sufficient to blame and condemn Israel. That is until Israel defends itself and the UN has to acknowledge they have no evidence to support that claim (read more at http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1231424908570&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull). I have never seen the the impact zone of a tank shell, but it is hard to imagine that someone could not tell the difference between one and rifle fire. Something is definitely going on here, but unfortunately it is par for the course as far as far as bias against Israel goes.

Yourish.com has done some research and believes that Hamas is intentionally targeting schools in Israel. The premise is that the new rockets Hamas fires, the grad, can be targeted to some extent. Further, Israeli schools can be easily located at sites like Google Maps. Then they did a cursory check of how many schools or kindergartens were hit and found five. You can read about it at http://www.yourish.com/2009/01/08/5971.

Mark Steyn has an article over at Article.NationalReview.com which goes through some of the recent anti-Semitic actions/remarks/protests. I understand in theory that someone can be anti-Israel or anti-Zionist without being anti-Semitic, but the reality does not seem to reflect the theory. How are comments at various protests such as "Hitler didn’t do a good job", "You need a big oven, that’s what you need", or "Hamas, Hamas! Jews to the gas" anti-Israeli? Clearly they are anti-Semitic. You can read his article at http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=ZjkwNjVlNmE5MWUyOTVhMWIyODkzNWNlZGM1YjU2Zjc=.

In case you are just tooning in, or want a little refresher on the situation on how this situation developed, IsraelMatzav.blogspot.com found a good video (http://israelmatzav.blogspot.com/2009/01/best-commentary-ive-seen-on-gaza.html). It is almost ten minutes long, but it is worth the watch.

Video embedded below.



Here are some of the videos referenced above. These are not all protests from today, but help show what was talked about before. The first one is short and you should watch the whole thing. For the second you should jump to 3:20 for the pertinent quote if you are pressed for time, but their are interesting quotes throughout the video.

Videos embedded below.