The European Union Condemned Hamas

 

That’s the truth, the European Union actually condemned Hamas and Islamic Jihad for launching mortars and rockets at Israel unprovoked. But wait, it does not stop there. The European Union said nothing about the Israel strikes on Hamas and Islamic Jihad bases, weapons stores and rocket manufacturing factories. Could it be that the Europeans are awakening to reality? Well, we will hold out hope but realize it is best to wait and observe their actions in the future. Europe has been a bit of an enigma when it comes to Israel. There are some nations which can be counted on to support every United Nations’ and its agencies’ condemnations of Israel and setting up presumed neutral investigatory bodies to make sure the Jews are not protecting themselves too well. But this time, thus far, over eighty mortars and rockets were fired into Israel largely targeting civilian structures starting with a kindergarten and working their way around the areas close to Gaza. The results were a number of shaken people requiring administrating of counselling and other stress relieving therapies and three soldiers were injured in one strike with one remaining hospitalized as of this writing. The kindergarten was but five minutes before the children arrived for the day. Had the mortar shell been launched just a few moments later, the casualties would have been horrific. Still, this shell did injure one person who was tending the kindergarten. Hamas launched over eighty rockets and mortars in total and we will need to see what happens today. That brings us to the central question, how will Israel respond if Hamas and Islamic Jihad escalate or even simply continue shelling the Israeli southern regions. You simply know that the world is simply holding their breath hoping Israel simply allows the terrorists free firing line into Israel and not respond with force.

 

This is the question on much of the world’s lips which they dare not utter as doing so just might be all it takes to give Israel the go-ahead to respond with the full force with which she is capable. Perhaps the European Union condemned Hamas and Islamic Jihad in the hope that their rebuke would be sufficient to force them to reconsider escalating the situation. That would be a foolish concept as whether Hamas and Islamic Jihad escalate the situation forcing the hands of Israel has already been determined; the only question is how much provocation will be required to force the hand of the Israelis who make these choices. There is one way they can force the situation making things beyond any level of acceptability for Israel. Such a threshold is launching rockets into and striking Tel Aviv, Haifa, Netanya, Peta Tikva, Jerusalem or anywhere in this central region of Israel. Show an intent to strike Israel in the areas where the majority of everyone and everything is located and reap the consequences. This is not to claim that the areas bordering Gaza are of lesser importance as Israel values every life as sacred. Should Hamas or Islamic Jihad strike with such ferocity as to endanger the areas bordering Gaza, the most vulnerable areas to such attacks due to their close proximity to the launch sites, then Israel would have little alternative than to take out the launch sites and vehicles. Israel Defense Force (IDF) have the technology to locate such locations and vehicles even should they be underground or camouflaged or otherwise hidden and still strike them and put them out of action, just ask Syria or the Iranian forces operating from Syria. But is simply striking at the launchers and storage areas an actual deterrence or just a minor aggravation requiring some additional assistance from Iran? There is where the problem arises, how to strike Hamas and Islamic Jihad and make such strikes an actual deterrence.

 

Past experience has shown that striking the launch sites and vehicles often results in damaging civilian structures, more often than not, apartments and places where working people and the less well off reside. These apartment blocks are seldom if ever rebuilt and the people struggle to find decent shelter or a new permanent residence. Even should they procure a new apartment, they know that sooner or later Hamas or Islamic Jihad will place a rocket launcher on the roof of their new apartment building and that will be the end of that building. Hamas does not rebuild these apartment because as long as they are partially destroyed, they make a great place for hiding launchers plus the Europeans and United Nations will insist Israel allow sufficient cement and building materials to be passed into Gaza to rebuild them. These supplies are then used to construct underground bunkers for Hamas and Islamic Jihad leadership to hide and be safe while the population is left above ground and vulnerable. This is planned so as to maximize the numbers of Gazans injured or killed so they can be shown to the media. These building materials are also used to build tunnels with which to infiltrate Israel. Then, with each war with Israel, Hamas and Islamic Jihad can use the same destroyed buildings as proof that Israel is acting in a monstrous manner when the reality is many of the buildings were destroyed in previous wars. Leaving everything as rubble and partially destroyed, then Israel is claimed to have destroyed them again and again every time such is required to make the world angry with Israel and back Hamas and their fellow terrorists.

 

The Two Gazas with One Pristine and the Other Ravaged

 

We have a different idea on how to get the attention, the full attention, of Hamas and Islamic Jihad. Israel could simply bomb their homes instead of the unfortunate Gazans homes. Strike the launchers and weapons storage areas with the least amount of explosive needed and use large and devastating bombs and rockets to destroy the leadership of the terrorists’ homes. Should that prove insufficient, then destroy their nice malls and shopping areas, destroy their movie theaters, their fine hotels, their fancy restaurants, everything the rich and terrorist allied actually use and desire and then see if they are ready to stop. Should such as this prove insufficient, then send in a single commando unit with one target, the supreme command bunker located under the Al-Shifa Hospital. Decapitate the terrorist command and if this proves to be insufficient, repeat as needed. Taking out all that makes the leaderships’ lives pleasant and comfortable should get the massage across. Should such as these steps prove insufficient, then there is but one other option; completely cleanse the entirety of Gaza of every known terrorist and terror sympathizer.

 

Even if doing so reduces the population of Gaza by eighty or more percent, just do that which is required and allow the world to scream. The remaining population would be placed on a trial basis for ruling themselves while under general Israeli law. Anyone found with any connection with a act of terrorism will know that they and their entire family will be deported into the Sinai Peninsula. Any Gazan wishing to live in the Sinai Peninsula rather than under Israeli rule will be welcomed to do so. It might even be that Israel will provide a financial incentive to leave and resettle elsewhere. Gaza would be reincorporated into Israel and Jews wishing to reside in the area would be welcome as there will be many homes likely to become available providing not all were destroyed. The world will scream but Israel should simply ignore the random noise and pretend that they simply have a bad connection and the noise will die out with time. Perhaps a similar action should be carried out in the Shomron if it proves effective for making Gaza into a pleasant and quiet place to live after the troublesome terrorists are weeded out. This might even work to incorporate all of Israel into a single entity with only the people who wish to reside under Israeli law remaining even if the remainder, after the terrorists have been rooted out, take a severance payment to cover their properties and a bonus to assist them in their new location. Once all is said and done, such a plan would benefit all who remained and those who took payments are likely to also find their happiness, but the world will howl for at least a year. Imagine not being able to shop in Paris for a whole year, could the rich and famous stand it.

 

Beyond the Cusp

 

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

 

Boston Marathon Bombing Terror Attack

I had the misfortune of being available to be watching the news when the explosions occurred at the finish line of the Boston Marathon. The initial reports were about as confusing as they could be which is to be expected. The videos which were available did show two distinct explosions about a block or two apart. The confusion was palpable. The first action that caught my attention was the number of times the video caught young men, likely in their late teens, who acted reflexively not seeming to be thinking taking off their shirts to use them as pressure bandages. Their actions reflect that the promise that Americans react with generosity and when everything is going completely insane around them that many just instinctively seem to know what is required from them and commit to action without a second thought. This was also one of the comments made by British and French soldiers in World War II about the American soldiers who often acted with purpose and ingenuity even without having received orders and took actions addressing the situation with an immediacy which they found astounding. Seeing these youth take immediate action and performing the needed steps to dress wounds and offer what aid they were able before the official first responders had arrived on the scene was a promising sign that in such times our society can function as one hopes it would. That is how it should be in any society which values individuality and life. When you put those two items in the foremost place of importance you get people who become the first responders stepping up to do what is required to assist and attend to those who are in need. Watching those actions was reassuring despite the calamity of the situation which was simply horrific in nature.

 

The other thing which I am always amazed by is the rapid response from news networks in their coverage. In this case the fact that the location was the finish line of the event of the day in the United States probably allowed for there to be media coverage already in place. The one mitigating point against such being readily available was that the first line runners had finished the race at least two hours earlier and those finishing at the time of the explosions were the amateur runners who average four hours to complete a marathon. That would indicate that the target neither was so much high name recognition victims nor was it for highest body count as either of those objectives would have required the bombs to have been timed for when the first larger groups of the top runners were finishing. These bombs were targeting the average people who were participating in the race for their own personal reasons such as just to share in the experience, satisfy a life’s goal, joining a group running the race, private reasons or proving they could run a marathon, a fete in and of itself. The other differences in the coverage of these situations over time have become more reserved and more careful in reporting possible scenarios. If anything, the reactions have swerved to the point where they seem to prefer finding any explanation or way of perceiving what are obviously terror motivated being blamed to any other reason no matter how far the required stretch.

 

The news develops so painfully slow and even so a piece of information just revealed which points to Middle East style motivations in these bombings beyond the fact that the two explosions were timed to affect as many people as possible with their being timed so those running from the first blast would be passing the second location when it detonated. This new information was the presence of ball bearings or shotgun pellets that were propelled by at least one of these bombs. Also, unconfirmed reports are there is a person of interest who is under observation being treated in one of the area hospitals where the injured are being treated. Hopefully we will know more by the morning but seems like for now they are simply beating the same guesses and the few actual facts to death and interviewing anybody who they can find. I knew that they were getting desperate for somebody who would present a different slant when Sherriff Joe Arpaio of Arizona was brought on for an interview. What he could possibly add is beyond my limited imagination especially from across the nation and having the same television or radio new sources as the rest of us also have available.

 

On the purely opinion and speculation front, this attack should not be too surprising other than it has not occurred even sooner. Many of those who are familiar and witnessed the Second Intifada which was launched by Yasser Arafat against the Israeli public from September 2000, have wondered how long it would be before terror attacks against the American public of a similar nature where any event which would draw crowds or places where people congregate such as restaurants or shopping malls became targets for a series of bombings possibly even including suicide bombers. This has been a fear-filled anticipation which law enforcement and those tasked with protection of the American public have likely missed many nights sleep when there were heightened times of alert of which the public were rarely made aware. Should such terror acts begin to be perpetrated on an intensified and seemingly regular cycle of violence against public areas randomly across the nation then perhaps there would be checkpoints at all events and private security checkpoints being operated by private security providing companies similar to what became the norm in Israel. One can only wonder what would be the government’s reaction in such a situation. I have always thought that efforts would become far more obvious and publically viewable once the public had begun to feel vulnerable and made their fears known. Should Americans become inconvenienced by fears over potential terror attacks in their daily lives that the government would step up security and interjection to prevent even the slightest possibility of continued terror acts, the world would likely witness an elimination of terror leadership often with drone attacks as we have witnessed with somewhat more frequency during the Administration of President Obama on a whole new level. Hopefully, if this should become an unfortunate reality one would pray that it did not become a partisan argument and we would witness all of our politicians working together to make America safe for all the people in their daily lives.

 

By the time this article gets posted we will hopefully have more known about the bombing attack in Boston. We will probably hear from President Obama at some point once the government has definitive information and hopefully even suspects and assigned responsibility for this act of blatant terror. Watching as the news unfolds over the rest of the week should prove informative. Should the spokespeople from Homeland Security or any other branch of the government refer to this as anything other than terrorism would be very damning. Such, as unlikely as it would appear, is a possibility and as proof may we look at the Fort Hood shootings by Major Nidal Hasan where there were fourteen service people and family killed and thirty two more wounded which was determined by the Pentagon to be a case of “workplace violence” and not an act of terror. Also remember the Trolley Square Mall shooting where Sulejman Talović murdered five shoppers and wounding four others before he was shot by an armed shopper. On tapes of the shooting the perpetrator can be heard yelling “Allahu Akbar” while shooting at shoppers yet this too was determined not to be a terror related event. Now all we can do is wait and judge our government as they make determinations and the official story is revealed and we are able to compare that to what we all have observed on the reports that have been shown near constantly since the bombing of the Boston Marathon. The only other actions we can all make is to pray and hope for a full and rapid recovery of those injured and a complete emotional healing of those stricken by this horrific attack.

 

Beyond the Cusp