http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/wor...ts-killing-189-children-in-Gaza-campaign.html Israel admits killing 189 children in Gaza campaign Israel's armed forces admitted on Wednesday that 189 Palestinian children under the age of 15 were killed during the assault on the Gaza Strip. By Dina Kraft in Tel Aviv and David Blair, Diplomatic Editor Last Updated: 3:11PM GMT 25 Mar 2009 The first official figures released by the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) of the casualties inflicted by the three-week campaign found that a total of 309 Palestinian civilians were killed. But the IDF said that armed fighters from Hamas and other militant movements accounted for most of the 1,370 dead. The survey was disclosed as Benjamin Netanyahu, the incoming prime minister, presented himself as a peacemaker and assured Palestinians that his government would be their "partner". One day after enlisting the Labour Party into a broad coalition, embracing Left and Right, Mr Netanyahu focused on his plans to help the Palestinian economy. ... The IDF's survey of the casualties in Gaza found that 1,370 Palestinians were killed in the campaign, which began on Dec 27 after years of rocket fire into Israel's southern cities. Of these, some 600 were guerrillas and another 320 were unidentified and designated simply as "unaffiliated". Palestinian estimates for total number of dead are broadly consistent with the IDF's figures. But the two sides differ sharply over the number of civilian casualties, with Palestinian estimates suggesting that more than half of those who died were innocent bystanders. There is a crucial difference in how the two sides classify casualties. The IDF defines anyone under the age of 15 as a child and admits that 189 were killed. The Palestinian authorities list anyone under the age of 18 as a child. Another point of contention is over how to identify the 200 Palestinian policemen who were killed in the first day of the fighting during an Israeli air raid on a graduation ceremony in Gaza City. Israel categorises them as Hamas fighters on the grounds that Hamas governs Gaza and controls the police. The IDF figures also include 14 members of the Palestinian Fatah faction who were executed by their Hamas rivals.
How many of the 189 children would have become suicide bombers? It is a stretch to say the the life of a Gaza Palestinian is equal to a life of Jewish Israelite.
I am correct under the concept of "Just War" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Just_war the Catechism of the Catholic Church, in paragraph 2309, lists four strict conditions for "legitimate defense by military force": * the damage inflicted by the aggressor on the nation or community of nations must be lasting, grave, and certain; * all other means of putting an end to it must have been shown to be impractical or ineffective; * there must be serious prospects of success; * the use of arms must not produce evils and disorders graver than the evil to be eliminated. The power of modern means of destruction weighs very heavily in evaluating this condition.
From your wikipedia link: "According to Pope John Paul II, however, the Iraq war was clearly not a just one." Uhhh, that would be the war that you supported blindly... You really are diseased in your thinking. You are Christian, right? Quoting the Christian theory of a "just war?" Where in that theory did it say "It is a stretch to say the the life of a Gaza Palestinian is equal to a life of Jewish Israelite."
I've found these religious fanatics suffer from those little voices in their heads that they conclude is God talking ...to THEM alone. Mutants abound.
Of course these deaths are tragic. The responsibility for them lays at the feet of Hamas. Perhaps they'll think twice next time before they start lobbing bombs at innocent civilians. Probably not, but there's always a chance. The hawkish Netanyahu would never have had the opportunity to take power had not Hamas taken it at the point of a gun. As long as terrorist groups like Hamas and Hezbollah continue to vow that their stated aim is the murder of every Israeli man, woman and child, and the destruction of the state of Israel, we can expect more of the same. There's an Iranian election coming up. Let's see if they can vote into power someone who's a little more circumspect about describing Israel as 'a stinking corpse'.
Don't hold your breath TraderNik! How can the mahdi come without the destruction of Israel? Iran is a theocracy controlled by the ayatollahs. The real leader is not Mahmoud I am Nut Job, or any other "elected" President, but Ayatollah Khamenei. There are no free elections there. It is all a sham for gullible Westerners!