Gaza again!
One Israeli soldier and 10 Palestinian gunmen were killed last night in intense fighting in northern Gaza around the towns of Beit Hanun and Beit Haniyeh. This is another concerted effort by the IDF under the orders of the Government to take action to stop the Kassam rockets being fired into southern Israel, and particularly the town of Sderot. Pres. Abbas of the PA called this Israeli action a "massacre," but he should know that Israel will not tolerate the continual firing of rockets into its territory (the BBC in reporting this action conveniently omitted the firing of the rockets on Sderot, yesterday there were 4). Demonstrations last week by the residents of Sderot called attention to the continuing problem. They cannot live under the constant threat of this barrage.
The Security Cabinet decided not to launch a deep and sustained drive into the center of Gaza. Once again they prefer to take local action against the specific threat of the rocket launchers. Whether or not this will do any good is questionable. However, they said that they are prepared to keep the IDF there for as long as necessary, although they have no intention of again occupying Gazan territory.
A similar policy has been adopted in the south of Gaza against the threat of smuggling of arms across the Egyptian border thru tunnels. It has been reported that the Palestinians have now dug a "city" underground with kilometer long tunnels and distant connections. Although the Egyptians have now brought in 500 more armed Police to patrol their side of the border, there is a strong feeling that Egypt is doing nothing to really try to stop the arms flooding across the border. There are now calls for the IDF to reoccupy the Palestinian side of the border, called the Philadelphi corridor, and to take concerted action to interdict this smuggling. But, it may be too late. Anti-tank missiles are already being used by the Palestinians against IDF tanks and they are clearly basing their tactics on the success of Hizbollah in the recent war in Lebanon. It has been reported that instead of the rag-tag local terrorist groups, Hamas is building an army of 10,000 men, currently under training in south Gaza, modelled on Hizbollah, to take the field against the IDF. It is clear that their intentions are not in any way peaceful, they are preparing for the next round. It may be a big mistake for Israel to sit across the border and wait for them to succeed in doing this, as we did in Lebanon.
Meanwhile there are reports that negotiations are underway with the Egyptians as intermediaries for the release of Cpl. Shalit from Gaza initially for a group of ca. 40 women and juveniles and then for an additional 1,000 Palestinian prisoners. A similar negotiation is underway for the release of the two kidnapped IDF soldiers in Lebanon with the UN as intermediary. Sheikh Nasrullah in an interview today confirmed that the situation is close to resolution. However, they are now demanding that Israeli Arab prisoners also be included in the releases. This is getting ridiculous, over 1,000 Arab prisoners for one or two Israelis? This has been the situation before, but why does our Government allow this? Every terrorist who is released will go back and be another killer of more Israeli people. It has happened and it is predictable. We should be prepared to forgo the release of our prisoners for such an exorbitant price, why not 5,000 or 10,000 detainees? This is what happens when you negotiate with terrorists.
Meanwhile Pres. Abbas has once again extended his elastic deadline by another two weeks for the negotiations with Hamas to form a National Unity Government of the PA. First, they will never do this if it requires them to agree to recognize the existence of Israel and second they will not be treated as the weaker partner by Fatah, when they feel they have the greater strength (the majority voted for them!). In Lebanon, Nasrullah is trying to expand his powers in the wake of his self-declared "victory" in the recent war against Israel. If he continues on this course it could trigger another war in Lebanon. Prospects do not look good on any of the fronts.
The Security Cabinet decided not to launch a deep and sustained drive into the center of Gaza. Once again they prefer to take local action against the specific threat of the rocket launchers. Whether or not this will do any good is questionable. However, they said that they are prepared to keep the IDF there for as long as necessary, although they have no intention of again occupying Gazan territory.
A similar policy has been adopted in the south of Gaza against the threat of smuggling of arms across the Egyptian border thru tunnels. It has been reported that the Palestinians have now dug a "city" underground with kilometer long tunnels and distant connections. Although the Egyptians have now brought in 500 more armed Police to patrol their side of the border, there is a strong feeling that Egypt is doing nothing to really try to stop the arms flooding across the border. There are now calls for the IDF to reoccupy the Palestinian side of the border, called the Philadelphi corridor, and to take concerted action to interdict this smuggling. But, it may be too late. Anti-tank missiles are already being used by the Palestinians against IDF tanks and they are clearly basing their tactics on the success of Hizbollah in the recent war in Lebanon. It has been reported that instead of the rag-tag local terrorist groups, Hamas is building an army of 10,000 men, currently under training in south Gaza, modelled on Hizbollah, to take the field against the IDF. It is clear that their intentions are not in any way peaceful, they are preparing for the next round. It may be a big mistake for Israel to sit across the border and wait for them to succeed in doing this, as we did in Lebanon.
Meanwhile there are reports that negotiations are underway with the Egyptians as intermediaries for the release of Cpl. Shalit from Gaza initially for a group of ca. 40 women and juveniles and then for an additional 1,000 Palestinian prisoners. A similar negotiation is underway for the release of the two kidnapped IDF soldiers in Lebanon with the UN as intermediary. Sheikh Nasrullah in an interview today confirmed that the situation is close to resolution. However, they are now demanding that Israeli Arab prisoners also be included in the releases. This is getting ridiculous, over 1,000 Arab prisoners for one or two Israelis? This has been the situation before, but why does our Government allow this? Every terrorist who is released will go back and be another killer of more Israeli people. It has happened and it is predictable. We should be prepared to forgo the release of our prisoners for such an exorbitant price, why not 5,000 or 10,000 detainees? This is what happens when you negotiate with terrorists.
Meanwhile Pres. Abbas has once again extended his elastic deadline by another two weeks for the negotiations with Hamas to form a National Unity Government of the PA. First, they will never do this if it requires them to agree to recognize the existence of Israel and second they will not be treated as the weaker partner by Fatah, when they feel they have the greater strength (the majority voted for them!). In Lebanon, Nasrullah is trying to expand his powers in the wake of his self-declared "victory" in the recent war against Israel. If he continues on this course it could trigger another war in Lebanon. Prospects do not look good on any of the fronts.
posted by Jack Cohen at 8:10 PM
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