The Gaza War Continues: Where Do We Go From Here?

The latest battle in the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas (Operation Protective Edge) continued without any sign of letup. Israel's military continues ground operations inside Gaza, while Hamas has continued firing rockets and missiles at Israel. Israeli ground forces have taken casualties while Gazan casualties continue to grow.

Thus far, Palestinians living in Gaza have taken the brunt of the fighting. There have been hundreds of casualties and it is still unclear just how many of them are civilians and how many have been Hamas fighters. Media outlets are relying almost exclusively on Hamas and PA sources for casualty counts, and Hamas has been notorious with lying about who was killed and conflating their casualties with civilians.

It is indisputable that Israel has hit civilians, including children in the course of the fighting and trying to hit at Hamas terrorists who are entrenched in urban areas and firing at Israel from within civilian areas. Israel reports that they've killed at least 270 terrorists, while the UN indicates that 479 have been killed overall, including 364 civilians, 76 militants, and 39 who they can't classify. Gaza's Health Ministry puts the tally at 632 killed and nearly 3,800 wounded.

It is also indisputable that Hamas has no problem firing from civilian positions including schools and UN facilities. For the second time in a week, the UNRWA has found rocket caches in one of their facilities.

https://twitter.com/lawhawk/status/491629164584112128

Hamas has become more brazen in where they're storing their weapons, all while their leaders cower in underground bunkers while Gazans who aren't connected with the leadership and don't have the means to protect themselves are taking the brunt of the damage with no where else to go.

It is also indisputable that but for Hamas firing rockets and missiles at Israel incessantly since even the last ceasefire in 2012 (all but one month had missile/mortar or rocket fire) that Israel would not have needed to invade Gaza once again after the latest rounds of barrages that have landed deep inside Israel, including Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.

The FAA may have succeeded in doing what Hamas couldn't do directly. After firing missiles in the direction of Ben Gurion Airport, Delta Airlines and a quick succession of other airlines decided that they didn't want to put their planes in harms' way. The FAA then ordered US airlines to halt flights to and from Israel for 24 hours. Other airlines also followed suit.

The airlines rightfully don’t want to see their gear destroyed by the missiles or rockets, and that’ll be more than enough to keep them away though it is strange that they are not willing to fly into Israel but haven't had issues with flights to/from or over other war zones and conflict regions in recent years, including Iraq, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Ukraine (prior to the shoot down of Malaysian Air Flight 17).

The FAA order and its effect on the conflict can play out in one of two ways. It could force Israel to a ceasefire while Israel has not achieved its goals militarily so as to get flights to resume. If the flights remain shut down, it would have the effect of imposing economic harms on Israel (lost tourism/commerce) and indirectly strengthens Hamas’ hand.

However, the concern for Israel's economy is just as likely to move Israel to mount an even larger military campaign into Gaza so as to eliminate the threat to Israel's only international airport and crush Hamas' capabilities once and for all. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netenyahu is likely to opt for the latter, knowing that his country needs the influx of tourists to keep the economy going and a prolonged shutdown would have dire consequences. Israeli public opinion isn't going to take this kind of existential threat to their livelihood and country; they're going to press ahead with rooting out Hamas if it means eliminating the threat to Israel's airport.

Until now, the primary justification for the Israeli ground assault has been to root out the tunnels and bunkers Hamas has used to bring weapons into Gaza from Sinai, store the weapons, and to infiltrate into Israel. The missile attacks near Ben Gurion are the kind of justification that Israel could make to continue its fight inside Gaza - to eliminate the threat to Israel's economy and transportation networks that fighting to clear the tunnels from Gaza didn't. It would potentially provide the open-ended invitation for Israel to remain in Gaza, a region Israel unilaterally withdrew from in 2005 as no nation would ever allow its key transit locations to be under constant threat from missiles and bombs.

Meanwhile, the diplomats are trying to formulate yet another cease fire proposal. It's actually a joke at this point. Everyone knows that the ceasefire agreement is going to end up being the same as all the prior deals between Israel and Hamas. Both sides will promise not to fire on the other beginning at X. Once X plus a given period Y has occurred, Israel will promise Z and Hamas will need to reciprocate with A. The ceasefire deals are essentially fill-in-the-blank and you can substitute the times, dates, and in the end, all that is left are the casualties on both sides to be buried and hospitalized.

It's nice that the diplomats and EU members are calling on Hamas and other terror groups in Gaza to be disarmed, but there's no indication of how or who would do what they propose. Hamas seems to have an answer to that question - they’ll keep firing their munitions until they’ve expended their stockpiles. Israel will continue taking that fire until they have forced Hamas to expend all of its weapons.

Gazans will continue to suffer from Hamas actions and Israeli responses and both Israelis and Gazans will mourn their losses and curse Hamas. And that, unfortunately, is the takeaway.

Cross posted at LGF

A Warning Sign From Sinai

Over the weekend, a major terror attack occurred in the Sinai Peninsula. It's been essentially turned into a no-man's land and Israel has warned its citizens to avoid the region. The main threat is that terror groups may seek to kidnap Israelis so as to demand the release of Palestinian terrorists held in Israeli jails.

16 members of the Egyptian security force were killed in a terror attack in Rafah that was meant to capture Egyptian vehicles so that they could then be used against Israel.

Egyptian state television reported that an Islamist militant group was behind the attack that came at sunset.

The Israeli military said the attack was part of a plot to abduct an Israeli soldier. Two vehicles commandeered by the attackers crashed into Israel, where one blew up and the other was struck by the Israeli air force.

In a statement, Israel's Defense Minister Ehud Barak said Israel's military and the internal security agency "thwarted an attack that could have injured many. The militants' attack methods again raise the need for determined Egyptian action to enforce security and prevent terror in the Sinai."

Terror attacks inside Sinai have increased in the past several years. The attacks have included Bedouins targeting oil pipelines connecting Sinai with Israel, as well as kidnapping of tourists. They've also involved Palestinian terrorists who have illegally entered Sinai with the purpose of then attacking Israel via a more porous border.

Israel has taken to beefing up its border with Sinai, but there are limitations on the number of Israeli forces that can be in close proximity to the border pursuant to the Camp David accords and security arrangements between Egypt and Israel. The terrorists have looked to take advantage of that situation, though they have also carried out mortar and rocket attacks against Israel from the Sinai, including one near Eilat.

These attacks highlight the ongoing instability in Sinai and that the Egyptian government has been ill equipped to deal with the situation, especially since Hosni Mubarak was deposed. The new regime has only now sought to bolster its security in the region, and the attacks against the security forces will likely mean that crossings between Gaza and Egypt will be scrutinized to a greater degree.

Israel has long warned that instability in Sinai has led to jihadi groups using the region for their own purposes and are suggesting that Egypt needs to crack down. That puts Egypt at odds with Hamas, which controls Gaza.

The attack was sophisticated, but it was also extremely ambitious and seemed to have been taken straight out of a Hollywood movie – breaking into an Egyptian military base, killing around a dozen soldiers, stealing two armored vehicles and then ramming them into Israel.

It shows that the terrorists are not afraid of Egypt and are willing to kill Egyptians on their way to kill Israelis.

For now, the IDF’s investigation will focus on determining the identity of the attackers. It seems that at least some of them are Egyptian Beduin from Sinai, while others might be Palestinians from the Gaza Strip. The IDF believes that the perpetrators are part of a larger global jihad infrastructure that is forming inside Sinai and is a threat not just to Israel but also to Egypt.

The attack was not connected to the one that Israel thwarted earlier in the day with an air strike on a global jihad cell in southern Gaza that killed one terrorist and seriously wounded another. That planned attack, which appears to have been thwarted – for the time being – was supposed to be different.

The IDF did, however, have vague intelligence about the second attack and, as a result, it was not a coincidence that OC Southern Command Maj.-Gen. Tal Russo was in an army base adjacent to the Kerem Shalom crossing when the attack took place.

What this means is that Israel is facing a reality along its border with Egypt that is becoming more and more similar to the situation along its border with Gaza – a number of groups all trying simultaneously and independently to attack Israel.

So, what will happen? Egypt will probably ask Israel to allow it to deploy additional army battalions in Sinai so they can crack down on the growing terrorist threat there.

As I noted above, putting more troops into Sinai would take coordination with Israel pursuant to existing security arrangements. This can certainly be done, but Israel will need to keep a wary eye on the region due to the ongoing threats posed by Hamas and affiliated terror groups that operate in Gaza and are using Sinai as a stepping stone to carry out attacks against Israel beyond the Gaza/Israel line.

It's a wake up call to the Egyptian government that they're facing a significant threat from terror groups exploiting the lawless regions to plot and carry out attacks against Egyptian interests.

What Ceasefire? Hamas Continues Terrorizing Southern Israel With Rocket Barrages

Dozens of rockets have been fired in the past several hours alone by Hamas from Gaza. Israel responds with airstrikes against those responsible and the BBC turns the situation around by putting the Israeli reprisal before the initiating act - the rocket fire.

But for the Hamas terror attacks, Israel would have no need to respond with force.

As it is, the Hamas terrorists responsible think little of their fellow Palestinians as most of the rockets fired at Israel didn't actually make it into Israel; they landed within Gaza.

Hamas targets included a school and public spaces in Israel and one Israeli was injured and two others were treated for shock. Because this is Saturday, the school was closed. That's the only saving grace from that particular attack. Yet, the ongoing attacks mean that Israelis within range of Gaza have to be under constant watch for sirens and rocket/missile alerts so that they can duck for cover at a moment's notice. The ranges mean that someone would have less than a minute from the time the rockets, missiles, or mortars are fired.

The Iron Dome system intercepted five of the incoming rockets.

Truce Isn't Holding As Rockets Continue Slamming Into Israel

Egypt has been trying to broker a ceasefire deal between Israel and the Palestinian terrorists in Gaza, but with little effect. The terrorists continue firing their rockets, including two fired towards Ashkelon. One was intercepted by the Iron Dome missile defense system. That brings the total fired on Israel during Wednesday to more than 70:

At approximately 1:30 pm a Qassam rocket fired from the Gaza Strip landed in open territory in th Sha'ar Hanegev Regional Council. No one was wounded and no damaged was caused.

Earlier, at around 7:30 am, five rockets landed in the Negev's Eshkol Regional Council, but there were no reports of injuries or damage.

No less than 70 rockets hit Israel's southern region on Wednesday.

Following the attack on Ashkelon, Mayor Benny Vaknin ordered local elementary schools to remain closed Thursday. The mayor reached the decision following consultations with security establishment officials and parent committee representatives.

"The parents' committee representatives told me their children barely slept last night because of the sirens, and some of them suffer from anxiety. After consulting with security officials I decided to keep the schools closed," the mayor said.

No country would ever allow an enemy regime or entity to engage in such actions for any duration of time without suffering serious repercussions, and yet Israel is expected to do just that. Israeli airstrikes are extremely limited in scope, and it appears that Israel's government is willing to accept a certain level of violence in order to maintain the status quo.

The terrorists know this as well. They can attack up to a certain level of carnage before Israel will respond and retaliate for the damage wrought on Israeli lives and property.

What we're seeing now is the usual dance - Israel's retaliations for the attacks that left one Israeli Arab dead and several others injured result in still more mortar and missile/rocket barrages, and the escalation results in more Israeli airstrikes against terrorist infrastructure. Once the Israelis hit enough critical targets, the terrorists claim that Israel has gone too far and cry for a ceasefire, which they promptly break by blaming Israel for defending itself.

Palestinian Terrorists Continue Missile Attacks On Israel

Israel continues to take fire from Gaza for a third consecutive day. More than 55 rockets slammed into Israel after Israel carried out airstrikes following a terror attack where an Israeli Arab was killed while working on the security fence between Israel and Egypt (the Sinai fence). The Israeli airstrikes have targeted Hamas and other terror groups, including Islamic Jihad and their offshoots:

In the third day of violence, the Israel Air Force struck a motorbike in southern Gaza, seriously injuring Mohammed Rashdan who the IDF said was a member of a Gaza-based Global Jihad group and one of the planners of the deadly attack along the Egyptian border on Monday.

Aleb Armilat, who assisted Rashdan in planning the attack, was killed in the strike. In the evening, the IAF struck two more targets in Gaza, which it said were Hamas training camps. The Palestinians said that two teenagers were injured in the strikes.

In another strike, a 14-year-old was reportedly killed as the IAF bombed what it said was a rocket launching cell in the northern Gaza Strip.

The dead teenager was identified as Momen al-Adam. Two other people were reported injured in the attack. The airstrikes on Wednesday followed eight bombings late Tuesday night throughout the Gaza Strip.

IDF sources said that Rashuan was in the midst of planning another attack against Israel from the Sinai and that he was one of the key architects of Monday’s attack. One officer said that the involvement of Global Jihad operatives in attacks against Israel was not surprising but was concerning since the groups did not heed Hamas’s authority and would be difficult to rein in to abide by a new ceasefire.

Some of the groups are made up of former Islamic Jihad and Hamas members. Others, the officer said, come from Arab countries such as Saudi Arabia and Egypt.

One of the rockets hit an Israeli home in Sdot Negev, but no injuries were reported. The Iron Dome missile defense system apparently intercepted an inbound attack on Netivot.

Since the border attack, Israel has been hit by more than 100 rockets and mortars.

Once again, it appears that the terror groups in Gaza are coordinating and hoping to lure Israel into a larger conflict (as well as potentially destabilizing the Camp David Accords with Egypt). The terrorists have no problem directing or taking fire on civilian areas since maximizing casualties is part of the propaganda war with Israel. At the same time, they show that Israel lacks a partner for peace in Gaza; Hamas refuses to recognize Israel's right to exist and sees the conflict as a way to maintain its own power.

Israel Under Fire From Hamas Day After Sinai-Based Terror Attack

Within hours of the terror attack that left one Israeli Arab dead and several other Israelis injured, the Israeli military carried out airstrikes against targets inside Gaza.

Hamas responded with a barrage of rockets against Israel. At least 11 were fired into Israel, including kassams and Grad rockets along with mortar rounds.

Seven rockets exploded in open areas in Eshkol Regional Council on Tuesday afternoon, after four rockets were fired at Hof Ashkelon and Sha'ar Hanegev regional councils overnight Monday.

There were no reported casualties or damage.

Hamas took responsibility for the rocket fire overnight Monday, and announced on Tuesday afternoon that its military wing had fired 10 Grad rockets toward Israel.

The rocket fire marks an unusual move for the group, which has been avoiding launching rockets toward Israel for many months now.

Following the attack, communities near the Gaza border were put on heightened alert. The residents were given instructions to remain at a close distance to a bomb shelter.

In the past 24 hours, the Israel Air Force carried out several air strikes in the Gaza Strip. Overnight Sunday, Israel attacked a military compound in southern Gaza.

On Sunday morning, a terrorist cell crossed the border from Egypt into Israel and detonated an explosive device which ended up killing an Israeli citizen who was working on the construction of the Israel-Egypt border fence.

While things have been relatively quiet in Gaza, Hamas has not stopped its plans for conflict with Israel. One cannot discount the possibility that Hamas is coordinating with the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood over ways to force Israel to attack Gaza and/or Sinai in a way that would allow the Egyptian government to abrogate the Israel-Egypt peace deal (Camp David Accords).

That's one of the reasons why the Israeli military was quick to remove their responding tanks to the Sinai terror attack as quickly as they did. They understand what the terrorists may have been hoping for and didn't want to fall into that trap.

Egypt's Military Moves To Block Impact of Islamist Elected President

Egyptians faced a choice between bad and worse when they had to choose from an Islamist aligned with the Muslim Brotherhood and the former foreign minister from Hosni Mubarak's old regime. Turnout was anything but strong, but the Islamist, Mohamed Morsi, won the election.

The military, however, has a different plan. They're now acting to minimize the impact of the election, and are once again acting in their own interests rather than allowing the popular will to decide.

In a two-hour news conference, members of the ruling military council made no reference to the election results that by early morning showed Mohamed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood had defeated Ahmed Shafik, a former Air Force general and Hosni Mubarak’s last prime minister, in the runoff to choose Egypt’s first democratically elected president. The ballots were counted in front of television cameras and party observers in polling places around the country to preclude fraud, and independent observers concluded that Mr. Morsi had won by a margin of about 4 percentage points, or about a million votes.

The election officials will not formally confirm the results until later in the week, however, and Ahmed Sarhan, a spokesman for Mr. Shafik, insisted on Monday that the general was the true winner and the Brotherhood had “terrorized” voters. He offered no evidence, and both the state-run and unofficial media reported that Mr. Morsi had a decisive lead in the vote count.

The ruling generals had stunned Egyptians on the eve of the vote by dissolving the Brotherhood-dominated parliament and claiming all legislative power for themselves in an apparent attempt to foreclose the possibility that Islamists control both the presidency and the legislature.

Though they acted under the veneer of a court ruling rushed out last week by a panel of Mubarak-appointed judges, their power grab erased their promise to turn over all power to elected civilians by the end of this month, and both liberals and Islamists denounced the move as a military coup. The court ruling dispirited Brotherhood supporters, energized Mr. Shafik’s backers, and led many Egyptians to expect that either the psychological effect of the takeover or more direct intervention would push Mr. Shafik to the presidency.

In the aftermath of Mr. Morsi’s victory — - considered an upset by many, despite the Brotherhood’s proven popularity and political clout — - the generals sought Monday to reassure the public that they had no intention to re-establish another military-backed autocracy, although they did not back away from their effective seizure of legislative power.

“Trust the armed forces,” two representatives of the military council, General Mandouh Shahin and General Mohamed el Assar, repeated many times over the course of the news conference. “We don’t want power,” both also said repeatedly, citing the presidential election as proof of their good intentions.

Despite their seizure of the parliament, they promised a grand celebration at the end of the month to mark their formal handover to the new president.

They insisted that the legislative authority they had claimed for themselves was “restricted.” Although they acknowledged that they would have a monopoly on all lawmaking powers and control of the national budget, they said that the new president — presumably Mr. Morsi — would retain a veto over any new laws. The president will also name the prime minister and other cabinet officials.

The generals insisted they regretted shutting down the elected parliament, which they described as one of their proudest achievements since they took power at the ouster of former President Hosni Mubarak. They were forced to close the legislature because of the court’s ruling, the generals said.

It's a situation that Egypt has seen before. It's how Gamel Nasser came to power and it's how power was retained under both Anwar Sadat and Hosni Mubarak.

Popular election of the government simply isn't tolerated. The military will allow a veneer of democratic institutions, put the ruling junta is seeing to it that power will remain in the hands of the military.

I can understand the apprehension of allowing the Muslim Brotherhood to hold power considering their interests in expanding Islamic law and revisiting social and political decisions ranging from the rights of women to the Egypt-Israel peace accords.

However, the military should be subordinate to the civilian control. As it stands, Egypt's military is acting just as any other junta would do. They're acting to preserve their own power and that actually increases the chances of another round of violence.

The military is doing itself and the Egyptian country a tremendous disservice, even as it acts to minimize the power of the Muslim Brotherhood. The actions to limit the Brotherhood's power will backfire and lend the group legitimacy it is undeserving. It would be far better to allow the group power in the interim, with civilian governmental institutions to protect the rights of all Egyptians than to try and block the group's impact.

At the same time, the military needs to do more to stabilize the security situation in Sinai, from which another deadly attack on Israel was launched. One Israeli Arab who was working on a security fence were killed and several others were injured. Israeli military forces then responded to the attack and engaged terrorists in a gunfight.

A force from Golani immediately arrived at the scene, a gun fight ensued and a bomb carried by one of the terrorists exploded. Two terrorists were killed in the gunfight and the IDF believed that a third terrorist was also involved in the clash, who they believed to be in Sinai.

Following the attack and fearing additional attacks, the IDF moved a number of Merkava tanks up to the border to help protect against additional infiltrations. The tanks were removed immediately after the IDF confirmed that all of the terrorists had been accounted for and none remained inside Israeli territory.

The decision to move the tanks up along the border was done in consideration of Israel’s peace treaty with Egypt which forbids the deployment of Israeli tanks in the area. IDF sources said that the deployment was done as the attack was still unfolding and that it was part of a defensive posture.

The deploymnet of tanks to the border is a technical violation of the Egypt-Israel peace treaty, which prohibits tanks in the border zone without consultation, and that was just as likely the goal of the terror attack as the deaths of as many Israelis as possible.

The disintegrating security situation in Sinai is yet another threat to Israel's security as much as it harms Egypt's economy by reducing the tourism dollars that flow to Egypt's coffers.

Turkey Readies Indictments of Israelis Over Gaza Flotilla

Turkey continues pressing ahead with a potential indictment of top Israeli military leaders over the Gaza flotilla that had nothing to do with humanitarian aid and everything to do with seeking a violent confrontation with Israel.

Turkish newspapers are noting that Ankara's prosecutor is preparing a 144-page document that accuses top Israeli officers, including former army chief Gabi Ashkenazi, of ordering intentional killing, wounding of Turkish nationals on Mavi Marmara; charges still need to be approved by Istanbul district prosecutor.

According to the Turkish daily Sabah, Ankara's chief prosecutor Abdurrahman Yalcinkaya is due to file a 144-page indictment targeting Ashkenazi, former Military Intelligence chief Amos Yadlin, former Israel Navy chief Eliezer Maron, and former head of Israel Air force's intelligence wing Avishai Levy over the raid on the Mavi Marmara, which resulted in the deaths of nine Turkish nationals.

The report indicated that Turkey intended to charge the former officials for ordering IDF troops to intentionally kill, wound, and abduct Turkish activists, as well as encourage their torture and loot their belongings.

Turkey issued warrants against all four former Israeli officers, and they could be arrested on arrival in Turkey, the report added.

Israel's raid of the Gaza-bound flotilla proved a watershed moment in Israel-Turkey relations, with the once staunch allies trading blame over responsibility for the incident.

Turkey has insisted that Israel apologize for the raid and its consequences, as well as pay reparations to the families of those killed; Israel has, thus far, refused to do so.

Israeli commandos raided the Mavi Marmara as part of Israel's right to conduct a blockade of Gaza and were met with violence, including individuals carrying knives who assaulted the commandos. It was once those commandos were threatened that they responded with deadly force. Evidence shows that the people on board the Mavi Marmara, including those from the group IHH, had every intention of creating a violent confrontation. That will likely be ignored by the Turkish officials pushing this indictment.

Other ships in the flotilla were raided but no confrontations occurred on them.

The whole purpose of the flotilla was meant to confront Israel over its ongoing sea blockade of Gaza to prevent Hamas from being supplied with weapons and personnel.

That's despite the fact that the UN found that Israel was legally within its rights to enforce the blockade and that its actions were within Israel's legal rights. It hasn't stopped Turkey's leaders from pandering to the Islamists by pushing for indictments and straining its relations with Israel.

Israel's Netanyahu Forms Coalition Government With Rival Kadima

Israeli politics can make for strange bedfellows. The Knesset is made up of 120 parlimentarians, and to govern, one must be able to get a majority of Parliament. In the last election, Likud was given the opportunity to form a coalition government (in Israel's history, no single party has ever garnered sufficient seats to form a government on its own). It did so, but only barely.

The need to create coalition governments means that minority parties can hold tremendous sway in the coalition governments - the religious parties for example can threaten to leave the government if their policies aren't enacted/followed, for instance).

A few times in Israel's history, the two biggest parties have joined together to form a unity government - particularly in times of need.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu believes this was the right time to form a unity government, and that gives Netanyahu the numbers in the Knesset to take a policy stance that might push some of the minority parties to bolt. It convinced rival party Kadima to join in a unity government so that there is no need to hold new elections to form a new government.

No elections, Kadima joins government: In a dramatic move, the Likud and Kadima parties agreed on a unity government early Tuesday, averting the prospect of early elections.


Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Kadima Chairman Shaul Mofaz finalized the surprising unity agreement hours before the Knesset was expected to approve its own dissolution and set September 4th as the date of the next elections.

PM Netanyahu announced that Kadima’s Mofaz will be appointed deputy PM and minister without portfolio, while also being included in Israel’s security cabinet. Mofaz told Kadima members the party will likely get more portfolios later on, apparently in 2013. As part of the deal, Kadima will also chair the Knesset’s Economics Committee.

The move was also a tactical ploy by both Kadima and Likud - the two biggest party blocs in the Knesset to thwart the ascension of a new party headed by Yair Lapid. For Kadima, the move prevents a potentially serious blow to the party's standing in the Knesset. For Netanyahu and Likud, the move strengthens its hand in dealing with a variety of issues, including the contentious move to expand the mandatory draft to include all Israeli citizens, eliminating the exclusion for the ultra-orthodox.

UPDATE:
Some US media outlets are playing the angle that the coalition unity government deal is designed with Iran in mind. That completely ignores the fact that the deal opens up the opportunity to reform the IDF and undertake other economic policy reforms that it could not do if the religious parties were able to force new elections.

New Skirmishes Erupt As Gazan Terrorists Attack Israeli Security Forces Along Fence

Gazan terrorists carried out a sustained attack against an Israeli security force working on the security fence between Israel and Gaza. It was a sustained skirmish, and no Israelis were injured in the attack on the Israelis who were fixing the security barrier between Israel and Gaza.

Armed Palestinians on Thursday opened fire on IDF forces that were working on the security fence near Kibbutz Zikim, north of the Gaza Strip.

The force was positioned near the fence when suddenly shots and mortar shells were fired at them from the Gaza Strip. The force responded with fire, hitting several members of the terrorist cell. No injuries reported among the IDF forces, but a military vehicle sustained light damage.

This may have been an attempt to capture an Israeli a la Shalit but were thwarted by a concerted effort by the Israelis to pin down and kill the terror cell attacking them.

A Hamas operative was among the Palestinian terrorists killed.

Israel has suspended transfer payments to the Palestinian Authority following the UNESCO vote to grant the PA membership. The Israelis have also stopped their $2 million payment to UNESCO over the vote.

All this follows over 40 mortars and rockets fired at Israel over the weekend.

The Gazan Terror War Continues

Despite a purported ceasefire, Israel had no trouble taking out a wanted terrorist in Gaza affiliated with Islamic Jihad who was allegedly involved in funding the Eilat attacks.

The IDF Spokesperson' Office said that the terrorist "was involved in smuggling weapons and sought to advance military operations in Sinai." The army added that "lately there have been several attempts by Gaza terrorists to carry out attacks in Sinai and that was what this operative was involved in."

Several hours after the strike, two mortar shells exploded in the Western Negev causing no injuries or damage.

The offensive prompted a senior member of the organization in Gaza, Ahmad al-Mudallal, to threaten retaliation and declare that "this crime was meant to underline that Israel only understands the language of blood and terror."

"We will take action against the enemy in a language that it understands, the language of blood," he added. "We will not ignore the crimes it commits against our people."

Also overnight, an IAF jet targeted two terrorists in Gaza after they were spotted attempting to fire rockets at southern Israel from two different locations.

Of course, Islamic Jihad had no problems firing new rockets at Israel, and one of the rockets fired at Israel instead landed in Egypt, injuring a woman.

But for the Palestinian terror attack on Eilat, Israel would not be carrying out attacks against those responsible. Israel has shown tremendous restraint in going after the terrorist infrastructure, and Israel has released information showing just how Israel sought to limit any damage to Egyptian security stationed along the border as Israeli forces hunted down the terrorists responsible for the Eilat attacks.

Videos shot from the aircraft show that the troops intentionally diverted fire from the Egyptian all-terrain vehicles and soldiers towards open areas near the border base, from which the terrorist sniper fire originated.

The terrorists, who positioned themselves a few dozen meters from the Egyptian military post, launched an RPG rocket at one of the helicopters, and directed machine gun fire at it.

In addition, an examination of the bodies of the terrorists killed by the IDF clearly showed that at least three of them were Egyptian citizens. One was a member of a radical Egyptian group who was tried in the country.

Mirroring how Hizbullah launched attacks against Israel from within the vicinity of UNIFIL positions so as to result in counterbattery attacks falling on UNIFIL, so too did the Gazan terrorists use the Egyptian forces as human shields.

The terrorists purposefully used the Egyptian positions to attack Israel - firing from within those areas so as to maximize the casualties and potentially bring Israel into a shooting conflict with Egyptian security forces - raising the stakes for all involved.

What the terrorists didn't count on was the tremendous restraint shown by both the Israelis and Egyptian security forces.

Meanwhile, Hamas claims that Israel is fabricating the Eilat terror attacks so as to provide a means for going after Gaza. This is nothing more than propaganda from Hamas, which can't rebut the photographic and video evidence proffered by Israel showing how the terrorists operated, where they came from, and who was involved.

For its part, Egypt is planning on launching a new initiative to destroy the smuggling tunnels between Gaza and Sinai.

What Hudna? Gazan Terrorists Continue Rocket Barrages Against Israel

With all the talk about a purported ceasefire or hudna, everyone seems to ignore the fact that the Palestinian terrorists in Gaza haven't stopped firing rockets, mortars, and missiles at Israel. They've fired another dozen missiles at Israel overnight after the so-called ceasefire was called. At least one was intercepted by Israel's Iron Dome anti-missile system.

Meanwhile, a terror group calling itself the Jihadi Resistance has claimed responsibility for the Eilat attacks. I doubt the veracity of those claims and it could just as easily be a spinoff group from any of the major terror groups so as to give those groups plausible deniability over responsibility from the attacks - and an attempt to keep Israel from going after the leadership in the way that Israel eliminated key PRC leadership following Thursday's terror attack.

Hamas terror leaders have gone to ground to hide from the prying eyes of Israeli security forces should Israel launch attacks against the Hamas leadership.

Israel remains critical of the Palestinian Authority's public stance on the ongoing terror attacks against Israel. The PA has regularly sought to exploit terror attacks against Israel all while denying any involvment. It pushes for Israel to show restraint in the face of incessant terror attacks, and doesn't bother to criticize fellow Palestinians who are carrying out the attacks.

Moreover, why is Israel being forced to apologize for defending itself against terror attacks. I understand the need to protect the Egypt-Israel peace treaty and its security arrangements, but where are the Palestinian apologies for terrorists carrying out attacks against Israel. There are none.

UPDATE:
Two more missiles slammed into the area near the Israeli city of Ashkelon with no casualties reported.

Two Kassam rockets exploded on Monday in open territory in the Ashkelon Coast Regional Council. No injuries were reported but one of the rockets caused a fire to break out.

The rocket fire comes just hours after Taher a-Nunu, spokesman for the Hamas government, said that the factions in the Gaza Strip and Hamas announced that they are willing to comply to truce, if Israel agrees not to carry out more strikes.

Terrorists Continue Rocket Attacks As Israel Retaliates

Dozens of rockets have been fired into Israel over the past 24 hours, and Israel responded for the first time in 24 hours with airstrikes of its own against terrorists firing those weapons. Israel's Iron Dome missile defense system has intercepted several of the rockets and missiles fired into Israel, but casualties are rising and so too is the damage:

According to Palestinian reports, two people were injured in the strike. Shortly before the attack, the Popular Resistance Committees' military wing – the Salah a-Din Brigades – claimed it launched two rockets at Israel.

While Sha'ar Hanegev Regional Council bore the brunt of Saturday's barrage, Beersheba seemed to be the terrorists' "favorite" Sunday, suffering rocket fire virtually every hour: One of the rockets hit a high school gym, causing severe damage to the building, which luckily was empty at the time.

The terrorists continue firing rockets, including kassams and the more advanced Grad missiles, but some have fallen into Egypt and open areas within Israel.

The strikes came as rocket fire from the Gaza Strip that killed one man over the weekend continued Sunday morning. At least six Grad rockets were fired at Beersheba, one of which hit an empty school building, and at least one of the other Grads was intercepted by the Iron Dome rocket defense system and two landed in the Egyptian city of Rafah. There were no casualties reported in Sunday morning's attacks.

Earlier Sunday morning, four mortar shells landed in the Eshkol Regional Council area and nine rockets were fired at the Ashkelon Regional Council, one of which damaged a building. No injuries were reported in the attacks.

The Iron Dome rocket defense system also successfully intercepted three rockets fired from Gaza in the direction of Ashkelon.

At least two rockets fired from the Gaza Strip landed in the Egyptian border town of Rafah on Sunday morning, but there was no damage and no one was hurt, an Egyptian security source said.

The source said it appeared the rockets were fired in error.

Since Thursday, more than 100 rockets have been launched at Israel, and that followed the deadly terrorist attack outside Eilat, which killed 7 Israelis. The onus and responsibility for all the carnage that has followed falls entirely on the Palestinian terrorists in Gaza who sought this latest round of fighting.

And once again, it isn't surprising that media outlets have no problem conflating civilian casualties with those of the terrorists responsible for carrying out attacks. It makes Israel appear to be attacking indiscriminately and without regard for civilian casualties, even though the terrorists are the ones who have no regard for any human lives, whether Israeli or Palestinians. The terrorists purposefully hide behind human shields - their fellow Palestinians - because they know if Israel successfully kills terrorists, civilian casualties may well follow and they further know that the media will focus not on the terrorists who were involved in these attacks, but on the civilians. Moreover, the terrorists know that if media outlets see kids injured that will further incite hatred towards Israel.

Yet, several of the rockets that have slammed into Israel have hit yeshivas, homes, and have injured children, including a 9-year old and an infant.

It's all yet another manifestation of the double standard applied to the Arab-Israeli conflict.

And speaking of double standards, it cute how the Arab League blames Israel for escalating the latest violence, when it was on the receiving end of a terror attack that is attributed back to terrorists in Gaza and the terrorists further responded with more than 100 rockets fired at Israel. None of these Arab League countries would ever tolerate any such terror attacks, and none would accept the level of restraint that Israel has shown. After all, in just the past few weeks, Turkey responded to what it called Kurdish terror attacks inside Turkey with a series of airstrikes both inside Turkey and in northern Iraq (another sovereign country). The world yawned at that breach of international peace. The Arab League was silent.

The Arab League ignores the terror attacks against Israel, but focuses on the Israeli response because that's what the Arab League does.

At the same time, Hamas is talking out of both sides of its mouth. It announced it ended the hudna with Israel following Israel's first round of airstrikes following the Eilat attack, but now it wants the UN to take action to thwart Israel's ongoing measures to defend itself from further attacks.

Now, it is possible that Hamas was caught unawares that the PRC was intent upon carrying out attacks and misjudged the swiftness of Israel's response, but Hamas has never ceased in its preparations for renewed conflict with Israel. Its propaganda refuses to recognize Israel's very existence.

Palestinian Terrorists Escalate Rocket Attacks As Israel Again Defends Itself

Palestinian terrorists in Gaza have again launched barrages of rockets against Israel. Each rocket is intended to cause mayhem, injuries, and deaths. They are fired indiscriminately against civilian targets, and more than a few have resulted in serious carnage.

Even with Israel's deployment of the Iron Dome anti-missile system, rockets and missiles have rained down on cities within range of Gaza. Some of those rockets and missiles were intercepted, but others have managed to get through.

Kassams have landed on kibbutzim (and here and here). Grads were fired and hit various locations, including Ashdod. Three people were injured when one of the Grads exploded.

And when the terrorists aren't firing rockets, they're firing mortars.

So, which terrorist groups are firing the rockets, mortars, and missiles? Well, all of them are claiming responsibility. Hamas declared its armistice over with Israel, even though it always considered its hudna to be strategic in nature. The moment the terror group considered itself to be sufficiently armed and capable of attacking Israel, it would do so.

The PRCs and Islamic Jihad also claimed responsibility for attacks.

Each and every one of these terror attacks are crimes against humanity and war crimes under international law, yet the people who twitter about how Israel may have killed civilians ignore that salient point. Those who claim that US law (Leahy law) should prevent military aid to Israel because civilians are killed ignore that the Palestinian Authority would be cut off as well, precisely because the Palestinian Authority is comprised of the terror group Hamas and Fatah, whose spinoffs in the al Aqsa Martyr's Brigade and People's Resistance Committees are regularly engaged in terror attacks against Israel.

Gazans are preaching revenge, even though it was Palestinian terrorists who initiated the latest round of violence by carrying out multiple terror attacks against vehicles near Eilat.



Israel attacks terrorists who surround themselves with human shields, who attempt to smuggle terrorists and arms in and out of Gaza via dozens of smuggling tunnels, and yet Israel is cast as the bad actor here? Israel hasn't occupied Gaza since it unilaterally left the region in 2006. Indeed, Gazans squandered a golden opportunity to build the foundations for a 2-state solution. They took up arms and the moment Israel left, they turned the then-deserted communities into terror training camps and rocket launching zones from which to attack Israel.

Meanwhile, Egypt is considering diplomatic actions against Israel after several Egyptian security forces were killed when those security forces were caught in the line of fire from Israeli airstrikes targeting terrorists. Egyptians are calling it random firing, but the terrorists who attacked the vehicles in Eilat were wearing Egyptian uniforms and Israel believes that the terrorists originated in Gaza and crossed into the Sinai and then into Israel to carry out the attacks.

UPDATE:
Defense Minister Ehud Barak apologized for the deaths of the Egyptian security officers.

Defense Minister Ehud Barak on Saturday said that "Israel regrets the deaths of Egyptian policemen [killed] during the terror attack on the Israeli-Egyptian border,"Speaking during a security briefing with Chief of General Staff Benny Gantz, Barak said that "the peace treaty between Israel and Egypt is of great importance and strategic value for the stability of the Middle East."
The defense minister was expected to open a military investigation into the deaths of Egyptian forces in the border incident. Later, a joint investigation with the Egyptian military will be launched in order to clarify the circumstances of the incident.

That's a move designed to defuse tensions between Egypt and Israel, and to help keep the security coordination in place between the two countries that have gone a long way to reducing (but not stopping) terror attacks in both countries.


UPDATE:
More than 50 rockets have slammed into Israel in the past 48 hours and Israeli injuries are also increasing:

Sirens were heard in Beersheba shortly before two rockets exploded within the city, hitting a vehicle and private residence. Four people were evacuated to Soroka University Medical Center in Beersheba to be treated for serious injuries, Channel 2 news reported.

Moments before, a Grad rocket from Gaza landed on a home in Ofakim, starting a fire and sending shrapnel and debris flying that injured a four-month-old baby, a nine-year-old boy, and a man in his early 20s. Emergency crews put out the fire and paramedics evacuated the three to the Soroka University Medical Center in Beersheba to be treated for light injuries.

After Eilat Terror Attacks, Terrorists Fire Rockets At Israel

On a day when Israelis mourn the loss of eight Israelis killed when terrorists opened fire on a bus and several vehicles near Eilat in Southern Israel, terrorists continue their attacks. 10 Israelis were injured in Ashdod when rockets hit the city within range of Gaza.

Fire from Gaza was renewed Friday afternoon when terrorists fired thee rockets at Be'er Tuvia and Eshkol regional councils. The rockets exploded in open spaces in the regions, and no injuries or damage were reported.

At around 4 pm, residents of Kiryat Malachi, Gedera, Gan Yavne, and other towns nearby reported hearing rocket alerts followed by explosions.

About an hour later a Qassam rocket was fired from Gaza and exploded in Eshkol Regional Council. No injuries or damage were reported.

Effie, a resident of Kiryat Malachi, told Ynet, "I was taking the trash out and there was an alarm. I heard a very loud boom. I realized a rocket must have fallen in the area."

The rockets followed two others, which were fired at Be'er Tuvia on Friday morning. The head of the regional council, Dror Shor, said he had noticed farmers in the area did not respond quickly enough to rocket alerts.

"It was fortunate the rockets fell in open spaces, but it could have ended differently," he said.

Terrorists pelted Israel with rockets throughout the day Friday. A rocket fired at Ashdod at dawn exploded in the courtyard of a haredi yeshiva and left 10 people injured. Magen David Adom emergency services said two men were seriously injured.

Yesterday's attacks were apparently carried out by the PRC, but the PRC is denying involvement. Israeli airstrikes killed the head of the PRC and other terrorists that were linked back to the terror attack, as well as the capture of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit:

The PRC members killed in the retaliatory IAF air strike included the head of the terror group Kamal Nirab, who the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) said had personally directed and planned the attack.

Another man killed in the strike was identified as Amas Hamed, commander of the PRC’s military wing and a resident of Rafah. The Shin Bet said that Hamed was involved in the abduction of IDF soldier Gilad Schalit in June 2006 and oversaw numerous attacks against Israel including suicide bombings and rocket attacks.

Two other known PRC terrorists, including one who was also involved in Schalit’s abduction, were also killed in the air strike.

“The terrorists were directly involved in the attacks along the Israeli-Egyptian border,” a security official said.

Defense Minister Ehud Barak said Thursday that the IDF would escalate its response to the attacks. Egypt had lost its grip over Sinai Peninsula and terrorist organizations were able to move around there freely, he said.

That last bit is perhaps the most serious part of the story. Israel and Egypt, while having a cold peace, at least managed to control the borders and limit terrorist movements, but since Mubarak was removed, terrorists have been able to more far more freely than before.

It appears that the PRC terrorists left Gaza to Sinai, and then recrossed into Israel to carry out the attacks on the vehicles.



Some of the terrorists wore Egyptian uniforms and it appears that at least a dozen terrorists were involved in the attacks.

Also, an apparent suicide bomber killed himself and several Egyptian soldiers near the Philadelphi corridor. The bomber is also linked to the PRC. That comes after two Egyptian soldiers were killed when Israeli airstrikes targeting terrorists caught the Egyptian security forces in the line of fire.

Meanwhile, it was six years ago this week that Israel unilaterally disengaged from Gaza and ended its military presence in the territory. Gazans, instead of using the opportunity to build a productive society, instead turned to Hamas and began carrying out incessant terror attacks that continue to this day.

Gunfire Erupts Across Israel-Lebanon Border; And Here Come the Kassams

It would appear that a Lebanese soldier opened fire on an Israeli patrol operating inside Israel near the border and the Israeli forces returned fire. No Israelis were injured, but one Lebanese soldier was apparently wounded. Lebanese media outlets (and Hizbullah) claim that the Israeli patrol had crossed into Lebanon.

Five years after the Second Lebanon War broke out, Lebanese soldiers and IDF troops exchanged gunfire along the border earlier Monday.

IDF troops were operating along the border near the Hatzbani River when a Lebanese soldier opened fire at them. Israel returned fire at the Lebanese soldier. No IDF soldiers were injured in the incident. Lebanese media reported that one Lebanese soldier was injured from gunfire.

The IDF reported the incident to the UNIFIL force stationed in Lebanon along the border, stating that Israel was not interested in an escalation of violence.

The army added that they believed the incident was contained and it did not appear that a larger operation would follow.

Lebanese news website Naharnet reported that the LAF opened fire when IDF soldiers crossed over to the Lebanese side of the border. The IDF emphasized that they were operating on the Israeli side of the border.

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said that the soldiers "behaved like they were supposed to. They are determined to defend themselves and the border."

Hizbullah issued a statement condemning Israel and attempted to spin this as Israeli provocation, even though it was the Lebanese soldier who opened fire on the Israelis. The terror group also admitted that they spurned millions of dollars to disarm - they rather like holding on to their weapons stockpile to carry on their war against Israel at the time and place of their choosing.

Indeed, UNIFIL issued a statement finding that Israel didn't cross the border and that the Lebanese opened fire without provocation. That's kind of tough to spin away. When UNIFIL take's Israel's side, you know that it was incontrovertible that Israel was within its rights to return fire.

Hopefully this can remain an isolated incident, and not part of some plan by Hizbullah or Assad to take pressure off the Syrians by manufacturing a conflict with Israel to divert media attention from the horrendous crackdown in Syria.

A similar border skirmish occurred nearly a year ago to a day; in that incident, one Israeli soldier was killed and several others wounded.

Meanwhile, a kassam landed near Ashkelon after being fired from Gaza. No one has claimed responsibility for that attack.

Gazan Terrorists Fires Missile Hitting Bus and Injuring Passengers, But Focus Is On Israel's Reprisal

The fact that terrorists in Gaza fired a mortar that struck a bus in Southern Israel injuring several passengers is secondary to the fact that Israel carried out reprisal attacks against numerous terror targets throughout Gaza.

A mortar shell fired from the Gaza Strip into Israel Thursday hit a bus, seriously wounding a teenage boy and injuring several others, Israeli police said.
Reuters

Israeli forces immediately struck back, shelling various locations across the Gaza Strip, killing a 50-year-old man and injuring at least six people, including a 4-year-old girl, Palestinian medics said.

Israeli police spokesman Mickey Rosenfeld said those wounded in the bus attack were being treated at the scene. The head of the Magen David Adom ambulance service told Israel Radio that helicopters were ferrying the worst injured to hospital.

Thursday's bloodshed followed a relative lull in cross border attacks between Gaza and Israel after a sudden spike in violence last month that left at least 16 Palestinians dead.

A 16 year old was in critical condition after that bus was hit. Moreover, the Jerusalem Post reports that it was an anti-tank missile fired at the bus - which would explain how and why it was easily hit. Luckily, there were just two people on board - the aformentioned 16-year-old, and the driver, who was also injured.

So, why then is the focus on the Palestinians killed in Gaza - many of whom are terrorists and those ultimately responsible for firing the rockets and mortars into Israel?

But for the Gazan terrorists firing those mortars, rockets, and missiles at Israel, Israel would not need to respond militarily to defend its citizens from the incessant attacks that emanate from Gaza on a daily basis by attacking smuggling tunnels that allow the terrorists to rearm and resupply, and their bases of operation where they plot further attacks.

And the threats keep on coming - Israel's Shin Bet arrested a Hamas cell in East Jerusalem. The cell was responsible for planning multiple attacks, including an attack with a pipe bomb that injured one person.

Moreover, I'm not sure how anyone can characterize the situation in Southern Israel as a lull or a relative lull in violence. Since the beginning of the year, dozens of rockets and mortars have been fired into Israel and it's a situation that continues day after day, week after week. Hamas, Islamic Jihad and other terror groups are hoping to restart their war against Israel, and are itching to pull the trigger at a time and place of their choosing.

Reuters is redefining a relative lull to indicate that even though a couple of rockets or mortars slam into Israel, this isn't a serious situation - even though every last one of those terrorists' rockets and mortars are directed with the intent to destroy property, murder, and maim. Shame on their reporting and focus on Israel's actions, rather than on the terrorists' actions that precipitate Israel's right to defend itself against further attacks.

UPDATE:
Israel's Iron Dome missile/rocket defense system apparently carried out a successful intercept of a terrorists' missile earlier today. That follows Israel's military carrying out airstrikes and other attacks against terror targets in Gaza:

After hitting a student bus traveling through Shaar Hanegev Regional Council Thursday, critically wounding a 16-year old boy and lightly injuring the driver, terrorists in Gaza fired some 45 rockets and mortar shells at Israel. No further injuries were reported.

The IDF immediately began bombing targets in Gaza in response to the onslaught. Palestinian medics said a 50-year old man was killed in the airstrikes and a number of other people injured, including a child.

Ashkelon's Iron Dome system was set up just Monday, with soldiers running extensive tests to make sure it was functioning properly. Another system was set up earlier in Beersheba.

The defense establishment decided to place the system earlier than planned due to the recent escalation of violence in the south. It has already been set up in Haifa, and in the coming weeks officials plan to put it in place in central Israel as well.

The Iron Dome system isn't foolproof, and it isn't cheap, but it does provide a measure of security for Israelis living within range of the missiles and mortars. If the system manages to intercept enough of Hamas' and Islamic Jihad's missiles, expect the terrorists to once again shift tactics in their ongoing attempts to murder and maim Israelis.

Gazans Fire Kassams At Israel; Israel Responds Killing Two Hamas

Gazan terrorists have never stopped firing kassams and mortars at Israel. It's just that they aren't doing it frequently enough to merit attention; it just blends into the background.

So, when Israel fired back at Hamas with airstrikes that killed two people, you know that the dynamic may have changed once again. The reprisal is on the heels of capturing a ship attempting to smuggle 60 tons of arms, including mortars of varying sizes and even anti-ship missiles. The Israeli Navy learned lessons from previous attempts to intercept weapons shipments.

Egyptian authorities also reported intercepting trucks carrying weapons destined for Gaza.

Egyptian security officials on Tuesday said that Egypt's army captured five vehicles smuggling weapons into the country from Sudan, and apparently heading to Gaza, AP reported.

The officials said the vehicles were seized on Sunday after a shootout during which the drivers fled.

They said the trucks, which were captured inside Egypt near the Sudanese border, carried large quantities of mortars, rocket propelled grenades, rifles and explosives, reported AP.

The officials said the weapons were headed to Hamas in Gaza through smuggling tunnels.

Hamas hasn't stopped its preparations for war with Israel, and it has used the lull in fighting since Operation Cast Lead to redouble its efforts to build up its terror infrastructure and capabilities to sustain an assault by Israel.

Hamas Up To Old Tricks and Israel Responds; With UPDATES

Hamas is once again up to its old tricks as 2010 comes to a close. The terror group has again been attempting attacks against Israel and Israel has wasted no time in responding with airstrikes. Hamas terrorists have fired rockets and mortars into Israel, hitting areas around Ashkelon and Eshkol. Leave it to the Palestinian Authority spokesmen to claim that Israel's response will be detrimental to the peace process:

Erekat stated that the Palestinian Authority fears Israel will launch a new large scale attack on Gaza, following escalated tensions in the area.

The PA negotiator added that military measures will not solve anything and will only make things worse.

On Tuesday, Israel pounded Hamas targets throughout the Gaza Strip in the most extensive aerial bombardment since Operation Cast Lead two years ago.

At least three Hamas operatives were killed during the bombing of arms storehouses and smuggling tunnels along the border with Egypt, and in the pummeling of tunnels being dug toward Israel.

The IAF strikes came in response to multiple attacks on southern Israel from Gaza.

A Kassam rocket was fired from the Gaza Strip into the Ashkelon area on Tuesday morning, landing in Kibbutz Zikim. The rocket exploded near a kindergarten, as dozens of parents were dropping off their children at school, injuring a 14-year old girl.

The incident followed a spate of attacks emanating from Gaza in the previous days, encompassing the launch of some three rockets and 18 mortars into the regions of Eshkol and Ashkelon. These attacks included the launch of six mortars on Sunday at IDF forces operating near the Kerem Shalom Crossing.

Just ignore the fact that but for the Hamas terror activities, Israel would not have engaged in bombing the Hamas arms caches (which are illegal under the Oslo Accords that call for the disarmament of militias operating in the territories) and various smuggling tunnels being dug across the former Philadelphi corridor.

At least this time the UN Middle East envoy, Robert Serry, says that Israel has a right to defend itself from such attacks. That's progress.

What would signify real progress is that the Palestinians take responsibility for their own culpability and actions that have led to a complete breakdown of whatever negotiations have been ongoing. Hamas refuses to recognize Israel's right to exist, and Fatah double deals - claiming that they want peace with Israel on the one hand, but then pushes revisionist histories that deny Israel's rights and historic Jewish claims to territories, including the Temple Mount. Fatah and Hamas remain at each other's throats - and Hamas is busy accusing Fatah of torturing its minions (which is rather rich considering that Hamas had no problem tossing Fatah thugs from rooftops when Hamas took over Gaza). Hamas and Fatah can't come to a power sharing agreement so how is it that Israel is supposed to make peace - who exactly are they supposed to make peace with?

The media doesn't get a pass on this either. The rocket and mortar attacks have been going on since this past weekend, and the latest terrorist deaths resulted from Israeli reprisals against those terrorists as they were preparing to fire on Israel. Israel's reprisals are the escalation - ignoring that the rockets fired by the terrorists were being aimed at civilian targets in Israel. Hamas escalates by initiating the attacks, but gets a pass by the media. In fact, those attacks included firing on an Israeli kindergarten class.

Then again, diplomats and former world leaders don't get it either. Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair doesn't get it. While saying that he wants Israel to reassure Palestinians that statehood is possible, Blair, like so many other diplomats and pundits, ignores that the Palestinians could have had statehood at any point after 1993 if Palestinian leaders had deemed it in their interest to do so.

Yasir Arafat refused statehood. Indeed, Arafat said that the Palestinian leader who would cede any part of Jerusalem to Israel is not yet born.

Mahmoud Abbas has thus far refused. Palestinians can't even agree on a cohesive voice - Hamas controls Gaza and doesn't acknowledge Israel's right to exist. Fatah controls the West Bank and is willing to accept the status quo since their power structure remains intact and assures a steady flow of foreign aid.

Abbas and Arafat both refused to accept a 2-state solution because it would have meant repudiating decades of standing for nothing but the destruction of Israel as the only acceptable solution. That's still the position of Hamas, and until Hamas ends its control of Gaza, that will not change.

UPDATE:
Abbas is now warning that Israeli aggression threatens the "peace process." Where was Abbas when Hamas and the other terror groups were busy firing the kassams and mortars at Israel. That's the threat to the peace process, not Israel's inalienable right to defend itself from terrorists hell bent on inflicting casualties among Israelis (and anyone else who happens to get hit by the mortars and kassams, including fellow Palestinians, foreign workers, and Israelis of all ages).

Lebanese Soldiers: We Were Following Orders

The border skirmish along the Lebanese-Israeli border that left four people dead was initiated by the Lebanese military. That was the finding of UNIFIL, which continues its investigation.

The Lebanese representative to UNIFIL said that it was Lebanon's stated policy to respond to any violation of its sovereignty with force.

So, if that's the case, when will Lebanon's military finally disarm Hizbullah, which has carved out Southern Lebanon as a state-within-a-state where Hizbullah continues stockpiling weapons and turning the place into an armed camp under the nose of UNIFIL and the Lebanese military. Both the Lebanese government and UNIFIL are mandated to disarm all militias operating in Southern Lebanon as part of UN SCR 1701. They've failed miserably to do so. Yet, when Israel is on Israel's side of the border and has informed UNIFIL of their plan to clear brush and trees leaning on Israel's security fence, Lebanese troops opened fire.

Israel has the right to protect its sovereignty with force, and it did so by returning fire on Lebanese forces that attacked its troops.

The greatest threat to Lebanon's sovereignty isn't Israel. It's Hizbullah, which threatens to overturn the apple cart and exert its power and authority by force and all means at its disposal.

Yet, there are still people who think that Israel is somehow to blame for the incident. Juan Cole thinks that Israel should have left the tree-clearing to UNIFIL.

Couldn’t they, like, have called in the UNIFIL United Nations peacekeepers to cut down the trees? That is what UNIFIL is there for. Some trees were worth the lives of Lebanese troops and a journalist and that of an Israeli officer?

One surprising thing is that the Lebanese army showed such spunk in the face of the perceived Israeli affront. They know very well that they are vastly outgunned, and of course the Israeli military hit them with fire from helicopter gunships and artillery pieces. What made them so bold, that they shot and killed an Israeli officer over the tree removal?

Another surprise is that the secretary general of the Hizbullah party and militia, Hasan Nasrullah, called on his people to show restraint. Even so, he threatened to intervene if there was another Israeli provocation.

That's nonsense. Israel informed UNIFIL of the maintenance operation, received approval to do so at a time of UNIFIL's choosing, and yet the Lebanese opened fire on that approved project.

Moreover, it's easy to show spunk when you've set up an ambush to attack the Israelis while they were doing maintenance work. If this was a straight up fight, which it turned into, the Lebanese troops got hammered hard.

Hizbullah realized very quickly that this attack could be blamed on them, and they didn't want any part of the fight because they also know how devastating Israel's response was in the 2006 Hizbullah war. While it didn't result in victory for Israel, Hizbullah got pasted and Israel's military is notable in how it learns from its previous mistakes. Hizbullah isn't quite ready to initiate another conflict with Israel, so it is merely biding its time.

The bottom line is that Lebanon's military has to be held accountable for this incident. They refuse to enforce UN SCR 1701, but are trigger happy to go after Israel when Israel is operating on the Israeli side of the Blue Line.

UPDATE:
Media mendacity continues apace. Various captions on photos showing Israelis working along the border where the skirmish between Israeli and Lebanese soldiers occurred makes it appear that the fighting broke out over a tree.

This from the AP:

Israeli soldiers use a mechanical grabber to cut trees in disputed land, claimed by both Israel and Lebanon near the southern village of Adaisseh, Lebanon, Wednesday, Aug. 4, 2010. The Israeli military said it would cut more trees Wednesday in the tense border area where Israel and Lebanon fought the most serious battle between the countries in four years, touched off by a dispute over a cypress tree.

That's factually wrong.

It broke out when a Lebanese soldier opened fire on Israelis carrying out planned maintenance along the fence after consultation and notice to UNIFIL. The precipitating event leading to the deaths was the Lebanese opening fire. UNIFIL clearly stated that Israel was working on clearing brush and trees from its side of the border.