₦airaland Forum

bluespice:
cayon, if u read my post truely unbiasely, u'lld have realised i wasnt in support of either of the parties
being in the midst of an ongoing war and not being a member of either of the warring factions makes one see things differently
if u ever have the opportunity, illd strongly advice u visit the middle-east

now to ur questions
Are you endorsing what Israel did/doing?
i am not endorsing anything isreal is doing neither would i ever endorse what hamas and hezbollah are doing
hamas has shown the world that the veiws of the palestinian people is once in a while placed into consideration hezbollah on the other hand is simply terrorist organisation
maybe i should ask u do u endorse what MEND and other sister organisations are doing in our Niger-Delta?

Questions: don’t you think Israel should start treating the Palestinians as equals rather than pariahs?
When did Isreal as a nation ever treat the palestinians as less than equals?
if they did, nothing woud ever leave or enter the gaza region,
no palestinians irrespective of political or monetary standing would ever be accorded respect by isrealis even those within the isreali borders


Why can’t Israel accede to the UN requests?
isreal wont because UN is a toothless bulldog, if the United States and all her strong allies were to publicly distance themselves from all of Isreal's 'attrocities', the tune would have been different,
however a nation has the foundamental right to protect herself and her citizens wasnt that what Russia used to wade into Georgia in a battle that clearly didnt concern her?

How about Israel removing the “iron curtain” they build largely on Palestinian land - What say you?
Isreal is not the only border nation into Gaza, Egypt is why does everyone conveiniently forget this piece of information?
Egypt refuses to lift the barrier because each time she has, the crime rate has increased, The arab nations are all for peace-atleast they say so in arab meetings on this issue and they have all realised when the barriers are lifted isreal is bombarded with missile attacks forcing her to react then Hamas and hazbollah cry foul. its like locking a child in a room to wear out the frustration so that reasonable dialogue and hopefully progress can be made in the correcting and helping of the child.

thinking to myself ****The world would certainly be a better place, if Israel was destroyed after the death of Jesus Christ******
u certainly didnt mean this did u?
the problem of everyone is that they seem to forget that ths is not so much of a war as a deep sated hatred borne by many arabs for no other reason than obeying instructions handed down from generation to generation. The world would not have been a better place if isreal or any of the arab countries was wiped out, It would have if those that started passing down hate for another set of people had stopped that act.

You are blatantly biased and please its better to state your opinion without saying you are not biased. How cum u have defended every single israeli action and on the other hand tag hamas and Hezbollah terrorist organisations.

Even the Wall built on palestinian land and deemed illegal by the ICJ and UN u have excuse for. pls spare us your "unbiased" opinion.

Hezbollah captured soldiers Israel went straight to bomb beirut airport killing civilians. Who is the terrorist?

What is Israels problem for Gods sake. Isrtael has nuclear weapons so why does Iran not have the right to nuclear weapons. Are some countries better than others?

Pakistan has nuclear weapons so does India. US is friends to both of them so why all this double standard. The nuclear facility has been there befroe Ahmedinjad came to power so this excuse of Ahmadinjad wiping israel of the map doesnt hold water.

As a matter of fact he spoke in allegory
Is yugoslavia still on the map today?
Is checkoslovakia still on the map today?
Is USSR still on the map today?

Exactly what the geeza meant and the whole world twisted his words. The middle easter people often speak in allegory and metaphor and he said it in a farsi which didnt imply the literal interpretation.

Please i dont seem to get that some people here i trying to say the 900 people killed so far is a propganda?

The UN says 40% of killed are women and children, 60 are elderly people, 12 paramedics and the rest men (Civilians or Hamas fighters)

The pictures we see are live pictures why should we be in denial. The Norwegian doctor whom i consider one of the brave heroes of this war testified to all this massacre and slaughterings. Is he lying too.

The insensitive liar that put up this thread and always brings in Dafur to this issue just is just a hate filled fellow.

When a man sees an eight month old baby killed and blames the victim rather than the aggressor is due to nothing but hate.

Can the Shelling of a UN convoy be justified?

Can the Shelling of a UN school be justified?

900 people killed so far 40% women and children, 60 people elderly men and the rest could be men or civilians. HAMAs has a 15000 strong force. Is Israel achieving anything at all?
The rockets are still landing in Israel.

Nothing would be achieved by Israel except the killing of children and women.

Shame on the zionist state

Tayo-D:
@Lagosboy,
No one is pulling their hair out that Palestinians made their choice. Who gave them the oppportunity? Was it not Bush the "tyrant"? In as much a we respect their choice, we must also respect the consequences of that choice. I have said before and now repeat, elections have consequences. For a people who knew what Hamas stands for and sill chose them over other parties, we must respect and allow them to "enjoy" the consequences of their choice. The present Isreal action in Gaza is a consequence of the election of Hamas to power, while the calm in the West Bank is a consequnece of the moderate Fatah being in power there.

Hamas won the majority in west bank and Gaza. The palestinian people chose hamas over fatah because they trusted them more. Fatah were too currupt and the embezzled all the fininacial aid they get. Hamas on the other hand had provided welfare package to the people. Fatah has been negotiating for 3-4 yrs now and they have got nothing to show for it. Hamas believes in the resistance and even according to international law they have a right to resist occupation. I dont know where you live but if u live in the UK you might know Claire Short, she was the International development head. She has been to Gaza been to the West bank and still said yesterday on aljazeera that as long as Israel is still occupying palestinan lands they naturally have a right to resist the same way Israel has a right to defend themselves as they say.

Israel cannot force Fatah on their palestinian people by calling them moderate. Palestinians dont want an israel/US stooge as their leader. Its been 14 days Israel has bombed from the air
IIt has shelled from the sea
It has about 6000 soldiers already in Gaza

And the rockets are still going into Israel, few hamas fighters are been killed rather it is the civilian population israel is punishing for suppurting hamas. This is not right.

You talked of consequences and this is the same logic Al qaeda uses. The citizens of the US are guilty cos they voted the Extremist Bush into power so whats the difference btw what you are saying and what al qaeda is saying.

Alqaeda changed the regime in Spain on this premise.

The truth is there is a different view if the same action is done by arabs but when it is by the west and Israel it is ok

@Texxapete
I ignored your posts because thats the best thing to do. OBJ is guilty for wiping out Odi and if you look at some of my posts i have mentioned it many times. Nigeria's crimes in liberia is shameful and wrong in fact it is inhumane and we condemn it. the thing is i dont understand the relationship here and thats why i ignored it.

@Auwal

I know it is cos of their hatred. The unfortunate thing is they dont even care that palestinian christians are suffering to.

Jairzinho:
@Muhsin,
You came in with so much venom,I honestly tot u had something new for us.

Like i have been asking:

1.WHY DID HAMAS START WHAT IT COULDN'T FINISH?
2.WHY WOULD HAMAS PREFER TO LOSE LIVES THAN SURRENDER?

Even from Pry school,we've been advised to always pick our fights

Hamas did not start the war Israel broke the ceasfire first. Pls read the thread below.

https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-215654.0.html

dayokanu:
30% children 20% men and probably 50% women?

please provide a link to this statistics.

It would also be nice to provide stats of people suicide bombers and Qassam rockets kill in Israel what %age Children, Women and IDF soldiers

Just a google search would show you that. On the other thread " 205 children killed out of 630” the source is there. For the percentage of men I quoted that is my estimation since the large proportion of the remainder are women according to the UN as well. I have modified the post again till I get an exact percentage of men.

the rockest have killed just 16 israelis in 5 years. israel has killed 763 in 13 days, 3000 injured.

Funny how heartless people can be when the hate a religion or race. They dont even care if they are arab christians been killed. They just hate arabs and assume all of them are muslims.

Even Osisi is denying and saying he might have killed his own children.

I am just ashamed of my people

idupaul:
isreal is a terrorist nation

Very true indeed

I cannot understand How the UN is now a target

9 stuudents were killed at UN school on the 2nd day of the war
3 schools were hit again 43 civilians killed
UN aid convoy shelled and another person dies
International red cross is been shelled at
22 medical personnel and ambulance paramedics have been killed

And they say they are hitting hamas

UN says 30% of the 763 killed so far are children and Israel says it is hitting hamas. A large proportion women, the remainder the of killed are men and could be civilians or hamas fighters

ISRAEL IS A TERRORIST STATE

davidylan:
Go back and read the UN resolution 242 . . . it makes NO mention of palestinians, NO mention of "palestinian lands", NO mention of occupation. It was between Israel, Jordan, Egypt and later Syria. So just which lands did Israel occupy? the lands they got from Egypt and Jordan?

there is no point arguing with an opinionated person. There are 100 resoltuions against Israel , US vetoes 42 seucrity council resolutions and you bloody pick one resolution.

No where is occupied ,
Infact the whole place is for Israel,
The ICJ was wrong,
The UN is wrong the Security council is wrong for calling the palestinian territoires occupied,
the UN is wrong for havin a palestinian envoy to the UN,
The UN is wrong for having ~Arafat addressing the general assembly in 1974,
The US is wrong for accepting Israel is an occupying power
The whole world is wrong
Davidylan is right
Does that make u happy?

davidylan:
this is frankly stupid. Hitler also won elections . . . does that make him a legitimate government? So if al qaeda wins an election in Afghanistan they have the right to set up an embassy in Lagos?

Go back and read the UN resolution 242 . . . it makes NO mention of palestinians, NO mention of "palestinian lands", NO mention of occupation. It was between Israel, Jordan, Egypt and later Syria. So just which lands did Israel occupy? the lands they got from Egypt and Jordan?

I am afraid that is what democracy is "Govt of the people, by the people and for the people ". Majority carries the vote. Even if the people of a country vote a fool in it is their choice and must be respected. You cannot play double standard the people's will have to be respected. The americans voted Bush in for the 2nd term after he invaded Iraq and the world detested him. Does that mean his govt was illegitmate?

*osisi*:
Hamas and Palestine started a war,Israel is finishing it up.
They (hamas) need to be shut up once and for all.
Start another thread

Please its been exposed by CNN that Israel broke the ceasfire first , hence they started the war. Ask david about this as he was on the thread. Its in the foreign affairs section.

@Davidylan

I dont want to kill myself but i detest oppression and percecussion of all manners and sorts. The way i feel pity for the young US soldiers left to rotten on the streets of US by the negligence of the Pentagon after sending them to an unjust war , the way i feel pity when innocents are been killed by terrorism is the same way my heart is with the victims of Palestine.

Palestine would be liberated!!!!

davidylan:
Lagosboy . . . PDP wins the general elections then proceeds to kill ANPP and AD supporters = democracy?

Only in the twisted minds of arabian slaves.

Your correlation is not correct. Abbas sacked the hamas government.

Do you now accept Hamas won a free and fair election in palestine and is a legitimate government

There is an internal crises between Fatah and Hams which i pray they resolve but are u now defending Fatah or palestinians asking you about their internal problem? They have one common enemy and that is the illegal occupier ISRAEL.

UN halts Gaza aid after convoy hit


Homes, mosques and government buildings have
been hit in the Israeli bombardment [AFP]

The United Nations aid agency has suspended its operations in the Gaza Strip in the wake of a series of Israeli attacks on its personnel and buildings.

"UNRWA decided to suspend all its operations in the Gaza Strip because of the increasing hostile actions against its premises and personnel," Adnan Abu Hasna, a Gaza-based spokesman for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, UNRWA, said on Thursday.

The move came after Israeli tanks shelled a UN convoy earlier in the day, killing a Palestinian UN worker and injuring two others, as lorries were travelling to the Erez crossing to pick up humanitarian supplies meant to have been allowed in during a three-hour suspension of fire.

At least three UN-run schools have also been hit by Israeli fire, killing scores of civilians, during the 13 days of Israel's assault on the Gaza Strip.

'Tragic deaths'

John Ging, the head of the UN relief agency in Gaza, said that the casualties in the convoy attack were Palestinian civilian contractors hired to bring supplies from the crossing points.

"They were co-ordinating their movements with the Israelis, as they always do, only to find themselves being fired at from the ground troops," he told Al Jazeera.

"It has resulted tragically in the death of one and the injury of two others."

Richard Miron, the UN spokesman, said the Israeli army had been notified in advance about the movements of the UNRWA convoy.

All convoys to Erez and the Kerem Shalom, which has been the main crossing point used for bringing humanitarian supplies into Gaza, were suspended after the incident.

"This underlines the fundamental insecurity inside Gaza at a time when we are trying to address the dire humanitarian needs of the population there," Miron said.

Al Jazeera's Ayman Mohyeldin, reporting from Gaza City, said that 50 bodies were recovered during the three-hour lull, raising the death toll of Palestinians in Gaza to at least 763, including more than 200 children, since air raids first began on December 27.

More than 3,121 people have also been wounded. Eight Israeli soldiers and three civilians have died in the same period.

The Israeli military said it was looking into reports of Thursday's incident.

A temporary halt in the nearly two-week Israeli offensive to allow humanitarian aid into the strip lasted from 1pm (11:00 GMT) to 4pm (14:00 GMT).

Explosions were heard in northern Gaza shortly after the period elapsed.

Israeli bulldozers crossed into Gaza during the lull and destroyed a number of houses, Al Jazeera's Alan Fisher, reporting from southern Israel near the border, said.

davidylan:
this guy needs a good shot of reality.

Do you have any shame at all? Do you have a shred of honesty?

Answer the question your self. How on earth could you lie that 500 people died and more than 400 were hamas fighters. You now have a moral justification to talk of honesty Shame on you , you are just a cunning fellow,

davidylan:
Gazans had no choice in this "free and fair" elections. HAMAS virtually obliterated FATAH in Gaza . . . so much for "democracy".

David is there anything point debating with you. Dont be ecnonomical with the truth and people here are not fools. Hamas won an election in january 2006, Abbas sacked the hamas government, Fattah was sacked out in 2007. Please why do you have to lie that gazans had no choice in the election, please stop all this rubbish .18 months gap between election and kicking of fatah out. Everyone accepts this was fee and fair by all international monitors just make a google search.
Please for once just be humble and accept this basic fact.
please someone help me here . . . is honesty no longer a virtue taught in schools?
[quote][/quote]

davidylan:
Notice how that fraudulent coward called Lagosboy quietly avoided facing the facts that:

1. He LIED about the Jenin "massacre" because no such thing took place.

I dierected you to link to read about it. the event is called "Jenin massacre" yes it was over exagerated because there was no media acess but all Human Rights group still call it a war crime. Why do selective reading if there was anything to hide why would i direct readers to wikipedia. We all know about your many lies of which i just exposed on the other thread.

davidylan:
2. He has NO CLUE what the "nakba" is all about and why it took the "palestinians" 50 years to remember to celebrate it.

Ridiculous. What is the "Right to return" all about if there is nothing like Nakba. Why are palestinians refugees for 60 years if there is nothing like Nakba please if you don't have anything to say just keep quiet
read. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nakba_Day

davidylan:
3. He cannot produce evidence of Israeli "crimes".

Only a fool would see what is going on now in Palestine and would still ask for israeli crimes. The topic alone says it. Of course according to you Israel is a saint and has commited no crime ever before.

davidylan:
4. He can't tell us exactly what is "occupied" in Gaza.

My guy try another trick. Gaza is palestine and west bank is palestine. West Bank is under occupation for the past 41 years. The world knows that except Davidylan.

davidylan:
5. That two rockets have landed in israel from Lebanon.

Two rockets landed in israel and we are still awaiting who did it. Hezbolla minister says it is not hezbollah and obviousy it is not Hamas.  By tonight we should know who did it but could be on of the palestinian groups among the refugees living in Lebanon.

davidylan:
This more than cements the fact that these islamic goons here don't really care about innocent women and children . . . the problem is that a dhimmi has dared to retaliate.

Here we go again moronic islamist, islamic goons bla bla bla

Oppose Israel according to Davidylan u must be an islamic goon.

Richyblack isnt, Cayon isnt and many other intelligent people who are not as myopic and extreme in thinking like you

bindex:
Where is Allah? I guess he is sleeping. Hamas leaders should wake Allah up from his slumber, so that he can come and help them.

The ignorance of our people is so grave.

There is no need trading words back but just have to educate you.

Do me a favour by try getting an arabic bible and check what God is called.

Have you watched the film "passion of the christ" ?

What did the jesus call God in the Film

What if it told you jesus spoke aramaic language which is d closest language to arabic. It is still spoken in a place near Bethlehem today by christians.

Stop the hate it would lead no where. We are talkin of a political issue no need for you to blasphem or exhibit your hatred for Islam.

texazzpete:
You've just slaughtered mathematics, my friend.

My guy 205 out of 600 is more than 33%. If you made a mistake correct yourself

texazzpete:
This is why some of us have urged you to go over ther and join in the fighting. You're clearly out of the loop. What Hamas, Al Qaeda and ahmedinejad wants is the total destruction of Israel and the murder of it's people.

Didn't you get the memo?

Stop linking Al qaeda to Hamas. Stop Linkin Ahmedijad to Al qaeda. If you study well you would know that this two are not ideological on the same path.

Alqaeda dont like democracy Hamas participated in the democratic election. Hamas is a movement for the liberation of Palestine.

Hamas when they won the election accepted a 2 state solution if israel withdraws to its 1967 borders and offered a long long term truce which is peace. The west refused to recognise the only elected government in the whole of the arab world. The election was the freest and fairest no voilence nothing !!

arramyjay:
So sad,the best thing to do is sit and watch,both countries are at fault.

No there are no two countries in this. Palestine is not a country yet , i mean it is not a state yet. Israel doesnt want a viable palestinian state and that is what HAMAS is fighting for.

So sad my sister please dont just sit you could donate to many chairities helping the helpless palestinian kids and women. £30 could feed a family for a month and that is no exageration.

Where is Dayokanu to read this thread.

Davidylan just accept the truth for once. Hamas respected the ceasefire , the rockets were minimal. Israel went for the attack. Never lift the siege in the first place which was a violation of the ceasfire.

War criminals they are- Olmert and Barak

davidylan:
only 500 dead, more than 400 of them HAMAS fighters and we have clowns crying about "inhumanity and massacre"? Do you TRULY know what those words mean?

I wonder if there is a greater Liar on NL than Davidylan. Everyday he amuses me with his pack of lies and concoction. First he says only 500 dead. Would anyone with human milk put only to the slaughter of 500 people?
500 people dead means thousands of people have lost fathers, children, mothers relatives loved ones.

First as at yesterday when he typed this, the figure was 630 dead and het reduced it by 130 – malicious attamt to hide truth

He went further to say more than 400 are Hamas fighters – This is the biggest lie any commentator has said all through this war. Even the IDF would not claim this.  As at yesterday when he typed this 205 chidren killed out of 630 dead. The large proportion of the remainder women and the rest men (could be civilians or hamas fighters).

This is my source http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/7814490.stm

Would Davidylan tell us the source of his news of 400 hamas fighters killed out of 500.
During war the first casualty is the truth.

Davidylan is a PERPETUAL LIAR.

Obviously he hates arabs and he hates muslims which results in him seeing all issues through this pinhole of hatred.

Take religion out of the equation the issue is as clear as the sky.

davidylan:
During the intifada, thousands of Israeli children were blown to bits by HAMAS and FATAH

Which intfada specifically and please could tell us the source of THOUSANDS. I am not denying that there werent civilian casualties on the israeli side but THOUSANDS of Children is a gross LIE from you. Stop misleading folks in here!!

Tayo-D:
@Lagosboy,
In other words, Hamas has the right to send rockets into Isreal indiscriminately without regard for civilians. If that is the case, don't you figure that Isreal has the right to defend its citizens by targeting Hamas while carefully aiming to avoid civilian casualty[/size][size=8pt][size=8pt][/size]?

Just look at what you wrote and look at the topic

700 now slaughtered. 205 children out of the 600 killed, in mathematics that is more than 33% and a large chunk of the remaining are women. Is this what you call careful? Lets not offend God with this blatant denial.

Shelling UN school is carefull? The UN senior official in Gaza emphatically stated that no hamas fighter were in the school neither was any rocket fired from the school before the shellin.

Israel shelled a UN installation in Lebanon in 1996 killing 102 civilians and claimed fighters were hiding there. Enough of the israeli lies no one except a fool will believe them.

EVERY PERSON UNDER OCCUPATION HAS A RIGHT TO RESIST AN ILLEGAL OCCUPATION. Tell Israel to withdraw into its 1967 borders and vacate west bank and jerusalem then they would no peace. If they refuse to give up their stolen property they are on a journey of futility.

No matter how many people they kill, they cannot kill the spirit, they cannot and would not destroy hamas. Hamas is not a building it is a movement!!!

12 days of air attack, Ground Attack , Sea attack yet te rockets are still going into Israel. The war is lost as long as a single rocket is still fired from Gaza.

Read about the Jenin Massacre

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

Read about the blood in the ibrahimi mousque

Read about the Nakba

Read about all the crimes of Israel against the palestinians

The palestinians have a right to resist occupation!!!!!

chidichris:
Muza,
i want hear one of you quote the hamas leader who said that they are going to make gaza the burial ground for the isrealites.

is Gaza part of the terrorist state of Israel. Otherwise what right have they to invade another mans land. Are the palestinians not justified to repel the Child killers of Israel?

@arramjay dont let these people intimidate you. You said nothing wrong and no one disputed it including Davidylan himself so i dont understand what they are accusing you of. Speak your mind and pls just dont bother trading insults with them.

@Davidylan
you talked of being happy at the pounding of Hamas.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/7814490.stm
205 children murdered out of 600 killed aint Hamas. The hate just cant leave you and wouldnt let u see the evil of the trerrorist state of Israel. We condemed 9/11 and you condemned it , We condem israeli terrorism and you condone it yet you have the guts to call people hypocrites.

My people reflect!!!

plc group:
Useless set of people and with outdated religion

Is correlation not relationship? The Islam teach them violence, to kill non-muslems.

You should pls note i have never thrown any insults or abusive words at you.

To the point

It is really low, shallow in thought, blind in intellect for you to say 1.2 billion people follow an outdated religion. Anyway religon should not be dragged into this so lets talk on the topic.

You said the correlation is islam which teaches to kill non muslims.

It is important For u to note that at least 20% of Palestinians are Christians and Israelis have humiliated them, oppressed them as well over the years. Only 60% of the intending pilgrims were allowed to visit Bethlehem and Jerusalem in December. Don’t be blinded by our relgious hatred. The Israeli crimes are against humanity.

NOTHING CAN JUSTIFY THE KILLING OF 205 CHILDREN OUT OF 600. ISRAEL IS A TERRORIS STATE

@ PLC GROUP
Nothing can justify the slaughtering 205 children out of 600 , nothing can justify the murder of 43 civilians in a school. please speak to your conscience and not from your religious bias as you made reference to Kano , Kaduna plswhats the correlation between Kano Kaduna and Israeli occupation of Palestine.

43 civilians died at this school and about 100 injured. Even if 2 Hamas fighters were firing behind the school like the israelis claim (which I believe is false) Does that warrant artilery shelling of a UN run school whwere civilians are taking refuge? For anyone who doesnt know the meaning of dispropotionate this is it.

AND PEOPLE WONDER WHAT IS THE CAUSE OF TERRORISM. HOW DO U EXPLAIN TO A CHILD WHOSE FATHER , MOTHER AND BROTHERS HAVE BEEN MURDERED BY ISRAEL NOT TO GROW UP TO TERRORISE THE STATE OF ISRAEL.

The whole world are sitting and looking at these war crimes, It is 12 days and the UN security council cannot reach a resolution I wonder whose security the council is protecting.

What an evil and hypocritical world we live in

Children hit hard as Gaza toll rises 


Injuries could have a lasting effect on Palestinian children, doctors say


By Heather Sharp
BBC News, Jerusalem 


The pictures keep coming. The blood splattered young faces, the glazed eyes, the limp small bodies.

The latest figures from Palestinian health officials say 205 children are among some 600 people who have died in the Gaza war. In the chaos, there are no statistics for how many are among the at least 2,900 injured.

As medics work flat out to save as many young lives as they can, child psychiatrists in both Gaza and southern Israel fear some children will never recover from the psychological damage done as the bombs, shells and rockets fall.

Dr Iyad Sarraj, Director of the Gaza Community Mental Health Programme, says "so many people" are telephoning his workers - although the organisation's headquarters lies abandoned with shattered windows and broken furniture after it was damaged in an Israeli airstrike.

"It's really terrible for children here now," he says. "I have been through so many of these kinds of things and this is the worst".

Long-term impact

He talks of a boy he treated five years ago. Grappling in the dark after his house was hit in an airstrike on a Hamas militant next door, he felt something wet.

"He realised it was the flesh of his sister who was blown into pieces. He was in such a state. He couldn't eat or smell meat for three years after that. I am sure he will suffer some kind of long-term psychological impact."

"This sort of thing must be happening right now as we speak," he says.

He can barely leave his home for fear of the fighting, and has been unable to visit the hospitals where he has watched television pictures of traumatised, badly injured children arriving.

"These children need help more than anyone. They look frightened, horrified, bewildered. They need a lot of attention but they can't receive it because their families are so terrified," he says. 
WARNING: This image contains graphic content


Enlarge Image


But the effects of the war are plain even among his own family.

His stepdaughter Nour Kharma, 14, barely spoke in the days immediately after she heard her school friend and basketball partner, Christina, 15 had been killed in an Israeli airstrike.

"She was in such turmoil, in a depressive mood, in really bad shape. She was always in tears," he says. "In the end I asked her to write about it."

"[When I heard,] I threw the phone and started crying…" Nour reads, in crisp English. "Her parents did the best they can do. But it wasn't enough, so the result was dying. What if my parents can't protect me…? Will I die too?"

She weeps quietly on the other end of the phone. "I feel very sad. I keep remembering her. I really miss her," she says simply.

Salwi Tibi of the Save Children, who lives in the north of Gaza City close to some of the most intense ground clashes, has also been monitoring the impact on children.

She talks of a two-and-a-half year old boy from Beit Lahiya, scene of heavy fighting, who was taken lifeless to the local hospital.

"He was not injured, his health was OK. The doctors told me the child died because of the shock from the sound of the shelling," she said.

And she thinks her own daughter, Malak, 7, is typical of many children affected by the war.


Palestinian children have lived with a fear of sirens for months
She began wetting her bed on the first day of the airstrikes.

"Wherever I go she follows me - even to the bathroom. As soon as she hears the shelling she puts her fingers and closes her eyes and shouts "stop them, stop them," says Ms Tibi.

"She can't sleep alone, she wants to sleep close to me and she puts her arms around my neck."

"If I had a computer I would let her listen to music and play games so she would forget, but there is no electricity, everything is silent, so all she can hear is shelling and bombing."

It is exactly these symptoms that are also prevalent among the children of Sderot.

The Israeli town close to Gaza has been hit by many of the 10,000 Palestinian rockets fired into southern Israel over the past eight years.

Four people have been killed and 100 people injured in the region since the start of the air campaign. No figures are available for the number of children, although one victim was a baby injured in the face.

Dalia Yosef, a psychotherapist and Director of the Resilience Centre, says her workload has increased with the rocket fire in the run-up to and during the war.

Any child under eight in the town has only known a life with just 15 seconds to reach shelter whenever the warning siren sounds.

"He has experienced the world as not safe - his house is not safe, his yard, his daycare centre is not safe… it influences the whole circle of the child's life," she says.

Yossi Haimov, 10, had gone out to play after school with his eight-year-old sister when he was hit by a qassam rocket in February 2008.

"It splintered his hand and now he can't use it," his father, Tashkent, said. "The bone was completely destroyed from the shoulder down. Only half of his shoulder is still there."


"He is definitely still traumatised," says Mr Haimov.

Previously a keen footballer, Yossi is no longer always outside with his friends.

"Now he's scared all the time… he's afraid to get hurt or get knocked over. Sometimes he gets very upset and nervous and he has panic attacks."

Research from Sderot says about 30% of children there show signs of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder; Mr Sarraj says about a third of Gazan children are suffering from psychological symptoms that needed intervention.

"Your mind doesn't ask from where the stress is coming. It doesn't matter if you live in Sderot, Gaza or in New York. This is the reaction of the human," says Ms Yosef.

RichyBlacK:
Sharrap! You this woman that enjoys the sight of dead Palestinian babies! Go ask your god for forgiveness!

When someone was making fun of Igbos being massacred in the Biafran War with sordid pictures, you where one of those that didn't find it funny. I detested it and the thread was brought down! Now that "others" are being massacred, it's all good abi? Nonsense!

If mass killings of our people in the 1960s was evil, how can you condone mass killings of Palestinians? Is it because the people who masterminded the 1966 mass killings of our people were largely Muslims in Northern Nigeria? Yes, Nigeria failed to protect Igbos during the pogrom after the 1966 coup, and most of the perpetrators of the mass killings were Muslims of Hausa/Fulani extraction and other misguided Nigerians who based their murderous acts on the simple words "Igbo coup". Was it the Igbo children killed in Kano, Markudi, Bauchi and Kaduna that planned the so-called "Igbo coup"? How does that justify the mass murder of Muslims elsewhere? If our religion, Christianity, tells us it is evil to kill, why must we only cry when our own people die?

Guilt by association was the logic used to murder large number of Igbos, and here you are, an Igbo daughter, applying the same foolish logic when "others" are being killed? Because they happen to be Muslims?

Nothing good can excuse the large-scale killing of civilians, only evil can condone that!

Objectivity is an expensive quality and in fact it is gold on NL. Thank the good lord for giving you this quality.

Shame on the child killers.

Shame on ~Egypt and Jordan for still accommodating the Israeli envoys. Hugo Chavez is my hero anyday anytime, he is brave fighter, brave defender of the oppressed and the poor.