Israel: The Blameless Seek Vengeance

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September 23, 2010:  Several days of rioting in Jerusalem were sparked by Arab men throwing stones at an Israeli security guard, who fired at the attackers, killing one. The stone throwers had ambushed the security guard, who feared for his life. Arabs rioted throughout the city because of this injustice.

The Palestinian economy has long been sustained by charitable aid, mainly from the West. The Arab world complaints a lot about the economic plight of the Palestinians, but doesn't step up when it comes time to support the Palestinians, either in the Palestinian territories, or by allowing Palestinians to become citizens of countries they are now living in. So Arab nations maintain Palestinians within their borders in refugee camps, which are heavily policed. Western nations are encouraged to pay for the refugee camps, and to maintain Palestinians in the Palestinian territories. Arabs blame the West for the plight of the Palestinians, holding the Arab world blameless. Meanwhile, Palestinian leaders in the Palestinian territories steal much of the foreign aid, or divert it to groups that try to carry out terrorist attacks on Israel. Palestinian media has, for decades, portrayed these terrorists as heroes.

The Israeli economy is currently growing at a rate of 4.6 percent. Unemployment has fallen from seven percent earlier this year to 6.2 percent now. The latest data shows the population of Israel as 7,865,500 (5,770,900  Jews, 1,559,100 Arabs,315,500 other minorities and 220,000 migrant workers).

Israel has refused to extend, by three months, the ten month moratorium on new construction in Israeli settlements in the West Bank. The moratorium expires on September 30. Palestinians say they will abandon the peace talks if the moratorium is not extended. But the Israelis know that the Palestinians are saying openly, in the Arab language media, that the peace talks are just a propaganda tool in the larger effort to destroy Israel. While Fatah and Hamas are united in this, they stand opposed in every other area. Hamas is particularly incensed at how Fatah cooperates with Israeli police to dismantle Hamas terrorist operations in the West Bank. Hamas has openly called Fatah traitors to the Palestinian cause over this.

For a long time, Palestinians thought that a falling Jewish birth rate and a high Palestinian one would eventually destroy the Jewish state. But these trends are not holding up. The Palestinian birth rate is falling and the Israeli one is rising. So terrorism and acquiring anti-Jewish allies in the West becomes all the more important.

The resumption of peace talks has caused an increase in rocket and mortar attacks from Gaza. This has triggered the usual Israeli response; bombing smuggling tunnels and suspected Hamas terrorist bases in Gaza.

September 22, 2010:  A UN panel concluded that Israel illegally tried to defend itself when its troops intercepted a ship full of terrorists trying to reach Gaza on May 31st. The Israelis consider the UN biased and easily manipulated by Moslem nations.

September 20, 2010: For the first time in three years, Israel allowed automobiles to be imported into Gaza, as twenty vehicles were delivered. At the same time, someone fired a rocket from Gaza into Israel, where it caused no damage. In Jerusalem, Arabs and Jews battled in the streets as Arabs protested Jews moving into an Arab neighborhood.

September 19, 2010: A top Hamas security official (Mohammed Dababish) was arrested in Egypt, as he returned from Saudi Arabia. Dababish was accused of travelling on false documents. Egypt has been cracking down on Hamas this year, because Hamas has been supporting terror attacks on Egypt. There are several anti-Egyptian Islamic radical groups in Gaza, and many Hamas supporters who are hostile to Egypt. There is growing violence between Hamas operatives and Egyptian border guards.

In Gaza, Islamic conservatives came at night and burned down a beach resort. While the Hamas government has encouraged the building of such operations, religious hard liners are hostile to facilities that let men and women mingle together. Officially, Hamas allows this, but the Islamic conservatives are allowed to attack those who seek to live in ways that Islamic conservatives disapprove of.

September 17, 2010: Despite objections from the United States and Israel, Russia has said it will go through with selling high speed P-800 Yakhont missiles to Syria (who is expected to pass some on to Iran), The P-Yakhont has a range of about 300 kilometers and a 200 kg (440 pound) warhead.

In the West Bank, Israeli police found and killed Hamas terrorist leader Asad Abu Shilbayeh.

September 16, 2010: Eight mortar shells and one rocket, fired from Gaza, fell in Israel. In response, Hamas targets and smuggling tunnels in Gaza were bombed.

September 12, 2010: An Israeli tank fired on three men in Gaza believed to be setting up a rocket for firing. Hamas claimed the three men were out working in the fields, at night. In the last week, at least eight mortar shells and rockets have been fired into Israel from Gaza. Hamas is allowing this as a protest against the peace talks between Israel and Fatah, about the establishment of a Palestinian state.

September 6, 2010: Israel and Russia have signed a military cooperation agreement. For the Russians, this gives them better access to Israeli military technology. For Israel, this provides another export customer, and better access to Russian politicians when Israel is trying to block weapons sales to Iran.

 

 

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