Tunnel Fighting

From JP:

"PM: Ground incursion is only way to deal with tunnels"

Israel launched its ground operation Thursday night because there is no other way to deal with the labyrinth of tunnels threatening Israel from inside the Gaza Strip, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said on Friday. “Since there is no way to deal with the tunnels only from the air, our soldiers are doing it now from the ground,” the prime minister said, speaking at the opening of an emergency cabinet meeting in Tel Aviv. Sunday’s weekly cabinet meeting has been canceled.

Netanyahu said that there was no guarantee of 100 percent success, but that everything was being done to get “maximum results.” The meeting was held in a protected room in the Defense Ministry so it would not be interrupted by rocket attacks on Tel Aviv. Netanyahu said he has directed the army to prepare for the possibility of a significant expansion of the ground operation. The decision to carry out the ground operation was made after Hamas continued to fire on Israel even after Israel accepted both an Egyptian cease-fire proposal on Tuesday, and a UN initiative for a humanitarian lull in the fighting on Thursday, he said. “We decided to launch the action after we tried all the other ways, and with an understanding that without this operation the price we will have to pay later would be much higher,” he said. Intensive diplomatic efforts had created diplomatic space for Israel to act systematically and with force against the terrorist organizations, Netanyahu said. “There is not a more moral army than the IDF, and we do not want to harm even one innocent civilian. Not even one. We are operating only against terrorist targets.” The terrorist organizations bear the responsibility for harm to the civilians in Gaza because they are attacking Israeli towns and cities from behind human shields, the prime minister said. “But unlike in the past, this time there are many in the international community who understand that Hamas alone bears responsibility for the victims,” he said. “This is something very important for Israel.” Netanyahu praised the country for its fortitude and called on it to continue to heed the directives of the Home Front Command. “I met the officers leading the IDF action,” he said. “They are unbelievably impressive: courageous, determined, full of faith and values. I stand in wonder at the motivation of our soldiers, both the regular soldiers and reservists, who want to take part in the campaign. They understand that their objective is to defend the citizens of Israel. They know that they are fighting for a supreme goal: to defend our home.” IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Benny Gantz told the cabinet that even as the ground operation was under way in the south, Israel was keeping its eyes open on other fronts.

^ Hamas is clearly at fault for starting the current bombing, for not following the ceasefire they agreed to, for the tunnels and for hiding between civilians. I have said it before and I will continue to say it - until the Palestinians in Gaza reject the internationally-recognized terrorist group (Hamas) then every Palestinian there is guilty of attacking Israel and deserves anything they get. Of course I feel sorry for those 17 and under, but that is on their parents and Hamas. It is the same as when we bombed Germany and Japan during World War 2 (both countries started the war: Germany in 1939 with Europe and Japan in 1941 with the US) and so any German or Japanese civilian that died was the fault of the German and Japanese Governments and the population that supported them. I know it is the current trend to rewrite history where everyone was a victim, but that's a lie. As for all those pro-Palestine demonstrations those are terrorist-supporters and should be dealt with the same way we would Al-Qaeda. Only when the Palestinians in Gaza openly reject Hamas and their terrorist ways should we even consider a Palestinian State. The only people I feel sorry for in this are the Israeli civilians being bombed (luckily the Iron Dome is working great to protect them) and the Israeli soldiers that have to go into Gaza. The rest are terrorist-supporters and don't decide any compassion from the free, civilized world. ^

http://www.jpost.com/Operation-Protective-Edge/PM-Ground-incursion-is-only-way-to-deal-with-tunnels-363497