Israpundit

by Omri Ceren

Qassams have a 10km range and can pack up to 20kg of explosives and shrapnel. The time between the red alert siren and the rocket’s impact is about 15 seconds. So the Palestinians routinely launch rockets at Sderot at around 7:45am to target kids who are walking to school and are too far from buildings to get to a shelter. Now that power is back on in Gaza, Palestinian soldiers are right back at it:

Two barrages were fired shortly before 8 am, as Sderot’s children were making their way to school. Nine Qassam rockets and 13 mortar shells were fired at the western Negev communities on Monday afternoon. Three of the mortars landed in the Palestinian territories.

Surreal. No country on the planet would tolerate that for a day, let alone for the months upon months of that Israelis have been subjected to.

[Cross-posted to Mere Rhetoric]

by Omri Ceren

Maybe “makes them” is a little strong. But there’s certainly something in the way of an intriguing correlation:

Barak consented to ease the near-complete closure imposed on the Hamas-controlled territory, authorizing the entry of humanitarian aid and a one-time shipment of diesel fuel to power Gaza’s electricity station less than a day after it was shut down. Shortly after Barak’s pronouncements the relative respite in rocket attacks on southern Israel seemed over, with nine Qassam rockets and 13 mortar shells landing in and around communities in the western Negev.

On the day before the lockdown - which involved a less than staggering 30 percent energy cut and no fresh fruits or vegetables - the Palestinians launched forty rockets at Israeli schools and hospitals. Immediately after the lockdown, the number of Qassams dropped to one because Hamas got the message that the Israelis were serious about protecting Sderot. Then Barak lifted the closure ever so slightly, and the Palestinians immediately launched over 20 more Qassams and mortars. This is surreal. These people are lunatics. And the UN is set to condemn Israel. Of course they are.

[Cross-posted to Mere Rhetoric]

by Omri Ceren

Last October we wrote that “the UN is preparing to blame Israel” as the Palestinians laid the groundwork for a manufactured humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Turns out, that was true:

Gaza’s only electrical plant shut down most of its turbines Sunday after an Israeli border closure blocked the entry of fuel that powers them, Palestinian officials said. But Shlomo Dror, a spokesman for Israel’s defense ministry, said Gaza has enough fuel and accused Palestinian officials of trying to create the impression of a crisis that did not exist. The fuel shortage was a result of Defense Minister Ehud Barak’s decision on Thursday to halt all shipments to the Strip… after Hamas renewed Kassam rocket fire last week, resulting in unusually heavy barrages on Sderot… In addition to the fuel it receives from Israel to power its electrical plant, Gaza gets about two-thirds of its electricity directly from Israel. Israeli officials said that supply would not be affected.

(more…)

by Omri Ceren

Remember that time when Hezbollah started a war with Israel and then went crawling to the rest of the world begging them to call off the IDF? If you do, then this might seem vaguely familiar:

The exiled leader of Hamas appealed to Arab leaders and his rival, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, on Sunday asking them to forget their differences and help the beleaguered Gazans, who saw Gaza City plunge into darkness after Israel blocked a shipment of fuel that powers its only electrical plant. The plea was rare show of emotion for the hard-line Khaled Mashaal, who lives in exile in Damascus, Syria. “All Arab leaders, exercise real pressure to stop this Zionist crime…” In addition to the fuel it receives from Israel to power its electrical plant, Gaza gets about two-thirds of its electricity directly from Israel. Israeli officials said that supply would not be affected.

If Hamas returned Gilad Shalit and stopped dropping mortars and rockets on Israeli schools and hospitals, everything would get turned back on tomorrow.

[Cross-posted to Mere Rhetoric]

by Omri Ceren

I’ve been trying to come up with a sarcastic opening for the last couple of minutes, but - honestly - screw it:

The Palestinian Authority threatened on Tuesday to suspend negotiations with Israel in response to an IDF operation in the Gaza Strip that left 19 Palestinians - most of them Hamas gunmen - dead. The PA also called for deploying international forces in the Gaza Strip “to defend Palestinian civilians against recurring Israeli acts of aggression.” The call was issued by the PA government in Ramallah and the ruling Fatah faction. PA officials strongly condemned the IDF raid, dubbing it a “massacre.” The officials expressed outrage at its timing, coming five days after US President George W. Bush’s visit to Ramallah and his meeting with PA President Mahmoud Abbas.

So, um, I’ve got some questions:

(1) So the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip get to drop dozens of rockets and bombs on Israeli schools and hospitals while Bush is actually in Ramallah, but responding to that five days later is a cause for outrage - yes?
(2) When mainstream media outlets run with the Palestinian “Israel brought Fatah and Hamas together” narrative, do you think they’ll mention how Fatah and Hamas have been united diplomatically and militarily for months?
(3) Has there ever been a major Israeli military campaign - justified or not, limited or not - that wasn’t a “massacre”? Cf. stupid headline tricks from a previous “massacre”?
(4) When the Palestinians call for an international force, do they know in advance that it’ll become a bunch of human shields allowing Palestinians to attack Israel but restricting Israeli retaliation? Or does it just work out that way?
(5) How absurd is it that Israel is getting blamed for a surgical operation against rocket teams ostensibly unassociated from Hamas because the raid escalated after Hamas soldiers pinned down Israeli forces?

[Cross-posted to Mere Rhetoric]