This time it lasted two days. Following a series of mortar shells and Kassam rockets on Sderot and Gush Katif last week, the IDF instituted its familiar practice of placing checkpoints in strategic places in Gaza, thus effectively cutting off its three parts from each other - but removed them yesterday morning, only two days later. The week before, the IDF kept the measure in place for less than one day.
Defense Affairs Correspondent Haggai Huberman wrote a biting article in HaTzofeh newspaper last week, accusing Israeli policy makers (such as Defense Minister Mofaz) of falling for PA promises to maintain quiet. Referring to the Kassams that began falling last week, Huberman wrote,
"The people of Sderot had quiet for five whole days until it became clear, for the umpteenth time, the amount of confidence that we can place in Palestinian promises... When the dividing-up of Gaza was canceled, the IDF Spokesman explained that this was done after an 'evaluation of the situation' by the security establishment. I would dearly love to know what new facts were learned during that meeting that weren't known 24 hours before when it was decided to divide the area. The only change, it appears, was a Palestinian promise to stop the rockets...
"'The purpose of the division is to place pressure on the civilian [Arab] population, which will then pressure the Islamic organizations to stop the rockets,' a senior army officer told me. I hope he noticed that he was merely parroting the same slogans that have failed time and again throughout the Israeli-Arab conflict - during the military campaigns in Lebanon and at every crossroads of the Israeli-Palestinian clash. The only times Arabs tried to stop Kassam rockets is when these were launched from their own neighborhoods [therefore endangering the residents] - but never because they got stopped at a checkpoint."
"Another sentence I heard from that officer," Huberman wrote, "is that the measure of placing checkpoints is a 'signal' to the Palestinians - another one of these words that we have heard countless times since the beginning of the current war... The only thing that ever worked is when the Israeli leaders finally realized, after that terrible Seder night in Netanya in 2002 when 30 Jews were slaughtered, that they have to take strong military action deep inside Arab territory... Cutting off the parts of Gaza is designed to prevent weapons and rockets from being transported from one place to another. Canceling this measure within less than a day turns it into nothing less than a joke."
Defense Affairs Correspondent Haggai Huberman wrote a biting article in HaTzofeh newspaper last week, accusing Israeli policy makers (such as Defense Minister Mofaz) of falling for PA promises to maintain quiet. Referring to the Kassams that began falling last week, Huberman wrote,
"The people of Sderot had quiet for five whole days until it became clear, for the umpteenth time, the amount of confidence that we can place in Palestinian promises... When the dividing-up of Gaza was canceled, the IDF Spokesman explained that this was done after an 'evaluation of the situation' by the security establishment. I would dearly love to know what new facts were learned during that meeting that weren't known 24 hours before when it was decided to divide the area. The only change, it appears, was a Palestinian promise to stop the rockets...
"'The purpose of the division is to place pressure on the civilian [Arab] population, which will then pressure the Islamic organizations to stop the rockets,' a senior army officer told me. I hope he noticed that he was merely parroting the same slogans that have failed time and again throughout the Israeli-Arab conflict - during the military campaigns in Lebanon and at every crossroads of the Israeli-Palestinian clash. The only times Arabs tried to stop Kassam rockets is when these were launched from their own neighborhoods [therefore endangering the residents] - but never because they got stopped at a checkpoint."
"Another sentence I heard from that officer," Huberman wrote, "is that the measure of placing checkpoints is a 'signal' to the Palestinians - another one of these words that we have heard countless times since the beginning of the current war... The only thing that ever worked is when the Israeli leaders finally realized, after that terrible Seder night in Netanya in 2002 when 30 Jews were slaughtered, that they have to take strong military action deep inside Arab territory... Cutting off the parts of Gaza is designed to prevent weapons and rockets from being transported from one place to another. Canceling this measure within less than a day turns it into nothing less than a joke."