I’m not so sure this one is quite over, but we shall see. “Middle East: Hamas claims victory upon Israel’s Gaza pullout,” from AKI (thanks to Sr. Soph):
Gaza City, 3 March(AKI) – The Islamist Hamas movement has claimed ‘victory’, after Israeli forces ended a five-day offensive the Gaza Strip, reportedly leaving at least 115 Palestinians dead and 320 injured since clashes started on Wednesday 27 February.
According to Palestinian news agency Maan, one-third of the victims were children.
And of course the media abets the spread of this kind of disinformation.
Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas on Sunday announced peace negotiations with Israel would be suspended “until the aggression has stopped.”
“The enemy has been defeated,” said a Hamas spokesman while broadcasting a news bulletin picked up by Israel Radio.
Meanwhile, Amnesty International issued a press release condemning the killings of civilians by Israeli armed forces and called again on Palestinian armed groups to immediately cease firing rockets at towns and villages in southern Israel.
Three Israelis – two soldiers and one civilian – have been killed by Palestinian militants in the past five days.
“We condemn all attacks on civilians, but unlawful attacks by one side cannot justify violations by the other,” said Malcolm Smart director of Amnesty International’s Middle East and North Africa Programme.
“Israel’s attacks this week display a degree of disproportion and recklessness which has so often characterised Israeli military attacks in the Occupied Palestinian Territories in recent years,” he said.
Malcolm, you tool, don’t you realize you’re being played for a chump?