First Qassam since end of Gaza op hits Negev

[oberliner]

A Qassam rocket fired from the Gaza Strip struck the Eshkol region in the western Negev on Wednesday, in the first Gaza rocket attack to hit Israel since a shaky cease-fire ended Israel's three-week offensive in the coastal enclave.

There were no reports of injuries or damage in the rocket strike.

Eshkol Regional Council head Haim Yalin said following the rocket strike that "we expect Israel's government not to be dragged into a policy of restraint, and we expect a forceful response to preserve the security of the residents of the Gaza envelope."

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1059457.html

[bobd0]

1. "There were no reports of injuries or damage in the rocket strike."

Are there ever?

But it's always a good excuse to go slaughter some Palestinians.

[nadinbrzezinski]

3. I tend to stay out of this forum, but hell's bells I need to ask

so no problem if we launch rockets?

Free clue, it is BOTH sides.

[oberliner]

4. Yes, people (including children) have been injured and killed by Qassam rocket attacks

Including two Palestinian girls who were killed when the Qassams launched by Hamas did not reach Israel and landed in Gaza instead.

[bobd0]

20. So what is the ratio of Israeli lives to Palestinian lives?

Is one Israeli life worth fifty Palestinians? One-hundred? One thousand? Or is Israel more interested in a final solution to their Palestinian problem?

[oberliner]

33. Final solution?

I do not think these Nazi Germany/Holocaust references are appropriate.

[bobd0]

36. I am not the first person to make the reference. Israeli deputy defense minister, Matan Vilnai,

made the reference himself when he threatened Gaza with, "an even bigger shoah", so please, take it up with him before you criticize my references. :)

[oberliner]

37. If he posted it on DU I'd criticize him for it too!

Did he make the comment in English or Hebrew?

[Idealism]

2. "A policy of restraint"

Mr. Yalin would prefer more than just 1300 Palestinian deaths in the second stanza?

[anonymous171]

5. Just let them at eachother.

Israel and Hamas and everyone else need to have that huge war they have been wanting for ages. They need to suffer in order to understand why peace is the only way.

[Chulanowa]

6. You'd think Israel would sense a pattern here

Somewhere in the halls of governance, an intern is looking at the newspaper, and makes the startling connection... "Hey... when we bomb Gaza... Gazans shoots rockets at us!"

[henank]

7. Your comment needs fixing

Somewhere in the halls of governance, an intern is looking at the newspaper, and makes the startling connection... "Hey... when we cease fire... Gazans shoots rockets at us!"

There. Fixed it for ya.

[Chulanowa]

28. Welcome to DU

Your next stop should be to the other stories on Haaretz, such as the ones talking of how Israel was bombing southern Gaza just prior to this lonely little rocket.

Don't get lost now, it's a big internet.

[oberliner]

9. Except that the Gazans shot rockets before Israel bombed Gaza

Anyway, I think it would be best for all concerned if they stopped shooting rockets from Gaza.

[Chulanowa]

27. Except that the Israelis bombed Gaza before the Gazans shot rockets

Anyway, I think it would be best for all concerned if they stopped dropping boms from Israel.

[oberliner]

32. The Qassam rocket attacks began in 2001

Hamas claimed that they were being launched in response to the occupation in general, not as a result of any bombing of Gaza.

[pelsar]

14. history is kinda of difficult for you i see

its not really that far back....almost daily since israel left gaza....rockets land in israel whether or not israel shoots or doesnt shoot (well actually its been pretty quiet since the invasion).

so how is it you got so confused.....

[Chulanowa]

21. You really have no room to talk

You apparently can't even read what's in front of your fucking face...

in the first Gaza rocket attack to hit Israel since a shaky cease-fire ended Israel's three-week offensive in the coastal enclave.

"It's been pretty quiet" you say? Actually, you're right. However, yesterday Israel bombed some more tunnels at the Gaza-Egypt border. Apparently the rocket was retaliation. Thankfully no one was killed in either attack.

You want to call me confused, yet you contradict yourself in the first line of your post. You also believe that it's the losing party in a war trying to extend that war. I don't think you can afford to call anyone confused, Pelsar.

[pelsar]

22. like i wrote....history....and it not that old

when we bomb Gaza... Gazans shoots rockets at us!"

and when did this pattern actually start?....perhaps you would like to actually put down the date?...

do you dare?

or is a single incident your definition of patten?

[Chulanowa]

26. I like this tactic

Israel agreed to a cease-fire. This is fact.
Even though Hamas was not party to said cease-fire (go figure, unilateral truces) it respected it and withheld fire. Also fact.
For the last 10 days, the front has been pretty quiet. Again, fact.
Yesterday, Israel conducts a bombing raid in southern Gaza. Fact number four.
Today, Hamas launches a rocket. Again, we have a fact.

We have a similar sequence of facts leading up to the December-January conflict. We also have similar breaches during said conflict. You know, the three-hour cease-fires that Israel kept bombing during anyway? And of course there's the whole Geneva Conventions thing that Israel only follows when it's beneficial to it to do so.

Now I damn sure could dig through the pile of shit about this conflict I have and give you further dates and examples and sequences. Hell, I could do it in either direction - the Palestinians are no angels. But the point is, I expect the parties to an agreement to abide by that agreement, and when one of them doesn't - as Israel has failed to the last two times - they have no fucking right to complain if retaliation is made.

[azurnoir]

29. Puleez why always always the partial truth

no not even partial truth Israel temporarily took its boots off the ground and oh yeah dismantled some settlements right down to the sand but remained in control of all ground entry points save one Egypt's and kept complete control of air and water ways those last two items are acts of war so stop the transparent self righteous look at what we did for them stuff we see what has been done for Gaza by the worlds most moral army

[GoesTo11]

8. I think Hamas wants Operation Cast Lead to continue

Rockets are the way to get Israel to go back to it! And since Hamas says it was a great victory, I can see why they might want to have a rematch.

[Fozzledick]

10. It could just be their greeting to George Mitchell

to let him know what they think of the whole "cease fire" idea.

[GoesTo11]

11. What the hell are they thinking?

Do they want to ensure that any peace negotiations led by Obama exclude them?

[Fozzledick]

13. More likely a tantrum because they're already excluded

because of our basic "no negotiations with terrorists" policy.

The only ones willing to actually talk to them directly are the Egyptians, and right now they're giving them a hard ultimatum: deal with us now or deal with Netanyahu next month.

[Idealism]

25. Where does this article say that Hamas fired the rocket?

[azurnoir]

30. Nope the article does not mention any group

but does say that IAF and IDF are taking action against the Palestinians not Hamas.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

12. What matters is the IDF response...

I would have assumed nearly instantaneous shelling of the launch site and am surprised it did not happen.

[pelsar]

15. mainly because its inaccurate..

that was tried, but artillery is pretty much inaccurate and no doubt one of the shells would land on house, and it didnt work in the past .....i suspect there are other plans in the works

[ProgressiveProfessor]

18. Some of the shells are GPS aided

But you are right that there is Target Location Error and Circular Error Probability concerns.

[pelsar]

24. and put in the "cold cannon"

for the first shells that need adjustment

[ProgressiveProfessor]

31. GPS aided shells are designed to eliminate that.

However, it looks like IAF struck back since this discussion was started

[pelsar]

35. but they dont....

......at least not yet

[Alamuti Lotus]

16. headline from earlier today: 'Israeli jets target Gaza tunnels'

And the Qassam's follow. What an amazing coincidence!

[Fozzledick]

17. Headline from yesterday: "Bomb explodes near IDF patrol along Gaza border fence"

Must be another one of those coincidences!

[Alamuti Lotus]

19. Standing headline: "Nothing has actually changed a damn bit"

Shocking.

[Recursion]

38. Editorial: blockade the whole damn Levant and see who's still standing in 2 years

:argh:

[Idealism]

23. Headline from January 22: "7 civilians injured by Israeli gunboat in Gaza"

Damn these coincidences keep adding up... I guess the Israeli Navy didn't get that unilateral cease-fire business on the 17th.. Hopefully they'll get it by February? :shrug:

http://ramallahonline.com/content/2824-7-civilians-injured-by-israeli-gunboat-in-gaza-we-wont-accept-this-any-longer

[Prometheus Bound]

34. Strange that the IAF didn't destroy this weapons manufacturing facility during 'Op Cast Lead'

Wouldn't that have been one of the first targets?