Sheetrit, Eitan propose firing 'Israeli Qassam' at Gaza Strip

[Behind the Aegis]

Ministers Meir Sheetrit and Rafi Eitan proposed Wednesday that Israel produce its own version of the Qassam rocket to be fired at targets inside the Gaza Strip in response to Palestinian rocket fire on its southern communities.

The suggestion was made at a meeting of the security cabinet to discuss the ongoing military operation aimed at countering Qassam fire from Gaza.

The two said that this kind of rocket, which would cost very little, would cause a small amount of damage but would put pressure on the population in Gaza.

The cabinet decided at the meeting to reject a cease-fire with Hamas over the violence in the Gaza Strip, and that the Israel Defense Forces should continue with its ongoing policy of military action against the Palestinian militant groups.

more....

[mike_c]

1. this would be funny if it wasn't so pathetic....

Israel, which regularly slices and dices the people trapped in Gaza with some of the most modern armaments on Earth, suggesting that they could use stone-age rockets to "put pressure on the population in Gaza." It's a bizarro world....

[madrchsod]

2. that is a dumb idea on many levels

i guess there are really dumb politicians in every country...

[Tom Joad]

3. How about an announcement that they will end the occupation of the West Bank?

Lift the seige on Gaza? Return land stolen by the illegal settlements to the Palestinians?

[breakaleg]

4. Check out this little gem

"Shas MK Yitzhak Cohen proposed cutting off the supply of electricity, water and fuel to the Strip, and justify the move by saying that Qassam rockets had destroyed Israel's infrastructure and that it will take a long time to repair the facilities with which to supply the Palestinians with basic resources. Shin Bet security service director Yuval Diskin suggested that Cohen's idea is worth examining. "

What I don't understand is why Israel won't consider a cease-fire? Wouldn't that benefit both sides?

[Tom Joad]

6. Cohen is nothing more than a little terrorist wannabe.

[breakaleg]

7. What is alarming is not what they suggest doing to Gaza, but the already planned excuse

as to why they can't the services back up and running. Part of me thinks this is so extreme that it has to be fabricated. But if it isn't, then what does it say about Israeli politicians? Or about the fact that they allowed this to get out?

[henank]

8. Been there done that, got the T shirt

Tried that already. Israel was in a ceasefire when the rocket fire started. Why should Israel agree (with whom by the way? Hamas, who has stated it will not abide by a ceasefire? Fatah, who is too weak to dictate terms to Hamas?) to a ceasefire now that she's starting to win? It happens every time. As soon as Israel starts to gain the upper hand - there immediately come the calls for a ceasefire. They should have thought of that before they started firing rockets at Israel. If you pull a tiger by the tail don't be surprised if you get bitten.

[breakaleg]

10. Seems to me the issue is Hamas wants any ceasefire to include the West Bank.

Whereas Israel wants to be able to do what it wants there without having to worry about violating an agreement. The question is, why don't they want to stop shooting over there?

[Igel]

11. Because the West Bank, until recently, hasn't been especially pro-Hamas.

There are rumors that a hefty percentage of the Fatah forces have switched sides in the West Bank, but AFAIK they're only rumors. However, the rumor also continues to say that part of the WB activity by the Israelis is neutralizing the neo-Hamas groups before they can act fully Hamasesque. If the rumor is true, I can't fault the WB raids.

If Hamas secures, in its name, a ceasefire for the West Bank, they've earned some of what passes for loyalty--the 'insurgents', if you will, owe a debt, however small, to Hamas.

However consider the nature of the Hamas ceasefire. It's always, "Israel can't fight any Palestinian group, but only the Palestinian group Hamas is bound to not fight Israel." The upshot is that all the other groups can *continue* to fight with impunity under Hamas' umbrella with no violation of the ceasefire--and if Hamas helps them, as it did the Qassam guys under the last ceasefire, it doesn't much hurt Hamas.

Now, some Hamasites are willing to live with Jews in complete peace and harmony, showing extreme Islamic tolerance, as long as the Jews don't get uppity and know their place in an Islamic state, like the old days when all the Arab Muslims were smart, handsome, wealthy, and had harems. But Hamasites sound like early PLO folks--we'll fight Israel till we win, and have the boats standing by to take any survivors elsewhere--Judenrein from the river to the sea! Al-Husseini would be proud.

[Shaktimaan]

14. The real issue Israel has is primarily with Hamas, not the WB.

Hamas has made it clear that while it generally respects a cease-fire with Israel, it will do nothing to stop militant groups of the ''resistance'' -- including its own military wing -- from firing rockets into Israel or attacking Israeli civilians.

http://select.nytimes.com/search/restricted/article?res=FA0A15FB38550C758DDDAC0894DF404482

See, it's not a cease-fire that's being proposed. It's a cease-fire™. Just one out of Hamas' full line of popular, licensable tactics.
Can you spot them all?

[richards1052]

15. With victories like this, who needs defeat

"Why should Israel agree...to a ceasefire now that she's starting to win? It happens every time. As soon as Israel starts to gain the upper hand..."

Yes, it was the same argument during the Lebanon War. Remember that meme that Israel was "just starting to win" there when the world started calling for a ceasefire?? The only problem w. the meme...Israel got all the time it wanted & still made a mess out of the thing. If you think Israel is "winning" or "has the upper hand" in Gaza you've been drinking some bad Kool-Aid. Israel is no more winning than Hamas is. The point being that no one wins in such situations. Victory is a mirage.

But hey if you want Israel to keep "winning," then while it is doing so we should expect to see Hamas continue lobbing those Qassams into Sderot. How many more Israelis have to die before Israel finally "wins" & they stop entirely (which is, as I said, a pipedream)??

[Shaktimaan]

9. A cease fire doesn't necessarily *always* benefit everyone.

In this case, the feeling is that Hamas is not calling for a cease fire out of any desire for long term peace or with any humanitarian goal in mind. Their real motive is assumed to simply be that a cease fire would benefit them strategically right now. When they find themselves at a serious disadvantage, (maybe Israel has cut off their means of production by bombing the Qassam factories for instance), a temporary cease fire gives them the time they need to rearm or to rebuild tunnels for arms suppliers in Egypt or to better entrench themselves a lá Hezbollah by fortifying their positions, etc.

They aren't calling for peace. They are calling for a time out to catch their breath. It's clever because it makes Israel look aggressive when they reject a cease fire proposal and they may even end up being forced by political means to accept it. Realistically though, this is kind of like asking for a quick break in the middle of a street fight so you can run home and grab a knife.

You have to admit, the rhetoric Hamas has been putting out there lately doesn't exactly suggest a peaceful motive.

[Violet_Crumble]

12. It doesn't just make Israel look aggressive...

They aren't calling for peace. They are calling for a time out to catch their breath. It's clever because it makes Israel look aggressive when they reject a cease fire proposal and they may even end up being forced by political means to accept it.

Israel looks both aggressive and not the slightest bit interested in any halt to violence, at least not any violence that it committs in the West Bank.

You have to admit, the rhetoric Hamas has been putting out there lately doesn't exactly suggest a peaceful motive.

It's no different than the rhetoric being put out by these Israeli govt ministers...

[Name removed]

13. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[richards1052]

16. Yes, Israel breaks ceasefires too

"Are you suggesting that Israel has not held to numerous cease-fires in the past?"

Israel declares ceasefires and violates them with the same regularity shown by Palestinian militant groups. Your case is hopeless. You're attempting to argue that one side is blameless and the other full of blame when, in reality, the 2 sides are mirror images of ea. other. Whatever sins the one side is guilty of--the other is guilty of virtually the same ones. Whatever virtues one side possesses--the other side possesses virtually the same ones.

[Shaktimaan]

17. I respectfully disagree.

I am in no way arguing that Israel is blameless or that the conflict is a result of one side's actions alone.

That said, Israel and Hamas or Islamic Jihad are not mirror images of each other by any stretch of the imagination. I also call bullshit on your claim that Israel declares ceasefires and violates them with equal regularity as the Palestinians. Can you back that whopper up?

[Violet_Crumble]

19. I'll spell it out so it's very clear for you...

Israel has steadfastly refused in the past to extend any ceasefire to the West Bank. What happens is that Israel continues to carry out raids in the West Bank, and then act all innocent and claim there's no provocation when rockets are fired from Gaza. For any ceasefire not to be a complete joke, it has to include both Gaza and the West Bank....

[Warpy]

5. Right, violence has worked so well for them up until now

Both sides in that region seem locked into violence that keeps feeding on itself. Neither side is wearing a white hat.

[Englander]

18. Interesting.

The two said that this kind of rocket, which would cost very little, would cause a small amount of damage but would put pressure on the population in Gaza.

[bemildred]

20. An unfortunate slip. You can smell how upsetting it all is. nt