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Last update - 10:49 31/12/2008 Seven ways (one effective) to stop the rockets By Moshe Arens Tags: Hamas, Israel, Israel News  For over two years, the Olmert government has been searching for ways to stop the shelling of Israeli civilians in the south. Initially while Amir Peretz was defense minister, and more recently with Ehud Barak as defense minister. In all this time, the residents of Sderot and the communities around the Gaza Strip were subjected to rockets launched from the Gaza Strip, while government efforts to stop them brought little relief. Of the many ways to stop the rockets that might come to mind, almost all have either been tried or else suggested and rejected. The results were disappointing. First is what seemed like the preferred method - from the air. Israel has an all-powerful air force, and the risks to our soldiers when operating from the air are small. Air power was tried in the Second Lebanon War in order to stop Hezbollah's shelling of the north and failed. Nevertheless, it was tried again against the rockets coming from the south. Again fighter aircraft, unmanned aircraft, and helicopters attacked rockets observed on their way to launching sites and the workshops used to produce them, but to little effect. The rockets are small, mobile and hard to catch before they are launched. Second, billions are being spent to develop an interceptions system that will destroy the incoming rockets in mid-air. This is technically very hard to do, extremely expensive, not 100 percent effective, and not capable of intercepting mortar rounds. In any case, the system, despite ambitious target dates for operational use that were announced in the past, is still far from becoming available. Advertisement Third, time and again politicians have called for indiscriminate artillery bombardment of areas from which rockets have been launched against Israel, though fortunately, cooler heads have prevailed. Similarly, the frequent calls for preventing food and fuel supplies from reaching the population in the Gaza Strip have not been put into effect with the knowledge that it would have counterproductive results that would not put an end to the attacks on Israel. Fourth was the call that Israel establish a "price tag" for each rocket attack. This seemingly sophisticated approach was based on economic considerations that might give pause to the rocket launchers in the Gaza Strip. A sufficiently high price in terms of Israel's response would presumably convince them not to continue launching rockets. But the laws of economics practiced by Islamic terrorists are considerably different from those in the West. That did not work either. Fifth, it was thought that the solution must lie in the sphere of deterrence. By making it clear that the Israeli response to Gaza rockets would be sufficiently severe, the Gaza terrorist would be checked from using that weapon against Israeli civilians. But the age-old lesson that terrorists are not dissuaded by anything had to be relearned. Of course, some would suggest a sixth alternative - negotiating with the Hamas rulers of the Gaza Strip and accepting their terms for ceasing the rocket attacks. That is not as far-fetched as it might seem at first. The cease-fire with Hamas that Israel agreed to six months ago was a major step in that direction. But while it gave Hamas a chance to train, rearm and amass a stock of longer-range rockets, it did not bring peace to the western Negev. Now that leaves the only effective alternative - for the Israel Defense Forces to take control of the rocket launching sites in the Gaza Strip. Over 60 years ago, in World War II, the Allies understood that the only way to put a stop to the shelling of London by German V2 rockets was for Allied armies to reach the launching sites in Western Europe. Much has changed since then, but the rockets are essentially still the same (the Qassams and Grads fortunately have considerably less range than the V2s). So that leaves the job to the IDF ground forces. Why has it been so difficult for our leaders - civilian and military - to understand this? The prospect of ground forces entering the Gaza Strip is not particularly attractive, especially after we have been told that "we have left the Gaza Strip forever." But nobody has yet found a way of defeating an enemy without invading their territory. Call it occupation or whatever else you like, but that is how wars have always been won, and if we are going to defeat Hamas and stop the rockets from raining on Israeli civilians that is what we will have to do. "Once there, how are we going to get out?" is the ultimate argument sounded by those who oppose the only move that can attain our declared objective of providing security for Israel's citizens in the south. It is an argument that is based on the presumption that future events can be foretold with certainty; that the IDF, once in the Gaza Strip, will find it impossible to disentangle itself from there; and that Hamas, even after having been defeated, will continue to rule the Gaza Strip. Not very sound reasoning. Bookmark to del.icio.us   Israelis targeted abroad Gunman opens fire on Israelis working at shopping mall in Denmark. Iran silences dissent Newspaper forcibly shut down after article blaming Hamas for Gaza violence.   1.   Not Very Sound Reasoning 12:36  |  Fred 31/12/08   2.   I just read this in Reuters UK 13:59  |  A mother 31/12/08   3.   Only effective way to stop rockets 14:57  |  Brod 31/12/08   4.   Seven Ways 15:18  |  Joshua 31/12/08   5.   Riddled with error (1 of 3) 16:05  |  Paqid Yirmeyahu 31/12/08   6.   Riddled with error (2 of 3) 16:06  |  Paqid Yirmeyahu 31/12/08   7.   Riddled with error (3 of 3) 16:06  |  Paqid Yirmeyahu 31/12/08   8.   2.Motther 16:07  |  jake 31/12/08   9.   By sending in ground troops 3 things are done 16:10  |  Judea 31/12/08   10.   Dam if you do, dam if you don`t. 16:48  |  Hjortshoj 31/12/08   11.   Judea "3 Things" -- not! (I wish!) 16:48  |  Paqid Yirmeyahu 31/12/08   12.   The eight way and the nineth way 17:08  |  MK 31/12/08   13.   But the sites will move 17:15  |  Edward 31/12/08   14.   Resonse to #13 17:15  |  Joshua 31/12/08   15.   cuz occupation since 1967 was so effective? 17:39  |  steve 31/12/08   16.   The ONLY solution 19:02  |  John 31/12/08   17.   Another way: Keep hitting launch sites 19:13  |  Brad 31/12/08   18.   Seven ways (one effective) to stop the rockets 19:27  |  Allyssa Burns 31/12/08   19.   Still Against Ground Op 20:25  |  Ron 31/12/08   20.   One effective way to be completely wrong 05:19  |  Mike DeCastro 01/01/09   21.   What about staying out but blocking Philadelphia corridor (Egypt) 10:41  |  gary 01/01/09   22.   The genius of simplicity 15:18  |  Gideon Reader 01/01/09   23.   End the Occupation of Palestine 16:04  |  Sam 01/01/09   24.   Moshe Arens 19:53  |  Ehud 01/01/09   25.   # 11 Judea 20:05  |  ASHER 01/01/09   26.   to 23 sam please explain to us.... 20:06  |  maurcie 01/01/09   27.   stop rockets 20:08  |  Bob 01/01/09   28.   Anger and frustration 05:03  |  Tom 02/01/09   29.   Hamas 05:05  |  Tom 02/01/09   30.   OF TERRORIST & ROCKETS 07:36  |  chuckmeister 02/01/09

Read & React Amos Harel and Avi Issacharoff / Now IDF is getting personal with Hamas Responses: 31 Yossi Sarid / If you (or I) were Palestinian Responses: 26 IDF warns the worst of Gaza rockets may be yet to come Responses: 26 Anshel Pfeffer / Right and Left, Diaspora Jews more critical of Israel than ever Responses: 13 Arthur Nelsen / May be time to bring Hamas in from the cold Responses: 1 More Headlines 11:08 Four Gaza rockets strike Ashkelon within minutes of each other 10:38 On seventh day of Gaza op, IAF bombs 20 Hamas targets 07:21 ANALYSIS / IDF sending Hamas a message: Now it's personal 04:32 IDF admits to overestimating Gaza rocket severity, but warns worst may be yet to come 11:16 Israel allows Palestinians without foreign passports to flee Gaza fighting 07:26 Shin Bet: Number of terror attacks on Israel swelled in 2008 07:38 Steven Klein / When and how will Israel end Gaza operation? 02:34 TIMELINE / Israeli-Hamas violence since truce ended 13:27 Get up to the minute coverage of the warfare in Gaza directly to your email 04:53 Egypt FM: Hamas gave Israel the excuse to launch Gaza attacks 06:21 Yossi Sarid / If you (or I) were Palestinian 03:40 Not just air strikes: Israel takes the fight to Arab media 07:05 Mother who pimped her teen daughter gets five years in jail 09:05 150 Iranians protest at home of Nobel laureate accused of sympathy for Israel 08:39 Jewish anti-apartheid activist Helen Suzman dies in South Africa Previous Editions Select Day 01 jan 31 dec 30 dec 29 dec 28 dec 26 dec 25 dec 24 dec 23 dec 22 dec 21 dec 19 dec

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