(Ha'aretz) Yoel Marcus - Why should Sderot have to play the role of a second Massada? Is it a military post or something? Is it an illegal settlement outpost? Is it in occupied territory? The moment the Israel Defense Forces evacuated Gaza and its Jewish settlements, in which a third generation of settlers lived, and handed the territory over to the Palestinians, the firing of Kassams should have stopped immediately. The expectations that the Palestinians would rapidly construct multi-story buildings in the evacuated territories to house refugees and create an atmosphere of progress were disappointed. Instead, the liberated territories turned into a firing base. The increased bombardment of Israeli territory is the last thing that Israeli peace-seekers expected. There is no political logic to the Kassam fire; it has one sole aim: to kill Israeli civilians because they are Israelis. Only a miracle from heaven and technical flaws in the rockets have prevented mass slaughter in Sderot. The very fact that a town in sovereign Israeli territory lives in fear every day is intolerable. It is the government's obligation to protect its citizens.
2006-06-23 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive