Finally the UN condemns mortar launching from its school in Beit Hanun

It was on the first of November that I indicated that the school in the IDF footage from the 29 October is actually a UN school run by the UN relief agency UNRWA. Since then the UNRWA have kept a tight lid on the issue doing and only the Jerusalem Post reported that Israel complained to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) over the use of a school run by the organization as a launching pad for a mortar attack on Israel. "UNRWA condemns the use of its facilities by militants, not least because these militant activities put the lives of schoolchildren and our teachers at risk and also disrupt our education programme," is how the UNRWA spokesman responded. Nothing noted on the UNRWA website, compared to the condemnation of Israeli military activities in an UNRWA school during August this year.

On the 8 of November Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has deplored a rocket attack against Israel that was launched from a school in the Gaza Strip run by the United Nations agency tasked with assisting Palestinian refugees. UNRWA have been asked to to conduct a full investigation of the incident. In the same instance the UN made a point that the school had been evacuated at the time of the rocket attack to ensure the safety of both the staff and the pupils during an Israeli military incursion. Palestinian militants entered the school while it was empty and then fired rockets from the compound. I guess that makes it OK?!?

Tunnels of Gaza

From the US border with Mexico to the frontier between the European continent with north Africa, everywhere in the world where you find a border you'll find networks of smugglers, if for drugs, people trafficking or weapons. You may ask, whats new? Well in Gaza tunnels have a use beyond smuggling. In Gaza tunnels serve as another opportunity to carry out terrorist attacks.

The Israeli military carried out a military operation this week in the south of the Gaza strip on the border with Egypt. The Israelis reported that they discovered seven weapons-smuggling tunnels in the southern Strip along the Egyptian border on Thursday. One of the tunnels was reported to be a kilometer-long tunnels were discovered near Dahiniye by an elite Engineering Corps unit and troops from the Golani brigade . The tunnels were found within two kilometers of the border with Israel and, according to the IDF, had been used intensively in recent months to smuggle weapons and explosives from Egypt into Gaza.
The troops destroyed the tunnels in controlled explosions. IDF sources said they had been large enough for people to pass through and were most probably used by terrorists to leave Gaza on their way to Iran or Syria for training. The Washington Times quoted the head of the Israeli intelligence agency, "Shin Bet, Youval Diskin, that since June terrorist factions have smuggled in to Gaza more than 70 tons of explosives from Egypt, bringing the total in its possession to 112 tons.

For more see Al Jazeera english edition

Rockets from a UN School in Gaza

The Israeli military released a surveillance video taken on October 29 th in the North Gazan town of Beit Hanun. In the video 2 Palestinians are sighted launching multipule mortar rockets from an elementary boys school. UN sources have confirmed that this is in fact a UN school for the refugee agency (UNRWA). During October over 250 Kassam rockets and mortars were launched against Israel.