Thursday, October 30, 2008

Rocket Fired Into Israel From Gaza


So, is this the start of it all over again? I don't know but the Israelis didn't waste any time in shutting down cargo shipments into Gaza after the attack. What's perplexing here is this claim that the rocket was fired by something called "Hezbollah Palestine" - I'm not sure if that is Hamas or Islamic Jihad thinking they can get a softer response from Israel by making up some fictitious group or if indeed, this is a new cell of terrorists in Gaza. We do know that al Qaeda in Gaza is making inroads into Hamas' power so perhaps there are more groups springing up.

Details of the rocket attack are here at the BBC:


Palestinian militants have fired a rocket at Israel from the Gaza Strip, in violation of a four-month-old truce.
After the attack, Israeli troops closed cargo crossings into Gaza, which they control, until further notice.
It is the second such strike within 10 days, both of which were claimed by a previously unheard-of group calling itself Hezbollah Palestine.
Rocket barrages from Gaza largely ended after Israel and militant groups agreed a truce in June.
The rocket fired on Thursday morning slammed into an empty field in southern Israel, without causing any damage or casualties.

I'm glad to see that Israel responded quickly and that they are sticking to their policy of punishing Gaza for ANY attack, no matter who claims responsibility. What will be interesting to see here in Gaza is if this type of rocket attack is continued over the next few days.

I, personally, think Hamas has stuck to the truce that has been going on because they didn't want to reinstate attacks while Israel was going through the election process in fear that Israeli hawks would gain power using the onslaught as a leveraging point. The truce will certainly end in full blown attacks, it's just a matter of when.


Militants fire rocket from Gaza

It is the second such strike within 10 days, both of which were claimed by a previously unheard-of group calling itself Hezbollah Palestine.
Rocket barrages from Gaza largely ended after Israel and militant groups agreed a truce in June.
The rocket fired on Thursday morning slammed into an empty field in southern Israel, without causing any damage or casualties.
Israel and Egypt have blockaded the overcrowded and impoverished Gaza Strip since the Hamas militant group seized control of the territory in June 2007.
After the 19 June ceasefire took effect, Israel allowed more goods to enter Gaza, but there remain severe shortages and exports are banned.
On Wednesday, Israeli troops killed an elderly Palestinian farmer during a raid in the northern West Bank, after the army said the man opened fire at them with a shotgun.
Relatives of Muhammad Abahreh from Yamoun village said he had been carrying the gun to ward off sheep rustlers.
"He was locking the gate and he heard something around us. He thought that it was thieves, so he went out with his shotgun and was shot immediately," his son Taher told Voice of Palestine radio.

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