Israel Chooses Arrests Over Bloodshed

Rounds Up More Than 30 Senior Hamas Officials In Bid To Stop Rocket Attacks From Gaza

(CBS/AP)  Israel extended its offensive against the ruling Palestinian militant group Hamas to the West Bank Thursday, reports CBS News correspondent Robert Berger, arresting more than 30 senior officials, including a Cabinet minister, parliamentarians and mayors.

Israel's defense minister said the raids were aimed at pressuring Hamas to halt rocket attacks from Gaza that have terrorized an Israeli border town. Israel also launched air strikes in Gaza targeting money changers whom the army said transferred funds from Iran, Syria and Lebanon To Hamas for terrorist activities.

Meanwhile, the latest effort to restore an Israeli-Palestinian cease-fire in the Gaza Strip failed when Hamas rejected a call by moderate Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to halt the rocket attacks on Israel. Hamas said there would be no truce unless it includes the West Bank in addition to Gaza. Israel refused, saying it West Bank raids are necessary to prevent suicide bombings.

Thursday's Israeli air strikes in Gaza hit Hamas bases in Gaza City and in central Gaza, near the town of Deir al-Balah.

At sundown Thursday, a mortar shell fired from Gaza exploded at Erez, the main crossing for people between Israel and Gaza, and Israel closed the crossing, the military said. There was considerable damage but no one was hurt.

The Israeli army said it arrested 33 Hamas leaders in its overnight sweep. The most prominent official taken in the roundup was Education Minister Nasser Shaer, considered a pragmatist in the movement.

His wife, Huda, said soldiers knocked on the door of their home in the West Bank city of Nablus and took him away. Troops also seized Shaer's computer, she said. Israel also detained Shaer for a month last year during a similar crackdown before a judge ordered his release.

Defense Minister Amir Peretz said that in the fight to neutralize Hamas, arrests were preferable to bloodshed.

"Arrests are better than shooting," he told Israeli Army Radio. "The arrest of these Hamas leaders sends a message to the military organizations that we demand that this firing (of rockets) stop."

But Hamas said the attacks would continue. "We will chase the occupation soldiers and the settlers in every inch of our occupied land, and we announce that we give free hand to our cells to strike against the enemy in every place in Palestine," according to a statement. "Palestine" is a Hamas term that includes Israel.

Abbas said the arrests were a blow to peace efforts, and a spokesman for Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh, of Hamas, called for the immediate release of the detainees and called on the U.N. and European Union to impose sanctions on Israel.

Hamas leaders are worried Israel may assassinate Haniyeh or Hamas chief Khalid Mashaal, who lives in Syria, reports the Jerusalem Post, quoting Palestinian Authority officials. "Hamas is taking the Israeli threats very seriously," said one.

If either man is killed by Israel, the Palestinians' response would be "very painful," Hamas legislator Salah Bardaweel told the Post.

Visiting EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana met Abbas in Gaza on Thursday and called for Palestinians and Israelis to stop the violence.

"The rockets and the Israeli response have to stop," he told reporters after the meeting.

Abbas himself condemned what he called the "absurd" rocket fire and said he was trying to persuade militant groups to stop. "They must stop so we can reach a truce with Israel," he said.

Palestinian Authority spokesman Ghazi Hamad said, "These aggressive practices show the extent of the Israeli escalation and arrogance in the Palestinian territories, and also show how dismissive the Israeli government is of all customs and international laws."

[ezillyamused]

I say Israel should round up ALL of the Palestinian occupiers and ship them off to Lebanon!!!

[lars008-2009]

Hizbullah Deputy Sec-Gen Sheikh Naim Qassem: We Have Jurisprudent Permission to Carry Out 'Martyrdom' Operations, Fire Missiles on Israeli Civilians From Ayatollah Khomeini
http://memri.org/bin/latestnews.cgi?ID=SD154907

NOW CAN WE KILL THEM ALL???

if it is ok for fascist nazi islamic muslims to kill all non muslims everywhere.... is it ok for the non muslims to kill all fascist nazi islamic muslims???

Switching Sides: Inside The Enemy Camp

But then in 2000, well before his arrest, something happened which would make Abas question everything he believed in: a fatwa, a religious edict, was issued by Osama bin Laden.

"It should be understood that killing Americans and Jews anywhere found are the highest act of worship and the highest form of good deeds in the eyes of Allah," Simon quotes bin Laden.

Abas and his fellow commanders were ordered to read the fatwa to their men and make sure they carried it out. The others obeyed, but Abas refused. It was his moment of truth. He firmly believed that jihad was to be fought only on the battlefield in defense of Islam; he had always been taught that the killing of civilians had nothing to do with holy war and that it was forbidden.

The fatwa justified killing non-Muslim civilians everywhere.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/05/04/60minutes/main2761108.shtml?source=RSSattr=60Minutes_2761108

[patriotic9]

"It should be understood that killing Americans and Jews anywhere found are the highest act of worship and the highest form of good deeds in the eyes of Allah," Simon quotes bin Laden.

Posted by lars008 at 02:54 PM : May 24, 2007


Killing American and Jews anywhere?
Why?
Why not killing Germans and Jews?
Why not killing French and Jews?
Why not killing Danish and Jews?

Enemies of United States made this happen.

If Europeans were not brought into Palestine after WWIII to occupy the land of those Palestinians by force who had nothing to do with the actions of Hitler and PSYCHOTIC CHRISTIAN ENEMIES of UNITED STATES didn't support that atrocities on the cost of American Money, Amiercan lives and USA herself because Americans are GOD-NEGLECTED and NON-AMEICAN EUROPEAN INVADERS IN PALESTINE are GOD-CHOSEN, USA is an UNHOLY LAND while NON-AMERICAN FILTHY PALESTINIAN LAND where ISLAMIC RADICAL "JESUS" was born is a HOLY LAND,Our constitution which separates CHURCH from STATE is UNHOLY wehreas ANTI-AMERICAN BIBLE which discriminates against Americans by not promising them a single penny while promising NON-AMERICAN GOD-CHOSEN ENEMIES OF THE GOD'S ONLY SON a LAND in the MIDDLE EAST is HOLY, USA would have only friends and no ENEMY in the world.

[cfin5]

Let me take a guess.......This Nasser Shaer, the education minister that was arrested, is the one that is responsible for the Mickey Mouse thing? If so, WHAT A SICKO!!!.....Don't let him go Israel!!!

[sharncedar]

The Israelis seemed destined to play out every act of the Holocaust, but from the other side. Now we are told they are merciful because they are arressting and putting people in concentration camps, instead of shooting them dead without a trial, presumably. That's a strange definition of mercy.

These kinds of acts backfire, even those who believe God is dead or sleeps understand that Israel is creating its own doom, act by act. It's strange and sad, a people destined to destroy themselves.

Either Israel can be a nation, in which case it needs to accomodate all the residents in its political sphere which is all of Palestine since that is the land occupied and administered by the Israelis, or it can continue to be a fantasy, a dream of some unreal religious purity. The fantasy has to fail, because the Jews themselves are not close to being pure in their religion, they are quite atheist and soft, less serious monotheists than the Islamic people they kill for sport. So what is left is a tragic impossibility, a straining fantasy that demands so much it victimizes all of Israel's neighbors and the people living in their land. It's a death wish I guess on their part, how can anything come of this but some tradgedy. Then I suppose they'll blame America or somebody for it like last time.

[ajapierce]

The radicals out there wanting to kill people should all have bountys put on their heads for dead or alive arrests. The world is in very sad shape and the last thing the world needs now is more wars when we are trying to make progress in medicine and technology.

This planet needs more peace, because when global warming starts to warm up the whole world we will be beating each other to death with sticks.