Hamas Chief: Truce With Israel Is Over

[warpedskydiver 0]

Hamas Chief: Truce With Israel Is Over
Wednesday, November 8, 2006 10:31 AM EST
The Associated Press
By IBRAHIM BARZAK

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BEIT HANOUN, Gaza Strip (AP) — Hamas' exiled leader, Khaled Mashaal, says a 2005 truce with Israel is finished and appealed to all Palestinian factions to resume attacks: "There must be a roaring reaction so that we avenge all those victims." Israeli tank shells ripped through a residential neighborhood in the northern Gaza Strip early Wednesday, killing at least 18 members of an extended family, including eight children as they slept, Palestinian health officials and witnesses said.

Two Palestinian militant groups promised to step up suicide attacks in response.

Hamas' military wing in Gaza urged Muslims worldwide to attack U.S. targets, a call disavowed by the Hamas-led Palestinian government.

Israel halted artillery attacks in Gaza while it investigated the shelling, but said operations would continue against Palestinian rocket squads. Both Defense Minister Amir Peretz and Prime Minister Ehud Olmert expressed regret at the loss of civilian life and offered humanitarian and medical assistance to the Palestinian Authority.

The tank shells landed around a compound of four apartment buildings in Beit Hanoun, the town Israel took over for a week in pursuit of militants who launch rockets at southern Israel. More than 50 Palestinians, most of them gunmen, were killed before Israeli troops withdrew on Tuesday, and the rocket attacks resumed immediately.

After the Wednesday shelling, gaping holes were torn into the structures, owned by four brothers from the al-Athamna family who lived side by side. Blood pooled in front of the houses.

Asma al-Athamna, 14, said her family was woken early Wednesday by the sound of an explosion. Her mother quickly ordered everyone out of the house. "She was saying, 'There is shelling.'"

Another shell landed as the family fled, killing the girl's mother, older sister and brother-in-law. "They were killed when they came out of our house," the weeping girl said, speaking from her hospital bed. "I was behind them and I was wounded. "

Bits of dismembered bodies were plastered to walls of the damaged buildings and lying on the ground. A woman's headscarf, children's boots and slippers, and a pair of jeans — all burnt — were strewn outside.

"I saw people coming out of the house, bleeding and screaming. I carried out a young girl covered with blood," said 35-year-old Rahwi Hamad. "We saw legs, hands, parts of heads stuck to the wall. There was a smell of blood and the stench of burnt bodies."

A young man, standing in the bloodied alleyway, said an infant girl had been blown to pieces. "I tried to look for her head, I tried to look for her head," he shrieked, then sank to the ground, weeping.

Weeping relatives gathered outside the homes. One man dipped his hand in victims' blood and smeared it all over his face. "God avenge us, God avenge us," he wailed.

Khaled Radi, a health ministry official, said all the dead belonged to the al-Athamna family. About 60 people were wounded, including 26 children, the ministry said.

The Israeli army said it had fired artillery at suspected rocket launching sites early Wednesday, but the targets were far from the apartment compound.

In Gaza, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said the "terrible, despicable crime" jeopardized peace prospects. "We tell the Israelis, you are not seeking peace at all, but are destroying all chances for peace. You must therefore bear all the consequences of these crimes," he told Palestine TV.

Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas suspended talks with Abbas on forming a coalition government. Abbas, a moderate from the rival Fatah party, urged that negotiations continue. Both men declared a three-day mourning period throughout the West Bank and Gaza and, in a rare gesture, the two visited victims in a Gaza hospital together and each donated blood.

After the explosions, thousands of people, including relatives of the dead, gathered outside Kamal Adwan hospital in northern Gaza, where some of the bodies were brought. Many called for revenge.

Mashaal, Hamas's Syria-based leader, said his group was abandoning a February 2005 truce and would resume attacks, raising the prospect of a new wave of suicide bombings. Scores of Israelis have been killed in attacks by Hamas over the past decade.

"The armed struggle is free to resume, and the resistance is dictated by local circumstances," he told Al-Jazeera from Damascus.

Since the 2005 cease-fire there has been a sharp drop in violence, although rocket fire and periodic suicide attacks have continued. Hamas, however, has not been involved in any of the suicide bombings. The last Hamas suicide attack was in August 2004.

Hamas militants in Gaza, accusing the U.S. of supporting Israel, urged Muslims around the world to target "the American enemy."

But Ghazi Hamad, spokesman for the Hamas-led government, said the group had no intention of attacking American targets. Israel, he added, "is a state that believes in killing, and therefore this state should cease to exist."

The killing of Palestinian civilians in the past has often preceded a sharp escalation of violence. A series of deadly incidents last summer, including a June 9 explosion on a Gaza beach that killed eight civilians, was followed by the capture of an Israeli soldier and an ensuing Israeli invasion of Gaza.

The civilian deaths drew swift condemnations around the world. France and Russia warned of an escalation of hostilities, and the British foreign secretary, Margaret Beckett, demanded that Israel "respect its obligation to avoid harming civilians."

"It is hard to see what this action was meant to achieve and how it can be justified," she said in a statement.

The U.N. special envoy to the Middle East, Alvaro de Soto, said he was "deeply appalled and shocked." Jordan, one of three Muslim states with diplomatic ties to Israel, denounced the "heinous massacre."

Spontaneous demonstrations erupted across Gaza and the West Bank. In the Gaza town of Beit Lahiya, thousands called for revenge and chanted, "Death to Israel, death to America." Black smoke billowed into the skies of northern Gaza as protesters set tires ablaze.

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Nice huh?

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[sundevil777 102]

The AP story should have made it clear how ridiculous it was for Hamas to imply they were holding to the truce.

People are sick and tired of being told that ordinary and decent people are fed up in this country with being sick and tired. I’m certainly not, and I’m sick and tired of being told that I am

[warpedskydiver 0]

Yep

[NCclimber 0]

I've almost always sided with Israel, regarding conflicts with its neighbors, but in light of it's recent conflict in Lebanon and now this, I'm left wondering... WHAT THE HELL ARE THOSE PEOPLE THINKING???

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The Israeli army said it had fired artillery at suspected rocket launching sites early Wednesday, but the targets were far from the apartment compound.

I'll be waiting to see the Israeli explanation for this.

[sundevil777 102]

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I'll be waiting to see the Israeli explanation for this.

I think the explanation is that mistakes are common in war, it isn't neat and clean.

Israel hasn't gone far enough to kill the leadership of their enemy. So they keep having to go back again and again, and when it is ugly, Israel gets most of the attention for it. Millions of civilians died in
WWII, good thing we didn't have a media that would use it to argue that the war was not just.

Hamas must be more thoroughly defeated before peace will have a chance. Arafat should have been killed.

People are sick and tired of being told that ordinary and decent people are fed up in this country with being sick and tired. I’m certainly not, and I’m sick and tired of being told that I am

[falxori 0]

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I'll be waiting to see the Israeli explanation for this.

the initial investigation indicates a targeting equipment error.
doesn't matter if it was an equipment fault or human error and i can explain and give excuses on to why Israel is using artilary but the it doesn't change one fact...

this is a sad mistake and innocent people got hurt, i am deeply sorry for that.

"Carpe diem, quam minimum credula postero."

[CanuckInUSA 0]

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Millions of civilians died in WWII, good thing we didn't have a media that would use it to argue that the war was not just.

Vietnam (right or wrong) wouldn't not have been a failure if the media was not broadcasting nightly news stories to the American public. The first Gulf War would have ended in Sadam's demise had the media not been there to report on the daily progress. And now this Iraq conflict (right or wrong) as well as Afghanistan (absolutely the right war to be fighting) would not be as controversial if the media was not there.

You guys should see what the left-leaning media is doing up here in Canuck'land in reference to the Afghanistan conflict. They open each night on the news saying "are we winning the war, have we lost focus, when will we bring our troops home". So much so that now the spineless, politicially correct lemmings (which resemble Canadians) are all up in arms that Canadian soldiers (some of whom happen to be parents) have died in Afghanistan. Imagine that. A soldier dying on the battle field. It's a foreign concept to the spineless, politicially correct lemmings (who resemble Canadians) up here. Fortunately the Canadian soldiers on the ground believe in what they are doing and they don't care about what the spineless, politically correct lemmings (in reference to too many Canucks) think about the mission. It's their mission, not the lemmings mission.

I'm not convinced the Iraq war was the right thing to do. But it's done and there are no easy answers in how to make that country become more stable. Afghanistan on the other hand is the right thing to be fighting for. The USA should put more focus on that country, but it's not just the USA. Since Canada, the USA and Britian are the only ones doing any fighting in Afghanistan, then we need to put more pressure on the other NATO countries to get their asses out of the safe confines of northern Afghanistan and start helping out in the south. Or we need to disban NATO as it sure doesn't seem to be serving any purpose anymore.

Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

[Darius11 12]

I wish I could say I am so surprised, but unfortunately this happens all the time and has been happening for decades.
I wonder when the suicide bombs start going off in Israel if people will remember the reasons why, or if they will say the crazy Muslims are at it again. I wonder if they will remember that seeing 8-month-old babies and children splattered on the walls would drive the most reasonable men crazy and fill them with rage.
I wonder if people will remember who the real barbarians are.

Time will tell.

I'd rather be hated for who I am, than loved for who I am not." - Kurt Cobain

[sundevil777 102]

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I wish I could say I am so surprised, but unfortunately this happens all the time and has been happening for decades.
I wonder when the suicide bombs start going off in Israel if people will remember the reasons why, or if they will say the crazy Muslims are at it again. I wonder if they will remember that seeing 8-month-old babies and children splattered on the walls would drive the most reasonable men crazy and fill them with rage.
I wonder if people will remember who the real barbarians are.

Time will tell.

Israel attacked because they were getting attacked.

I can recognize who the real barbarians are. The Arabs all promised to destroy Israel before it was created. They tried to do it immediately after it was created, but have failed over and over again.

I understand that you wish the UN had not done what it did in 1948.

When the Arab leaders decide to have as much courage as Anwar Sadat had, then there will be a chance for peace. He truly had a change of heart, realized it was not in his people's interest to continue. We have the opposite of that now.

I assert that it was not Isreal that needed a change of heart to make peace with Egypt. Do you have the courage for that change of heart?

People are sick and tired of being told that ordinary and decent people are fed up in this country with being sick and tired. I’m certainly not, and I’m sick and tired of being told that I am

[CanuckInUSA 0]

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I wonder if people will remember who the real barbarians are.

OMG Darius open up your ####ing eyes will you. Have you seen this? Watch it and tell me what you think of the hatred coming from the mouths of little children. Children are NOT born with hate, but they can easily be brainwashed at such a young and impressionable age.

Islam isn't the only guilty party here. The Christians and the Jews have their own issues as well. But your attitude of who the barbarians are is insulting to western civilization. I can't believe I'm about to say this, but why the #### don't you go back to Iran to be with YOUR own people since you obviously are NOT from the west.

Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

[rehmwa 2]

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hey can easily be brainwashed at such a young and impressionable age.

ya think?

...
Driving is a one dimensional activity - a monkey can do it - being proud of your driving abilities is like being proud of being able to put on pants

[billvon 3,009]

>I can't believe I'm about to say this, but why the #### don't you go back to Iran . . .

Your one warning.

[Richards 0]

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I'm not convinced the Iraq war was the right thing to do. But it's done and there are no easy answers in how to make that country become more stable.

I wish more people would accept that right or wrong ..it is done and now the question is "how do we minimize the damage". Too many people want to debate a decision that has already been made even though it is now moot. Lay the blame where it belongs after the issue has been resolved. None of the people who wish to lament endlessly about what should have been done can offer a constructive solution as to how to move forward.

If you tell people that if we pull the troops out it could cause chaos they will simply say "well Bush shouldn't have gone in there in the first place". That is great but no help whatsoever to the people in Iraq who now have to face the consequences of an invasion they had no say in. If pulling out will make the situation better then fine do it but don't leave them to clear up our mess because "we shouldn't have gone in there in the first place"

Sorry for going off in a tangent from the original thread.

Richards

My biggest handicap is that sometimes the hole in the front of my head operates a tad bit faster than the grey matter contained within.

[SkyDekker 1,465]

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You guys should see what the left-leaning media is doing up here in Canuck'land in reference to the Afghanistan conflict. They open each night on the news saying "are we winning the war, have we lost focus, when will we bring our troops home". So much so that now the spineless, politicially correct lemmings (which resemble Canadians) are all up in arms that Canadian soldiers (some of whom happen to be parents) have died in Afghanistan. Imagine that. A soldier dying on the battle field. It's a foreign concept to the spineless, politicially correct lemmings (who resemble Canadians) up here. Fortunately the Canadian soldiers on the ground believe in what they are doing and they don't care about what the spineless, politically correct lemmings (in reference to too many Canucks) think about the mission. It's their mission, not the lemmings mission.

You have quite a chip on your shoulder.

Funny to see you tell Darius to leave a country that has spit you out. Your bitterness is showing.

[PhillyKev 0]

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The first Gulf War would have ended in Sadam's demise had the media not been there to report on the daily progress.

Ummm...is that why Bush Sr. has stated he stopped the troops from going into Baghdad after Hussein because of pressure from the Saudis?

[CanuckInUSA 0]

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Funny to see you tell Darius to leave a country that has spit you out. Your bitterness is showing.

Dude I chose to voluntarily leave the USA. Get your facts straight before you make such accusations. I'm mad a Darius for accusing the west of being barbarians. Islam, Christians and Israel are all equally responsible for the mess in Lebanon, the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. But I don't see video of small 4-5 year old Christian or Jewish children claiming death to Islam. But there is no shortage of video of small 4-5 year old Islamic children spewing hatred.

Bill has warned me (he was not wrong to do so) and because of this I will attempt to curb any PAs towards other people. But things don't get done when people are always politically correct. There is a time and a place to take a stand on an issue. Enough with the political correctness. Radical Islam sure as heck doesn't care.

Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

[SkyDekker 1,465]

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I'm mad a Darius for accusing the west of being barbarians. Islam, Christians and Israel are all equally responsible for the mess in Lebanon, the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. But I don't see video of small 4-5 year old Christian or Jewish children claiming death to Islam. But there is no shortage of video of small 4-5 year old Islamic children spewing hatred.

Sure there is. There are even cute blond female twins who make a singing career with songs about white supremacy. They are quite young too.

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Dude I chose to voluntarily leave the USA.

Sounds like you desperately want to go back though. Something must be stopping you.

[Darius11 12]

Hey dude.

As others stated there are plenty of children who might say the same hateful things that you have heard Muslims children say. By the way I couldn’t see anything on the link other then what looked to be the home page of a news group.

If you see the movie Death in Gaza you see many young Palestinians children saying how they hate Jews. They think Jews are like dogs. Off course that is wrong, hateful, and ignorant way to think. But there is one thing people seem to miss the reason they children say they hate the Jews is not because they hate Jews because of there religion but because the people who have killed there family and friends happen to be Jewish.

If since the day you were born all you see with your own eyes is that left handed people hunt and kill the people you love your going to hate left handed people. It is not necessary thought but it is a simple cause of the environment. I bet if they didn’t see Israelis kill their parents, and destroy everything they love there would be no hate. I mean you can’t deny that can you?

The first stone was cased by the Israelis. They think they can be bullies and have the military strength to be bullies to the weak countries, but because of their actions they will never have peace. Unfortunately I don’t see them changing their ways any time soon.


As to why I don’t go back to Iran is simple. In the Unites States I can speak my mind without fear, and leaving here for most of my life it feels more home to me then any other place on the planet.

I'd rather be hated for who I am, than loved for who I am not." - Kurt Cobain

[CanuckInUSA 0]

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I'm mad a Darius for accusing the west of being barbarians. Islam, Christians and Israel are all equally responsible for the mess in Lebanon, the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. But I don't see video of small 4-5 year old Christian or Jewish children claiming death to Islam. But there is no shortage of video of small 4-5 year old Islamic children spewing hatred.

Sure there is. There are even cute blond female twins who make a singing career with songs about white supremacy. They are quite young too.

I said it before, I will say it again. Islam, Christianity and Jeudaism are all equally responsible for the #### the world finds itself in today. What's an agnostic to do?

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Dude I chose to voluntarily leave the USA.

Sounds like you desperately want to go back though. Something must be stopping you.

Dude not long ago you confronted me on a post where I was showing too much emotion and you were right, Well it's time that I confront you to tell you that you're trying to cash a check that you can't come close to clearing.

Anyone who's ever worked in the USA under a TN-1 work visa will tell you (I hope Remi's listening as he is in the US under a TN-1) that as long as you're qualified for the job(s) getting that visa for the first few years will be no problem at all. But it is a temporary work visa. It's not the ticket into the USA. I knew this before I even moved to the country. I knew that if I wanted to stay that I would need some other type of visa. Anyway after a few years of TN-1 employment, the INS all of a sudden starts becoming dicks to you (9/11 doesn't help). Well what do you think happened to me? Dude I own a house in Calgary with a very small debt. I can come back here and probably find a good well paying job and live for cheap. I'm giving up good jumping in the USA to live up here for cheap and jump part time. I can easily make another attempt of obtaining US employment and obtaining new TN-1 work visas. So far I've played by the rules. But if I ever do decide to head back down to the states to work, I'm not going to move all my stuff down there like I did the first time. It's just too damn expensive. So it makes more economical sense for me to live in Canada (go figure with our messed up socialist society) and play part time in the USA. I got 8 years out of numerous TN-1 work visas (and paid off ... well almost ... a large mortgage in the process). That's pretty good for a temporary work visa. I knew I was coming back to Canada. I just didn't know when ... until last year.

You were right that first time about me being emotional with some posts. But don't try and cash
some checks that you can't remotely come close to clearing. Your assumptions are beyond belief.

BillVon: if you want to ban me, go ahead. I'm actually going to step away from the 'puter for a while as there are things I need to tend to.

Remi: if you're out there. Know that your TN-1 visa is only temporary. If you want/need to stay in the USA, you will need a different visa. But I'm sure Remi already knew this before he went down to AZ because he seems like a pretty smart guy.

Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

[CanuckInUSA 0]

NOw get back talking about World War III

Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

[tonyhays 86]

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The first stone was cast by the Israelis.

Care to list a reliable source for that? Or is that just your opinion?

“That which can be asserted without evidence, can be dismissed without evidence.”

[sundevil777 102]

I understand that you think the UN never should have created Israel after WWII, right?

I understand that you wish that Israel had not won all the wars that followed.

When the Arab leaders decide to have as much courage as Anwar Sadat had, then there will be a chance for peace. He truly had a change of heart, realized it was not in his people's interest to continue. We have the opposite of that now.

I assert that it was not Isreal that needed a change of heart to make peace with Egypt. Do you have the courage for that change of heart?

People are sick and tired of being told that ordinary and decent people are fed up in this country with being sick and tired. I’m certainly not, and I’m sick and tired of being told that I am

[juanesky 0]

I don't think so.

With so much literature on the subject it is not hard to maybe go back to the end of the Ottoman empire, review the help the Nazi's got with the Mufti of Jerusalem, and how systemic extermination of the Jewish people is not a new idea of the Islam extremism..

When there is no room for a side to abridge peace, toppled with constant ignorant religous propaganda to keep the masses ignorant, hate will take over any rational thought.

"According to some of the conservatives here, it sounds like it's fine to beat your wide - as long as she had it coming." -Billvon

[SkyDekker 1,465]

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When there is no room for a side to abridge peace, toppled with constant ignorant religous propaganda to keep the masses ignorant, hate will take over any rational thought.

very true, that's how you ended up in Iraq.

[kallend 2,032]

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When there is no room for a side to abridge peace, toppled with constant ignorant religous propaganda to keep the masses ignorant, hate will take over any rational thought.

very true, that's how you ended up in Iraq.

LOL True words.

...

The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one.