Here’s a puzzle for you: What happened in the last few weeks that would have changed the effectiveness of the “crude, homemade rocket” attacks from Gaza?

Here’s a hint: The destruction of the Egyptian border.

Here’s another hint: The entrance into Gaza of hundreds (if not thousands) of Iranian-trained terrorists, replete with more, better rockets.

The result? The rockets are killing and wounding more Israelis in one week than they have in the past several months.

Katyushas and Grad rockets have landed in Ashkelon.

Several rockets were fired at Ashkelon earlier Thursday, one directly hitting a house. Several people suffered shock; Magen David Adom paramedics were sent to the scene.

One of the rockets reportedly landed, for the first time, in the city’s north. The third rocket was located in the city’s south.

More are probably on the way. And even better news—kassam development is improving.

Hamas will likely be able to expand the range of its homemade rockets to 20 kilometers by the end of the year, an Israel security official said Thursday.

So they won’t need to import their rockets much longer.

Where would Hamas have gotten Russian-made rockets? Gee, let’s think. Starts with I and ends with RAN.

Police said five foreign-made Katyusha rockets reached Ashkelon, a city of 109,000. One rocket went through the roof of a crowded apartment building, but no one was hurt. An 17-year-old Israeli girl was slightly wounded by the second rocket.

Not that the Russians have any problem with helping to murder Jews. They’ve done it for centuries.

But the big question is: What is it going to take for Olmert to order some kind of action that will stop the rocket attacks? Why is it that Hamas gets to hold their rallies out in the open, without fear, between planning attacks on Israel?

They should never be allowed to show their faces in public again. Screw public opinion. The Hamas anniversary celebration was an opportunity to take out their entire leadership with one blow. Perhaps Israel should start thinking seriously about doing that in the future.

This used to be my daily view from my kitchen during warm weather. Or, for that matter, during cold weather.

Not any more.

I miss my Tig.

Busy up at Company In Northern VA today. No time for posting. Just for scheduling this.

Daled Amos recently commented on the implications of Egypt supplying electricity to Gaza.Now Jordan is set to start supplying electricity to Jericho. Jordan, of course, claims that only humanitarian concerns are involved.

Jordanian officials insisted the Jericho hookup is only to help Palestinians and has no hidden political goal. “It’s meant to meet Palestinian power needs,” said Nasser Judeh, the minister for information.

Maybe, but one observer sees a little more:

But Jordanian political analyst Saleh Zaytoun said the new supply does carry “political overtones.” He called it “reminiscent of the custodianship the countries (Jordan and Egypt) once provided” for the Palestinian territories.

“[C]ustodianship?” Between 1948 and 1967 Egypt and Jordan were holding onto Gaza and the west bank of the Jordan River as custodian for the Palestinians? So that means during those nineteen years the Arabs supported the cause of Palestinian independence and were just holding onto the lands for the benefit of the Palestinian people.

Give me a break. They didn’t care about Palestinian statehood any more then than they do now. Palestinian statehood is a cause that only had resonance once it could be used against Israel. Create a Palestinian state and there’s no need to hate Israel. Of course that hate is important than the state. Even now.

On a side note: The reporters name is Jamal Halaby. Does anyone know if he’s related to Queen Noor?

Crossposted on Soccer Dad.

The New York Times reports on yesterday’s violence in southern Israel, Hamas and Israelis Trade Attacks, Killing Several (via memeorandum - the headline, BTW, is much better than one that appeared in South Africa. It’s a problem in Australia too.)Not much remarkable about the article.

Palestinians said two of the militants killed in the first Israeli strike were Abdullah Edwan, a rocket engineer, and Muhammad Abu Aker, a rocket squad commander. Residents said the men were going to a training camp in southern Gaza. Two were masked, they said, and returned from Iran three weeks ago.Relatives of Mr. Edwan, who was said to have been the main strike target, said he was trained in Syria and Iran. Two other militants were wounded, medical officials said.

The chief of Israeli military intelligence, Maj. Gen. Amos Yadlin, told Parliament’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee on Tuesday that Gaza militants had undergone intensive training in Syria and Iran and had taken advantage of the recent 11-day breach of Gaza’s border with Egypt to return to Gaza.

“Rocket squad commander” and “rocket engineer?” It makes them sound like civil service positions. Given that Hamas rules Gaza, maybe they are. My preferred term would be “terrorists.”

But what’s also revealing is that the Israeli fear that the breach in the border fence would allow terrorists and materiel to enter Gaza has been confirmed. ArabNews reported the same thing.

The one Israeli killed in the qassam attacks, was killed at the Sapir College, leading Backspin to wonder:

Expect those sniveling UK academics to speak out?

And though a Qassam landed in the parking lot of a hospital, I doubt that we’ll hear a lot of outrage that a hospital was attacked.

To keep track of the latest see Israelly Cool!.

Crossposted on Soccer Dad.