A demilitarised Gaza would improve prospects for an Palestinian state alongside a secure Israel
August 8, 2014 | Colin Rubenstein
AS an uncertain ceasefire holds between Israel and Hamas for now, Israeli and Palestinian delegations are in Cairo to meet Egyptian mediators, turning attention to how a long-term settlement can be achieved in Gaza.
Israel believes that the answer lies in the demilitarisation of the Gaza strip, tied to significant investment in reconstruction – a view backed by the US, EU, Canada, a number of Arab states and the Palestinian Authority (PA).
If Gaza is not demilitarised, a rearmed Hamas will likely provoke yet another major conflict with Israel, as it has already done three times.
Support Israel if you care about Gazans’ suffering
August 6, 2014 | Colin Rubenstein
The nightly television images of the suffering in Gaza are heartbreaking. A vital challenge is what can actually be done to stop the suffering there and in Israel and prevent it recurring.
Gazans need far more than simply an end to the current fighting. They need leaders who put their interests first, rather than treating them as cannon fodder for extremist political goals.
Trapped in Gaza: How Hamas punishes reporters for the truth
July 31, 2014 | Gabrielle Debinski, Or Avi-Guy & Tzvi Fleischer
HAMAS is not just targeting Israeli civilians, threatening Gazans and using them as humans shields. It has another terror tactic: intimidating foreign journalists.
Journalists who have taken pictures of Hamas operatives preparing to shoot rockets from civilian structures and/or fighting in civilian clothing have been threatened by Hamas operatives and had their equipment confiscated.
Reporter Peter Stefanovic, of the Nine Network’s news, stationed in Gaza, received a surge of abuse and threats when he tweeted that he had seen rockets fired into Israel from near his hotel, in a civilian area.
Hamas accepting ceasefire is key
July 25, 2014 | Glen Falkenstein
THE difference between Israeli and Hamas tactics in the current Gaza conflict has been acknowledged by no less an authority than the Palestinian Ambassador to the UN Human Rights Council, Ibrahim Khraishi, who recently stated: “I am not a candidate in any Palestinian elections, so I don’t need to win popularity among the Palestinians. 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.”
Hamas makes civilian casualties a tragic certainty
July 25, 2014 | Glen Falkenstein
More than 2,200 rockets have been fired by Hamas and other terrorist groups from the Gaza Strip into Israel since July 8, and the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) have responded by attacking terrorist targets in Gaza.
Israel initially countered the rocket fire by telling Hamas, “quiet will be met with quiet”, yet Hamas continued to fire rockets. Israel also accepted a ceasefire proposal by Egypt, backed by the Arab League and the Palestinian Authority (PA), which on July 15 was rejected by Hamas.
Letter in The Age: Under threat
July 25, 2014
Your editorial (”Might overwhelms the right to defend”, 23/7) was inflammatory. Hamas, a terrorist organisation proscribed by many nations, including Australia, initiated this conflict by escalating rocket attacks across Israel. It rejected Israel’s overtures to de-escalate, as well as three Arab ceasefire proposals Israel accepted. Hamas positions its military assets – rockets, launchers, weapons, command centres and tunnel entrances – amid civilian homes and buildings, even mosques, schools and hospitals; a war crime.
Hamas’ rocket attacks provoked Israel’s ground offensive into Gaza Strip
July 21, 2014 | Sharyn Mittelman
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.
Real issue is no peace partner
July 14, 2014 | Jamie Hyams
ISRAEL has again been forced to defend its civilians against unprovoked and indiscriminate massive rocket and other terror attacks from Hamas, a partner in the new Palestinian unity government, and kindred groups in Gaza…
Israel responded at first with low-intensity raids, stating several times that if the rockets stopped, so would the retaliation.
Hamas instead significantly escalated the rockets, and attempted to infiltrate Israel by tunnel and by sea, forcing Israel to degrade Hamas’s ability to continue these attacks.
Hamas rockets beg response
July 11, 2014 | Sharyn Mittelman
With confrontation between Israel and the Hamas in the Gaza Strip escalating, it is important to understand the conflict’s context. Israel is currently under attack, with over 180 rockets fired into its territory from the Gaza Strip in recent days. The rockets have sent Israelis from central Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, from southern Beersheba to northern Hadera, running into bomb shelters.
Letter: Foggy thinking on Israel’s “occupation”
June 24, 2014 | Colin Rubenstein
Laura Tingle makes the unsubstantiated, ill-informed claim that the Australian Government’s articulation of its position on east Jerusalem was a result of the “Israel lobby” switching its “funding allegiance” to the Coalition (“The fog of war rolls from Jerusalem to Canberra”, 20 June). This is not simply a fiction, but deeply offensive.
Australia right to stay out of Middle East’s semantic games
June 24, 2014 | Mark Leibler
In response to the recent controversy over the Australian government’s clarification to continue to avoid referring to east Jerusalem as ‘occupied’, The Age editorialised ‘the goal of a two-state solution … is not helped by pretending Israel is not in control of lands claimed by the Palestinians’ (June 20).
No one would disagree that Israel has indeed been ‘controlling lands claimed by the Palestinians’ – but the word for land controlled by one party but claimed by another is ‘disputed’ not ‘occupied’.
Why terminology matters in pursuit of a peace deal
June 24, 2014 | Or Avi Guy
There has been much discussion about the federal government’s clarification of the terminology it intends to use in regards to east Jerusalem – and the strong reaction to it from local Arab diplomats and Palestinian representatives, threatening trade boycotts or other sanctions.
