Peace, Peace, Peace!
New conflict begins between terrorists, Israel and Palestine, in the Gaza Strip
Gaza: The Basics
Some history and background on the Gaza Strip.
On Wednesday, tens of thousands of Palestinians streamed into Egypt for a shopping frenzy after gunmen in the Gaza Strip destroyed part of the barrier along the border. In the past two weeks, following a rise in rocket attacks, Israel had ramped up its blockades, refusing to allow anything besides humanitarian supplies to pass into the region.
What exactly is the Gaza Strip?
The Gaza Strip is a roughly rectangular territory surrounding the city of Gaza, wedged between the Mediterranean Sea and Israel. To the southwest, it shares a seven-mile border with Egypt. The region has a long history of occupation—by the ancient Egyptians, the Philistines, the Arabs, the Christian Crusaders, and the Ottomans. After World War I, the Gaza area became part of the British Mandate of Palestine, and it was occupied by Egypt in 1948, in the aftermath of the first Arab-Israeli war. Israel took control of the region during the Six-Day War in 1967, along with the West Bank, eastern Jerusalem, the Golan Heights, and the Sinai Peninsula.
In 1994, Israel withdrew from parts of the Gaza Strip as part of its obligations under the Oslo Accords (which also affirmed the rights of the Palestinians to self-government). The Palestinian National Authority and Israel shared power in the Gaza Strip for the next 10 years, with the PNA administering civilian control and the Israelis overseeing military affairs as well as the borders, airspace, and remaining Israeli settlements.
In 2005, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon unilaterally ended military rule in the region and withdrew all Israeli settlements, thus bringing all areas of the Gaza Strip under Palestinian administration. * In 2007, Hamas seized control of the Gaza Strip, causing a division between the region and the other Palestinian territory, the West Bank, where the Fatah party is dominant.
How did it come to be that shape?
The rectangular Gaza Strip is about 25 miles long and three to seven miles wide. One long side lies along the Mediterranean. One short, straight end borders Egypt: This follows the border that existed between Egypt and the British Mandate of Palestine. The other sides of the rectangle—a long, ragged edge and a shorter, northeastern side—separate the Gaza Strip from Israel. This border was established after the 1st Arab-Israeli War, which also resulted in the creation of Israel. The Gaza region became Egypt's military headquarters during the 1948 conflict, and the narrow coastal strip saw heavy fighting. When the cease-fire was announced later that year—following a decisive Israeli victory—the final position of the military fronts became what's known as "the Green Line," or the border between the Palestinian territories (both the Gaza Strip and the West Bank) and Israel.
Who lives on the Gaza Strip?
Since the withdrawal of Israeli settlements, the Gazan population is almost entirely Palestinian Arab. More than 99 percent are Sunni Muslims, with a very small number of Christians. The region saw a huge influx of Palestinian refugees after the creation of Israel in 1948—within 20 years, the population of Gaza had grown to six times its previous size. The Gaza Strip now has one of the highest population densities in the world: Almost 1.5 million people live within its 146 square miles. Eighty percent of Gazans live below the poverty line.
Who built the fence between Gaza and Egypt?
Who controls the border?
In 1979, Israel and Egypt signed a Peace Treaty that returned the Sinai Peninsula, which borders the Gaza Strip, to Egyptian control. As part of that treaty, a 100-meter-wide strip of land known as the Philadelphi corridor was established as a buffer zone between Gaza and Egypt. Israel built a barrier there during the Palestinian uprisings of the early 2000s. It's made mostly of corrugated sheet metal, with stretches of concrete topped with barbed wire.
In 2005, when Israel pulled out of the Gaza Strip, Israel and Egypt reached a military agreement regarding the border, based on the principles of the 1979 Peace Treaty. The agreement specified that 750 Egyptian border guards would be deployed along the length of the border, and both Egypt and Israel pledged to work together to stem terrorism, arms smuggling, and other illegal cross-border activities.
From November 2005 until July 2007, the Rafah Crossing—the only entry-exit point along the Gaza-Egypt border—was jointly controlled by Egypt and the Palestinian Authority, with the European Union monitoring Palestinian compliance on the Gaza side. After the Hamas takeover in June 2007, the European Union pulled out of the region, and Egypt agreed with Israel to shut down the Rafah Crossing, effectively sealing off the Gaza Strip on all sides.
http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/explainer/2008/01/gaza_the_basics.html
Israel is currently under attack as Hamas and other jihadist groups have fired more than 1600 rockets into its territory this month. The rockets have sent millions of Israeli citizens – Jews, Muslims, Christians, Druze – sprinting into bomb shelters. They have as little as 15 seconds to run for cover. It is not a situation any county would tolerate.
When Hamas attacks began, Israel initially responded with targeted air strikes aimed at stopping the rockets and sent a message to Hamas on July 3 that "quiet will be met with quiet", adding "Israel has no interest in an escalation. If Hamas reins in the shooting now, we won't act, either." But that Peace Offering was ignored.
Also rejected by Hamas was a July 15 ceasefire proposal by Egypt backed by the Arab League and the Palestinian Authority (PA) and accepted by Israel. The rejection revealed Hamas' true colours and was widely condemned internationally, including by Foreign Affairs Minister Julie Bishop, who rightly noted: "Hamas claims to represent Gaza, yet it has jeopardised the welfare of its own people by rejecting the proposal for a ceasefire."
With Hamas rejecting the Egyptian ceasefire deal and rocket attacks into Israel continuing, the final straw was Hamas terrorists emerging from tunnels into Israel to attack a nearby kibbutz. Israel felt it had little choice but to order the Ground Operation into the Gaza Strip on July 18 to destroy these tunnels, 34 of which have, so far, been discovered.
While the Israeli army is focused on targeting Hamas and other jihadist groups, civilians in Gaza have been killed in the crossfire. For Israel, every civilian death, be it Palestinian or Israeli, is a tragedy to be avoided; for Hamas, Israeli civilians are the target of their rocket fire. Even ambassador Ibrahim Khraishi, the Palestinian representative to the United Nations Human Rights Council, said on July 9 on PA TV: "The missiles that are now being launched against Israel, each and every missile constitutes a crime against humanity, whether it hits or misses, because it is directed at civilian targets." Khraishi also noted that the Israeli army warns civilians to leave areas before impending strikes.
Yet Hamas leaders sitting safely in their underground bunkers have told Gazans to ignore Israeli warnings and return to their homes, embracing yet again the practice of "human shields". Hamas fighters not only fire rockets from residential buildings but also use civilian infrastructure for their own purposes, including storage of weapons in schools and mosques.
For example, on July 16, about 20 rockets were found in a school in Gaza operated by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). The Washington Post also reported on July 15 that Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City has become "a de facto headquarters for Hamas leaders, who can be seen in the hallways and offices". Hamas' use of civilian infrastructure is clearly is a war crime as it endangers civilian lives. But, for Hamas, civilian casualties support its propaganda war as the more civilian casualties there are, the more international pressure is placed on Israel.
Israel withdrew from the Gaza Strip in 2005, removing 8000 Israelis and 20 settlements. After a bloody coup in 2007 against its political rival Fatah, Hamas took over the Gaza Strip. Hamas is a Sunni Islamist organisation linked to the Muslim Brotherhood and considered a terrorist group by Australia, Israel, the US, the European Union and Canada, among others. Hamas is committed to Israel's genocidal destruction, as enshrined in its charter, and it not only encourages rocket attacks into Israel but is responsible for terrorist attacks that have killed hundreds of innocent Israeli civilians.
Today, Hamas is widely disliked among the people it purports to represent. A recent Pew Research Centre poll found 63 per cent of Gazans surveyed held negative views of Hamas and 79 per cent were concerned about Islamist extremism. Some speculate that this latest attack on Israel may be aimed at reviving its flagging popularity and its depleted funding, following reports that Hamas is largely bankrupt. Hamas' financial woes, and its lost support from Egypt, were also considered reasons why it agreed to a unity government with Fatah in April.
When Israel withdrew from the Gaza Strip in 2005, the area could have flourished but hostility was so strong rockets kept being fired into Israel. Israel imposed a security blockade on Gaza precisely to try and stop the flow of weapons into Gaza and rockets fired into Israel. The UN Palmer report found this blockade to be legal under international law.
Hamas continues to fire rockets into Israel because that is its raison d'etre. Israel has responded to defend its citizens, who cannot possibly be expected to live under incessant rocket attack. The situation has now escalated into a ground-force operation that Israel did not want. But, as this conflict ensues, it is important to remember that Hamas started this round of conflict and had the opportunity to end it, but now Israel's operation is aimed at degrading Hamas' extensive terrorist structure to stop the rockets now and into the foreseeable future.
Terrors and Wars between two political opponents cause too many sacrifices of innocent blood.Throughout
the human history Terrors and Wars have occurred continually shedding innocent youth's blood. We as the Lord of Whole Creation should learn through the past.
We should realize that Terrors and Wars are not originated from God our Creator but His Opponent Satan. Therefore Terrors and Wars are merely being exploited as Satan's Puppet and Malicious Tools.
Now the Era of World Peace has come through the appearance of Peace Advocate Man Hee Lee who has been practicing peace on earth as God showed and directed. The only possible solution for World Peace is for us to join and help him, being ourselves Peace Messengers. Then God will work ahead of us and grant Peace to us! May God be with us for ever and ever.
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