Israel Should Attack Now

It is clear that the Palestinians and the Hezbollah are continuously waging war on Israel, and that this is nothing new. Day after day, year after year, Arab terrorists attack innocent Israeli civilians, and this has been going on, almost non-stop, since 1948. Four times Arab armies have invaded Israel and ended up causing only death and dismal refugee status for Palestinians. (There actually is no such thing as a Palestinian.) Despite all offers, despite attempts to trade land for peace, despite unilateral withdrawal from lands taken during defensive battle, there is no letup in the violence directed at Israel. Each act is a continuing act of war justifying an effective response. Full scale war should be directed at the terrorists until they capitulate or are dead. If I were an Israeli leader, when the next missile lands, I would order a full-scale attack on the Gaza strip and kill or drive out every Palestinian Arab there in order to occupy the area and build fortifications and settlements. If the Hezbollah attacked from the south, I would occupy southern Lebanon, as before.

Today, and almost every day, lethal missiles are hurled down on Israeli civilians from Islamic terrorists located in Gaza. The wall has reduced the homicide bombers, but still they persist. Last summer the Hezbollah, another Islamic terrorist group, invaded Israel, kidnapping and murdering its soldiers, and then began another reign of terror by launching rockets supplied by Iran. Today, they are readying themselves for another attack. Every day, Mullahs preach death and hatred for Israelis and Americans from their mosques, and urge their followers to train their children to be homicide bombers. Why should the world continue to expect the Israelis to just stand and take this violence and this vitriol?

Because of the heavy Muslim and third world makeup of the United Nations and because of the rampant anti-Semitism that has returned to left-wing Europe, the UN passes resolutions condemning Israel for defending herself. Surely Israelis have nothing more to fear from the UN by taking positive steps to defend herself – steps that would push out her borders to make them more defensible as her enemies gain access to longer range missiles.

As an American who wouldn’t put up with an attack on Americans for one minute, I cannot understand how Israelis can take this slaughter without responding appropriately. I realize that American presidents have placed great pressure on the Israelis to keep their responses to this terror measured, and probably have threatened to deny them military supplies and equipment, but this murderous nonsense has to stop, and we should help them stop it.

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Two wounded by Qassams; IAF targets Hamas in Gaza

PM approves 'severe and harsh' response to Qassam rocket fire

By Aluf Benn, Avi Issacharoff and Amos Harel, Haaretz.com May 15, 2007 (Excerpt)

"Prime Minister Ehud Olmert approved Wednesday a "severe and harsh" response to the ongoing Qassam rocket fire, including the resumption of targeted killings of Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip, according to the Prime Minister's Office.

The decision came as Palestinian militants continued their rocket barrage on the western Negev on Wednesday, with nearly 50 Qassams fired since Tuesday. On Wednesday, some 25 rockets were fired at the area, wounding two people.

Olmert held security consultations with the participation of Defense Minister Amir Peretz, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Gabi Asheknazi, and other senior military and defense officials.

The PMO statement said the ministers approved "a series of actions to target the those who launch rockets and their commanders, to thwart their ability to fire [rockets] and to damage the terrorist infrastructure."

"Israel will take severe and decisive measures to put an end to these attacks and will allow the residents of Sderot and southern communities to live in peace," said David Baker, an official in the PMO.”

This was the first time that Livni took part in security consultations, and the foreign minister's participation is a direct result of the Winograd Committee's recommendations in the wake of the Second Lebanon War.

A 70-year-old woman was moderately to seriously wounded and a man lightly hurt Wednesday when a Qassam rocket hit a house in Sderot.

The woman, who was wounded by shrapnel, was evacuated to Barzilai Hospital in Ashkelon. Four other people were treated for shock.

The rocket hit a residential complex, causing damage to much of the buildings. The complex is home to the family of Yaakov Yaakobov, who was killed by a Qassam rocket in November of last year.

On Wednesday evening, a rocket struck Sderot and knocked out power throughout the entire town.

Earlier in the day, the Israel Air Force fired missiles at a car carrying Hamas militants in northern Gaza. Palestinians sources said one militant was killed and two other Palestinians were wounded.

The IDF confirmed the airstrike, saying it targeted a Palestinian rocket crew that had just launched rockets at Israel.

Also Wednesday, the IAF fired missiles into a Hamas operations headquarters in the southern Gaza town of Rafah. Palestinian officials said four Hamas gunmen were killed in the attack, and at least 20 were wounded.

IDF sources confirmed that the attack came as a response to the continued firing of Qassam rockets over the past days on the western Negev. "Hamas must know that there is a price to be paid for launching rockets at Sderot and the surrounding area," the sources said.

One of the Qassams landed near a kibbutz in the Ashkelon Coast regional council, while two others fell north of Sderot. On Tuesday, a woman was seriously injured and some 30 others moderately to lightly wounded in the attacks.

On Wednesday afternoon, two Qassam rockets hit open areas in the western Negev, causing no damage or injuries.

A Qassam rocket also struck a home next to the Sderot residence of Defense Minister Amir Peretz early on Wednesday, causing damage but no injuries.

Peretz was not at home at the time of the attack, part of a barrage of Palestinian rockets that also hit a basketball court in the town Wednesday morning.

The defense minister blamed Hamas for the attack, maintaining they are "trying to cover up the murderous act of their men against Fatah militants."

Peretz, who was touring an IDF exercise in the north, called the rocket firing "intolerable and will reap a response." He reiterated that "Israel has no intention to intervene with the internal clashes in [Gaza] Strip, but we are not going to tolerate that these clashes will impact the security of Israeli residents; these events will reap a suitable response."

IAF helicopters attacked in response to the rocket barrage open fields in the northern Gaza Strip where Qassam rockets are suspected to be launched from.

Dozens of Sderot residents on Wednesday crammed into buses, provided by Russian-Israeli billionaire Arcadi Gaydamak, seeking refuge from the battered town. The residents will stay in a Be'er Sheva hotel courtesy of Gaydamak.

The prime minister, however, criticized the evacuation of Sderot residents, saying "these are exactly the pictures that Hamas is waiting for, and I will not grant any victory to terrorism."

Following the security consultations, Olmert instructed the relevant government agencies and organizations to take the necessary steps to provide the area's residents with the assistance they require.

The prime minister also called Sderot Mayor Eli Moyal and expressed his solidarity with the town's residents.

As a result of the barrage, the public bomb shelters in Sderot were opened for the first time on Tuesday, and classes will be canceled Wednesday for the second straight day.

Hamas openly claimed credit for the strikes and announced it plans to continue them.