Gaza Didn’t Make Us Wait Long Enough

 

Hamas has returned to their old tried and true means of irritating Israel, mortars and soon to be followed by rockets. At least eighty rockets and mortars were launched and while most were intercepted, one landed in the yard of a kindergarten, slightly wounding a worker, another in Netivot where one resident was treated for shock and another round struck three IDF soldiers were wounded by shrapnel with one requiring hospitalization. We thank Hashem that no children were injured in the kindergarten in that strike though ten people in various communities in southern Israel have suffered emotional shock due to the barrage of rockets and the resulting iron dome interceptions. The mortar striking the grounds of a kindergarten was in the Eshkol region bordering Gaza a mere short period before pupils were to arrive for the morning. This attack could be simply considered the next phase of the Hamas summer offensive. We have fortunately not experienced the levels of violence in the past few summers as we are this summer. We can only assume that Hamas has received orders from their Iranian masters to push Israel into another summer war along the Gaza front. Should things reach such a level demanding an Israeli response, we will know they were ordered from Tehran if the propaganda arm in Iran is ramped up in addition to the others who always decide before they witness anything that Israel has to be at blame.

 

One Tree Damaged by Mortar Strike Exploding in a Kindergarten Playground

 

The media which cover the Gaza and other confrontations between Israel and the various Arab Islamic forces on her several borders seldom leave their hotels and coffee bistros. They prefer the safety and the beach scenery found in Tel Aviv and leave the coverage to stringers readily provided by Hamas. The stringers all but write the final story and provide ample satisfying pictures to be included. These stringers also provide video for the major television and internet news agencies. Often five or six stringers will provide live coverage with a convincing moderator who speaks fluent English with just a hint of an accent. This is acceptable to the major news media as such coverage provided by Hamas is often exactly the slant on the reporting which they prefer, especially print media in Europe and much of it in the United States and Canada. Many news reports in the Western World will open their coverage reporting that Israel struck at numerous sites within Gaza today and talk all about the damage and other pertinent coverage making these attacks sound horrific. They will include that tank or artillery fire accompanies the screaming jet fighters overhead and then towards the end of their broadcast they will mention that the Israeli strikes were in response to Gaza mortar fire and they might even mention that a shell landed in a kindergarten. They will add that there were no children present when the round struck and make note that Israeli Iron Dome intercepted the vast majority of the rounds.

 

Remains of Tail Section of Mortar Striking Kindergarten Play Area

 

They love to point out that the rocket and mortar attacks are intercepted by Israel as if that makes it as if the attack never happened. Then they stress that the rounds fired by Israel all hit their targets or struck within Gaza thus the force used is disproportional as more Israeli rounds successfully struck while the Gazan fired mortars were intercepted. Israel, apparently, is only permitted to shoot an equal number of rounds to the number which successfully struck within Israel and Israel must suffer an equal number of casualties as does Hamas and Gaza or the war is considered an unfair fight. Since when was warfare supposed to be a fair fight? We have always believed the object of warfare was to win and to win as convincingly as possible while raking the minimum amount of damage and casualties while imposing the maximum damage and casualties on your enemy. Apparently, the real rules of war as they fit other nations are modified for Israel.

 

 

The reality which will most likely follow this reinitiating of hostilities by Hamas and Islamic Jihad out of Gaza will be followed by resumed, or should we say increased, rioting and violence along the border. The terrorists will follow on with more rockets and mortar fire continuing initially at a lower level attempting to gauge Israeli responses such that they avoid a general attack by Israel to clear the terrorist groups’ storehouses and destroy as many of the launchers as can be located. This is what has happened in the past three offensives which Israel resorted to after the previous series of launching of these projectiles reached levels which had become intolerable. Still, despite taking far more assaults by terrorists into the small nations of Israel than even far larger nations would ever suffer without responding, the media still questions Israeli decisions to respond even after weeks of ever-increasing indirect fire into her territory threatening her citizens in an ever-wider area. Over the years, Hamas and Islamic Jihad, despite the blockade which Israel has imposed in order to prevent weapons of ever greater destruction, greater range or moderating technologies from reaching the terrorists in Gaza, Iran had managed to smuggle plans and rocket motors and even basic guidance systems through tunnels or other clandestine means into Gaza greatly increasing all areas of range, warhead weight, explosive volatility, accuracy and more advanced technologies making the potentials of such fire out of Gaza causing unimaginable damage has become a dire threat for Israel.

 

As wonderful and unimaginably effective as the Iron Dome system has proven, Israel does not possess anywhere near sufficient such systems to prevent every dangerous launch. Another problem is that in some of the tallest buildings in Tel Aviv, there is no way to get everybody out of the building and into a below-ground shelter. This is why there are safe-rooms built inside the newer high-rise buildings allowing for the safety of the occupants. There is still one major difficulty with the system, Hamas has been provided with the M75, also called the Khyber-1, missile which has a guidance system with a range which easily reaches Tel Aviv and possibly even Haifa. This missile carries a 175 kg (385.8 lb) warhead which is most often fired from a multiple rocket launcher, typically truck or trailer mounted. It is the range and warhead which make this into a large problem for Israel, as they are a multiple-launch-system, and they could potentially strike a target with more than one of these larger missiles. The potential for a barrage of this rocket system has the potential of bringing down any building it strikes making the shelters no longer the safe-rooms. The danger of a war between Israel and the terror government of Gaza has become an existential threat which if the worst should come to fruition, the governing coalition would probably fold if their reaction was not immediate and of a scale which would prevent Hamas, Islamic Jihad or any other terror group to ever operate from Gaza ever in the future.

 

Monument for the M-75 Ballistic Missile Named the Jerusalem Rocket

 

This is the reality which the government is currently facing. They are attempting to walk the fine line between lower end military response such that the world does not explode and bring every imaginable pressure down on Israel causing great damage to the Israeli economy and not striking sufficiently hard to prevent further attacks and escalation by Hamas, Islamic Jihad and others from Gaza resulting in a disaster such as bringing down a high-rise skyscraper in Tel Aviv killing potentially well over a thousand Israelis causing a general revolt of the electorate bringing down their government. The pressure to simply overreact to any provocation grows within the Israeli populace and should further assaults continue from Gaza, there will be a point where the Israeli population will demand that they be brought to an end and to do so once and for all. The patience in Israel for these constant attacks every few years has grown short and the pressure to simply respond to any attack with overwhelming force is growing. Along with this intolerance for attacks and terrorism, there is also a growing pressure to simply apply Israeli law to every Israeli population center beyond the Green Line and ending the military rule and their often choosing to impose British, Jordanian and even Ottoman law and a system which demands the defendant prove their innocence, the guilty until proven innocent style of old French style law. There are currently moves being made to demand that all Israelis be permitted the respect and modern law enforcement such that the weight of proof falls upon the State, and the accused is innocent until proven guilty. We pray that Israeli law is extended and the innocent until proven guilty becomes the rule throughout the land for all Israelis. We also pray that there are no more attacks from Gaza and if there is another attack such as today, the response be such that none of the terrorists in Gaza desire testing Israel any further. We have a suggestion on how exactly such could be managed; simply target every Hamas and Islamic Jihad leadership’s homes. Warnings should be given such that their families are not killed and only the homes are destroyed. We would hope that such would be sufficient to prevent their escalating further. Lastly, should they insist on attempting to murder Israeli civilians; the next attack should, after warnings, take out the beautiful mall, the grand hotels, the top end shops, the fine restaurants and other such places where the leaders and cronies enjoy the good life. The time has come to leave the people of Gaza in peace and make those who push the terrorism be made to pay.

 

Beyond the Cusp