Reply #18: I dont think I am being confusing... [View All]

[shaayecanaan]

The Gazans were shooting on average a Qassam missile a day back in 2004, when Israel was still in occupation of the strip. Hamas would like Israel to come back and occupy the strip, because then they would have the opportunity both to shoot missiles and bullets at the Israelis.

Smuggling stuff from Egypt is no great problem, Im surprised Rafah hasnt collapsed underfoot what with all the Palestinian tunnels underneath it. The Egyptian authorities are pretty acquiescent. They will seal the tunnels with concrete when they find them, which is no big deal because the concrete backs up after a few metres and afterwards the residents can simply recreate that small section of tunnel elsewhere. There are no arrests and no one gets their arse busted.

Different story in Jordan. The Jordanian secret police is made up exclusively from the elite ranks of East Bankers who by and large hold the Palestinians in disdain. I have seen the injuries of simple refugees who have been captured by Jordanian forces and they are shocking. I imagine anyone caught trying to emerge from the end of a tunnel would not be treated any more charitably.

The allegation made frequently on these boards is that the disengagement led to Qassams being fired, which is bollocks, as the Gazans started building them back around 2002.

The withdrawals from both South Lebanon and Gaza have been criticised, but had Israel not withdrawn from South Lebanon in 2000, it would have lost an average of two to three soldiers a month for the past eight years. When you look at it from the perspective of 400 less dead soldiers for Israel its been fairly successful.