[Lo]

Originally posted by Daniel Haar:
Dan and Lo,

P.S. I can think of some bad things that Hezbollah has done since 1982, but can anyone think of recent terrorist attacks committed by Hezbollah against Israel, but before July of 2006?

Not "Hezbollah" by name in many cases, but as Dan has already made the case for "joint goal" and "joint funding" if not actual "joint venture," I'll feel safe in posting these:


June 4, 2003 Aqaba Summit - Abu Mazen and Ariel Sharon vow to stop violence, end occupation according to the road map. Hamas and Islamic Jihad vow to continue violence. Fatah, Hamas and Islamic Jihad joined in killing four Israeli soldiers in Gaza (June 8) despite the call to end violence from Fatah leaders.


Aug 20, 2003 Hamas suicide bombing in a Jerusalem bus claims 21 lives

Sept 10, 2003 Twin suicide bombings kill 15 in Israel; Israel moves against against buildings surrounding Yasser Arafat's Mukata compound on the following day.

Oct 4, 2003 Palestinian Islamic Jihad Suicide bomber kills 20 in Arab-Jewish owned Haifa restaurant.

Aug 31, 2004 16 Israelis were killed in a suicide attack on a Beersheba bus. This was the first successful attack in many months. Another attack in the French Hill section of Jerusalem on September 22 killed one. During this period Israeli troops continued to operate in the West bank and Gaza, catching would-be terrorists, but also inflicting many casualties among civilians.

Sept 29, 2004 Qassam rockets launched from Gaza kill two children in the Israeli town of Sderoth. Israel launches operation "Days of Repentance," occupying a large area in northern Gaza, demolishing houses and killing over 80 Palestinians by October 7.BANNED POST

Oct 7, 2004 Multiple suicide attacks in the Sinai desert against Egyptian tourist areas frequented byBANNED POST Israelis including the Taba Hilton hotel and Ras al-Shaitan (Ras Satan). About 27 persons killed, mostly Israelis. Initial reports attributed the attack variously to Al Qaida and to Palestinian groups, though Palestinian groups claimed no involvement.

Dec 12, 2004 An explosion destroys an Israeli Joint Verification Team (JVT) terminal near the Egyptian-Gaza border, within Israel. Five Israeli soldiers killed. The explosion was carried out by tunneling from the Gaza side and planting a huge explosive charge. Hamas and the Fatah Eagles take responsibility. The attack was not condemned by the PNA.

Feb 25, 2005 Suicide bombing by Islamic Jihad kills 5 in Tel Aviv. Israel freezes planned handover of Palestinian towns.

June 20, 2005 Would-be suicide bomber Wafa Bis arrested at Gaza checkpoint on her way to carry out a suicide attack against an Israeli hospital.

July 13, 2005 Islamic Jihad suicide bomber kills 5 civilians in Netanya mall. IDF reoccupies Tulkarm. Hamas responds with massive rocket fire on Israeli settlements and inside Israel, killing one. Israel responds with massive manhunt against Hamas members in Hebron area and in Gaza, renewing the policy of assassinating terror leaders, claiming they are only killing those who are about to carry out terror attacks. PNA attack Hamas in Gaza, Hamas counterattacks. Civilians are killed in the cross fire.

Sept. 1` 2005 Last Israeli soldiers leave Gaza. Settlements handed over to Palestinians Sept. 12. Israel also evacuates four settlements in northern West Bank without incident. Palestinians loot and destroy greenhouses that were bought for them by Jewish philanthropists.

Sept. 23, 2005 After Palestinian authority bans parades with weapons in Gaza, but before the ban goes into effect, the last such parade held by Hamas ends in an accidental explosion that kills about 20 people. Hamas fires about 40 rockets on Sderot, in Israel. Israel responds with massive campaign of arrests in West Bank and targeted killings in Gaza; Hamas pledges to respect cease fire.BANNED POST

March, 2006 Over 40 Qassam rockets fall on Sderot in March, this number increases in the next months. IDF responds with shelling of launching sites and IAF raids to kill leaders of Popular Resistance Committees, Islamic Jihad, Hamas and Fatah Al-Aqsa brigades involved in the attacks.

June, 2006 Israeli targeted killings in Gaza and West Bank continue, while Hamas fires about 90 Qassam rockets into Sderot and other Western Negev communities. Seven Palestinian civilians having a picnic at a Gaza beach are killed by an explosion attributed by Palestinians and HRW to an IDF shell. IDF denies that it was shelling the beach at the time, and points out that shrapnel recovered from the victims does not come from IDF shells.

June 25 Following announcement of a "truce" agreement by the PNA, Hamas kidnap Israeli soldier from Israeli army outpost inside Israel, and kill two others. They demand release of Palestinian prisoners. Israel refuses to negotiate, demands release of soldier. Israel

July 12 Hezbollah terrorists cross the blue line border with Lebanon, attack an Israeli patrol, killing 3 and capturing 2 soldiers. Additional soldier dies the following day and several are killed when a tank hits a mine, pursuing the captors. At the same time, Hezbollah began a series of rocket attacks on northern Israel. In subsequent days, Israel carried out massive but selective bombing and artillery shelling of Lebanon, hitting rocket stores, Hezbollah headquarters in Dahya quarter of Beirut (see Beirut Map) and al-Manara television in Beirut, and killing over two hundred persons, many civilians. Hezbollah responds with several hundred rocket attacks on Haifa, Tiberias, Safed and other towns deep in northern Israel, killing 13 civilians to July 18 (See Map of Hezbollah Rocket Attacks) , and a Hezbollah Iranian supplied C-802 missile hits an Israeli missile cruiser off the cost of Beirut, killing 4. Hezbollah rocket also sinks at least one foreign neutral ship and damages an Egyptian one. G-8 meeting calls for cessation of violence, return of Israeli soldier and disarmament of Hezbolla in accordance with UN Security Council Resolution 1559 and UN Security Council Resolution 1680.BANNED POST
http://www.mideastweb.org/timeline.htm


Like Dan, I must say that I don't find Israel blameless at all. They retaliate often and (much to my admitted dismay) they initiate occasionally - and their retaliation is sometimes deadly for terrorist and civilian alike. I find it sad and I find it frightening. I'd like to think the Jews are somehow above "reacting" and "overreacting" but they are not. They are as human as the rest of the world, and like all humans, they feel, they bleed, they fear and they anger.

Solutions? I have none. I am uneducated and unschooled in the ways of Middle Eastern politics. My role here at home is to play the Devil's Advocate and I take it seriously. Most days I can be found following Dan from room to room, shouting questions at him through the closed bathroom door, researching during dinner, arguing during Scrabble games, waking him up in the middle of the night to question/argue/research with him some more.

I read everything I can about the current issues in Lebanon and when he comes home from work, I pepper him with questions about Israel's cupability, their rights, their reasons, their history, their future.....I say, "this is wrong" he says, "that is wrong" and still, even with his knowledge and my curiuosity, we have come up with nothing other than blind hope and a belief in God that someday, somehow, somewhere, someone will find the answers we can't find and that a lasting peace can begin and take root in The Middle East and that Israel, Lebanon and all their surrounding nations can co-exist.

If you ask me, the children are the answer....the children are now and will always be "the answer." What the children need are parents on both sides of The Blue Line who are willing to put aside their differences and their learned behaviours and their learned hatreds and fears in order to assure that this next generation can grow up free and clear of a thousand years of much-too-heavy baggage.

The question has to change from "who's been at fault?" to "Who's going to make it right?" in order from the answer to change from finger-pointing across a barbed wire fence to a nod of acknowledgment and a sense of responsibility and an acceptance of a challenge....and God help us, the children who can do that can be the ones who "make it right."

Killing the children is not the answer, teaching them is.

Lo

[This message has been edited by Lo (edited August 20, 2006).]