OneJerusalem.com

By Maurice Picow

It didn’t take much time for the accusations to be hurled by both the Hamas-led Palestinian Authority, as well as from entities outside of Israel as well. The tragic explosion that occurred on a strip of the pristine Gaza beach front last Friday now turns out to have been the result of mines which may had been planted there by the Palestinians themselves. The findings, as disclosed by an Israeli military investigation unit, and discussed during a press conference headed by Israeli military Chief of Staff, Dan Halutz, disclosed that after examination of army video clips taken before and after the tragic event, IDF artillery shelling, which had been going on nearby, was not in progress during the time when the explosion was alleged to have occurred.

Picture from Aljazeera.net. The explosion, which took the lives of seven Palestinian civilians, four of them children, appears to have been set off by the people themselves, who inadvertently stepped on the explosive charge that was buried in the sand. Hamas quickly seized the opportunity to not only blame Israel as responsible for the event, but to also use the ‘opportunity’ to cancel the so called truce that had been declared when the organization took over the P.A. leadership after winning the January election. P.A. Prime Minister Hananyah also turned a blind eye to a new round of Kassam rocket attacks against Israeli towns and settlements located near the Gaza Strip. These attacks were quickly reciprocated by the IDF, resulting in several Palestinians being killed when Israeli air to surface missiles struck a minibus in Kahn Unis, killing 11 Palestinians, three of them children. In this attack, which was condemned by various world leaders, including U.N. Secretary General Koffe Annan, the Israel Air Force Spokesman noted afterwards the minibus was actually carrying a load of Kassam rockets destined for another attack against Israel, along with its human cargo.

Past experiences have proven that the Palestinians, all the way up to the leadership itself, do not have any scruples against using ‘human shields’ during various terror operations. And this incident appears to be within this format. Israel Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, presently on a State Visit in the United Kingdom, commented that Israel will not waiver from its basic right of self defense. He went on to say that unless the Palestinian leadership shows more willingness to fight terror, then these operations will continue; until the Palestinian government finally decides that ‘enough is enough’ and is willing to act responsively.

Olmert, whose next stop after London is to visit French Premier Jacques Cherrac in Paris, and Defense Minister Amir Peretz, appear to be showing the Hamas-led P.A. government that Israel means business. Peretz, who comes from the town of Sderot, one of the places often struck by the Qassam rockets, has visited his home town several times since the new onslaught of missiles has begun in earnest. Hearing the anger, and anguish, of his constituents there hasn’t been easy for the man who initially offered to “sit down and negotiate” with the Palestinians. As the present situation now stands, however, any ideas of negotiation, have been put on a back burner, at least until the situation improves – it if ever does!