Yesterday, 11-15, the Israeli Human Rights Group - B’Tselem, released a report on punitive house demolitions. It’s an eye opener:
http://www.btselem.org/English/Press_Releases/2004/041115.asp
Has Israel’s human rights record become ‘terror for terror’:
http://www.geocities.com/palestinedebate/Is-Israel-a-Terrorist-State.html
I think it is fair to say that they go a tad over the top… strafing apartment complexes with rockets from helicopters isn’t exactly in line with Amnesty International’s concepts of fair play O_o
Thanks for commenting.
Well, just a drive-by. I’m sure it’ll get heated soon.
No. Unless you are defining ‘terrorist state’ differently than I do of course.
-XT
Yes.
xtisme…does not a terrorist state create terror? You will sit there and say that Israel does create terror among the Palestinians?
If one is repeatedly attacked, one has the right (and the duty) to defend yourself and your people…especially when the stated goal of your attackers is to destroy all your people and your way of life. IMO, the majority of what Israel does is in retaliation for attacks inflicted upon them by the rabid faction of the Palestinians. The peace ball was in the Palestinian’s court…and they chose to continue the killing (several times throughout their sorrid history btw), and continue the cycle of violence. In fact, I think thats the only think keeping the rabid faction of the Palestinian’s going…the continued cycle of violence.
I’m sure this won’t be a popular stance on THIS message board so I await the eventual flames with resignation.
-XT
Interesting statement.
First of all you think that the majority of Israels attacks are not terroristic in nature. Are the rest of the attacks terroristic?
Then you say that the attacks on Israel are from the rabid faction. Therefore it’s ok with you if Israel attacks those that are not rabid?
Is that right?
I note that the linked summary answers the first question I’ve had all along about this practice:
Just what is the fundamental purpose and benefit of these demolitions, anyway? According to the cited report, the Israeli military seems to beleive that this somehow has a deterrent effect on Palestinian-launched terrorist attacks. Yet the attacks seem to continue with dismaying frequency. Is there any evidence at all that this is indeed a deterent? If not, I find it difficult to see this practice as anything other than a simple, crude and rather cruel revenge, punishing arbitrarily-selected Palestinians simply because one cannot punish a suicide bomber after the fact.
It takes two to tango.
Keep in mind, that to the Palestinians, people came by, kicked them out of their (by then strongly religious) homes, and had several generations worth of getting walls built around them and apartment complexes strafed. Frankly, I’d be a little bit peeved in their position, myself. I can’t imagine who wouldn’t.
They want home back. Some of them won’t stop until they get it back, or they die. As long as Isreal is happy to provide undertaker services, they’ll keep business brisk.
You’re learning well. 
Not to mention cars bombed on busy streets because one “bad guy” was in it. To hell with the innocent people who happened to be around.
Collateral damage.
:rolleyes:
Y’all reckon Duhbya learned from the Israeli’s or the other way around?
(Another reply becasue I love you so much
Are terrorist attacks justified if they are in response to an attack?
Israel’s method of conducting war has been, if nothing else, to terrorize the more neutral part of the Palestinian population. Building walls, check points, bombings, running tanks through the streets - they basically are waging a war of terror, partly psychological and partly physical, on the Palestinians.
Is that not the definition of terrorism?
Oh, yes, that incident. Nothing says “we want peace” like a salvo of missiles into traffic to take out one old guy who invented some rockets.
Gotta give them props for their intelligence gathering, though. Bush had exponentially more resources at hand, and he couldn’t find most of that deck of evil cards.
But saying that Bush is learning tricks from Israel is wrong. America is much more inept (or unwilling). Hell, they couldn’t even get Muqtada al-Sadr. Israel would have offed him in a weekend.
No to x whatever.
Israel can do no wrong.
Becasue, after all, it is their homeland. Kinda. Sort of. Not really. But it is. Now.
:smack:
Only because American tax dollars pay for their military.
Curious, how that is not even a debate issue in our elections.
Are we still so shocked and guilty about the holocaust that we’re causing this much trouble and wasting this much money? Can we go back to that plan where they get a chunk of Germany?
Damn imperialist attitudes, ignorance of local populations leading to decades of strife and civil war, and we keep paying for it like it is WWE Fight Night on cable.
Oh, and then a bunch of other assholes who hate us for other reasons use it as a recruiting tactic to kill even more people.
Wonderful. I want to build a time machine, go back to the moment this plan was thought up, and beat every person in the room senseless.
True, if you consider anything like once a week to be “dismaying frequency.” I do, but stay with me for a moment. The attacks, however, do seem to be happening less often than they used to. In fact, according to one website I looked at, there have been 42 attacks in the last 12 month period, as contrasted with 64 in the previous 12 month period. Obviously, there are a lot of factors involved here, but I don’t think its been clearly demonstrated that there is no deterrent effect.
Not to hijack or anything…
but…
You do know we pay for Icelands military too don’t you?
No flames here, I agree.
Those of you who think Israel should give back the land, when will you be giving it back to the Native Americans?