As Goldstone sleeps, Sderot dreams of a safe, new year!

#Goldstone report, #UN, #Israel, #Gaza, #Hamas, #Sderot, #Sderot Media Center
www.SderotMedia.org.il


Dear Friends of Sderot Media Center,

Sderot Media Center Impacts Global Media with Response to Goldstone Report

Sderot Media Center’s director, Noam Bedein, who testified before the Goldstone Commission in Geneva this past July, blasted the UN Commision's report , calling it a ‘sham’ which served to legitimize acts of terror committed against Israel by terror-organizations like Hamas. International news outlets that carried Sderot Media Center’s press release in response to the UN report included China , India , Japan , Ireland , Thailand and South Africa . Israel's Jerusalem Post, Israel National News, Israel Radio, YNet News and Ha'aretz also carried Bedein's response.

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As Sderot and Negev residents enter their ninth year of life under the threat and fire of Gaza rockets, Sderot Media Center is preparing to meet those upcoming challenges. The financial struggles of the past year have not deterred SMC from conducting an intense awareness campaign successfully placing Sderot on the international map.

The information services of Sderot Media Center were internationally recognized when the United Nations Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict requested that the center provide a full-length report explaining the impact of rockets on Israelis in Sderot and the south. I had the opportunity to speak before the UN commission in Geneva on behalf of Sderot this past June.

SMC representatives have toured Capitol Hill, Australia, Manitoba, Norway, England, and the US college campuses, Jewish and Christian communities, providing world audiences with accounts and media documentation of Sderot life. In the past year, SMC has hosted the British Ambassador to Israel, US governors and congressmen, parliamentarians, diplomats and other official policy-makers as well as an array of international media.

This begs the question: When most of the world knows about the situation in Sderot, what makes Sderot Media Center's work so important at this time?

The recent 'Gaza War' has affected the entire world, with multi-million dollar media campaigns and PR invested in portraying the scenes in Gaza. Almost every Jewish community in the world saw massive demonstrations against Israel during and after Operation Cast Lead.
This imbalance of media coverage has naturally given more legitimacy for Hamas, which has become a ‘household’ word internationally. This sort of legitimacy for terrorism and terrorist leaders poses a dangerous threat to regional peace and to the Jewish state’s existence.

Sderot Media Center is the only information source daily counterbalancing the Gaza narrative with the human story of Sderot and southern Israel. During the relative calm of the ceasefire, thousands of Sderot residents are still reeling from the post-traumatic effects and economic devastation brought on by years of rocket attacks.

SMC has developed a model to share the voices of local residents and expose the psychological impact of rocket terror on civilians. Two SMC projects for the coming year were conceived to more effectively present the Israeli perspective of the Gaza conflict.

Sderot Community Treatment Theater

Sderot Media’s Information Center

At Sderot Media Center, we would like to thank you for your generous support and your continuing belief in our work.

May this New Year bring peace and security to the residents of Sderot and all of Israel.


Shana Tova,



Noam Bedein, SMC Director

Bearing Witness to the UN in Geneva: Sderot Media Center Director Noam Bedein Presents Sderot’s Case to UN Judges

#Geneva, #United Nations, #UN, #War crimes, #Gaza conflict, #Hamas, #Israel, #Noam Bedein, #Noam Shalit, #Sderot Media Center, #Judge Richard Goldstone, #rockets, #terror, #Palestinians

By: Noam Bedein

Director Sderot Media Center

http://www.sderotmedia.org.il/

On July 6th, I traveled to Geneva to testify before the United Nations Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict. Participating in the delegations were Ashkelon Mayor Benny Vaknin, Dr Alan Marcus the director strategic planning branch in Ashkelon, Ophir Shinhar of Sapir College, and Dr. Mirelda Sidrer who was injured during a rocket attack on a medical facility at the Ashkelon mall.

*From left to right: Ashkelon Mayor Benny Vaknin, Dr. Mirelda Sidrer, Hillel Neuer and Dr. Alan Marcus.

The Israeli delegation also included Noam Shalit, who impassionedly spoke on behalf of his son, Gilad, who was abducted three years ago by Palestinian terrorists and has since been held by Hamas.

The Israeli government officially refused to cooperate with the UN mission, since the UN investigation had already formulated conclusions asserting that Israel had committed war crimes during the December-January war.
At the same time, however, the head of the UN fact finding mission, South African Judge Richard Goldstone, told the Israeli media that he would like to hear both sides of the conflict. "The aim of the public hearings was to let the face of human suffering be seen and to let the voices of the victims be heard."

In preparation for the Geneva hearing, the UN mission invited the Sderot Media Center , a Sderot NGO, to prepare material, footage and information regarding the impact of the Gaza bombardment of the Israeli civilian population in the Negev during the Gaza war. The UN Mission aimed to at obtain an unofficial Israeli perspective.

Before the UN hearing in Geneva, the Israeli delegation received a briefing from Hillel Neuer, head of NGO 'UN Watch.' Neuer provided background on the UN fact finding mission and the agenda of each judge on the UN investigating board.

During the days leading up to the testimony, it was not easy to sleep - as the only resident of Sderot and the western Negev in this delegation, knowing that there would be only 30 minutes to convey how aerial terror has devastatingly impacted the civilian population of Sderot.

At the same time, the UN afforded an opportunity for Sderot Media Center, which specializes in communicating the human story of Sderot and life under continuous rocket terror to decision makers around the world , to finally reach the UN.

While the delegation got ready to testify in the “lion’s den,” it was less than sobering to know that one of the UN judges included Professor Christine Chinkin from London. In a Sunday Times article published on January 11th , Judge Chinkin supported the allegation that “Israel’s bombardment of Gaza is not self defense, it’s a war crime.”

Israeli reporters in Geneva asked hard questions:

"Why testify before a such a ‘neutral’ judge who claims that Israel does not have the right to defend her citizens and whose actions “ amount to aggression violating international law and human rights law?"

"Why testify when the government of Israel itself has boycotted the investigation which already formulated it allegations against Israel before the investigation commenced?"

However, the presence of a UN invited delegation from Israel created a precedent.

Hillel Neuer of Human Rights Watch noted that never in the 16 years of operating in Geneva had there ever been a time when the UN invited and even sponsored a delegation from Israel to give testimony - until now.

This time, the UN provided an opportunity for ordinary people from Israel to make their voices heard across the world. It was an honor as a resident of Sderot to partake in such an event.

Yet the long road to peace and justice for Sderot and Negev residents does not end before a panel of UN judges or a commissioned report.
Residents of Israel who act as witnesses to terror against the Jewish people, are obligated to speak up and convey the experience of what it is like to live under sustained rocket attacks-defined as a terror act and crime against humanity.

*Noam Bedein in the main hall of the UN Headquarters before testifying.

After screening two short videos in front of the panel of UN judges, which depicted the 15 seconds that Sderot residents and their children have to run for their lives when the rocket alarm is activated by impending Gaza rockets, I concluded my presentation with the following thoughts and questions.

“I do not have enough fingers, to count on my hands the amount of times rockets exploded just a few meters from a kindergarten--would any other western democracy in the world tolerate even one rocket being fired towards their territory? Why is it that we must wait, until a kindergarten or classroom packed with children, is struck directly by a rocket in order for Israel to gain international support, to protect and do what is right for our own people?"

US President Barack Obama put it best when he visited a devastated home in Sderot during the 2008 campaign:
"If somebody was sending rockets into my house where my two daughters sleep at night, I’m going to do everything in my power to stop that, and would expect Israel to do the same thing."

There were no questions or reactions from the UN judges. We will all have to wait, along with all the residents of southern Israel, to peruse the Geneva verdict on the war when the UN Mission report will be released in September

To the Three Clowns that Showed Us the Durban Circus: SMC Invites you to Sderot

#Durban conference, #Ahmadinejad, #Iran, #Grad missiles, #Sderot Media Center, #United Nations, #Israel,

http://www.sderotmedia.com/
By • Jacob Shrybman

Dear Rafael, Jonathan, and Jeremy, I would like to thank you and extend an open invitation for you to come visit Sderot, Israel so we can thank you in person for opposing the United Nations’ institutionalized anti-Semitism and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s diabolical diatribes.

We here in Sderot and southern Israel are living under the execution of the ideas Iranian President Ahmadinejad professes.

It is no secret that Iran supplies and largely finances the terror that the world has been witnessing in southern Israel for over eight years now but Iranian President is still invited to promote his beliefs on America’s university campuses and United Nations conferences on human rights. Dressed as clowns to object to Ahmadinejad and the Durban conference itself you demonstrated exactly what countless objectors around the world believe- it’s a joke and a circus.

Yesterday I took a group around Sderot to give them a sense of what it is like to live under the daily threat of missile attacks from the Gaza Strip. I took them to see the remnants of grad missiles that Iran directly supplies and qassam rockets that Iran finances to help plague the city. We then went atop a hill next to Kibbutz Nir Am, right outside Sderot, to a viewpoint of the Gaza Strip less than a mile away.

In clear view of the Gaza Strip cities of Beit Hanun and Jabalya from which missiles are fired, one can see how southern Israelis are not living hundreds of miles away from Iran but living with Iran right in our backyard.

After work yesterday evening I rode to the coastal city of Ashqelon, about 20 minutes northwest of Sderot, to sit on the beach and enjoy the sunset. As my buddies from the Sderot Media Center and I sat on the sand watching the peaceful sun lower over the calm water, we couldn’t help but discuss where we would run for shelter if the Tzeva Adom (Color Red) alarm sounded warning us of an incoming missile attack.

The grad missiles that have a capability of over 40 km and have tormented the city of Ashqelon which sits just over 20 km from the Gaza Strip have been and are still provided directly from Iran. You three were kicked out of the United Nations conference on Human Rights for what UN human rights spokesperson Rupert Colville described as “unacceptable behavior.”

The UN seems to be quite confused and mistaken on what is unacceptable. What is unacceptable when discussing human rights is that Israeli civilians have been targeted for over eight years by this terrorizing missile fire.

What is unacceptable is that the President of the country which funds and supplies the over 10,000 missiles that have been fired at Israel is continually invited by the United Nations to promote the beliefs that we in southern Israel witness him carrying out.

What is unacceptable is an entire generation of Jewish youth like you growing up having 15 seconds to run for their lives in this daily reality, not knowing life other than with these missiles. What is unacceptable is that the UN did not invite anyone from cities in southern Israel like Sderot and Ashqelon to speak about the over eight years of human rights abuses involved in the firing of these missiles at innocent civilians.

This past week we honored Yom HaShoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day, believing in the slogan “Never Again.” In Sderot I watched online as Ahmadinejad made his case to the world against this popular slogan. By depicting how this UN Human Rights Conference is a circus giving the floor to someone who works to wipe the Jewish people off any map, you three truly stood up and said “Never Again.”

I would be overjoyed if you would visit Sderot so you can see how more of your Jewish people live day-to-day with human rights abuses that the United Nations ignores. I thank you again and am sure if you were to visit Sderot more people here would love to personally thank you.

Never Again,

Jacob Shrybman

Over 100 rocket attacks from Gaza to southern Israel

#Rockets, #cease fire, #Hamas, #Israel, #Missiles, # Iran, #Gaza
By Anav Silverman

http://www.sderotmedia.com/

Since the end of Operation Cast Lead, over 100 Palestinian rockets including Grads, Qassams and mortar rockets, have struck Israel according to the IDF Spokesperson's Office.

For the second time this week, Qassam rockets targeted the western Negev town of Sderot. On Thursday morning, February 26, a Qassam rocket fired by Palestinian terrorists in northern Gaza exploded in the backyard of a Sderot home. A mother and her son were treated for shock as were a number of other civilians in the neighborhood where the rocket struck. No injuries were reported. The Qassam rocket caused damages to two Sderot homes when it exploded. It was a miracle that no one was hurt according to bystanders.

Watch video- http://sderotmedia.com/bin/videos.cgi?q=watch&id=2312

The rocket attack took place around 8:30 am, a few seconds after the Tzeva Adom (Color Red) siren had blared throughout Sderot and surrounding communities. Another rocket landed in the Sha'ar HaNegev Regional Council, causing no damages or injuries.Video:Noam BedeinOn Wednesday morning, February 25, two rockets were fired at the western Negev region as well, hitting the Eshkol region.

On Monday, February 23, Palestinian rockets slammed into open fields outside of Sderot. The Tzeva Adom siren alert, set off twice by impending Gaza rockets, had Sderot residents racing for cover two times on Monday.

Photo: Noam Bedein

US Congressmen Brian Baird and Keith Ellison Visit Gaza and Sderot

#US congressmen #Brian Baird, #Keith Ellison, #Gaza, #Sderot, #Israel, #President Obama

By Anav Silverman

www.SderotMedia.com

Following a day tour in Gaza, members of Congress, Brian Baird (D-Washington) and Keith Ellison (D-Minnesota) spent an hour in Sderot touring the city with Sderot Media Center director, Noam Bedein and staff on Friday, February 20.

In Sderot, the Congressmen met with the Amar family whose home was destroyed in a Palestinian rocket attack in December 2007. Both US President Obama and Senator John McCain had visited the Amars during their tour of Sderot last year.

Photo: Chen Shwartzman

The Congressmen asked many questions during the visit and showed interest in understanding the full impact of rocket fire on Israeli civilians-- including children-- living in Sderot.

Dr. Adrianna Katz of the Sderot Mental Health Center spoke with the Congressmen at the Sderot Police Station, where hundreds of exploded rockets have been stored away. Representative Baird, a licensed clinical psychologist, was particularly interested in the psychological impact of the rocket fire. Dr. Katz explained that there is a ‘Qassam generation’ of Sderot children who have been born into the rocket fire.

“These kids, who experienced rocket attacks since 2001, know no other reality other than exploding rockets and ‘Tzeva Adom’ (Color Red) alert sirens. Their sense of peace and security has been shattered,” said Dr. Katz.

“The rocket fire has impacted the economic situation, family relationships-- all aspects of life here in Sderot. People live in constant fear and terror that a rocket may strike at any moment. Over 5,000 residents have been forced to leave and relocate elsewhere.”

“Israelis living in Ashkelon, Be’er Sheva and Ashdod are now experiencing that same terror for the first time, ” added Dr. Katz.

Accompanying the Congressmen on their visit, were Dr. Nick Palarino and Dr. Catherine Salsman.

Holding a Hamas-fired rocket at the Sderot Police Station, US Representative Ellison, the first Muslim elected to US Congress, commented on its heaviness. “A rocket explosion can impact up to 300 feet,” explained SMC director, Noam Bedein. “The models become more sophisticated and pack more explosives with each passing year."

Bedein also pointed out that the Grad-model Katyusha rockets come directly from Iran. "Iran supplies Hamas with the rockets that target major Israeli cities. The rockets were smuggled through the tunnels dug between the Egyptian-Gaza border or by ship, during the last ceasefire." During the war, the Grad rockets were able to target one million Israelis who still remain under Palestinian missile threat.

Photo: Chen Shwartzman

Both US representatives asked Dr. Katz her view on potential peace with the Palestinians. "Is the hatred towards the Palestinians deep-seeded on the Israeli side? asked Congressman Baird. "There is no hatred for the Palestinian people," replied Dr. Katz. "Israelis here know that there is an underlying difference between the Hamas government and the average Palestinian citizen."

The two US representatives filmed the tour on their camera phones to share with relevant persons back in the US.

Congressman Ellison, who represents Minnesota, and Congressman Baird, who represents Washington state, had visited Gaza the day previously. It was the first time that anyone from the US government had entered the Gaza Strip since Hamas took power. Their visit to Gaza, according to Representative Brian Baird’s website, was not officially sanctioned by Obama Administration. However, US President Obama has stated in the past that he intends to improve ties with the Muslim world.

Indeed in a joint press release available on Congressman Baird's official government website, Congressmen Ellison and Baird spoke primarily of their visit to Gaza and their impressions of the situation there.

Golda Was Right

#Jewish State, #Golda Meir, #Israel, #Gaza, #Sderot,

By Jacob Shrybman
www.SderotMedia.com

Moments after another “Tzeva Adom” warning siren rang out in Sderot I walked around the Sderot Media Center office wondering why it is that the Jewish nation must continually justify their actions for survival. No matter the measure taken to protect its people from rockets, missiles, bombs, guns, or heavier attack Israel comes under a barrage of condemnations and negative political pressure. It is nearing the 61^st year since its establishment, so when will the Jewish state no longer have to defend its existence?

If the reason for these condemnations is because of numbers of casualties from Israel’s vital operations then where was the uproar when Arafat claimed that 10,000-20,000 were massacred in eleven days by the Jordanian army in September of 1970? These numbers, as well as other world conflict casualty statistics, overshadow the inflated number of 1,300 people that Hamas claims were killed by Israel during the three-week Operation Cast Lead.

Nonetheless, I resent the fact that the Jewish people and Israel need to constantly prove to the world that we have a right to defend ourselves and that we are not blood-thirsty monsters like often portrayed. More so I resent the fact that in order to bolster my case for Israel’s legitimacy I have to research and compare numbers of people killed by other nations versus numbers killed by the Jewish nation. Could the world truly think that Israel likes having to send its country’s youth into an extremely hostile urban combat setting where around every corner could be a booby-trapped explosive or kidnapping trap? Could the world truly think Israel’s self-centered politicians like suspending their election campaigns to handle the emergencies that come along with a military operation?

The world must understand that Israel cannot have 1 million of its citizens under the daily immediate threat of rockets.

Last week while guiding an afternoon tour of Sderot for American students Sderot resident and mother Shula Sasson showed the group of 18 year-olds how her family’s mattresses were leaning against the wall behind their couch in the first floor living room because her family hasn’t slept or lived on the second floor of their house for years because it is simply too far from their sheltered room.

When one of the students asked Shula if she was optimistic about the since there is currently a ceasefire with Hamas, she calmly but sternly replied, “Do not believe it (ceasefire).” She then emphasized to the students that their visit to Sderot was more important than a meaningless ceasefire so they can convey the situation to their schools and communities. Shula wished the students goodbye saying, “You will be the ones to save us. Not a ceasefire.”

Over the past eight years, since the rocket fire began in January 2001, Israel has attempted various methods to bring an end to these terrorist attacks in order to put off a major military operation. Even when Israel is forced to carry out the difficult task of thwarting terrorists embedded in one of the most densely populated areas in the world, it goes to unprecedented lengths to prevent loss of civilian life. It is unheard of other militaries around the world to call and text message civilians warning them of the imminent military attack.

But yet the Tzeva Adoms continue and I am sitting in Sderot agitated and on edge; in the only region in the world where civilians are consistently targeted by rockets, less than a mile a way to a territory controlled by a terrorist organization committed to the destruction of the Jewish State. So, I resent the fact that I have to defend Israel’s legitimacy for existence when it is forced to target terrorists that the world knows are using families’ home and hiding behind human shields.

As former Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir said after the Six Day War, “When peace comes we can forgive the Arabs for killing our children but we cannot forgive them for forcing us to kill theirs.”

The Iran-Hamas Connection and President Obama

#Iran, #Hamas, #Obama, #Gaza, #Israel

http://www.sderotmedia.com/
By • Anav Silverman Fri Feb 20 2009

As US President Barack Obama makes historic overtures in attempting to foster open dialogue with Iran, the rest of world watches in optimistic anticipation. The UK's Guardian recently reported that Obama's administration drafted a letter to Iran "aimed at unfreezing US-Iranian relations and opening the way for face-to-face talks."

Iran's president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has welcomed US overtures saying that:
"The new U.S. administration announced that it's willing to bring about a number of changes and is now taking the course for dialogue. It's quite clear that the real change should be fundamental, not just tactical change, and it is quite clear that the Iranian nation will greet real changes." (CNN, February 10)

'Obama in Sderot July 2008'

Change or no change, residents of southern and northern Israel have reason to be wary of Iran, a country that continues to fund Hamas and Hezbullah terrorism operations.
Thanks to Iranian-produced Grad missiles and technology, Hamas now holds rockets that place close to 1 million Israelis within target range. During Operation Cast Lead, Hamas was able to strike Israel's fifth and sixth largest cities, Ashdod and Beersheba respectively, along with Netivot, Ofakim, Qiryat Gat, Yavneh, and Kiryat Malachi.

Hamas now has aspirations to target other Israeli cities, particularly Tel Aviv. Hamas's Al-Aqsa TV recently proclaimed on a program: "Tel Aviv, all our options are open." (Al Aqsa TV, January 10, 2009)

But it is not only the rockets which are worrying.

Although the Obama administration is keen on turning a new leaf with Iran, the fact remains that Iran is the "central banker" for Middle East terrorism, as former US Secretary of State, Condoleeza Rice aptly put when she spoke to the Senate Appropriations Committee on Iran's role in supporting Islamic terror in 2006.

The Iranian nation is a leading financial supporter of three terror networks; Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad and Hezbollah. Iran transfers several hundreds of million of dollars a year to Hamas, financing the movement and its military wing, Iz Al-Din-al Qassam Brigades. When Hamas took over the Gaza Strip in 2006, Iran awarded the regime with a $50 million bonus (BBC report April 16, 2006).

The Hamas website reported on December 11, 2006 that the Iranians had given $250 million to top Hamas official and fundraiser, Ismail Haniya, of which $100 million was used to cover the salaries of Hamas employees in the social, labor and cultural ministries for a six-month period in 2007. (Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center report )

According to the IICC, Iran regards Hezbollah and Hamas as two important sources of power which Iran uses to promote its strategic goals, that of regional hegemony.
“Using Hezbollah, Hamas and other Palestinian terrorist organizations, the Iranian-Syrian axis can increase its influence in the Arab and Muslim world, pose a serious challenge to Mahmoud Abbas, harm the negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority and export the Iranian brand of radical Islam to other Sunni countries, especially Egypt. From the Iranian point of view, its sponsorship of Hamas is considered as a means of establishing an Iranian foothold in the heart of the Sunni world.”

Iranians themselves fully identify with Hamas’s goals to destroy Israel, as most recently indicated when more than 70,000 Iranian student volunteers registered to carry out suicide bombings against Israel to support Hamas during Operation Cast Lead in Gaza. (AP January 5) The rush of volunteers transpired when Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei delivered a religious decree stating that anyone who carried out an attack against Israel would be considered a martyr.

Iranian schools, like Hamas, contain children’s textbooks which teach Iranian schoolchildren to hate and fear Israel. IMPACT recently published a short volume on The War Curriculum in Iran, which exposes the way in which Iranian textbooks connect the Islamic Revolution in Iran to the struggle for the liberation of Palestine.

Children as young as eight years of age learn in Iranian history textbooks that
“God willing, the day will come when all Muslims will be united, liberate Palestine and save Jerusalem from the hands of the enemies of Islam.”
Social Studies, Grade 3 (2004) p. 56

And finally, Iran’s perception of the West is just as hostile. Iranian school books equal the United States with “the Great Satan.” Westernization receives a special label in Persian, known as Gharbzadegi, which literally means being smitten with the West in a way that corrupts the soul. “Westernization is treated as an ominous danger targeting Islamic identity.” (The War Curriculum in Iranian Schoolbooks p.162)

Is it any wonder that Iran and most of its population of 74 million residents determinedly supports the Hamas regim? After all the Iranian national education system and religious institutions for the past thirty years has indoctrinated a hate education against Israel and the West.

The question is-- what will President Obama be willing to believe of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad should he engage in direct talks, as Iranian financial aid and rockets continue to strengthen Hamas and Hezbollah.
And will Israel be pressured to talk to Hamas in the same fashion?

45 Palestinian Rockets Strike Israel Since Ceasefire

#Israel, #Gaza, #ceasefire, #Hamas, #palestinian, #rockets, #missiles

http://www.sderotmedia.com/

By • Anav Silverman Thu Feb 18 2009

Over 45 Palestinian rockets and mortars have been fired into Israel since the unilateral ceasefire began between Hamas and Israel on January 18. This is the third Hamas-Israel ceasefire held since November 2006.

On Wednesday, February 18, western Negev residents woke up to the sound of the Tzeva Adom, Color Red alert siren blaring at 7:40 am in the morning. A Palestinian rocket fired from Gaza slammed into the Sha'ar HaNegev kibbutz causing no reported damages or injuries.
This has been the second Palestinan rocket attack in the past five days.

On Friday, February 13, Palestinian terrorists fired three rockets at Israel, striking the Sderot area. A week before on Friday, February 6, a Palestinian rocket fired from northern Gaza struck Ashkelon at 9: 30 am morning. Another Qassam rocket hit the Sha'ar HaNegev Regional Council area earlier in the morning the same day.
Defense Minister Ehud Barak stated after the Ashkelon attack that Israel is not gearing up for a second offensive in the Gaza Strip.

According to YNET News, (February 6, 2009) Barak stated that:
"We have no intention of embarking on Operation Cast Lead number two. We said there would be a response (to the rocket fire) and we responded," he said, "Our deterrence is intact. Hamas is barely picking up the pieces and is looking for a lull. If we play our cards right and prevent further escalation than we have a good chance of some peace and quiet."

The IDF has responded to the attacks on Wednesday, February 18, by striking seven smuggling tunnels under the Gaza-Egypt border and a Hamas security base near Khan Yunis.
Previous ceasefires with Hamas have fraught with rocket fire violations.

During the first ceasefire held with Hamas from November 11, 2006 to May 15, 2007, over 315 rockets struck Israel during the six-month ceasefire. During the second ceasefire, held between June 19 to December 19, 2008, over 538 Qassam and mortar rockets slammed into Israel.

Crossing into Gaza: SMC visits the Erez checkpoint

#Gaza, #Hamas, #Israel, #Sderot, #Terrorism

Source: http://www.sderotmedia.com/

By • Anav Silverman
Wed Feb 10 2009 00:42:01

Ten minutes away from Sderot, sits the Erez Crossing--the only crossing that serves as a pedestrian exit point for Gaza Strip residents entering Israel. The crossing is currently open to Palestinian workers holding permits and families seeking medical treatment in Israel. Large numbers of journalists and international foreign press also cross through the point.

I recently had an opportunity with Sderot Media Center to tour the Erez crossing last Thursday morning, February 4 on a visit coordinated with the Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center (IICC).

As we entered into the crossing, we could see that there was a new addition to the heavily guarded compound. A gleaming medical center stood before us, which had been opened two weeks ago at the start of the unilateral ceasefire between Hamas and Israel on January 18. Israel's Magen David Adom in cooperation with the Department of Health opened the center to treat wounded Gazans, with the Israel investing millions of dollars into its construction.
The new Israeli medical center can handle 30 patients per hour and is staffed by paramedics and doctors who specialize in emergency medicine, pediatrics, trauma, gynecology, orthopedics, and other fields. It is equipped with state of the art laboratories, X-ray machines, and a pharmacy.

"The only problem," tells us Shlomo Tzaban, one of the managers at the Erez Crossing, "is that the medical center is empty. No one is using it because Hamas discourages Palestinians from seeking treatment at Israeli hospitals." Indeed, Hamas controls the crossing on the Gaza end and therefore has complete authority on Palestinians seeking to enter Israel. Subsequently, there has been a dramatic decrease in the number of Palestinians seeking medical treatment in Israel--down to 80-90% --says Tzaban.

Visitng the Erez terminal

"Everyone in Gaza lives under Hamas control," explains Tzaban. "Hamas uses terror and fear to rule the Palestinian people. There is no fair judiciary court system in Gaza today. "

Back in December 2008, the Hamas parliament sanctioned that Palestinian courts were to condemn offenders according to violent punitive measures under Islamic Sharia laws. Hamas punishments for Palestinian offenders include whipping, severing hands (for stealing), crucifixion and hanging. In addition, the bill also ensured that offenders who commit any activities that hurts Palestinian morale and Palestinian interests are liable to death, including people who negotiate with a foreign government.

Tzaban, a 28-year old veteran of the IDF, emphasizes that Hamas will use any means now to win support from the Palestinians after the heavy damages inflicted by the war. "The fact that Hamas police recently raided an UNRWA storehouse in order to distribute the humanitarian aid on its own accord may shock the international community but it's happened before," says Tzaban. "In order to maintain the support of the Palestinian civilian population, Hamas is trying to show that only they have the power to provide for the welfare and social needs of the Palestinian people, while at the same time waging a terror agenda against Israel."

The United Nations Relief and Work Agency accused Hamas of seizing humanitarian aid sent into Gaza from countries across the world on February 4. UNRWA stated that Hamas had seized thousands of blankets and hundreds of food packages that were meant to be delivered to hundreds of poor families in Gaza after UNRWA refused to hand over the humanitarian aid to the Hamas Ministry of Social Welfare.

TODAY the Erez compound stands practically empty, except for a couple of Palestinian families and foreign journalists, and two peace activists standing outside. The compound was built five years ago and was meant to check through around 20,000-25,000 Palestinian workers at a time. In the meantime, hundreds of foreign journalists have used the crossing to enter into Gaza.

Director of the IICC, Dr. Reuven Ehrlich with SMC staff

The director of the IICC, Reuven Ehrlich pointed out during the visit that there is a critical need for the foreign journalists to visit Sderot in order to see the devestation caused by Hamas. "Among the hundreds of international correspondents pour through the Erez crossing to visit in Gaza, how many of these journalists actually visit Sderot in order to gain a more balanced perspective? Ehrlich asked. "Sderot and the western Negev also need to be placed on the foreign press map."

The Erez compound has been frequently attacked by Palestinian terrorists. On average, there are between one to two attempted Palestinian terrorist attacks on the Erez compound on a bi-weekly basis, according to Erez, an IDF security officer at the checkpoint. In the last four years, Palestinian terror networks have targeted the Erez crossing with almost 500 mortar rockets. In May 2008, a Palestinian bomber from Gaza blew up an explosive-laden truck on the Palestinian side of the Erez crossing, causing an estimated $3.5 million in damages to the Israeli checkpoint.

Along with the Erez crossing, the three other crossings between Gaza and Israel include Karnei, Kerem Shalom and Nahal Oz. The latter three, used to transport humanitarian aid and other goods into Gaza, have also been frequent targets of Palestinian mortar and sniper attacks. Last year, two Israelis were killed at the Nahal Oz fuel terminal in a Palestinian sniper attack. In May 2008, the Kerem Shalom crossing, the main crossing point for humanitarian goods was forced to close after terrorists trigged two jeeps full of explosives that caused extensive damage to the compound, which took five months to repair.

THE crossing points are part of the Gaza security buffer which was initiated in 1994 under Yitzchak Rabin's Oslo Accords as a means to prevent Palestinian suicide bombers from entering Israel. Once Palestinian terror groups recognized that suicide bombers could no longer enter Israel, they began developing rockets and explosives. The first rocket attack on Sderot took place in 2001.

When Israel disengaged from the Gaza Strip in 2005, rocket attacks against Sderot and the western Negev sharply increased. Today 10,000 Palestinian rockets have struck Israel, with 84 Qassams exploding in Sderot during Operation Cast Lead alone.

As we tour the silent Erez terminal, heavily fortified with concrete against explosions and suicide bombers, I can only think of Sderot located ten minutes away. With no medical center of its own, Sderot residents wounded by Qassam rockets must be transported 20 minutes away to Ashkelon to receive medical treatment.

An irony of course.

But not the only one. Despite all the monitoring equipment, special conveyor belts, and video cameras used to inspect terrorist activity at the Erez compound, Hamas rockets continue to shoot over freely, terrorizing Israelis even with a unilateral ceasefire in place.

The War in Gaza- A Summary of Statistics

#Hamas, #Israel, #war, #Gaza, #statistics

Source: www.SderotMedia.com

Wed Feb 10 2009 00:28:08

Qassam and Mortar Rocket Statistics * Over 10,000 rockets and mortars have been fired from Gaza since 2001. * In the year of 2008, over 3,200 Palestinian rockets were fired from the Gaza Strip, the largest number of rockets fired at Israel (per year) since 2001. * Since Israel's disengagement from the Gaza Strip in August 2005, rocket fire dramatically increased with over 6,500 rockets having been fired at Israel (www.mfa.gov.il). Hamas-Israel Ceasefires Israel has held two previous ceasefires with Hamas: * November 11, 2006 -- May 15, 2007: Over 315 Palestinian rockets struck Israel during the six-month ceasefire. * June 19 -- December 19, 2008: Over 538 Qassam and mortar rockets slammed into Israel during the six-month ceasefire. Most of the rocket fire took place during the months of November and December. Operation Cast Lead (December 27, 2008--January 17, 2009) * Over 796 Hamas rockets and mortars were fired into Israel from the Gaza Strip during the three-week Operation Cast Lead. The war revealed that Hamas's rocket range now targets over 1 million southern Israelis living in major cities that include Ashkelon, Be'er Sheva, Ashdod, Gedera, and Kiryat Malachi. * Since Israel's defensive operation began in December 27, over 294 Israelis were injured in Palestinian rocket and mortar attacks and over 244 Israelis have been treated for shock. * Palestinian rockets struck nine educational facilities including high schools, kindergartens, and elementary schools. Three synagogues in the western Negev were hit by rockets. *84 Hamas rockets exploded in Sderot during the operation. *140 Tzeva Adom siren alerts blared in Sderot within the three weeks of fighting. Impact on Israeli Civilians Causalities: 28 have been killed by rocket fire from Gaza, Over 1,000 people in Israel have been wounded by Palestinian rockets and mortars fired from the Gaza Strip since 2001, including Israelis, Palestinians and foreign workers. Psychological Impact: Approximately 3000 patient files have been opened in the Sderot Mental Health Center in light of continuous rocket fire. In the year 2007 alone, 1,117 trauma victim files were opened. Anxiety symptoms among children often include sleeping difficulties, nightmares, sweating, development regressions, wetting beds, and fear of the outside. According to a 2008 NATAL study (Center for Victims of Terror and War), between 70% to 94% of Sderot children suffer from symptoms of PTSD while 28% of children are diagnosed with PTSD. About 30% of Sderot adults are also diagnosed with PTSD. Economic Impact: According to Yakov Levy, a Sderot realtor, prices of homes have dropped down 50 percent. Housing prices were nearly double in 2000 before the Palestinian rocket fire began. Around 20-30 % of businesses in Sderot and surrounding areas have shut down since the rocket terror. Sales at stores in general have dropped by nearly 50 percent. During the intense rocket fire of May 2007, 350 small businesses were forced to shut down. Since 2001, Gaza rocket fire has forced 11 Sderot factories to shut down. During Operation Cast Lead, Hamas rocket fire caused millions of shekels in losses in the area of construction work across the Negev and the south. Numerous small businesses suffered in decreased sales and have been unable to pay employee salaries because of low revenues. *Source: Ynet News, 15.1.09: http://www.mynet.co.il/articles/0,7340,L-3656145,00.html Home and Property Damage: Close to 1,900 cases have been filed to the Israeli government for damages done to homes and property by Hamas rocket attacks during the three weeks of war. Palestinian rockets directly hit more than 1,500 Israeli homes and buildings in the south, and caused heavy damage to 327 vehicles. *Source: Walla News, 21.1.09: http://news.walla.co.il/?w=/1/1421716&bigmaavaron=1 Israel's Humanitarian Aid to Gaza Since Operation Cast Lead, 1,365 truckloads of humanitarian aid have been delivered through Israeli crossings into Gaza including basic food commodities, medication, medical supplies, blood units and donations by various governments and blood units. Over 33,580 tons of aid transported in Gaza at the request of international organizations, the PA and governments since Operation Cast lead. Over 440,000 gallons (1.7 liters) of fuel transferred through Israel's Nahal Oz fuel terminal and Kerem Shalom goods crossings, both of which have been targeted by Palestinian mortar fire in the past. The World Food Program informed Israel that it would cease shipment of food to Gaza because warehouses were at full capacity. The IDF made over 30,000 telephone calls to Gaza residents warning them of rocket strikes and distributed 980,000 leaflets instructing Gaza civilians to stay away from terrorists and weapons storage sites. Israel also evacuated 38 Palestinians for medical treatment including two children. *Sources: Haaretz, Jan. 18 2009, Israel MFA Website, IICC, Reuters January 17, 2009, Iran-backed Hamas Terror The LA Times on January 19, 2009 published an article stating that after Israel withdrew from Gaza in 2005, dozens of Hamas militants with engineering and chemical knowledge went to Tehran for training, according to Israeli officials. Experts of Iran's elite Revolutionary Guard taught the Palestinians to build lethal rockets by cobbling together materials and chemicals found in Gaza or smuggled in from Egypt, according to Israeli experts. The article further stated that Iran has provided Hamas with hundreds of smuggled artillery rockets that reach as far as 25 miles into Israel. In recent communications with Hamas leaders, Iranian officials assured the Palestinians that they could expend their rockets -- estimated to number 2,000 at the start of combat in December-- because Iran would replenish the arsenal, an Israeli security official said. Over 5,000 of centrifuges are operating in Iran today, which enrich uranium, the material used to produce a nuclear weapon. The UN Security Council has passed four resolutions since 2006 to try to stop Iran from enriching uranium. *Sources: LA Times, January 19, 2009: http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-gaza-assess18-2009jan18,0,4212860.story http://un.org/News/Press/docs/2008/sc9268.doc.htm http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jG7bnyWWJfgaYD-JwcqmimipRujwD94MND800