Israel and Palestine agree to cease fire after rocket attacks, airstrikes

[News_Editor]

Israel and Palestine agree to cease fire after rocket attacks, airstrikes

2012-03-13 10:30:09 GMT+7 (ICT)

JERUSALEM, Israel (BNO NEWS) -- With continuous rocket attacks and airstrikes in the past four days, increasing tensions between Israel and Palestinian authorities, Egyptian mediators said both parties agreed to a ceasefire on Monday.

The announcement comes after the United Nations (UN) and its diplomatic partners called on both parties to refrain from provocative actions. However, neither the Israeli government nor Palestinian authorities commented on the ceasefire.

The diplomatic grouping known as the Quartet, which bring together the UN with the European Union, Russia and the United States, held an informal consultations meeting in New York, along with Quartet Representative Tony Blair, in order to discuss the situation in Gaza and southern Israel.

The group expressed its serious concern for the recent escalation and called for calm. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon followed the meeting by telling the UN Security Council that the "situation in Gaza is yet again proving its unsustainability."

According to reports, at least 25 people have been confirmed dead in Gaza due to a series of Israeli airstrikes since last Friday. More than 200 rocket attacks from Gaza into Israel have caused damage and injuries to a number of people, but no deaths have been reported.

The UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) voiced deep concern over the impact on children of the recent escalation of violence, stating that on Monday, a 15-year-old Palestinian boy was killed and another four children were reported injured in an explosion in Gaza. Reports indicate that a total of seven people were killed on Monday alone.

On Sunday, a 12-year-old Palestinian boy was killed in an airstrike on Gaza, officials said. So far, fourteen Palestinian children have been reported injured as a result of Israeli airstrikes. Two schools suffered minor damage in Gaza City.

Also on Sunday, in Israel, a rocket hit a school that was empty at the time. Classes had to be cancelled in the south of the country, affecting over 200,000 Israeli students.

"I am gravely concerned at the latest escalation between Gaza and Israel, and once again civilians are paying a terrible price. Rocket attacks out of Gaza against Israeli civilian areas are unacceptable and must stop immediately," Ban stated. "I reiterate my call on Israel to exercise maximum restraint."

During its meeting, the Quartet assessed developments since its September 23 statement, in which it appealed to the Israelis and Palestinians to resume direct bilateral negotiations without delays or preconditions.

In that statement, the Quartet also proposed a series of steps and a timetable with the aim of reaching a lasting Middle East peace agreement by the end of 2012. At Monday's meeting, the group reiterated its support for the statement and welcomed efforts in the past two months led by Jordan to this end.

"We must create the conditions for meaningful negotiations that will resolve the core permanent status issues – territory, security, refugees, Jerusalem – and end the occupation that started in 1967," Ban said, adding that this is the only way to achieve "a just and lasting peace that will realize the vision of two States living side by side in peace and security."

The Quartet is scheduled to meet again next month in Washington D.C.

-- © BNO News All rights reserved 2012-03-13

[Colin Yai]

The sanctity of Life means nothing to the Muslims, they even use Women and kids as human shields, and when some young kid dons a vest packed with 10kgs of semtex and ball bearings and blows himself and harmless civilians to kingdom come he is proudly shown off by his parents as a martyr to the "cause", faced with this sort of utter lunacy there will never be any sort of lasting peace between Islam and the Jews.

[midas]

The sanctity of Life means nothing to the Muslims, they even use Women and kids as human shields, and when some young kid dons a vest packed with 10kgs of semtex and ball bearings and blows himself and harmless civilians to kingdom come he is proudly shown off by his parents as a martyr to the "cause", faced with this sort of utter lunacy there will never be any sort of lasting peace between Islam and the Jews.

but Colin we have never heard of anyone being put forward as a truly independent mediator ?

because I think one side would always object.

honestly how can the existing mediators be regarded as independent? it is bordering on being a farce.

and then the mediator could start off by asking both parties separately what would it take

to stop fighting and hostility? This goes for the whole of the Middle East. What is your wish list?

and then along the lines of " I can't promise anything but let me listen to you and the other side separately

and let me develop a comprehensive list which would be the starting point for real peace discussions "?

Is that so hard to do?

[Colin Yai]

The sanctity of Life means nothing to the Muslims, they even use Women and kids as human shields, and when some young kid dons a vest packed with 10kgs of semtex and ball bearings and blows himself and harmless civilians to kingdom come he is proudly shown off by his parents as a martyr to the "cause", faced with this sort of utter lunacy there will never be any sort of lasting peace between Islam and the Jews.

but Colin we have never heard of anyone being put forward as a truly independent mediator ?

because I think one side would always object.

honestly how can the existing mediators be regarded as independent? it is bordering on being a farce.

and then the mediator could start off by asking both parties separately what would it take

to stop fighting and hostility? This goes for the whole of the Middle East. What is your wish list?

and then along the lines of " I can't promise anything but let me listen to you and the other side separately

and let me develop a comprehensive list which would be the starting point for real peace discussions "?

Is that so hard to do?

Thanks for your reply Midas BUT as long as Hamas even denies Israels right to exist and they carry on brainwashing their kids into believing the Jews are "sub human" any sort of independent arbitrator to solve this long running problem is totally futile. Edited March 13, 2012 by Colin Yai

[Pakboong]

The sanctity of Life means nothing to the Muslims, they even use Women and kids as human shields, and when some young kid dons a vest packed with 10kgs of semtex and ball bearings and blows himself and harmless civilians to kingdom come he is proudly shown off by his parents as a martyr to the "cause", faced with this sort of utter lunacy there will never be any sort of lasting peace between Islam and the Jews.

but Colin we have never heard of anyone being put forward as a truly independent mediator ?

because I think one side would always object.

honestly how can the existing mediators be regarded as independent? it is bordering on being a farce.

and then the mediator could start off by asking both parties separately what would it take

to stop fighting and hostility? This goes for the whole of the Middle East. What is your wish list?

and then along the lines of " I can't promise anything but let me listen to you and the other side separately

and let me develop a comprehensive list which would be the starting point for real peace discussions "?

Is that so hard to do?

Thanks for your reply Midas BUT as long as Hamas even denies Israels right to exist and they carry on brainwashing their kids into believing the Jews are "sub human" any sort of independent arbitrator to solve this long running problem is totally futile.

Not that it really matters all that much but, Hamas had nothing to do with this attack. See today's JP for details.

[Colin Yai]

The sanctity of Life means nothing to the Muslims, they even use Women and kids as human shields, and when some young kid dons a vest packed with 10kgs of semtex and ball bearings and blows himself and harmless civilians to kingdom come he is proudly shown off by his parents as a martyr to the "cause", faced with this sort of utter lunacy there will never be any sort of lasting peace between Islam and the Jews.

but Colin we have never heard of anyone being put forward as a truly independent mediator ?

because I think one side would always object.

honestly how can the existing mediators be regarded as independent? it is bordering on being a farce.

and then the mediator could start off by asking both parties separately what would it take

to stop fighting and hostility? This goes for the whole of the Middle East. What is your wish list?

and then along the lines of " I can't promise anything but let me listen to you and the other side separately

and let me develop a comprehensive list which would be the starting point for real peace discussions "?

Is that so hard to do?

Thanks for your reply Midas BUT as long as Hamas even denies Israels right to exist and they carry on brainwashing their kids into believing the Jews are "sub human" any sort of independent arbitrator to solve this long running problem is totally futile.

Not that it really matters all that much but, Hamas had nothing to do with this attack. See today's JP for details.

So in essence what you are saying is that although there was over 200 rockets fired from Gaza (Which is their territory and responsibility) into Southern Israel with the sole purpose of killing Jews, Hamas are powerless to stop it!, are you really really serious? Edited March 13, 2012 by Colin Yai

[Morch]

The sanctity of Life means nothing to the Muslims, they even use Women and kids as human shields, and when some young kid dons a vest packed with 10kgs of semtex and ball bearings and blows himself and harmless civilians to kingdom come he is proudly shown off by his parents as a martyr to the "cause", faced with this sort of utter lunacy there will never be any sort of lasting peace between Islam and the Jews.

but Colin we have never heard of anyone being put forward as a truly independent mediator ?

because I think one side would always object.

honestly how can the existing mediators be regarded as independent? it is bordering on being a farce.

and then the mediator could start off by asking both parties separately what would it take

to stop fighting and hostility? This goes for the whole of the Middle East. What is your wish list?

and then along the lines of " I can't promise anything but let me listen to you and the other side separately

and let me develop a comprehensive list which would be the starting point for real peace discussions "?

Is that so hard to do?

There were a whole lot of mediators, peace talks, special envoys running around etc for many years now. Not all of them were impartial or exactly neutral, of course. So, yes - seems it is hard to accomplish.

Looking at the full half of the glass, this achieved a lasting (well, relatively speaking) between Israel and two of it's neighbors (Egypt and Jordan), and certain development for the Palestinians (partial autonomy in the West Bank and Gaza).

[Colin Yai]

Its no secret that Hamas has labeled the Palestinian president Abu Mazan (Mahmoud Abbas) a traitor simply because the guy wants peace and dialogue with both Israel and America ,for Hamas as it says quite plainly in their own "Covenant " or "charter" the only way forward is through " Jihad" against Israel ,if Hamas in Gaza is not really at peace with Fattah on the West bank ,there is no hope whatsoever for a lasting peace with Israel, it is NOT Palestine thats the problem ,the Stumbling block is Hamas and of course their bankrollers Iran, pure and simple.

Edited March 13, 2012 by Colin Yai

[Pakboong]

Its no secret that Hamas has labeled the Palestinian president Abu Mazan (Mahmoud Abbas) a traitor simply because the guy wants peace and dialogue with both Israel and America ,for Hamas as it says quite plainly in their own "Covenant " or "charter" the only way forward is through " Jihad" against Israel ,if Hamas in Gaza is not really at peace with Fattah on the West bank ,there is no hope whatsoever for a lasting peace with Israel, it is NOT Palestine thats the problem ,the Stumbling block is Hamas and of course their bankrollers Iran, pure and simple.

This particular case was a bit different. Here are a couple of sources that you might want to look at. I could dig up a few others to include what Jihad.com has to say about the matter but these two should suit you better.

Way to go, IDF!

The cyclical ritual of bloodletting between Israel and Gaza always prompts two questions: 'Who started it?' and 'Whose is bigger?'

By Gideon Levy

http://www.haaretz.c...go-idf-1.417750

Analysis: Easy to start, hard to end

By YAAKOV KATZ

03/10/2012 22:16

Israel knew that it could expect rockets when it made the decision to assassinate the leader of the PRC.

http://www.jpost.com....aspx?id=261274

Regardless, of these two pieces written by Israelis in Israeli newspapers, the final score of the ball game was: 25 Palestian dead and zero Israelis dead. Which ever team scored first or second does not really matter all that much, the final game score was a 25-0 route.

PS: I am sure they deserved it.

Edited March 13, 2012 by Pakboong

[Colin Yai]

Thank you Pakboong for your most informative links ,as stated previously which was indicated quite plainly in the links ,it is NOT Palestine that is the problem but Hamas in Gaza ,not once did I read of Fattah in the West Bank ,as stated previously too the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is branded a traitor by Hamas, A traitor for wanting peace with Israel!!!, as for the targeted killings ,far better to target an individual deemed a threat to Israel's security than a fire rockets indiscriminately into a civilian area with no idea what or who they are going to hit .

Edited March 14, 2012 by Colin Yai

[Pakboong]

Thank you Pakboong for your most informative links ,as stated previously which was indicated quite plainly in the links ,it is NOT Palestine that is the problem but Hamas in Gaza ,not once did I read of Fattah in the West Bank ,as stated previously too the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is branded a traitor by Hamas, A traitor for wanting peace with Israel!!!, as for the targeted killings ,far better to target an individual deemed a threat to Israel's security than a fire rockets indiscriminately into a civilian area with no idea what they are going to hit .

Actually they do know what they are going to hit. They sent 627 in last year and killed one Israeli so it is pretty clear to them what they are actually going to hit.

[Ulysses G.]

Quite a few Israeli civilians are wounded and property is destroyed by these rockets. Creating fear is the main reason that Hamas continually launches them, but innocent's deaths are welcome too.

[Wallaby]

Quite a few Israeli civilians are wounded and property is destroyed by these rockets. Creating fear is the main reason that Hamas continually launches them, but innocent's deaths are welcome too.

Nice that you agree the main reason the rockets hamas fires are not for the intention to kill people. In return Israel's rockets ARE intended to kill people, innocents as well. Of course the crocodile tears then flow.

[Wallaby]

Thank you Pakboong for your most informative links ,as stated previously which was indicated quite plainly in the links ,it is NOT Palestine that is the problem but Hamas in Gaza ,not once did I read of Fattah in the West Bank ,as stated previously too the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is branded a traitor by Hamas, A traitor for wanting peace with Israel!!!, as for the targeted killings ,far better to target an individual deemed a threat to Israel's security than a fire rockets indiscriminately into a civilian area with no idea what or who they are going to hit .

But who do they hit? How many have been hit?

Do you really think they are that bad a shot that with hundreds of rockets fired into civilian areas that they can't even hit a target, any target?

If Hamas are that bad with their aim I don't know why Israel even bothers swatting them away.

[Colin Yai]

Thank you Pakboong for your most informative links ,as stated previously which was indicated quite plainly in the links ,it is NOT Palestine that is the problem but Hamas in Gaza ,not once did I read of Fattah in the West Bank ,as stated previously too the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is branded a traitor by Hamas, A traitor for wanting peace with Israel!!!, as for the targeted killings ,far better to target an individual deemed a threat to Israel's security than a fire rockets indiscriminately into a civilian area with no idea what they are going to hit .

Actually they do know what they are going to hit. They sent 627 in last year and killed one Israeli so it is pretty clear to them what they are actually going to hit.

As UG said is it used more as a weapon of fear , but a killer never the less, Hamas and their acolytes know full well that to open up with the "heavy stuff" and start slaughtering Israeli's ad lib would mean only one thing , A hole in the ground were Gaza used to be!, far better to "play" at it and receive Millions from Iran ,and invite Pity plus money from the likes of Norway and Sweden.

[Wallaby]

Thank you Pakboong for your most informative links ,as stated previously which was indicated quite plainly in the links ,it is NOT Palestine that is the problem but Hamas in Gaza ,not once did I read of Fattah in the West Bank ,as stated previously too the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is branded a traitor by Hamas, A traitor for wanting peace with Israel!!!, as for the targeted killings ,far better to target an individual deemed a threat to Israel's security than a fire rockets indiscriminately into a civilian area with no idea what they are going to hit .

Actually they do know what they are going to hit. They sent 627 in last year and killed one Israeli so it is pretty clear to them what they are actually going to hit.

As UG said is it used more as a weapon of fear , but a killer never the less, Hamas and their acolytes know full well that to open up with the "heavy stuff" and start slaughtering Israeli's ad lib would mean only one thing , A hole in the ground were Gaza used to be!, far better to "play" at it and receive Millions from Iran ,and invite Pity plus money from the likes of Norway and Sweden.

And the majority of the world agreeing with Palestine.

[Ulysses G.]

Quite a few Israeli civilians are wounded and property is destroyed by these rockets. Creating fear is the main reason that Hamas continually launches them, but innocent's deaths are welcome too.

Nice that you agree the main reason the rockets hamas fires are not for the intention to kill people. In return Israel's rockets ARE intended to kill people, innocents as well. Of course the crocodile tears then flow.

Malarky.The Palestinian rockets are intended to kill innocent men, women and children, but creating fear is even more important to terrorists.

Israel's rockets are intended to kill mass murderers and not innocents.

[Ulysses G.]

And the majority of the world agreeing with Palestine.

There is no country called Palestine to agree with, but there would be if they ever agreed to make peace.

Edited March 14, 2012 by Ulysses G.

[Pakboong]

Quite a few Israeli civilians are wounded and property is destroyed by these rockets. Creating fear is the main reason that Hamas continually launches them, but innocent's deaths are welcome too.

Nice that you agree the main reason the rockets hamas fires are not for the intention to kill people. In return Israel's rockets ARE intended to kill people, innocents as well. Of course the crocodile tears then flow.

Malarky.The Palestinian rockets are intended to kill innocent men, women and children, but creating fear is even more important to terrorists.

Israel's rockets are intended to kill mass murderers and not innocents.

You mean the mass murderers who killed 22 Israelis with these rockets in the last decade?

[Pakboong]

Quite a few Israeli civilians are wounded and property is destroyed by these rockets. Creating fear is the main reason that Hamas continually launches them, but innocent's deaths are welcome too.

"It is engraved in the mind of the enemy that they should not mess with us, and so Hamas did not participate in the latest round of violence," he added.

Home Front Defense Minister Matan Vilnai

http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/some-200-rockets-hit-israel-since-start-of-latest-gaza-escalation-1.418173

[Morch]

Thank you Pakboong for your most informative links ,as stated previously which was indicated quite plainly in the links ,it is NOT Palestine that is the problem but Hamas in Gaza ,not once did I read of Fattah in the West Bank ,as stated previously too the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is branded a traitor by Hamas, A traitor for wanting peace with Israel!!!, as for the targeted killings ,far better to target an individual deemed a threat to Israel's security than a fire rockets indiscriminately into a civilian area with no idea what or who they are going to hit .

But who do they hit? How many have been hit?

Do you really think they are that bad a shot that with hundreds of rockets fired into civilian areas that they can't even hit a target, any target?

If Hamas are that bad with their aim I don't know why Israel even bothers swatting them away.

As this seems to boggle the minds of some posters, lets add in some factors that might help explain it:

- It's one thing to shoot a rocket or mortat bomb at your leisure, when you got enough time to set it up properly and aim. Also helps when weather conditions are convenient. Much harder to accomplish when you're under pretty tight surveilance and reaction time of counter strike is short.

You're also dealing not with trained soldiers doing the shooting, but with amateurs. Hitting a target with a rocket isn't quite as easy as placing a bomb on a bus or strapping it on someone.

- Over time, Israel responded to this threat in a defensive manner as well. There's a launch detection system in place which raises an alarm, shelters and safe rooms available, and recently an interception system ("Iron Dome") added, which seems to be quite successful.

- Some of the launchers and rockets used were locally made, thus being not of the highest quality. Even the more advanced ones they get from the outside are not really state of the art technology or anything. Maintenance, handling and storing lack as well.

- The immediate area is relatively not very densely populated. The capability to reach major population concentration within Israel wasn't there to begin with.

So what we got are inferior weapons, used under restrictive conditions, being shot at defended (to some extent, at least) targets. Considering the above, direct hit rates seems more logical, I think.

That said, some do hit their targets, and damage is being done regularly. Being on the receiving end of those isn't fun. Defense goes only so far and is not hermetic.

So what's the point of shooting those? They are very successful in creating terror. They are also about the only way the Hamas, Islamic Jihad etc. got of showing they "resist" or fight Israel. Not that easy sending suicide bombers when the borders are sealed. They are also good for boosting morale on the Palestinian side - a sense that the fight goes on, plus twisted reports about success rates help.

As for the eternal "who-started-it?" - this is an almost meaningless question in this conetext. The Palastinians would say Israel shot first without provocation, Israel would say it shot in retribution for something that happened before. Give it a bit of time and it will happen again, just in the opposite direction. Both sides fire when a window of oppertunity comes up. They're both very adept at keeping the cycle of violence going on an on.

Another point worth mentioning is that there are some tasty Israeli military targets within range. One would have imagined them being the focus of attacks, but somehow that rarely happens.

[Wallaby]

But they still hit bugger all don't they?

And it seems Hamas wasn't involved so no point arguing about what they have done.

[Pakboong]

Thank you Pakboong for your most informative links ,as stated previously which was indicated quite plainly in the links ,it is NOT Palestine that is the problem but Hamas in Gaza ,not once did I read of Fattah in the West Bank ,as stated previously too the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is branded a traitor by Hamas, A traitor for wanting peace with Israel!!!, as for the targeted killings ,far better to target an individual deemed a threat to Israel's security than a fire rockets indiscriminately into a civilian area with no idea what or who they are going to hit .

But who do they hit? How many have been hit?

Do you really think they are that bad a shot that with hundreds of rockets fired into civilian areas that they can't even hit a target, any target?

If Hamas are that bad with their aim I don't know why Israel even bothers swatting them away.

As this seems to boggle the minds of some posters, lets add in some factors that might help explain it:

- It's one thing to shoot a rocket or mortat bomb at your leisure, when you got enough time to set it up properly and aim. Also helps when weather conditions are convenient. Much harder to accomplish when you're under pretty tight surveilance and reaction time of counter strike is short.

You're also dealing not with trained soldiers doing the shooting, but with amateurs. Hitting a target with a rocket isn't quite as easy as placing a bomb on a bus or strapping it on someone.

- Over time, Israel responded to this threat in a defensive manner as well. There's a launch detection system in place which raises an alarm, shelters and safe rooms available, and recently an interception system ("Iron Dome") added, which seems to be quite successful.

- Some of the launchers and rockets used were locally made, thus being not of the highest quality. Even the more advanced ones they get from the outside are not really state of the art technology or anything. Maintenance, handling and storing lack as well.

- The immediate area is relatively not very densely populated. The capability to reach major population concentration within Israel wasn't there to begin with.

So what we got are inferior weapons, used under restrictive conditions, being shot at defended (to some extent, at least) targets. Considering the above, direct hit rates seems more logical, I think.

That said, some do hit their targets, and damage is being done regularly. Being on the receiving end of those isn't fun. Defense goes only so far and is not hermetic.

So what's the point of shooting those? They are very successful in creating terror. They are also about the only way the Hamas, Islamic Jihad etc. got of showing they "resist" or fight Israel. Not that easy sending suicide bombers when the borders are sealed. They are also good for boosting morale on the Palestinian side - a sense that the fight goes on, plus twisted reports about success rates help.

As for the eternal "who-started-it?" - this is an almost meaningless question in this conetext. The Palastinians would say Israel shot first without provocation, Israel would say it shot in retribution for something that happened before. Give it a bit of time and it will happen again, just in the opposite direction. Both sides fire when a window of oppertunity comes up. They're both very adept at keeping the cycle of violence going on an on.

Another point worth mentioning is that there are some tasty Israeli military targets within range. One would have imagined them being the focus of attacks, but somehow that rarely happens.

The settlements seldom if ever get rockets fired into them either.

[Colin Yai]

Thank you Pakboong for your most informative links ,as stated previously which was indicated quite plainly in the links ,it is NOT Palestine that is the problem but Hamas in Gaza ,not once did I read of Fattah in the West Bank ,as stated previously too the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is branded a traitor by Hamas, A traitor for wanting peace with Israel!!!, as for the targeted killings ,far better to target an individual deemed a threat to Israel's security than a fire rockets indiscriminately into a civilian area with no idea what or who they are going to hit .

But who do they hit? How many have been hit?

Do you really think they are that bad a shot that with hundreds of rockets fired into civilian areas that they can't even hit a target, any target?

If Hamas are that bad with their aim I don't know why Israel even bothers swatting them away.

Are you saying they fire their rockets and pray to Allah they do not hit anyone or anything!

[Morch]

Thank you Pakboong for your most informative links ,as stated previously which was indicated quite plainly in the links ,it is NOT Palestine that is the problem but Hamas in Gaza ,not once did I read of Fattah in the West Bank ,as stated previously too the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is branded a traitor by Hamas, A traitor for wanting peace with Israel!!!, as for the targeted killings ,far better to target an individual deemed a threat to Israel's security than a fire rockets indiscriminately into a civilian area with no idea what or who they are going to hit .

But who do they hit? How many have been hit?

Do you really think they are that bad a shot that with hundreds of rockets fired into civilian areas that they can't even hit a target, any target?

If Hamas are that bad with their aim I don't know why Israel even bothers swatting them away.

As this seems to boggle the minds of some posters, lets add in some factors that might help explain it:

- It's one thing to shoot a rocket or mortat bomb at your leisure, when you got enough time to set it up properly and aim. Also helps when weather conditions are convenient. Much harder to accomplish when you're under pretty tight surveilance and reaction time of counter strike is short.

You're also dealing not with trained soldiers doing the shooting, but with amateurs. Hitting a target with a rocket isn't quite as easy as placing a bomb on a bus or strapping it on someone.

- Over time, Israel responded to this threat in a defensive manner as well. There's a launch detection system in place which raises an alarm, shelters and safe rooms available, and recently an interception system ("Iron Dome") added, which seems to be quite successful.

- Some of the launchers and rockets used were locally made, thus being not of the highest quality. Even the more advanced ones they get from the outside are not really state of the art technology or anything. Maintenance, handling and storing lack as well.

- The immediate area is relatively not very densely populated. The capability to reach major population concentration within Israel wasn't there to begin with.

So what we got are inferior weapons, used under restrictive conditions, being shot at defended (to some extent, at least) targets. Considering the above, direct hit rates seems more logical, I think.

That said, some do hit their targets, and damage is being done regularly. Being on the receiving end of those isn't fun. Defense goes only so far and is not hermetic.

So what's the point of shooting those? They are very successful in creating terror. They are also about the only way the Hamas, Islamic Jihad etc. got of showing they "resist" or fight Israel. Not that easy sending suicide bombers when the borders are sealed. They are also good for boosting morale on the Palestinian side - a sense that the fight goes on, plus twisted reports about success rates help.

As for the eternal "who-started-it?" - this is an almost meaningless question in this conetext. The Palastinians would say Israel shot first without provocation, Israel would say it shot in retribution for something that happened before. Give it a bit of time and it will happen again, just in the opposite direction. Both sides fire when a window of oppertunity comes up. They're both very adept at keeping the cycle of violence going on an on.

Another point worth mentioning is that there are some tasty Israeli military targets within range. One would have imagined them being the focus of attacks, but somehow that rarely happens.

The settlements seldom if ever get rockets fired into them either.

That's not an accurate statement. Settlements do get hit, so "if ever" is for sure a wrong presentation of things. As for "seldom" - I wouldn't know what your definition of it is. The latest round of hostilities had quite a few hits, for example.

My meaning was that the Palestinians are well aware of the locations. Yet they consistently aim (granted, not very successfully) at civilian targets.

[Morch]

But they still hit bugger all don't they?

And it seems Hamas wasn't involved so no point arguing about what they have done.

Are you for real?

Hamas runs Gaza, they are the so called elected government - even if they're not involved directly, they are responsible for keeping the peace or breaking it. Can't have it both ways, and it's not a question of whodunit:

Thousands of Islamic Jihad sympathizers participated in the group's victory rally celebrating the end of the current round of violence against Israel on Tuesday. The rally was attended by senior Islamic Jihad officials while the group's secretary-general, Ramadan Shallah, sent a video message from Damascus.

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4202601,00.html

[Wallaby]

I was making that statement with regard to this post where it was said Hamas were not involved.

If that is incorrect then I apologise.

"It is engraved in the mind of the enemy that they should not mess with us, and so Hamas did not participate in the latest round of violence," he added.

Home Front Defense Minister Matan Vilnai

http://www.haaretz.c...lation-1.418173

[flying]

Hillary Clinton, Gaza And The Right Of Civilians To Self-Defense

The only way for Palestinians to achieve anything she insisted – even as Israel bombs and besieges them, executes them, and seizes their land for Jewish-only colonies – is through rigged “negotiations” that have gone nowhere precisely because the US has its mighty hands on the scale in favor of Israel.

Edited March 14, 2012 by flying

[Wallaby]

Thank you Pakboong for your most informative links ,as stated previously which was indicated quite plainly in the links ,it is NOT Palestine that is the problem but Hamas in Gaza ,not once did I read of Fattah in the West Bank ,as stated previously too the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is branded a traitor by Hamas, A traitor for wanting peace with Israel!!!, as for the targeted killings ,far better to target an individual deemed a threat to Israel's security than a fire rockets indiscriminately into a civilian area with no idea what or who they are going to hit .

But who do they hit? How many have been hit?

Do you really think they are that bad a shot that with hundreds of rockets fired into civilian areas that they can't even hit a target, any target?

If Hamas are that bad with their aim I don't know why Israel even bothers swatting them away.

Are you saying they fire their rockets and pray to Allah they do not hit anyone or anything!

No, but they aren't very succesful are they. As UG says, their main objective is fear. So it isn't their main objective to kill.

They don't have to pray to Allah that they don't kill anyone because they rarely do.

[Colin Yai]

The so called Country of Palestine is split in two halfs, Hamas in Gaza and Fattah on the West Bank ,All through this thread Fattah has never been mentioned as showing violent tendencies towards Israel or Israel towards Fattah maybe this should spell it out EXACTLY what I wrote previously if Hamas just listened to Mahmoud Abbas and not their well heeled leaders who subscribe Jihad then there would be peace and a state called Palastine with months