Hamas is on the run again

Once again, those brave warriors of Islam have gone underground for fear of being executed by Hellfire missile. Funny how they keep on saying that death by martyrdom is their noblest cause, and when Israel offers it up, they run and hide and say, “Uh, well, we need to fight the enemy! Our deaths will not serve that purpose!”

Uh-huh. You can fight the “enemy” when that enemy is a car full of civilians, but it’s quite another thing when you have to face an armed and alert IDF. Asymmetrical warfare goes both ways.

And it doesn’t look like the IDF will be backing off anytime soon.

“A major transformation had taken place. We are now in the midst of a process of reshaping the rules of the game, moving toward stabilization. Operation “First Rain” is a part of that process,” Ziv said. Major General Ziv is expected to retire in coming months, after two-and-a-half years as Head of the operations branch.

Referring to the operation in Gaza, ziv said that “the objective of the operation is to send a message through that the rules of the game have changed in the wake of the disengagement… the unbearable ease in which rockets are being fired into Israel, under the assumption that Israel will restrain its response, is ungrounded.,” Ziv said.

“Under the new rules, rocket launchings or attacks on Israel from any place in the Strip are forbidden. As long as the children of Sderot cannot sleep, no one will sleep in Gaza.”

Ziv believes that the Palestinian Authority must decide if it assumes responsibility over its own fate, or stay a prisoner of Hamas.

“All IDF operations in the pullout’s aftermath are grounded on the principles of respect and deterrence. As long as the PA will act as a sovereign entity and prevent the launching of terror attacks from Gaza, we will make the maximum effort to respect its autonomy. However, as long as terror continues, we will adhere to the deterrence policy,” Ziv stressed.

This time, I think they mean it.