Gaza Violence

As world condemnation of Israel's assault on Gaza grows, Iran starts making some noise

The citizens of southern Israel have been under threat of rocket fire from neighboring Gaza for several years already. While most of the projectiles have failed to cause fatalities, they are succeeding as a preferred terrorist weapon.

The aim of the rocket barrages that continue to pummel southern Israel is this: to show Israel that Hamas is determined to sew the seeds of destruction in Israel. The terrorist organization is unperturbed by Israeli firepower. Their strength sprouts from their misguided perception of freedom fighting. The more of their own they bury the greater their support base grows.

Any international observer who believes that Hamas is a fad or not a serious threat to Israel is sorely mistaken. Hamas is a well-structured outfit, funded, trained and supplied by radical Islamists in Syria and Iran. Hamas does not care for the Palestinians - they are merely their cannon fodder to serve the greater agenda - Israel's destruction. As a proxy territory of Iran, Gaza will do Tehran's bidding, much like Hizballah in southern Lebanon.

That Israel has been called to task regarding their targeted bombardment of Hamas terror cells, infrastructures, weapons caches and institutions is a sham. Israel has attempted to target specific entities in Gaza. Contrast this with Hamas' indiscriminate bombing of Israeli towns, cities and other random locations. There is no legitimacy for the Hamas operation. They claim to be fighting for the Palestinians when in fact they are placing them in harm's way by dragging Israel into a war.

Hamas broke the 6 month truce. They shelled Israel and continue to do so. It appears as if Ahmedinejad is itching for a fight and Hamas is just the tonic the doctor ordered. With Hassan Nasrallah in the north readying his fighters and the Muslim Brotherhood stirring up protest rallies in Egypt and elsewhere, the world is teetering on the brink of mayhem.

Israel - at least in the eyes of Arabs and their sympathizers - has no right to react to rocket fire. They should take it on the chin and allow Hamas to continue their pyrotechnics extravaganza. Such thinking is unheard of in any country. The Israeli government has been entrusted with the unenviable task of protecting its citizens from terrorist assaults.

With such an unfriendly neighborhood this task is exceptionally difficult. To date there have been over 400 Palestinians killed and over 2000 wounded. International pressure is mounting against Israel to halt its bombardment of the densely populated Gaza. Rocket launch sites, terror cells and Hamas homes have all been hit hard by a ruthless Israeli air assault into the coastal territory.

The next move appears to be the decision as to whether to invade Gaza or to stay out. With just 3 weeks to go before President-Elect Obama gets sworn in, it's anybody's guess what Israel will do. A land assault will have serious ramifications, what with threats of anti-tank missiles and growing Muslim protests the world over.

Israel has a job on its hands and again it's not on the battlefield but in the media. Is Israel's quest a legitimate one? Can Israel expect sympathy when it has exponentially greater firepower and ability?

These are some hard issues that the Jewish state has to contend with.