A Hamas spokesman praised Tuesday's rocket attack on an Israeli army base, calling it a "victory from God."...."We consider this a victory from God for the resistance," Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said on Hamas radio.
That is exactly what it appears like to a Muslim believer. When jihadis lose, their approach seems rejected by God. Western restraint, a euphemism for defeatism, fuels the jihad.
The rocket strike, which wounded 69 IDF soldiers, was followed by a mortar barrage on the Gaza border. The Islamic Jihad and the Popular Resistance Committees claimed responsibility for the attacks, and the Islamic Jihad later posted a video on its website purportedly showing the Kassam rocket launch.
Although Hamas was not directly involved, Israel has said it holds the group responsible for attacks out of Gaza because it rules the area.
Although nobody was wounded in the mortar attack, the incident will undoubtedly add to the calls for action, which reached a fever pitch following the earlier Kassam strike.
Yet despite these calls, predictions are that the IDF will still hold back from launching a large-scale operation in the Gaza Strip. According to reports, the hesitancy is in large part due to the upcoming peace summit in Washington, mounting tensions along the northern border, and the fact that Sderot remains largely unprotected.
Defense officials are, however, calling on the political echelon to allow the IDF to deepen their operations in Gaza. At the moment the army is allowed to penetrate up to 2 km into Palestinian territory from the security fence....
Tuesday's Kassam attack was not the first in Zikim. Already in December of 2005, parents voiced protest over the level of safety of the base after it was hit by a Kassam.
Israel's leaders have other concerns than the safety of soldiers and citizens. After all there is so much to do. It will have to wait until after the peace summit.
