The mayor said (emphasis added):
"Our feelings about the ceasefire are very difficult. It's Hamas who decides whether to open fire, or to cease fire — and not the State of Israel.
"I am calling on the prime minister and the cabinet ministers to be with the residents, to come down to the south and to hear the sounds of our hearts at the end of this most difficult week that has taken place since Operation Protective Edge."
http://www.jewishpress.com/news/eye-on-palestine/hamas/sderot-mayor-asks-netanyahu-to-visit-says-hear-the-sounds-of-our-hearts-after-terror-trauma/2018/07/15/
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"I don't want to tell anyone that the matter is over," the prime minister said. "We need to be prepared for a protracted campaign. There is an exchange of blows; it doesn't end with one punch."
He spoke of a "process" but said he was confident that Israel would obliterate the threat.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/netanyahu-visits-arson-ravaged-gaza-border-warns-of-a-long-campaign/
The question is whether the residents of the south, or the people of the nation collectively, have patience for "a process," which began later than it should have, and has been rather vague in terms of what the parameters of this process are supposed to be.
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Last week, the IDF warned that Hamas is planning to use exploding drones to step up its arson terrorism campaign…
"Israeli intelligence suggests that Hamas terrorists have recently begun adding timers to the fire kites and balloons, seeking to delay their combustion in hopes of keeping them airborne for a longer period of time and thereby increasing their range inside Israeli territory."
http://www.israelhayom.com/2018/07/13/hamas-plans-to-launch-exploding-drones-into-israel-idf-warns-%e2%80%8e/
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And so I am pleased to share this report:
"Israel Defense Forces on Monday held a large-scale military drill simulating a ground incursion into the Gaza Strip.
"The drill in the country's Negev region, which involved infantry and armored corps, included exercises in urban warfare, with the city of Beersheba serving as a surrogate for Gaza's cities, Channel 10 news reported…
"Taking part in the drill, Ohad Najameh, commander of the 401st Armored Brigade, said he believed penetrating deep into Gaza would not take long, but that a decisive victory over Hamas would take some time.
"'In order to win, we need to confront the enemy, and we want to confront them on our terms, in our time. We've developed the tools and the exercises so that we will be the stronger side when we meet Hamas'…
"'We are ready and speaking in terms of war [that could come] tomorrow,' Lt. Col. Barak Rubin, deputy commander of the Nahal infanty brigade, told Channel 10. 'It occurs to me that this drill could become a real entry into the Strip.'
"'The purpose is decisive action, that when I meet the enemy, I will be able to defeat him and destroy him. We're preparing surprises on our side, tools the other side is unaware of.'"
https://www.timesofisrael.com/israeli-army-drills-for-gaza-incursion-in-apparent-warning-to-hamas/
Be aware, my friends, that this does NOT mean we are moving into Gaza tomorrow. And this certainly won't happen in response to the incendiary devices alone.
Press was invited to this drill. It was intended to deliver a message to Hamas: we are ready, do not test us.
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I hope to come back to a discussion of why the government has been dragging its feet in responding to Hamas. Perhaps now, finally, we will see another direction.
When we want to be strong, we excel.
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See my website: https://www.arlenefromisrael.info
© Arlene Kushner. This material is produced by independent journalist Arlene Kushner. Permission is granted for it to be reproduced only with proper attribution.
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