Israeli Air Force Rebuts Terrorists' Rocket Fire

Nadene Goldfoot                                                                    

Right in the midst of celebrating Lag Ba'Omer outside with picnics and general fun, the Hamas terrorists from Gaza had to fire their 4th rocket  in the past 9 days  into southern Israel on Saturday (Sunday in Israel).  First they had fired 2 rockets on Thursday the 18th, then 1 on Saturday the 21st and now this one on the 27th.

Not only did thousands of families have to pick up their picnic baskets and games for the children to get home to seek shelter, but they left quite miffed, anxious for the government to keep their promise and not let terrorism get out of control.

This year alone Israel has had 22 bombings into southern Israel. Israel had to take a stand in November 2012, and December was a time of cease fire.   January was a month without any strikes.
February had one strike in Ashkelon, Portland, Oregon and Baltimore, Maryland's sister city.  March came in wildly with 4 strikes in one attack directed at Sderot, a city very close to the border.  On April 2nd there were 2 strikes of mortar shells.  April 3rd was a day when 2 hit Sderot again.  April 4th started off with 1 rocket and 3 mortar shell attacks.  April 7th, Holocaust Day, felt 3 rocket attacks.  On April 17th, Eilat and Aqaba were hit with 2 Grad rockets.  On April 18th there were 2 rocket attacks and on the 21st, 1 rocket attack and then yesterday's rocket attack on the joyous holiday of Lag Ba'Omer.

The IDF had enough as well.  Their planes hit a terrorist stronghold and armory with weapons in southern Gaza.  Enough said.  Hamas had been warned months ago.  Israel is not about to put up with their citizens' lives being  threatened.  They also closed one of the crossings, the Kerem Shalom Crossing with Gaza as a result of this shelling into Israel.

Notice that Israel does not just fly over Gaza and bomb.  They only do it in defense of an already administered attack on their people and their land. It is a last resort action to thwart this war-like action.   Israel is not a country that wants to take other's land or hurt people.  They are not about to stand silently when others do just this to their people, though.

 These rockets firings into Israel have been going on since 2001. This caused Israel to withdraw all its citizens that were living in Gaza in August 2005.  Then the shelling increased with the result of 4,800 rockets, missiles and mortars hitting southern Israel.  Israelis pick up the rocket pieces and have turned them into sculptures of peaceful objects such as candlestick holders.   Hamas terrorists and others following them are people who do not learn from their past mistakes like most people do. They have been doing it to kill innocent people as well as to cause psychological trauma and disrupt the daily life of Israelis.   They're only making Israel stronger in their resolve that Palestinians are no people to welcome as a neighboring state.

Israel did not take another's land.  This land of Israel was originally Israel's in the first place, but Jews had to go through the legal steps of gaining it back to their name. They did it by consultations, meetings, decisions, agreements and finally as legally as can be by buying  land from landowners.  Then the final say-so was through the League of Nations and years later, through the United Nations on May 14, 1948.  Let no man say we ever stole their land.  This whole attack has been from one principal power telling their people, the Palestinians, a completely false history of events that led to Israel.  It's time they woke up to truth.

Resource:  Arutz Sheva
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Palestinian_rocket_attacks_on_Israel,_2013
http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2013/apr/27/israel-responds-to-gaza-rocket-fire-with-airstrike/

Israel Downs Drone From Lebanon

                                                                 

                           IAF F16 knocks out possible Hizboula drone. They're there for Israelis 24/7.
Nadene Goldfoot
Israel was able to shoot down a drone on Thursday as it came in from the north, Lebanon, which is on the northern border of Israel.

It is thought that the Hezbollah militant groups was behind this attempt to infiltrate.  Of course Hezbollah denies this.  Hezbollah is a Shiite militant group trying to take advantage of the civil war going on in neighboring Syria.

A spokesman from Israel's  IDF  said that an F-16 warplane shot down the drone.  The drone was smashed into the sea about 5 miles from Haifa, Israel's northern port.  Israeli naval forces have been searching for the wreckage.

Lebanon has been made up of a mixed population of which 60% had been Muslims of Sunnis and Shi'a following Hanafi and Jafari fiqhs.  Christians had been the ruling party even though they were a minority until the end of the 20th century, but not today.  It is a small country with only about 4,196,453 population in all.

Major Hadad of Lebanon was a good friend of Israel.  His troops used to patrol the border between Lebanon and Syria in order to prevent terrorism.  He would come into our army hospital in Haifa for his R and R.  His men attacked a PLO group of terrorists in 1982 in retribution and got themselves and Israel in trouble for it, as our general had allowed them to enter the area.  Now the terrorism out of Lebanon isn't even necessarily Lebanese home grown but a neighboring faction and comes from the sky as well. Syria is under the umbrella of Shiite Iran who hates Israel.   Thank goodness for F-16's for defense.

Reference: Oregonian newspaper, 4/26/13, page A6, Israel downs drone, suspects Hezbollah

French Courts Find That Israeli Occupation Is Not Illegal

Nadene Goldfoot
France is full of Muslim immigrants today.  It also holds the largest population of Jews other than Israel and the USA.  The court of Appeal of Versailles concluded that Israeli occupation is not illegal.  This judgement comes out of a country that is not a neutral one, so this judgment of the Court is very important.

The PLO charges that Israeli illegally occupies Palestinian territory and that their settlements are illegal.  Israel is building a tram and the Arabs think that this is illegal.  The companies of Veolia and Alstom built the Jerusalem tramway through the city to the east into the territories of Judea and Samaria claimed by the PLO and the Palestinian Authority to be the "Palestine" belonging and settled only by them without any Jews; Judenrein.  Since 1967, the Palestinian Arabs have refused to recognize or make peace with Israel.  Without this, there will continue to be no Palestine.

Some of the facts that the court concluded was that PLO  propaganda does not replace the law.  They also concluded that an irritated anything can't be based solely on the discretion of a political or social situation as the PLO is trying to use as reason.  Israel has not violated any humanitarian law, either.

The Court of Appeal sentenced the Association of France-Palestine Solidarity (AFPS) and the PLO to pay 30,000 euros to Alstom, 30,000 euros from Alstom Transport, and 30,000  to Veolia Transport.  These are firms involved in building the Jerusalem tram line.  Court costs added up to 90,000 euros.

Resource:  http://translate.google.co.il/translate?hl=iw&sl=fr&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fdocstalk.blogspot.co.il%2F2013%2F04%2Fla-cour-dappel-de-versailles-olp-c.html

Eilat Pelted by Two Grad Rockets

Nadene Goldfoot                                                                   

Eilat was hit by 2 grad rockets this morning by a Salafi Muslim jihadist group with probable ties to al-Qaeda, "The lions of the Mujahedeen Shura Council in the Environs of Jerusalem."  .   One landed in an open area while the other exploded in a back yard.    This is a resort town on the Red Sea that vacationing Scandinavians love.  In the past rockets are usually from the Sinai Peninsula.  This area has become a center for terrorists since Mubarak took over in the fall of 2011.

People suffered shock and anxiety but no one was injured.  The airport was closed as a precaution.  Schools remained open.

Aqaba, Jordan is across the bay from Eilat. could have also been hit but information isn't forthcoming to Israel.  Last year Eilat was hit several time by the group, Ansar Jerusalem.

The Red Sea forms Israel's southern outlet to the Indian Ocean by way of Eilat.  The sea itself is a branch of the Indian Ocean that goes from the Strait of Aden to Suez and Eilat.  It had been thought of as the "Reed Sea" that the Israelites crossed during the Exodus from Egypt.  It's long and narrow, giving one a sandy beach with protected water that's warm and lovely to visit in the middle of winter.  It has a coral reef and night life, making it very attractive with a dry desert climate as it's on the southern Negev desert.  46,600 people live here.

Yesterday a terrorist or more likely terrorists set off 2 bombs in the Boston Marathon which killed 3 and injured close to 150 people, some extremely serious with lost limbs.  This has set off a series of threats of all kinds all over the USA, and here in Israel, a grad rocket attack.  Since Hamas terrorists in Gaza are the ruling political party, they are responsible for this attack. The Salafi party in Egypt is even more unreasonable that the Muslim Brotherhood, so must be out to show their strength.

Resource:  http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/167221#.UW7FUaKOTqE
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/e6ec7a72-a731-11e2-bfcd-00144feabdc0.html#axzz2QjoNPEyl (cookies here)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eilat
http://www.jpost.com/National-News/Rockets-slam-into-Eilat-following-Code-Red-siren-310043

Why Salaam Fayyad of PA, Prime Minister and Economist, Calls It Quits, Maybe?

Nadene Goldfoot
The Palestinian Prime Minister, Salaam Fayyad, a moderate according to the West, has resigned.  Most likely he wasn't being listened to by the more powerful henchmen of Hamas, who maintain their actions of terrorism and strong -arming Gaza.   Jonathan Tobin, writing in commentary, feels this is a "pivotal moment in the history of the conflict".  That's because Fayyad has been the Western hope for a technocratic Palestinian state.  We're left with a weaker Abbas now, who has also threatened to resign and Hamas.  The idea of a 2 state solution isn't looking so good for many reasons.

The Oslo Accords of September 13, 1993 never promised a Palestinian state.  Agreements have never been reached.  Everyone saw the Judea-Samaria and Gaza as one unit or one state-to-be.  However, the heads of these two places never could come to any agreements that lasted more than a few weeks.  One issue for Netanyahu and Rabin has been not to be set back to the 67 borders.  A month before Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated, he had said, " "Israel will not return to the lines of 4 June 1967″ and then stated that "the security border for defending the State of Israel will be in the Jordan Valley, in the widest sense of that concept."

Dr. Fayyad was born in Deir al-Ghusun in the northern part of Judea-Samaria.  He has a PhD in economics from the U. of Texas in Austin.  He taught economics at Yarmouk U. in Jordan before joining the International Monetary Fund in 1987 where he was a rep for the PA from 1996 to 2001.  Then he was the regional manager of the Arab Bank in Judea-Samaria and Gaza until he became Yasser Arafat's finance minister.  I wonder if he knows how much money Arafat kept for himself?

He resigned as finance minister to run as founder and leader of the new Third War party in 2006.  Again on March 17, 2007, he became finance minister with the Fatah-Hamas coalition government.  By June 14, 2007, Hamas took over the Gaza Strip and he was appointed Prime Minister of the new "Independent" government which was supported by Fatah, Israel and the West.  He won his seat along with Hanan Ashrawi.    When he was offered the position of Prime Minister, he had a few conditions that he wanted.  One was that Hamas would recognize Israel, which they wouldn't do.  One of his comments which must been seen as an antidote to Hamas terrorism was,  "its the responsibility of men of religion to...present religion as a way of tolerance,...not as a cover for bloodshed.  "  Yet it has to be religion that is the cause of the Arabs not accepting Israel, causing much bloodshed on both sides.  

Fayyad was credited for the US Congress' deposit of $200 million to the PA in 2009.  Even with all that money, Fatah hasn't been able to pay their utility bills to Israel.  They have been suffering economically.  In October 2011 the USA withdrew funding to UNESCO after the Palestinian Authority (PA) was accepted into the United Nations as a full member.  The USA's contribution to this organization is 22% of their needs. The PAof Judea-Samaria  ran up a debt of  $165 million dollars to Israel's electric corporation.  Israel collects money for the Palestinians, so finally froze their money and used it to pay off their bill.

"For 30 years, Israel permitted thousands of Palestinians to enter the country each day to work in construction, agriculture and other blue-collar jobs. Until the mid-1990s, up to 150,000 people—about a fifth of the Palestinian labor force—entered Israel each day. After Palestinians unleashed a wave of suicide bombings, the idea of separation from the Palestinians took root in Israel. Israel found itself starved for labor, and gradually replaced most of the Palestinians with migrants from Thailand, Romania and elsewhere."  What they did was to bite the hand that employed them.

Gaza has bombed southern Israel with missiles, mortars and rockets since 2001.  This is not the way to induce friendships.  In Judea-Samaria and Gaza, not many are working at anything except how to destroy Israel.  Their unemployment is above 50%.  No wonder Fayyad quit.  They are depending on handouts which they are getting from Iran, Qatar and others as well as the UN.  However, a country cannot be run this way.  Fayyad knows this and is disembarking from  a sinking ship.

Resource: http://www.blog.standforisrael.org/articles/fayyads-exit-signals-oslos-bankruptcy
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salam_Fayyad
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/oct/31/unesco-backs-palestinian-membership
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2012-08/16/c_131787926.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_the_Palestinian_territories

Our Memorial to Those That Fought and Died For Israel: Yom ha-Zikkaron

Nadene Goldfoot                                                                    

War Memorial in Israel 

On Monday, April 15th, Israelis will be observing  Yom ha-Zikkaron, or Memorial Day.  Like the United States, it is a day to remember all the soldiers that have fallen in protection of Israel.

Israel has had 7 major wars.  where 9,745 soldiers and security forces personnel have been killed in protecting the civilians of the tiny state just  in miscellaneous engagements and terrorist attacks ever since May 14, 1948.

1. War of Independence:  November 29, 1947-1949                    4,000 soldiers killed
2. Sinai War: October 29, 1956-November 5, 1956                        231
3. Six Day War: June 5 to June 11, 1967                                         776
4. War of Attrition: 1968-August 8, 1970                                     1,424
5. Yom Kippur War: October 6-25,1973                                     2,656
6. First Lebanon War: Sunday, June 6, 1982 -1990                         675
7. Second Lebanon War: July 12-August 14, 2006                         121

One shudders in thinking that the population of Israel in 1948 was only 650,000.  By 1956 we had 1,872,400.  In 1968 we had 2,841,100.  The 1972 census showed we had 3,164,000.  Today we have 6 million Jews and 1.6 million Arab citizens.  We lost 6 million Jews to the Holocaust and have finally regained that many in Israel.  We remember that Moses came with 600,000 to our land in the Exodus.

Israel has paid the price of being our one and only Jewish state.  From 1948 to 1997 there have been 20,093 soldiers killed in combat with 75,000 wounded. With a population of 7.6 million today, this is a high percent. There are 100,000 disabled army vets.

From 2000 to 2005 there have been 1,074 soldiers killed and 7,520 wounded by Palestinians.  By going on to 2010, the total killed jumps to 1,194.

Israel came under attack verbally and by report from Goldstone of South Africa who later rescinded what he had written.  Goldstone shamefully is one of our own, a Jewish man believing all the hateful propaganda said about Israel from people who would like to see her driven into the sea.  He hurt Israel immensely by doing this, as he was truly negligent in getting the facts and instead relied on  hearsay.    He above all people should also have realized that Israel, of all the nations, is not an apartheid state as he had  lived in one himself and should understand the meaning of the world.  The true outcome was that Israeli soldiers have put themselves in harms way in order to protect citizens when in combat.  They have been highly praised by the military allies of the USA for their caution and care.

Resource: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israeli_casualties_of_war
Book: Letters From Israel by Nadene Goldfoot

JAFFA: Fought Over By Egyptians and Canaanites and Origin of the Israelites?

Nadene Goldfoot                                                                      

Jaffa, originated about 1800 BCE,  is a port city in Israel on the Mediterranean that is 60 km ( 37 miles) NW of Jerusalem. Today it is joined with Tel Aviv.   In excavations in 2008 by the Jaffa Cultural Heritage Project many items had been found that told more about its history. Biblical texts were used as the primary historical referent.  It had converted from a Canaanite town to an Egyptian stronghold.  

Canaanites are said to be the descendants of Canaan, son of Ham who was one of Noah's 3 sons and occupied land between the Nile and Euphrates Rivers.  The people of Syria also called themselves Canaanites.  They seem to have been a mixture of Horites, Hittites and Hebrews from the Hyksos period of the 17th century BCE.  By the 13th century they were almost entirely obliterated or assimilated by the Israelites, Philistines on the coast in the 12th century and the Arameans in the north in the 11th century.  The remainder were ruled by Kings David and Solomon  of Israel and absorbed into the community.  

 This was found by new archaeological data with the well-known historical texts.  The Egyptians even built on top of the city's earlier remains.  It tells a story of violence and peaceful social interactions over a period of more than 300 years, from 1460 to 1130 BCE.  This includes intermarriage of peoples.  

Jaffa was mentioned in Egyptian documents from the time of the 19th Egyptian dynasty (16th century BCE) and also in Assyrian documents.  It's a natural place for anchorage as it has a slight promontory jutting out from the straight coastline.  

The Hyksos, foreign rulers in Egypt who were Semitic Asiatics, were expulsed from Egypt in the mid-16th century BCE.  Our biblical history of Joseph going into Egypt and becoming an assistant to the Pharaoh could have been one of them, as well as his family and the rest of the Israelites.  It is said that they overran Egypt after the destruction of the Middle Kingdom.  That's when the prevailing pharaoh decided to make Joseph's family slaves for this very reason.  They were too plentiful and might take over.  Excavations in Egypt have revealed royal Hyksos scarabs bearing names similar to Hebrew.  Hyksos remains have also been uncovered in Israel.  They ruled in Egypt from 1720-1580 BCE.  According to other sources, the time the Children of Israel entered the country was at this same time.  Hyksos is said to be an Egyptian name meaning "rulers of the foreign lands."  

After that, the pharaohs of the early 18th dynasty held regular military campaigns against the communities in Canaan.  They succeeded in limiting more Asiatic incursions into Egypt so that the Egyptian New Kingdom could expand.  The Canaanite rulers had to ask for support from their allies to the north to stop Egypt.  This led to the famous Battle of Megiddo in 1456 BCE  where pharaoh Thutmose III fell upon the Asiatic coalition which was led by the king of Kadesh on the Orontes.  Jaffa was one of the towns that was subjugated.  Their troops were in the defeated coalition.  

Rameses II ruled from 1262 to 1196 BCE.  It's thought he may have been the Pharaoh in Moses's history.  It's also the name of an ancient Eygptian city on the Nile Delta where Jacob and his family settled (Gen.47:11,27).  Their descendants were forced to build storehouses for the Egyptian pharaoh.  It was also the site where the Israelites left from to start their exodus (Exod. 12:37)

Moses led the Israelites into Canaan when he was 80 years old and they traveled for 40 years to get there.  He lived from what is accepted as 1391 to 1271 BCE.  In Biblical times Jaffa marked the boundary of the Philistines even though it did lay within the rightful area for the tribe of Judah.  When King Solomon reigned (961-920 BCE)  and even after the Jews returned to their home after their Babylonian captivity, the cedars of Lebanon were floated to the sea of Jaffa on their way to Jerusalem for the Temple.  Johah of Jonah and the whale sailed from Jaffa.  

In the Persian period, Jaffa belonged to the Phoenicians.  During the Hellenistic period it was an independent city.  Judah the Maccabee avenged the massacre of the Jewish community there.  His brothers, Jonathan and Simon, took Jaffa back and replaced the foreign population with Jews.  Then it served as the principal Jewish port until the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 CE.  

In the 19th century CE, Jewish colonies surrounded the city.  During WWI the Turks of the Ottoman Empire expelled Jews from Jaffa and Tel Aviv.  By 1921-1922 there were Arab riots that forced the Jews to go to Tel Aviv that was founded as a suburb of Jaffa.    Haifa's harbor was developed which undermined the economic position of Jaffa, but it did continue with its share of orange exports.  By 1946 the population was 101,000 of which 30% were Jews.   During the War of Independence the Arab sections of Jaffa capitulated on May 14, 1948 and almost all the Arabs left town.  New immigrants moved there.  Then Jaffa and Tel Aviv became one city (Tel-Aviv-Jaffa).  Its port was closed in 1965.  An artist's colony has been created out of a quarter, just like in Safed.  

Today Jaffa is fighting a lot of Arab-Jewish hostility with Arab hip-hoppers and their complaints about Jews, but life is going on with a population of 55,000; 35,000 Jewish and 20,000 Muslims or Christians.  . The 2 cultures have an Arab-Hebrew Theater Group and an Arab-Hebrew Community Center.  Jaffa ihas become  tourist destination because of its beautifully restored old quarter filled with galleries, shops and restaurants.   One of the few religious sites is the house of Simon the Tanner, where, according to the New Testament, Peter first realized the gospel message had to be extended beyond Judaism. You can walk for about 40 minutes to Tel Aviv.  As cultures had to blend in the ancient days between Egyptians and Canaanites, so it is happening in Jaffa between the Muslims and the Jews.  Since it took them 300 years to co-exist, perhaps we should also figure that it might take that long for the Muslims to accept Israel in their midst.

Resource: http://www.jidaily.com/11d51?utm_source=Jewish+Ideas+Daily+Insider&utm_campaign=defb6a369a-Insider&utm_medium=email
The New Standard Jewish Encyclopedia
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/vie/Telaviv.html
https://www.facebook.com/AJCCJaffa
http://www.arab-hebrew-theatre.org.il/eng/index.asp
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cM1wDeaY6yU  Be sure to watch this.  It's the best community center I've ever seen!  

Eight Years Peace Broken in Judea-Samaria

Nadene Goldfoot
On April 4th, in Israel a Wednesday, just after midnight a 17 year old and an 18 year old attacked an IDF post in Einav just inside the Judea-Samaria lines east of Netanya with Molotov cocktails, gunfire and fire bombs.  The IDF on duty fired back, killing the 2 in the firefight.  Another person was shot.  This was the first attack in 8 years.  "The two men are Amar Nasar, 17, and Najo Bilbisi, 18, from the village of Anbata.   Bilbisi's body was found Thursday morning.   Palestinian sources reported that a wounded man was admitted to a hospital in Tulkarem with injuries to his hand.

What was Abbas's reaction with Kerry coming in May to talk peace?  Why, he is holding Israel to be criminally responsible for these 2 deaths.

According to the rules of engagement, a shoot-to-kill order can only be issued if the attackers were identified beyond a doubt.
 
The IDF will check out how the Palestinians managed to get so close to the post and whether the soldiers could have controlled the incident without opening fire.   The attack must have been instigated by the death of prisoner Abu Hamdiyeh, 64, who died of throat cancer.  Rioting resulted all around  Judea-Samaria.

Resource: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4363770,00.html
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4363611,00.html
Debka File

More On The 3 Days of Gaza Rockets Into Israel This Week

Nadene Goldfoot
Israel had warned that anymore firing of rockets, etc into Israel would mean a retaliation of Israeli planes into Gaza to stop the source of such firing. This latest attack from Gaza  has  lasted for the past  4 days.  11 rockets and mortars have been fired into Israel.   Hamas terrorists who were doing the shooting say they  were showing solidarity with Maysara Abu Hamdiyeh.  He is the 63 year old prisoner that had a life sentence.  He just died Tuesday of throat cancer in a hospital in Beersheva, Israel at Soroka Hospital after serving 10 years of his sentence.  A late cancer diagnosis found him to be terminal.

Abu was a very dangerous prisoner. He was the organizer of the terror attack at Cafe Cafit in Jerusalem 2002.  He had talked a suicide bomber into doing the action.  This terrorist was considered a general in the Palestinian Security Force.  He was in charge of a counterespionage unit.  He trained Fatah's armed wing, al-Aksa Martyrs Brigade in the 2nd Intifada.  Abu had also delivered weapons and explosives to Hamas cells.

Not so strange is that both Fatah and Hamas claim him, so that shows how connected the two groups really are.  Rioting went on in Hebron against Israel for not taking care of him with the proper treatment.   Israel says that care was provided.   (My 1st cousin died of throat cancer in 1999, and died at home in Oregon.  There were no more treatments that could be done for her. It had spread to the brain.  On the other hand, my son had throat cancer and recovered.  Of all the cancers, this is supposed to have the best % of beating it.  So much depends on the awareness of the patient that there is an unusual problem.)        

Ambassador Proser has gone before the UN to condemn these recent attacks on Israel which break the several months of peace.

Thousands of Palestinians in Judea-Samaria  went out into the streets to demonstrate and joined funeral processions and demonstrations after 2 protesters were killed by Israeli troops. They were killed after throwing fire bombs towards the Israeli troops at a guard post.  These demonstrations were the largest in months and became violent.

US Secretary of State John Kerry is coming to restart peace talks. More retaliation has been threatened by the Hamas-Fatah groups, the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades in Hebron .  Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said "the deaths jeopardised "US and international efforts to restart negotiations". He will get out of sitting down and coming to terms this way.  "He also criticised Israel for continuing to use force to suppress what he described at peaceful protests."  I have never heard of a demonstration of thousands of angry people worked up to remain or even start off as "peaceful."  This can be compared to the Watts Riots in California. That lasted for 6 days in Los Angeles, California from August 11 to 17, 1965.  They had 34 deaths out of it with 1,032 injured.  An even larger one happened again in 1992.  

A word about throat cancer.  "Throat cancer symptoms may also come and go. Persistent doesn't always mean constant. For example, you may have a sore throat for a week, then it goes away for a few days, and then returns. Whether your symptoms are constant or erratic, making an appointment to see your doctor is essential to rule out diseases, such as cancer."  Hamdiyeh obviously didn't see his doctor before he was captured or didn't bring it to prison officials soon enough.  Symptoms are the following:

•  persistent cough
• difficulty swallowing
• persistent hoarseness of the voice or having to clear the throat frequently
• sore throat
• lump in the throat
• change in the sound of your voice
• abnormal breathing sounds

  Throat cancer is a type of cancer that develops in the pharynx, larynx, and other structures of the throat. The symptoms of throat cancer vary based on tumor location. Tumors that develop in the pharynx are referred to as pharyngeal cancer and tumors in the larynx are referenced as laryngeal cancer. The term "throat cancer" encompasses several different types of cancer that can affect the throat.

Cancer treatment can involve one or several different treatments. Surgery, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy are standard methods of treatment in many types of cancer.  

Resource: http://www.jpost.com/National-News/Hamas-and-Fatah-both-lay-claim-to-Abu-Hamdiyeh-308599
Oregonian Newspaper 4/5/13, page A5, Palestinians  fill streets, protest against Israelis, AP
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=582415
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-22025599
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Watts_Riots
http://cancer.about.com/od/typesofcancernz/a/Throat-Cancer-Symptoms.htm
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/02/maisara-abu-hamdiyeh-dead_n_2997532.html
http://blogs.cbn.com/jerusalemdateline/
http://www.timesofisrael.com/israeli-envoy-calls-on-un-to-condemn-gaza-rocket-fire/
http://www.timesofisrael.com/israeli-envoy-calls-on-un-to-condemn-gaza-rocket-fire/

3 Rockets Falling into Sderot Again: Truce Broken

Nadene Goldfoot
A mortar was shot into southern Israel's  Sderot Tuesday .
Qassam rockets were then shot into the same area Wednesday morning as children were going to school, making 2 attacks in 24 hours.

These attacks were the first since rockets were fired during President Obama's visit to Israel 2 weeks ago.

Air strikes from Israel followed these attacks up.  The Israeli air raids came after the 3rd rocket attack on Israel.  These were the first airstrikes since an informal cease-fire in November.  An Israeli military statement said its planes targeted accurately  2 extensive terror sites.

Defense Minister Ya'alon warned that Israel will take a tough response toward any shelling.

Palestinians  reported that no one was hurt and no damage was reported in Northern Gaza.

A mortar  from Syria was shot into Ramat Hagolan in the North.   The IDF destroyed the source of fire.  Israel will not ignore any rockets coming from Syria, either, whether accidental or not.

During November 2012, 1,500 rockets were fired at Israel in 8 days from Gaza.   Israel's military holds Gaza's Hamas rulers responsible for any attack against Israel.  Though Sderot takes most of the hits and depending on the ammunition used, Netanyahu said that shelling southern Israel puts 1 million Israeli citizens in harm's way.  That's 1/8th of the population.

I note that the elections of the Palestinians were just over, and Hamas terrorists put in the same people again who are all for attacking Israel.

Though on Tuesday the UN overwhelmingly ok'd a worldwide arms trade pact, Iran, North Korea and Syria, all facing arms embargoes, cast the only no votes.  They complained that it favors the big arms suppliers like the USA over importers that need weapons for self defense.The Palestinian terrorists get many of their rockets from Syria who gets them from Iran.  Moon explained that the Arms Trade Treaty will make it more difficult for deadly weapons to be diverted into the illicit market.  It will take 90 days to be in effect.  50 states need to ratify it.  The USA's National Rifle Association has opposed it.  It needs 2/3 approval to win ratification.   So were the hits on Tuesday  and today in response to "getting their licks in before they can't get their weapons for self -defense"?   It certainly is coincidental.

Hopefully this will mean that eventually it will become harder and harder for these terrorists to receive their weapons to use against the Israeli population.  The cease fire lasted from November 21st to  about March 20th when Obama visited.

Resource:  Oregonian newspaper 4/3/13 page A4, Israel responds to rocket fire with airstrikes and page A5 UN overwhelmingly OK's worldwide arms trade pact.
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/166720#.UVxYj6KOTqE
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/11/12/us-palestinians-israel-violence-idUSBRE8AB07Y20121112
http://www.jpost.com/Defense/2-rockets-pound-Sderot-area-as-tensions-rise-on-Gaza-front-308509