WarSclerotic

Talk of peace always leads to war, Israel Hayom, Ruthie Blum, July 11, 2014

The real reason for what the world is calling a “cycle of violence” is the phony peace process that U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry spent months trying to broker between Israel and the Palestinians. More specifically, it is the culmination of Israeli appeasement toward Washington and Ramallah. In other words, it was as inevitable as every armed conflict against the Jewish state since the 1948 War of Independence.

Has this made a dent in the view of the Israeli Left, the White House and State Department, the European Union and the United Nations that Israel needs to resume the “peace process”? On the contrary, it has strengthened their position that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is somehow at fault for launching Operation Protective Edge in Gaza. And it has led to more calls for brokered negotiations.

This is not only the kind of travesty that one has come to expect of detractors, both at home and abroad; it is also counterproductive. Anyone who really wants a cessation of war must know by now that the worst way to achieve it is to talk of peace.

After a light-hearted exchange about the chance of reaching our destination without getting hit by a missile barrage, my taxi driver’s tone darkened.

“Tell me the truth,” he said. “How do feel when the siren goes off?”

“Startled,” I answered. “But getting used to it.” (Thanks to Iron Dome, I thought, otherwise I would probably be as terrified as the residents of Sderot and other southern towns, who have been under this blitz for years.)

Stopping at a red light, the driver leaned over to me and lowered his voice.

“It scares me to death,” he admitted, in what struck me as a feat of extraordinary bravery for an Israeli male.

He then explained that he has been suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder since being seriously wounded 12 years ago in a suicide bombing. Though he has learned to keep it under some degree of control, he said he relives the horror “every time there’s a flare-up in the situation.”

Little wonder.

It happened on a Friday afternoon, on April 12, 2002, at the Mahane Yehuda outdoor market in Jerusalem, when a 17-year-old girl belonging to the Hebron branch of the Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades detonated an explosive device strapped to her body. Four people were killed that day, including two foreign workers from China, and more than 100 were wounded, among them my taxi driver, all because they were out shopping for food for Shabbat.

It was one of many such grotesque attacks on innocent civilians carried out by Palestinian terrorists from Gaza and Judea and Samaria. The aim to annihilate the Jewish state is one thing these assaults had in common. Another is that each was the result of peace talks.

Indeed, the bombing in question was part of the Second Intifada, waged against Israel following the so-called “failure” of the 2000 Camp David Summit. In fact, it was the inevitable outcome of Israeli peace overtures and concessions to Palestinian Liberation Organization chief Yasser Arafat. An arch-terrorist with genocidal goals and behavior, the Nobel Peace prize he won for signing the Oslo Accords became his most lethal weapon. And he used it with a vengeance.

Rather than working toward the establishment of the state for which he was ostensibly fighting, Arafat took the opportunity of relative autonomy in the Palestinian Authority to step up operations against Israel. His successor, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, has carried on this legacy. His recent reconciliation with Hamas is not merely proof of this, but was directly linked to the latest round of Israeli overtures and concessions.

The same goes for Israeli cease-fires with terrorist organizations and withdrawals from terrorist-run territory. Peace never ensues; only the promise of the next war, and the fulfillment of that promise.

This is exactly what is happening today. The notion that the current incessant missile fire on Israel was sparked by the murder of 16-year-old Muhammad Abu Khdeir in Jerusalem at the hand of Jewish vigilantes — following the abduction and killing of three Israeli teens — is absolutely ridiculous.

The real reason for what the world is calling a “cycle of violence” is the phony peace process that U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry spent months trying to broker between Israel and the Palestinians. More specifically, it is the culmination of Israeli appeasement toward Washington and Ramallah. In other words, it was as inevitable as every armed conflict against the Jewish state since the 1948 War of Independence.

Has this made a dent in the view of the Israeli Left, the White House and State Department, the European Union and the United Nations that Israel needs to resume the “peace process”? On the contrary, it has strengthened their position that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is somehow at fault for launching Operation Protective Edge in Gaza. And it has led to more calls for brokered negotiations.

This is not only the kind of travesty that one has come to expect of detractors, both at home and abroad; it is also counterproductive. Anyone who really wants a cessation of war must know by now that the worst way to achieve it is to talk of peace.

Just ask my scarred-for-life taxi driver.

Hamas warns residents against revealing downtown Gaza launches

Ministry of Interior video guides Facebook users on proper wartime terminology, tells Gazans to refute all Israeli messages

By Elhanan Miller July 11, 2014, 5:40 pm

via Hamas warns residents against revealing downtown Gaza launches | The Times of Israel.

hamas’s Ministry of Interior in Gaza — still active despite a unity government with Fatah which officially disbanded it — has requested that citizens not share photos of rockets launched from residential areas in downtown Gaza lest Israel strike those areas.

The ministry’s social media department published a video in Arabic Thursday containing guidelines for “cautious and effective” social media engagement on Facebook and Twitter during Operation Protective Edge. The ministry calls on residents to be wary of repeating Israeli “rumors,” and of adopting “the occupation’s narrative.” “Always doubt it and dispel it,” the video advises.

“Beware of posting photos of missiles launched from the center of town directed at Israel. This is used as a pretext to strike residential areas in the Gaza Strip,” it continues.

Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah, also appointed Minister of Interior in the new unity government sworn in June 2, has admitted in an interview with The New York Times last month that his Ramallah-based government wields no control over the Gaza Strip. The website of Hamas’s ministry has remained continuously active throughout the IDF operation, delivering news and guidelines to residents.

When referring to casualties in Gaza, the term “innocent citizen” should always be added to the name, the video says.

“Begin your coverage of the resistance [Hamas] activities by writing ‘in response to the brutal Israeli attack’ and end it with ‘more than X martyrs have been killed since Israel began its aggression against Gaza’.”

“Always focus on the role of ‘the Israeli occupation as aggressor’ and that ‘we in Palestine represent the response’.”

In some cases, the video’s advice straddles the line between operational security and efficient advocacy tips.

“Do not publish photos or video clips depicting locations of rocket launches or movements of resistance [Hamas members] in Gaza,” the video warns. “To Facebook news page administrators, do not display photos of masked men carrying heavy weapons up close, so that your page isn’t shut for inciting violence.”

Facebook commenters should describe the local manufacturing of rockets as a “natural response to the occupation launching missiles at civilians in the West Bank and Gaza.”

Photos, the video concludes, should include documentation of the time and place they were taken, since Israel claims that Palestinians are using archived photos as news.

“Make sure in every roundup to mention the number of women and children killed or injured. There is nothing wrong with displaying photos of the injured,” Hamas urged in the video.

IDF chief: We’re ready for ground offensive, awaiting cabinet’s orders, Ynet News, Yoav Zitun, July 11, 2014

‘Nothing is stopping us from moving forward,’ Gantz says, adding that Hamas is ‘understanding it has made a big mistake. Gaza is sinking to its doom.’

IDF Chief of Staff Benny Gantz said Friday that the military was ready for a possible ground offensive in the Gaza Strip, and was awaiting instructions from the political leadership.

“Nothing is stopping us from moving forward,” Gantz said during a tour of a Paratroopers training base. “The IDF is not waiting for the last straw to go on a ground offensive, it’s waiting on political instruction.”

Terrorists “in Gaza are understanding that they’ve made a big mistake. In four days we’ve been intelligently using our offensive means while remembering that there are civilians there that Hamas has turned into hostages,” Gantz said. “Gaza is slowly sinking to its doom.”

The chief of staff noted that “the air offensive is excellent and we have intelligence that works. We have what to attack, and we will intensify the attacks. We’ve yet to exhaust our offensive capabilities.”

Gantz went on to say that “strategically, Gaza needs to choose whether it’s heading for a calm or to a security catastrophe.”

Gaza building in ruins after IAF strike (Photo: AFP)

DF attack in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip (Photo: AFP)

On the threat from Hamas, Gantz said, “Hamas has been getting stronger over the years. Thousands of rockets were hit (in IDF attacks) and they tried to fire hundreds of rockets and were unsuccessful, while dozens were intercepted.”

The IDF chief also stressed that “the Iron Dome cannot provide complete protection” and cautioned that this military campaign must be viewed “in a level-headed, non-hysteric manner.”

Israeli troops amassing on the Gaza border (Photo: AFP)

Armored Corps soldiers on the Gaza border (Photo: AFP)

The IDF has been preparing for a possible ground offensive, calling in reserves and amassing troops on the Gaza border. This ground offensive could happen within the next 36 hours. The army believes a ground campaign could lead to a lot of achievements and to an extensive blow to Hamas’ infrastructure, mostly in places where the army and Shin Bet have no intelligence on.

One of the main options being considered is a limited and focused ground offensive that includes ground forces, engineering forces and armored corps.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a televised statement on Thursday: “So far the battle is progressing as planned, but we can expect further stages in future. Up to now, we have hit Hamas and the terror organizations hard and as the battle continues we will increase strikes at them.”

Netanyahu discussed options with his security cabinet as new air strikes were launched and officials hinted at a ground offensive. There was no word on when or if this might happen.

Israeli leaders have appeared to hint at a possible invasion by ground forces and some 20,000 army reservists have been mobilized, giving them the means, if they choose, to mount a land offensive.

The last time they undertook such an offensive was in early 2009 during Operation Cast Lead. Ground troops did not cross into the Strip, one of the world’s most densely populated territories, during the last major exchange of rockets and missiles in the 2012 Operation Pillar of Defense.

“We have long days of fighting ahead of us,” Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon said.

Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri sounded a defiant note, when asked about Yaalon’s remarks. “Our backs are to the wall and we have nothing to lose,” he said. “We are ready to battle until the end.”

Deputy head of the Hamas political bureau and executive organization in Gaza, Ismail Haniyeh, spoke to Palestinian media Friday saying, “We aren’t afraid from the enemy’s threats. The blood of the leaders is no more important than the blood of the children and families.”

He addressed Israel and said, “Stop your war crimes against our people because your aggression will fail to achieve its objectives. Our people will be victorious no matter the number of victims or the number of threats… Our people are united and support the resistance in an unprecedented manner.”

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas called on Hamas to stop its rocket fire at Israel.

“What are you trying to achieve by sending rockets?” Abbas asked on Palestine TV, without explicitly naming Hamas. “We prefer to fight with wisdom and politics.”

Obama approval high with Muslims – Jonathan Topaz – POLITICO.com.

( ‘Nuf said…   JW )

The survey underscores a religious divide when it comes to presidential approval. | AP Photo

By JONATHAN TOPAZ | 7/11/14 6:06 AM EDT

President Barack Obama’s approval rating is higher among Muslims than any other religious group, a new poll says.

Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2014/07/poll-obama-approval-muslims-highest-108797.html#ixzz37AbdrIQq

More Iron Dome batteries to be rolled out in coming days as rocket attacks persist | JPost | Israel News.

By YAAKOV LAPPIN

 07/11/2014 15:39

Defense Minister Ya’alon thanks Rafael and IAI for air defenses that have saved many lives.

Additional Iron Dome batteries will be rolled out in the coming days and deployed across Israel.

Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon spoke with the heads of the Rafael defense corporation and Israel Aircraft Industries, which manufactures air defense batteries, and thanked them for the extraordinary performance of the anti-rocket system.

“Your efforts, and those of your people in this operation is very impressive, and inspirational,” Ya’alon added. “In recent days, you and your people are working with dedication, day and night, to instantly set up more Iron Dome batteries, which will go into operation during [the current] Operation Protective Edge, and will defend the Israeli people,” he said.

Ya’alon spoke to Yitzhak Gat (Chairman) and Didi Ya’ari (CEO) of Rafael, and Rafi Maor (Chairman) and Yosi Weiss (CEO) of IAI.

“I’d like to thank you and express my big appreciation for Iron Dome’s activities,” Ya’alon said. “This, most importantly, saves lives, and provides us with wide-ranging opportunities when managing the campaign against Hamas. It also sends a message to states and organizations around us, which are building up enormous quantities of missiles and rockets,” Ya’alon said.

“The impressive performance of Iron Dome has strategic significance for the State of Israel and the security of its people,” Ya’alon said, asking the executives to pass on the thanks of the Israeli people to the engineers, developers, and creators of Iron Dome.

A large effort to produce more interceptor missiles is also under way, Ya’alon added.

On Friday, Iron Dome intercepted some 15 Gazan rockets, and since Monday night, it has intercepted over 130 rockets heading to built up areas in Israel.

More than 50 rockets have fallen in Israeli territory on Friday, and over 600 since Monday, when Operation Protective Edge began. At the start of the operation, seven Iron Dome batteries were deployed across the country.

Israel Hayom | Time for a strategic campaign.

Avi Dichter

Israel Has ‘Full US Backing’ For Ground Assault – News from America – News – Arutz Sheva.

Dan Shapiro

Flash 90

US Ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro spoke to Galei Tzahal (IDF Radio) on Friday morning, and committed America’s firm support for Israel if it decides to launch a ground offensive on the Hamas stronghold of Gaza.

The statement comes after the IDF on Thursday afternoon sent telephone warnings to 100,000 residents of Gaza, telling them to evacuate the area near the security border in an indication of an imminent ground entry.

“No one wants a ground operation, and we want that Hamas would stop sending the missiles and rockets. But in any case, Israel has full American backing,” said Shapiro on the “Good Morning Israel” radio show.

Just before Shapiro’s talk of full backing for a ground assault, US President Barack Obama called Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Thursday night and offered to broker a ceasefire with the terrorist organization Hamas.

“The president expressed concern about the risk of further escalation and emphasized the need for all sides to do everything they can to protect the lives of civilians and restore calm,” the White House said in a statement. “The United States remains prepared to facilitate a cessation of hostilities, including a return to the November 2012 ceasefire agreement.”

While the 2012 deal, brokered by former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Egypt, ended the counter-terror Operation Pillar of Defense, Hamas did not keep to the ceasefire.

As of June, before the recent escalation, Gaza terrorists had already fired over 450 rockets at Israel since the start of 2014 according to the IDF.

Since Operation Protective Edge began on Monday, Gaza terrorists have fired well over 500 rockets and mortars, and the IDF has hit over 1,100 terror sites.

America has given mixed messages during the course of the operation, supporting Israel’s right to defend itself, even as US Secretary of State John Kerry on Monday night called Netanyahu after Gaza terrorists fired 80 rockets, and asked him to “show restraint.“

The current conflict between Israel and Hamas shatters myths | JPost | Israel News.

By ALAN DERSHOWITZ

07/10/2014 21:52

The current warfare between Hamas and Israel shatters several myths that have been accepted as gospel by many in the international community and the media.

The current warfare between Hamas and Israel shatters several myths that have been accepted as gospel by many in the international community and the media.

MYTH 1: The primary cause of the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians is the occupation of the West Bank and Israel’s settlement policy.

Reality: The reality is that Hamas’ rocket attacks against Israeli cities and civilian targets has little to do with Israel’s occupation and settlement policy on the West Bank. Even if Israel were to make peace with the Palestinian Authority, the rocket attacks from Gaza would not stop. These Hamas attacks are incited by the Muslim Brotherhood, Iran, Syria and others opposed to the very concept of the nation state for the Jewish people. The best proof of this reality is that these attacks began as soon as Israel ended its occupation of Gaza and uprooted all the civilian settlements from that area.

Israel left behind agricultural hot houses and other equipment that the residents of Gaza could have used to build a decent society. Moreover, there was no siege of Gaza at that time. Gaza was free to become a Singapore on the Mediterranean. Instead, Hamas engaged in a coup-d’état murdering many members of the Palestinian Authority, seizing control of all of Gaza, and turning it into a militant theocracy. They used the material left behind by the Israelis not to feed their citizens but to build rockets with which to attack Israeli civilians. It was only after these rocket attacks that Israel began a siege of Gaza designed to prevent the importation of rockets and material used to build terrorist kidnap tunnels. There are good reasons why Israel should change its settlement policy on the West Bank and try harder to achieve peace with the Palestinian Authority. But even if that were to be accomplished the rockets from Gaza would continue and Israel would have to take the kind of military steps any democracy would take to prevent its civilians from lethal aggression.

MYTH 2: What is being experienced now is a “cycle of violence”, with equal blame on both sides.

Reality: The reality, of course, is that there is no comparison—legally, morally, diplomatically or by any other criteria—between what Hamas is doing and how Israel is responding. Hamas is willfully and deliberately committing a double war crime by targeting Israeli civilians and using Palestinian civilians as human shields. The deliberate targeting of civilians, as Hamas admits—indeed boasts—it is doing, is a clear war crime. Hamas has specifically aimed its lethal rockets at Beersheba, Tel Aviv, Haifa and Jerusalem. This is a war crime. Moreover, it is firing these rockets from hospitals, schools and houses in densely-populated areas, in order to cause Israel to kill Palestinian civilians. This too is a war crime.

This has been called Hamas’ “dead baby strategy.” It deliberately puts Israel to the tragic choice of attacking the rockets and killing some children who are used as human shields, or refraining from attacking the rockets and thereby placing their own children at risk. Israel has generally chosen the option of refraining from attacking legitimate military targets, but when any human shields are inadvertently killed or injured, Hamas stands ready to cynically parade the dead civilians in front of television cameras, which transmit these gruesome pictures around the world with captions blaming Israel. Hamas has also adamantly refused to build bomb shelters for its civilian population. It has built shelters but has limited access to them to Hamas terrorists.

This is precisely the opposite of what Israel does—building shelters for its civilians and placing its soldiers in harm’s way. Most recently Hamas has forced or encouraged civilians to stand on the rooftops of military targets so as to prevent Israel from attacking these entirely appropriate targets. Indeed a lawsuit is now being brought in Israel, against the Israeli military, urging it to ignore these human shields and to attack the military targets. The argument is that unless the military targets are attacked, Israeli civilians will die, and a democracy has the obligation to prefer the lives of its own civilians over the lives of enemy civilians.

Thus far the Israeli military has refrained from attacking military targets that are protected by human shields. There is absolutely no symmetry between the war crimes committed by Hamas and the entirely appropriate military response by the Israeli Defense Forces.

MYTH 3: Muhammad Abbas is part of the solution, not part of the problem.

Reality: Muhammad Abbas has become part of the problem, especially in recent days. He has supported Hamas in its war crimes against Israeli civilians and has characterized Israel’s self-defense actions as “genocide” against all of the Palestinian people. I have met Abbas and found him to be a decent man who genuinely wants a peaceful solution to the conflict, but he is not a man of courage who is prepared to stand up and tell the Palestinian people the truth about the current conflict. His willingness to join together with Hamas in a governmental partnership demonstrates both his weakness and his willingness to be complicit with evil. He speaks out of two sides of his mouth, one side when he speaks in English to Western media and diplomats, and the other when he speaks in Arabic to the Palestinian street, which he knows contains many supporters of Hamas. His public support for Hamas has made it far more difficult for Israel to arrive at a negotiated solution with the Palestinian Authority. It has also made it more difficult for Hamas to stop the rocket barrage and agree to a cease fire. The entire civilized world should be standing behind Israel as it defends itself against war crimes. That so many continue to support—or remain silent about—those who commit these war crimes tells us something deeply disturbing about their values and prejudices.

Professor Dershowitz’s latest book is Taking the Stand: My Life in the Law

Hamas rockets move north up to Haifa. Katyushas from Lebanon aimed at Metulla. Israeli artillery returns fire.

Debka

Another half a million Israelis came under Hamas rocket attack before dawn Friday, July 11, as Hamas again expanded its rocket radius to the towns between Hadera and Haifa, 150 km north of the Gaza Strip. A woman of 70 collapsed and died running to a shelter when she heard the Haifa siren.

Metullah, Israel’s northernmost town, was alerted early Friday by two Katyusha missiles from Lebanon. One landed between the Galilee town and Kfar Yuval. The sources of the fire are reported by debkafile’s military sources as two Lebanese villages: Ain Arab, in the Hizballah-ruled Beqaa Valley, and Mari near the southern town of Hatsbaya.

The first failed to take off but, because it was launched from a Hizballah stronghold, it is being taken as a possible first omen of Hizballah preparedness to open a second front against Israel to support Hamas – even though their relations have become strained.

Israeli artillery directed return fire from Mt. Dov against the Hizballah village of Kfar Chouba. Lebanese army sources reported that at Mari, another two rockets were found ready for launching against Israel.

The southern Israeli towns of Netivot, Ofakim, Sderot and Shear Hanegev got their first barrage of the day from Hamas. Iron Dome went into action, intercepting two rockets aimed at Sderot, after knocking out 40 of the 170 Hamas fired Thursday.

For the fourth day, Israeli air strikes continued to hammer the Gaza Strip, hitting 200 targets in the last 24 hours. The air force is seriously restricted in its targeting by deliberately avoiding hitting high-rise residential buildings and hospitals, where Hamas and Jihad Islami have stored their longest-range rockets, as well as being unable to reach the underground bunkers where Hamas keeps its main arsenals and key commanders safely hidden. Nonetheless Palestinian deaths in the four days of Israel’s Operation Protective Edge have climbed to 90 and 660 injured. The option of an IDF ground operation to put a stop to Hamas’s rocket blitz is still on the table.

Obama to Netanyahu: US willing to mediate Israel-Hamas truce – Israel News, Ynetnews.

( Let’s first see how well he does negotiating a truce with ISIS.  Radical Islam cannot be negotiated with… JW )

US president attempts to deter IDF ground operation in Gaza, offers to negotiate cease-fire agreement.

Yitzhak Benhorin

The US is making every effort to deter an Israeli ground operation in Gaza, with President Barack Obama telling Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday night that Washington is willing to negotiate a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas.

The White House says Obama condemned the rocket attacks and said Israel has the right to self-defense. But Obama also urged both sides not to escalate the crisis and to restore calm.

Obama also relayed concerns about a Palestinian-American teenager who was detained and apparently beaten by Israeli authorities. Obama says Israel has worked to resolve that situation.The two leaders also discussed Iran. Obama says the US won’t accept any deal that doesn’t ensure Iran’s nuclear program is peaceful.

With IDF ground troops amassing on the Gaza border, and Palestinians living near the frontier being told to evacuate their homes, Hamas is seriously worried about the prospects of a ground invasion – but is trying hard to convey an air of nonchalance.

A statement issued by the group’s military wing declared that an Israeli ground operation would be “an opportunity for us to free Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails. Israel will not be the one to decide when and on what terms the war ends.”

Meanwhile, the US is trying to prevent the same invasion, even as Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas admits that talks have failed.

Speaking at a meeting at the Muqata government compound in Ramallah, Abbas said that, “We don’t want either side to present terms and conditions to restore the calm – the most important thing is to avoid bloodshed. Egypt was in contact with both sides, but unfortunately these talks failed.”

Abbas said that other attempts to end the fighting had also had little effect.

“We talked to the American side, and asked them to stop the Israeli military operation while we in parallel convinced Hamas to stop firing rockets. Unfortunately we were unable to do so.”

“No one wants to see a ground invasion,” State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said earlier Thursday. She said that while Israel is utilizing its right to self-defense, it does not want a ground operation.

The US has made it clear that it is willing to talk to any country that can help and put influence Hamas to stop the rocket fire.

Secretary of State John Kerry said Thursday that while no country could accept such rocket attacks, de-escalating the crisis was ultimately in everyone’s interests.

Kerry said he spoke to Netanyahu and Abbas, and that the goal was to see if there was some way to restore peace.

In his conversation with Abbas, Kerry repeated American concerns over the escalation and expressed US willingness to help in ending the rockets.

Kerry was, according to Psaki, using all of the means at his disposal to stop the rockets.

In a message by the military – wing of Hamas, spokesman Abu Obeida emphasized that the military wing prepared itself for the long struggle. “The enemy has noticed that we have multiplied out attacks in response to its massacres against innocent lives.

“The whole world should know that our people have announced a revolution in the West Bank, in Jerusalem, and in the territories occupied in 1948.”

A correspondent on Hamas’ Al-Aqsa television station responded to the military wing’s statement: “For these acts I must salute the Al-Aqsa Brigade… this is a victory speech.”

Meanwhile, Hamas propaganda efforts in Gaza continued. In videos released by Hamas, aired on Al-Aqsa channel, the Gaza-based terrorist organization threatened Israel. “Our missiles will turn Tel Aviv into a ball of fire.”

According to Palestinian sources, since the beginning of Operation Protective Edge, 85 Palestinians have been killed, including children, and hundreds have been injured.