Thank you, Palestine. As a world service to people, this story was written by Arutz Sheva. It explains the importance of thought processes so well and simply, I thought all deserved to hear his point of view and work effort in explaining the Israeli point of view.
This is what Arutz Sheva says in a post. I had to pass it on as purely as I could since it was so simply stated.
A few days ago, Hamas declared an end to a six-month “cease fire,” and started raining rockets down on areas close to the border with Gaza. These rockets are useless as weapons of war. They are mostly handmade, with construction plans passed around amongst Palestinian terrorists. They’re basically big shooting firecrackers, but they have killed or injured many Israelis.
On Saturday, December 27, the Israeli Air Forces (IAF) started bombing a bunch of strategic targets in Gaza. They selectively bombed known Hamas facilities, including command posts and training grounds. Some of the tunnels, which connect Gaza with Egypt reportedly, shook as a result of the bombing and sent smugglers scurrying in order to avoid being trapped inside them. So far, the IAF have killed about 200 Hamas terrorists, and wounded many others. The IAF are still at it.
Prime Minister Olmert, who most Israelis regard as a toothless wuss, said on TV, “Hamas showed in the past few days that its intentions are hostile. The operation is intended to radically improve the security situation of the residents of southern Israel. It could take time, and each one of us has to exercise a measure of patience in order to complete the mission … it is possible that in the short term, the number of missiles [fired from Gaza] will increase and that these will reach locations more distant than what we have been used to …
On Thursday, I made it clear to the residents of Gaza that we are not acting against them. We will do everything possible to prevent a humanitarian crisis. Residents of Gaza—you are not our enemies and we are not fighting against you.”
Olmert, who “stepped down” from his post because of corruption charges, is still the leader because the “new leader,” Tzipi Livni, couldn’t get the parliamentary support she needed to form a new government. So Olmert is still the leader until the next election, even though he quit months ago. Sounds like a typical democracy, eh?
Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni said in a statement, “Until now we have shown restraint. But today there is no other option than a military operation. We need to protect our citizens from attack through a military response against the terror infrastructure in Gaza... This is the expression of our basic right to self-defense … Israel left Gaza in order to create an opportunity for peace. In return, the Hamas terror organization took control of Gaza and is using its citizens as cover while it deliberately targets Israeli communities and denies any chance for peace …
We have tried everything to reach calm without using force. We agreed to a truce through Egypt that was violated by Hamas, which continued to target Israel and build up its arms.”
Most of the Palestinian rockets are useless for war because they have no real guidance system and not much explosive effect when they hit. But they work really well as terror weapons because they can strike anywhere at any time. The range is short, so there is very little warning, and most of the people of Sderot have moved away. Every year, dozens of Israelis are killed, wounded, or psychologically damaged from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Stupidly, Hamas also targets Ashkelon, Israel, just north of Gaza. Ashkelon has a major power generation facility and it supplies most of Gaza with electricity.
I know the whole thing seems fabulously stupid, but obviously that’s the way the Palestinians want it to be. Israel puts up with it. Israel is trucking medical supplies, food, and many things into Gaza for the Palestinian people, at the same time Hamas is pounding Sderot and Ashkleon with rockets.
