Citizens of the south: "Waiting for the next rocket. We paid a heavy price and now we are left with a sense of insecurity" Aug 05, 2014, 02:00PM | 10 AV, 5774 | Yael Klein |
The ceasefire and the withdrawal from Gaza have crushed the hopes which were building up for some of the residents of Gaza Envelope. "We paid a heavy price and now we are left with a sense of insecurity", says one of them. "The job was not done", determines another. However there are alternative voices.
The IDF withdrawal from Gaza this with the beginning of the ceasefire has left many Gaza Envelope citizens with mixed feelings, and mostly with fear of the days to come.
Since 8:00 am, when the truce began, the quiet in the area is maintained, however the immediate quiet does not persuade the senior residents. They know very well that they have already been here. Ofer Leiberman from Nir Am Kibbutz tells Channel 2 News: "We have paid a heavy price of deaths and injuries, residents have left the area to enable IDF to do its job, and eventually we remain with a sense of insecurity. Very soon the rocket drizzle will resume and intensify until the next round – which will occur when Hamas decides".
The sense that the escalation scale is in Hamas' hands does not calm the residents, who remained in their safe zones until just moments before the ceasefire began. "The goal of the operation was to bring quiet and in practice the shooting continued until the last second, what proves that the job was not complete", Daniel Matri from Kerem Shalom said. "I am hoping that the ceasefire doesn’t last, because it is ineffective. We need to create a strong deterring because they have more missiles and tunnels, and we shouldn’t be surprised if one day we will wake up with terrorists inside Gaza Envelope towns.
Along with the residents' sense of missed opportunity, here are those who strongly criticize the government's decision, which according to them is missing the opportunity to put an end to the terror threat from Gaza. "Israel does not know how to hold the reins", Batya Katar from Sderot said this morning. "Ending the campaign with a one-sided withdrawal is a strange and unclear move, and I am saying this as a mother of two warriors. If the PM isn’t capable of completing the job- he can go home".
Those who have been dealing with the rocket threat for the past 14 years are finding it difficult to get used to the idea of the new threat which was exposed in the last campaign and with the uncertainty it brings with it. "We have learned to somehow live with the Qassam missiles, but none of my friends here in the nearby Kibbutzs knows how to handle the concrete fear of waking up one morning to meet a terrorist inside their house or garden", Katar admitted. "No one knows what to do with this fear, and it is outrageous that the Israeli leadership is abandoning us as usual. The rockets will continue to explode, and no one will notice us until they reach Tel Aviv again".
Among the pessimistic voices are some who are convinced that the Israeli response has managed to surprise Hamas, and even to bring to a new process inside the Palestinian nation which might signal the beginning of a change. "I believe that the IDF massive assault in Gaza will bring the Palestinians to think differently than they have until now", Hof Ashkeln Mayor Yair Farjon says. "I don’t think that this change will bring peace, but I think that it has constructed a true fear balance between us and Hamas. Hamas received a decently hard blow, and I feel that this truce will last".
In spite of the fact that this ceasefire doesn’t substitute a permanent arrangement, Farjon thinks that considering the Palestinian reality – the current situation is considered an accomplishment. "A significant change in the field can be seen only on diplomatic levels, and Hamas is not quite there", he explains. "The perception that we can change the reality in Gaza by defeating Hamas is wrong. If Hamas leaves Gaza it is not certain that the Fatah won't return there".
MY PS.- Right now, Israel is trading peace for more Israeli lives, Hamas will continue to inflict terror upon Israel and Gaza. This is a cease-fire and in reality is an opportunity for Hamas to study Israeli’s strategy and re-arm accordingly. Sure, Gaza will receive millions of dollars from Qatar and humanitarian help and I believe this is good; however, they will also receive cement for reconstruction of homes and other building…but also for newer and better tunnels. Iran, Syria, Hezbollah and ISIS will re-stock their rockets and missiles and thus they will be ready for yet another chapter in this never-ending story. However, Israel will also prepare itself…let us begin by surrounding Gaza with a deep moat-like protection barrier with motion sensors to detect when they start digging again…which more than likely will be today. LOL. We will have to post more Magavniks. send drones 24/7 and assign a “ready deployment force” to patrol the area. Also be careful with tunnels from Gaza to Egypt…and do not trust the Egyptians.
Yet, these cowardly terrorists want the world’s support for their false and unbiblical claims to the Holy Land! Tragically, much of the biased media continues to side with Hamas, pressuring Israel to “show restraint” even though it would mean exposing 8 million people to greater hostilities. Also now they want the international organizations to judge Israel for war crimes…because of the “human shields” they cowardly deploy. And worst of all, a new generation of Israeli youth will have to get ready for war.
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