"Peace in our time" -who is kidding who?

There is a major humanitarian problem in Israel. Sderot has borne over 50% of all missiles launched over the last few years and 20% of the town’s 20,000 population has left

Now with the escalation in the use of Grad missiles smuggled into Gaza via Egypt when the border was breached, Ashkelon and its environs are now under attack – this represents around 250,000 citizens of the State of Israel. 7 citizens of Sderot have killed, 4 of those under 18 years old













The main consequence of this daily attack is TRAUMA - a large percentage of Israeli families are now traumatized, a state that is likely to continue for many years even if the attacks stopped today.

The effects are.
- Loss of business / unemployment
- Inability to work
- Children’s education is suffering
- Mental health problems well above the average
- People having to be constantly aware of their surroundings in order to take cover in 15 secs

Kassams and Grads are rockets, not missiles, and thus cannot be targeted specifically. That makes it a weapon of terror.

Captured Israeli soldiers are prisoners of war. Unlike prisoners in Israeli jails, he receives no human rights under Geneva Conventions. No Red Cross visits.

The media is constantly being used, abused and manipulated, eg the spoofs or Pallywood productions. Hamas leaders holding a government meeting by candlelight, as daylight cuts across the photo from a slit in the curtain!

And is there a humanitarian crisis in Gaza? Life is not easy for the average Palestinian in the Gaza Strip but in the 8.5 months since Hamas took control of the Gaza strip 17,246 trucks carrying 397,439 tons of food and essential goods have passed through the various crossings in spite of Hamas’ attempts to sabotage the crossings. And goods are crossing daily

We are all wanting PEACE Isn’t it time for the Palestinians to prove they want peace and not just complain about the Israelis. Israel left Gaza, a painful and risky action with no demands on the other side. It is time that the Palestinians made one - just one - similar gesture of substance.

But is this the case NO!!

In an in-depth interview published today in the Jordanian daily Al-Dustur, Abbas said

Here are some highlights from that interview: Al-Dustur, February 28, 2008

The Arab Situation
"Now we are against armed conflict because we are unable. In the future stages, things may be different... "

We reject the Jewishness of the state
The Palestinian President emphasized his rejection of what is described as the Jewishness of the state [Israel], and said: "We rejected this proposal at the Annapolis conference last November in the USA, and the conference was almost aborted because of it..."

The Resistance (Terror?)
The Palestinian President spoke about the resistance, saying: "I was honored to be the one to shoot the first bullet in 1965 [Fatah terror against Israel began in 1965] ,and having taught resistance to many in this area and around the world, defining it and when it is beneficial and when it is not... we had the honor of leading the resistance.We taught everyone what resistance is, including the Hezbollah, who were trained in our camps [i.e. PLO camps in the 60s and 70s]."

Recognition of Israel
"I don't demand that the Hamas movement recognize Israel. I only demanded of the [Palestinian] national unity government that would work opposite Israel in recognition of it. And this I told to Syrian President Bashir Assad, and he supported this idea."

Just how can peace be around the corner with these attitudes?