<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" standalone="yes"?><oembed><version><![CDATA[1.0]]></version><provider_name><![CDATA[Occupied Palestine | فلسطين]]></provider_name><provider_url><![CDATA[https://occupiedpalestine.wordpress.com]]></provider_url><author_name><![CDATA[occupiedpalestine]]></author_name><author_url><![CDATA[https://occupiedpalestine.wordpress.com/author/hajarhajar/]]></author_url><title><![CDATA[Four notes on “Scorching&nbsp;Summer”]]></title><type><![CDATA[link]]></type><html><![CDATA[<p class="byline"><abbr class="published" title="Friday, April 8th, 2011, 9:41 am">Friday, April 8 2011<span class="author vcard">|<span class="url fn n"> Yossi Gurvitz | +972 MAGAZINE</span><a class="url fn n" title="Yossi Gurvitz" href="http://972mag.com/author/yossig/"></p>
<p></a></span></abbr></p>
<div class="inner-title">
<h1 class="post-title single-title entry-title">
<p style="text-align:center;"><a href="http://972mag.com/four-notes-on-%e2%80%9cscorching-summer%e2%80%9d/"><img src="https://occupiedpalestine.files.wordpress.com/2011/04/yossigurevitz2.jpg" alt="" /></a></p>
</h1>
<p><span class="inner-title_decor"> </span></p>
</div>
<div class="entry-content">
<div class="entry-data">
<p><strong>Who declines the ceasefire</strong>: In a couple of  months, when the operation goes south – either when some soldiers get  hit by an IED, or when an IDF missiles will miss its target as usual,  blowing up a Gazan kindergarten – we’ll have to remember: Hamas asked  for a ceasefire last night. In response, the IDF continued its attacks  on the Strip. As far as its leaders are concerned, the Palestinians  didn’t shed enough blood. The new chief of staff, after all, must  demonstrate that he is as virile as the former one.</p>
<p>Now, if there was any achievable purpose to Scorching Summer,  declining the ceasefire offer would make sense. Since there isn’t any –  despite all its bloviating, the Israeli government won’t bring down the  Hamas regime, and will not re-conquer the Strip, that’s the last thing  on its mind – all we’ll see is pointless bloodletting. To show the  vengeance-demanding population that we can still hurt them more, much  more. The use of violence to intimidate – what around here is called  “deterrence” – is, especially when used against civilians, is generally  considered to be terrorism.</p>
<p><strong>A war crime</strong>: The son of a bitch who aimed an  anti-tank missile at a bus school, and then pulled the trigger, is a war  criminal. Since, as jusge Richard Goldstone found recently to his  surprise, Hamas does not cleave to the laws of war, any reasonable act  by Israel kill him – no, Benny Ganz, I do not consider taking out a  whole apartment building to be “reasonable” = would be welcome. Mad dogs  ought to be put down.</p>
<p>The son of a bitch who aimed a rocket from a chopper at a Palestinian ambulance (<a class="external" href="http://www.mako.co.il/news-military/security/Article-7d7c185b2f33f21004.htm" target="_blank">Hebrew</a>),  and then pulled the trigger, is a war criminal. Despite what Goldstone  may think, Israel will not indict him, and should anyone try to do so,  it will wail this is “lawfare” – that oh so useful idiom, intended to  make a judicial act look like a terrorist one.</p>
<p><strong>Goldstone</strong>: During the past week, Richard Goldstone  managed to become hateful to both side. On the one hand, he wrote a  rather problematic article, where he praised Israel as being better than  Hamas. On the other, after official Israel went mad with glee, he had  to make a public statement he stands behind his report, and that it  still valid.</p>
<p>Given the amount of Schadenfreude expressed by the government,  however, it is perfectly possible that in fifty years we’ll find out  that Goldstone’s hesitation, his yes and no momemnt, was one of the  elements promoting this operation.</p>
<p><strong>The War Mongers</strong>: Make no mistake: This operation was  not hastily put together yesterday. The Hamas gunmen who fired the  rocket at the bus just gave the IDF and Ehud Barak the excuse they were  looking for. If it didn’t happen yesterday, it would have happened in a  week’s time. If the Hamas would fail to provide the IDF with an excuse,  the IDF would twist its arm so it would. It has been escalating the Gaza  front for a month now.</p>
<p>This little war is good for everyone, except the civilians who’ll  have to pay the price. It’s good for Netanyahu, distracting the public  from his and the Lady’s latest flight scandal. It’s good for Barak – he  becomes a person of importance again, and, who knows, maybe public  support for him will rise so much it may actually reach a positive  figure. It’s good for the IDF, because it always likes risk-free wars –  and it stooped considering risk to civilians as a factor a long time  ago; at the most, it is an excuse to use even more force. For months, it  refused to deploy the Iron Dome batteries, which it praised to high  heaven yesterday; defending civilians was simply not all that important.</p>
<p>And the war is good, oh so good, to Hamas. Now it has the chance to  change its image: it is no longer an anachronistic, oppressive force,  putting down demonstrators demanding reform and a unity government. It  no longer has to fear suffering the dame divisions suffered by the  mother movement – the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood – after the revolution  there. Instead of becoming hated as an occupying regime, it can now  wave the bloody shirt of “resistance”. Now this organizations can that  it may be scum, but it’s fighting Israel on behalf of the common Gazan.  Firing Qassam rockets, not to mention firing anti-tanks rockets at a  school bus, is definitely easier than attempting to provide over a  million people with a decent living.</p>
<p>And since the war is good for so many, there’s a good chance it’ll continue.</p>
</div>
</div>
<p><a href="http://972mag.com/four-notes-on-%e2%80%9cscorching-summer%e2%80%9d/">Source</a></p>
<p><strong>Special Topic: <a href="https://occupiedpalestine.wordpress.com/2011/03/23/gaza-under-israeli-attacks/">GAZA UNDER ISRAELI ATTACKS</a></strong></p>
<p><strong>Special Topic: <a href="https://occupiedpalestine.wordpress.com/irememberthevictims/">ALL MARTYRS OF ISRAELI OCCUPATION 2011</a></strong></p>
]]></html><thumbnail_url><![CDATA[https://occupiedpalestine.files.wordpress.com/2011/04/yossigurevitz2.jpg?fit=440%2C330]]></thumbnail_url><thumbnail_width><![CDATA[]]></thumbnail_width><thumbnail_height><![CDATA[]]></thumbnail_height></oembed>