Gaza Gone Wild

[William Haskins]

GAZA CITY (CNN) -- President Mahmoud Abbas dismissed the Hamas-led Palestinian Authority government and declared a state of emergency Thursday after four days of fighting that has left Hamas in control of much of Gaza, an aide to the Palestinian leader said.

The move comes after Hamas announced Thursday that Gaza is now under its Islamic rule, the first step to becoming an Islamic state.

Under the state of emergency, Abbas will have the authority replace the current Hamas Cabinet with his Fatah allies. The temporary Cabinet would have to be approved by the Palestinian Legislative Council after 30 days.
Currently, there is no government control in Gaza, according to Palestinian legislator Saeb Erakat.

"Gaza is now officially out of our control as the Palestinian Authority," said Erakat, who is aligned with the Fatah party.

He blamed a "renegade force" in Gaza for staging a "major coup d'etat."


http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/meast/06/14/gaza/index.html

[whistlelock]

Do you think a spring break video would calm things down?

[tourdeforce]

Gaza is so ripe for democracy that Bush can taste it.

[small axe]

Well, so these are the fine folks to whom Israel is supposed to hand over territory to form a "Palestinian State" ...

The sort of "Palestinian State" which they can trust to live in peace with, give 'em their own armed forces, let them come and go from Israel (because that's where the jobs and economy are) without all those security hassles, just treat 'em as if they're as trustworthy as ... Canadians?

Just hand over the land and there will be Peace in the Middle East? Uh huh uh huh

Every so often, we in the USA forget to say it: God Bless you Canadian guys, you Canadian guys are okay. Hasn't been an incident where a Canadian walked into a USA shopping mall strapped up in Bacon and Beer suicide belts for years now. (Though we know that Bacon and Beer is a form of suicide, right?)

[astonwest]

Gaza is so ripe for democracy that Bush can taste it.Tell 'em to take a number...They have to wait their turn behind Iran, North Korea, and a number of other places that were there first.

[oswann]

Israel gets behind the Fatah brings in the US, Iran gets behind the Hamas and the thing goes batshit. This is going to finish badly my friends.

Os.

[small axe]

This is going to finish badly my friends.


It will end with the baddest guys with the mostest guns on top. Or the craziest guys with the least regard for human life and civilization on top.

Welcome to the Third World.

[tourdeforce]

Fatah soldiers are killing Hamas fighters?

Hamas fighters are executing Fatah soldiers?


:PartySmil

Now if we can only convince Iran and Iraq to go back to war!

[William Haskins]

http://i.a.cnn.net/cnn/2007/WORLD/meast/06/15/gaza.fighting/story.gazaoffice.ap.jpg

"I got dibs on being the new President!"

[RumpleTumbler]

Why do they cover their faces?

[tourdeforce]

Why do they cover their faces?


That friggin' desert sun gives a hell of a burn.

[Perks]

Why do they cover their faces?They aren't squirrels. They actually look different one from another. Can be a hazard while pulling off a coup, you know. People get pissy and vengeful and you need to be sure it's gonna work before you risk showing your face.

[RumpleTumbler]

They aren't squirrels. They actually look different one from another. Can be a hazard while pulling off a coup, you know. People get pissy and vengeful and you need to be sure it's gonna work before you risk showing your face.

:roll: I never made the squirrel connection. Why don't they just melt black plastic over their faces and pull all their teeth out? If they get killed then identification would be much more difficult so there would be no reprisal on the families.

[William Haskins]

Why do they cover their faces?

so people won't recognize them from their C.I.A. ID cards.

[RumpleTumbler]

so people won't recognize them from their C.I.A. ID cards.

:roll:

[SC Harrison]

Fatah soldiers are killing Hamas fighters?

Hamas fighters are executing Fatah soldiers?




And the U.N. is pulling its people out, when it should be doing the exact opposite. Now that they no longer have to dodge Fatah, I give it less than two weeks before Hamas missiles begin raining down on Israel, forcing Israel to send their military back into Gaza, giving Hamas the proof they need that Israel is evil and they are the only ones standing up to them, blah blah blah.

[William Haskins]

quote of the day by a doomed fatah fighter pleading his case on a palestinian radio station about how shabbily he was being treated:

"They're firing at us, firing RPGs, firing mortars. We're not Jews!"

[tourdeforce]

I say we take off and nuke the entire site from orbit. It's the only way to be sure.

[William Haskins]

it was rude of me to leave our fatah fighter's story incomplete.

Minutes later both men were dragged into the streets and riddled with bullets.


http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/06/13/wgaza113.xml

[tourdeforce]

:roll:

[FatTire]

Among yesterday's dead was a 14-year-old boy and three women, all killed in a Hamas attack on a Fatah security officer's home.


So when Israel strikes and this happens they are the evil empire. But when Hamas kills its own people, they are heroes? This region is so messed up that it is time we just let them all go at it. Enough with diplomacy, it's not working. You want a war, go for it. Israel, Iran, Hamas, Syria, Fatah, just go at it.

May the best army win. Enough is enough already.

[MattW]

Now if we can only convince Iran and Iraq to go back to war!They already are, just not against each other.

[FatTire]

It amazes me how we learn nothing from our mistakes. Backing only Abbas in the West Bank and leaving Hamas in Gaza are going to make matters a lot worse. We'll end up turning Gaza into more of a terrorist breading ground. Most of their attacks will be directed at Israel, who will not hold back now.

This is going to backfire in our faces big time.

[benbradley]

Israel gets behind the Fatah brings in the US, Iran gets behind the Hamas and the thing goes batshit. This is going to finish badly my friends.

Os.
You mean it will end, and not continue on indefinitely? That will be a big change...

[tourdeforce]

Has anyone considered a night time amateur basketball league for the Palestinians?

Get the Hamas and Fatah guerillas off the streets and on to the courts for some constructive intra-mural competition.

I believe that this strategy has proven quite successful in the American inner cities.

[benbradley]

Has anyone considered a night time amateur basketball league for the Palestinians?

Get the Hamas and Fatah guerillas off the streets and on to the courts for some constructive intra-mural competition.

I believe that this strategy has proven quite successful in the American inner cities.
I just don't think it would work. Do they really like basketball as much as we do in the USA?

It may have a better chance with "European Football", what we in the USA call soccer. There's even a precedent for playing soccer against the enemy:
http://www.catholic.net/RCC/music/midi/christmas/trench.html
http://history1900s.about.com/od/1910s/a/christmastruce.htm

[MattW]

I just don't think it would work. Do they really like basketball as much as we do in the USA?

It may have a better chance with "European Football", what we in the USA call soccer. There's even a precedent for playing soccer against the enemy:
http://www.catholic.net/RCC/music/midi/christmas/trench.html
http://history1900s.about.com/od/1910s/a/christmastruce.htmJust to be safe, I recommend against buying soccer balls from the Mossad Sports Emporium.

[maipenrai]

Democracy is only Democracy when we approve of it.

An Election is only fair when the Party we support Wins.

There were Elections , they were monitored by EC and OSCE, they were found to be fair, Hamas won= the US .EU, Israel did not regonise the Goverment.

Some Reports stated that Hamas had staged a coup??
forgive me , but how can a elected goverment stage a coup against itself??

[SC Harrison]

Some Reports stated that Hamas had staged a coup??
forgive me , but how can a elected goverment stage a coup against itself??

By attacking their own government's legitimate security forces. A majority of seats in Parliament doesn't give them the right to deploy their own militia to undermine the duly elected President. The political wing of Hamas has declared on numerous occasions that it has nothing to do with the military wing of Hamas, so even they publicly admit these guys are illegal.

[William Haskins]

Democracy is only Democracy when we approve of it.

An Election is only fair when the Party we support Wins.

There were Elections , they were monitored by EC and OSCE, they were found to be fair, Hamas won= the US .EU, Israel did not regonise the Goverment.

Some Reports stated that Hamas had staged a coup??
forgive me , but how can a elected goverment stage a coup against itself??

steve, of course, addressed this precisely and accurately, but i still thought i'd point out how either supremely naive or deliberately obtuse this post was...

[robeiae]

Obviously, Iran is behind both the Gaza coup and the Hezbollah rocket attacks. We should attack now, before it gets any worse. Oh, look. I have a supporter:

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/06/10/ftn/main2908476.shtml

[billythrilly7th]

Has anyone considered a night time amateur basketball league for the Palestinians?

Get the Hamas and Fatah guerillas off the streets and on to the courts for some constructive intra-mural competition.

I believe that this strategy has proven quite successful in the American inner cities.

Or a National Bingo Night.

Fridays 8PM M.E.T. on Al Jazeera.

[astonwest]

Obviously, Iran is behind both the Gaza coup and the Hezbollah rocket attacks. We should attack now, before it gets any worse. Oh, look. I have a supporter:

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/06/10/ftn/main2908476.shtmlIs Joe running for the Republican nomination?

[Joe270]

Is Joe running for the Republican nomination?

Hey, hey, now. I'm not running for nuthin'. Keep me outa this boondoggle, thank you.

[Bravo]

Israeli soldiers killed four Palestinian fighters in a pre-dawn incursion into the Gaza Strip to hunt for wanted militants. Israel also carried out air strikes against rocket launch sites after one rocket fired from Gaza struck Israel.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070620/ts_nm/palestinians_dc_6


atta boy israel.

show em who's boss.

[William Haskins]

EREZ CROSSING, Gaza Strip (AP) - Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak ordered the army on Wednesday to allow into Israel any of the hundreds of Gazans holed up at a fetid crossing who might desperately need medical treatment.

A teenager with leukemia was on his way through shortly after, the military said. Additionally, Israeli officials allowed all foreign nationals in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip to cross over to Israel.



http://apnews.myway.com/article/20070620/D8PSI6N82.html

atta boy, israel.

they'd sure as hell do the same for you.

[RumpleTumbler]

atta boy, israel.

they'd sure as hell do the same for you.

C4 and Castor Oil. Its not just for breakfast anymore!