The palestinians celebrated New Year’s in Israel by launching more rockets. So did the IDF.
The latest Qassam fire follows the first successful IDF strike at terrorists planning to fire rockets in the framework of operation “Blue Skies”. Saturday night, the Air Force spotted a rocket launching cell and fired at it, killing two Palestinians and wounding one.
Following the incident, army officials said the successful neutralization of the Qassam cell demonstrates the effectiveness of operation “Blue Skies”. However, the officials noted other areas used as Qassam launching sites will also be handled.
“We must remember ‘Blue Skies’ can be expended to any area in the Strip,” one officer said. “If we see assessments that point to such need, we’ll act accordingly.”
What is the world’s reaction to Israel defending its people?
However, the sources admitted some pressure has been exerted, particularly by foreign diplomats, to end the operation.
“For the time being there’s no intention to end the operation and we’re continuing as usual,” one official said.
Typical. The terrorists try to murder Israelis. The IDF protects Israelis by killing the terrorists. The world puts the onus on Israel to stop being mean to murderers.
And that will work so well. Because it’s not like the pals think Israel will never set foot in Gaza again or anything.
Palestinians behind the rocket attacks on Israel have said that “Israel would not dare” return to the Gaza Strip to stop the barrages of Qassams landing on Israel.
“The continuance of the Gaza rockets is proof that Israel’s operations and the ‘security strip’ it set up in Gaza has no chance of preventing the rockets,” said Abu Ahmed, an al-Aqsa Brigades commander in Gaza.
“There was no special preparation among the missiles division members for the Israeli ‘security strip.’ This whole matter of a ‘security strip is ridiculous’; do they think we are firing the rockets from an obvious target for the Israeli tanks and artillery guns?” said Ahmed.
He added: “We have hundreds of places and hundreds of possibilities, including places they classify as the ‘security strip,’ to carry out the firing of the rockets.”
I’m thinking the war may start a little sooner. We may see a little pre-election surprise from Ariel Sharon, because if the average Israeli perceives that he is not doing enough to stop the Kassams–which have now landed in Israel from the West Bank–he will not win the kind of majority he wants.
Actually, I think Israel will dare go into Gaza, if the rockets don’t stop. Watch for the massing of tanks on the border.
Sharon has been ordering airstrikes in empty fields and closed political offices. Watch for him to start blasting Fateh, Islamic Jihad, and Hamas offices while they’re open for business.
I hope this is the year Israel finally says nuts! to the rest of the world, including the US, and does what is necessary.
I have never understood less than total war. I am ashamed that my nation has continued to ask Israel to hold back in the face of unrelenting attack. The next attack should be met with a full scale war, removal of the enemy from anywhere he has shot at Israel from to out beyond weapon shot.
DEBKA has a report that Fatah is firing Qassam-like missiles into Israel from the West Bank now. Yes, the same Fatah that Mahmoud Abbas leads.
Israel needs to come up with a startegy to deal with this bullshit.
Give Abbas this year, 2006, to stop all the terrorism and establish some kind of effective government in Gaza and the West Bank. Should he succeed, Israel can then start to negotiate with him again. Should he fail, or not attempt to stop the terrorism. Israel should enter Gaza and throw every last Palestinian Arab out of the place. Let them seek refuge somewhere else, where they cannot strike at Israel. If Palestinian Arabs are not willing live at peace with Jewish neighbors let them find some neighbors with whom they are willing to live at peace. Then say to Abbas and his consiglieri, “You want the same treatment?”
I’m afraid there is no trust to be placed in the Palis at all, nor in any promises they make. If they want war, and they have been waging a peculiarly vicious war that violates international law all this time, they should have their wish. The only constraints Israelis should reckon with are their own sense of morality, their sense of what is possible militarily, and what the US will support or at least not oppose.
It is militarily possible to push the Arabs out of Gaza, but the other constraints you mention will hold the IDF back as it has done for decades.
Imagine the citizens of Maine having to live with “Quebec” missiles raining on them from across the border. Unthinkable.
It’s not going to happen. There will be no “transfer” or pushing people out of Gaza. That can only be done at gunpoint, and with thousands upon thousands of deaths.
The terrorists would do that to the Jews in a heartbeat. It will never happen the other way around.
Then Meryl, be prepared for an endless series of attacks from Gaza and elsewhere on Israel, an unending terrorist war. The Arabs are not going to give up trying to destroy Israel and finish the job Hitler started until they are totally defeated. Since the other Arab states and the EU (and the UN and , I am sorry to say, the USA) seemingly are willing to fund the Palestinian Arabs no matter what vicious crimes they commit, and as far as the Arabs are concerned the bloodier the better (I expect the present financial cutoff will only be temporary), the Palestinians can continue to carry on their war forever. Being a terrorist is a rational career choice in the Arab Middle East today.
As Mark Steyn once noted the Arabs are being very successful using terrorism and suicide bombers in their war with Israel. The last thing they want to do, he said, is abandon schoolgirl suicide bombers and go back to ineffective, primitive weapons like tanks and aircraft.
There is one action that might stop the war without a bloodbath. If everybody stopped giving money to the Palestinians they would either starve or have to abandon terrorism to find paying work. But the Arabs won’t stop funnelling money to the terrorists, for they want to see Israel destroyed and the Jews killed too. There is even less chance of a cutoff of money than there is of Zahal sweeping Gaza clear of Palestinian Arabs.