The conservative Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs/JINSA Reports:
In February 2005, the Administration named Lt. Gen. William Ward, USA, "American security coordinator" in the Palestinian Authority territories and tasked him with consolidating and improving Palestinian "security forces." The mission, in our view, was flawed and the result of American intervention was simply better trained terrorists.
Palestinian Minister of Information Dr Mustafa Barghouthi stated:
Israel has given itself the right to kill and destroy everything and target every Palestinian regardless of whether he is a man, a woman or a child. Israel has reached an unprecedented degree of arrogance when its Army announced that they killed only 3 Palestinian civilians in the raid on Gaza on Sunday. This implies that 3 innocent civilians are not important but this is by itself a recognition by the Israeli Army that they have committed the crime of killing the innocent Palestinians."
According to Ha’aretz, Lt. Gen. Dayton [ Lt. Gen. Ward’s successor]is arming and training "the Presidential Guard of PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas to prepare it for a potential violent confrontation with Hamas forces in Gaza. Palestinian sources say the training of 400 Force 17 troops...started a month ago in Jericho under the guidance of an American military instructor." Force 17 was Arafat’s praetorian guard, attacking recalcitrant Palestinians as well as Israelis. Abu Mazen inherited it.
Messing with Force 17 suggests that the U.S. is entering the nascent Palestinian civil war on the side of Abu Mazen...The Administration, staunchly pro-Israel and anti-terrorist, still believes "Palestine" is a social problem, not an existential threat to Israel. The President said he "weeps" for the Palestinian people. http://www.jinsa.org/
This member of the New Fourth Estate wonders if Bush ever 'weeps' for Gaza, the largest open air prison in the world, where Israel has controlled ALL access of air, land and sea borders of-before and AFTER the disengagement, which was a re-deployment.
Mohammed Omer, a free-lance correspondent, photojournalist and reporter with the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs also reports the facts on the ground in Gaza @ www.rafahtoday.org
According to Palestinian and International reports at least three Israeli military divisions comprising of 20,000 troops are on stand-by near the Gaza border apparently ready for a full-scale ground invasion.
The following is a VERY rough paraphrase of highlights that Mohammed reported from the belly of hell that is Gaza on shortwave radio May 22, 2007:
...smell of blood everywhere targeting civilians...13 Palestinians killed in less than 24 hours...9 members of family of Dr. Khalil Hayeh, Hamas leader & Parliament member, killed yesterday. Dr. Khalil Hayeh was the target of this targeted assassination but he wasn't inside the house when the F-16s attacked the house....9 innocent civilians killed...situation terrible.
Tanks and bulldozers in Northern part of Gaza preparing for invasion- internal fighting between Fatah & Hamas has ended in Gaza strip but here comes Israel with its news wave of violence by helicopter and F16 raids, drones, war planes- everyone in fear from ongoing Israeli attacks due to borders closed, no way out- hospitals overwhelmed- for every rocket Hamas launches, Israeli responds with 3 or more "targeted assassinations"
...Question about the 20,000 troops amassing- unclear for time being. seems they're preparing for the possibility. Large numbers of tanks & bulldozers in Gaza. Warships are shooting at the fisherman. At the moment no Israeli attack on the ground but you can hear them shooting. All these talks aren't confirmed yet but helicopters and F16s are still hovering....
What is role of outside forces, fomented by the US & Israel, stoking the violence?
- external forces from outside perpetuating the violence.
- masked men with hidden agendas shooting at both Hamas and Fatah at the same time. Masked men impersonating Hamas and Fatah, shooting at people, pretending to be either Hamas or Fatah but no one knows these people.
- Egyptian mission in Gaza has worked hard to get all the militants off the streets and things are better than the last 2 days.
- relates his experience of almost getting killed by 3 militants. Young men in their 20s. I couldn't identify them as either Fatah or Hamas because those groups normally wear headbands. These people are wearing no headbands....suspicious people, they are not known, they are making more chaos...hidden groups working in the streets, have no idea what their agenda is, their aim is to kill as much as possible and create chaos in Gaza...don't know if they're affiliated to any political party or are really Palestinian.
If they're really Palestinian, why are they killing Palestinians?
Updated news is at
http://rafah.virtualactivism.net/...
Only when justice is served; which requires equal human rights for all, and an end to the occupation can there be peace and security for any.
Only justice can deflate the hate that fuels militants.