TIT FOR TAT WITH THE GAZA RATS!
January 20, 2008
http://www.tribulationperiod.com/
The Hamas, and the multiplicity of other Gaza terrorist rat groups, are like rats left behind on a sinking ship after the crew has sailed away in life boats.
The land entrances on Gaza’s eastern border, its western seashore, and the airspace above it are controlled by Israel. Hamas and the terrorist groups know full well the Israelis will respond when they launch rockets into the Israeli population, but they do it deliberately to invoke them to do so. And they strategically place their launch sites in heavily populated areas so it will take civilian lives, which they gleefully release to the press, always portraying themselves as the poor innocent victims of unprovoked attacks by the infidels of Israel.
It is a daily tit for tat situation.
The Gaza Strip has a very long history of many conquers because of its location on the coastal trade route from Africa to the great Middle East empires of the past. It has been the worship place of many false gods, among them Dagon, the god of the Philistines.
Judges 16:21-31 – But the Philistines took him, and put out his eyes, and brought him down to Gaza, and bound him with fetters of brass; and he did grind in the prison house. [22] Howbeit the hair of his head began to grow again after he was shaven. [23] Then the lords of the Philistines gathered them together for to offer a great sacrifice unto Dagon their god, and to rejoice: for they said, Our god hath delivered Samson our enemy into our hand. [24] And when the people saw him, they praised their god: for they said, Our god hath delivered into our hands our enemy, and the destroyer of our country, which slew many of us. [25] And it came to pass, when their hearts were merry, that they said, Call for Samson, that he may make us sport.
And they called for Samson out of the prison house; and he made them sport: and they set him between the pillars. [26] And Samson said unto the lad that held him by the hand, Suffer me that I may feel the pillars whereupon the house standeth, that I may lean upon them. [27] Now the house was full of men and women; and all the lords of the Philistines were there; and there were upon the roof about three thousand men and women, that beheld while Samson made sport. [28] And Samson called unto the Lord, and said, O Lord God, remember me, I pray thee, and strengthen me, I pray thee, only this once, O God, that I may be at once avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes. [29] And Samson took hold of the two middle pillars upon which the house stood, and on which it was borne up, of the one with his right hand, and of the other with his left. [30] And Samson said, Let me die with the Philistines.
And he bowed himself with all his might; and the house fell upon the lords, and upon all the people that were therein. So the dead which he slew at his death were more than
they which he slew in his life. [31] Then his brethren and all the house of his father came down, and took him, and brought him up, and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the buryingplace of Manoah his father. And he judged Israel twenty years.
In June 2007, the Palestinian Civil War between Hamas (Islamic Resistance Movement) and Fatah (Palestine Liberation Movement) intensified. Hamas routed Fatah, and by 14 June 2007, the Gaza Strip was completely overrun by Hamas, resulting in a de facto government, maintaining it is the legitimate government of the Palestinian Authority. Retaliation by Fatah against Hamas in the West Bank has led to the opposite result there.
Hamas continues to consolidate its position in Gaza.
It has ousted Fatah-linked officials from positions of power and authority in the Strip (such as government positions, security services, universities, newspapers etc) and is in the process of consolidating its monopoly of fire power by progressively removing guns from the hands of peripheral militias, clans, and criminal groups. It is also harassing journalists.
While clamping down on lawlessness in the Strip, it has made no effort to control the continued firing of Qassam rockets from the Strip across the border into Israel, targeted at Israeli civilians.
Current status
The Palestinian Authority has been responsible for the civil and security administration in the Gaza Strip since 1994. There have been no Israeli settlements or military bases in the Gaza strip since the unilateral disengagement on 12 September 2005.
After Hamas’ takeover in Gaza on 14 June 2007, Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas of Fatah dismissed Hamas from the government and formed a Cabinet based in the West Bank. Abbas’ government has won widespread international support.
Egypt, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia said in late June 2007 that the West Bank-based Cabinet formed by Abbas was the sole legitimate Palestinian government, and Egypt moved its embassy from Gaza to the West Bank.. Hamas, which has effective control of the Strip, faces international diplomatic and economic isolation.
Nevertheless, the Gaza Strip has been under the effective control of Hamas since June 14, 2007. Hamas also effectively controls the Strip’s international border with Egypt, as well as with Israel (subject to equal corresponding control by the other side). However under the Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty of 1979 the only crossing between Gaza and Egypt is to be through the Rafah Border Crossing. Since the unilateral disengagement in September 2005 this crossing has been supervised by EU Border Assistance Mission Rafah under a separate Agreement. Since the Hamas takeover of the Gaza Strip, the monitors have not been able to perform their functions under the Agreement, citing security concerns, resulting in the Rafah Crossing being closed. The only land access into the Strip to Israel is via the Erez and Karni crossings.
All of the Excerpts which follow were extracted from the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs – Daily Alert
Excerpt 1 – New York Times
Palestinian Rockets Hit Israel
Isabel Kershner
Rockets fired by Palestinians slammed into the Israeli town of Sderot in quick succession Thursday evening on a third day of heightened hostilities between Israel and Palestinian militant groups in Gaza.
Hamas and other militant factions launched about 40 Kassam rockets throughout the day, Israeli Army officials said. Four Israelis were wounded and a dozen were treated for shock.
Eliyahu Cohen, 65, was surveying the damage to his home, which was struck during an early barrage about 8 a.m. His wife, Marcelle, had been alone in the house at the time, and
had managed to reach a fortified basement room, escaping injury.
At best, the municipal alert system gives residents about 20 seconds to find shelter from incoming rockets.
The rocket crashed through an outside wall into the Cohens’ kitchen, sending the refrigerator flying across the room and blasting off its door, which lodged in the ceiling.
The ground floor was covered with broken glass and debris.
The house next door, where the Cohens’ daughter, Nofit, lives, was also carpeted with glass and debris.
I’m happy that everyone was miraculously saved,” said Mr. Cohen. As he spoke, another alert sounded, and about a dozen friends, relatives and local officials who had been standing outside tramped through the daughter’s house, glass crunching underfoot, and crammed into a tiny fortified room.
Thirteen Israelis have been killed since the rocket attacks started seven years ago, eight of them in Sderot. (New York Times)
Excerpt 2 – AFP/Yahoo
Responding to Palestinian Rocket Fire, Israel Locks Down Gaza
Adel Zaanoun
AFP/Yahoo
Israel locked down Gaza on Thursday in a bid to halt daily Palestinian rocket fire. Defense Minister Ehud Barak ordered the closure of all border crossings to commercial traffic and individual travelers except for “exceptional humanitarian needs.” The U.S. urged Israel to avoid the loss of innocent life in Gaza, but defended Israel’s right to strike against rocket and mortar attacks from Islamic militants. Deputy Prime Minister Haim Ramon said, “There is no need to negotiate with Hamas. If the rocket firings stop, we will cease operating in Gaza.”
(AFP/Yahoo)
Excerpt 3 – Haaretz
Hamas Seeking Escalation to Force Israel into Truce
Amos Harel, Avi Issacharoff and Yuval Azoulay
Palestinians said they believe the escalation in rocket fire is part of a new Hamas policy aimed at forcing Israel into a ceasefire. Since Tuesday, Palestinians have fired more than 130 rockets and dozens of mortar shells at Israel. Hamas was responsible for most of Thursday’s launches, and senior IDF officers believe that unless the situation calms down soon, Israel will have to further escalate its military operations.
Hamas has upgraded its launching capabilities: Some of the rockets that hit Israel this week were fired by remote control from buried launchers, which makes it hard for Israeli forces to attack the launch crews. Hizbullah used this tactic extensively during the Second Lebanon War. (Ha’aretz)
Excerpt 4 – Jerusalem Post
Israel Will Act to End Palestinian Rocket Attacks
Yaakov Katz
Defense Minister Ehud Barak said Thursday, “The IDF will continue in its ongoing operation [in Gaza] and deepen it in order to strike at the perpetrators, until the [rocket] firing stops….It won’t be easy, it won’t happen this weekend, but we will bring an end to Kassam attacks on Sderot.” Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said, “We are not looking to fight in Gaza, we do not want to harm its residents…but we will not and we cannot continue to suffer this relentless Kassam rocket fire.”
(Jerusalem Post)
Excerpt 5 – Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs – Hebrew
Only a Military Operation in Gaza Will Stop the Palestinian Rocket Fire
Maj. Gen. (res.) Yaakov Amidror
There are only two ways to stop the rocket barrages on Sderot and Ashkelon.
One w ay is to negoti
ate with Hamas and reach a cease-fire. However, this would mean that Israel could not act against Hamas, which will be free to prepare for the next war at a time when it feels ready. The second way is a military operation like Operation Defensive Shield in the West Bank in 2002 – meaning Israel reconquers all those areas that are important to control. The area of Gaza used for firing rockets on Sderot is not particularly large and the threat can be neutralized in a few days.
Such an operation would not only prevent rocket fire on Sderot, but also would prevent the continued strengthening of Hamas. Nevertheless, the price to be paid during such an operation will not be small, nor c
an it even be predicted.
(Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs-Hebrew)
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