Yes, in fact, they are slogans. When Hamas starts sounding like Baghdad Bob, shaking its fist and issuing thunderous warnings to the Israelis, you know the jihadists are very, very afraid. Note also this: “Asked why Hamas was unwilling to stop the rocket fire that drove the Israeli cabinet to vote for the ground operation, Abu Zuhri replied, ‘That sort of decision would continue the occupation for another 20 years, as Oslo did. In exchange for this blood [caused by the continued fighting], we will bring normal life to the Gaza Strip.'” Conveniently swept under the rug is the fact that Gaza is not occupied and has not been since the unilateral Israeli withdrawal from it eight years ago. That withdrawal was supposed to “bring normal life to the Gaza Strip.” Instead, it brought more and more jihad.
“Hamas: Gaza will be a graveyard for IDF,” Times of Israel, July 18, 2014:
Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri warned Israel Friday that Gaza will become a graveyard for IDF soldiers, a day after Israel launched a ground offensive into the Strip as part of Operation Protective Edge.
“We are warning Israel against a ground war,” he told the Lebanese news outlet Al-Mayadeen TV. “This sort of operation will enable us to liberate our prisoners [through the capture of IDF soldiers and the ensuing exchange]. Gaza will be the graveyard of the occupation soldiers, and these are not slogans. Time will reveal [Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu’s cowardice. He will pay the price.”
Asked why Hamas was unwilling to stop the rocket fire that drove the Israeli cabinet to vote for the ground operation, Abu Zuhri replied, “That sort of decision would continue the occupation for another 20 years, as Oslo did. In exchange for this blood [caused by the continued fighting], we will bring normal life to the Gaza Strip.”
John C. Barile says
Uh-huh.
Wellington says
Ditto.
shrugger says
same
Winston Churchill says
“How dreadful are the curses which Mohammedanism lays on its votaries! Besides the fanatical frenzy, which is as dangerous in a man as hydrophobia in a dog, there is this fearful fatalistic apathy. The effects are apparent in many countries. Improvident habits, slovenly systems of agriculture, sluggish methods of commerce, and insecurity of property exist wherever the followers of the Prophet rule or live. A degraded sensualism deprives this life of its grace and refinement; the next of its dignity and sanctity. The fact that in Mohammedan law every woman must belong to some man as his absolute property – either as a child, a wife, or a concubine – must delay the final extinction of slavery until the faith of Islam has ceased to be a great power among men. Thousands become the brave and loyal soldiers of the Queen: all know how to die: but the influence of the religion paralyses the social development of those who follow it. No stronger retrograde force exists in the world. Far from being moribund, Mohammedanism is a militant and proselytizing faith. It has already spread throughout Central Africa, raising fearless warriors at every step; and were it not that Christianity is sheltered in the strong arms of science, the science against which it had vainly struggled, the civilisation of modern Europe might fall, as fell the civilisation of ancient Rome.”
The River War, First Edition
Jan Fourowls says
Thank you! Glad to see not just the excerpts but the excellent paragraph in its entirety.
pongidae rex says
Alas, the great men are all gone.
Angemon says
Eh. The smallest dogs always bark the loudest.
Jay Boo says
An old expression that roughly translates to:
“The empty barrel always makes the most noise.”
The context of this sentence however, deals mainly with loud shallow opinions not lack of power. But close enough.
Charli Main says
There will never be any kind of normal life in Gaza, as long as Gaza continues to be occupied by the Muslim invaders from Mecca.
Buraq says
And my Dad’s bigger than your Dad!
Clown!
bettina says
Robert, I always love your expert introductory comments 🙂
Ralph says
My ‘Yorkie’ is the baldest one on the planet and muzzier Look out…
Daniel Triplett says
Just like every other muslim:
Heavy on rhetoric, short on reason.
el-cid says
Daniel,
He is rational and clear.
His ONLY objective is the destruction of Israel and the elimination of the Jews.
If his organization is NOT destroyed in this current action, he will show his strength and thereby achieve greater support from his comrades.
As he worships death, the death of his comrades will only inspire others to take up Jihad so that they can have glorious deaths too.
The death of the “civilians” is an opportunity to show the world that Israel needs to be destroyed and to get the world on side.
Do not be fooled.
This is a person to be reckoned with.
Daniel Triplett says
I agree, but that doesn’t make this fool “reasonable.”
Beagle says
Agreed. On the contrary, he is totally unreasonable. But many people chalk up Islamic jihad to insanity or a mental condition which presumably can be cured with therapy or medication. In reality it’s medieval thinking and Islamic piety which can wreck even once-sharp minds.
mortimer says
Hamas is soliciting genocide.
Myxlplik says
Perhaps the IDF can introduce these savages to the concept of oral hygiene, although this would probably be more complicated than sorting out who is Hamas from the woman and children they hide behind.
CogitoErgoSum says
Hmmm…..that camel urine mouthwash may not be all it’s cracked up to be. Three times a day keeps the dentist at bay. That can’t be just another one of those useless slogans, can it? Are you using the stuff at least three times daily for maximum effect, Sami?
mortimer says
Bringing normal life? Through rockets?
Mirren10 says
If anyone wants to send a care package to Israeli soldiers, you can do so here :
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/support-israel-s-soldiers-now/contributions/new
Long live Israel !
thomas_h says
Thanks for the link, Mirren10.
gravenimage says
Thanks, Mirren!
Wellington says
Thanks, Mirren.
Sarah L Nield says
As others have noted, Hamas don’t want a two state solution, don’t want freedom for their children to live and worship in peace. They will not rest until every Jew is dead.
And shame of those in the west who point the finger at Zionists (when they mean Jews, why don’t they admit it, they mean Jews) and call them Nazis and squatters and bullies are enabling these anti Semite murderers who call themselves members of the religion of peace.
Mirren10 says
”And shame of those in the west who point the finger at Zionists (when they mean Jews, why don’t they admit it, they mean Jews)”
Exactly, Sarah.
”Zionist” is the catchword now for those on the left who are squeamish about admitting to anti-Semitism. May they rot.
Long live Israel !
Greyhound Fancier says
Claiming sympathy for the Arabs in the Israel area is the current fashionable way to be both anti-Semitic and socially acceptable.
The critics of Israel would be high on the list of those the barbarians would kill first but they don’t see that.
Transmaster says
Do you notice how much Abu Zuhri sounds like Obama, The Sultan of Stupid.
bettina says
This, courtesy of the Hamilton Spectator 8 hours ago, at http://www.thespec.com/news-story/4639437-israel-preparing-to-expand-ground-offensive/ :
“The impact on Gaza included worsening power and water outages. Israel on Thursday [yesterday] called a six-hour halt of air strikes, enabling the flow of more than 700 truckloads of emergency aid.”
I’m not sure how many other civilized countries would go this far, in the heat of war. Compare this to how those Hamas dogs would behave if, God forbid, the situation were reversed and mere Jews needed humanitarian aid!
Mirren10 says
Indeed, Bettina.
And you can rest assured Israel will be given no credit for this, as they have been given no credit for doing all they can to minimise civilian casualties.
The msm, the left, Obama, camoron et al, will ignore it, whilst insisting Israel ‘exercise restraint’. I really, really hope, **this** time, Israel will ignore them all, and finally wipe out Hamas.
Who was the, I think, Israeli Defence Minister ? who said; ”there is life after public opinion”. So true !
Long live Israel !
Daniel Triplett says
Speaking of the Israeli Defense Minister, PM Netanyahu just fired him, Danny Danon. I’ve always had respect for both of those guys and am really surprised.
Danon was just on Gretchen Carlson’s show, and said he got fired because he vocalized opposition to Netanyahu about accepting the cease-fire that Egypt proposed. Danon wanted to roll in hard on Hamas in Gaza with a ground offensive, like they’re starting to do now.
Then Gretchen said Fox News was getting reports that Netanyahu ordered the ground offensive just to satisfy those in his party who criticized him that he wasn’t doing enough to defeat Hamas; criticisms similar to Danon’s.
Disturbing and disappointing.
Elisheva 14 says
You are missing some of the story. He was not the Defense Minister, that is Yaalon. Danny Danon is far right and is Deputy Defense Minister. Bibi Natanyahu is more in the center. Bibi had accepted the cease fire brokered by Egypt. Danon opposed it strongly. Hamas acted like they were going to accept the cease fire. Later Hamas kept firing missiles into Israel and attempted to enter Israel from Gaza via tunnels. At that point Bibi decided to go for the ground offensive. They are all under stress. Israel is a coalition government and some of the government leans in different directions. A ground offensive is dangerous and Israeli soldiers lives are at stake.
Daniel Triplett says
Got it.
I have great respect for PM Netanyahu. Still do, and always will. I wish we had him as our American President.
Danon seems like a solid guy. But I’m sure PM Netanyahu has good reason for every move he makes.
I’m American, and it’s really not my place to publicly critique Israeli politics. I don’t know anything about it, plus I’m far too busy critiquing my own country’s government. I was just commenting on something I saw on one of our American news programs. I certainly don’t want to second-guess or insult the venerable Israeli Prime Minister.
I can imagine how stressful the situation is for the Israeli government right now as you describe. From my perspective, Netanyahu is doing an outstanding job holding it all together. Obama ought to pay attention and learn about how a true leader leads.
gravenimage says
*Very* true, Bettina. No other nation goes to such humanitarian pains—or gets so little credit for it—as Israel.
And re her providing Gaza with water and electricity—I once worked out the figures population-wise, and figured out that this would, proportionally, be as though the United States decided to take on responsibility for suppling these services to *the entire British Isles*.
And she is, of course, well known for providing top-notch medical care to the ungrateful “Palestinians” who want to destroy them, as well—who then complain about being searched for weapons and bombs before being allowed in to Israel to get their care—often free of charge?
Remember the Muslimah who had gotten excellent medical care in Israel, and decided to use the occasion of a follow-up visit to strap on a suicide vest? Luckily, she was caught—but how many others will there be?
Israel has even been bringing in injured casualties from the Syrian civil war where possible, and giving them care.
One Muslim woman did appreciate what the Israelis had done for her, but another—unbelievably—in he same NYT article bitterly complained that she and her niece were going to have a hard time explaining to their family where they had been, and that that they couldn’t dare tell them that they had been in an Israeli hospital! This, despite the fact that the Israeli doctors had saved her life. Antisemitism trumps everything…
And now Israel is taking time out of a hot war to bring in humanitarian aid.
I consider my fellow Americans to be deeply humane and compassionate people—but I’m not sure even we would go so far.
gravenimage says
Hamas: “Gaza will be the graveyard of the occupation soldiers, and these are not slogans”
………………………………..
As noted, there *is no* occupation—or even presence—of Israel in Gaza, and has not been since she ceded Gaza in 2005 for the naïve dream of peace.
More:
In exchange for this blood [caused by the continued fighting], we will bring normal life to the Gaza Strip.’”
………………………………..
What would “normal” life even look like for this Shari’ah state? As soon as Israel withdrew from Gaza, the “Palestinians” destroyed the greenhouses that had been purchased for them by philanthropic American Jews.
Then Hamas turned their sights to savagely massacring and driving out their Fatah rivals—who, rather predictably, turned to Israel and the (supposedly) cruel Jews for sanctuary.
Hamas has also driven out or murdered most of the remaining Christians—they now constitute under 1% of the population—perhaps fewer than 1,500 individuals.
And Hamas has imposed many aspects of oppressive Shari’ah law.
If—God forbid—the “Palestinians” are ever successful in destroying Israel, after the pillaging it will become just another pustulating Islamic hell-hole.
Greyhound Fancier says
Am I wrong in thinking that the “occupation” they are always talking about is the very existence of Israel? In other words, they very fact that there is an Israel constitutes “occupation” to them?
Greyhound Fancier says
Am I wrong in thinking that the “occupation” they are always talking about is the very existence of Israel? In other words, the very fact that there is an Israel constitutes “occupation” to them?
dumbledoresarmy says
You’re not wrong.
You’re bang on the money.
And then the next step is to realize that dyed-in-the-wool orthodox Muslims regard *all* kuffar everywhere, all over the globe, as illegally occupying land that rightfully oughta belong to Muslims.
In one of the Hadiths, I think it is, Mohammed says “the earth was made a place for me to clean”. (Think ethno-religious ‘cleansing’….).
Check out ex-Muslim Canon Dr Patrick Sookhdeo, his book about Islam, “Faith, Power and Territory”.
Islam is a land grab. As well as a system of enslavement.
Rob says
I’m about as disgusted with the BBC, as I am with Hamas!
The recent MEMRI publication (thanks guys) of the Hamas social media guidelines, show that mainstream media is swallowing it hook and line etc.
Why does BBC video show Israeli tanks, APCs and combat troops and cross- examine any Israeli spokesperson to the point of harassment, while on the other hand, the self- sainted Lise Doucet (Loose Deceit) on the Gaza side, is led by the nose to the hospitals and fleeing citizens.
Given that the most ubiquitous war materiel in this conflict is the Hamas rocket, why doesn’t this fearless newshound demand access to these and their operators?
No, Loose Deceit in her body armour chic, speaks to the first Gazan she meets that can speak English. She accepts a garbled assurance of ‘no rockets, no tunnels’ and intones the ‘move on, nothing to see here’ mantra.
Jay Boo says
While it is important to tell the truth about the civilian casualties, that of course does not excuse the news media from pulling such one sided stunts.
NPR did something similar after the Boko Haram kidnappings. For nearly a week strait they would interview people upset with the government or speak with spokespersons with Muslim surnames to the point that they seemed to suggest that Boko Haram was mainly persecution of Muslims and that the real issue to focus on was about the government “taking responsibility”. How do they sleep at night?
Jay Boo says
“Hamas: Gaza will be a graveyard for IDF,”
————————————————-
The IDF is not Hamas’ main problem.
Everything Islam touches dies.
The truth is that Islam is a graveyard.
The civilians of Gaza’s biggest enemy is not Israel, but the soul crushing ideology of Islam.
duh_swami says
Rockets away, my boy, rockets away….Once Hamas is out of the way, peace loving Mahoundians will take over leadership, and no further jihad against Israel will come from there….Right??
duh_swami says
Once Hamas is out of the way, peace loving Mahoundians will take over leadership, and no further jihad against Israel will come from there….Right??
Myxlplik says
http://freebeacon.com/national-security/terrorist-rockets-found-in-united-nations-operated-school-in-gaza/
Wonder if this will make CNN, “The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), which runs the school, confirmed that the rockets were hidden in its building and says that they were found during “regular inspection of its premises.”
PatnCat says
Well, its time to go back to my congressman and senators’ websites, plaster links to Atlas Shrugs for Pam Geller, http://www.JihadWatch.org with Robert Spencer and ACTS17 http://www.answeringmuslims.org with Dr. David Wood, and http://www.politicalislam.com with Dr. Bill Warner. These brave and intelligent people aid all of us in understand what is happening to our freedoms – and our Leader of the Free World’s support of no freedom of speech for those who criticize the Barbarian Mohammend.
Gamaliel says
Hamas has very extensive underground bunkers. Hezbollah was able to kill a lot of IDF soldiers because of those. Unfortunately it is likely that a lot of Israeli soldiers will die in a ground operation in Gaza. That doesn’t mean they shouldn’t do it. Hamas must be wiped out or it will keep getting stronger and stronger.