Hamas is escalating its rocket attacks on Israel, and that could damage the Palestinian cause in more ways than one
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
Hamas is escalating its rocket attacks on Israel, and that could damage the Palestinian cause in more ways than one
By Daniella Greenbaum, Business Insider, May. 29, 2018, 3:54 PM 8,500
A rocket is launched from an Israeli anti-missile system known as Iron Dome in order to intercept a rocket fired by Palestinian militants from the Gaza Strip on Aug. 21, 2011. (Dan Balilty/AP)
When they hear the siren sound, Israelis have 15 seconds to run into a shelter before rockets hit.
On Tuesday, Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad fired a barrage of rockets into Israel from Gaza.
The attacks could do lasting damage to the peace process in several different ways.
The siren blares. You have 15 seconds to sprint to the nearest shelter before an incoming rocket hits your city.
Imagine being old, or infirm, or a child who is alone. Imagine being a parent with too many children to carry by yourself. Imagine living in a place where you wake up in the morning anxious about whether or not there's a shelter right near the street where you need to run your errands.
Israelis don't need to imagine. For many of them, the sirens and the rockets are their reality.
On Tuesday, Palestinian Islamic Jihad and Hamas fired a barrage of rockets into Israel from Gaza, according to reports from the ground. Israeli critics consistently point to the lopsided ratios of casualties on the Israeli side compared to the Palestinian side — likely, today will be no different. But that no one has died is due not to a lack of Palestinian effort but to Hamas's general ineptitude and Israel's Iron Dome system.
However, many in the political arena have already issued condemnations. Nickolay Mladenov, the UN's special coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, tweeted that "it is UNACCEPTABLE to indiscriminately fire at civilian communities!" He said he is "deeply concerned by today's rockets fired by Palestinian militants towards Southern Israel, one of which hit close to a kindergarten."
"Such actions," he said, "undermine efforts to improve the situation in Gaza."
Emanuele Giaufret, the European Union's ambassador to Israel noted that "as kids were preparing for school this morning a barrage of rockets from Gaza fell on Southern Israel. One landed outside a kindergarten."
"I know the resilience of communities in Southern Israel but indiscriminate attacks are totally unacceptable and to be condemned unreservedly," he tweeted.
Ireland's minister of foreign affairs, Simon Coveney, tweeted: "I strongly condemn firing of rockets from #Gaza at Israel today -—I continue to advocate strongly for people of Gaza who live in impossible conditions — but this Hamas led violence undermines Palestinian cause + is counterproductive to political progress."
The damage to the Palestinian cause was made materially clear Tuesday, when many of the buildings in the Gaza strip lost power thanks to an errant rocket that damaged facilities that provide electricity to the strip.
For that, and for much of their suffering, Palestinians can thank Hamas.
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This is the second time in a few days that this has been done. It's getting harder and harder for the terrorist sympathizers and the Israel bashers to blame Israel for these attacks.
Actually, I've got a good idea, about 50 to 100 thousand Israelis should storm the fence with Gaza, call it a peaceful demonstration, fake getting wounded for the sake of the leftist media, and maybe Israel can get the EU and the UN to say that it was all Hamas's fault.
Who is going to wound them? Israeli soldiers are the only ones controlling the border with Gaza. They could let them run across the border into Gaza; but then they would lose the narrative you seek.
As for Hamas. Israel is partly to blame for their existence in Gaza. The West Bank and Gaza are not connected in any way. There is no Palestinian controlling factor for Hamas in Gaza (Hamas removed the PA a long time ago from Gaza). Of course connecting them has its own risks, as Hamas could export into the West Bank- which has received nothing in return for rolling over an playing dead. The settlement building in the West Bank continues and is expanding. There is no peace process as the PA won't condemn Hamas, as they still hope to be a unified country one day- and Israel won't talk to them until they do.
There is no peace process, and never will be. The Israelis and Hamas are willing to accept things the way they are now; and the PA is struggling to hold onto power in the West Bank and can do nothing w/o looking like appeasers or traitors to their own people. (Not that the PA isn't an Israeli/US backed cesspool of corruption themselves).
It is just a matter of time before the next Al Nakba, and the countries surrounding Israel can look forward to another influx of unwanted Palestinians within their borders that could destabilize their country for good.
I wish the US would end aide to both sides. The money could be much better used here. But, the Establishment on both sides loves Israel, so the money will continue to flow.
I wish the US would end aide to both sides.
Moral relativism makes me want to puke.
From My favorite Irish atheist.
Israel is a litmus test for me.
Palestinian Muslim totalitarians are fighting Jewish/secular democrats.
The former jail and torture gays . The latter have gay pride marches .
The former beat women for immodest dress . The latter have topless beaches .
The former get new rulers when the old ones are shot and thrown off rooftops . The latter have decades of peaceful elections .
The former have sharia law . The latter are more secular than Ireland .
If you support the Palestinians, you have no moral compass.
There are a range of trendy reasons why westerners refuse to support a liberal western country under siege from people who do not subscribe to western values. Self-hatred may be the single most dominant reason. Hating Israel is a safe way of hating the west , for a certain left-wing mindset. Whatever the reasons, the left disgraces itself by its support for the Palestinians.
I said they should fake it, just like the Gazans did. Did you read the story about the Gazan being carried away on a stretcher, and when the photographers stopped shooting photos and videos he jumped off the stretcher? One videographer didn't follow Hamas' directions and kept on shooting the scene too long. LOL
Didn't Hamas just recently agree to a cease-fire?
Apparently not.
The Israelis' and the Palestinians share a common enemy. Religion.