Are they perhaps getting the idea that they are facing a jihad that has been going on in one form or another for 1,400 years, and not an "insurgency" that can be bought off or negotiated away?
From Reuters, with thanks to all who sent this in:
GAZA (Reuters) - Israel warned the governing Palestinian faction Hamas that the "sky will fall on them" if they harm a captured soldier after a deadline passed on Tuesday for the Jewish state to accept a prisoner exchange.While Israeli tanks and infantry massed along the Gaza Strip's northern border for a threatened ground incursion, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said the campaign to free Corporal Gilad Shalit could turn into "a long war."
Three Palestinian factions, among them the Hamas armed wing, pulled out of negotiations with Egyptian mediators trying to end the standoff over Shalit, a Hamas political leader said.
Israel rejected the 6 a.m. (0300 GMT) ultimatum set by the factions, which demanded that the Jewish state free 1,000 prisoners in exchange for Shalit.
But Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas called on the factions to return to the negotiating table, putting himself at odds with militants who said further discussions over Shalit's fate were out of the question.
Haniyeh, whom Israel has hinted could be targeted for assassination, also urged militants to keep Shalit alive.
The factions had warned Israel that it will "bear full responsibility for future consequences" if their prisoner swap demands were not met.
Of course. The jihadists never bear any responsibility for any of their actions. It is always entirely the fault of the accursed infidel.
"sky will fall on them"
This is their language being thrown back at them. The only language that they understand. Some time back madinnerjacket had warned the West of a 'historic slap'. These nutjobs only understand violence. Borgs.
As refreshing as Israels rhetoric is in reponse to the Palestinian jihad, it is a sad reflection of the times that they think it will be a long war.
If the political will was there it could be a very short war, but PCism and fear of negative publicity in the MSM will prevent Israel from finishing and executing the job at hand.
Instead the whole situation will drag on, bombs will explode in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem and the world will collectively ring its hands, trying to find a non offensive solution to the Jihad.
This Roman Catholic family stands with Israel -go get 'em.
'...further discussions over Shalit's fate were out of the question.'
So what do they do with him now? If they're not prepared to do a prisoner exchange what possible purpose could there be in keeping him captive? Many including arjun.sevak believe him to be dead already. Perhaps waiting for an opportunity to place the body at a site recently shelled by the IDF and claiming he was killed by 'the aggression of Israeli forces on the innocent Palestinian people'. The only problem being what with the electricity shortages, keeping the body refrigerated until that appropiate time.
The "war", being the struggle for freedom against theocratic tyranny (Islam only being the latest and the worst example in our bloody history), will last until The Despotic Urge to Regulate Human Life into a Robotic, Mindless Dullness, is subdued.
As "long" as it takes.
L'chaim!
So, there it is, black on white. Hamas considers 1 Jew to be worth a thousand muslims. Good to know they've come to realize at least that.
While we here in the US celebrate our freedom and Americans elsewhere defend it we recognize Israel is once again defending theirs. I am among those who believe your soldier is dead, I think those animals would have started torture seconds after capturing him and by now he would have died a slow horrible death. If I am right and he is dead this is more about revenge and not rescue, either way, I wish you luck and God speed.
Good to see the Israelis finally showing some balls again. Hopefully it won't just be rhetorical balls, but balls on the ground and from the air. Of course, the rest of the world will never let Israel do what really needs to be done to the palis/arabs, but they've been pushed too far even for the PC world.
Finally nice to see Israel pushing back. I feel sorry for the Palistinian children but the lives lost in this conflict are now on Hamassholes heads. My prayers are with Shalit.
"Of course. The jihadists never bear any responsibility for any of their actions. It is always entirely the fault of the accursed infidel."
Try changine the words 'jihadists' to 'liberals' and 'infidel' to 'conservative' and you have a fairly accurate equivalence - one of many characteristics that are shared by these 2 groups.
LOL.. sorry to smirk but a 'long war' is no war at all. Surprising how the military top-brass forgets this simple message:
A good plan violently executed now is better than a perfect plan executed next week.
George S. Patton
Propaganda, long war my butt they lost, the rest is just punishment. What goes around comes around. Don't think the rest of the worlds muslims will get away, it is just not thier time.
As has been stated above, it's a good bet they have killed him. This presents an opportunity for Israel to effectively redefine the Hamas power structure, should any gov/cabinet members remain. At the very least, engage in a little population redistribution program. Yea, I know, Wake up...
O/T sorry- Just heard MADDIE Albright say the North Korea tests are a breakdown of five years worth of diplomacy. LOL, She must have been asleep in the nineties! Nice after dinner laugh.
I hate to say this, but I don't think he's alive. Think about the way Hamas work: they never miss a photo op of some poor "Palestinian" child looking forlorn. They know how to use the media. The fact that no one has seen Gilad Shalit since he was captured is not a good sign - if they still had him he'd be on every news show in the world right now. I know we're supposed to hope that he is still alive and will be returned, but honestly I think they killed him a few hours after his capture.
Palestinians they are not, they are just Arabs and mostly they identify as being part of Southern Syria , though they are made up of Egyptians,Lebanese,Jordanians,Syrians, ETC. . This is why Olmert has also threatened the Syrians with a fly over the Syrian dictators residence.
Before 67' the Jews called themselves Palestinians and even their Orchestra, and newspapers where referred to as Palestinians enterprizes.
These Arabs gravitated to this land because the Jews brought prosperity and enterprize to the area that offered jobs to these arabs and before that it was a desolate and a nonproductive area.
Yassar Arafat and his his PLO changed all that in 1967 with his PLO party of newly born terrorists. Even the Jews are complicit in allowing this transformation to stand with hardly a whimper and not realizing how well this false propaganda plays through the naivenes of the rest of the world.
And now a prosperous people who existed long before the Islamic world ever did are constantly being attacked for their one tenth of one percent of the land that they have actually always occupied. It is the HOLY LAND and not Palestine which is the name given by Roman conquerers.
Hamas, the PLO,The Intifada, or any other group representing these different Arab tribes who occupy the West Bank and Gaza have no right whatsoever to call this their land.
"If you tell a lie enough most people will begin to believe it"-- Joseph Goebels
I have to agree .... the savages have probably already killed this soldier. It probably NEVER crossed their barbaric backward mind that Israel would take this stance. He was just another Jew. So now, Israel is doing what it should have done a long time ago. And the pali's are paying for all of it. As it should be. They don't produce anything except jihadists and problems. They are useless breeders and useless breathers. I noticed on the news today, Saudi's are sending them fifty million dollars. And I'll bet you a dollar to a doughnut, they 'll spend the majority on weapons. As usual.
There is nothing the civilized world can do to bring these people out of their slummy way of living and since they refuse to be civilized ,they should be given nothing and let them suffer. We , the rest of the world, shouldn't be the ones suffering them.
Ode to Martyrdom/Hamas Extremis
Martyrdom, O martyrdom, how sweet the sound of churning skies and faint whistling of my name in the world to come. A flash and my eyes turn heavenward. I taste smoke and eternity sears my lips. No more the bloom of youth do I send. No more to crush tender petals of expectation into wine of sacrifice. In trepidation and a foul stench I am dispatched. Flames and gloves of scarlet my stinging burial shroud. All the pieces that I am, separating what is, from what was in one expansive gesture. No glory and untouched houris to penetrate? No cup of wine or boys with eyes like pearls to quench my thirst? Where is the honor for my bitter acrimony and attempts to obliterate, G-d's remnant? So I, to heaven question: Who was my god, then? What is The Name, the One who fashions my torment? I heave ash and disappointment. My eyes weep from their sockets. O to grasp a fist of my holy land , to occupy it now and not this grave.
Long war? They have been fighting since 1948, and the Israelis are now starting to categorize the war as long?
This afternoon, WCBS radio reported that a Palestinian rocket hit an Israeli high school (no injuries). Olmert responded by calling this act - the latest act of war by the Arab beasts - a "dangerous escalation" of hostilities, or something similar. But no military strikes accompanied this rhetoric. While it is reasonable to assume that the Israelis are holding back in a prudent effort to save the life of soldier Shalit, what happens if further attacks occur? At what point, one wonders, will the Olmert government take decisive action? If I were the Prime Minister of Israel, I would give the order to bomb every school in Gaza - every one. This would be an appropriate response, not least because the Gazan schools instill Jew-hatred and a love of "martyrdom" in children who consequently develop into barbarians. Let the Saudis and the Iranians rebuild the ruined schools - not us, not the EU, and certainly not Israel.
I would go further, and urge a scorched-earth response on the part of the Israelis. I would destroy all of Gaza and expel all the Arab monsters, creating a buffer area that would give Israel greater security. Peace with the "Palestinians" is clearly impossible, and it is time to face reality. Let the Arabs in Palestine take collective responsibility for their murderous government. Abbas, the PLO, the PA, Hamas, Fatah...the goal is always the same - to destroy Israel and reclaim the land for the hellish dar al-Islam.
G-D proscribed the Amalekites. Israel did not listen. They thought they were being kind. It is past time to proscribe the Amalekites (Gazan Arabs). The Arabs understand this kind of force. Unfortunately force is the only response they understand. Once we pummel them, we can begin to educate them so that the terrorist teaching of Islam is no more.
After centuries of appeasement, negotiations and conflict, Israel should know what to expect from Islam. Israel, likewise, should know how to deal with Islam. Why they have never finished the job is anyones guess. They are now being pushed to the edge. It is time now to put up or die.