Yet Another Goodwill Gesture From Hamas

While some folks would like you to believe that Hamas passing a note from Gilad Shalit to the Israelis is a goodwill gesture, the fact that Hamas was busy firing more than 40 mortars and rockets against Israel this morning is a true sign of their intentions.

A 59-year-old Israeli woman was lightly-to-moderately wounded in the Yad Mordechai area on Thursday afternoon as Palestinian terror groups launched a barrage of mortar shells and Qassam rockets against Israeli communities near the Gaza border.

The injured woman was evacuated to the Barzilai Medical Center in Ashkelon for treatment.

One of the mortars landed in Palestinian territory near the Erez crossing; a Palestinian sustained light shrapnel injuries. Magen David Adom paramedics asked to treat the wounded man but were denied access.

At least 30 mortars and 13 Qassams landed in Israel, primarily in the Hof Ashkelon Regional Council, a number of fires have broken out as a result. A member of Kibbutz Nahal Oz told Ynet that residents have currently been instructed to remain in bomb shelters and fortified rooms.

In addition, a missile, apparently of a type "Grad" landed near Ashkelon. No injuries were reported but a number of people suffered from shock. The city's alert system did not sound prior to the missile's landing.

Reports keep coming in of more mortar and rocket attacks. I'm sure that MSNBC is busy reporting on this latest development. Actually, they're silent on this. What a surprise. They'll only report on the ongoing rocket war against Israel when Israel responds to the incessant attacks with force against the terrorists launching those rockets and mortars against Israeli citizens.

An explosion killed three Hamas thugs and wounded 40, but Israel claims no involvement. They note that it was a Palestinian work accident. In other words, the terrorists got careless and blew themselves up.

Hamas says that they'll make Israel pay for what happened today, which is really no different than any other day for Hamas. They seek nothing less than Israel's destruction and are annoyed that Israel is actually defending itself against these attacks.

UPDATE:
Israeli officials now believe the massive kassam and mortar barrage was meant to distract the IDF from a possible large scale terrorist operation against the Israeli border with Gaza.

UPDATE:
The insanity of the Olmert government never ceases to amaze. The security cabinet said that they would oppose a lull in operations, and yet they voted to do just that.

There are 12 ministers with cabinet voting rights; 11 of them have expressed a decisive stance against the truce in the past. Their opinion
was expressed more than once or twice both behind closed doors and openly. They do not believe that the Egyptian-mediated ceasefire will result in anything aside from serious damage to Israel’s security.

So how did they still vote in favor of continuing the abandonment of southern communities to mortar, Qassam, and Grad attacks? Six of them voted in favor of the truce: Ehud Olmert, Tzipi Livni, Ehud Barak, Avi Dichter, Rafi Eitan, and Binyamin Ben-Eliezer. Four of them abstained: Haim Ramon, Daniel Friedmann, Eli Yishai, and Shaul Mofaz. Nobody objected to the truce.

Mofaz’s associates had the following message: “Nobody should be charging us with indecision and lack of leadership.” They said that the man who in 2004 led the move to assassinate 10 senior Hamas figures believes that “between a major military operation in Gaza and a lull lies a large grey area that can be used in order to pulverize the enemy.”

They're still pushing the idea of a truce with Hamas. Never mind that Hamas took the opportunity to fire 50 rockets and mortars at Israel today after Israel decided not to mount a major offensive against Hamas in Gaza.

Most Israelis would oppose a truce with Hamas unless Gilad Shalit was released. Well, at least some Israelis are realizing that it's well past time for the terrorists to offer up some humanitarian gestures of their own before Israel does anything.

Hamas claims that its terrorists are out there protecting Palestinian rights. The only rights those terrorists are preserving are the jihadists rights to kill Israelis. Nothing more.