Israelis Want War On Gaza Rockets, Too
Ryan R. Jones - All Headline News Middle East Correspondent Jerusalem, Israel (AHN) - As Israel went to war against Hezbollah over its aggression towards northern Israel, residents of the southern Negev region were give hope that Gaza-based terrorists, too, would finally be dealt with for their incessant rocket attacks. But with the war in the north over, and no visible move to expand military operations in Gaza, the citizens of southern Israel are criticizing Defense Minister Amir Peretz, a resident of the battered town of Sderot, for taking a more lenient approach to Palestinian rocket attacks. Gil Ta'asa, chief of security in the hard-hit village of Netiv Ha'asara, told Ynet, "I think we learned a thing or two in the past month. The equation now is much simpler: For every Qassam fired we should destroy the house where it was fired from, exactly as was done against Katyusha fire in the north." Deputy Mayor of Ashkelon Shimon Cohen went further saying, "We must go back to full control of the Gaza Strip until we end Qassam fire. After what happened in Lebanon this is much clearer ... we made a terrible mistake in withdrawing from the Gaza Strip." Thousands of Qassam and even a few Katyusha rockets have been fired from Gaza since Israel withdrew from the area last year. Israel had refrained from launching any incursions into the coastal strip until June 25, when Hamas-affiliated terrorists from Gaza abducted an Israeli s |
