IDF Increasingly Uninclined To Treat Attacks With Famous Sense of Good Humor
In Lebanon... For the better part of half a decade, oh-so-brave Lebanese citizens who wanted to throw rocks at Jews (or really any anti-Israel tourist who wanted to throw rocks at Jews) could have a little fun by tossing stones across the border at armed Israeli soldiers. The idea has been that, unlike soldiers from some countries we could name, the Israelis won't actually open fire at unarmed civilians. It's the best kind of liberal academic resistance - anti-Israel, vaguely thuggish, and totally safe (hey kids, you can be like Che!) Columbia professor Edward Said (aka the intellectual father of the New Anti-Semitism) was himself once photographed throwing rocks and Israeli teenagers who he knew wouldn't respond.
Well, that game ends now:
"IDF troops currently stationed in Lebanon have permission to open fire on stone-throwing Hizbullah supporters," IDF Chief of General Staff Lt.- Gen. Dan Halutz said at Wednesday's cabinet meeting. The chief of staff told cabinet ministers that according to the IDF directive, troops were permitted to fire in the air and then at the legs of those hurling rocks in their direction. In addition, in the event that the troops sensed that they were in real danger they were granted permission to shoot to kill.
You'd think that this will put a stop to this once and for all. But the problem is that the stone throwers are very stupid, and so they might not get the memo. How do we know they're very stupid? Well... we don't have any really specific proof, but the throwing rocks at armed soldiers thing is kind of a giveaway, no?
In Gaza... As almost no one in the West knows, the Palestinians have been firing rockets into Israeli schools and hospitals for the last month or so. This distinguishes last month in no way from the month before, or the month before that. But now Defense Minister Peretz is saying that at some point something will have to be done to express the idea that randomly bombing Israelis just because they happen to be Jewish is not OK:
If Palestinian terrorists continue to fire Kassam rockets, Israel might decide to escalate its operations against terror infrastructure in the Gaza Strip, including a possible massive incursion deep inside the Palestinian territory, Defense Minister Amir Peretz told The Jerusalem Post Wednesday in an exclusive interview. "We intend to stop the Kassams at any price," the defense minister said. "Hamas knows that they will pay a heavy price with every Kassam fired at Israel and if they don't stop them they know we will consider harsher and deeper operations into Gaza."
Frustratingly, Peretz is a liar. But it sounds nice.
Well, that game ends now:
"IDF troops currently stationed in Lebanon have permission to open fire on stone-throwing Hizbullah supporters," IDF Chief of General Staff Lt.- Gen. Dan Halutz said at Wednesday's cabinet meeting. The chief of staff told cabinet ministers that according to the IDF directive, troops were permitted to fire in the air and then at the legs of those hurling rocks in their direction. In addition, in the event that the troops sensed that they were in real danger they were granted permission to shoot to kill.
You'd think that this will put a stop to this once and for all. But the problem is that the stone throwers are very stupid, and so they might not get the memo. How do we know they're very stupid? Well... we don't have any really specific proof, but the throwing rocks at armed soldiers thing is kind of a giveaway, no?
In Gaza... As almost no one in the West knows, the Palestinians have been firing rockets into Israeli schools and hospitals for the last month or so. This distinguishes last month in no way from the month before, or the month before that. But now Defense Minister Peretz is saying that at some point something will have to be done to express the idea that randomly bombing Israelis just because they happen to be Jewish is not OK:
If Palestinian terrorists continue to fire Kassam rockets, Israel might decide to escalate its operations against terror infrastructure in the Gaza Strip, including a possible massive incursion deep inside the Palestinian territory, Defense Minister Amir Peretz told The Jerusalem Post Wednesday in an exclusive interview. "We intend to stop the Kassams at any price," the defense minister said. "Hamas knows that they will pay a heavy price with every Kassam fired at Israel and if they don't stop them they know we will consider harsher and deeper operations into Gaza."
Frustratingly, Peretz is a liar. But it sounds nice.
