Beyond the Cusp

May 5, 2019

Hamas not Observing Ceasefire as Usual


We all have likely seen the cartoon or the rephrasing of the main idea of the cartoon and Hamas observing a ceasefire. Well, they are at it again having launched over ninety rockets this otherwise quiet Shabbat morning. Saturdays are Hamas’s favorite time to launch broadsides at Israel as most troops are off base for the weekend and the ones remaining may not normally be assigned the positions they may be manning. This time it comes after sporadic firing on Friday afternoon along with continued rioting along the Gaza border which included shooting by Hamas into Israel at the IDF positions put in place to prevent Terrorists from infiltrating Israel and murdering Israelis. As we type this abbreviated report, we realize that this is not news, there are no big surprises and it goes without saying that Israel struck back eliminating two rocket launchers. We could list the places where warning sirens wailed, the casualties were one boy injured while dashing to make it to a shelter in time and a few cases of shock. There were reports that rockets struck highway 4 and inside one community doing minimal if any actual damage. In Israel some of the potholes on the roads are where rockets struck because they were not tracked to strike anywhere there were people. The Iron Dome did intercept dozens, let us stress, dozens of Hamas rockets which might have done inordinate amounts of damage and potentially killed or injured Israelis.


All of this from Hamas and Islamic Jihad comes possibly as an Iranian ordered increase in activity against Israel as a response to President Trump having cancelled the issuance of any further waivers for importation of Iranian oil. The Mullahs in Iran had threatened to attack Israel should the United States take such steps while also threatening to strike at American forces in Middle East including especially the Persian Gulf region as well as along the Strait of Hormuz which they also threatened to close to all outgoing oil shipments. This would terminate as much as thirty-percent of world oil shipments. The Iranians are not insane, they just act as if they were. They know that attacking the American fleet would bring horrific retaliation ordered by President Trump. Having Hamas and Islamic Jihad pound away at Israel causes minor resultant strikes by Israel at the usual targets more as an effort to calm the Israeli public by pretending to have actually done something. We have been writing slowly and reading social media and what few news reports we can find. Saturday, Shabbat, is not the easiest of times to receive reports, but some is getting through. There have been additional rockets fired, one home has been struck but fortunately the family has escaped, one woman has been reported to have been seriously injured and the barrage remains off the international radar. It is only Israelis being inconvenienced and there has been no war started against Hamas and Islamic Jihad and Israel has obeyed the rules and not struck anything vital and has avoided hurting any of the world’s precious little Palestinian friends.


Let us talk about something which is seldom mentioned. That is the economics behind these attacks. These rockets being fired out of Gaza are inexpensive ranging from a mere tens of dollars to potentially possibly as high as a thousand dollars for their highest range and largest rockets. Then we look at the Israeli side of this economic equation and we find that each interceptor costs approximately fifty-thousand-dollars each. As Israel has very probably intercepted dozens of rockets, that would likely require anywhere from exactly two-dozen to as many as several dozens of these Iron Dome interceptors. This runs the cost of this one day of protection for all Israeli citizens from half-a-million-dollars to as high as two-and-a-half-million-dollars. Yes, what you read is accurate and is also the major differentiation between the two sides. Hamas and Islamic Jihad both receive or steal from supplies provided into Gaza by Israel after it has been checked for weapons and certain military use materials. Still, Israel is consistently forced to permit tons, literally tons, of building provisions such as cement, concrete, steel, aluminum and others which Hamas and Islamic Jihad take over ninety-percent of these provisions leaving the Gazans without sufficient materials to rebuild their shattered lives. Hamas and Islamic Jihad use these materials to construct bunkers, tunnels, underground rocket firing positions and infiltration tunnels which Israel largely (if not entirely) detected and destroyed which simply drove Hamas and Islamic Jihad to simply build more believing Israel has just been getting lucky.


This theft of material and other criminal activities conducted by the Gaza terrorists is what is causing the financial, economic, societal and environmental collapses and the destruction of those items most necessary for life. There have been reports that virtually all ground-water in Gaza has become undrinkable and may soon reach the tipping-point where it will become unable to support normative forms of life. This has been a direct result of a total disregard for the people, their health and the environment by those who rule in Gaza. This has nothing to do with Israel. Some Gazans, when they are assured of having total anonymity, have expressed their desire for Israel to takeover Gaza such that their lives would improve. Similar reports have also come from the areas under the Palestinian Authority. Many Palestinians are becoming very sick and tired of having their lives destroyed by the very people who are supposed to care for them. In Israel there are some who also call for the retaking of Gaza and of all of Judea and Samaria removing the terrorist infrastructure and remove the terror leaders who are behind much of the terrorism. In Gaza the children are trained in school to hate Jews and Israel and are indoctrinated into believing that if they give their lives while murdering Israelis they will go to heaven and live a life they could only dream of living. Mahmoud Abbas has gone further by paying the Palestinians for murdering Israelis at such a rate that their family could live comfortably on such a stipend. This will eventually have two effects, numerous families, eventually a majority, will rely on these payments for their support. Both societies are dysfunctional and becoming worse and less stable. The governances are unstable as they steal from the economies slowly destroying the society and all which is dependent upon a solid and steady economic stability. These kleptocracies are destroying their societies through their steady theft of resources draining resources as the leadership enrich themselves. Despite the Palestinian Arabs being the most well-supported groups receiving far more aid than any other group (see graph below), despite the receipt of the greatest amount of aid by the Palestinian Arabs, outside of the terror leaders and criminal gangs, the people themselves are amongst some of the poorest. That is far more accurate in describing Gazans while there are some who have found a means of enriching themselves through shrewd dealings but the average Palestinian leads a meager life compared to their counterparts within Israel.


Graph of Aid Money to Palestinian Territories and other needful locations

Graph of Aid Money to Palestinian Territories and other needful locations


What is further troubling about the rockets out of Gaza is that they are occurring in the immediate aftermath of the establishing of another ceasefire. It has become the signature of almost every Hamas agreement to the imposition of a ceasefire. For their firing rockets, launching incendiary kites and balloons, shooting at IDF units and other offensive attacks for hours beyond the official time set for the ceasefire, their hopes are that Israel will react strongly and then they will scream to the European Union, the United Nations and to countless NGO’s pointing at the Israeli breaking of the newly established ceasefire. The fact that Israel was responding to Hamas, Islamic Jihad and other violence against Israel is considered inconsequential as attacking Israelis using terror is considered a normal activity and thus must be understood, not reacted upon. The world basically desires for Israel to simply take whatever punches are dealt to us; while were they attacked by one-thousandth the terror in a single attack on their nation, then they would be screaming war and demanding blood. But Israel is supposed to tolerate the terrorism against us. After all, did not Israel build the most awesome interception system called Iron Dome? That keeps you safe as we have noticed and the poor Gazans do not have such a device. This is not Israel’s fault as Hamas and Islamic Jihad have spent more on terrorism than Israel spent in the development of the Iron Dome; so it is obviously a matter of priorities. The Israeli priorities are the safety of their people and the preservation of life while Hamas and Islamic Jihad invest in destruction and deal in death, both their own people and Israelis. Hamas and Islamic Jihad use the death of Gazans as a weapon against Israel and use all their funds in attempts to develop means of destroying Israel. Hamas and Islamic Jihad claim they love the land but their every act appears to be attempts to completely destroy that same land. But what is the worst are the actions of the world in their demands that Israel absorb all the terrorism thrown at her while allowing every other nation to react militarily against any group perpetrating terror violence against them. That is the worst of all the double standards Israel receives. It is completely uncovered in that Israel is forced to accept rockets launched into her territory for the hours ensuing the initiation of a ceasefire as if the ceasefire actually states that Israel cease hostilities at some adopted time while the terrorists get to continue shooting at Israel for a number of hours after the onset of the ceasefire. This double standard is unsustainable.


What the world is unaware of is that many Israelis are becoming sick and tired of the double standards and being a punching bag. Many have come close to the end of their patience and others have reached the end of our wits. Prime Minister Netanyahu, Bibi, is the master at doing as little as required to get around actually addressing the situation. His reluctance to act has thus far worked to continue to allow him to remain as the Israeli Prime Minister. The fact is that Bibi is seen as the most capable to protect Israel from much of the world including those hotbeds of anti-Israel, anti-Zionist and anti-Semitic activists such as the United Nations and the plethora of organizations it supports. While Bibi is pretty much safe from any challenge from the left, something this past election proved as he faced what many in the media predicted was going to be his final comeuppance. Where Bibi is vulnerable is from a competent leader with the correct view willing to propose ending the terrorist governances threatening Israel from within her borders. A candidate who would inform Mahmoud Abbas and the leaders of Hamas and Islamic Jihad that no longer would Israel tolerate their terrorism nor would it tolerate their subjugating their people to line their pockets. A leader who promised a new day where Israel would no longer tolerate terrorism of any nature and if necessary was willing to take over the regions and replace their terrorist leadership. The main idea which would cause a challenge for Bibi is somebody finally coming out and credibly laiding out the plan to address and end terrorism either by the Palestinian Arab leadership otherwise Israel will take all the steps required to end these threats. All Israel requires is just such a leader, if only we knew where to find such a person.


Beyond the Cusp


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