200th Qassam rocket this month - accuracy improving, NIS 6.4 million on
shelling empty fields

Aaron Lerner Date: 22 February 2006

Israel Radio's correspondent for the South, Nissim Keinan, reported this
morning that the 200th Qassam rocket this month to hit Israel from the Gaza
Strip landed this morning.

Keinan said that this is already double the 100 Qassams in January.

Defense sources told Keinan that while the rockets hitting Israel so far
have remained within a 9 kilometer range that the accuracy and quality of
the rockets have improved.

Keinan reported that defense sources expressed their view that the IDF
response of firing artillery shells at empty fields has failed. So far
Israel has fired some 1,600 shells - each costing NIS 4,000 for an overall
cost of NIS 6.4 million.

In addition to the NIS 6.4 million in artillery shells fired at empty fields
the IAF has spent a considerable amount of money on breaking the sound
barrier over the area and firing rockets considerably more expensive than
artillery shells at the empty fields.

While the Palestinians now are hitting the strategic Ashkelon Industrial
Zone on close to a dailybasis, following the Israeli tradition that only
successful attacks count (when many tens of thousands of Israelis were
almost incinerated when a tanker truck blew up in Israel's largest gas (and
other fuel) depot, the Pi Glilot fuel depot on Thursday May 23, 2002 it had
literally no impact on Israeli decision makers) it can be expected that no
significant action will be taken until the Palestinians actually succeed in
killing hundreds in an attack.

Dr. Aaron Lerner, Director IMRA (Independent Media Review & Analysis)
(Mail POB 982 Kfar Sava)
Tel 972-9-7604719/Fax 972-3-7255730
INTERNET ADDRESS: imra@netvision.net.il
Website: http://www.imra.org.il