Israel and Gaza Violence

Re “Another Israel-Gaza War?” (editorial, Nov. 15): Over the last decade, Israelis living in the south of the country have had to endure a barrage of three missiles a day on average. Every day, sometimes several times a day, an alarm pierces the ears of innocent civilians, eradicating any notion of normalcy or routine, giving them 15 seconds to find shelter or risk death.

You claim that Hamas “mostly adhered to an informal cease-fire with Israel after the war there in the winter of 2008-09.” What does this mean? Do 800 rockets being fired at Israeli communities in 2012 alone constitute adherence to a cease-fire? Does one?

Do the lives of the 10 people killed by rocket fire into Israel and 127 wounded in the last three years count? There were virtually no media reports about the effect this barrage had on Israeli civilians. What option did Israel have other than to take the safety of its citizens into its own hands?

In 2005, Israel evacuated the Gaza Strip and removed thousands of Israelis and dozens of thriving communities in the hope of achieving peace. Indeed, the Palestinians could have turned Gaza into “a garden of Eden”; rather, they turned it into a haven for terror with advanced weapons and a multitude of terrorist groups bent on death and destruction.

Israel’s government is accountable to its citizens and will not allow them to become hostages of Hamas’s terror. This needs to stop, and Israel deserves the support of the entire international community in what is clearly a defensive operation.

SHAHAR AZANI
Spokesman, Consulate General of Israel
New York, Nov. 15, 2012

To the Editor:

Those of us in southern and central Israel who have endured years of rocket fire from Gaza take no joy in the most recent round of Israeli attacks on Hamas’s military leadership and facilities.

But we also know the cost of silence.

We would gladly welcome any suggestions as to how to secure a lasting cease-fire with Hamas, for the benefit of residents on both sides, but Hamas’s leadership has shown no interest in changing its goal of destroying Israel.

Until you can offer an alternate solution to stop the rain of rocket fire, your questioning whether this response is really in Israel’s best interests borders on offensive.

DANIEL REIFMAN
Yad Binyamin, Israel, Nov. 15, 2012

To the Editor:

Your editorial rightly cites the lack of proportionality in Israel’s response to rocket attacks from Gaza militants. Israeli determination to keep Gaza in a state of utter collapse encourages militancy and invites continuing attacks.

As with Israel’s threatened strike on Iran, another Israeli land war on Gaza would worsen regional tensions and risk wider conflict.

The Obama administration should do everything possible to restrain Israel from widening its war on Palestinians. Moreover, it should persuade the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to re-examine its “scorched earth” policy toward Gaza.

L. MICHAEL HAGER
Washington, Nov. 15, 2012

The writer is a co-founder and former director general of the International Development Law Organization.

To the Editor:

Your editorial suggests that Israel’s targeted attacks in Gaza may not be the most appropriate response to the hundreds of missile attacks Gaza has launched into Israel in recent days. Perhaps, but what is?

Negotiations, you suggest. Israel repeatedly says it wants negotiations and will come to the negotiating table immediately. The Palestinians refuse.

It’s hard to negotiate without a partner. Israel even withdrew from Gaza unilaterally in 2005 in an effort to stop that violence against it. That didn’t work.

Attacking the missile launchers is not nice. Innocents no doubt get hurt and even killed. But if there’s nobody with whom to negotiate and if getting out of Gaza doesn’t stop the continuing attacks on Israel, let’s not suggest that Israel find another way to placate those who are trying to destroy it. The burden is on the Palestinians.

HARVEY JASSEM
West Hartford, Nov. 15, 2012