Ashkelon, Portland's Sister City Hit Again

Blaming the Wrong Party: Israel

Whatever is happening, the press manages to word it so that Israel gets the blame. The headline in the Oregonian today said: Retaliatory airstrikes threaten to undo Gaza truce. Of course, Israel is the one with the planes, so we get blamed. They seem to forget little things in their choice of a headline like what was happening to cause the strike. It seems to me that the peace is broken everytime that a rocket has been fired from Gaza into S. Israel, but the world never comes out with ....undoing the peace. It's only mentioned if Israel retaliates or attempts to stop the aggression.

On Wednesday morning in Israel, Hamas terrorists in Gaza fired 35 Qassam rockets at Israeli civilians in southern Israel. Two rockets hit Ashkelon, which is 9 miles from Gaza. Two women and a 13 year old girl were treated for shock.

Since the June 19th ceasefire, Hamas and other terrorist groups in Gaza have fired more than 50 rockets and mortars at Israel. Rockets and mortar have killed 24 Israelis and wounded more than 1,000 since 2001 when Palestinian terrorists started firing rockets at Israel. These attacks have also caused thousands of Israelis to suffer from PTSD, Post-traumatic stress disorder, just like our U.S. soldiers have in wars in Vietnam and in other wars.

The terrorists had been busy digging tunnels to aid them in kidnapping Israeli soldiers. Israel discovered them when they found the digging just 820 feet from the Israel-Gaza border. They had to be destroyed, and an air attack was the only method. It was a limited operation.. This tunnel was a "blatant violation of the calm or cease fire." They had found it was ready for use, and they had to act immediately

The Hamas terrorists are backed by Iran. They provide $20 million to $30 million dollars annually in weapons and training. It's no wonder than Israel has needed loans from the USA. Not only these outright gifts from Iran provide weapons, but weapons are smuggled to them from Egypt. Since September 2008, 200 tunnels were in operation along the 8 mile Egypt-Gaza border. Through these tunnels they smuggle weapons, money, people, drugs and other things into Gaza. They even smuggle weapons from the sea with small ships that drop containers of weapons a few miles from the coast.

They have fired more than 2,700 rockets and mortar shells at Israeli civilians in 2008. Since Israel withdrew from Gaza in August of 2005, 5,800 rockets have been fired at Israel. No one seems to be upset by their constant barrage on Israel except the Israelis. No one complains about the Palestinians breaking any peace.

Reference The Oregonian Newspaper: November 6, 2008 Rataliatory airstrikes threaten to undo Gaza truce page A10

The Israel Project: press@theisraelproject.org. Iran-backed Terrorists Fire 35 Rockets at Southern Israel