Haaretz Editorial & ‘Errant’ Rockets from Gaza
“Israel is busy maintaining the balance of terror with Hamas, which any errant rocket fired from the Gaza Strip could end. . . ” begins the Haaretz editorial today (“Let the people of Gaza go”).
The thing is, as reported in the news section of the very same newspaper, none of the recent rockets fired from Gaza at Israel were “errant.” They were all intentionally targeting Israel.
As Haaretz today reports about the rockets that landed last night in the Hof Ashkelon Regional Council:
A Salafist group calling itself the Omar Brigades, which identifies with ISIS, claimed responsibility for the rocket fire on Twitter later Saturday night. The group said it would not abide by an informal truce agreed between Hamas and Israel after last summer’s 50-day Gaza war, adding that that the rockets were a reminder to Hamas that Israel, not the Salafists, were “the enemy.”
About last Wednesday’s rockets, which reportedly landed in the Sdot Negev Regional Council, Haaretz reported last week:
A radical Islamist Salafist group posted a statement on Twitter claiming responsibility for firing the rockets, saying three rockets were fired. The group, calling itself the Omar Brigades, said the cross-border shooting on Wednesday was in retaliation for Hamas’ killing of an Islamic state supporter a day earlier in Gaza.”We are continuing with our jihad against the Jews, the enemies of God and no one will be able to deter us,” the statement said, using the term in Arabic for holy war.
Regarding the Katyusha rocket fired May 27 at Gan Yavne, Haaretz‘s Amos Harel had reported:
Both Israeli defense officials and sources in Gaza provided identical explanations for what happened. The head of Islamic Jihad’s military wing is currently trying to impose a new local commander on his men in northern Gaza. The field operatives oppose his appointment, and a violent conflict has erupted between the sides – one of which then decided to escalate it by launching a rocket at Israel.
Similarly, the story was much the same for the rocket fire on April 24, Israel’s Independence Day. Haaretz reported:
Estimates are that the rocket fire at Israel reflects a power struggle in Gaza between Hamas and other factions.
In short, all of the rockets fired at Israel in recent weeks, without exception, were intentionally targeting Israel, and were not “errant,” contrary to the Haaretz editorial.
In another sleight of hand, the editorial’s reference to Israel’s “balance of terror with Hamas” is equally deceptive. On the one hand, various terror organizations in Gaza violate the ceasefire by launching rockets indiscriminately at civilian populations. On the other hand, in each of the aforementioned incidents, Israel responded by bombing apparently empty buildings used by Hamas.
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