| Submit your comments on this article |
| Israel-Palestine-Jordan |
| Palestinians prepare to battle Israeli troops in Gaza |
| 2006-06-28 |
| Throughout the day, Israel kept up the pressure by firing missiles at open areas in northern and southern Gaza. At the same time, Israeli aircraft created jarring sonic booms that rattled windows and nerves in Gaza City. The military also destroyed the Gaza Strip power station that supplies energy about half of the 1.3 million Palestinians. The station powers many of the region's electric water pumps and Palestinian officials said it could take months to repair the power grid, raising fears of a potential humanitarian crisis in the coming days. Palestinian militants refused to be cowed by the Israeli incursion and fired back with their own threat to kill Eliyahu Asheri, a Jewish settler kidnapped in the West Bank. The Popular Resistance Committees held a news conference to show a copy of Asheri's identification card and threaten his life unless the Gaza Strip invasion came to an end. As Israeli troops punched into Gaza early Wednesday morning, Palestinian militants and soldiers began preparing for battle. Around dawn, masked Hamas militants carried machine guns, rocket propelled grenade launchers and mines through the streets while others kept watch on Israeli tanks that rolled into the defunct Gaza Strip airport. "We are not afraid because we have God on our side and we have proven that we are able to hit the well-equipped army from time-to-time," said one masked Hamas member in an alley near the center of Rafah. Across Gaza, there was widespread sympathy for the militants holding Shalit. In interview after interview, Palestinians said the Israeli soldier should not be given back without getting something in return, such as the 100 women and 300 inmates under the age of 18 held in Israeli prisons. Time and again, Palestinians invoked the killing earlier this month of eight Palestinian picnickers during Israeli shelling of the northern Gaza Strip coast. An Israeli military investigation cleared itself of responsibility for the deaths, but that finding is in dispute. No matter who is responsible , "When the world saw the Palestinians killed on the beach that day, nobody did anything," said a Palestinian soldier who gave his name only as Abu Mohammed. "When one Israeli soldier was kidnapped, everybody moved." Some people might call that a clue. Abu Mohammed was one of nearly 100 soldiers who withdrew from the Gaza Strip airport as Israeli soldiers moved in. This is the most important part of Paleo battle preparation. Along with the soldiers Standing outside his house during a lull in the shelling, Abu Yousef said his whole life had been filled with fighting until last fall when Israel officially ended its military occupation of the Gaza Strip. "It was good," said Abu Yousef. "It was quiet. Until last night." |
| Posted by:Nimble Spemble |
| #8 More likely they will punch through the buildings on either side. Posted by: Fordesque 2006-06-28 20:51 THATS what I'm talkin bout! Punch on through, we're up over a dollar at the close! CAT (Common Stock) Exchange NYSE (US Dollar) Price $72.71 Change (%) 1.06 (1.48%) |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2006-06-28 20:59 |
| #7 "If the Israelis even so much as suspect that a section of road has been IED mined, they should fire a minefield clearing ribbon charge down it." More likely they will punch through the buildings on either side. |
| Posted by: Fordesque 2006-06-28 20:51 |
| #6 Great, this gets all of the most belligerent @ssholes up to the front lines where they can be picked off first. I hope the Israelis brought a sh!tload of ammo. |
| Posted by: Zenster 2006-06-28 20:33 |
| #5 EU taxpayers will pick up the tab. excellent! a two for one deal. |
| Posted by: Grereger Thretch9628 2006-06-28 16:34 |
| #4 If the Israelis even so much as suspect that a section of road has been IED mined, they should fire a minefield clearing ribbon charge down it. Since it's not their road, they're not the ones who have to fix it afterwards. EU taxpayers will pick up the tab. |
| Posted by: Kratos 2006-06-28 14:00 |
| #3 If the Israelis even so much as suspect that a section of road has been IED mined, they should fire a minefield clearing ribbon charge down it. Since it's not their road, they're not the ones who have to fix it afterwards. Then use a simple policy: any building used as a firing position or as cover will be flattened. If that means that the entire town is leveled, so be it. |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2006-06-28 13:16 |
| #2 Shoulda called it "Operation So Much For Subtlty" |
| Posted by: mojo 2006-06-28 12:52 |
| #1 "We are not afraid because we have God on our side..." When you are masked Hamas member in an alley near the center of Rafahlive in Hell, don't assume that's God there in your peripheral vision. |
| Posted by: Darrell 2006-06-28 12:42 |