Wednesday
Jan072009
Inconvenient (Rocket) Facts: Israel Still Can't Get It Right
Wednesday, January 7, 2009 at 20:46
Latest: Sporadic attacks in Gaza after end of the three-hour respite
A follow-up to our story this morning on the BBC inconveniencing the Israeli Ambassador to the UK, Ron Prosor, with the numbers of 42 rocket launches into southern Israeli between June cease-fire and 4 November (when Israel killed 6 Hamas activists in Gaza) and 320 after 4 November to the end of the cease-fire....
The Israeli Consulate in New York, feeling a bit of pressure over the claim that it was Israel that broke the cease-fire in November, has put out charts to prove Hamas' responsibility. Unfortunately, the charts they've provided are more helpful for the supposed bad guys than they are for Tel Aviv:
The Consulate interprets the graph as showing that "rather than use the 'state of calm' to promote peace and to build a civilian infrastructure in Gaza, Hamas took advantage of the situation to expand its terrorist capabilities".
Hmm...first full month of the cease-fire, July: 1 attack. August: 8 September: 1 October: 1. Now, my maths is poor but that's 11 rocket attacks compared to almost 500 in the previous four months.
The Hamas "expansion" was in fact a 98 percent decrease in launches.
The number went back to 126 in November, closing in on pre-truce levels, but of course that was after the catalytic event of the Israeli raid into Gaza and the killing of the six Hamas activists (which, for some reason, the Consulate doesn't mention).
So, if I could offer a friendly work of advice to the Israeli number- and message-spinners in New York....You may want to bury this press release, guys. Because from where I'm sitting, you're helping to make Hamas' case rather than your own.
A follow-up to our story this morning on the BBC inconveniencing the Israeli Ambassador to the UK, Ron Prosor, with the numbers of 42 rocket launches into southern Israeli between June cease-fire and 4 November (when Israel killed 6 Hamas activists in Gaza) and 320 after 4 November to the end of the cease-fire....
The Israeli Consulate in New York, feeling a bit of pressure over the claim that it was Israel that broke the cease-fire in November, has put out charts to prove Hamas' responsibility. Unfortunately, the charts they've provided are more helpful for the supposed bad guys than they are for Tel Aviv:
The Consulate interprets the graph as showing that "rather than use the 'state of calm' to promote peace and to build a civilian infrastructure in Gaza, Hamas took advantage of the situation to expand its terrorist capabilities".
Hmm...first full month of the cease-fire, July: 1 attack. August: 8 September: 1 October: 1. Now, my maths is poor but that's 11 rocket attacks compared to almost 500 in the previous four months.
The Hamas "expansion" was in fact a 98 percent decrease in launches.
The number went back to 126 in November, closing in on pre-truce levels, but of course that was after the catalytic event of the Israeli raid into Gaza and the killing of the six Hamas activists (which, for some reason, the Consulate doesn't mention).
So, if I could offer a friendly work of advice to the Israeli number- and message-spinners in New York....You may want to bury this press release, guys. Because from where I'm sitting, you're helping to make Hamas' case rather than your own.
tagged BBC, Gaza, Hamas, Israel, Israeli Consulate, Palestine, Ron Prosor in Middle East & Iran
BBC, Gaza, Hamas, Israel, Israeli Consulate, Palestine, Ron Prosor in Middle East & Iran