By Ryan Jones
Jan 08, 2006
Palestinian Arab terrorists fired two Kassam rockets from deep within the crowded northern Gaza town of Bet Hanun Saturday, attempting to use the local civilian population to shield themselves from Israeli reprisals in gross violation of international law.
Both rockets failed to reach their targets in the adjacent Negev region.
Prior to Saturday, Gaza-based terror cells had been regularly using agricultural lands around Bet Hanun and nearby former Jewish settlements to launch their ongoing artillery barrages.
But Israel's decision to enforce a ?no-go? zone in unpopulated areas of northern Gaza partially hindered that practice.
The solution to their problem was offered by non other than the IDF's chief of staff, Maj.-Gen. Dan Halutz, who reminded the ?Palestinians? that Israel's sense of morality and the international pressure the Jewish state is under make hitting back at terrorists who use human shields very difficult.
?Fighting on the open desert is relatively simple. But we are dealing with crowded, inhabited areas, which, because we are a country with values and morality, leaves us with many restrictions,? Halutz told a military research and development conference at Tel Aviv University on Tuesday.
Their disregard for human life on both the Arab and Israeli sides of the conflict notwithstanding, PLO chief Mahmoud Abbas continues to refuse to disarm the ?Palestinian? terror groups. Washington and the rest of the international community have traditionally not seen fit to make that issue a sticking point in the ?peace? process.