JUST ANOTHER WEEK IN ISRAEL

Hamas terrorists fired a fresh barrage of missiles late Monday afternoon while an attack from Syria hit the Golan Heights. The attacks began with a barrage fired at metropolitan Tel Aviv in the central Dan region, followed five minutes later by another at metro Be’er Sheva in the Negev. Barely a minute later, missile fire from Syria was aimed at the Ramat HaGolan. Hundreds of thousands of residents went racing for shelter in the suburbs of Ramat Gan, Bnei Brak, Givat Shmuel, Petach Tikvah, Givatayim, and as far north as the city of Herzliya. At least four missiles landed in open areas in the Gush Dan region, where the ‘city that never sleeps’ is located – but no specific location has yet been released. One of the missiles was intercepted by the Iron Dome anti-missile defense system, indicating it was headed directly for a populated area. Barely five minutes later, Arab, Druze and Jewish residents of Israel’s Negev region were running for shelter. The sound of the Color Red incoming rocket alert siren sent Druze residents of the village of Majdal Shams racing for cover, while their neighbors just a few kilometers down the road did the same in Jewish communities around the Golan Heights. At least one rocket was intercepted by the Iron Dome anti-missile system over Be’er Sheva, and two others exploded in open areas on the outside of the city. In the Golan Heights, at least one missile exploded in an open area near a kibbutz. No one was physically injured, but a fire broke out in the field. Hamas has claimed responsibility for the attacks in the metro Tel Aviv area, but at present it appears the missile fire aimed at the Golan Heights emanated from across the northern border in Syria. As with the missile fire originating from Lebanon, the attack raises the spectre of an additional front in the current conflict. International condemnation of Israel is beginning to mount for its supposed “disproportionate response” to Hamas’ latest and escalated missile and rocket war on Israel, but Western leaders do not state what exactly a “proportionate” response is. The United States, United Nations and the European Union constantly take the lead in pleading for Israel to show “restraint” and not to “escalate” violence after Palestinian Authority attacks, whether from Judea and Samaria, controlled by Mahmoud Abbas, or from Gaza. What really ruffles the feathers of the Western bleeding hearts is that Israel kills more terrorists and civilian shields in Gaza than the number of Israeli citizens and soldiers who are killed by rocket and missile fire from Hamas, Islamic Jihad and other “unity government” allies. “The rising death toll has sparked international concern over the proportionality of Israel’s response to rocket fire from Gaza,” The LA Times reported Sunday. “The rockets have struck deeper into Israel than in past conflicts, but have caused only one serious civilian injury. There have been no Israeli deaths as a direct result of a rocket strike.” It simply is not a fair fight, according to the media establishment and the bleeding heart lefties. Hamas fires inaccurate missiles while Israel uses pinpoint aerial bombing raids to eliminate terrorists. According to that logic, when Hamas fires rockets that land in open areas in Israel, Israel should fire at open areas in Gaza. Hamas got “lucky” on Sunday when shrapnel from a rocket seriously injured a 16-year-old boy in Ashkelon. Presumably, Israel should have responded by seriously injuring an innocent 16-year-old Arab. When Hamas terrorists kidnapped three Israeli yeshiva teenagers a month ago in the Hebron area, Israel promptly clamped a curfew on dozens of Palestinian Authority villages in a search for the boys, who more than two weeks later were found murdered. Israel Before their bodies were discovered. Israel was vilified for inflicting supposed “collective punishment” on the Palestinian Authority by looking for the murderers. Days after the bodies were found, Jewish hoodlums barbarically kidnapped and burned to death a 16-year-old Arab from Jerusalem. The depraved crime was a wrenching punch in Israel’s collective gut, but according to Western logic, the Israeli government itself should have carried out the unthinkable act of kidnapping three Arabs and killing them. No one would suggest such a horrid thought.

A STONE BY ANY OTHER NAME...IS STILL A WEAPON (GO ASK GOLIATH)

IDF troops eliminated a Palestinian Arab road terrorist in Judea early Monday, identified by the Bethlehem-based Ma’an news agency as 22-year-old Munir Ahmed Badarin. The attacker was one of a gang of three terrorists hurling firebombs and sharp rocks and cinder blocks at Israeli motorists as they passed the ambush site. The masked attackers were waiting to attack Israelis along the southern end of Route 60, just west of the Arab village of Samua, south of Hebron and slightly north of the south Hebron Hills community of Yatir. IDF soldiers who spotted them first fired warning shots in the air in an attempt to stop them, but when they continued attacking motorists, fired directly at the terrorists. Numerous Israelis have been wounded and murdered in road terror attacks over the past several years. Arabs hurling rocks, cinder blocks and firebombs at the windows and windshields of vehicles intend to kill those at who they aim. By smashing the glass, a driver’s attention is diverted from the road. Often the car crashes as a result in addition to whatever injuries are caused by the flying glass. If the car crashes or is brought to a stop by other means, the terrorists then descend on the vehicle – and are then able to finish off their victims. In several past instances – such as that which took the life of Kiryat Arba resident Asher Palmer and his baby son Yonatan — police first believed vehicles crashed due to accidents rather than terror attacks. It was only through the persistence of area residents that police investigated further, and realized that in fact, the “accident” was caused by a terror attack. On Monday, the IDF ordered a military police investigation into the shooting death of the road terrorist and the actions of his two accomplices who were attempting to kill Israelis near Samua.

JEWS BELIEVE IN LIFE - HAMAS BELIEVES IN DEATH

By Aryeh Savir and Yaniv Hassidoff The Palestinian envoy to the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), Ibrahim Khreisheh, admitted in an interview translated by the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) that the Palestinian Authority unity government (PUG) — which includes Hamas — does not abide by international law and commits war crimes. Kreisheh made the statement while responding to a question presented to him on PA TV last week about the PUG demand to appear to the International Criminal Court at The Hague (ICC) against Israel. “The missiles that are now being launched against Israel, each and every missile constitutes a crime against humanity, whether it hits or missed, because it is directed at civilian targets… Therefore, targeting civilians, be it one civilian or a thousand, is considered a crime against humanity,” he said. With regard to the current IDF effort to protect Gaza civilians in Operation Protective Edge, the PLO envoy acknowledged Israel is doing its best to avoid harming innocents. “Please note that many of our people in Gaza appeared on TV and said that the Israeli army warned them to evacuate their homes before bombardment. In such a case, if someone is killed, the law considers it a mistake rather than intentional killing, because (the Israelis) followed the legal procedures.” Khreisheh further stated that while firing from PLO-controlled areas, Hamas does not warn civilians before firing on them. By doing so, he said, the terrorist organization is committing a war crime. “As for the missiles launched from our side, we never warn anyone about where these missiles are about to land, or about the operations we carry out.” He concluded by saying that the Palestinian Authority unity government has no hope of pressing charges against Israel in the international court. “Therefore people should know more before they talk emotionally about appealing to the ICC,” he commented. Gaza terrorists fired more than 800 rockets and missiles at Israeli civilians by the sixth day of Operation Protective Shield on Sunday, July 13, 2014.

ISRAEL: ONE G-D, ONE PEOPLE, ONE NATION AND ONE TORAH

And no one should anyone suggest that Israel react to every missile and rocket attack on its citizens by responding with the same number of rockets and the same results. A proportionate response to the intention to kill is to kill before the intention is fulfilled. Why don’t police in American cities, or in any other civilized place in the world, shoot and kill someone trying to kill them? Shouldn’t they wait until the killer “succeeds” before responding? Of course, then it is too late, but that is a small detail that would ruin the principle of a “proportionate response.” The real reason that “proportionate response” applies primarily to Israel is the world cannot stand seeing Jews have the upper hand. Some of the worst condemnations come from American Jews, for whom Israel is supposed to be a nice doggie that woofs when his master, not God but the American liberal Jewish community, says, “Sit.” They can’t stand Israel being anything that is not an expression of their own attempt at being good Americans by encouraging a State of Israel that doesn’t upset the apple cart of the “loyal American Jew” who needs to be trusted by his non-Jewish government. Israel must not do anything that jeopardizes American Jews’ standing as good loyal Americans. Israel is supposed to be nothing but a safe haven for other Jews who suffer from anti-Semitism in Russia and France, among other countries. Israel must not be too religious, lest it make it difficult for the top-heavy non-Orthodox American Jewish community to identify with it and according to the American Constitution. Israel as a nice doggie makes the liberal Jewish American establishment feel safe from anti-Semitism. A disproportionate response by Israel would make Israel too strong for any American administration, whether headed by Obama, Reagan, Clinton, Bush or whoever is next, to call the shots in the Middle East. And what would happen if Israel played nice doggie and refrained from killing those who try to kill Israelis? The Israeli Air Force has eliminated thousands of rockets in Gaza. If they were still in the terrorists’ stockpile, it is more probable, and still is possible, that one or two would kill Israelis. Lots of us. And you know what the international response would be? Gee, you see what happens when you don’t sit down and make peace with Hamas. However, we Jews realize how alone we are when the total sum is added in the international scheme of affairs...however, we are NOT alone...G-D is with us...read your Torah...and learn and believe HIS eternal words...

July 14, 2014 / 16 Tammuz 5774...just another Monday...

AND NOW…A FEW TRUTHS ABOUT GAZA AND HAMAS…I bet you did not know... The Gaza Strip may be renowned as one of the poorest strips of land on earth – the Strip’s per capita GDP of $3100 per annum puts Gaza in 171st place out of 226 countries, and unemployment hangs steadily around 40 percent – but the economic crunch hasn’t hit everybody in the region. According to a report released Sunday on the Globes website, the Hamas government takes a standard 20 percent “tax” on goods that enter Gaza via the smuggling tunnels. Unfortunately, the government cut of the imports have failed to reach most Gazans, but a certain proportion of Gaza residents have capitalized on the opportunities over the past decade to have become multi-millionaires: The senior Hamas leadership. According to the Globes, the big winner out of Hamas’ eight-year rule of Gaza is none other than Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh, a native of the Sha’athi refugee camp and former right-hand man to Hamas founder Sheikh Ahmed Yassin. But in contrast to most refugee families, in 2010 Haniyeh reportedly purchased a 2,500 square meter plot of land in Gaza City for $4 million. Globes reported that in order not to draw attention to the purchase, he registered the land in the name of his daughter, Nabil. Since then, he has continued purchasing real estate, under the names of his 13 children. The paper also reported that there is no shortage of million-dollar villas for sale in Gaza, and no shortage of people to buy them, mostly Hamas officials. In the words of one Gaza real estate analyst, “two years ago, he (an individual with close ties to Hamas who forked up the money for a luxury villa) didn’t have enough money for a pack of cigarettes.” Another popular “arrangement” was partnership between Hamas and Moslem Brotherhood in Egypt. Khiret a-Shater, an Egyptian businessman and senior Brotherhood official, was known to transfer millions of dollars in cash to the Hamas government, and to senior Izzadin el-Qasm officers. But some of the Hamas members preferred safer grounds for their “investments,” and so teamed with a-shater to purchase property in Egypt. According to Dr Ahmed Karima, a senior lecturer at al-Azhar University in Cairo, Hamas has transformed from a resistance movement to a political party representing no less than 1,200 millionaires. Other Hamas officials who have become rich since the group staged a violent coup in Gaza in 2006 include Politburo Chief Khaled Mashal, who enjoys a bank stash of $2.6 billion, much of which is stored in Qatari and Egyptian banks.

WHEN I GROW UP...I WANT TO BE I.D.F.

BROTHERS-IN-ARMS...BAND OF BROTHERS

IT IS GOOD TO SEE ISRAELI SOLDIERS AND U.S. SOLDIERS...TRUE ALLIES IN THE WAR AGAINST TERRORISM...this is a movingly patriotic photo...you can see a little US flag on the shoulder patches of our GIs...standing guard next to our IDF boys and girls...true brothers-in-arms...a true band-of-brothers...GOD BLESS USA...and...GOD BLESS ISRAEL...and...THOSE NATIONS WHO STAND BY US...

EN ISRAEL O EN LA DIASPORA...WE ARE ALL UNITED!!!

THE ISRAELI NAVY DOES HER PART...

IDF Naval Special Forces raided a facility in Gaza overnight. Long-range rockets were being shot at Israel from the facility. During the raid, Hamas terrorist opened fire on the IDF commandos. There are reports that at least 3 Hamas terrorists were killed in the shootout that ensued. The IDF spokesperson reports that in the raid, 4 IDF commandos were lightly injured in the gun battle, and were evacuated to a hospital. The spokesperson also reports that the long-range rocket facility was hit and damaged in the attack. Presumably, the IDF sent in Special Forces, instead of bombing the rocket launch site from the air, is that it likely Hamas embedded the rocket launchers into a facility held a lot of civilians, and Israel is trying to do everything it can to minimize Gazan civilian casualties, while Hamas is trying to maximize Gazan civilian casualties, using them as Human Shields. We wish our injured soldiers a Refuah Shleimah, a complete recovery.

TANKS ON THE ROAD

The IDF reminds the public to look out for slow moving tanks being transported on the roads down to Gaza. Be especially careful at night. Running into one by accident wouldn’t be pleasant. LOL

LA SIXIÈME & SEPTIÈME JOURS DE LA GUERRE

LA SIXIÈME & SEPTIÈME JOURS DE LA GUERRE / JULY 12-13, 2014 / 14-15 TAMMUZ, 5774 Day Six of Operation ‘Protective Edge’: A New Northern Front? Since the start of Operation Protective Edge, over 809 rockets have been fired towards Israel. Of them 635 hit Israel and nearly 145 have been intercepted by the Iron Dome missile defense system. A rocket fired from Gaza knocked out a power line in Israel that supplied electricity to 70,000 Gazans, according to the IDF Spokesman's Office on Sunday night. The outage was caused by shrapnel from the rocketfire that hit the high voltage line that feeds electricity into Gaza, the Israel Electric Corporation said. PLEASE DO NOT DARE BLAME IT ON ISRAEL!!! Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and National Infrastructure, Energy and Water Minister Silvan Shalom instructed IEC chairman Yiftah Ron-Tal to refrain from endangering the lives of IEC workers, according to the company. "For this reason, the IEC intends to fix the problem," a company spokeswoman said. "However, in light of the security situation, and the great danger that we foresee for the lives of the IEC workers in the event if they perform the repair under fire, the problem will be fixed as soon as possible in terms of security." Three rockets were fired from Lebanon into northern Israel last night, the second time during this campaign. Some damage was caused to structures. In response, IDF artillery forces fired toward the source of the launch. The IDF is now considering the option of a developing northern front, and is considering moving some Iron dome anti-rocket systems up north. There are reports the Lebanese Army is actively working to stop the rocket fire on Israel from their territory. Hamas launched dozens of rockets at Israel over the weekend. More than 129 rockets were fired from Gaza towards Israel. At least 117 rockets struck Israel. 9 rockets were intercepted by the Iron Dome missile defense system. The IDF hit 120 terror targets in the Gaza Strip. A rocket fired from Gaza fell short and crashed into UNRWA warehouses, causing a massive fire. For the first time, the Judea region south of Jerusalem was attacked; areas under Palestinian Authority control were hit. A salvo was launched at the Jerusalem area in the early evening yesterday, and one rocket exploded in the yard of a home in Arab-controlled Hebron. Another rocket struck Bethlehem, also under PA control, and a third hit near Efrat, not far from Bethlehem. Following rocket attacks on Bethlehem and Hebron, the IDF distributed safety information in Arabic to Palestinian Authority areas.

An unmanned aircraft entered Israeli territory from Gaza and was shot down over Ashdod by the Patriot missile battery Monday morning, the IDF said. The Israeli Navy was searching for remnants of the drone, which was intercepted over an open area near the Ashdod coast. The drone set off a Code Red alert siren in the city. Rocket attacks on Israel's southern communities also continued on Monday morning with sirens sounding in Hof Ashkelon and Sdot Negev Regional Councils. In northern Israel, rockets were fired at Israel from southern Lebanon earlier on Monday, drawing retaliatory artillery fire from Israeli forces, Lebanese security officials and the IDF said, in the third such rocket attack from Lebanon since Friday. As rockets continued to be fired on southern Israel on Monday morning Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon emphasized the great losses that Hamas had suffered in the seven days since Operation Protective Edge began. "When Hamas comes out of their hiding places they will discover the extent of the destruction and the damage that we have caused the organization that will make them regret that they entered this round of fighting against Israel," Ya'alon said at an IDF briefing. "We continue to smash Hamas and its infrastructure. They have suffered great damage. We have destroyed weapons-production capabilities, tunnels, terrorists' homes, and institutions and we will continue this activity today," the defense minister said. Ya'alon said that Hamas was trying to score a victory at any price, and that the security forces must continue to be on high alert. The Defense Minister referred in his statements to the drone launched from Gaza into Israel that was shot down on Monday morning. "The IAF shooting down Hamas's drone is an example of the IDF's readiness in the face of their attempts to harm us in any way they can," Ya'alon said. Code Red sirens wail constantly all over Israel as drivers flee their cars to seek shelter, mothers huddle over their crying children who cannot run, and elderly people paralyzed by age and physical limitations wait in fear for the inevitable. Not surprisingly, Israel is again standing alone against terror! Yet, let us make no mistake: This struggle is both for the lives of Israel's people as well as the existence of the Jewish nation, and for all who value freedom and life itself! “We love death as much as Israel loves life.” — Hamas…Well…let us accommodate their wish…let us keep on bombing them back to the Stone Age!!!

How Diplomats, Reporters and Human Rights Activists Saved Hamas

How Diplomats, Reporters and Human Rights Activists Saved Hamas

I HEREBY URGE MY READERS TO PAY ATTENTION TO THIS ARTICLE...ABSOLUTE TRUTH!!!

LA CINQUIÈME JOUR DE LA GUERRE

Since the start of Operation Protective Edge, over 680 rockets have been fired towards Israel. Of them 520 hit Israel and nearly 140 have been intercepted by the Iron Dome missile defense system. The IDF has targeted over 1,070 terror targets, with both naval and aerial capabilities.

STILL A LOT OF GOOD WORK TO DO,,,

Gantz summarized the first four days of Operation Protective Edge. "Gaza's militants made a mistake when they decided to attack us", he said. Gantz said that everything is ready for the ground operation – except for the Government's approval. IDF continues with the air strikes, Palestinian militants keep launching rockets, and IDF Chief of General Staff, Benny Gantz, emphasized today (Friday) that nothing is keeping the IDF from going forward with a ground invasion – except for the political leadership decision. Speaking to the media during a visit to a Paratroopers Brigade training base, he said: "Gaza is sinking toward disaster. Our air offensive is excellent and our intelligence is good. We have targets to attack and we will intensify the attack. We have yet to maximize our offensive capabilities - they understand they made a big mistake". According to Gantz, the Palestinian militants need to decide whether Gaza is going toward calm or a security catastrophe: "This operation is bringing results. Gaza's militants made a mistake when they decided to attack us. Now they understand their mistake. We will continue with our mission as long as we won't be told otherwise. We are also prepared to expand it as far as needed". "We still have a lot more to attack" As for reports on lacking intelligence, Gantz said: "The air offensive is excellent and our intelligence is also very good. Our defense systems are employed all over the country and are working as expected. We are waging an integrated combative effort and we still have allot more to attack".

LA QUATRIÈME JOUR DE LA GUERRE

The Security Cabinet is trying to determine whether there may be a middle path between totally taking over Gaza, or having to go through what Israel is going through right now every few years. Should Israel retake Gaza, destroy its terrorist infrastructure and then control the Strip for the foreseeable future – paying a price in Israeli casualties that will likely result from both the initial occupation and the cleaning out of the area, and then having to administer Gaza for who knows how long? Or is it better to suffice with delivering Hamas a punishing blow, stopping short of retaking the Strip, but knowing full well that if that is the course of action pursued, than in another few years what is happening now will simply repeat itself? Israel launched Operation Cast Lead in December 2008, an operation that led to the death of 13 Israeli soldiers, and some 1,166 Palestinians, nearly 800 of them defined as combatants. The deterrence achieved in that operation lasted almost five years, until November 2012, when Operation Pillar of Defense was launched, an operation that lead to six Israeli fatalities, and 133 Palestinians, of which 80 were combatants. Neither Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu nor Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon have given any indication that they are interested in once again taking over Gaza, but if the pounding the IDF has delivered from the air does not – within a few days – bring about the quiet that is the stated purpose of the operation, then that may change. Former national security adviser Ya’acov Amidror, in an interview with Israel Radio on Thursday, laid out the options in a very blunt way: Either retake Gaza and stop the fire, or live with a situation where every few years a military operation of this scope will be necessary. He did not express any personal preference, just laid out the choices. And each option had its price. “It is possible to completely stop the firing on Israel,” he said. “They are not firing from Kalkilya onto Israel and did not fire from Gaza until the Oslo agreements.” The only way to do this, he added, was to control the territory – no one in the world has found a way to stop someone from firing rockets into their territory, unless they control the territory. The question is not whether Israel could stop the fire, he said. It is rather whether it is willing to pay the price in blood, treasure and difficulties in the international arena to do so. The price would come in three different stages. The first would be in the loss of IDF soldiers during an operation to take over the 60-km.-long, 5-km.-wide territory. The second price, also in likely fatalities, would come in “cleaning out the stables” in Gaza, destroying the terrorist infrastructure there – the stockpiled arms as well as the ability to manufacture more arms. The price for this, too, would be the loss of IDF soldiers. Amidror said this stage would take some six months to a year. And the third stage would be controlling Gaza, with its 1.5 million inhabitants, after it is retaken. This would have a financial price tag, since Israel would have to administer the area, much as it did before the 1993 Oslo Accords. Amidror said that the price of administering Gaza would likely not be significantly more than the price of Operation Protective Edge-type military operations every couple of years. If Israel is not willing to pay those prices and retake the Strip, then these types of operations will be necessary every few years. But that option also has a price; namely, that every few years the country will be subjected to what it is going through right now. The principle behind the current operation is based on the idea that there is a middle path between the two stark options – and that it is possible to create a reality whereby the deterrence created by a major military operation could last beyond just a couple of years. And one of the reasons for that assumption has to do with the geopolitical changes in the region. The operation is based on two legs: The first is to pound Hamas, to dismantle as much as possible the organization’s arsenal and weapon making capabilities so that even if they want to fire on Israel, their ability to do so will be severely curtailed. One issue the security cabinet is grappling with right now, is whether this can be achieved without committing ground troops. And the second leg is deterrence: Pound Hamas so hard, that they will think twice before daring to strike again. Those two considerations animated Operations Cast Lead and Pillar of Defense, with the deterrence gained from the last operation not lasting too long. One main difference now, however, is Egypt. Every passing hour and day leads to a diminishing of Hamas’s military capabilities. But while in the past Hamas could count on being able to quickly smuggle more rockets into its territory through Egypt, arming itself to the teeth for the next round, that situation has changed because of the change of leadership in Cairo. That new reality is being considered as the security cabinet is trying to determine whether there may be a middle path between totally taking over Gaza, or having to go through what Israel is going through right now every few years.

SHABBAT SHALOM and pass the ammunition

LA QUATRIÈME JOUR DE LA GUERRE///07/12/2014 - 14 Tammuz, 5774 Netanyahu: “IDF offensive in Gaza to continue until quiet is restored in south.” When asked whether Israel was preparing a ground invasion, Netanyahu said, "We are preparing all options." Operation Protective Edge will continue until the quiet is restored, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said Friday, minutes before Shabbat, after holding high-level security deliberations in Tel Aviv. Netanyahu, who took questions from reporters for the first time since the operation, would not reveal when or whether a ground operation inside Gaza would begin. A calm Netanyahu said that the terror kingdom Hamas set up in Gaza – where there are not only thousands of rockets, but also well over a thousand tunnels – will not be allowed to be replicated in the West Bank. “We need to understand one fact, we are living in a Middle East that is being taken over from radical Islam, leading to the collapse of a number of counties, and is knocking on our doors, both in the and the south.” In addition to dealing with Hamas, he said, “I say we cannot allow a situation where we get Gaza in Judea and Samaria." “Today I think that Israel's citizens understand why I say all the time, that there cannot be a situation in any agreement that we will give up security control from the Jordan River westward,” he said. "I don't want to create another 20 Gazas in Judea and Samaria,” he added. “Those who say that territory has no importance, look how much importance there is,' he said. “In a contiguous territory, you can build tunnels.” If Israel would leave the West Bank completely, he said, there would be the possibility of thousands of tunnels burrowing into Israel. “There are 1,200 tunnels in the 14 kilometers between Egypt and Gaza,” the prime minister revealed, adding that Egypt has sealed most of them. He said the tunnels illustrate that territory “has tremendous importance.” Netanyahu said that the IAF has so far hit more than 1,000 Hamas and Islamic Jihad targets, and that the “military blow” will continue until Israel is sure that that the quiet is restored. Netanyahu did not spell out any conditions for a cease fire, or give any indication about whether a third party was now involved in trying to broker one. The prime minister did not stray from the goal he set out for the operation from the very beginning: to restore quiet. He did not widen the goal to destroying Hamas or re-taking Gaza. Netanyahu, who spoke overnight with US President Barack Obama, and has spoken over the last few days with numerous world leaders, said that “no international pressure will prevent us from acting with all our strength against a terrorist organization that calls for our destruction.” Netanyahu said that there is an understanding for Israel’s actions among the leaders, and that the slow and measured manner in which Israel entered the operation was due not only to operational considerations, but also to create an international atmosphere that would understand why Israel felt the need to hit Hamas, as it is doing. “All the leaders understand our need to act,” he said. “I also asked them what they would do. Would they be willing to absorb a rocket barrage attacks on London, Washington, Paris and Moscow? Of course not.” Regarding an exit strategy, Netanyahu said that he will finish the operation when the goals are achieved, and the primary goal is to restore the quiet to Israeli citizens. Netanyahu also sent a warning to Hezbollah, saying that Israel would act aggressively against any others who will fire missiles on Israel. “I would not recommend anyone to test us,” he said. Netanyahu was full of praise for the country for its “fortitude,” and for Iron Dome. He said that over the years, governments have spent billions of dollars in protecting the home front. For so far, Hamas has not done much damage to Israel. The swimmers were killed the minute they came out of the water. The tunnels have been discovered and bombed. The missiles are causing Israelis to flee to bomb shelters, but thank God (and Iron Dome) they have so far not caused much property damage and no loss of life. Meanwhile Israel targets Hamas’s missiles and especially its missile launchers, headquarters, arsenals and warehouses, and leaders. There is not much Hamas can call a victory except proving the range of its rockets. . . . Hamas wants more than calm: it has demands. It wants the men who were freed in exchange for Gilad Shalit, and recently re-arrested, to be freed again by Israel, and even has demands of Egypt—to open the border with Sinai far wider. Hamas may have reached the conclusion that it must soon abandon those demands and agree to a truce, but be unwilling to stop until it can point to some “achievement” like hitting a major tower in downtown Tel Aviv or killing a large group of Israelis. But if there are no such “victories” and the Israeli assaults continue, that will change. This appears to be Israel’s assessment: keep increasing the pressure until Hamas, which started this war because it saw too many threats to its survival and dominance in Gaza, comes to see continued war as the key threat. Those who want the violence to end must realize that the larger is the Israeli effort now, the sooner Hamas will conclude this round must be ended.

THE L-RD IS OUR SHEPHERD

As rockets continue to fall on Israel, Operation Protective Edge continues to target the terrorists who launch them. The IDF has called up 40,000 reserves in preparation for possible ground operations in Gaza. One of these reservists, the Israeli media personality Ari Abramowitz, has penned an open letter to Hamas and the rest of the Arab world, hoping for peace for all but promising that God’s children will be victorious: We are enraged that this is what get after having gone to greater lengths than any country in modern history to make peace with you — even giving to you the very territory from which you are assaulting tonight — as a “confidence building measure”. And also remember how many enemies we have had before you people and here we are still...why? Ask the good L-rd of Israel...but you already know the answer...you just ignore it... While our nature is to love peace, we are ready for war. But do NOT mistake our hesitation for fear. Do not mistake our compassion for weakness. We are like a lion ready to pounce. Remove our shackles and you will see a nation of warriors. We will be victorious. Not because of our own strength will we succeed, but because of the God of Israel who fights our battles for us – who fights our battles through us. Author: Stand For Israel | July 9, 2014 Read more: http://www.blog.standforisrael.org/articles/an-open-letter-to-hamas-and-arab-world#ixzz3762kqQOC Follow us: @StandForIsrael on Twitter | StandforIsrael on Facebook

LET ME TELL YOU A FEW FACTS OF HISTORY

There are not-infrequent moments which perfectly illustrate what our long-standing conflict is all about. Many, especially around the world, accept the lazy assumption that it is mainly about land, occupation and settlements. However, for this to be true it would be a sine qua non that before Israel liberated Judea and Samaria in 1967, built a single community over the Green Line or even before the State of Israel was proclaimed, there was no conflict. However, those with knowledge of history will be familiar with an ancient enmity expressed by radical adherents of Islam toward the Jewish People. It is surely no coincidence that one of the most popular rallying calls at anti-Israel demonstrations around the world is “khayber khayber ya yahud, jaysh Muhammad saya’ūd!” (“remember the Khyber, oh Jews, the army of Mohammed is coming now”). This genocidal chant recalls perhaps the first massacre of Jews under Islam as the ancient Jewish community of Khayber (in present day Saudi Arabia) was almost wiped out by Muhammad and his first followers. Those that did survive had their land confiscated, were humiliated with oppressive laws and forced to pay the jizya tribute tax. These enforcements, meant to hold the Jews collectively in an endless inferior status, set the standards for Jews who found themselves under Islam during the Arab conquest and occupation of the Middle East and North Africa over the next almost millennia and a half. During this time, tens, if not hundreds of thousands of Jews were massacred across what became known as the “Arab world,” in places like Granada, Fez, Algiers, Damascus and Sana’a. All of this long before the rise of modern political Zionism. In Hebron, the oldest Jewish community in the Land of Israel, during 1929, 67 Jews, many of whom were yeshiva students, were hacked to death, disemboweled and burned. These types of attacks occurred throughout the Arab world long before the reestablishment of Jewish statehood in Israel, and decades before a single Israeli settlement was built. Although it is hard to accept, the roots of the conflict are a negation of the rights of the Jewish People to equality and liberation from the yoke of Arab torment. The highest insult to the Islamist sensitivity was the reconstitution of Jewish sovereignty in the heart of Dar al-Islam, an area which was theologically assigned to Islam in perpetuity. This is what fueled the wars against Israel and still fuels the hatred against Jews around the world. The war has never been against Israel per se, it has been against the Jewish People, and its major front is directed against the Jewish state. This is nowhere stated more clearly, proudly and openly than in Article Seven of the Hamas Charter, which aspires to a religiously-inspired war of genocide, not against Israelis or Zionists, but against Jews everywhere. That is why the murder of Jewish schoolchildren in Toulouse, France, or of tourists at the Jewish museum in Brussels, Belguim, are targeted as much and as vehemently as are students trying to hitch a ride home for Shabbat in Gush Etzion. The same hatred is at the root of these geographically distant but ideologically similar murders. Last night, in and around the Israeli Arab city of Qalansawe and elsewhere, motorists were stopped and asked if they were Jewish. When they answered in Hebrew, their cars were attacked and set on fire by mobs. These near-lynchings did not distinguish between ideology, religiosity or background. You were simply a target if you were Jewish. The simple question “are you a Jew?” has once again reaffirmed the age-old animosity of those who seek to kill, not in the name of nationalism or an ideology but out of pure, unadulterated hate. Those Jews whose origins are in the Arab world know this question well. It was frequently the precursor to attacks, riots and lynchings in and around the Mellahs and Jewish Quarters throughout the Arab world.

As then, we as Jews are not targeted because of our Zionism, our ideology, or out of some sense of revenge. The question is so refreshingly yet hauntingly simple it breaks down all the pseudo-intellectualism that surrounds our conflict and simply wishes to identify a potential victim to fulfill an ancient bloodlust. Of course, not all Arabs or Muslims are to be tarnished by these acts. Just as throughout the ages, many Arabs and Muslims sought peaceful coexistence with Jews and even came to their aid during the pogroms, many have nothing but disdain for the actions for those who purport to act in their name. The radical medievalist strain of Islamism does not just target Jews, as is witnessed by the kidnapping of schoolgirls in Nigeria, the crucifixion of Christians in Syria and execution of Bahais in Iran. However, our conflict throws up the greatest confusion and anger, perhaps because the Jewish state is the greatest negation of the supremacist strain of Islamism. The Jews were the first and mortal enemy that was meant to be subjugated, enslaved and reduced, not sovereign. For those who throughout history have sought to identify Jews for attack, the latest outrages in Qalansawe are markedly different. Today, we have a sovereign state, army and enforcement agencies that can defend Jews and take action against the perpetrators. Nevertheless, this episode should remain as a “teachable moment” for all of us, especially those who see racism only in the Jewish sphere. These particular Arab citizens of the State of Israel have demonstrated once again why there is a need for a greater discussion around loyalty and citizenship. These rioters will never fully accept Jewish sovereignty, yet they gain daily from its benefits. We should ask a question ourselves. Not “Are you an Arab or Muslim?” but, “Are you a law-abiding, loyal citizen of the State of Israel, the nation-state of the Jewish People?” If your answer or your actions demonstrate in the negative then you should no longer receive the same benefits as those who are, regardless of background. If they are not willing to abide by one’s basic civic obligations then it might be time to discuss and consider the removal of the rewards of citizenship. While rights are sacrosanct, benefits are not, and they should be commensurate to your contribution in society. By SHIMON OHAYON.-The writer is a Knesset member for Yisrael Beytenu and chairs the Knesset committees for the Struggle Against Anti-Semitism and for the Rights of the Jewish Refugees from Arab Lands.

LE TROISIÈME JOUR DE LA GUERRE

Thu, Jul 10, 2014 - 12 Tammuz, 5774

The IDF has requested from Palestinians in the Gaza Strip who live in a number of areas near the Israeli border to begin vacating their homes. Thus far, since Operation Protective Edge began on Tuesday, the IDF has targeted terror infrastructure in Gaza solely from the air. However rocket fire from Gaza continued to hit Israel throughout Thursday as some within Israel called for a ground operation. The IDF struck 60 targets across Gaza between Thursday morning and afternoon, bringing the total number of targets hit by the military to some 800 since the start of the operation on Monday night to extinguish Hamas rocket fire on Israel. Targets included buildings used by the Hamas leadership, the homes of senior Hamas members, tunnels, underground launchers, communications infrastructure, military bases, and weapons caches. The IAF carried out dozens of air strikes, and Israel Navy missile boats fired on coastal targets that housed weapons, as well as Hamas military posts. The IDF and Shin Bet intelligence agency joint targeted the homes of a series of Hamas leaders that were used as command and control centers by the military wing of Hamas. The homes belonged to, among others, Uval Janadiya, a deputy commander of Hamas forces in Saja'yia, who oversaw attacks on the IDF, and took part in fighting in Operation Pillar of Defense in 2012, the IDF said. The home of Arafat Abu-Abdullah, an Islamic Jihad commander in central Gaza, was also hit. Abu-Abdullah commanded over Islamic Jihad terrorist activity from central Gaza, including rocket fire on Israel in recent days. Mahdi Kuara, a Hamas operative from Khan Younes in southern Gaza, and Nisim Abu Ajaina, a Hamas commander from Beit Lahia in northern Gaza, responsible for building Hamas's military power and the digging of attack tunnels, both lost their homes in the air strikes. The home of Shadi Saleh Rajab, a Hamas member responsible for rocket fire from northern Gaza, was bombed as well. "The IDF has struck and will continue to seriously damage the Hamas terror organization, its infrastructure, and any element involved in terror attacks on the state of Israel and its citizens," the IDF said. The IAF struck three Islamic Jihad members in central Gaza on Thursday. The IDF named them as Mahmoud Walud, Hazam Ba'alusha, and Ala'a Abd Alabni. All three were killed in the strike. Alanbi was responsible for Islamic Jihad's rocket launching cells in northern Gaza, and fire on Israel in recent days, including long-range projectiles.

Dozens of rockets were fired at Israeli cities on Thursday evening, with Gaza terrorists targeting Beersheba, Dimona, Rehovot, Jerusalem and the greater Tel Aviv area. Four rockets were fired at the Jerusalem area with two of the projectiles being shot down by the Iron Dome. Two other rockets fell in open areas. No injuries or damage were initially reported in the attacks. Judea and Samaria District Police said that two rockets were found in the Ma'ale Adumim area and the Binyamin area. Hamas took responsibility for the rocket fire on the capital, saying it had used M-75 type rockets. Gaza terrorists also targeted Dimona, the home of Israel's nuclear reactor for the second time on Thursday, and the third time in two days. There were no immediate reports of rockets being located in the area. Sirens sounded in areas of central Israel surrounding Tel Aviv, such as Lod, Ramle, and the Shfela, which absorbed a heavy barrage. Siren were also sounded in southern cities Ashdod and Ashkelon and the smaller communities adjacent to the Gaza frontier. A house in the Sha'ar Hanegev Regional Council was struck, sustaining damage.

WE JEWS ARE FULL OF HOPE AND UNITY

Israelis heard the news early Monday morning, June 30. The search was over. Yes, the search was over, but the boys were dead. The response throughout the land was palpable: the air of hope and unity was punctured, replaced by raw anguish. But by 2:00 the following morning, some Israeli women responded by taking action. Their action was not one of vigilantism, nor was it to raise their fists at the intractable enemy. Yehudit Katsover and Nadia Matar, the indefatibable Women in Green, along with a group of supporters, went to a lovely little hill just off from the Gush Etzion Junction – the site of such despair – and began clearing the area. Since July 1, Kassover and Matar have been joined by dozens and dozens of Israelis and of visitors. They are reclaiming a bit of land that has been set aside (the site has long had official approval for tourism development), and are developing it as a functioning and vibrant tourist site. They also renamed the hill. Previously the site was known as Givat Oz (Hill of Strength). The new name incorporates the initials of the three boys who were kidnapped and murdered – Gilad, Eyal and Naftali – and the acronym created also happens to mean great wisdom. The site is now known as Givat Oz v’Gaon. Nadia Matar, that steadfast soldier in the war to reclaim the land, spoke with The Jewish Press about the new site. “This is a Zionist response of the Jewish people to the incomprehensible act of killing our boys,” Matar said. “Our enemies think they will scare us away with their acts of terrorism, but they are wrong. We cling to the land ever more strongly in response to their efforts.” The area is being cleared by hand. People show up on a daily basis to help move the rocks, clean the lone remaining stone building, and set up picnic tables for meals and chairs for lectures and services.“ This will be a camping site,” Matar says. “This past weekend, the first of Givat Oz v’Gaon, we had already 70 or 80 people who brought tents to spend Shabbat here. The residents of the nearby kibbutz Migdal Oz came to join us for seudat shlishit (a meal before evening services) and swelled the crowd to between 200 and 300 people.” The residents of Migdal Oz came by a road that connects the back of the kibbutz to the Gush Etzion junction. This is also significant, Matar explains, because for quite a long time the kibbutzniks did not use the road as there had been frequent attacks by Arabs from nearby towns. “Now, with a strong Jewish presence between the kibbutz and the Gush junction, this road is also being ‘reclaimed’ as our response to terrorism,” Matar shared with a sense of satisfaction. Ruthie Lieberman lives in nearby Alon Shvut. Her home was used by people who participated in the searches for the boys; she and her family lived through it with great intensity. “The families got up from shiva yesterday,” Lieberman said. “And I found myself on this site today, helping to clear the land, to plant new trees – the ultimate act of positive Zionism.” Lieberman and her daughter, Merav, planted one of the three trees planted in memory of the three boys. Incidentally, a few serious friends of Israel in the U.S. congress introduced legislation which will, if passed, offer a reward of up to $5 million for information on or the capture of the terrorists who kidnapped and murdered 16 year old Naftali Frenkel, an Israeli-U.S. citizen, on June 12, 2014. Sen Ted Cruz (R-TX) introduced the legislation in the U.S. Senate and Congressmen Doug Lamborn (R-CO-05) and Brad Sherman (D-CA-30) introduced the companion legislation in the House of Representatives.

JUST ANOTHER WEDNESDAY IN ISRAEL

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu met with Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon, IDF Chief of Staff Benny Gantz and GOC Southern Command Maj.-Gen. Sammy Turgeman in the Negev city, which has been hit repeatedly by Grad Katyusha missile fire from Gaza. “We have decided to further increase the assault on Hamas and the terrorist organizations in Gaza,” Netanyahu said. “The IDF is prepared for all possibilities. Hamas will pay a heavy price for firing at Israel’s citizens. “The security of Israel’s citizens is our primary consideration. Our military is strong, the home front is steadfast and our people are united. This combination is our response to the terrorist organizations that want to attack us. “We are all united in the mission to strike at the terrorist organizations and restore quiet. The operation will be expanded and will continue until the firing at our communities stops and quiet is restored. I ask that the public continue to listen to the instructions from IDF Home Front Command – they save lives. On behalf of Israel’s citizens, I thank all IDF soldiers and Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) intelligence personnel who are participating in the measures, known as the Naftali Fraenkel Reward Bill, were introduced on Wednesday, July 9. Deputy Defense Minister Danny Danon called Wednesday on the government to halt supplies of gas and electricity to the Gaza Strip as long as rocket fire continues to hold Israeli civilians hostage. While Hamas and their allied terrorists continue to launch rockets and missiles at Israeli civilians, shipments to their civilian families are continuing unabated. Some 200 trucks of foodstuffs and other basics goods and products have traveled through the Kerem Shalom crossing since the start of Operation Protective Edge, officials report. The Israeli government has been adamant — as it was during past conflicts — to differentiate between terrorists and civilians who reside in the Gaza region. Israel does its best not to punish Gaza civilians for the attacks perpetrated by the terrorists in their midst. PHOTO of the then Captain Benjamin Netanyahu when he served in the IDF/SAYERET MATKAL

KEEPING SCORE...

WHEN THREE OF OUR BOYS WERE MASSACRED, PALESTINIANS WERE KEEPING SCORE AND CHANTING THREE-TO-ZERO...LET US SEE HOW WELL THEY ARE KEEPING SCORES NOW...FRANKLY, WE RATHER KEEP SCORES OF THE MUNDIAL FIFA IN BRAZIL...BUT OUR "NEIGHBORS" INSIST IN BOTHERING US WITH ROCKETS...WELL...ISRAEL IS UNITED AGAINST THIS AND OTHER AGGRESSIONS AND NOW IT IS THEIR TURN...

Israel will step up its actions against Hamas and the other terrorist organizations operating from Gaza as part of Operation Protective Edge, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said Wednesday following security deliberations held in Beersheba. "The operation will expand and continue until the rocket firing on our cities stops, and the quiet returns," he said on the second day of the military operation. Netanyahu has consistently defined the objectives of the operation in relatively modest terms to restore the quiet" not, as some are suggesting, to topple Hamas or destroy its rocket infrastructure inside Gaza. Those later objectives would necessitate a ground action, something Netanyahu has said the IDF is prepared for, but which he has not yet ordered. Following the meeting with Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon, Chief of General Staff Lt.-Gen Benny Gantz, and OC Southern Command Maj.-Gen Sammy Turjeman, Netanyahu said that the IDF was prepared for all contingencies. "Hamas will pay a heavy price for firing on Israeli citizens," he said. Our army is strong, the home-front is firm, and our people are united. That combination is our answer to the terrorist organizations that want to harm us," he said. "We are all united in the aim of hitting the terrorist organizations and restoring the quiet. Netanyahu called on the public to continue to heed the instructions of the home-front command, saying those instructions "save lives." Also on Wednesday, Netanyahu spoke to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon and German Chancellor Angela Merkel about the latest wave of violence. During the conversation, Netanyahu told the leaders that no other country would allow rocket fire into their countries and that Hamas was responsible for the deaths of innocent civilians in Gaza because they use them as human shields. “We are destroying arms, terrorist infrastructure, command and control systems, and institutions," defense minister says on day 2 of Operation Protective Edge; Palestinian officials say 4 killed in Gaza on Wednesday. Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon said on Wednesday that Israel’s military campaign against Hamas in the Gaza Strip will expand in the next few days while vowing that “it will exact a huge price.” “We are continuing to carry out attacks that are exacting a heavy price from Hamas,” Ya’alon said as Operation Protective Edge entered its second day. “We are destroying [Hamas’] arms, terrorist infrastructure, command and control systems, institutions, government buildings, terrorists’ homes, and we are killing terrorists in the organizational high command.” The IDF confirmed on Wednesday that an IAF airstrike targeted Hamas terror operative Abdullah Difallah while he was riding on a motorcycle in the northern Gaza Strip. Palestinian sources had earlier reported that Israeli aircraft struck a motorcycle killing one person and seriously injuring another. The IDF stated that Difallah had been responsible for firing rockets into Israel. According to Palestinian media, three other people were killed in IAF strikes on Wednesday, bringing the death toll since the beginning of Operation Protective Edge to 27, with more than a hundred injured. “This activity will continue and escalate,” the defense minister said. “From our standpoint, this is a campaign that will not end anytime soon, and we must continue to maintain stamina and patience. We will continue to hit Hamas and other terrorist organizations hard from the air, at sea, and on the ground in order to ensure the security of the citizens of Israel.” “The campaign against Hamas will expand further in the next few days, and the organization will pay a very steep price,” Ya’alon said. “I would like to once again praise the manner in which the citizens have conducted themselves and I call on them to continue to be attentive to instructions. I would like to once again offer my hearty best wishes to the commanders, soldiers, and support staff on land, at sea, and in the air who continue to act with determination and professionalism in order to protect the citizens of Israel.” IDF units intercepted a Hamas commando unit that sought to infiltrate Israel from the sea at Zikim Beach, just north of the Gaza Strip, on Tuesday. Soldiers killed several terrorists, and pursued at least one more, security sources said, stressing that they were speaking as the incident continued to unfold. A senior security official said an IDF detachment was dispatched to Zikim Beach after the military detected suspicious movements in the area. The unit engaged the terrorists, and shot and killed five of them. One soldier was lightly wounded in the exchange of fire. Civilian eyewitnesses told Channel 2 that soldiers ran toward the beach from the Zikim Army Base and fired their weapons, as a boat approached from the Mediterranean sea and men on board fired at the beach. Police closed off the vicinity and told residents of Kibbutz Zikim to stay indoors. Izzadin Kassam, Hamas’s military wing, claimed on its Twitter account responsibility for the attack, saying that it “stormed the Zionist naval base on the shores of the sea.” JERUSALEM – Deputy Minister of Defense Danny Danon (Likud) demanded this morning during the Security Cabinet meeting that Israel stop supplying Gaza with electricity and fuel. “The supplying of electricity and fuel to the Gaza Strip must be stopped immediately”, said Danon, “It’s inconceivable that on one hand we are fighting the Hamas and on the other hand we supply them with electricity and fuel used for the propelling of rockets fired at us.” He demanded that Israel use all its leverage to bring Hamas to a cease fire. THIS IS VERY INTERESTING: This morning an Egyptian news site quoted an Egyptian military official who stated that Egypt has destroyed 19 tunnels connecting the Gaza Strip to the Sinai. This further hinders the Hamas’ supply and rearmament efforts. Are ISRAEL and Egypt working together???? Three explosions were heard in Jerusalem as Hamas launched long range rockets at the city, as well as around the country. This rather annoyed people as they spent way too long in a hot, stuffy bomb shelter. Jerusalem has opened its bomb shelters. There are reports that a house was hit.

KEEPING SCORE

LE DEUXIÈME JOUR DE LA GUERRE

Israel will step up its actions against Hamas and the other terrorist organizations operating from Gaza as part of Operation Protective Edge, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said Wednesday following security deliberations held in Beersheba. "The operation will expand and continue until the rocket firing on our cities stops, and the quiet returns," he said on the second day of the military operation. Netanyahu has consistently defined the objectives of the operation in relatively modest terms to restore the quiet" not, as some are suggesting, to topple Hamas or destroy its rocket infrastructure inside Gaza. Those later objectives would necessitate a ground action, something Netanyahu has said the IDF is prepared for, but which he has not yet ordered. Following the meeting with Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon, Chief of General Staff Lt.-Gen Benny Gantz, and OC Southern Command Maj.-Gen Sammy Turjeman, Netanyahu said that the IDF was prepared for all contingencies. "Hamas will pay a heavy price for firing on Israeli citizens," he said. Our army is strong, the home-front is firm, and our people are united. That combination is our answer to the terrorist organizations that want to harm us," he said. "We are all united in the aim of hitting the terrorist organizations and restoring the quiet. Netanyahu called on the public to continue to heed the instructions of the home-front command, saying those instructions "save lives." Also on Wednesday, Netanyahu spoke to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon and German Chancellor Angela Merkel about the latest wave of violence. During the conversation, Netanyahu told the leaders that no other country would allow rocket fire into their countries and that Hamas was responsible for the deaths of innocent civilians in Gaza because they use them as human shields. “We are destroying arms, terrorist infrastructure, command and control systems, and institutions," defense minister says on day 2 of Operation Protective Edge; Palestinian officials say 4 killed in Gaza on Wednesday. Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon said on Wednesday that Israel’s military campaign against Hamas in the Gaza Strip will expand in the next few days while vowing that “it will exact a huge price.” “We are continuing to carry out attacks that are exacting a heavy price from Hamas,” Ya’alon said as Operation Protective Edge entered its second day. “We are destroying [Hamas’] arms, terrorist infrastructure, command and control systems, institutions, government buildings, terrorists’ homes, and we are killing terrorists in the organizational high command.” The IDF confirmed on Wednesday that an IAF airstrike targeted Hamas terror operative Abdullah Difallah while he was riding on a motorcycle in the northern Gaza Strip. Palestinian sources had earlier reported that Israeli aircraft struck a motorcycle killing one person and seriously injuring another. The IDF stated that Difallah had been responsible for firing rockets into Israel. According to Palestinian media, three other people were killed in IAF strikes on Wednesday, bringing the death toll since the beginning of Operation Protective Edge to 27, with more than a hundred injured. “This activity will continue and escalate,” the defense minister said. “From our standpoint, this is a campaign that will not end anytime soon, and we must continue to maintain stamina and patience. We will continue to hit Hamas and other terrorist organizations hard from the air, at sea, and on the ground in order to ensure the security of the citizens of Israel.” “The campaign against Hamas will expand further in the next few days, and the organization will pay a very steep price,” Ya’alon said. “I would like to once again praise the manner in which the citizens have conducted themselves and I call on them to continue to be attentive to instructions. I would like to once again offer my hearty best wishes to the commanders, soldiers, and support staff on land, at sea, and in the air who continue to act with determination and professionalism in order to protect the citizens of Israel.” IDF units intercepted a Hamas commando unit that sought to infiltrate Israel from the sea at Zikim Beach, just north of the Gaza Strip, on Tuesday. Soldiers killed several terrorists, and pursued at least one more, security sources said, stressing that they were speaking as the incident continued to unfold. A senior security official said an IDF detachment was dispatched to Zikim Beach after the military detected suspicious movements in the area. The unit engaged the terrorists, and shot and killed five of them. One soldier was lightly wounded in the exchange of fire. Civilian eyewitnesses told Channel 2 that soldiers ran toward the beach from the Zikim Army Base and fired their weapons, as a boat approached from the Mediterranean sea and men on board fired at the beach. Police closed off the vicinity and told residents of Kibbutz Zikim to stay indoors. Izzadin Kassam, Hamas’s military wing, claimed on its Twitter account responsibility for the attack, saying that it “stormed the Zionist naval base on the shores of the sea.” JERUSALEM – Deputy Minister of Defense Danny Danon (Likud) demanded this morning during the Security Cabinet meeting that Israel stop supplying Gaza with electricity and fuel. “The supplying of electricity and fuel to the Gaza Strip must be stopped immediately”, said Danon, “It’s inconceivable that on one hand we are fighting the Hamas and on the other hand we supply them with electricity and fuel used for the propelling of rockets fired at us.” He demanded that Israel use all its leverage to bring Hamas to a cease fire. THIS IS VERY INTERESTING: This morning an Egyptian news site quoted an Egyptian military official who stated that Egypt has destroyed 19 tunnels connecting the Gaza Strip to the Sinai. This further hinders the Hamas’ supply and rearmament efforts. Are ISRAEL and Egypt working together???? Three explosions were heard in Jerusalem as Hamas launched long range rockets at the city, as well as around the country. This rather annoyed people as they spent way too long in a hot, stuffy bomb shelter. Jerusalem has opened its bomb shelters. There are reports that a house was hit.

YESTERDAY, ALL MY TROUBLES SEEMED NOT SO FAR AWAY

9 DE JULIO, 2014/// 11 DEL TAMMUZ, 5774 WHILE WE IN THE MIAMI-DADE AREA, FINISHED WORKING, WENT HOME, HAD DINNER ETC. BACK HOME IN ISRAEL THEY WERE HAVING NOT-A-GOOD-NIGHT-AND-DAY…THESE ARE THE CODE RED ADVISORIES FOR ERETZ ISRAEL… 8:05 PM Gush Dan, Beit Hana, Ness Tziona and surroundings … Yavneh Givat Brenner, Rehovot… 8:00pm Ashkelon 7:46pm Yerucham and Dimona Color… Ramat Negev, Be’er Milka Regional Council 7 rockets at Dimona. 3 taken down by Iron Dome. 7:35pm Rocket hit near kindergarten in Shaar HaNegev. Another building hit. Second in an open area. 7:12pm Sderot, Sha’ar Hanegev 7:09pm Ashkekon. Iron Dome 7:05pm Ashkekon, Karmiya, Hof Ashkelon 6:55pm Hof Ashkelon and Shaar Hanegev 6:21pm Sdot Negev, Shaar Negev. 4 mortars. No injuries. 6:05pm Channel 2 reports a rocket was launched at Israel from the Sinai. No injuries reported. 6:01 PM Ofakim, Eshkol , Sdot Negev 5:40pm Red Alert Metar Rahat Eshkol, Al Kasum, Bnei Shimon, Har Hebron x3 5:10pm Iron Dome x2 Gush Dan Region 5:01pm Sirens in Bnei Shimon Region 4:39pm Red Alert Eshkol, Beer Tuvia, Yoav, Lachish, Mateh, Shafir, Beit Gubrin, Aderet, Harel, Neve Shalom, Sderot JM Police: Mateh Yehuda – Iron Dome fired. No damage or injuries reported. 4:12pm Sirens in Bnei Shimon and Merchavim regions, Ofakim. 4:03pm Color Red alerts in Ashkelon and Hof Ashkelon areas. 2:45pm Color Red alert in Netiv Ha’Asara and Erez 2:33pm Missile explosions in Soreq area 2:30pm Color Red alert in Zichron Yaakov and surrounds 2:24pm Color Red alert in Or Akiva, Binyamina, Bat Shlomo, Pardes, Caesaerea 2:17pm Color Red alert in Sderot, Giv’im, Sha’ar Am 1:18pm Color Red rocket alerts in Sederot and Shaar HaNegev regions. 12:39pm Yad Mordechai and Netiv Ha’Asara, Ashkelon Coastal Region Color Red alert 12:25pm Color Red alert Ein Hashlosha 12:23pm Color Red Alerts in Eshkol region 12:10pm Color Red alerts in Hof Ashkelon, Lachish and Shaar HaNegev regions. 11:59am IDF reports that anti aircraft weapons have fired at IAF jets from Gaza during the operation 11:57am Barrage to Kirya Malachi, Nir Banim, Segula, Lachish Beer Tuvia, Yoav region, Gedera, Soreq, Ashdod 10:58am Israel hit terrorist: Abdallah Difalla in his car in northern Gaza. Direct hit while he was riding his motorcycle. He is one of those responsible for Hamas for rocket attacks on Israel. 10:02am Sirens in Ashdod and surrounding areas 9:18am Two rockets explode in Eshkol region 9:04am Shrapnel discovered in Shfela region 9:03am Reports of sirens in Ofakim…. 8;59am Color Red alerts in Ashkelon 8:51am Gaza border towns 8:41am Sirens in Tel Aviv. Multiple Iron Dome intercepts. 8:38am Travellers at Ben Gurion airport have been moved to safe locations…. 8:36am Unconfirmed reports of at least 5 Iron Dome intercepts. 8:35am Sirens reported in Modiin. 8:31am SIRENS in Ashdod. x2 8:30am SIRENS IN GREATER TEL AVIV AND ASHDOD. 8:19am Color Red rocket alerts….Shaar HaNegev and Eshkol regions 8:01am Color red in ashkelon and eshkol regions 8:00am Good morning. This rocket update will be updates soon with the overnight attacks (if there’s time). We’re just recuperating from the busy night, last night.