Hamas terrorists in Gaza continue firing rockets at Israel practically unabated.  Israel presents its case to UN.



The IDF reports that six Kassam rockets were fired at Israel Wednesday morning, landing in the western Negev. One of them caused heavy damage to a house and nearby buildings in a kibbutz south of Sderot. 



Around the same time, ten miles to the southeast, terrorists in Gaza fired at farmers in Kibbutz Ein HaShlosha, lightly wounding one man as he tried to run away.  Just ten weeks ago, a volunteer from Ecuador was murdered in a similar attack while working in the kibbutz fields.  Earlier this month, St.-Sgt. Liran Banai was killed when a PA terrorist-planted bomb was detonated under his patrol jeep in the same area.



A woman in the kibbutz told Ynet that she was with her 8-month-old baby when she heard the Color Red early warning alarm: "We had no time to run away because the explosion happened immediately. We also don't have reinforcement [in our home], so we just stayed where we were.  The rocket fell very close to the house, our windows were broken, and the shower door was uprooted from its place." Another woman said, "Shrapnel flew to the neighboring houses, and it was a miracle that the damage wasn't worse." 



Similar rocket attacks have been ongoing throughout the week.  On Tuesday, five Kassam rockets and five mortar shells were fired at Israel; no damage or casualties were caused.



Gillerman Speaks

Israel's Ambassador to the UN, Danny Gillerman, summed up the situation by telling the Security Council on Tuesday night that the apparent lull in Hamas rocket attacks is only superficial, because the bombs keep ticking, albeit quietly, while Hamas is using this time to smuggle in and produce more rockets.

We can all thank Iran for adding yet another weapon to the Hamas arsenal...





Excerpts from Gillerman's speech:



"During the last month, Hamas fired more than 300 rockets at Israel, at least 23 of them Iranian-made Grad missiles that hit the city of Ashkelon... The rocket attacks marked an escalation of violence not just in number, but also in weaponry. Grad rockets - smuggled into the Gaza Strip from Iran during the breach of the Gaza border this January - have greater range, larger warheads, and fragment on impact. Hamas' new weapon of choice means that a quarter of a million Israeli civilians now live in constant danger of rocket fire. We can all thank Iran for adding another weapon to the Hamas arsenal, in addition to its already heinous suicide attacks and deadly Kassam rockets...  [Hamas also] continued to wreak havoc and daily terror on the people of Sderot - a small but resilient city of 23,000, where children no longer run around on playgrounds; they now run to bomb shelters. Such is the reality in Sderot, where 15 seconds is all you have to find safety before a Kassam rocket comes crashing down... 



"Though some wish to refer to the apparent lull in Hamas' rocket attacks, I must warn that the perceived quiet is only on the surface. The bombs keep ticking, albeit quietly... Hamas is using this time to smuggle in and produce more rockets. Building rockets is not quiet. It is a silent promise - a promise of what is to come next: more terror and more violence, more extremism and more bloodshed...



"I am sure that many in this Council watched with horror and disgust as Hamas terrorists joyfully fired their rifles into the air [after the Merkaz HaRav slaughter] and passed out candy to children in celebration. If anyone doubted what the extremists stand for, the reaction in Gaza to the murder of eight Israeli boys sets the record straight. It was also a stark reminder that these were the same people who danced on the rooftops after 9/11.



"Which is why, Mr. President, it was so sad and disturbing that the Council could not condemn the terrorist attack... The Security Council has a longstanding practice of condemning terrorism, no matter the victims, no matter the location, no matter the perpetrator, no matter the motivation. Yet the Council could not unanimously condemn this terrorist attack and intentional killing of civilians, for the Council was blocked by a politicized opposition, of one Member State [Libya - ed.] in particular...



"Lately, a particularly worrisome trend has been apparent when it comes to the discourse concerning our region. Some have a penchant for equating the lawful actions of states in defense of their citizens with the violence of terrorists whose goal is to endanger those very civilians. The misguided tendency to accept the "status quo" of terrorism - as expressed even by some UN officials in their statements and reports - is simply unacceptable. Such parity, which is often in the name of an ill-conceived balance, undermines the strength and credibility of moderate states to bolster one another and isolate the extremists.

Some have a penchant for equating the lawful actions of states in defense of their citizens with the violence of terrorists whose goal is to endanger those very civilians.





"Israel goes to great lengths to ensure the safety and well-being of all civilian populations - Palestinian and Israeli alike. Whereas Israel makes all efforts to protect civilians in accordance with international law, Hamas indiscriminately fires rockets into Israeli civilian areas. Whereas Israel ensures that medicines and fuel enter the Gaza Strip to reach hospitals and needy civilians, Hamas hijacks those trucks and diverts them to its bomb making factories and terrorist camps. Whereas Israel allows humanitarian convoys into Gaza - more than 1,600 trucks and over 20,000 tons of aid in recent weeks alone - Hamas cynically fires on those same crossing points, so it can fabricate a pretext for inciting the Palestinian public against Israel.



"Moreover, the cruelty of Hamas continues to be seen in its holding of Gilad Shalit, who was abducted by that terrorist organization in June 2006 and begins today his 22nd month in captivity. All the while, Hamas has refused to provide details of his condition or well-being. We continue to hope and pray for his safe return home..."



Gillerman also addressed the situation along Israel's northern border, noting that Hizbullah is violating the ceasefire reached after the Second Lebanon War nearly two years ago in three areas: Weapons continue to flow illegally through the porous Syrian-Lebanese border; Hizbullah is rearming, and "has already adapted its weaponry and tactics so as to take into account the UNIFIL presence south of the Litani River, as its spokesmen openly declare; and Israeli soldiers Udi Goldwasser and Eldad Regev have still not been released by their Hizbullah kidnappers.



Peres, Too

Earlier Tuesday, President Shimon Peres noted that while Israel evicted nearly 10,000 Jews from their homes in Gaza, all the country received in return was a steady barrage of rocket fire from the Hamas-ruled territory.