Jerusalem Post columnist Evelyn Gordon has composed an excellent and clear argument why Israel does in fact have a military solution to escalating rocket fire from the Gaza Strip, despite claims to the contrary by Israel’s political leadership.
Whenever politicians or army officers say that there is no military solution to the problem of Kassam rockets, my reaction is: Just how stupid do you think we are? After all, more than 1,000 Kassams have been fired at Israel from Gaza over the last 12 months, yet not a single rocket has been fired at Israel from the West Bank during this period. So unless you believe that West Bank terrorists, unlike their Gaza counterparts, have no desire to launch rockets - an assumption that defies both logic and the facts (the media periodically report on Palestinian efforts to start a West Bank Kassam industry) - the obvious conclusion is that the army has succeeded in preventing Kassam fire from the West Bank.
The question, then, is why the army has been unable to do the same in Gaza. And the answer, quite simply, is that even before the disengagement, the army never controlled Gaza as fully as it did the West Bank.
…
In short, in the West Bank, military doctrine held that terror had to be stopped at the source, meaning inside the towns and cities where attacks originated. But in Gaza, there was never any attempt to control what was happening inside Palestinian cities; the army focused instead on perimeter defense, of both Israel and the settlements.
I would add to this that militarily squashing the Gaza rocket threat is the only way to end the daily attacks on towns like Sderot. What there is not is a political solution to the problem, because as long as they are able to fire the rockets, the “Palestinians” will cling to the belief that they can extract concessions by leveraging the violence.
The “Palestinians” must be bereft of any hope of victory over Israel, any reason to put their trust in violence. By not crushing Gaza, Israel is allowing them to maintain a shred of that most diabolical hope of one day destroying Israel.
Not until the “Palestinians” - the sworn enemies of the Jewish state by their own admission and actions - understand that they have been defeated can there be any movement toward anything resembling real peace.
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26 comments so far ↓
1 Charles Wesley // Nov 23, 2006 at 6:59 pm
Annex Gaza into Israel and dissolve their government and police them . Give them jobs and improve their standard of living . Ignorance and abject poverty is the Radicals recruiting
tool . If you have every thing to loose you will not permit idiots to take it from you ,via war . It will take a heavy hand to do this, but all Israel has before them is war !
2 Victor Passenheim // Nov 23, 2006 at 8:12 pm
Another awesome article by Ryan Jones!
3 Rev. Daniel H. Shaffer, Jr. // Nov 23, 2006 at 8:51 pm
Isreal should creat a D.M.Z. between Gaza and Egypt of 1 mile wide. There could be a two lane paved highway with paved footpaths from Egypt and the rest of Gaza. Put sensors to detect tunneling.
4 Marsha Carol Watson // Nov 24, 2006 at 5:37 am
As long as Israel’s leaders act indecisively, it will only encourage the Palestinians to continue to wage warfare against Israel’s Southern territory.
Everyday that Israel’s leaders put off acting to regain Gaza and put an end to those who are firing against Israel, Israel looks weaker and weaker and the enemies of Israel see their efforts as making them stronger and stronger….
Israel has every right spiritually and naturally to protect their people living in the South and to regain their Land that was foolishly given away in an effort to appease their enemies.
Israel’s enemies can never be appeased….
5 Pierre // Nov 24, 2006 at 5:36 pm
That editorial is perfectly correct. Surrounding a city does not PREVENT fire from coming out of it.
The Americans have the same problem in Irak. A faulty plan leaves the ennemy thinking he can beat you. Terrorism in the city is very consuming, dangerous for all and destructive. When the Messiah comes he will not ”negociate” with the ennemy. He will FIRSt CRUSH THEM. not because he is a dictator but rather a loving God. And deal with them anytime He wants since He GIVES LIFE also. Israel must act the same. Attacks will stop. Quickly.
6 Victor Passenheim // Nov 24, 2006 at 9:05 pm
Pierre,
Great comment!
7 Mike Mickey // Nov 25, 2006 at 2:03 am
How many of us knew that this was going to be the ultimate outcome of Israel handing Gaza over to its sworn enemies? I know I did!
Israel’s suffering is, for me miserable to witness! Come quickly, Lord Jesus!
8 marcel // Nov 25, 2006 at 2:11 am
Israel has placed way too much faith and hope in president Bush (the US). for security.
The hope fades fast and Israel is left with only one ally ,Hashem.
Better wake up and smell the sweet light crude oil Israel.
You had better take care of the business of protecting yourselves as Jews are not a traded commodity in the world economy.
You have wasted precious years in the Neville Chamberlain school of How to fail at peace and invite major war by appeasment.
Get back to the tried and true school of victory ,defeating the enemy.
Start with defeating the Palestinian’s in Gaza
9 Charles Wesley // Nov 25, 2006 at 6:32 am
Israel should do whatever is necessary to defend itself and pay no attention to the world opinion . The United Nations has always been against Israel from the very start . To start with the UN tried to keep Israel from arming themselves leaving them unprotected . Israel needs to strike terror in the eyes of the Arabs , or it will be the other way around . To the recycle bin with Bush and his plan. Israel can hardly stand even a minor defeat . The state is so small now that there is no room for a defensive cushion . Defeat is not an option !
10 Gail Morris // Nov 26, 2006 at 6:06 pm
Re: Charles Wesley’s comments. I totally agree. I believe that Israel should quit worrying about what the world thinks and protect themselves however they need to do so. Bush’s so-called “road map to peace” plan is a disastor as far as I am concerned. He and Ms. Rice reallyd don’t have a clue to the implications of turning over land to the “palestinians.
11 FERN SIDMAN // Nov 26, 2006 at 9:48 pm
AND THE INSANITY RAGES ON
BY: FERN SIDMAN
As Israelis continues to mourn those who have been killed by Kassam rocket attacks in Sderot and the western Negev region, the government of Israel has once again acquiesced to the voice of Hamas terrorism. Apparently, Israel learned few lessons during the summer of 2006 in its war with Hezbollah terrorists.
According to a report by Arutz Sheva on 11/26/06, “Prime Minister Ehud Olmert Saturday night agreed to withdraw all troops from the Gaza area and cease anti-terrorist actions in return for a halt to terrorist attacks from the region.” The report goes on to say that, “Two days ago, the government rejected a proposal by terrorist organizations that they halt rocket fire, but not other terrorist attacks, in return for a total halt to counter-terrorist actions by Israel throughout Judea, Samaria and Gaza. The latest Palestinian Authority (PA) offer includes a ban on suicide bombings and other attacks but only from the Gaza area, and it does not mention the smuggling of arms and terrorists. Israel’s promise to stop retaliating against terrorists in the Gaza area also does not refer to similar activity in Judea and Samaria.”
It has also been reported that, “Between Friday and midnight Israeli time Saturday night, Arab terrorists had fired 12 rockets at the western Negev, one of which scored a direct hit on a Sderot house whose residents had gone elsewhere for the Jewish Sabbath. Saturday night’s cease fire agreement came hours after Khaled Meshaal, the Hamas leader based in Damascus, threatened a new and more violent Intifada if Israel does not give up in six months all parts of the country that were re-gained in the Six-Day War in 1967.”
So much for Hamas promises of a cease fire and so much for the promises made by the government of Israel to protect its citizens. The Kassam rockets will keep reigning down on Sderot and more Jews will be killed. Everyday life for the citizens of Sderot will eventually come to a complete halt. Hamas does not want “peace”. What they want is a break in the hostilities in order to re-arm, to give themselves more than ample time to continue their arms smuggling operations and to re-group for the next round of fighting. They need a break from Israel’s counter terrorist actions.
If all of this sounds familiar, we need only hearken back to the summer of 2006 when the hostilities emanated from Hezbollah in Lebanon. The deeply dug in and well fortified Hezbollah terrorists claimed a major victory over Israeli forces, yet southern Lebanon was devastated. Hezbollah also needed some breathing room to re-arm and re-build southern Lebanon. They needed a grace period to continue to shore up support from the Shiite population in Lebanon. And who, of course, was right there, waiting with bated breath to accommodate them? Under pressure from the United Nations and the world, it was Israel who readily acceded to Hezbollah’s demands. There is no question that all UN resolutions pertaining to peace in that region will be broken when Hezbollah is ready for a second round of fighting.
While Gilad Shalit, Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev, still remain captive by Hamas and Hezbollah, the Israeli government under the leadership of Ehud Olmert, has now seen fit to repeat the same mistakes with Hamas as it did with Hezbollah. According to an Arutz Sheva report of 11/26/06, “Hezbollah has re-armed to pre-war levels, according to TIME Magazine, fulfilling intelligence forecasts and negating government claims of a victory that severely weakened the terrorist group. The magazine confirmed numerous media reports since the United Nations Security Council ceasefire resolution last August that Iran and Syria have been re-rearming Hezbollah. A recent British newspaper report quoted United Nations Interim Force (UNIFIL) troops that the terrorist group can operate freely at night, when the UNIFIL troops do not operate because of the danger. Smuggling of Iranian weapons from Syria to Hezbollah terrorists has been rampant since shortly after the ceasefire. The magazine cited western diplomats as disclosing that Hezbollah now has 20,000 missiles, twice the number acknowledged by the IDF admits.”
And so the insanity rages on. The same Israeli leadership that was responsible for Israel’s defeat by Hezbollah is now masterminding a similar plan for defeat of IDF forces in Gaza. How eager the government of Israel is to meet the demands of those who openly seek our destruction. In the days and weeks ahead, Hamas will also continue to double and triple their amount of Kassam rockets and the attacks will be evenly deadlier. Threats by Hamas leadership to escalate hostilities must be taken seriously. The leaders of Hamas and Hezbollah know that time is on their side.
While the abysmally ignorant and self hating Israeli government continues to concoct plans that will hasten the destruction of the State of Israel and its inhabitants, we as a people must recognize these actions as “wake up calls” from the Almighty G-d of Israel. We must know that the times that we are living in are indeed the times of ‘Chevlei Moshiach’, the birth pangs of our righteous Messiah. We must know that prophecy tells us that the star of Ishmael will rise before it falls and that these birth pangs can be long and excruciatingly painful or they can be short and abbreviated, yet it depends on us. Only through a sincere return to G-d, only through adherence to the commandments of the Torah can we emerge victorious. It is a time for us on both a personal and collective level to demonstrate Jewish pride. It is time to speak out against a government of Israel that has carefully crafted the demise of the Jewish State. It is time to vocalize our opposition to those in the international community who would pressure us to acquiesce to terrorism.
In the Torah portion that we read this past Shabbat, “Parshas Toldos”, we learn that while still in the womb; Jacob and Esau struggled mightily with each other. We learn that Jacob wanted to get out of the womb as soon as possible, not only to ensure that he had the birthright that rightfully belonged to him because he was formed first, but more urgently, he needed to separate himself from the evil that Esau represented. He needed to remove himself from being in close quarters with someone who personified rebellion and hatred towards Hashem and His Torah. So too, do we, the Jewish people need to recognize that we are surrounded by those who seek our destruction, those who are contemptuous of the ways of G-d, and those who embody foreign concepts that are in direct opposition to the concepts of our Torah. We, too, must separate ourselves from those insidious forces and forge a path of self preservation, a path of Jewish strength and power combined with the willingness to do the will of G-d.
12 Joyce // Nov 27, 2006 at 9:12 am
It’s obvious to me, that this peace process is nothing but a farce. I believe that Israel’s right to defend themselves is a God Given Right, and I don’t think that we the USA, or the UN has any right to interfere. And I believe, that God’s feelings towards us for interfering will not be very favorable. I think that he’s already shown his displeasure in us several times. I also believe, that if we don’t support Israel the way we should, that God’s consequences for the USA will be very disastrous. Because God gave that land to Israel, and I don’t think that the USA, the UN, or anybody else has the right to pressure them into giving up any part of their land to anyone.
13 Charles Wesley // Nov 28, 2006 at 1:49 am
Fern , I do believe that all hell is about to break loose . Syria acts like it is going to try to take back Golan possibly in harmony with an attack from Gaza . The ceasefire with Gaza may be to facilitate the build up of arms for that attack .
My question is —- If Hezbollah fires long range rockets over the U N peace keeping force , will the UN forces attack Israel when they retaliate ? I already know the answer by their past actions . And this will happen .
14 Nathan // Dec 3, 2006 at 12:28 am
The pals should return to their homes in Egypt, Syria and Jordan.
palestine is only a frame of mind created by the dead worthless arab rat yassar arafart.
The people that inhabit the lands of Israel illegally should be thrown off the land. It does not belong to them. In 1947 they had their state it was declared by the United Nothingness and yet the standard greedy racist arab mind counldnt even imagine having to live side by side with Jews. So they did what all arabs do and that is start a war and create a ton of violence.
Bravo arabs because you failed your first and what happened to be your last test in the “exam of civilizations” so to bad so sad no deal.
God has a funny way of showing his love for Israel by giving her land for her own country and then giving her the worst neighbors anybody in the universe could ask for. I would rather have some Klingons or some Cylons live next door to me, at least they don’t burn flags and chant allah all the f-ing time.
15 Charles Wesley // Dec 3, 2006 at 7:29 am
Hey ,what happened to those Indians ???????????
16 Dr. Levi Cohen // Dec 3, 2006 at 12:28 pm
You could always simply leave the territory and allow the Palestinians to live in peace.
17 Charles Wesley // Dec 4, 2006 at 1:16 am
I smell a muslim . The funny thing is that muslim extremist are killing more muslims than anyone else . Those people are insane . God said it would be this way .
18 Victor Passenheim // Dec 4, 2006 at 7:33 am
Charles, Joyce, and all,
Check that out. 3 Muslim posts in a row (17 - 19). And they all advocate peace! Peace, peace, and Nazi peace. At least one of the three was honest.
Where can I sign up for the religion of peace!
19 Joyce, // Dec 5, 2006 at 1:41 am
Hi Victor,
These people are really strange. They seem to think for some reason, that they are the only people in the world that matter. But I ‘ve got news for them they’re not. They need to quit whining poor me all the time, and take responsibility for their own actions instead of blaming Israel, and the U.S.for their miserable lives. If they would put as much energy into being responsible people as they do in terrorizing, and killing people, they possibly could make something of themselves. But they need some intelligence for that, and I’m not sure that they have very much. All they seem to know how to do is to hate, and kill people, and that doesn’t take a whole lot of intelligence to do that. And if they are feeling suppressed, then they need to take out their hostilities on the people that are responsible, their own government.
20 jacob // Dec 17, 2006 at 10:36 am
Why does it seem like every one here seems to belive that the only people that matter are Israelis. Remeber that for every Israeli killed 5 palestinians are killed by the IDF, not to mention the homes and lives that are demolished daily. You keep calling for war and violance but forget that violence begets more vilonce. You cant expect to have people throw thier arms up in the air while you murder and pillage at will with no accountability.
Israel is not under threat of being wiped out, no one will attack Israel since thay have nuclear weapons and the backing (financial, military, and political) of the United States. Iran can continue to give empty threats but every one knows they wont attack. The only way to safe guard Isreal is to make nice with its neighbors and stop acting like the victim.
Victims don’t attack and destroy their neighbors and murder it’s citizens (Lebanon), subjegate and emprison a people (Palestine).
Israelis need to stop acting as if they are favored by God and their actions are justified no matter how horrible because the more they do the more they sound like Osama and other extrimists.
Peace, not war is the solution.
21 Charles Wesley // Dec 19, 2006 at 12:34 am
You have not read the Bible concerning this age old conflict have you Jacob ? God himself set the whole basis for the conflict in play during the time of Abraham . Yes (peace ) will come ,but look and see who brings it and for how long . Also look at what comes after that short lived peace ! There is no escape ,no other plan or direction to travel . Gods plan will be played out at His pleasure and it is told of in the Bible . The only thing that you can do that would make a difference for you is to turn to the Lord Jesus and ask Him to be your saviour . Other than that we have no options .
22 Nathan for President 2020 // Dec 19, 2006 at 3:50 am
PALESTINE EXISTED for 20 secs in 1948 and the war they waged and all the Arabs waged they have had to live with that price for 60 years. End your script Jacob they started a war they can’t finish unless its the hardcore solution, and in that case God help them.
23 Joyce // Dec 19, 2006 at 9:56 am
Jacob,
We care for Israel because they don’t go around doing the terrible things that the terrorists do. Why would we care for someone that goes around blowing up themselves, and others? And why would we care for someone who hijacks planes, and crashes them into our towers, and pentagon? That makes no sense at all. It’s terrorists like that who are attacking Israel. Also remember for every Palestinian killed it is their own fault. They are the ones who start these conflicts, so they have to take the blame for their own deaths. And for the deaths of the Lebanese people that they used for shields. And as far as violence begetting violence, they are the ones who begets violence. Israel doesn’t have to do a thing except exist, and thats enough for them to want to attack. Also Israel is not to blame for the destruction of Lebanon, or for the deaths of the Lebanese civilians. Hezbollah are the ones directly responsible for that. Anyone with any sense at all should realize that. And I’ve asked you this before but I’m going to ask you again do you watch the news? Where have you been that you wouldn’t know that Iran is working as fast, and as hard as they can for nuclear weapons? And if they’re not stopped they will have them soon. So I would consider them a very serious threat. And whether you like it or not Israel is favored by God, the Jews are his chosen people. And as far as Israel’s actions, they have been nothing but actions of defense. So if you want to talk to someone about peace, you need to talk to the Palestinians about that. And good luck with that because you’ll need it.
24 Nerah // Dec 23, 2006 at 11:06 pm
Levi,
What would happen if the pals clicked their heels and said there’s no place like home, there’s no place like home, There’s no place like home..? They would be lost in oz with their great wizard allah. And he is not God and oz is not Heaven! Allow muslims to live in peace? They can’t even live in peace with eachother, they are killing eachother! And if they turn from their own religion to an unbeliever or Christian their own government will arrest torture, kill, or imprison them. Their own family will try to kill them. Don’t tell me differant I have done research.
Yes I agree, what the world thinks does not matter, manpleasing is not important. Israel needs to look to God, as does America so they can support what Israel does 100%. Yes, This is war, These people do not negotiate, they lie to gain a foothold. God has been very clear when times of war have been needed! However I am not sure Israel or America are going to see until The war with Gog/Magog because God will intervene more supernaturally So that all will know He is Lord. As far as the Messiah coming back come Yeshuah come, however I think it may get a lot worse before: I pray not! :
Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, we ask you, not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come.
v3 Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.
2ndThes.2:1-4 differant people interpret this differantly, something to study more thoroughly in the Greek perhaps, but as long as were prepared daily.. I will say again Come, Yeshua, Come
25 sara // Jan 18, 2007 at 10:32 pm
the situation is ” kill or get killed”. that a blood cult next door israel, who needs that?
lots of the Palis know how much safer it was living under Israeli “occupation”.
I pray that before any bad thing will happen they will change their mind and see that Allah is a fals God.
they better start learning what loving kindness is,
not acting like a pedophile, rapist.
26 Nathan // Jan 24, 2007 at 3:36 am
Sara - your right.
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