Charles Krauthammer asks, "Who is to blame if Palestinians are setting up rocket launchers to attack Israel -- and placing them 400 yards from a beach crowded with Palestinian families on the Muslim Sabbath?"

This is another example of the Palestinians' classic and cowardly human-shield tactic -- attacking innocent Israeli civilians while hiding behind innocent Palestinian civilians. For Palestinian terrorists -- and the Palestinian governments (both Fatah and Hamas) that allow them to operate unmolested -- it's a win-win: If their rockets aimed into Israeli towns kill innocent Jews, no one abroad notices and it's another success in the terrorist war against Israel. And if Israel's preventive and deterrent attacks on those rocket bases inadvertently kill Palestinian civilians, the iconic "Israeli massacre" picture makes the front page ,of the New York Times, and the Palestinians win the propaganda war.

Being a terrorist who targets Israel seems like an easy job; you are never to blame for anything, you get to play with guns and rockets, and your victims give your government support. The whole "getting blown up by a missile strike" thing is definitely a downside, though...

Posted by: cbjohnson at 07:25 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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What is going on with the Palestinians? First, they lost $450,000 in a hotel room. Then they were caught with $80,000 at a checkpoint. Now they have carried $22 million into the territories in 2 days in suitcases:

A Hamas government minister returned to the
Gaza Strip on Thursday with $2 million in his luggage for his money-starved government, a day after the foreign minister brought $20 million in cash into the coastal strip.

Security officials said Information Minister Yousef Rizka turned over the money to the Finance Ministry after crossing the border Thursday.

Fearing U.S. anti-terrorism sanctions, international banks have refused to allow Hamas to transfer money electronically to the Palestinian areas. In recent days, Hamas officials have taken matters into their own hands, physically carrying donations in their luggage.

Foreign Minister Mahmoud Zahar arrived with $20 million on Wednesday.

Posted by: cbjohnson at 04:26 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Friday, 7 (or 8, depending on the source) Palestinian civilians were killed in an explosion on a Gaza beach. Hamas claims that Israeli artillery shells killed them and used the deaths as an excuse to end the fragile ceasefire with Israel.

Israel is now telling its side of the story:

An Israel Defense Forces intelligence officer has confirmed that the explosion that killed eight Palestinians on Friday, was caused by a stockpile of Hamas explosives.

"Shortly after we stopped defensive firing at Hamas rocket launch pads which were deployed behind Palestinian human shields, members of Hamas scrambled to fire more rockets at our positions," said Col. M. "We have eyes on every meter of Gaza, from the sky, from the ground and from the sea. One of their rocket tripods collapsed inadvertently setting off an explosion of a stockpile of Qassam rockets. The Palestinians killed their own children. And this was not the first time."

Hamas terrorists fired rockets and mortar bombs from a crowded Gaza beach at southern Israel. Some of the rockets fell near the Israel city of Ashkelon. Some 17 rockets were fired between Saturday and Sunday morning. A man at a school in the Israel town of Sderot was wounded, Israel officials said.

Israel Maj.-Gen. Yoav Galant said today that the Israel Defense Forces has additional evidence that it wasn't Israel artillery that hit the beach in Gaza. Galant, who commands Israel's southern command, said Israel stopped firing 15 minutes before the explosion. It's all on secure videotape from both sides of the conflict. Israel Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said he was sorry about the deaths, which included three children.

Hamas knows what happened, they know their own incompetent terrorists killed their own people. And they still use the incident as an excuse to end the ceasefire. Why? Hamas is in a nasty fight with Fatah over control of the PA government, and the best way to maintain support is to find an external enemy to bring the faithful back into the fold. Wag the dog, if you will.

Roll the video, Galant.

Posted by: cbjohnson at 01:06 AM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
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