Gaza: Israeli Government Document Says Hamas Did Not Fire Rockets From June to November 2008

UPDATE: I have checked the English-language website of the Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center. I cannot find the specific Government briefing cited by Channel 4, but the ITIC's reports --- to be precise --- indicate few rocket attacks between the cease-fire on 19 June and 4 November (what it calls the "lull"). These are the key lines in the update of 16 November: "Another important facet of the recent escalation is that for the first time, there is direct Hamas involvement in the rocket and mortar shell fire....At the same time, Hamas heads and spokesmen publicly stated that their intention was not to end the lull arrangement but to provide “an equal response” to what they call the “Israeli violations."

I've just heard once more, this time from Jerusalem Post editor David Horowitz on CNN, that the catalyst for the current conflict in Gaza was the firing of rockets into southern Israel by Hamas.

We've already out the official release from the Israeli Government that undermines this assertion: only 11 rockets were fired between July and October 2008, with the escalation taking place after an Israeli raid killing six Hamas activists on 4 November. Channel 4 in Britain has gone even farther, however, with an Israeli Government that says Hamas fired no rockets between June and November 2008.



Questioning former Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom, who claimed "even during the cease-fire, Hamas was firing rockets on a daily basis", Channel 4's anchorwoman pulled out an Israeli Government briefing: "Hamas was careful to maintain the cease-fire. Rockets were fired, but they were from splinter terrorist organisations." Although Shalom insisted on sticking to his script of Hamas targeting "women and children", the anchorwoman did not concede:

ANCHORWOMAN: This document is published by the Intelligence and Terrorist Information Center at the Israel Intelligence and Heritage Commemoration Center and they say Hamas maintained the cease-fire.

SHALOM: It's not the Government.

ANCHORWOMAN: But it's given to foreign journalists by the Government as a statement of the facts.

SHALOM: Listen, you like to hear the facts or you like to invent something?....My mother lives there. I know if they were firing or not.

And there was still one more twist. Israeli spokesman Mark Regev confirmed that Channel 4's document was genuine. "Between June and November 2008, only 20 rockets were fired, "and these were fired by organisations other than Hamas".

Comments

[joey]

20 (or some other number) rockets fired by organizations other than Hamas. So Hamas didn't want the rockets fired, they were upset by the rockets? They said that the rockets shouldn't be fired by other orgs?

[Bayan]

Hamas has maintained the cease-fire. It was really looking for a diplomatic solution and aiming to aid the Gazan and palestenian ppl have a better life quality. Hamas been elected with all democracy and yet Israel with US along with Abbas wanted to get rid of Hamas to be able to control more and keep the seige on Gaza

[Mae]

You can find the document here:

http://www.terrorism-info.org.il/malam_multimedia/English/eng_n/html/hamas_e017.htm

Thank you for your work, I am glad that at least on the internet I can find more than just Israeli spin. I have been deeply shocked by the BBC reporting since the Israeli Army began its attack on Gaza. Israeli spokepeople can even repeat lies that have already been contradicted by their own government and the BBC news team does not challenge them. The BBC's ridiculous need for balance leads to them presenting the entire conflict as one of equal sides. No mention has been made of Israeli Human Rights Violations before this war, no mention of an occupied people's right to fight, no mention of thousands of missiles/shells fired regularly by the Israeli Army. Instead we get treated to Israeli propaganda. A particularly brazen incident happened on BBC News on the 15th.

I doubt if you can find this online, but I am refering to an interview with Mark Regev re the shelling of the UNWRA compound. He repeats the claim that they were shot at from the compound and reminds viewers of the terrible incident at the UNWRA school which proves that Hamas...human shields etc. Even though the BBC itself has already reported that the Israeli Army had made a mistake, he was free to repeat the spin again. Instead of challenging him, the presenter refered to the UNWRA officials's WITNESS acount as 'UNWRA claims' and to Regev's previously disproved lie as 'the Israeli government states'. This is not just biased reporting, this is bad journalism of the worst kind - believed by millions in the UK. Unethical and, in the light of the barbarity inflicted upon the Gazans, inhumane.

Regards,
Mae

[Mo]

"The BBC’s ridiculous need for balance" is only true for coverage of the crimes of the Israeli regime and other such regimes. Otherwise, when it comes to countries or groups which are critical of the US or UK, the BBC is usually biased to the extreme.

Thank you for the excellent job.

[Scott Lucas]

Thank you so much --- I will try and update later with the document and will also search for the Regev interview --- which news organisation was it?

[Dave]

"Otherwise, when it comes to countries or groups which are critical of the US or UK, the BBC is usually biased to the extreme. "

---------

Well, it was biased in the other direction a couple of years ago...

"During the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict Israeli diplomatic officials boycotted BBC news programmes, refused interviews, and excluded BBC reporters from briefings because Israeli officials believed the BBC's reporting was biased, stating "the reports we see give the impression that the BBC is working on behalf of Hizbullah instead of doing fair journalism."

In October 2006 Chief Radio Correspondent for BBC News since 2001 and Washington correspondent Justin Webb said that the BBC is so biased against America that deputy director general Mark Byford had secretly agreed to help him to "correct" it in his reports, and that the BBC treated America with scorn and derision and gave it "no moral weight".

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criticism_of_the_BBC

[Dave]

For the FIRST TIME since the end of WWII, we have seen genocidal hate marches in London, across Europe, and even the in the United States - "You belong in ovens". The media paid very little attention to this.

[Dave]

"Hamas has maintained the cease-fire. It was really looking for a diplomatic solution and aiming to aid the Gazan and palestenian ppl have a better life quality."
-----------

It doesn't make any difference if Hamas didn't fire any rockets at the time. For Hamas, a cease-fire is simply a tactical withdrawal until it can achieve its final goal, eradication of Israel.

[Scott Lucas]

Thank you so much for all this! I will work through it --- meanwhile, I've posted an Update based on the Rocket document.

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