The scale and ferocity of the onslaught on Gaza have been shocking, and the television images of civilian suffering wrench the heart. But however deplorable, Israel’s resort to military means to silence the rockets of Hamas should have been no surprise. This war has been a long time in the making.
Since Israel evacuated its soldiers and settlers from the Gaza Strip three years ago, Palestinian groups in Gaza have fired thousands of rudimentary rockets and mortar bombs across the border, killing very few people but disrupting normal life in a swathe of southern Israel. They fired almost 300 between December 19th, when Hamas ignored Egypt’s entreaties and decided not to renew a six-month truce, and December 27th, when Israel started its bombing campaign….To that extent, Israel is right to say it was provoked.
Blogger “The Other McCain” has this from an IDF spokesman:
* Between Israel’s evacuation of Gaza and the election of Hamas (Aug. 15, 2005 – Jan. 25, 2006), there was an average of over 15 rocket and mortar attacks a month.
* Between Hamas’ election and Hamas’ forceful takeover of the Strip (Jan. 25, 2006 – June 14, 2007), there was an average of over 102 attacks per month — an over 650% increase.
* Between Hamas’ takeover and the start of the Tahadiya (State of Calm), (June 14, 2007 – June 16, 2008), there was an average of over 361 attacks per month — an increase of an additional 350%.
* On Nov. 4-5, Israel launched Operation “Double Challenge”, targeting a tunnel Hamas was building as part of a plan to kidnap Israeli soldiers.
* From the end of Operation “Double Challenge” until the end of the Tahadiya, (Nov. 4 – Dec. 19, 2008) a period of only a month and a half, there were 170 mortars, 255 Qassams, and 5 Grads fired upon Israel’s civilian population centers.
* Since the end of the Tahadiya (Dec. 19, 2008) until the beginning of Operation “Cast Lead,” (Dec. 27, 2008) a period of little more than a week, there were approximately 300 mortars and rockets fired onto Israel.
Jeffersonian, I don’t recall hearing much about those attacks on CNN or even NPR. Now, Gaza is the big news on both outlets. I wonder what the threshold of offense is to get their attention?
On the major cable news networks, I’ve seen ‘Palestinian’ spokespersons interviewed to a ratio of appx three to one in regard to Israeli spokespersons.
Even on Fox, they seem to give an inordinate amount of time to those from Gaza, although they come off a bit worse on Fox as the interviewers ask tougher questions like, “how can you say you want peace when you keep launching rockets at Israel?”, which never seems to get answered. CNN et al do not ask this question, or those like it, that I’ve heard yet.
Hamas runs a tight ship. Rocket attacks against Israel continued over the past three years because Hamas chose to let them continue.
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[i] I don’t recall hearing much about those attacks on CNN or even NPR [/i] —Jimbob [#2]
Maybe you should pay closer attention. For better or worse, news outlets focus on covering what is new. Over time, events that occur frequently tend to get less attention than larger-magnitude events that occur infrequently.
Bibliophile Jim: Far from there being outrageous bias, I have just watched the news here on Sky. It gave something like five minutes to Hamas rocket attacks on Sderot, including a visit to an injured elderly woman in hospital.
Israel has banned the media from entering Gaza. Not surprisingly, journalists have to make up for their lack of live coverage by interviewing spokesmen.
What is ‘Sky’? I’ve not heard of that one.
PS,
CNN and MSNBC don’t seem to have any problem finding reporters on the ground in Gaza. I guess they didn’t hear of the ban.
Jefferson, I question your sources. “Average” doesn’t tell us very much. It’s information made to justify killing innocent civilians. Easy to do.
Hamas began bombing frequently after Obama got elected and the IDF killed six people on Nov 4th. It may or may not have been justified. But one of the agreements in the ceasefire was an easing of the siege. Israel didn’t recognize it’s end of the bargain. Hamas didn’t feel the need to either.
If israel had allowed more humanitarian resources in, the Palestinians might have been less supportive of Hamas.