Arab and Iranian reporters who help Hamas are fair game
The IDF has now attacked several buildings in Gaza that house 'foreign journalists.' What the buildings have in common is that they house Arab or Iranian journalists.The IDF struck a building housing two international media outlets early Sunday morning, hours after striking another building housing a number of media outlets, the affected media outlets reported. Six journalists were injured in the first strike but no injuries were reported in the second strike.Why is the IDF doing this? One reason is that under the Geneva Convention they're allowed to. If you're assisting Hamas, including if Hamas is hiding behind you, you're assisting a combatant and you give up the convention's protections.
Sky News Arabia and Al-Arabiya said their offices were hit in the second strike.
The first strike hit a building housing Palestinian Ma'an and Al Quds television stations. Five Al Quds employees and one freelancer were injured in that strike. Iran's PressTV later said the sixth injury was one of its cameramen.
The IDF said the first strike targeted a rooftop "transmission antenna used by Hamas to carry out terror activity."
For those who didn't think journalists do things like that, let's go to a videotape from Operation Cast Lead. The videotape is in Arabic but an English translation follows:
Footage of a presenter on the Arabic language television station Al-Arabiya apparently confirms that Hamas fired at least one rocket from close to a building used by journalists during the 22-day conflict between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip.What those of you watching at home may not fully realize is that Hamas has embedded itself among the civilian population. While the IDF does all it can to minimize civilian casualties, we have finally reached the point that the correct choice is being made (hopefully) between minimizing our civilian casualties and minimizing theirs.
The Israel Defense Forces shelled the building, drawing international condemnation, and television networks with offices in the building denied that rockets had been launched from anywhere nearby.
But the recording, filmed by an Israeli and released Tuesday by Israel's Foreign Ministry, shows Al-Arabiya presenter Hanan Al-Masri saying that a Grad rocket had been fired from a location near the studios at Al-Shuruk tower in Gaza City. Al-Masri did not realize that she had been caught on camera.
Al-Masri, a Gaza resident, has been a reporter for Al-Arabiya for three years. She is filmed discussing other issues until she is apparently distracted by the firing.
"...A rocket from here? It's here," she says and turns to look at a window. "Listen, it's here, below the building..."
The production team tells Al-Masri that a rocket has been fired from a nearby location. She then calls someone and says: "The rocket that was just fired from here is a Grad?... It's as if it was fired from beneath the office. It was very loud. I thought it was bombing but it was a rocket launch."
The Foreign Ministry says the film is proof that Hamas had fired from the area of the studios.
From Ha'Aretz.com
Labels: Gaza, Hamas, human shields, Operation Pillar of Defense
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 12:09 PM
2 Comments:
The CNN report on this was laughable. The woman reporter wore her helmet and while standing in the middle of the street complained that she was unable to leave her hotel. You have to be a special kind stupid for that.
Then she pointed to the al Quds TV building and complained that while the IDF called the people in that building and told them to leave because it was going to be hit, they took too long to get around to it and after 4 hrs people went back into the building at which point it was struck.
Again I have to say, What other country does this? From the Trudy's post "...the IDF called the people in that building and told them to leave because it was going to be hit..." Israel needs to stop warning their enemies before bombing. In this case it may have made sense, if no enemies were thought to be in the buildings and the targets were just the broadcasting antennas. But in the last war with Gaza, Israel constantly warned with phone calls, texts and leaflets letting everyone know what was going too targeted. I am sorry but in my opinion that is insane, not only does it warn the enemy but because of the warning the enemies that live can kill the IDF troops on the ground [remembering Cast Lead] or go fire their missile from somewhere else.
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