They critically wounded two Thai workers. Israeli airstrikes, in response, killed four “Palestinian” jihadists. See the difference? The jihadists were there to murder Israelis by any possible means. The Thai workers were there to make a living. It is the difference between an entity that is entire bent upon war and destruction, and one that is devoted to living life. But whatever you do, don’t call them savage. “Gaza Militants Fire Rockets and Mortars Into Southern Israel,” by Isabel Kershner for the New York Times, October 24 (thanks to Anne Crockett):
JERUSALEM “” Palestinian militants from Gaza fired dozens of rockets and mortar shells into southern Israel overnight and Wednesday morning, critically wounding two Thai workers in an Israeli border community, the Israeli authorities said. Four Palestinian militants in rocket-launching squads were killed in Israeli airstrikes, according to Palestinian officials.
The surge in cross-border violence came hours after a landmark visit to Gaza by the emir of Qatar, Sheik Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, who pledged $400 million for projects there.
What kind of “projects”? Projects to aid the Palestinian jihad, or projects to enable Gazans to live an ordinary existence? If the latter, it is clear from these attacks how impressed and hopeful the “Palestinians” were that they could lay down their arms and resume normal life. Remember also the greenhouses that Mortimer Zuckerman and others spent $14 million to buy when the Israelis withdrew from Gaza; he gave them to the Gazans so that they would be able to have gainful employment in peace. They promptly converted them for use as weapons smuggling tunnels.
It also came as a major American-Israeli joint military exercise was under way in Israel, underlining the volatility and potential for escalation in the area at a delicate time before the American elections in November and Israeli elections scheduled for January.
Ehud Barak, the Israeli defense minister, warned on Wednesday that Israel would not be deterred from carrying out action required to restore quiet in the south.
“If a ground operation will be necessary, there will be a ground operation,” he told Israel Radio. “Nobody is eager for this but we will act, as we are required to stop this wave and to increase the effectiveness of the operation.”
The emir was the first head of state to visit the Gaza Strip since Hamas, the Islamic militant group, took full control of the coastal enclave in 2007, and the gesture was hailed by Hamas as an important breach of the political and economic blockade that has kept Gaza largely isolated….