Hamas ties ceasefire to blockade

[webfact]

Hamas says Gaza blockade must end before ceasefire

GAZA: -- The leader of Islamic militant group Hamas has said there can be no ceasefire to ease the conflict in Gaza without an end to Israel's blockade.

Khaled Meshaal said Hamas would continue to reject a lasting ceasefire until its conditions were met.

It follows further Israeli air strikes and ground operations in Gaza, as Hamas continues to fire rockets into Israel.

Israel launched its military offensive on 8 July with the declared objective of stopping rocket fire from Gaza.

At least 649 Palestinians and 32 Israeli soldiers, plus three Israeli civilians, have been killed in the past 15 days of fighting, officials say

Earlier, the UN's top human rights official, Navi Pillay, condemned Israel's military actions in Gaza.

Full story: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-28451691


-- BBC 2014-07-24

[Ulysses G.]

A ceasefire, so that Hamas - the terrorist group - can rearm and they are tying it to the preventive military blockade that prevents them from doing so easily. Yeah, that's going to fly.

Edited July 24, 2014 by Ulysses G.

[trainman34014]

Whist i feel sorrow for the ordinary Palestinian people's in this war, they need to come to the realisation that having Hamas as leaders or even sharing leadership will never bring about a peaceful solution to the problems. You cannot bring a terrorist organisation who openly admit their aim is the destruction of the Jewish State to the bargaining table.

[Halion]

Those who lay down with dogs will get up with fleas. Palestine needs to get rid of Hamas in order to have any chance of negotiation..... and that is not going to happen. I am not pro Israel but I have little time for the pathetic whinging Palestinians who allowed Hamas to put them in the position there are in today. There can be little doubt that ideological groups like Hamas and it's ilk have to be eradicated, totally.

[joepublic]

A ceasefire, so that Hamas - the terrorist group - can rearm and they are tying it to the preventive military blockade that prevents them from doing so easily. Yeah, that's going to fly.

You are wrong.

They are saying there will be no ceasefire until the Zionists lift their illegal blockade of Gaza.

[ezzra]

Three menthe ,and again, last year, Israel has intercepted a ship fully laden with armaments, munitions

and rockets heading to Gaza from the good people of N. Korea, who's to say that lifting the blockade,

the next ship that arrives to Gaza will contain small dirty nuclear devise or some kind of chemical weapon like

Syria has and Hamas, who sworn to destroy Israel and the Jews will have that in their hand now?

Hamas has to lay down it's arms and rockets pick up a shovel and instated of digging hundreds of km

of tunnels to attack Israel, build your people a home, an country where you can live in peace and prosperity like

all the other countries in the world,

[Loptr]

Nothing like trying to demand terms for a cease fire when you're getting your arse kicked...

[joepublic]

Whist i feel sorrow for the ordinary Palestinian people's in this war, they need to come to the realisation that having Hamas as leaders or even sharing leadership will never bring about a peaceful solution to the problems. You cannot bring a terrorist organisation who openly admit their aim is the destruction of the Jewish State to the bargaining table.

So who else will resist the Zionist occupation and blockade, or get them their land back. You cannot bring a terrorist government who openly refuse to hand back stolen land to the bargaining table.

People, ask yourselves - what choices do the Palestinians have to get their land back?

Unless there is an answer to that question, and progress with a solution, Hamas will continue to flourish - after all, no one wants to live with the Zionists jackboots pinning their faces to the ground.

While there is occupation, and no just solution to the "right of return", all resistance is not only valid, but needs to supported by the international community

[up-country_sinclair]

Israel's naval blockade of Gaza is illegal, immoral and inhumane.

[kblaze]

Those who lay down with dogs will get up with fleas. Palestine needs to get rid of Hamas in order to have any chance of negotiation..... and that is not going to happen. I am not pro Israel but I have little time for the pathetic whinging Palestinians who allowed Hamas to put them in the position there are in today. There can be little doubt that ideological groups like Hamas and it's ilk have to be eradicated, totally.

I agree that Hamas needs to be voted out.

But to put things in perspective; Hamas won 44.45% of the votes in the 2006 election. They have a lot of support, but there are MANY Palestinians who don't support them. We can't clump them all together.

Remember it was Bin Laden who used the reasoning that since US citizens voted in the US Govt, who they accused of committing various crimes against Islam, the citizens were no longer "innocent" - hence 9/11.

There has already been several statements by extremists on the Israeli side that follow this line of thinking.

[kblaze]

Three menthe ,and again, last year, Israel has intercepted a ship fully laden with armaments, munitions

and rockets heading to Gaza from the good people of N. Korea, who's to say that lifting the blockade,

the next ship that arrives to Gaza will contain small dirty nuclear devise or some kind of chemical weapon like

Syria has and Hamas, who sworn to destroy Israel and the Jews will have that in their hand now?

Hamas has to lay down it's arms and rockets pick up a shovel and instated of digging hundreds of km

of tunnels to attack Israel, build your people a home, an country where you can live in peace and prosperity like

all the other countries in the world,

N. Korea sending arms to Gaza?

You mean Iran? I've never heard of NK arms heading to Gaza...

[Ulysses G.]

Israel's naval blockade of Gaza is illegal

No it is NOT.

CAN ISRAEL IMPOSE A NAVAL BLOCKADE ON GAZA?

Yes it can, according to the law of blockade which was derived from customary international law and codified in the 1909 Declaration of London. It was updated in 1994 in a legally recognized document called the "San Remo Manual on International Law Applicable to Armed Conflicts at Sea."

http://www.reuters.com/article/2010/06/02/us-israel-flotilla-gaza-idUSTRE65133D20100602

[joepublic]

Three menthe ,and again, last year, Israel has intercepted a ship fully laden with armaments, munitions

and rockets heading to Gaza from the good people of N. Korea, who's to say that lifting the blockade,

the next ship that arrives to Gaza will contain small dirty nuclear devise or some kind of chemical weapon like

Syria has and Hamas, who sworn to destroy Israel and the Jews will have that in their hand now?

Hamas has to lay down it's arms and rockets pick up a shovel and instated of digging hundreds of km

of tunnels to attack Israel, build your people a home, an country where you can live in peace and prosperity like

all the other countries in the world,

Lets look at this from a position of fairness - if your starting point is that the Zionists are allowed to have billions of dollars of weapons, paid for by the USA, and they should be allowed to use these against a refugee population, and expect that they wont try to resist, then we have no common ground for debate.

Of course Hamas will try to acquire weapons, who would not! What do we expect them to do - live on their knees in humiliation and subjugation? What should the Jews have done during the Holocaust - should they not have resisted with all means necessary? Please try to understand and be fair.

And you say Hamas should build a home and country - well that's exactly what they want to do, but their country was stolen from them, and their houses demolished.

Please try to see things from the Palestinian side - they are the ones that need our support, not the Zionists.

[kblaze]

Israel's naval blockade of Gaza is illegal

No it is NOT.

CAN ISRAEL IMPOSE A NAVAL BLOCKADE ON GAZA?

Yes it can, according to the law of blockade which was derived from customary international law and codified in the 1909 Declaration of London. It was updated in 1994 in a legally recognized document called the "San Remo Manual on International Law Applicable to Armed Conflicts at Sea."

http://www.reuters.com/article/2010/06/02/us-israel-flotilla-gaza-idUSTRE65133D20100602

That's based on the interpretation of a law derived from a law from 1909. The article quotes a law firm and a professor.

I would be more inclined to believe a panel of five independent U.N. rights experts reporting to the U.N. Human Rights Council

U.N. experts say Israel's blockade of Gaza illegal

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/09/13/us-un-gaza-rights-idUSTRE78C59R20110913

[up-country_sinclair]

Israel's naval blockade of Gaza is illegal

No it is NOT.

The blockade is illegal because it subjects the citizens of Gaza to collective punishment and is a "flagrant contravention of international human rights and humanitarian law."

Just because Israel has been able up to this point to continually break international law without consequences doesn't mean that those laws aren't being broken.

Edited July 24, 2014 by up-country_sinclair

[Ulysses G.]

Israel's naval blockade of Gaza is illegal

No it is NOT.

CAN ISRAEL IMPOSE A NAVAL BLOCKADE ON GAZA?

Yes it can, according to the law of blockade which was derived from customary international law and codified in the 1909 Declaration of London. It was updated in 1994 in a legally recognized document called the "San Remo Manual on International Law Applicable to Armed Conflicts at Sea."

http://www.reuters.com/article/2010/06/02/us-israel-flotilla-gaza-idUSTRE65133D20100602

That's based on the interpretation of a law derived from a law from 1909. The article quotes a law firm and a professor.

We can do this all day. There are lots of opinions, but it really does not matter, because no one can do anything to stop Israel from blocking weapons to Hamas.

http://jcpa.org/article/the-legal-basis-of-israels-naval-blockade-of-gaza/

[ggold]

A ceasefire, so that Hamas - the terrorist group - can rearm and they are tying it to the preventive military blockade that prevents them from doing so easily. Yeah, that's going to fly.

You are wrong.

They are saying there will be no ceasefire until the Zionists lift their illegal blockade of Gaza.

You are wrong

Mashall has said temporary cease fires may be accepted.

[ggold]

Israel's naval blockade of Gaza is illegal

No it is NOT.

The blockade is illegal because it subjects the citizens of Gaza to collective punishment and is a "flagrant contravention of international human rights and humanitarian law."

Just because Israel has been able up to this point to continually break international law without consequences doesn't mean that those laws aren't being broken.

Egypt also blockade Gazza.

Just because Hamas has been able up to this point continually break international law without consequences doesn't mean that those laws aren't being broken!

[joepublic]

We can do this all day. There are lots of opinions, but it really does not matter, because no one can do anything to stop Israel from blocking weapons to Hamas.

Exactly - when it comes down to it, the Zionists will do whatever they want, because they have might and power. Ipso facto, the Palestinians need to develop or acquire effective weapons to be able to get justice.

[ggold]

Whist i feel sorrow for the ordinary Palestinian people's in this war, they need to come to the realisation that having Hamas as leaders or even sharing leadership will never bring about a peaceful solution to the problems. You cannot bring a terrorist organisation who openly admit their aim is the destruction of the Jewish State to the bargaining table.

And you cannot bring a terrorist nation such as Israel to the table until they control the entire area. Then they will probably pick someone else to steal land from.

well, if Israel controlled the entire area there would be no need for a peace accord. If as you say Israel would steal another countries land. why have they not done so yet?

[joepublic]

You are wrong

Mashall has said temporary cease fires may be accepted.

Please enlighten me - Google (Hamas + Ceasefire + Marshall) has no results.

[ggold]

We can do this all day. There are lots of opinions, but it really does not matter, because no one can do anything to stop Israel from blocking weapons to Hamas.

Exactly - when it comes down to it, the Zionists will do whatever they want, because they have might and power. Ipso facto, the Palestinians need to develop or acquire effective weapons to be able to get justice.

So you want a blood bath!

[Ulysses G.]

We can do this all day. There are lots of opinions, but it really does not matter, because no one can do anything to stop Israel from blocking weapons to Hamas.

Exactly - when it comes down to it, the Zionists will do whatever they want, because they have might and power.

Indeed, because they have been clever and hardworking enough to work towards building an economy and a nation, while the Palestinians keep fighting a war that they lost 66 years ago and now have absolutely nothing.

[siampolee]

joepublic, post 3 22

Please enlighten me - Google (Hamas + Ceasefire + Marshall) has no results.

I think this might be the link you're seeking. It's a regional state newspaper from the colonies.

http://www.marshallindependent.com/page/content.detail/id/548305/Peace-talks-eyed-after-Israel--Hamas-cease-fire.html?isap=1&nav=5029

[ggold]

You are wrong

Mashall has said temporary cease fires may be accepted.

Please enlighten me - Google (Hamas + Ceasefire + Marshall) has no results.

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2014/07/hamas-rejects-gaza-truce-unless-blockade-lift-2014723225048114622.html

"We are not closing the door to a humanitarian truce ... that would not manoeuvre around demands of the resistance," he added.

[ggold]

Whist i feel sorrow for the ordinary Palestinian people's in this war, they need to come to the realisation that having Hamas as leaders or even sharing leadership will never bring about a peaceful solution to the problems. You cannot bring a terrorist organisation who openly admit their aim is the destruction of the Jewish State to the bargaining table.

So who else will resist the Zionist occupation and blockade, or get them their land back. You cannot bring a terrorist government who openly refuse to hand back stolen land to the bargaining table.

People, ask yourselves - what choices do the Palestinians have to get their land back?

Unless there is an answer to that question, and progress with a solution, Hamas will continue to flourish - after all, no one wants to live with the Zionists jackboots pinning their faces to the ground.

While there is occupation, and no just solution to the "right of return", all resistance is not only valid, but needs to supported by the international community

People, ask yourselves - what choices do the Palestinians have to get their land back?

I'll make it easy for you! It's a very simple choice, all they have to do is accept the state of Israel's right to exist, lay down their arms and make peace. Then they the Palestinians would have their land and economic prosperity.

But People, ask yourselves, Do the Palestinians really want peace? If they elect Hamas as their leaders? Probably not. It's very easy for Meshaal to say no ceasefire, he's in Qatar far away from the fighting safe in his hotel, while his People are suffering.

That's what I call really brave.

[Pakboong]

There is really not that much difference between Hamas, and Haganah, the Stern Gang and Irgun. They were all considered terrorist groups by the civilized world at one point. To harp on Hamas simply because the US listed them as a terrorist organization given this context doesn't really make them worse than Israel's many versions of terrorism. I guess if you have a tribal connection to one side or the other, it matters.

Israel participated in the creation of Hamas in a effort to combat the PLO politically.

I am not a supporter of Hamas but I am not a supporter of Israel either; so for me, it is the lesser of many evils.

[khunken]

To answer a question about Israel stealing land other than the Palestinians' - the Golan Heights were stolen from Syria.

To another propagandist who says the Palestinians lost a war years ago - they didn't, they were just pawns (as now) in wars between Israel, Egypt, Jordan & Syria.

Yes, the Palestinians were 'wrong' to elect Hamas the last time they were allowed to hold an election. So it's ok to continue to collectively punish them whenever their frustrations spill over at being held in 'Bantustans', arrested without trial and the 'lucky' ones tried in military courts.

It is totally contemptible to blame the victims for hundreds of deaths. Similar to blaming rape victims for dressing too sexily.

[lvr181]

Navi Pillay is not having rockets fired at her! Stupid woman in her ivory tower.

I think it is sad that so many civilians are loosing their lives but a cease fire or peace accord would stop it.

Perhaps if Hamas was not so bloody minded then Israel may not be so bloody minded either.

[7by7]

If Israel hadn't stolen Palestinian lands, evicted the Palestinians living there and built illegal settlements on them; if Israel and Egypt hadn't blockaded Gaza so that even medical supplies couldn't get in; would Hamas have had much support from the people of Gaza?

I doubt it.

Lifting the blockade may carry risks for Israel, but it may also be a start down the long road to peace.

It would certainly ease the suffering of the people of Gaza.

UN: Gaza humanitarian situation 'dire'