Ami Iseroff has an excellent analysis of the result of the last “lull” that Hamas asked for—and was granted. Remember, world opinion was that Israel should grant Hamas the “lull” and then, in six months, the two parties would renew negotations and, if all went well, make even more moves towards peace.
Here’s what happened in the six months of the IDF not targeting the Hamas leadership in Gaza:
Prior to the truce, in June of 2008, the Hamas rockets were homemade Qassams with a range of perhaps 10-12 kilometers. Their approximate range is shown by the green curve in the map below. Following the resumption of rocket fire, Hamas rockets reached about 45 kilometers into Israel, hitting as far north as Yavne and as far west as Beersheba. The range is demarcated by the black curve in the map below. It includes major cities such as Beersheba and Ashdod. If they are not stopped now, in a few months, Hamas rockets will probably reach Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.
Read it all. There’s a map at the link.
And there’s the answer to my commenter in this post who thinks that Israel should do nothing in response to Hamas rockets. Israel did nothing for six months. The result? Schools—thankfully, empty—in Beersheba destroyed.
This war must not end until Hamas’ rocket capabilities are destroyed.
Why is it so hard for the peace-at-any-price crowd to understand: when dealing with those who want nothing less than your extermination, you have no choice but to take away their ability to harm you? Sure it would be nice if the Arabs could be convinced to give up their genocidal ambitions, but there is no indication of that happening anytime soon — and it certainly won’t happen if they think their efforts are succeeding.
“This war must not end until Hamas’ rocket capabilities are destroyed.”
The “Cast Lead” Operation is not a war, it is a campaign within a larger war. The campaign must not end until Hamas in Gaza is destroyed.