Netanyahu and Barak have decided to deliberately violate a cease-fire which had just been stabilized.At the price of great and ongoing suffering on both sides of the border, the government's aim had been accomplished: social issues will be removed from the public agenda and the election campaign
"Binyamin Netanyahu and Ehud Barak have decided -- for the second time in a row the State of Israel will conduct general elections under the shadow of war in the Gaza Strip. The cease-fire which already started to stabilize has been broken deliberately and shattered to pieces. The inhabitants of the communities of southern Israel, who just started to breathe freely, are sent right back to air raid alarms and to running to shelters" said former Knesset Member Uri Avnery of Gush Shalom.
"At the price of great suffering on both sides of the border, the government's aim has been accomplished: the social issues, which threatened to assume prominence in these elections, have been pushed aside and removed from the agenda of the elections campaign. Forgotten, too, is the brave attempt of Mahmoud Abbas to address the Israeli public opinion. In the coming weeks, the headlines will be filled with constant war and death, destruction and bloodshed. When it ends at last, it will be revealed that no goal has been achieved and that the problems remain the same, or perhaps exacerbated. "
Published on Nov 15, 2012 by RussiaToday
The operation "Pillar of Defense" has been launched by the Israel military on Wednesday. Many of the buildings in downtown Gaza City are in ruins or badly damaged after being attacked by Israeli warplanes. The IDF says all options are on the table in Gaza, including a ground operation. Israeli warships have struck "terror sites" in the Gaza Strip, the military forces confirmed.
4. Finally, my own questions to the Jewish National Fund officials suggest my own understanding of how Jewish values might be applied to this violence:
Dear xxxxm xxxx,
I understand from JNF that you are available to answer questions about its message on the increased violence between the Government and People of Israel and the Government and People of Gaza. I do have questions:
1. Why did the JNF headline rockets against Israel without mentioning that in the previous week there had been armed attacks by IDF units (presumably under orders from above) that included the killing of several Palestinians in Gaza and military incursions into Gaza, BEFORE the Gazan rocket attacks on Israel?
2. The JNF cited Pekuach nefesh ["Save life," the Prime Directive of Jewish law]. Is this restricted to "Protect Jewish lives" or does it encompass "Protect Palestinian lives" (including 11-month-old babies)?
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