Hamas fired the first shot on Thursday — an anti-tank missile that hit a school bus — and proceeded to play the victim, complaining of Israeli “aggression.” The group, whose reason for existence is the destruction of Israel and the imposition of Islamic law, supposedly declared a ceasefire late Thursday, and the rockets continued to fly, not from “renegade” freelance jihadists, but from Hamas itself, Friday and Saturday.
In Islamic law, ceasefires and truces are not intended to last, and Hamas pulled another 2-ply ceasefire offer from the roll yesterday (they come in 4, 8, 12, and 24-packs), even as their rocket attacks continued.
Hence Israel’s advice: if you want a ceasefire… Cease fire. “Israel to Palestinians: We’ll stop shooting if you do,” by Shira Medding and Kevin Flowers for CNN, April 10:
Jerusalem (CNN) — Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak said Sunday that Israel was willing to stop attacks on Gaza if the Palestinians stop firing into southern Israel.
“If they stop firing at our communities, then we will stop firing. If they stop firing altogether, then there will be quiet,” Barak said in an interview on Israel Radio.
But Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned shortly afterward that the converse was also true.
“Our policy is clear. If attacks against Israeli civilians and Israeli soldiers continue, the response will be very harsh,” he said before the weekly Cabinet meeting Sunday.
Barak’s offer comes after a particularly intense few days of hostilities following a Hamas rocket attack on an Israeli bus that left a teenager critically wounded on Thursday.
Netanyahu said Sunday the victim, Daniel Wiliech, “is fighting for his life. We, along with the entire nation, pray for him.”…
Hamas’ defense of this act was to blame the bus for using the road.