Egypt recalls envoy over IAF air strikes.
DEBKAfile Special Report November 14, 2012, 10:24 PM
The Palestinians fired 50 rockets from Gaza Wednesday night, Nov. 14, after an Israeli air assault killed the Hamas military chief Ahmed Jabari and destroyed a long list of missile sites. Iron Dome intercepted 17 of the incoming rockets against Beersheba (three salvoes), Ashdod and Eshkol. None caused casualties. Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi, after some hesitation, decided not to issue a statement on the Israeli operation. Instead, he recalled his ambassador from Tel Aviv and decided to call a UN Security Council session to stop “Israeli aggression.” The Israeli ambassador was summoned to hear Egypt’s foreign ministry. So far, Cairo has not acted to sever relations.
After confirming the death of the master-terrorist Ahmed Jabari, commander of Hamas’s military arm, Ezz e-din al-Qassam, Hamas announced: We are now at war with Israel. Jabari, 52, was killed by a targeted Israeli air attack in Gaza City. A key figure in the radical Palestinian Hamas movement, he was caught driving in a black Mercedes in Gaza City.
Hamas has announced a general call-up and threatened to respond not just with rockets but suicide attacks inside Israel. Its leaders warned that their Fajr-5 rockets had a range of 75 kilometers and could reach locations north of Tel Aviv.
Israeli sources say the air operation called Pillar of Cloud aimed at targeting more Hamas leaders, degrading its military infrastructure and demolishing its rocket stocks, especially the long-range Fajrs.
The Israeli Navy joined the air force in striking Palestinian missile sites in southern Gaza from the sea.
In their first report on progress, Wednesday night, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu reported that the wave of Israeli air strikes over Gaza had seriously degraded the Hamas terrorists’ ability to conduct missile attacks on central Israel, despite a major effort to avoid harming civilians. “We are set to expand out counter-terror operation if necessary.” He said.
Defense Minister Ehud Barak said that most of Hamas’s Fajr rockets and their silos had been hit as well as many other strategic sites. Operation Pillar of Cloud had four objectives, said Barak: restoring Israel’s deterrence; seriously reducing the terrorists’ rocket arsenal; harming their high-profile leaders and restoring peace to southern Israel.
The IDF spokesman reported that reserve units are standing by in case a ground operation is called for by a Palestininan escalation. Special police units are on the ready in all parts of Israel for possible terrorist attacks. Locations within 40 kilometers range of the Gaza Strip were advised to stand ready to take rocket attacks from Gaza until the Operation Pillar of Cloud was over. All schools within rocket range of the Gaza Strip will remain closed Thursday and emergency services are on high alert. The million Israeli civilians suffering perennial Palestinian rocket assaults are advised to stay close to shelters for the duration of the operation.
I don’t think President Morsi and the Brotherhood are capable of ruling Egypt in a way that will bring progress. His recent quote, “Israelis must realize we do not accept this aggression.” He might as well have added that he expects the Jews to take whatever punishment the Muslims dish out without fighting back. The Pharaohs must be straining to escape their sarcophases to see the inferior civilization which has taken over their land. These Muslims cannot think logically and use lies and propaganda which they think furthers their aims. They don’t educate themselves and have no respect for anyone and anything.
The Jews have been in their land for 3000+ years. G-d is blessing them, but Islamic civilization is dying.
@ ArnoldHarris:
It’s quite costly — originally projected as a billion-dollar project.
In May 2010, the White House got around to announcing that Mr Obama would request funding from Congress in the amount of $206 million to assist the financing of the Israel Defense Ministry’s Iron Dome project as part of the 2011 US budget — the US-Israel Missile Defense Cooperation & Support Act (H.R. 5327), spons. Rep. Glenn C. Nye [D-VA, 2d], approved overwhelmingly, 20 May 2010, by House of Representatives [410-4].
My understanding, as of this past July, was that three [3] — of the anticipated nine [9] — triple-component, Iron Dome batteries had been produced & were deployed (successfully) in 2011 against mostly Islamic Jihad types in Gaza.
However, the IDF had suspended further purchases — as each activation of the system, though very effective, was regarded as prohibitively expensive.
That could change now, of course. Or not. . . .
Maybe so. Just remember, however, that the enemy have, no doubt, also planned for this.
In anticipation of ground action, they are certain to have greatly increased the scope & sophistication of their booby-trapping activities. In fact, this may even be the makings of a ruse — calculated to draw in Zahal for precisely that purpose.
That doesn’t necessarily mean that ground assault must be ruled out, but that one should have no illusions as to what may lie in store.
Its SO good to know this murderer is dead–Israel needs to target all of these evil Arabs–and kill all of them–the sooner the better!
And the missiles keep on coming in. Beer Sheva right now.
Witness the wicked stupidity!
Kiryat Malachi hit. People dead. Red Alert right now in Ashkelon, before in Ashdod and Beer Sheva.
Viva the destruction of Gush Katif and the abandonment of the Upper and Western Negev! Hail Bibi! Hail Barak!
What’s needed is an iron coffin for Gaza, not an iron dome for Israel.
Israel’s meek leaders are not up to the job to do what has to be done.
This is Cast Lead II. In a few years, look for the 3rd sequel and more to come thereafter.
Since when does shooting down 17 out of 50 enemy airborne missiles constitute a “victory”? What about the 33 missiles that were not intercepted? How many of them struck and destroyed their targets in Israeli cities, villages and elsewhere?
I have no idea what this Iron Dome defense system costs the State of Israel. Probably the cost is not inexpensive.
Therefore, all things considered, it seems to me that the only way to end this menace, which is now threatening all cities and towns in central and southern Israel, is by means of Zahal boots on the ground across the whole territory from which the enemy is launching the missiles. That means permanent re-occupation of the whole of the Gaza strip, and probably the Sinai peninsula as well.
What to do with the local Arabs in Gaza? This time, forget about jailing them, either short or long term. The ones who are an immediate armed threat, just kill them outright. For any others who will not agree to live in peace with Israel and forego the endless Arab cultural pull toward violence, just expel them outright. Not all at once, but over a period of time, it will them out. Expulsion in this case means to truck them, chained to their seats in armored buses, take them to the nearest Arab border, unlock the chains and make sure they leave Jewish-controlled territory — permanently.
Tough measures? Man fewer people will get killed or injured that way, and the farther away the borders, the less capability that gangs of Arabs will have to fire off missiles at Israel’s populated places.
What about missiles fired at Israel from Arab cities? This of course is an act of war, and should be answered by reprisals sufficiently destructive that any Arab country near enough to Israel to harbor such gangs will fully understand that the price they will pay will be the massive destruction of entire neighborhoods in their cities. And if the threats are made to use nuclear weapons, then Israel reportedly has a huge stockpile of these, each one screw tightening away from full deployment, as I think the saying goes.
There never has been peace in the Middle East. There never will be peace in the Middle East. And unless there are major cultural changes among the Arab populations, which would be most foolish of anyone to predict as either probable or possible.
So once again, you must take the enemy territory. But this time, there must never again be any diplomatically arranged retreats. Otherwise, you are spilling the blood of your soldiers for nothing. And any government or nation that does that to its own soldiers should be accursed by haShem.
Arnold Harris
Mount Horeb WI