Jabbering on about nothing

Below are excerpts from a really good article by Yosef (Tommy) Lapid. While I disagree with his rhetoric about the settlers, the rest of the piece is right on the money and is basically what I’ve been saying forever.

The road to nowhere

“There is no point to the talks because ultimately they lead nowhere, being an exercise in futility that will never culminate in an agreement. The relationship between Israel and the Palestinians in Judea and Samaria will carry on without the benefit of a formal agreement, as they have until now.

The die was cast when Israel withdrew from Gush Katif. It was a historic step, a sacrifice that shook Israeli society.

The Palestinians' response was not long in coming: They stepped up the Kassam fire and elected Hamas, establishing a regime that does not recognize Israel's right to exist and is unwilling to concede its armed struggle until Israel is completely defeated.

THE ISRAELI public has learned its lesson. It has learned that every Israeli concession boomerangs against us, that the Palestinians prefer suffering and war to prosperity and peace, that there is no one to talk to and nothing that can be trusted: not Oslo, Camp David, Madrid or the withdrawal from Gush Katif. The Israeli peace camp has imploded and the Right is gloating, "We told you so!"

Abbas cannot give up the "right of return" or a single inch of land beyond the 1967 borders because if he does, he will not survive. And Olmert, even if he wanted to, could not close an deal with him because of two ironclad principles: Israel cannot make concession to the Palestinians in Judea and Samaria because Hamas could take over Ramallah at any moment, just as it did in Gaza.

Abbas would be removed from power, Ismail Haniyeh would be declared the president of Free Palestine, women would be ordered to veil their faces, men to grow beards, and the Kassam rockets - and eventually Katyusha rockets too - would land not only on Sderot but on Netanya and Kfar Saba. And on Ben-Gurion airport, cutting off Israel's air connection with the world.

Giving in to the settlers is a shameful capitulation to the use of force and the deterioration of the rule of law. It is a victory for the zealots that will haunt us for all time. But that is the reality in which we live - a destructive, insane one; but reality nonetheless.

Olmert and Abbas can talk until they're blue in the face. The Beduin say that the dogs bark and the caravan moves on. In this case, the peace caravan isn't going anywhere.”

Palestinians send kids to their deaths'

Yes, it’s true, I don’t know why I’m even surprised, Palestinian terrorists send children to their deaths'. Yesterday, the IDF mistakenly killed two children who had been sent by Islamic Jihad terrorists to collect the rocket-launchers they had used to fire rockets at Israel. The IDF forces saw people approaching the launchers and took them to be terrorists and opened fire.

“The Israel Defense Forces killed six Palestinians in three separate incidents Tuesday, including two children who were targeted as they tried to collect Qassam rocket launchers in the Gaza Strip…

Soon after the launch, an IDF force identified the source of the rocket fire, surveyed the area, and identified a number of suspicious images near the launchers…

They said it is possible that Islamic Jihad had hired the children to collect the launchers after the launch. This phenomenon had already been observed in other instances, the IDF officers said…

An IDF source said that troops that had carried out the operation identified the figures next to the launchers as militants. "They were handling the launchers and they obviously hadn't come to slide on them," he said. "Every Palestinian, including the militants, knows that anyone who hangs around these launchers is endangering themselves. ”

Rocket Defence System Still Being Mismanaged by Politicians

Haaretz reports that defence industry officials have said that there is still no consistent funding plan for the rocket defence system elected by the Ministry of Defence (which happens to be rubbish anyway compared to other ones which are at a more advanced stage of development, less costly and more effective as I mentioned here).

What is the problem here? How is it so complicated to work out that Israel desperately needs a workable defence system against short range rockets? The major threat facing Israel on its northern border is short and medium range rockets and missiles and that negating their effect would effectively neutralise Hizballah and Syria’s ability to harm Israel without actually trying to invade.

It’s now a year on and we seem to be no closer to having an up and running rocket-defence system, despite the fact that Qasssams are still being fired at the south-western Negev every day and that tensions on the northern border with Hizballah and Syria are still extremely high. How hard is it to decide on a system, fund it, develop it and deploy it? The technology is there and the necessity is there. The funds have to be made available to counter this strategic threat to the State of Israel.

“Lack of funds may expose home front to missiles

Lack of a consistent funding plan may leave the home front open to rocket and missile threats from neighboring countries, defense industry officials told Haaretz Thursday… They warned that inadequate and short-sighted budgeting may cause contractors to be unable to meet the government's deadline 20 months from now for deploying anti-ballistic rocket systems near population centers…

The sources estimate that the budget for Iron Dome, Israel's short-range, rocket-based interception system, will run out by the end of 2007…

A senior official in the defense industry told Haaretz that the Iron Dome project "is advancing at a very slow pace, which contradicts the cabinet's resolutions on quickly setting up active defenses for towns and cities near the Gaza Strip and the border with Lebanon that have in past years come under repeated rocket attacks."…

"The defense industries need money to make headway. But currently, there isn't even a dedicated administrational body for handling development and to regularly allocate budgets and sub-budgets," the official said. ”

UN Security Council to Reject expanded role for UNIFIL

Notice the soldier at the back carrying a gun which he will never use, maybe he needs a paper-weight though?

The Jerusalem Post reports that UNIFIL, the UN force supposedly responsible for peace-keeping in southern Lebanon and preventing arms-smuggling and other Hizballah activities, will not be given a wider mandate to step-up its operations against the flagrant violations of the cease-fire and UNSC Resolution 1701. Well, we wouldn't want to tire them out, give them something to actually do or otherwise bother them would we?

"Report: UNSC to reject Israeli request to expand UNIFIL role

The UN Security Council will reportedly reject an Israeli request to expand UNIFIL's mandate in southern Lebanon against Hizbullah...

According to the report, the Security Council will reject the request due to safety concerns for its personnel on the ground in southern Lebanon. "

Is there a reason they carry guns or is it simply for the photo opportunities?

Palestinians Continue Ongoing Efforts to Kidnap IDF Soldiers

Yup, those busy “militants” are industriously burrowing away, trying to kidnap more Israeli soldiers. Thankfully, the tunnel they were digging from Gaza to Israel was discovered before it could be put to use. Good to see Gazans putting their time, effort and money into such profitable endeavours which help the Palestinian cause so much.

Also note that the entrance to the tunnel was being hidden by a greenhouse growing tomatoes, a nice convenient civilian endeavour to hide behind. There’s is no end of civilian property and infrastructure which the Palestinian terrorists have used to hide behind. Sick!

IDF uncovers tunnel from Gaza to Israel

"An underground tunnel stretching towards Israel from the northern Gaza Strip and hidden by a Palestinian greenhouse was discovered by the IDF on Tuesday, security forces reported on Wednesday.

According to the report, Palestinian terror organizations hoped to fill the tunnel with bombs, which would then be detonated under an unspecified Israeli civilian or military target. The army is also checking into the possibility that gunmen intended to use the tunnel to infiltrate into Israel."

US to immortalise Iran’s Guards as Heroes

The Revolutionary Guards fight to win the Ahmadinejad Lookalike Competition. First prize - Ahmadinejad’s toupee. Still greasy.

The Times Online:
“US to blacklist Iran's Guards as terrorists
America is planning to increase the pressure on Iran by designating its elite fighting force, the Revolutionary Guards, a terrorist organisation. “

America clearly needs a new plan of action. Does George Bush not realise that as soon as he says something is bad, the entire world of radical Islam want to make it ten times bigger, stronger and more explosive? Let’s take the Revolutionary Guards as an example. No doubt, as soon as America decides they are the big bad, their funding and publicity will increase tenfold. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will no doubt get up on his soapbox and start yelling (because they do always yell don’t they, invest in some microphones people…) about how evil America is and how the West is trying to take over the world, destroy all that is good, steal your last rolo…

I really think that Mr Bush would be better off giving Haniyeh and his friendly neighbourhood bomb supplier Ahmadinejad a big hug and kiss on the cheek. It’s the quickest, shortest and least bloody way to bring peace to the Middle East. As soon as he says Hamas is good and Israel is bad, every Arab leader will be queuing up to sign a peace agreement with Israel before you can say “we’re so contradictory we’ll blow up Al Aqsa ourselves dammit.”

Taliban Scum Killing Hostages One by One

Shim Sung-min, who was with his church group on an aid mission in central Afghanistan, was found Tuesday. Authorities say Taliban militants fatally shot him.

The inhuman scum who terrorised Afganistan and the rest of the world for seven years, and who continue to try to thrwart democracy and decency in Afghanistan today, are doing what they do best; killing people.

Twenty-three South-Koreans were abducted by the Taliban in Afghanistan and two have now been murdered after the Taliban demands and deadlines were not met.

Afghanistan, and the fight against the Taliban is a crucial battleground against Islamism and NATO needs to send more troops and spend more resources on this huge problem before the insurgency there gets out of hand once again.