Palestinians really have nothing to fear from launching rockets into Israel on a daily basis. Few of the missile launchers have actually been tracked down and killed. So they keep on firing missiles. Case in point:
Palestinian terror groups launched seven Qassam rockets from northern Gaza at Israel on Wednesday morning. The rockets landed near the town of Sderot and the neighboring communities, causing no injuries but starting a fire near a kibbutz.
Earlier in the day several mortar shells were also fired from Gaza and fell in open areas near the border.
And of course, the terrorists are completely encouraged by stories like this:
“We don’t expect another ‘Operation Defensive Shield’ following the incident in Zikim – but the IDF has already responded and will continue to act against the terror infrastructure and its leaders,” said officials in Jerusalem ahead of Olmert’s meetings.
“It would be problematic to carry out a major operation now of all times, as a reaction to the attack on IDF soldiers – after all, there were civilians wounded in the past as well. We should not create a situation where it appears that the army is only defending its soldiers. Alongside this we must also remember that there are still tensions in the north,” they said, adding that in any case a large-scale operation would likely wait until after the upcoming Jewish holidays.
There were wounded civilians because Olmert has done nothing substantive to stop the kassams since the withdrawal from Gaza. The argument back then was that the terrorists were firing rockets into Israel because Gaza was occupied. It isn’t any more. Funny, the rockets haven’t stopped. Funny, the world keeps insisting that Gaza is still occupied by Israel—because that’s the Palestinian line.
Deterrence works. Not responding—well, that brings out the rocketeers.
I think that the IDF should arm Sderot with mortars of their own. Then we’d see results.