Israel has been under attack from Gaza once again. Hundreds of rockets have been fired at Israeli cities and towns by Hamas and the Islamic Jihad terrorist groups. The casualty count is still low on both sides. Israeli, as of the time I’m’ writing this, is still blowing up empty buildings that the terrorist groups have used in the past. The rockets are causing minimal damage because of the Iron Dome interceptor missiles that blast enemy rockets out of the sky if their trajectory indicated they might hit a populated area. More people are being killed during this time in Syria by air strikes that are conducted by the Syrian and Russian forces than have been hurt is Israel and Gaza. Even the death tolls from natural disasters like typhoons in Mozambique are causing more deaths. I would not be surprised to hear that the Venezuelan police and army are killing more people than are dying around here.
Despite all that, the real problem is not being solved. Even little spasms of violence like the ones we see in Gaza are motivated by a political objectives. The terrorists are threatening to disrupt Israel’s Independence Day celebrations, and even hope to influence the scheduled Eurovision festival being hosted in Tel Aviv the week after that. The idea that they even think that such an objective is achievable is proof that any kind of deterrent that once might have existed to prevent Hamas rocket attacks is gone. True, the rockets are a form of blackmail. But that extortion would not be attempted if there was any real fear on the terrorist side that the often threatened massive Israeli response might actually take place. Yes, there are some kind of negotiations going on in Egypt. Both the UN and the Egyptians (no friends on Hamas) are trying almost desperately to restore the cease-fire. In the past Hamas would shoot for a while, and when it looked like Israel was about tired of the game, Hamas would agree to rein in their troops and settle for a propaganda success accompanied by some slight Israeli appeasement move.
Have the terrorists miscalculated? Is the damage they think they can threaten to inflict enough damage to earn another acceptance of a blow to Israeli sovereignty and self image? Is Israeli reluctance to make any move toward ground combat strong enough to let them get away with it? It isn’t a simple problem. moving back into Gaza means returning to a place that Hamas has consistently kept in ruin. During their entire reign the Arab parties have made no investment in making life better for their citizens. The water and sewage systems have not been improved, the only schools and medical facilities were built using foreign funding, or rather, what remained of such funding after the ruling party skimmed off massive amounts via both simple corruption and direct embezzlement. I don’t think it should be a difficult decision for the Israeli side, but it does leave enough room for the risk takers to make bets on the outcome.
Wetherhorn 