Defense officials predict limited conflict in Gaza after summit

If Annapolis peace conference fails, there's good chance IDF will push for large-scale Gaza operation in order to curb Hamas terror and prevent organization's further military buildup, officials say

(I think they mean 'when' Annapolis fails, as Olmert has already signalled his intention to scuttle the talks, as his fellow "Greater Israel" Cult Extremists have demanded. This attack on Gaza has been planned since the "disengagement". Their most recent comments suggest that, despite a virtual media blackout on the subject, too many people are aware of the plot.)

Hanan Greenberg Published: 11.18.07, 13:01 / Israel News

Senior defense officials believe that if the Annapolis peace conference fails, this would lead to a wide-scale military operation in Gaza.

(Or at least, be justified by this, since Israeli defense officials warned that current measures of Collective Punishment which have been imposed on Gaza will provoke a violent response, but recent statements by Government officials prove that they're planning to blame this on Annapolis.)

Army sources fear that Hamas could reach its full military capacity within a few months, and the consensus among the IDF top ranks is therefore that the sooner Israel attacks in Gaza, the better it would be in terms of minimizing Israeli casualties.

(This is why the IDF has been aiding arms smuggling into Gaza. IDF Complicit in Gaza Arms Smuggling
winnipeg.indymedia.org/item.php?6872S)

According to intelligence sources, Hamas is just 2-3 years away from obtaining the same military capabilities it took Hizbullah a decade to obtain. Experts estimate that the Palestinian rocket range, which in recent years has grown from two kilometers to 12, could soon reach 20 kilometers and put Ashdod within rocket range.

(Which "intelligence sources", the same ones currently spreading lies about Iran?)

Maj.-Gen. Avi Mizrahi, head of the IDF Logistic Branch, provided several examples for the situation in Gaza: "They dig holes in the roads, place powerful explosive devices inside and cover them with asphalt, so that it's impossible to detect them," he described.

(One good reason not to invade ...)

Mizrahi also said that Iran was heavily involved in funding Hamas' efforts to build a navy and develop other military capabilities.

(Does he have any evidence to offer? Why can Israel have one of the world's most fearsome military machines, while the Palestinians can't defend themselves from attack?)

'Operation the scope of Lebanon War'

In light of these developments, a large-scale military operation may become inevitable.

(In other words, the headline is misleading, especially since this has been the plan all along.)

Officials predict that such an incursion could reach the scope of the Second Lebanon War and last up to a month.

(So ... massive targeting of civilians and infrastructure ...)

The Palestinian side, officials say, could suffer a large number of casualties, and the terrorist infrastructure would be completely destroyed. In the aftermath of the conflict, the IDF hopes that Hamas would be dramatically weakened, a fact that should enable concrete diplomatic gains on the Palestinian front.

(Israel actually hopes that they can make life so miserable for the Palestinians - those they haven't butchered - that they will give up and leave.)

www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3472673,00.html

ALERT: Annapolis a Charade-Israel Plotting Massive Aggression

In Germany, according to historian Richard Evans, in 1931-1932, if enough Germans of conscience had begun to say No -- history would have had an entirely diferent outcome.

If we go any further down this road the tears will be those of conservatives as well as progressives. They will be (Israeli) tears.

The time for weeping has to stop; the time for confronting must begin.

Adapted from "American Tears"
www.huffingtonpost.com/naomi-wolf/american-tears_b_68141.html
The timing is interesting, given the upcoming "Annapolis Conference", which serves to be about PR alone, as Olmert has already ruled out any Negotiations or Compromise in the name of peace.

If you follow the events surrounding Israel's "Disengagement" from Gaza, you will quickly understand that this was the plan all along. While Israel was making a public spectacle of "forcing Jews to leave their homes", it was quietly surrounding the Strip with artillery emplacements, in an operation ominously named "First Rain".

Under this operation, Gaza basically became a "Free-Fire Zone", and several artillery and gunship strikes killed a high number of civilians. Finally, when one of these batteries fired upon and murdered a Palestinian family - picnicking on a beach that had been Segregated "Jews Only" only weeks before, Hamas finally decided to call an end to its unilateral, two-year cease-fire.

(In essence, they took Israel's bait. After all, you can't excuse your Aggression and label it "defense" if you're not being intermittently attacked. Never mind the hypocrisy underlying the entire media's framing of that whole debate ...)

When the Palestinians responded by electing Hamas to power (yes, elected), Israeli Extremists and their Ideological, bought foreign co-conspirators imposed unilateral sanctions on Gaza, a bit of Collective Punishment which increased the hardship of those stuck in the world's largest Concentration Camp.

When they felt Gaza had been substantially weakened, the US and Israel undertook a Coup attempt, using corrupt elements within the Fatah Party, provoking a violent response by Hamas, which expelled the group. Most of the world's media ignored the events leading to this "crisis", and instead only repeated the Propaganda emanating from the US and Israel, which used this to further increase sanctions against Gaza.

Most recently, Israel stepped up its Collective Punishment, except that human rights groups and legal advisors to the Government halted some of its approved measures, because they run contrary to International Humanitarian Law.

This was sold as another "response to rocket attacks" (again highlighting the hypocrisy of the debate's Framing - are the Palestinians allowed to defend themselves from strikes which actually KILL people ... ?), even though high-ranking officials said that this was NOT, in fact, a response to these attacks, but a way to "distance Israel from Gaza's infrastructure".

The real reason for this whole episode, of course, has been to "soften up" the Gaza Strip for a long-planned military attack, a way to undermine the resolve, and hopefully rid this territory of Palestinians altogether.

 http://www.israel.indymedia.org/newswire/display/7889/index.php

Barak: Attacks on Gaza, W. Bank Will Follow Annapolis
 http://www.israel.indymedia.org/newswire/display/7881/index.php

Israel's Extremists Threaten Annapolis
 http://www.israel.indymedia.org/newswire/display/7944/index.php

Israel: We Won't Negotiate at Annapolis
 http://www.israel.indymedia.org/newswire/display/7941/index.php