[Dr. Aaron Lerner - IMRA:
"Let's forget about tomorrow for tomorrow never comes"
The theme song and guiding principle of the Olmert administration that
caused it to indefinitely postpone a serious campaign against the growing
threat in the Gaza Strip has finally borne fruit.
Poison fruit that is.
The Olmert team spinners now have two options to ponder:
Avoid confrontation with Hamas so that the weapons Hamas now has in the Gaza
Strip aren't used against targets relevant to the Olmert team (the people in
Sderot are not going to vote Kadima nor will the kibbutzniks near Gaza
anyway).
Go into battle knowing that thanks to the weapons Hamas now has the
casualties among relevant targets will be high enough that an outraged
public will support the move regardless of the IDF casualties and (and this
is the really important thing) be so caught up in the blood lust for revenge
that the idea that the Olmert team should be punished for the incompetence
that facilitated the casualties in the first place would have no place in
relevant public discourse.
Odds are for option #1.
After all.
"Let's forget about tomorrow for tomorrow never comes"
========================
Diskin: Gaza breach allowed influx of advanced armament
Herb Keinon , THE JERUSALEM POST Feb. 3, 2008
www.jpost.com
/servlet/Satellite?cid=1201867287240&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
Hamas's breach of the security fence along the Egypt-Gaza border has
resulted in the smuggling of a large amount of advanced weaponry, including
long-range rockets, anti-tank missiles, and anti-aircraft missiles, Shin Bet
(Israel Security Agency) head Yuval Diskin said in his briefing to ministers
during Sunday's cabinet meeting.
In a sobering assessment of the situation, Diskin said that the breach also
allowed dozens of operatives from all of the different terror organizations
in Syria, Iran, and Egypt to infiltrate into Gaza. He said that these
operatives were likely trained in Iran, and crossed the border with the aim
of upgrading terror attacks against Israel.
The Shin Bet chief also talked about the tenuous balance of power between
Hamas and Fatah, saying that in recent months it has tipped in Hamas's
favor. Referring to a survey which was conducted at Al-Najah University in
Nablus, Diskin said that Hamas now enjoys 16% support amongst the
Palestinian people in the West Bank and Gaza combined, up from 13 percent in
November, 2007. Conversely, Fatah's popularity fell from 44% in November, to
38 percent today.
While Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas is interested in taken
control of the crossing, Hamas also wants a role in the policing efforts,
Diskin said. He explained that the Islamic organization has been bolstered
by the euphoria which followed last week's breach, and now wants a presence
at the crossing. He added that Hamas would agree to European Union monitors
in the area, so long as they do not live in Israel.
Speaking about the noticeable drop in Kassam rocket attacks in the past
week, Diskin warned that it was not due to a change in Hamas policy, but
rather a result of the group being distracted by all of the activity
surrounding the breach in the security wall.
During the briefing, a number of ministers - including Defense Minister Ehud
Barak - called for the speedy construction of a border fence spanning the
Egypt-Israel border. According to Barak, the most important places to begin
this construction was near the western Negev community of Nitzana, and
around Eilat.
On another matter, Diskin harshly criticized the Palestinian Authority legal
system for the way they handled the Hebron Hills murderers. Calling the
trial of the two Palestinians who had shot and killed two Israelis in
December "a farce," he explained that both were originally sentenced to life
in prison, but then given a reduced sentence of 15 years. However, after
realizing that that such a sentence might be problematic diplomatically, the
court added on another ten years, and claimed that it did so because the
convicts had "harmed Palestinian interests."
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