NOVANEWS
Israel is powerless as terror groups target touristy border town
ed note–remember as you read this the motto of Israel’s spy service Mossad–
‘by way of deception thou shalt do war…’
All of the trouble in the Sinai in the aftermath of the ‘Arab spring’ has taken place with Israel’s blessings for the simple reason that the Jewish state plans upon launching military ops against this territory in order to re-absorb it back into ‘Eretz Israel’. The reasons for this are simple–
1) Israel is, has always been and will always be an expansionist entity and takes the words of her religious books seriously, and particularly those numerous sections describing ‘Greater Israel’, which encompasses all the territory between the Nile and Euphrates rivers.
2) The Sinai–in addition to falling within the boundaries of the ’2 great rivers’ described in the bible is also the location where Mt Sinai is located, the hilltop the Jews believe Moses received the 10 Commandments. After Jerusalem it is probably the most holy site in Judaism.
3) Sinai is LOADED with natural resources. This fact alone means that the greedy Israelis will do whatever they can to get their grubby hands on it.
The Grad-type Katyusha rocket attack on Eilat Thursday demonstrates the bind Israel is in along its border with Egypt. While construction of the new border fence is advancing at an impressive pace, gradually reducing the possibility of infiltration from Sinai, the Israel Defense Forces has no real solution to fence-avoiding rocket fire threatening Eilat. Nor does Israel have a clear culprit to hold responsible on the other side, seeing that it doesn’t wish to further destabilize its already strained ties with Egypt. And with no explicit responsibility announced for the shooting, it seems that Israel willl find it hard to respond harshly by attacking the Gaza Strip.
Last week, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu went down to the Egyptian border and congratulated the work’s progress (raking in the standard political capital, being the “first to recognize,” and so on). To be fair, Netanyahu in fact supported the fence as a way to block migrant workers as early as when he came into office. But it was the attack on Road 12 last August, responsible for the deaths of eight Israelis, that accelerated funding for the project. So far, almost half of the fence’s planned 230 kilometers has been completed, with construction due to be over by the beginning of 2013. Even though a fence that is completely infiltration proof doesn’t exist, the barrier’s completion will greatly reduce the entry of those smuggling arms and migrant workers. It’s also expected to make sophisticated attacks – such as the one which took place in August – more difficult.
Kayusha rocket fire, however, is a much simpler issue. The Sinai is rife with stockpiles of arms, some of which were likely looted from Gadhafi’s warehouses in Libya. The combination of the Gaza terror groups’ knowhow and means with the Sinai Bedouin’s need for income (along with the strengthening of extreme Islamic ideology) serves as a fertile ground for the operation of launching squads. And, of course, no fence can stop rockets being fired over it.
The range of possible responses available to Israel, as aforementioned, is limited. The IDF will have a hard time executing surgical strikes in the Sinai, fearing the disturbance of Israel-Egypt relations. Even though Cairo doesn’t admit to it officially, all involved have already come to understand that the desert peninsula has become a no-man’s land, over which Egyptian authorities don’t bear even the slightest pretension of control. And to exact a price in Gaza, Israel needs clear proof of a Palestinian connection to the shooting on Eilat, proof that Israel has failed to published until now.
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The next hours will likely bring Israeli threats saying it cannot suffer the Eilat attack. In reality, however, officials in Jerusalem are glad that the nightly volley ended without casualties, in a way that doesn’t bind the cabinet to an assertive response. The bottom line is that Eilat, a city dependant on tourism for its income, is targeted by terror groups in the Sinai and Gaza. Taking into account the relative ease with which this can be achieved, it won’t be a major surprise if we see further attempts on the area in the coming weeks.
Netanyahu: Israel will target those responsible for Eilat attack
Premier speaks following overnight rocket attack against southern Israeli town of Eilat; defense officials: We did not have intelligence of expected strike.
Haaretz
Israel will strike those who attack its citizens, and all those who support them, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said following a rocket attack on the southern town of Eilat onThursday, adding that the Sinai has long become a base for terror attacks against Israelis.
The premier’s comments came after a grad rocket exploded near a residential area in the southern Israeli city of Eilat near the border with Egypt; no injuries or damage were reported, but some Eilat residents were said to be suffering from shock.
Security forces found traces of the rocket near a building site in the Shahamon neighborhood early Thursday morning, about 150 meters from a residential area, after strong explosions shook the city approximately twenty minutes after midnight on Wednesday.
Security forces continued to search for traces of more rockets, thought to have been fired toward the city from the Sinai Peninsula.
Ron Gertner, police commander for the Eilat district, said that, according to estimates, “the rocket was fired from the Sinai area,” adding that “investigations will continue in the morning, and only after their completion will we be able to reach any final conclusions.”
Later Thursday morning, Netanyahu, speaking at an event marking 40 years to the operation against the hijackers of Sabena Flight 571, said that the Sinai has long became a launching ground for terror attacks against Israeli citizens.
“We’re building a fence. The fence won’t stop rockets, but we’ll find a solution for the rockets too,” Netanyahu said, adding that Israel will “attack those who attack us and their backers, in this case as well.”
In another response to the attack on Eilat, Defense Minister Ehud Barak said Thursday called the strike “a serious incident.”
“We’re studying the incdieent and we will target those who shoot at Eilat and attempt to hurt Israeli citizens. There will be no compromise in the matter. The security situation in the Sinai forces us into a different kind of confrontation,” Barak added.
Speaking after the attack on Eilat, defense officials indicated Thursday that there were no clear warnings of the intention to strike the southern town.
The missile strike came after a deadly terror attack near Eilat in August of last year, in which eight Israelis and six Egyptian soldiers were killed.
Rocket hits Israeli city near Egypt border
JERUSALEM (AP) — A rocket fired from Egypt’s Sinai desert hit a southern Israeli resort city early Thursday, police said, raising new concerns about militant activity in the mountainous peninsula. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned the Sinai was becoming a “terror zone.”
No injuries were reported in the overnight strike against Eilat, a normally tranquil Red Sea vacation spot. Eilat is set to welcome thousands of visitors this weekend for the Passover holiday.
There was no immediately claim of responsibility, but Israel has been warning of growing lawlessness in Sinai following the Egyptian uprising last year that overthrew Hosni Mubarak’s regime. Israeli officials say weak policing and difficult terrain may be turning the peninsula into the latest focus of Islamic militant activity, including al-Qaida, in the region.
“We are seeing now with Eilat that the Sinai Peninsula is turning into a terror zone,” Netanyahu said. “We cannot grant immunity to terror, we must fight against it.”
When asked by Israel Radio if the rocket was launched from the Sinai, Eilat police chief Ron Gertner said “based on our working estimates and the range, yes.”
Egyptian security forces and military aircraft were searching southeastern Sinai for militants believed to be behind the launch, Egyptian security officials said. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the press.
Last year, gunmen from the Sinai sneaked into Israel and ambushed vehicles on a desert highway, killing eight Israelis in a brazen, coordinated attack.
Israel accused Palestinian militants from Gaza of crossing westward into Sinai, making their way along the Israel-Egypt border and crossing back eastward into Israel to carry out the attack.
That incident suggested that Egypt’s political upheaval and the resulting power vacuum was allowing Gaza militants with allies in Sinai to open a new front against Israel on its long-quiet frontier with Egypt.
Palestinian militants regularly fire rockets from the Gaza Strip into Israel, but launches from Egyptian territory are rare.
Thursday’s launch appeared to be the first cross-border rocket attack from Egypt since Mubarak’s fall. Rockets last hit Eilat and the nearby Jordanian town of Aqaba in 2010, killing one person and wounding four.
In a bid to keep out militants and illegal migrants, Israel has stepped up surveillance on the Egyptian border and is building an electronic barrier along the 230 kilometer (150 mile) frontier. It is expected to be completed by the end of the year.
Netanyahu acknowledged the fence “does not stop rockets,” but promised “a solution will be found” to rockets from Egypt.
Israel has been battling rocket fire from Gaza with a short-range rocket interceptor, the Iron Dome. It was not immediately clear if there were plans to position a mechanism near the Egyptian border.
Most militant attacks in Sinai target Egyptian government targets, including police facilities and a natural gas pipeline that supplies Israel and Jordan. Islamic radicals who fled Egyptian prisons during the chaos surrounding last year’s revolution sought asylum in Sinai, joining forces with disgruntled tribes and militant groups that already had built strongholds there.
Egypt became the first Arab nation to sign a peace treaty with Israel in 1979, but with the rise of Islamist parties who traditionally view Israel with hostility, Israel has become concerned that the accord may be under threat.
The Muslim Brotherhood, the largest party in Egypt’s parliament, does not openly oppose the peace deal with Israel, but has said it would consider amending the pact to allow more Egyptian troops along the border with Israel. The deployment of Egyptian forces in the Sinai is limited under the 1979 deal.
Intel chief: We exposed 10 terror cells in Sinai
Over the past two months the army has exposed more than 10 terror cells in the Egyptian-controlled Sinai Peninsula, IDF Military Intelligence chief Maj.-Gen. Aviv Kochavi revealed Thursday.
Terrorists fired a Grad rocket at Eilat early on Thursday morning. No injuries or damage were reported.
Speaking at a graduation ceremony for new Military Intelligence officers, Kochavi said, “The Middle East, which has the highest pace of armament in the world, is changing its ultimate character beyond recognition. The winds of change may be carrying opportunity and a new message, but in the short and medium terms the risks are increasing. One of them is the Sinai sector. The attack on Eilat, the shooting attacks that emanated from Sinai – these are mere expressions of the fundamental change the region is undergoing.
“Meanwhile, terror organizations are continuing to strengthen their hold (on Sinai). We will have to prepare for the security-related instability that will characterize this sector in the coming years,” he said.
Earlier, Defense Minister Ehud Barak, IDF Chief of Staff Lt-Gen Benny Gantz, GOC Southern Command Maj-Gen Tal Russo and Military Intelligence Chief Kochavi met to discuss the rocket fire on Eilat.
The IDF has been on high alert across the Israel-Egypt border following several attempts to mount terror attacks in the sector.
“The situation in Sinai requires a different kind of deployment,” Barak said. “This was a serious incident. We’re studying it and we will go after those who fired on Eilat and targeted Israeli citizens.”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also commented on the rocket fire on Eilat, saying that the defense establishment is “well aware of the fact that Sinai is turning into a rocket launching pad for terrorists.
“We are building a fence. It can’t stop missiles but we will find a solution for that. We will strike those who aim to harm us,” he said.
The IDF estimates that three rockets were fired towards Eilat at around midnight. One of them exploded not far from a residential area, while two others were not located as of yet.
Israeli embassy in Egypt calls off seder
For first time since 1979 peace treaty Israeli ambassador to Cairo will not hold Passover traditional feast as diplomatic relations scale down
For the first time since the 1979 peace treaty, the Israeli ambassador to Egypt will not be holding a Passover seder in the ambassador’s residence in Cairo, Yedioth Ahronoth reported.
For 30 years, dozens of guests were invited to take part in a traditional seder dinner at the ambassador’s residence including Jewish diplomats and Israeli businessmen.
However, since last September when an angry mob stormed the embassy building, the embassy has scaled down its activities.
About a week ago, Israel cleared out its embassy building in Egypt, six months after its offices were attacked and ransacked by protesters, according to Egyptian airport officials.
Two Israeli military planes left Cairo, loaded with documents and equipment removed from the embassy.
The embassy staff has been returning to Israel every weekend for security reasons. Since this year the seder falls on Friday night, embassy officials have decided not to hold it.
Israel’s Ambassador to Cairo Yaakov Amitai and his team will instead celebrate the holiday with their families in Israel. However Cairo’s small Jewish community will mark the Passover celebrations as they have every year.
Meanwhile, Israel’s 100 delegations around the world are hard at work, making final preparations for the Passover seder. In Eritrea’s Asmara, only four people will be present during Friday’s feast: Ambassador Guy Feldman, the security officer and his wife and Sammy Cohen – the only Jew living in the capitol.
