As Blitz Rains on Sderot, Ashkelon, Nahariya – Haifa, More Boastful Words Awaiting Actions in Kind …

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Katyusha Barrage Hits Acre, Haifa and Nahariya

PM: Attack Will Have ‘Far-Reaching Consequences’

Excerpts;

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Sunday that there would be “far-reaching consequences” for a rocket attack launched by Lebanese guerillas on the city of Haifa that killed eight people and wounded dozens of others.

“Nothing will deter us,” he said at the beginning of his government’s weekly Cabinet meeting. “There will be far-reaching consequences in our relations on the northern border and in the area in general.” read more

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Where Are the Profiles in Courage to Speak Out, Consequences Come What May?

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We Deserve the Qassams and the Katyushas, By Nadav Shragai (Haaretz)

Excerpts;

The hundreds of Qassams and Katyushas that have landed in the south and north are a natural response coming from those who, over the years, have grown used to believing that Israel regards the thousands of mortars and Qassams on the inhabitants of Gush Katif as nothing more than rain.

The kidnapping of the soldiers was practically obligatory from someone who understands that “deterrence,” a much-favored term used by many Israelis, was a kind of self-delusion, largely virtual, and that Israeli prisoners, for those who swore they would “not get down on the knees,” are worth a few hundred terrorists. read more

Army Soo Busy Defending Regime Against Jews, They Took Their Eyes Off of the Murderous Enemy …

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Caught With Its Pants Down, By Yoel Marcus (Haaretz)

Excerpts;

The first thought that came to mind when I heard the Reshet Bet radio announcer say that the chief of staff had headed for his underground war room, a.k.a “the pit,” after the kidnapping of two soldiers by Hezbollah, was that he had gone there to hide in shame. Two embarrassing military bungles in less than a month, dictating a prisoner-release deal from the outset, is simply intolerable.

Our illustrious army, one of the most advanced in the world… has been caught twice with its pants down, in scenarios that had been foreseen. Major General Giora Eiland offered a blow-by-blow description of how we fell into a Hamas trap at the Kerem Shalom crossing. Despite the lessons of the past, despite updated alerts, despite being “prepared” for tunnels being dug by terrorists and possible kidnappings, the alarm was not sounded in time. read more

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The Grave War News Over Shabbos: What Abandoning Jewish Land Has Wrought …

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Two Killed in Rocket Attacks Over the Sabbath

Excerpts;

A grandmother and her four-year-old grandson were killed Friday night when Hizbullah rockets slammed into their home as the family sat down to Shabbat dinner.

The child’s family had left the city of Nahariya, which has suffered the brunt of rocket attacks by Hizbullah terrorists, to spend the Sabbath with family in the community of Meiron, near Tzfat (Safed). The child’s mother and father were also injured in the direct hit on the grandmother’s house. read more

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To Amir Peretz, the Rank Amateur Doing OJT On the Fly: Don’t Give Macho Threats Unless You’ve Got the Actions to Back ‘Em UP!

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Peretz Says Israel Intends to ‘Break’ Hizbullah

Full Text;

Defense Minister Amir Peretz said Thursday night that, “We expected Hizbullah to break the rules, and now we intend to break them.

“We do not mean for this event to end when the situation returns to how things were a few days ago,” he said.

Peretz’s comments came before his meeting with Assistant Secretary of State David Welch.

Commentary;

The macho threats get pretty digusting and laughable and demeaning when, again and again and again the actions don’t reach the level of macho rhetoric. And who says that the situation will speedily “return to how things were a few days ago?” MB read more

Katyusha, Kassam Blitz North and South Continue and Other War News…

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Nahariya, Safed Sustain Another Katyusha Barrage

Hezbollah Renews Rocket Fire, Hits Residential Building in Safed

Safed Resident Killed in Katyusha Attack

IDF Ends Latest Incursion into Gaza, Killing Some 30 Gunmen

Three Kassams Land in West Negev; None Injured

IDF Forces Foil Infiltration Attempt on Northern Border

Katyushas Kit kibbutz Near Nahariya; None Injured

Damage to Electricity Grid in Tzefat Area

IDF: Over 700 [Katyusha] Rockets, Mortars Fired

Kassam Lands Near Kibbutz Be’eri; None Injured read more

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Truth, Reality and Definition of the Situation at Hand ….

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Back to Reality, By Israel Harel

Excerpts;

“These are difficult days for Israel,” Ehud Olmert said yesterday of the fatal incidents in the north of the country.

But it is imperative, precisely at this difficult hour, to define exactly – insofar as is possible – what makes these days difficult. After all, only if we know how to define the situation correctly will be able to find ways of getting out of it.

  • Without admitting to the grave mistakes, both conceptual and operational, there is no chance that the government that is now seeking the support of the public will be able to put an end to these difficult days.
  • The “difficulty” of the times does not stem from the losses and the abductions over which our hearts break in grief…. When the “experts” and analysts seek the reasons for these events, they are looking for them merely under the light of the torch, in other words, in the form of micro-tactic failures – the soldier on lookout who did not look out at Kerem Shalom, the junior officer that prevented the tank from opening fire, the low-ranking commanders who did not get organized in time to give chase to the abductors, and so forth. They hardly pay attention to the more general reasons that facilitated the Hamas action in the south and the Hezbollah attack in the north.
  • And not without reason; after all, these “experts” were partners to the shortcomings on the part of the government, particularly over the past three years. And they were not mere partners; they enlisted – to a man almost, and without asking the questions they were obliged to ask in keeping with their professional and human responsibility – on behalf of irresponsible rulers, some of whom were even corrupt. And the responsibility is also shared by senior army officers who did not dare to voice their negative opinions against the moves that led to the loss of Israel’s deterrent capability and the feeling of victory of the terrorist organizations – in Israel, Lebanon and the entire Arab and Muslim realm.
  • The voice of the people of truth was not heard, not because they do not exist or because their theories are not well organized; they have disappeared because those who have failed but who continue to control the public dialogue do not permit the people of truth to remind the public who was right and who failed; they do not allow them to repeat the words of truth: You did not merely disengage from Gush Katif, but also from reality. And these then are the results.
    • read more

    Kidnapped Soldiers Identified …

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    UPDATE — Israel: Hezbollah Plans to Move Abducted IDF Soldiers to Iran

    Halutz: Kidnapped Soldiers are Alive

    Excerpts;

    IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Dan Halutz confirmed Thursday that the soldiers who had been kidnapped by Hizbullah a day before were still alive.

    The IDF released the names of the two soldiers on Thursday. According to the IDF Spokesperson, the two reserve are Ehud Goldwasser, 31, from Nahariya, and Eldad Regev, 26, from Kiryat Motzkin.

    The focus of the operation in Lebanon would be to restore Israel’s deterrent capability against those in Lebanon, referring to Hizbullah, who thought the IDF was irrelevant, he explained. read more

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    Israel’s Political Leaders Only Watched As Hizbullah Built Up, Military Mindset: IDF Action Won’t Solve, Futile Wait for Politicians, World Pressure on Lebanon … …

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    Amidror: ’Israel’s Gov’t Allowed Hizbullah to Build Up’

    Excerpts;

    Maj.-Gen. Yaakov Amidror formerly served as Deputy Chief of IDF Intelligence and the head of its Research and Assessment Department.

    “The Hizbullah attack was no surprise for the IDF,” Amidror told IsraelNationalRadio’s Alex Traiman and Baruch Gordon. “It was always understood that Hizbullah is preparing something against us; the only question was exactly what and when.”

    “Then why didn’t the IDF stop it?” Gordon asked. Amidror replied,
    “This is an important question. Ever since our retreat from Lebanon [in May 2000], Israel’s political decision-makers decided that Israel would not take the initiative anywhere on the Lebanese border. We were able to see, hear, and detect what Hizbullah was preparing, but we would not take the initiative against them. Because of the political arrangements with the international community, it was decided to let them shoot first – and the consequences are now very clear. If you don’t take the initiative, and you allow the enemy to shoot whenever and wherever he wants, then even if he fails 20 times, at the end he succeeds.”     read more

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