Israel has always justified these attacks on the basis that its settelements were coming under fire without provocation and that it had to carry out targetted assasinations of "terrorist leaders". The total number of Israeli casualties in the last 7 years has amounted to 20 dead and 583 injured (Israeli source).
I have now found statistics for Palestinian deaths in all occupied territories. They come from a reliable Israeli human rights organisation, B'Tselem. Data for the Gaza Strip alone is not available but we can safely assume that the vast majority of deaths relate to Gaza. The table below shows how vicious, vindictive and fatal Israeli arttacks have been against the defenceless population of the Gaza strip since 2000. The shocking figures do not even take into account the number injured and maimed over that long period which must run into tens of thousands (why is no one keeping an accurate record of these when the Iraelis record momentary distress from a loud bang as a casualty?).
As per the table, Israel has killed nearly 4,440 people in the last 7 years, of whom 867 were children. As stated above, we aleady know from Israeli sources that only 20 Israelis have died as a result of shelling and rocket fire from Gaza. The number of Israeli deaths in all other areas therefore total 1,010. So, the ratio of Palestinian to Israeli deaths - excluding Gaza - is roughly 4:1. For Gaza the ratio looks more like 200:1. Enough said!
Click on image to enlarge
5 comments:
and yet the qassams still wont stop..
I have now found statistics for Palestinian deaths in all occupied territories. They come from a reliable Israeli human rights organisation, B'Tselem. Data for the Gaza Strip alone is not available but we can safely assume that the vast majority of deaths relate to Gaza.
B'tselem is not generally held a reliable or mainstream organization. It's one of the more radical ones and its numbers are often disputed.
The casualties have also varied significantly over the years. The Palestinians certainly knew better times. In the good old days 20-30 Israelis could die on one single day in suicide attacks. Since the fence came into being we are now mostly watching Muslims truck bombing each other in Iraq, Pakistan and elsewhere from afar. But we've certainly been there. We did not have these spectacular attacks in which hundreds of people are blown to pieces in a second the style of Iraq but we have an idea of this stuff.
Finally you compare two different cultures. Comparing the numbers could make sense if both sides were valuing lives of their people to the same degree but this is simply not the case. One culture is doing its best to minimize its own casualties and it goes into great lengths to avoid civilian casualties on the other side.
On the other side you have a culture of martyrdom which treats all people, whether its own or those of the adversary as a cannon fodder. This culture is stating openly that it will fight to the last man and this is what it's doing.
Neither there is much place here for guessing what would have happened if the roles were reversed. Our southern border is stormed daily by dozens of African Muslims fleeing Darfur where another department of Muslim Brothers managed to arm itself with something better than homemade rockets.
By the way I really appreciate your frequent and passionate posting on the issue in particular given how outrageous it should be that after eliminating not four thousand but four hundred thousand people and in the span of not 7 but 5 years, this regime still enjoys its membership in the Arab league and is regularly invited to its meetings.
Keep up your good job, the lion of the Golan.
Philip
This is very useful. I will link to it on SC ... we have a lunatic who tries really hard (twenty comments per day) to convince us that we are savage and they are saints.
Alex
Your blog keeps getting better and better! Your older articles are not as good as newer ones you have a lot more creativity and originality now keep it up!
Interestingg thoughts
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