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1 febr 2012
Gaza rocket barrage: 7 Qassams hit south
Palestinians fire seven Qassam rockets at Israel which explode in open areas in Shaar Hanegev Council; no injuries.
Seven rockets fired from the Gaza Strip exploded in open areas in the Shaar Hanegev Regional Council on Wednesday. No injuries or damage were reported.
The latest barrage saw five rockets fired at Israel just before 9 pm. A Color Red alarm was activated. Another rocket exploded in an open area at 6:30 pm. There were no injuries.
Security elements estimated Wednesday that the Palestinians took advantage of the stormy weather and its effect on detection systems to launch the rockets. Shaar Hanehev residents were instructed to remain near fortified spaces for fear of further barrages.
Shaar Hanegev Council head Alon Schushter noted that just last Sunday he tried to convince cabinet ministers not to compromise grants given to Gaza vicinity communities.
Rina Mor-Yosef from Sderot said, "We had guests from Yavne and Ashkelon. Suddenly we heard a Color Red alarm and the ever familiar shrieking sound. We went down to the fortified room and heard some blasts. When we cam out we immediately had to go back down. Our guests said they didn’t understand how we could live like this, but this has been our way of life some years now."
Earlier on Wednesday, IDF Chief of Staff Benny Gantz said that the Gaza Strip and Lebanon contained "two of the largest weapons depots I know. These systems are maintained by Iran and sadly by Russia who sends munitions to Syria to this very day."
Gantz added, "The Middle East is currently the fastest arming region in the world. The less encouraging news is that we are the target of this arming process and we need to keep that in mind."
http://fwd4.me/0lIg
30 jan 2012
Israeli Shelling Targets Agricultural Land East of Gaza
31 jan 2012
Israeli forces shoot Palestinian near Gaza border
Israeli military incursion east of Maghazi refugee camp
1 febr 2012
6 projectiles fired at southern Israel
TEL AVIV, Israel (Ma'an) -- Six projectiles were fired at southern Israel from the Gaza Strip on Wednesday with no reported injuries.
The projectiles landed in the Shaar Hanegev regional council at around 9 p.m., Israeli news site Ynet reported.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=457218
Israeli forces attack memorial march
Palestinians, Israeli officers hurt in Jerusalem clash
2 feb 2012, 12:54 , Respect-
Maria 15 febr 2012
4 rockets fired at Western Negev
Qassam rockets hit Hof Ashkelon, Sdot Negev and Eshkol Council. No injuries, damage reported.
Three Qassam rockets fired from the northern Gaza Strip on Wednesday exploded in the Western Negev. One rocket exploded in the Hof Ashkelon Regional Council and two were fired at the Sdot Negev region.
Earlier on Wednesday, a rocket exploded in an open area at the Eshkol Regional Council. No injuries or damage were reported. The Color Red alert was not sounded.
Security officers in Negev communities were surprised by the rocket fire. "We were not informed of any alert," one of them said. "Even now after the firing we have not received any special instructions. We're on alert."
Hof Ashkelon Regional Council head Yair Farjoun estimated that the IDF will soon retaliate. "We cannot allow this drizzle of rockets which started last weekend to continue. The army cannot allow this reality of people living under incessant rocket fire to continue."
Eshkol Council head Haim Yalin said: "The government is unable to make decisions. Either reach out and talk peace or reach out and make this region quiet again."
The past week has seen two rockets fired at Israel. On Saturday, a Qassam hit an open area in the Western Negev. No injuries or damage were reported. The Air Force retaliated by bombing two targets in the Gaza Strip. The Palestinians reported that a 60-year-old man was killed in the strike. The IDF Spokesperson's Unit said that the IAF carried out direct hits against two terrorist tunnels.
On Friday, a Qassam rocket exploded in Hof Ashkelon. Damage was caused to several buildings and an electric pole, but no injuries were reported.
http://fwd4.me/0uYs
2 febr 2012
Israeli warplanes blast targets in northern Gaza
Medics: Israeli tanks open fire on northern Gaza
Palestinian man injured after being shot by Israeli police
IOF soldiers blast part of Palestinian home, summon its owner
Jerusalem Municipality Forces Arab Resident to Demolish Own Shop
IOA confiscates 431 dunums of cultivated land in Nahalin village
3 febr 2012
2 hurt in Israeli attack on north Gaza
Later, Israeli tanks opened fired on a crowd of people
Medics: Israelis attack shepherd in northern West Bank
Settlers invade al-Khalil villages and set up a settlement outpost
Zionist plans to build a shopping centre on Armenian Church land
5 febr 2012
Soldiers assault Palestinian construction worker, he suffered two broken legs
Settlers Raid Village West of Ramallah, Break into House
Israeli forces uproot olive trees in Qalqiliya village
6 febr 2012
Hundred of Settlers Raid Agricultural Land East of Hebron
Israeli forces detained a 60-year-old man obstructing Israeli settlers from digging up land in Qalqiliya village, soldiers beat 60-year-old Ishtawi severely
Israel Hands Demolition Notices to Palestinians in Salfit
IOA bulldozers level land in Qalqilia
South Hebron Hills village Dkaika has 74 demolition orders pending
7 febr 2012
AFEH: IOA still excavating under Old City of Jerusalem
Foundation: Israeli archeologists dig cave under Palestinian homes
Israel issues evacuation orders to Hebron farmers
Israeli Forces Uproot Olive Trees North of Hebron
Israeli Authority Notify Palestinian Family it Plans to Seize their Land
8 febr 2012
Israeli forces raid village near Hebron, block construction
IOF soldiers arrest 12 citizens, settlers rampage in Jenin
9 febr 2012
Israeli Likud Party Calls to Storm al-Aqsa Mosque
Settlers plant trees on village land
Landowner notified by Israel of confiscation orders
IOA razes two buildings in occupied Jerusalem
Israeli Municipality Demolishes House in Jerusalem
10 febr 2012
Settlers 'bulldoze 100 dunums' of Yatta lands
Settlers 'raid Nablus village'
Israeli Forces Deliver Eviction Summons in Tubas
Likud leaders to go to Al-Aqsa, call for "cleansing" Jerusalem and building Jewish temple on mosque’s "ruins"
11 febr 2012
Airstrike wounds fighter in north Gaza
Soldiers detain 4, injure 16 at protests for hunger-striker
Foundation: New structure near Al-Aqsa
12 febr 2012
Israeli Air Forces Kill Palestinian injure 3, Raid Gaza Neighborhoods
IOF soldiers break the legs of Palestinian minor
Three Palestinians Injured as Confrontations Erupt in Jericho
3 injured as Israeli forces raid Jerusalem home
Boy injured as soldiers raid Hebron village
Hundreds of Settlers Storm Palestinian Land in Hebron
Settlers Open Road through Palestinian Land South of Nablus
Hate slogans again daubed on Jerusalem school
13 febr 2012
Palestinian boy injured, two arrested west of Al-Khalil
Israeli Authority Demolishes Bedouin Village for 35th Time
Israeli Forces Demolish House near Jerusalem
Israeli Bulldozers Destroy Playground in Silwan
14 febr 2012
Israeli Forces Raid Palestinian Mayor House in Qalqilya beating his 56 year-old mother
Jewish settlers throw stones at Palestinian woman in her car
Jerusalem Center for Media: “Forum of Women for the Temple” is planning to storm Al-Aqsa on Tuesday
IOF soldiers tear down farmers warehouses
Soldiers destroy 5 agricultural sheds in Nablus
Breaking News: Occupation Jerusalem Municipality bulldozers on its way to the village of Sawahreh in Jerusalem
Western Negev Councils Send Rocket Complaint to UN
Mr. Ban Ki-moon
Secretary-General
United Nations
Dear Sir,
This is an official complaint about the firing of rockets and mortar bombs targeting innocent Israeli civilians in the Eshkol and Shaar-Hanegev regions during the year 2011. We are lodging this complaint in the name of the 20,093 residents of the Eshkol and Shaar-Hanegev regions who are the objects of terror attacks sponsored by governmental elements in the Palestinian Authority and who suffer from these violent terror acts that endanger their lives.
During the year 2011, a total of 382 rockets and mortar bombs were fired at the residents of Eshkol and Shaar-Hanegev. These projectiles were aimed with the purpose of killing and injuring innocent civilians. Clear proof of this intent was the firing of a Kornet guided missile aimed directly at a yellow school bus that was transporting children in April 2011.
During this same period terror organizations acted to harm our residents by initiating several attempts to infiltrate into our residential communities.
The people of Eshkol and Shaar-Hanegev like all other human beings have fundamental rights to quiet and safe lives, to raise their children, to educate them in the value of peace and to earn enough to support their households. All of these rights have been violated by the perpetrators of these attacks.
To our good fortune, most of the rockets and bombs have fallen in open fields adjacent to the villages and thus far, the number of killed and injured has been minimal. However, the ongoing attacks, the sound of nearby explosions and the sounding of alerts, compel the children of these areas to contend with the effects of anxiety and post traumatic stress.
The civilian population greatly suffers from these terror attacks directed against average innocent residents, whose chief desire is to lead normal lives.
We request that you forcefully condemn the continuous attacks targeting our innocent civilian residents.
Sincerely, Haim Jelin
Chairman Eshkol Regional Council
Alon Shuster
Chairman Shaar-Hanegev Regional Council
Israel
http://sderotmedia.org.il/bin/content.cgi?ID=879&q=3
15 febr 2012
Four Injured By Israeli Army Fire Near Jenin
Settlers, Soldiers Uproot Olive Trees in West Bank Village
Israeli army destroys West Bank well restored by Polish charity – Israeli envoy summoned by Warsaw
IOF serves demolition notices in Jenin village
Israeli Forces Demolish Sheds, Wells, Barns South of Hebron
16 feb 2012, 09:44 , Respect -
Maria 17 febr 2012
Report: Rocket lands near Askelon
TEL AVIV, Israel (Ma'an) -- A rocket fired from Gaza hit an open area south of Ashkelon on Friday evening, Israeli media reported. No injuries of damage were reported, Israel's Ynet news site said.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=461145
16 febr 2012
Israeli airstrikes injure 6 in the Gaza Strip
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tBHTtP5aj3U
Jewish settlers burn Palestinian car, cut trees
Settlers Raid Tomb of Prophet Joseph Accompanied By Israeli Soldiers
Israeli troops break into homes, offices of three Palestinian MPs
17 febr 2012
Israeli army fires on Gaza
Israel 'raids homes' of Palestinian lawmakers
17 feb 2012, 21:01 , Respect -
Maria 18 febr 2012
Hamas: Israel targets Gaza to spoil reconciliation
BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) -- Hamas said Saturday that Israel was targeting the Gaza Strip to spoil burgeoning progress in a reconciliation deal with West Bank ruling faction Fatah, according to a spokesman from the movement.
Fawzi Barhoum told Ma'an Israel "is purposely trying to escalate the situation to confuse the Palestinian movement during a time where Palestinians are getting ready to implement the reconciliation, and to spoil the positive atmosphere after the Doha agreement."
Gaza-rulers Hamas signed a deal with Fatah in the Qatari capital in early February to move forward their nine-month old reconciliation deal by appointing an interim cabinet headed by President Mahmoud Abbas.
On Saturday, the Israeli army said three Grad missiles exploded in southern Israel, after forces shelled Gaza east of Breij refugee camp late Friday.
Barhoum said that the appropriate reaction was to speed up in unity and a common national strategy to face threats to the Palestinian cause.
"Hamas is not the only faction responsible for resisting the occupation, Hamas along with the Palestinian Authority and all factions are obligated to support the Palestinian people and Gaza is part of that," Barhoum said.
"The PA must take a serious position towards the continuous military escalation against Gaza," he said.
"Resistance is a result of the oppression and is only intended to defend our people, land and holy sites."
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=461373
France condemns rocket attack on southern Israel
Abdel Karim Zatuniya killed feb-12-2012
BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- France has condemned a rocket attack on southern Israel on Wednesday, the Foreign and European Affairs Ministry deputy spokesman said.
"France condemns the rocket attack which occurred Wednesday in Gaza at the people of southern Israel," the spokesman said in a statement issued Thursday.
"It also condemns the consquences for the Palestinian civilian population for the raid Israel carried out in response ... France calls for restraint in order to avoid any risk of escalation."
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=461276
Update: Grad rocket explodes near Beersheba; no injuries
Day after two Gaza rockets fired at Ashkelon and Eshkol Regional Council, another projectile explodes outside Negev city.
A Grad rocket fired by Palestinian terrorists in north Gaza on Saturday landed in an open area outside the city of Beersheba in south Israel. Residents reported hearing explosions, but there were no reports of injury or damage.
Two more rockets fired toward the western Negev region landed in open areas as well.
At around 11:30 am a siren was heard in Beersheba and the Bnei Shimon Regional Council, while the "Color Red" alert system was activated in a number of Israeli communities surrounding the Gaza Strip.
Beersheba's mayor stressed that the southern city did not suffer a direct hit.
Omer resident Hagar Shalev told Ynet she was at the parking lot of a large hardware store when its employees were ordered to enter secure rooms. "I stood there with other shoppers; we didn't know what to do, and they locked the (store's) doors on us.
"Then we heard a loud boom. I wasn't frightened. We remained calm," she said.
Tamar, who also lives in Omer, said "the children were a bit scared, but they are used to sirens. We entered the kitchen and waited till we heard the explosions. We won’t let this ruin our Shabbat."
On Friday, a rocket launched from Gaza landed south of Ashkelon. There were no reports of injury or damage in that attack either. A Qassam rocket also landed in the Negev's Eshkol Regional Council, without causing injuries or damage.
http://fwd4.me/0unf
Gaza terrorists attack IDF
Terrorists fire rockets at IDF force, detonate bomb near troops patrolling Gaza Strip border.
Palestinian terrorists fired RPG rockets at an IDF force patrolling the Gaza Strip border Friday evening and detonated an explosive device near the troops.
No injuries were reported in the incident but the border fence in the area was damaged.
IDF troops at the site directed tank fire at the terrorists.
Earlier Friday, two rockets fired from Gaza exploded in the Eshkol regional council and south of Ashkelon, causing no injuries or damage.
'Hamas responsible for escalation'
Following the escalating violence in the Gaza region, the IDF Spokesman's Office issued the following statement: "The IDF considers these to be grave acts of terror, which aim to harm residents and communities in the State of Israel."
"The Hamas terror organization, which carries out acts of terror against the State of Israel, is jeopardizing Gaza Strip residents and will bear the responsibility for any future operation executed by the IDF in order to lift the threat of terror and restore the relative calm in the area," the army said.
Meanwhile, Palestinian sources reported that the IDF directed tank fire at an open area east of the al-Bureij refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip. No injuries were reported in the incident, the sources said.
Earlier Friday, the Color-Red rocket alert was activated in several southern Israel communities after terrorists fired Qassam rockets from Gaza.
Four other rockets were fired at Israel earlier this week, prompting Air Force gunships to strike open areas in Gaza. Later, the army struck two more targets in the northern and central Gaza Strip.
http://fwd4.me/0ulW
3 rockets land outside Beersheba; no injuries
Three rockets fired from Gaza landed in open areas outside Beersheba. There were no reports of injury or damage.
A siren was heard in Beersheba and nearby communities. Residents reported hearing explosions.
http://fwd4.me/0unN
18 febr 2012
IOF invade north of Gaza, bomb east of Bureij camp
Israelis beat man who saved Palestinian pupils
Israelis celebrate death of Palestinian children killed in accident
18 feb 2012, 10:58 , Respect -
Maria 20 febr 2012
PRC military wing says ready to confront Israel
GAZA CITY (Ma’an) -- The military wing of the Popular Resistance Committees in the Gaza Strip said Monday that the group is ready to confront Israel if they attack.
"The Israeli military escalation is increasing day after day and the price it will pay will be huge for continuing its violations and attacks in Jerusalem and the bombing of Gaza.
The Israeli threats won’t stop us from continuing resistance till liberating the land," spokesman for the Nasser Saladin Brigades Abu Ataya told Ma’an.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=461752 24 feb 2012, 08:43 , Respect -
Maria 24 febr 2012
Israeli warplanes fire on Gaza City, injure 2
GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- Israeli warplanes fired on a Gaza City neighborhood early Friday, lightly injuring two Palestinian fighters.
The airstrike on the Zeitoun neighborhood injured two militants who were evacuated to hospital, emergency services' spokesman Adham Abu Salmiya said. Their identities and affiliations were not immediately identified.
An Israeli army statement said the warplanes hit "two terror activity sites in the northern Gaza Strip...in response to the rockets fired at Israel."
Three rockets fired from Gaza landed in southern Israel on Thursday evening, and two projectiles early Friday, without causing injuries of damage.
The armed wing of the Popular Resistance Committees said in a statement on Friday it had launched projectiles at southern Israel early on Friday.
The Nasser Salah al-Din brigades said they fire was in response to Israel's violations of the sanctity of Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, and Israeli settler attacks against Palestinians.
On Sunday, Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip injured six people, including a one-year-old infant.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=462809
19 febr 2012
Four wounded in Israeli air strikes on Gaza: medics
Jewish settlers and policemen defile Aqsa Mosque, clash with Muslim worshipers
ARIJ Daily Report
20 febr 2012
Jewish settlers storm Aqsa under police protection
Jewish settlers burn cars, damage Mosque in 1948 occupied lands
'Death to Christianity' written on Jerusalem church
Official: Israeli military exercise damages Palestinian agriculture
Report: Israeli authorities seek to permit unplanned settler roads
ARIJ Daily Report
21 febr 2012
Jewish female extremists declare intent to defile Aqsa Mosque this morning
Clashes Erupt at Al-Aqsa Mosque
Cabinet Condemns Raid against Al-Aqsa Mosque, House Demolition
Military Authority to Demolish 9 Structures in Jenin Area
ARIJ Daily Report
22 febr 2012
Settlers try to rebuild illegal outpost in Hebron
Israeli bulldozers damage wheat fields in the Negev
Israel Notifies Farmers it Plans to Seize their Land
IOA confiscates 30 dunums of Palestinian land in Yatta
ARIJ Daily Report
23 febr 2012
Jewish settlers launch fundraising campaign to raze Aqsa Mosque
Jewish settlers and troops defile Aqsa Mosque, attack Muslim worshipers
Jewish settlers plan to storm the Aqsa on Thursday
Israeli bulldozers level 12 dunums of Palestinian land
IOF maneuvers damage Palestinian cultivated land in northern Jordan Valley
Israeli Bulldozers Raze Land, Demolish Water-Well
Army Orders Construction on Houses to Stop
ARIJ Daily Report
24 febr 2012
Israeli warplanes fire on Gaza City, injure 2
Injured protester 'dies in surgery'
IOF troops injure 15 protestors on anniversary of Ibrahimi Mosque massacre
4 hurt in clashes near Ramallah
IOF arrested 40 Palestinians following Aqsa confrontations
Jewish settlers break into Al-Aqsa; Israel arrests four Palestinians
24 feb 2012, 09:22 , Respect -
Maria 28 febr 2012
Fatah armed wing claims Ashkelon attack
GAZA CITY (Ma’an) -- The military wing of Fatah said Tuesday that its operatives fired a locally made projectile at the Israeli city of Ashkelon
The Al-Aqsa brigades said in a statement that the rocket was fired at 8:30 p.m. in response to Israeli attacks on Jerusalem.
Israel's Ynet news site reported that a rocket landed in the Hof Ashkelon Regional Council. No injuries were reported, it said.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=464029
25 febr 2012
Violent clashes in Ram after murder of youth
IOF patrols advance in central Gaza
Jewish settler deliberately run over Palestinian
Israel to Take Over Land near Salfit
26 febr 2012
Israeli Strikes Destroy Tunnel, Injure 2 Palestinians in Gaza
Israeli airstrikes hit south Gaza, no injuries
Jerusalemite injured in Israeli police shooting
Troops Invade Nabi Saleh Village
Settler Opens Fire on Farmers near Hebron
Jewish settlers attack Israeli peace activists
Nablus village stoned, clashes with settlers
Israeli Forces Prevent Farmer from Entering his Land
27 febr 2012
Israeli warplanes have flown low over the Gaza Strip, violating the territory’s airspace, Press TV reports.
IOF soldiers raid Al-Khalil, block entry of farmer to his land
Israeli Forces Raid Homes in Hebron Area, Setup Checkpoints
During Israeli Invasions; Medic Injured, Eight Palestinians Arrested
Settlers Attack Palestinian Shepherds Near Hebron
Jewish settler given community sentence for attempted murder
28 febr 2012
Israeli warplanes intensify flights over Gaza
Settlers Perform Jewish Rituals in Hebron area Mosque
Israeli Settlers, Soldiers Raid House, Arrest Three
Violent clashes in Jerusalem, Qardawi prohibits visiting it for non-Palestinians
Settlers raid Hebron village
Masked Jewish extremist settlers stone Palestinians in pictures
29 feb 2012, 11:36 , Respect -
Maria 1 mrt 2012
PFLP armed wing claims rocket attack
GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- The armed wing of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine claimed responsibility Thursday for firing three mortar shells at an Israeli force east of Gaza.
The Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades said that its operatives targeted the forces southeast of the Nahal Oz area at 3:40 p.m.
The statement said that it would continue its resistance to "everything that is targeting the people and their weapons, and will guard the country and defend its borders."
Earlier, Israeli media reported that three rockets fired from the Gaza Strip landed in an open area in the Ashkelon Regional Council of southern Israel.
There were no reports of injury or damage, Israel's Ynet news service said.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=464591
29 febr 2012
Fatah: Chief justice died after raid on home
Soldiers raid Ramallah TV stations
Jewish settlers offer rituals in Yatta, wound Palestinian
1 mrt 2012
Occupation authorities order new demolitions in Silwan suburb
Occupation force demolish a protest tent in Khirbet Sousya
Israeli Occupation Forces Raid Campus of Al Quds University in Ramallah
29 feb 2012, 13:50 , Respect -
Maria 3 mrt 2012
Report: 2 homemade projectiles fired from Gaza
TEL AVIV, Israel (Ma'an) -- Two homemade rockets were fired from the Gaza Strip at Israel early Saturday, Israeli media reported.
Both rockets exploded in open fields in Eshkol Regional Council, Israel's Ynet news site reported. No injuries or damage were reported.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=464797
2 mrt 2012
Occupation forces raid Tarqumya village near al-Khalil
Israeli soldiers raid homes in Jenin
Israel legalizes unsanctioned settler enclave in West Bank
Occupation threatens to uproot 120 Palestinians near Tubas
3 mrt 2012
Land caves in near mosque in Silwan
Israeli forces 'demolish caravan on ministry land'
3 mar 2012, 09:50 , Respect -
Maria 9 mrt 2012
Half the story: What @IDFSpokesperson leaves out about Gaza
If a rocket from Gaza falls in the middle of the desert, does it make a sound?
It does if you are on Twitter. Regular updates on just about every projectile fired from Gaza is reported by the Israeli military's official twitter account @IDFSpokesperson as well as from the accounts of other Israeli military figures like that of spokesperson @AvitalLeibovich.
But what about projectiles fired by Israel into Gaza? You'd think that since this is actual Israeli military activity the spokespeople from the Israeli military would provide this information.
I often ask the @IDFspokesperson and @AvitalLeibovich to provide this information to allow for a clearer, more accurate picture of the cross border dynamics of violence. One such occasion was on last Friday - you can see the convo on Twitter.
She clearly dodges the question and finally refers me to their blog after I made it clear that her silence might be indicative of something they are hiding.
I checked out the blog and even though they have plenty of numbers on projectiles from Gaza, they don't present similar data of their own activities. I wasn't expecting them to present such information since the objective of the Israeli military spokesperson is to protect the image of the Israeli military, a feat that is increasingly difficult with every passing year of a soon to be 45 year old occupation and in an era where information is readily available via the internet.
So, what are they hiding? What is it about the numbers that they won't tell you - the data on Israeli military fire into Gaza - that prevents them from sharing it in the same fashion they share information on projectiles from Gaza?
Before even asking Leibovich on Friday, I already had the data I was inquiring about. As part of our ongoing project on Israeli Settler Violence (we just released a comprehensive report on this last week) we coded data on Palestinian projectile launches from Gaza on a daily basis to understand how Palestinian violence, either from Gaza or in the West Bank, relates to settler violence (more on that here).
In 2011, for example, we recorded approximately 465 launches which produced 743 projectiles (some launches involve firing more than one projectile). This number, 743, is more than the number, 620, Leibovich reported in her Tweet. I believe this is because we count launches, including projectiles which are fired in Gaza and land in Gaza, while the figure Leibovich cites is a count of projectiles actually landing inside Israel.
As far as data on Israeli projectiles sent into Gaza, this is the information Leibovich and the Israeli military don't want to reveal. We've got a very good idea, however, of most of it since the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UN OCHA) keeps detailed data on casualties in Palestine. By querying this database we can quickly learn a great deal about the numbers Leibovich is hesitant to report. Despite readily producing information on rockets from Gaza in 2011, here is some of the information the Israeli Military doesn't report in the same fashion:
In 2011, the projectiles fired by the Israeli military into Gaza have been responsible for the death of 108 Palestinians, of which 15 where women or children and the injury of 468 Palestinians of which 143 where women or children. The methods by which these causalities were inflicted by Israeli projectiles breaks down as follows: 57% or 310, were caused by Israeli Aircraft Missile fire, 28% or 150 where from Israeli live ammunition, 11% or 59 were from Israeli tank shells while another 3% or 18 were from Israeli mortar fire.
Conversely, rocket fire from Gaza in 2011 has resulted in the death of 3 Israelis. I've tried to find an accurate aggregate number of Israelis injured by projectiles from Gaza in 2011 but haven't found anything yet. I'd be happy to update this post with that information once available. I think, however, the point is quite clear when it comes to the numbers; the imbalance is tremendous.
Leibovich and the Israeli military provide constant updates about projectiles from Gaza, the vast majority of which do not cause casualties, while telling you almost nothing about projectiles they fire into Gaza and the tremendous amount of casualties they cause.
The Israeli military spokespeople are engaged in outright propaganda to portray a completely different reality about the dynamics of violence in and around Gaza. It is not offering transparency or real information, which is a shame for a government with 'democratic' pretensions.
But that is not all. It is not just about the shear imbalance of violence that the Israeli military wants to skew in the opposite direction. There is more that the data tells us. Last year, in a post about this issue, we showed how media portrayed a flare-up in cross border violence as a result of increased rocket fire while actual tweets from individuals in Gaza revealed that destructive Israeli strikes preceded and in fact provoked the upsurge in rockets. Of course, the events that came before the upsurge in Gaza-launched projectiles did not get reported.
Now, with the daily data we have from UN OCHA and the data we have for launches from Gaza, we can graph the two lines next to each other.
click to enlarge
As you can see in the chart above, increases in the red line, which signifies Palestinian casualties, typically precede increases in the blue line, which signifies launches of projectiles from Gaza. This is particularly evident before the most significant spikes in the blue line. This suggests that Palestinian launches may be explained, in part, as a response to Israeli projectiles which kill or injure Palestinians.
To understand the effect of this, I ran the numbers through a statistical analysis to understand the individual effects one day's Palestinian casualties had on the next day's launches. What I found was that both Palestinian injuries and deaths were significantly and positively correlated with launches. Palestinian deaths from Israeli projectiles into Gaza led to a 22% increase in rocket launches the following day, Palestinian injuries led to an additional 4% increase.
Absent the upsurge of launches that occurs after Palestinian casualties inflicted by Israeli projectiles, projectiles from Gaza are few and far between. The three Israelis who died as a result of Palestinian projectile fire died during periods of upsurge provoked by preceding Israeli projectile fire into Gaza. In fact, 75% of launches from Gaza came during these upsurges provoked by Israeli fire.
Israeli fire into Gaza, however, is not statistically correlated with the previous day's launches.
This suggests that it is the Israelis and not the Palestinians who, through their capacity to actually inflict high casualties with their projectiles, control escalation in cross border dynamics. While all launches from Gaza cannot be explained as responses to Israeli fire, most of them are. Of course, this is not a reality that the @IDFspokesperson or Leibovich wants to convey and that is perhaps another important reason why they are not so forthcoming with other information.
As mentioned above, I'm not waiting for them to put relevant information before you to provide the context necessary to see through the propaganda campaign. When looking at the complete picture, instead of the facade built by the Israeli Military and its spokespeople, we can better understand what is really going on.
Ultimately, this highlights a failed Israeli policy toward Gaza, not simply because it involves the inhumane collective punishment of 1.7 million people, but also because its approach to projectiles from Gaza actually generates far more projectiles than it prevents.-
Maria 10 mrt 2012
Abbas Contacts Leaders to Stop Military Escalation in Gaza
President Mahmoud Abbas Saturday called on leaders in Egypt, the European Union and the Quartet to bring a stop to Israeli military escalation in the Gaza Strip.
He also gave instructions to contact the Israeli side to put a stop to the attacks on Gaza.
Fifteen Palestinians were killed and many more injured in two days of Israeli airstrikes throughout the Gaza Strip. In retaliation, armed Palestinians fired dozens of makeshift and grad missiles on Israeli towns in southern Israel forcing a state of full alert in these areas.
Abbas contacted as well Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal and the head of the Islamic Jihad, Ramadan Shallah.
Both leaders said they do not want to see the situation escalate and that they were committed to the calm so that not to give Israel a pretext to continue with its military operations against the people of the Gaza Strip and to spare them death and destruction.
Abbas had condemned the Israeli air attacks on Gaza.
He held the Israeli government responsible for what he described as “the dangerous deterioration as a result of its aggression against our people that include assassinations, incursions and destruction of infrastructure.”
Abbas warned that Israel may use the situation to avoid international efforts to revive the peace process.
http://english.wafa.ps/index.php?action=detail&id=19239
Turkey condemns Israel over Gaza strikes, calls on world to react
Turkey has strongly condemned Israel over its air strikes that killed 15 Palestinians in Gaza on Friday and Saturday, calling on the world not to remain indifferent and react to what it said Israel’s “disproportionate and indiscriminate retaliatory attacks.”
Israel pounded Gaza for the second day in a row on Saturday, trading airstrikes and rocket fire with Palestinian militants and killing 15 of them as the deadliest Gaza violence in over a year showed no signs of abating.
Tit-for-tat exchanges between Israel and Palestinians have been routine since the 2009 war, but a flare-up of this intensity is rare. The Arab League called the Israeli attacks a "massacre." The United Nations condemned the violence and called on both sides to exercise restraint.
The latest spate of violence got under way Friday afternoon, when an Israeli airstrike on a car in Gaza City killed top militant commander Zuhair al-Qaissi and two of his underlings. It was the highest-profile killing Israel has carried out in many months, interrupting a period of relative calm on the volatile southern front.
Almost immediately, Gaza militants unleashed a barrage of rockets toward southern Israeli border communities.
So far, militants have fired more than 100 rockets since al-Qaissi's killing, a major escalation from recent months. Palestinian militants fired some 50 rockets toward Israel in the previous three months.
This weekend's events are the deadliest in Gaza in more than a year.
The current fighting could spiral out of control if Palestinian militants manage to kill Israeli civilians or if the Israeli strikes kill Palestinian civilians or another top militant.
Turkey said it is concerned over new and dangerous escalation of violence in Gaza Strip. A statement released by the Turkish Foreign Ministry noted that it strongly condemns disproportiante and indiscriminate retalaitory attacks on Gaza that cause death Palestinian civilians.
It said new cycle of violence in the region will benefit no one who is siding with peace and called on the internaitonal community not to remain indifferent to attacks and display necessary reaction. Turkey demanded immediate calm in the strip.
“We ask Israel once again to end its inhumane and unacceptable policies toward Gaza,” the statement concluded.
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Hamas: All options are open to retaliate to Israeli aggression
GAZA, (PIC)-- Hamas warned Israel in a statement on Saturday of persisting in its aggression on the Gaza Strip, adding that all options are open to defend the Palestinian people.
Hamas held the Israeli occupation authority (IOA) fully responsible for any repercussion of its aggression on the coastal enclave.
“Our Palestinian people and their resistance factions won’t remain arms folded,” Hamas said, adding that it was “natural to defend ourselves in face of Zionist terrorism and war machine”.
The movement called for unity of lines and urged the Arab, Islamic countries and free people of the world to adopt serious stands to pressure Israel into halting its crimes against the Palestinian people.
For its part, the armed wing of Hamas, the Qassam Brigades, affirmed that the IOA would pay for its crimes sooner or later.
Abu Obaida, the spokesman for the Qassam Brigades, told Al-Aqsa TV channel on Saturday, that there is no free calm with the IOA.
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Israel kills four more Gaza gunmen, rockets hit Israel
Israel killed four Gaza militants on Saturday as violence sparked by the death of a militant leader a day earlier escalated with gunmen firing more than 90 rockets at Israel, injuring four people, Israeli and Palestinian officials said.
In all Israel, has killed 14 militants in aerial strikes launched since Friday, Hamas medics said. In the latest attack, a gunman was killed on a motorcycle and another was critically wounded and later died of his injuries, medics said.
Two other militants from the Islamic Jihad group were killed in predawn strikes on Saturday, officials in Gaza said.
Nabil Abu Rdainah, a spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, blamed Israel for the violence and called for Western intervention to try and halt any further escalation which threatened to complicate rife tensions along the restive Israeli-Gaza frontier and their common border with Egypt.
"This Israeli escalation in Gaza is completely condemned and we urge the world community, and the Quartet (of Middle East power brokers), especially the United States, to put enough pressure on Israeli government to stop this escalation," Rdainah told Reuters television.
After weeks of relative calm, violence along the Israeli-Gaza frontier escalated on Friday when Israel blew up a car in Gaza City, killing two militant leaders.
Israel said one of the militants killed on Friday had been involved in plotting a cross-border attack from Egypt. Israeli media reports said he had also been closely involved in the 2006 capture of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, freed as part of a prisoner swap in October.
ISRAEL TARGETS WEAPONS
An Israeli military statement said the latest air strikes had targeted two weapons manufacturing sites. The strikes were launched in response to rocket fire from Gaza that injured four people in Israel, including one man, who is reported to be in a serious condition, it added.
Israeli media said the seriously injured man is a worker from Thailand.
The sounds of explosions and rocket fire reverberated across coastal Gaza and parts of southern Israel early on Saturday. Some half a million people were urged to remain indoors and keep bomb shelters open, and public events were cancelled.
Militant groups in Hamas-ruled Gaza vowed to exact revenge for the killings. According to the Israeli military, more than 90 rockets have been fired at Israel since Friday, including 25 longer-range Grad rockets intercepted by Israel's "Iron Dome" missile interceptor system.
Islamic Jihad and the Popular Resistance Committees (PRC) claimed responsibility for most of the rockets and mortar shells fired which they also said totaled more than 70.
Israel launched some half a dozen air strikes at militants in Gaza on Friday, killing 10.
Hamas, which refuses to recognize Israel, did not claim responsibility for any of the missile attacks on Israel, and there were no reported civilian fatalities in Gaza, factors which may keep the violence from escalating.
However, Israel says it holds Hamas responsible for any attacks launched from its territory.
Around six Palestinians among 17 people wounded in the Israeli attacks have been identified by medics as civilians.
Hamas seized control of Gaza from Abbas's Fatah movement in a bloody 2007 coup, two years after Israel pulled its forces out of the territory it had captured in a 1967 war. (Writing by Allyn Fisher-Ilan; Editing by Sophie Hares)
http://www.jmcc.org/news.aspx?id=3365
Eight Israelis wounded in retaliatory Palestinian rocket attacks
The Palestinian resistance fighters have fired dozens of rockets into Israeli cities in retaliation for the regime’s latest attacks that killed at least 13 Palestinians.
Reports say eight Israelis were wounded, with one in critical condition, after 60 homemade rockets from the Gaza Strip landed in southern Israeli towns and communities early Saturday morning.
The rockets were apparently fired in retaliation for the killing of at least 13 Palestinians, including a senior commander, in Israeli aerial and land attacks on the besieged Gaza Strip on Friday and early Saturday.
An Israeli military spokesman said that Zohair al-Qaisi, the leader of the Popular Resistance Committees (PRC), and PRC member Mahmoud Hanini were killed in the attack.
Hanini had been freed from an Israeli jail last year as part of a prisoner swap deal to gain the release of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit.
Islamic Jihad of Palestine said in a statement issued on Friday that Obeid al-Gharabli, Mohammed Harara, Hazem Qoureqa, and Shadi Seqali of the al-Quds Brigades, the military arm of Islamic Jihad, were killed in a second airstrike on the east side of the city.
The Palestinian resistance movement Hamas has condemned the attacks, describing them as barbaric.
Israeli war planes and ground forces have frequently attacked Gaza since the end of the December 2008-January 2009 war on against the coastal strip. Most victims of the attacks were civilians, including women and children.
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/230894.html
9-10 mrt 2012
Popular resistance and its armed wing vow to retaliate to assassination of Qaisi
GAZA, (PIC)-- The popular resistance committees and its armed wing Salahuddin Brigades said they are absolved of any truce in Gaza and urged their resistance fighters to retaliate strongly and launch counterattacks against Israeli targets.
This came in a press release issued by the resistance committees following the Israeli assassination of its secretary general Zuhair Al-Qaisi and its senior official Ahmed Al-Hanani on Friday.
For his part, spokesman for the Islamic Jihad Movement Dawoud Shihab said this new crime confirmed that the Israeli occupation does not want calm and stability and wants to turn Gaza into a training ground for its army.
Spokesman Shihab called on the Palestinian resistance factions to re-evaluate the calm in Gaza and the West Bank and agree on a strategy to respond to Israel's constant aggression and violations.
A spokesman for Al-Quds Brigades, the armed wing of Islamic Jihad, stated that the truce with the Israeli occupation died when it assassinated the secretary-general of the popular resistance committees and attempted to kill two of its senior officials, and vowed to respond.
Al-Ahrar Movement also condemned the Israeli crime as an Israeli attempt to create confusion in the Palestinian arena and urged the resistance to strike back.
The democratic front for the liberation of Palestine, for its part, called for building a united resistance front to confront Israel's aggression on Gaza and its Judaization and settlement activities in Jerusalem and the West Bank.
In the same context, Al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, said in a press release on Friday that "the blood of the martyrs that watered the inviolate soil of Gaza would not go in vain and the occupation's crimes would be a curse on it."
For his part, Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum stated in a press statement to the PIC that the Israeli occupation wants to blow up the situation in Gaza to cover its violations and its war of Judaization against the occupied city of Jerusalem, its natives and the Aqsa Mosque.
Barhoum held the Israeli occupation fully responsible for what might happen in response to its military escalation, and demanded the Fatah-controlled Palestinian Authority to end its restrictions on the resistance in the West Bank and enable it to defend its people.
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Death toll rises to 12 as Israel bombards Gaza
GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- Israeli warplanes continued to strike several targets across the Gaza Strip overnight and early Saturday morning for the second day bringing the death toll to 12, and injuries to 20.
Islamic Jihad’s military wing the Al-Quds Brigades said in a statement that 10 of their fighters were killed since Friday. It said the group launched 41 Grad missiles, 20 homemade projectiles, six mortar shells, and three 107-mm rockets at Israeli targets.
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A Ma'an reporter identified the 12 dead as
1- Muhammad al-Ghamry,
2- Fayiq Saad,
3- Muatasim Hajjaj,
4- Ubeid Gharabli,
5- Muhammad Hararah,
6- Hazim Qureiqi,
7- Shadi Sayqali,
8- Zuheir al-Qaysi,
9- Mahmoud Hanani,
10- Muhammad Maghari,
11- Mahmoud Najim, and
12- Ahmad Hajjaj.
Medical sources, meanwhile, said 26-year-old Muhammad al-Ghamry succumbed to wounds he sustained Saturday morning as Israeli warplanes targeted a car on Salah Ad-Din Street off the coast in Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
They said Islamic Jihad operatives Ahmad Hajjaj, Fayiq Saad, and Muatasim Hajjaj were targeted by fighter jets early Saturday as they were walking near the building of the Palestinian Legislative Council in the Shujaiyyah neighborhood in Gaza City. Fayiq Saad and Muatasim Hajjaj were killed immediately, while Ahmad Hajjaj sustained mortal wounds and was pronounced dead shortly after he was evacuated.
In Beit Lahiya in the northern Gaza Strip, an Israeli airstrike killed Muhammad Maghari and Mahmoud Najim on Hutayba street early Saturday.
Another Israeli raid injured four Palestinians from the same family as a rocket hit a basement on Yarmouk Street in Gaza City, according to medical sources.
Warplanes also targeted a military base used by Hamas’ military wing the al-Qassam Brigades in western Gaza City. The base was hit twice. No injuries have been reported, however, the attack resulted in power cuts in several neighborhoods.
Another airstrike hit a security base west of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip.
Israel's military says over 45 rockets have struck sites in the south, injuring four people, one severely, one moderately and two lightly.
It's "Iron Dome" missile defense system has intercepted over 10 Grad rockets which the army says which were fired at the cities of Beer Sheva, Ashdod and Ashkelon.
Israel said its aircraft targeted two weapon manufacturing facilities and two rocket launching sites in northern Gaza, a weapon manufacturing facility in central Gaza and a "terror activity site" in southern Gaza.
Aircraft targeted a fighter in central Gaza and six additional squads who were in the final stages of preparing to fire rockets at Israel from separate locations in northern and central Gaza, the army said.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=466626
9-10 mrt 2012
Death toll rises to 12 as Israel bombards Gaza
GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- Israeli warplanes continued to strike several targets across the Gaza Strip overnight and early Saturday morning for the second day bringing the death toll to 12, and injuries to 20.
Islamic Jihad’s military wing the Al-Quds Brigades said in a statement that 10 of their fighters were killed since Friday. It said the group launched 41 Grad missiles, 20 homemade projectiles, six mortar shells, and three 107-mm rockets at Israeli targets.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xb4uhLGGhA4
A Ma'an reporter identified the 12 dead as
1- Muhammad al-Ghamry,
2- Fayiq Saad,
3- Muatasim Hajjaj,
4- Ubeid Gharabli,
5- Muhammad Hararah,
6- Hazim Qureiqi,
7- Shadi Sayqali,
8- Zuheir al-Qaysi,
9- Mahmoud Hanani,
10- Muhammad Maghari,
11- Mahmoud Najim, and
12- Ahmad Hajjaj.
Medical sources, meanwhile, said 26-year-old Muhammad al-Ghamry succumbed to wounds he sustained Saturday morning as Israeli warplanes targeted a car on Salah Ad-Din Street off the coast in Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
They said Islamic Jihad operatives Ahmad Hajjaj, Fayiq Saad, and Muatasim Hajjaj were targeted by fighter jets early Saturday as they were walking near the building of the Palestinian Legislative Council in the Shujaiyyah neighborhood in Gaza City. Fayiq Saad and Muatasim Hajjaj were killed immediately, while Ahmad Hajjaj sustained mortal wounds and was pronounced dead shortly after he was evacuated.
In Beit Lahiya in the northern Gaza Strip, an Israeli airstrike killed Muhammad Maghari and Mahmoud Najim on Hutayba street early Saturday.
Another Israeli raid injured four Palestinians from the same family as a rocket hit a basement on Yarmouk Street in Gaza City, according to medical sources.
Warplanes also targeted a military base used by Hamas’ military wing the al-Qassam Brigades in western Gaza City. The base was hit twice. No injuries have been reported, however, the attack resulted in power cuts in several neighborhoods.
Another airstrike hit a security base west of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip.
Israel's military says over 45 rockets have struck sites in the south, injuring four people, one severely, one moderately and two lightly.
It's "Iron Dome" missile defense system has intercepted over 10 Grad rockets which the army says which were fired at the cities of Beer Sheva, Ashdod and Ashkelon.
Israel said its aircraft targeted two weapon manufacturing facilities and two rocket launching sites in northern Gaza, a weapon manufacturing facility in central Gaza and a "terror activity site" in southern Gaza.
Aircraft targeted a fighter in central Gaza and six additional squads who were in the final stages of preparing to fire rockets at Israel from separate locations in northern and central Gaza, the army said.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=466626
4 mrt 2012
IOF soldiers open floodgates on central Gaza
Israeli Forces Seize Residential Building in Jenin
IOF raze agricultural building in Tulkarem city
Successive cave-ins in O. Jerusalem threaten Aqsa Mosque
5 mrt 2012
Palestinian Teen Severely Injured during Clashes near Ramallah
6 mrt 2012
Israeli Forces wounded Palestinian critically
Israeli settlement waste 'poisoning Palestinians'
Settlers Try To Install Outpost In Place Of Evacuated Settlement
IOF soldiers assault citizens in Jordan Valley for collecting wild plant
7 mrt 2012
Israeli military operation 'shuts Erez crossing'
Jewish settlers attack Palestinian shepherds
Jewish settlers attack village, wound youth
Settlers Attack Palestinian Village Near Ramallah
Israeli forces seize cars in West Bank village
Israeli bulldozers destroy Palestinian wheat crops in Negev
IOF troops enter northern Gaza, level land
8 mrt 2012
Israeli Settlers Uproot and Take 100 Olive Trees Owned By Palestinian Farmers
Janba and Bir Al-Ad villagers receive demolition orders
IOF soldiers serve demolition notices in Jordan Valley
Israeli authorities raze Araqib village in Negev for 36th time
International observers under threats of arrest and death by Israeli Armys Golani Brigade in AL Khalil
9 mrt 2012
Palestinian gov't holds Israel fully responsible for its Friday attacks
Medics: 2 killed in Israeli strike on Gaza
Five Killed as the Israeli Military Bombardment of Gaza Continues
9-10 mrt 2012
Six casualties in Israeli shooting at a bus near Ofer
10 mrt 2012
Airstrikes kill 3 in south Gaza
Two Palestinians killed in new Israeli airstrike on Gaza
Six casualties in Israeli shooting at a bus near Ofer
Foreign female activists assaulted by Jewish settlers in Al-Khalil
Medics: 4 hurt in shooting near Gaza cemetery
Masada unit launches night raid on Palestinian prisoners
Breaking: 2 international activists assaulted by extreme settlers in Al Khalil
10 mar 2012, 11:58 , Respect -
Maria 11 mrt 2012
Haneyya: Egypt exerting big efforts to end the Israeli aggression
GAZA, (PIC)-- Palestinian premier in Gaza Strip said on Sunday that Egypt was exerting big efforts to halt the Israeli aggression on the enclave that claimed the lives of 18 Palestinians so far.
He said in a statement that the “Egyptian brothers” were working round the clock to end the aggression.
Haneyya said that all Palestinian factions reflected a positive position and displayed a responsible spirit.
The premier said that the Palestinian people would not be weakened or demoralized.
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Batesh: No room for calm amidst Israeli escalation
Gaza, (PIC)-- Khaled Al-Batesh, a leader of the Islamic Jihad movement in Gaza, has asserted in a TV statement that there is no room for talk about calm in Gaza since the Israeli aggression on the enclave did not stop.
He said that his movement would continue to retaliate strongly to Israeli attacks, adding that Israel wants the Palestinian resistance factions to accept calm according to its own standards, which is rejected by those factions.
Batesh said that Egyptian efforts to restore calm would not succeed as long as Israel continued in its attacks.
The Jihad leader asked the Arab countries to arm the Palestinian resistance to enable it to defend the unarmed Palestinians, who are butchered at the hands of Israeli army’s American-made warplanes.
Dr. Ismail Radwan, a Hamas leader in Gaza, echoed the statement of Batesh in another TV interview on Saturday night.
He said that it was not reasonable to talk about calm while the Israeli occupation forces were continuing in their military escalation against Gaza since Friday.
Radwan denounced Mahmoud Abbas, Fatah leader and PA chief, for insisting on maintaining contacts with Israel despite its repeated military escalations.
The Hamas leader asked Palestinian resistance factions to coordinate their stands in dealing with the Israeli aggression, and called on the Arab and Islamic countries to restrain Israel.
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Militant groups claim rocket fire into Israel
GAZA CITY (Ma’an) -- Militant groups in the Gaza Strip claimed responsibility for a barrage of rockets fire into south Israel on Friday and Saturday, as Gaza contended with a bout of fighting that killed 15 Palestinians.
The factions said the rockets were in response to the assasination of Popular Resistance Committees chief Zuhair Qaisi on Friday.
Around 100 rockets have hit southern Israel as Israeli warplanes bombard the Gaza Strip, wounding 26 Palestinians and four Israelis. Five Palestinians and one Israeli are seriously injured.
In statements to the media on Saturday, the PRC armed wing said it had fired 29 rockets into Israel, while the PFLP's brigades said it fired two rockets towards Israeli cities.
The Ayman Juda group within the Al-Aqsa brigades, and another group identified as brigades of martyr Abdul Qader Al-Hussaini also claimed responsibility for rocket fire.
Earlier, Islamic Jihad’s military wing -- which has been targetted by the airstrikes -- said it had fired 41 Grad missiles, 20 homemade projectiles, six mortar shells, and three 107-mm rockets at Israeli targets.
Around 30 were intercepted by Israel's Iron Dome missile defense system, Israeli media reported.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=466848
'Israel Gaza attack has full US backing' - Press TV News
(3:23) 'Israel Gaza attack has full US backing' - Press TV News
Israel has launched a major military attack on the besieged Gaza Strip under the auspices of the United States in an attempt to empty the Palestinian leadership.
Press TV has interviewed Ralph Schoenman, author of the Hidden History of Zionism from Berkeley who shares his insight about what is exactly behind this latest Israeli assault based on factual reports. What follows is an approximate transcription of the interview.
Press TV: There is death and destruction in Gaza yet we see silence by the international community. Why do we see such silence when the West in particular claims to be the flag bearer of human rights and democracy?
Schoenman: Let me make clear to you that this was a process initiated by the Israelis whp killed top Palestinian leader al-Qaesi and two of his aides and this is not the first such attack.
They assassinated Kamal al-Nairab, al-Qaesi's predecessor in August and indeed the Israeli assault was a deliberate process of armed attack with the intention of assassinating political leaders of Hamas and of the Palestinian people in Gaza.
The US State Department's immediate response was to condemn the Palestinians as terrorists for the response on the part of the Palestinian people to these assassination attacks.
I should point out to you that the US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation has published a report: The US has sent over 600,000 teargas canisters to Israel and more than 670 million weapons including rounds of ammunition and tear gas, chemical weapons and related equipment over a period of nine years.
Israel in targeted assassination has killed 2,969 unarmed Palestinians including 1,128 children with US weapons in violation of the Foreign Assistance Act and Arms Control Act.
In reality, in the US Memorandum of Understanding with Israel, the US pledged 30 billion dollars in additional military assistance to Israel and a 25-percent increase in the average annual military aid over previous years - 3.1 billion in US military for the fiscal year 2012 alone.
So we have to understand that this event is a deliberate attack on the part of the Zionist state with complete backing of the US. The Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta reaffirmed America's "security commitment to Israel including financing for missiles and fighter jet weapons" in a speech during the AIPAC conference recently.
What we're seeing here is a coordinated operation and indeed there is a report by the Agence France Press a few hours ago that the US has "offered Israel new arms if they wait on the attack on Iran until just after the elections" - advanced weaponry, which is spelled out.
So, this attack on Gaza and on the Palestinian leadership and on the Palestinian people is a deliberate provocation to increase the scale of violence and to facilitate renewed attacks on the part of Israel against leaders of the Palestinian people specifically targeted for assassination.
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/231083.html
Hebron man, teen 'hospitalized after soldiers break up settler clash'
Settlers Attack Palestinian Shepherds, International Activists near Nablus
Settlers Attack Two Towns Near Hebron