Israel planned the gaza attack one year ago?

Israel launched its attacks on Gaza to foil a peaceful offensive by Hamas, said American academic Norman Finkelstein.





Finkelstein dismissed claims that Hamas was responsible for the onslaught, saying that there was no evidence that supported the "misconceptions".





"There is no evidence in my opinion to support this claim. The records show very clearly that, as Israeli newspapers themselves reported, the attack on Gaza had been planned as early as March 2007," said Finkelstein, ahead of two lectures he is delivering in Manama on "the real motives behind Israel's massacre in Gaza" and on the power of the Israeli lobby in the US.





Finkelstein, the son of a Holocaust survivor, has often accused Israel of using the genocidal Nazi campaign against Jews to justify its actions against Palestinians.





He said that Israel had two reasons to launch the attacks that lasted 22 days and resulted in the death of more than 1,300 Palestinians and the destruction of Gaza's infrastructure.





"Number one, because of the defeat they suffered in 2006 in the war with Hezbollah. After that they wanted to demonstrate to the Arabs that Israel was still a fighting force and one that could still inspire terror in the Arab world," he said.





His argument echoes an analysis presented by Mark Heller, a senior researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies at Tel Aviv University, who has said that the attacks "reflected the deep feeling among average Israelis that the country had to regain its deterrent capacity" and that "this operation is an attempt to re-establish the perception that if you provoke or attack you are going to pay a disproportionate price."





The second motive for the Israeli attacks, said Finkelstein, is that "Hamas was becoming too moderate, making statements that it was willing to settle conflict in accordance with the Arab League Peace plan of 2002."





He said that the trend "was deemed a disaster for the Israelis" since a peace deal would have deprived Israel of an excuse to seize control of Palestine and Israel would have to revert to the 1967 borders.
Israel planned the gaza attack one year ago?
I spent 5 years in the military and never heard of anything called a "peaceful offensive." Isn't that an oxymoron?





Besides, it was my understanding that the recent Israeli attacks were a retaliation. How do you plan a retaliation a year out?
Reply:WOW....a government actually planning ahead for dealing with potential dangers and conflicts.








OMG, ITS ALL A CONSPIRACY....lol..lol.
Reply:"a peaceful offensive"





That about sums up the credibility of this bit...
Reply:anyone who disagrees with the US or Israel are terrorists.





lol @ eileen dover: did you work for GWB or the IDF?
Reply:May be more than one year .
Reply:Finkelstein is an idiot? The academic an idiot, I suppose Mark Heller a senior researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies at Tel Aviv University is an idiot as well? Or anybody who disagrees with Israel or the U.S, all idiots. Someone must be an expert in this field to totally dismiss the work of these people.
Reply:Finklestein is an idiot. Anyone that idolizes him is an idiot worshipper.





Khaled Meshal said there would be no more tahdiah (calm) after Dec 19. Meshal started the offensive.





The hamas also said that any tahdiah is a tactical calm, that it is normal in the ebb and flow of a battle. Basically they just use calms to re-arm.





Israel cannot start a war with someone that has no desire to drop their weapons.





Hamas In Their Own Voices


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i08L09V0_...


After Dec. 19, 2008 the tahdiah (calm) will end and not be renewed. -- Khaled Mashal, Hamas Leader, Lebanon TV, aired 12/29/08





"People should not assume that in the management of this conflict, we are moving from a phase of resistance and battles to a phase of calm. No. According to our concept of the management of this conflict, the tahdiah is a tactical means. It is a step within the resistance and is not detached from it. It is only natural for any resistance movement, which cares about the interests of its people, to bear in mind the general Palestinian condition. At times, it generates an escalation, and at times, it withdraws a little. It is a process of ebb and flow, going up and down. This is how you run a battle." -- Hamas leader Khaled Mash'al, Al-Jazeera TV aired April 25, 2008
Reply:So what, does not matter, God gave them that country, God made them and not you Goyees, its what they believe and they admit that they wrote it themselves and it was all made up, so are you gonna do anything about it kid?








shut up and bow to satan and america or wait till your turn comes to die