Palestinians score own-goal
Palestinian self-interest demands an immediate halt to Qassam attacks on Israel
According to IDF sources, several Palestinian civilians have been killed as a result of what Israel calls "Mistakes made by the air force while firing missiles at targets."
The same sources stress that more than 1,000 Qassams have been fired from Gaza since the IDF pullback in August, 2005.
Palestinian behavior in this context proves better than anything that the political and security chaos in the Strip continues to rage out of control.
Politicians, led by Mahmoud Abbas and the Haniyeh government, have not managed to enforce a temporary calm on armed groups, while Israel, for its part, has warned that the army would pull out plans to re-occupy Gaza if the firing continues. Following the kidnapping of IDF soldier Gilad Shalit, Operation Summer Rains began.
No pragmatism
In light of this situation, all Palestinian factions must do some serious soul searching to reach some strategic decisions: Israel's military superiority is clear, and if the IDF really does carry out its threat to enter Gaza, the Palestinians do not have the tools to do anything about it.
Furthermore, as the result of Israel's siege, the Strip has become a box of explosives as hunger, poverty and unemployment spiral upwards.
One gets the impression that pragmatism has been removed from the Palestinian lexicon. It is hard to break free from the impression that certain groups have yet to internalize the lessons of the Lebanese resistance: When south Lebanon was occupied territory, Hizbullah routinely fired Katushya rockets at Kiryat Shemoneh. But since the IDF pullout in May, 2000, the missiles on northern Israel have stopped.
So why do the Palestinians continue to fire, now that Israel has left Gaza?
No reason for attacks
Continued shooting at Israel proves that there is no reason. Quite the opposite: Every Qassam fired at Israel is an own-goal against the Palestinians. With every Qassam, we lose international support that tilts toward the Palestinians when civilians are killed.
When UN Secretary General Kofi Annan complained to Prime Minister Ehud Olmert that Israeli attacks have killed civilians, the latter responded simply that the Palestinians have been systematically firing at southern Israel, and Annan was forced to backtrack.
Holding their fire would therefore bring huge benefits for the Palestinian people, and would humiliate Israel. In the absence of Qassam attacks, Prime Minister Olmert would no longer be able to sell Israel's actions as "self-defense." Therefore, Palestinian national interests demand the factions stop shooting into Israel immediately.
Negotiating with terrorists
And with regard to prisoner-of-war Cpl. Gilad Shalit, I suggest the government internalize the razor-sharp message send by Shalit's father: There is no way to restore the IDFs power of deterrence.
Israel's refusal to negotiate with those it insists on calling "terrorists" is emotional, not rational. After all, in the past Israel has negotiated with Ahmed Jibril and Hizbullah leader Nasrallah.
According to this logic, they should be removed from Israel's list of "terrorists."
Zohari Androus is the editor of the Israeli Arab newspaper Kul al-Arab
