On the eve of disengagement, Prime Minister Sharon and Defense Minister Mofaz repeatedly announced that Israeli tolerance for Palestinian violence would change once Israel withdrew behind the border separating 1967 Israel from the Gaza Strip – whether there should be or not, there’s a legal and perceptual difference between attacking Israeli settlers and lobbing bombs across an international border. Over the weekend, Hamas choose to disregard those warnings and fired over 40 rockets and missiles at Israeli towns. Since then, things have gone downhill for them:
IAF jets unleashed a barrage of missiles against targets throughout Gaza City overnight Wednesday, knocking out power and plunging the city into darkness. No injuries were immediately reported…
Late Tuesday, the IDF fired live artillery shells into the northern Gaza Strip for the first time, in what the military said was a response to Palestinian rocket attacks on Israel.
Rockets continue to be fired at Israel, despite the fact that (shocked by the fact that Israel has finally lost patience with them) both Hamas and Islamic Jihad have hysterically promised to stop doing so. We’re not sure how much clearer Mofaz can get:
Earlier, Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz warned terror groups against further shooting. “We’ll hit them and hit them and hit them until they understand that Israel will not accept shooting into its borders,” Mofaz said during a visit to IDF units on the border with Gaza.
“This artillery battery behind me is not just for show. It’s operational and sighted in and will react against any Kassam rocket attack,” he said. Speaking to reporters, Mofaz delivered a message to the head of the Hamas saying they and other leaders had better be careful “I have an unequivocal message for Mahmoud Zahar and the other terrorist heads. We will continue to hit them with a heavy hand until there are zero incidents,” Mofaz said.
