Rockets red glare
Sunday a Katyusha rocket fired by Islamic Jihad from Gaza crashed near the Negev town of Netivot, 11 km within Israel. Noone was hurt, but that is pure luck. It is predictable that the Palestinian terrorist organizations in Gaza will vie with each other to extend the range of their rockets to fire deeper into Israel. So far the response of the Olmert Government to stop such rocket launchings has been ineffectual.
The usual Kassam rockets, which are home-made in Gaza, have a range of ca. 10 km. The one fired today was a Russian manufactured (or copied) Katyusha-Grad rocket that has a range of up to 30 km. The immediate danger is if the terrorists start to fire such rockets from the West Bank, and in that case almost all of the populated center of Israel, including Tel Aviv, Ben Gurion airport, and Jerusalem, will be within their range. There was a report last week that the Fatah authorities found two rockets in the West Bank near Jerusalem, but when it was investigated by the IDF it seems that this was a hoax, and that the rockets were made of cardboard, and it may have been an attempt by Fatah to gain points over Hamas by showing their willingness to prevent these "rockets" being fired.
What would happen if Israel makes concessions to Fatah at the Annapolics Conference and a Palestinian State is established which includes all or almost all of the West Bank, and then as in Gaza it is taken over by Hamas. Then Iranian revolutionary guards and Hizbollah will be stationed there, and the rockets will pour in. Life in Israel can be made impossible by such an outcome. What would you do? It seems nice to make peace with the Fatah Palestinians, but for how long would such a peace last? Can Israel really take that chance, its not just an academic question, but many lives are at stake!
At the same time hundreds of mortar rounds have been fired at Israeli settlements nearer to Gaza. Today a house was hit, but once again noone was killed. There is a rumor that Hamas wants to sign a "temporary ceasefire" or hudna deal with Israel, and that in fact the the number of terrorist rockets and mortars fired into Israel have decreased by half. However, this sounds unlikely given that first Hamas refuses to talk to Israel altogether, and second that they have been warning Fatah not to continue to talk to Israel and not to attend the Annapolis Conference. In fact, Sunday a Hamas spokeman essentially threatened the life of Pres. Abbas if he continues on this path. The Annapolis Conference now looms large as a factor in the internal dissensions within Israel and between the Palestinian camps, as much as it is a potential peace Conference between Israelis and Palestinians.
The usual Kassam rockets, which are home-made in Gaza, have a range of ca. 10 km. The one fired today was a Russian manufactured (or copied) Katyusha-Grad rocket that has a range of up to 30 km. The immediate danger is if the terrorists start to fire such rockets from the West Bank, and in that case almost all of the populated center of Israel, including Tel Aviv, Ben Gurion airport, and Jerusalem, will be within their range. There was a report last week that the Fatah authorities found two rockets in the West Bank near Jerusalem, but when it was investigated by the IDF it seems that this was a hoax, and that the rockets were made of cardboard, and it may have been an attempt by Fatah to gain points over Hamas by showing their willingness to prevent these "rockets" being fired.
What would happen if Israel makes concessions to Fatah at the Annapolics Conference and a Palestinian State is established which includes all or almost all of the West Bank, and then as in Gaza it is taken over by Hamas. Then Iranian revolutionary guards and Hizbollah will be stationed there, and the rockets will pour in. Life in Israel can be made impossible by such an outcome. What would you do? It seems nice to make peace with the Fatah Palestinians, but for how long would such a peace last? Can Israel really take that chance, its not just an academic question, but many lives are at stake!
At the same time hundreds of mortar rounds have been fired at Israeli settlements nearer to Gaza. Today a house was hit, but once again noone was killed. There is a rumor that Hamas wants to sign a "temporary ceasefire" or hudna deal with Israel, and that in fact the the number of terrorist rockets and mortars fired into Israel have decreased by half. However, this sounds unlikely given that first Hamas refuses to talk to Israel altogether, and second that they have been warning Fatah not to continue to talk to Israel and not to attend the Annapolis Conference. In fact, Sunday a Hamas spokeman essentially threatened the life of Pres. Abbas if he continues on this path. The Annapolis Conference now looms large as a factor in the internal dissensions within Israel and between the Palestinian camps, as much as it is a potential peace Conference between Israelis and Palestinians.
posted by Jack Cohen at 7:27 AM
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