EI should be read daily

here is a portion of an EI article about Qassams & their media perception

The Palestinian rockets may indeed be futile when compared to the superior Israeli military capabilities, but they still cause harm and panic, as stones did before. They are also likely to become more advanced and lethal, otherwise why should the Israeli retaliation be that intense and violent. The life of even one victim of 200 rocket attacks, on the other hand, should be valuable too, although continuing violence and wholesale murder in as many war theatres in the region has got us accustomed to undermining the meaning and the value of human life.

But this also misses the point essentially: if the Palestinians should stop firing because their rockets lack precision and effectiveness, would they be justified using them if, or when, they managed to overcome the shortcomings? And is it, therefore, the flawless efficiency of Israeli weapons that justifies the continuation of their use against Palestinian civilians? Is that a new standard of legality and justice?

The emphasis on the Palestinian rockets as the only cause of violence is wrong and misleading, and it can particularly mislead when it is so often repeated by PA President Mahmoud Abbas. When Abbas was elected to office in January 2005, he managed to secure the agreement of all the Palestinian factions, including Hamas, to a total truce. Israel never recognised that Palestinian unilateral decision to halt violence. Referring to it as an arrangement amongst the Palestinians, Israel continued its own provocations in the various forms of daily arrests, assassinations, house demolition and incursions, on top of the siege and the occupation. The collapse of that truce, which Hamas continued to strictly observe after it was elected to office, was not because of the Palestinian rockets, it was actually the direct result of the continued Israeli daily aggression.

When a recent truce was arranged for Gaza, this time between both Palestinians and Israelis, Israeli attacks continued in the West Bank, as if the West Bank were a different planet, and as if the Palestinians there were a different species. The few very hesitant and faint attempts to convince Israel that it was bizarre to expect any sense from an arrangement whereby violence would be halted against one Palestinian while it would be continued against the other have all failed. Israel never wanted to commit itself to any truce. It insists on its absolute right to pursue "terrorist" enemies under all circumstances, and it decides who is terrorist and who is not.

Only less than two weeks ago, the Palestinians offered to cease all acts of violence against Israel, including of course rocket attacks, if the latter agreed to reciprocate. This was rejected instantly, too.

Current efforts towards ending the Israeli-Palestinian violence in Gaza should indeed continue and intensify. The situation in Gaza is disastrous and is fast moving towards total breakdown and chaos. Egypt, and probably others, is playing an important role towards that end. Abbas, oblivious of his position as the leader, is using his good offices trying to mediate rather than decide. The problem though remains conceptual and deeply entrenched in the approach to the entire issue, an approach which is wrong and evasive. It ignores two primary factors. One is that the violence has been caused and perpetuated by Israeli actions and attacks, not by the Palestinian rockets. The other is that the Palestinians have always been ready to halt any and all violence if the Israelis agreed to do the same, and Israel never accepted such an offer.