DEBKAfile Special Report
November 29, 2008, 12:05 PM (GMT+02:00)
Hamas took responsibility for the Palestinian mortar barrage directed Friday night, Nov. 28, at the IDF base near Nahal Oz opposite the Gaza Strip. Six men and women soldiers remain in hospital. Staff at Beersheba's Sorocca hospital stabilized two seriously injured soldiers overnight, but had to amputate the leg of one of them.
The Palestinian fire, timed for the Sabbath Eve meal at the IDF base, hit the quarters of the officers and women soldiers. Mortar fire was also aimed at Shear Hanegev and Netiv Ha'asara but caused no harm.
DEBKAfile's military sources report that by claiming the attack the Hamas terrorist group makes nonsense of defense minister Ehud Barak's policy of "preserving the ceasefire."
In the last two weeks, Barak plunged into intense diplomacy through American, Egyptian and Jordanian channels for Hamas' acceptance of an unwritten extension of the Gaza truce which expires next month. Jordanian emissaries went to Damascus to talk with Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal; prime minister Ehud Olmert and Barak travelled to Amman for an update on their mission from King Abdullah; and a defense ministry official, Amos Gilead, was dispatched to Cairo.
Barak then decided that his initiative had worked: Hamas was ready to accept a ceasefire in Gaza – until the rude awakening Friday morning: An IDF patrol sighted a terrorist band in Gaza on its way to lay explosive devices on the border fence which demarcates the land of Kibbutz Nirim. Israeli soldiers entered Gaza Strip to head them off. Three terrorists were killed in the ensuing shoot-out.
Hamas demonstrated by its reprisal that it does not feel bound by any truce deals with Israel and is free to start shooting whenever it likes.
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Edward Bellamy wrote a book, first published in 1888, and more times thereafter than I am able to count, that had a character named Julian West, who for reasons I cannot recall, went to sleep in 1887 and woke up September 10, 2000. 113 years changed Boston - from a capitalistic enterprise to one that provided what we would call utopian idealism - socialism. Everyone was cared for and ... but that is not the point. The point is - assume you were Julian West and you went to sleep in May 1887 and woke up in September 2000. What might you think - of lights, phones, computers, PDAs, cell phones, of skype and cameras on the internet? Might you be blown away - so confused and utterly bewildered that you are more like a two year old than an adult?
That is how I feel every time I read or hear of the claims made by Palestinians. I have entered Alice's world and have run into the rabbit and the Mad Hatter swept in smoothly with Julian West and 113 years.
In 2005, Israel left Gaza. For all intents and purposes, Israel left Gaza.
Everything Gaza needs - water, electricity, food - comes from Israel, or through Israel. gaza is unsustainable. If it was sustainable, it would be working. The money has been provided. Any doubt of this - simply check the bank account at the time of Arafat's death. Nearly $1 billion dollars. If this is not enough, check the EU donations to the Palestinians, check the UN donations to the Palestinians, check the US donations to the Palestinians. Add up all that money and you are well able to rebuild an area the size of Gaza from dust, and do it in one year. You have the workers - everyone is unemployed. You have the money - it is sent every year.
Alas, this is not the case. Rather than building the infrastructure, Hamas prefers to buy weapons.
So Israel pulls out of Gaza. Rather than celebrate and begin a process of introspection - review the books, check the accounts, begin negotiations with groups who can go in and help build (UN/Russia/US/UK/FR) - Hamas begins attacks on Israel with mortars. An average of 10 a day. Israel's response - usually at night, Israeli soldiers would secret themselves into Gaza, remove the individuals who had the mortars, and then secret themselves back out of Gaza.
When the attacks increased - Israel cut the amount of electricty or water or supplies going in to Gaza. Most notably after they checked trucks carrying 'emergency supplies' and found weapons. Even then, even then they did not cut ALL electricty or supplies, they simply hindered the movement. The response - Hamas called Israel names. Hamas said Israel was starving children and depriving women of medications and doctors of necessary supplies, depriving women and children of electricty, and all people of water. And the mortar attacks continued.
It got so bad, Hamas ordered several thousand Palestinians to storm the Egyptian gates. The Egyptian border guards shot at the Palestinians cutting through the gates, but as the gates fell and thousands poured accross, the guards fled. The Palestinians fled into near by villages, and Hamas began collecting weapons. It was at this time that a truce went into effect with Israel. The mortar attacks went from 10 a day to 1 a day. The Palestinians who had fled across the border into Egypt were slowly collected by Egyptians troops who were called in to secure the border. In the process, hundreds of weapons caches were found in the desert.
Israeli soldiers captured/ found / stopped more weapons from crossing into Israel thorugh Egypt immediately after the Hamas led invasion of Egypt, than at any time prior. Hamas was planning something and wanted as many weapons inside Israel as possible.
Just Married and Determined to Die - The woman, just married, has been training to die - to kill Israelis and die. Why is she training, even though a cease fire exists? Because it will end and when it does, she will go out and blow herself up.
Why is she so sure it will end / fail?
Maybe because Hamas is sending 10 mortars a day again, digging tunnels into Israel, secreting weapons into Gaza, attacking guards, and killing Israelis.
Maybe because Hamas is trying to get Israel to break the ceasefire. Trying really hard.
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