The Conundrum, Part 30

The situation in Gaza isn't looking good for the Palestinians. A bunch of terrorists holed up in a Gaza mosque, and proceeded to use a bunch of women as cover from Israeli gunfire. Can you say human shields? I knew you could. But guess who the New York Times makes out to be the bad guys via the headline - not the Palestinian terrorists who shot at the Israelis or used the mosque as an ammo dump, but the Israelis who were returning fire and chasing after the terrorists who longed to inflict casualties on the Israelis. Thus far, two Palestinian women were killed in the crossfire. But note that 10 others who were also injured were helping those terrorists inside the mosque.

These are not some innocent bystanders, but actively participating in the battle.

The Israelis have called in airstrikes. They're not messing around with this situation, but the fact that they're going after a mosque is sure to cause much whining and seething among the Islamists who love this kind of stuff. Never mind that the location is used as a weapons dump, but it's the evil Zionists firing at a mosque. Oh, and Hamas is urging women to act as human shields to maximize the death tolls, lessen the chances that Israeli forces would open fire or pursue terrorists into their strongholds. Meryl Yourish has more, including the fact that some of those terrorists killed were disguised as women.

Kassam rockets continue to land in Israel after being fired from Gaza. It's a broken record that bears repeating nonetheless.

Kofi Annan, who thankfully has only a few weeks left to cause harm to human rights and ignore genocides and other assorted mass carnage, is concerned about the Israelis going after Palestinians in Gaza. Maybe if he offered up some concern for the Israelis who have to watch their backs because Palestinians are continually plotting for their destruction, Israel would not have to go into Gaza to root out the terrorists.

Debka is reporting that Hamas is trying to assemble a full fledged military division, and obtaining advanced anti-tank weapons to boot. I smell Iran's fingerprints all over the possibility, though they're taking their cues from Hizbullah, which operated with some success in the August war with Israel. No doubt that they're sharing tactical information.

UPDATE:
A Palestinian journalist is shot in an incident in Beit Hanun.

"We again urge Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's government to call the Israeli Defence Force to order," the press freedom organisation said. "Journalists working in the Gaza Strip are often the victims of what appear to be targeted shootings. Such behaviour towards media personnel will continue until transparent investigations are carried out and those responsible are punished."

The victim was Hamza Al Attar, 21, a cameraman working for the Palestinian news agency Ramattan, who was shot in the back while covering a protest by women in Beit Hanun calling for an end to the ongoing siege of the town by Israeli troops. He was wearing a bullet-proof vest marked "Press" and was more than 500 yards from the nearest Israeli tanks when shot. He was rushed to a hospital where doctors described his condition as critical.

The guy was more than 500 yards from the nearest Israelis, and was shot in the back according to the report. No way to know if he was facing the Israelis or not. But the report claims that it was on Israel.

Now, let's rewind a bit. Palestinian terrorists were found by Israelis disguised as women. Hamas called on women to act as human shields for their terrorists who were encircled by the Israelis. There's no word on where the gunfire came from. It could just as easily have come from the Palestinians as the Israelis, but that's not how the reporting groups like to portray things.

The Los Angeles Times thinks that today's incident is a setback for the Israelis after they opened fire on a group of women who rushed to the mosque to provide aid and comfort to the terrorists. These are not innocents here. They are willingly putting themselves into a conflict for the purpose of taking gunfire.

The dramatic end to the 15-hour standoff was a setback for Israeli forces that had stormed the town Wednesday to root out stockpiles of crude Kassam rockets and the militants who launch them into Israel. With Israelis occupying most of Beit Hanoun, the militants had taken refuge Thursday in the Nasir mosque and exchanged fire throughout the day and night.

Most of the gunmen belong to the armed wing of Hamas, the Islamist movement that governs the Palestinian territories. Israeli soldiers trying to force their surrender also hurled stun and smoke grenades at the mosque and knocked down one of its outer walls with a bulldozer late Thursday, weakening the entire structure, residents of the town said.

At that point, the militants devised an escape plan, according to Abu Ubaida, a Hamas spokesman. This morning, the Hamas radio station appealed to women in the town of 37,000 to converge on the mosque to protect the fighters, who Ubaida said numbered 73.

The lines between civilian and terrorist are nonexistent when these groups willingly encourage people to go into the line of fire.

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