Saturday, June 23, 2018

ISRAEL MADE A ‘FOOLISH MISTAKE’ BY ITS DISENGAGEMENT FROM GAZA

Israel deploys cutting-edge lasers, sensors to ‎combat kite terrorism

By Nikki Guttman, Daniel Siryoti and Israel Hayom Staff

Israel HAYOM
June 22, 2018

Tensions on the Israel-Gaza Strip border ran high ‎Friday, in the wake of Wednesday's rocket salvo on ‎southern Israel and ahead of yet another Hamas-‎orchestrated demonstration on the security fence.‎

Hamas officials urged Gazans to amass at the fence ‎in honor of those killed and wounded in the border ‎riots campaign since it was launched on March 30. ‎Organizers said they plan to hold memorials for the ‎‎120 Palestinians killed near the security fence over ‎the past three months. ‎

The Israeli military deployed additional troops near ‎the border, including special forces, snipers and ‎sappers and, for the first time, it plans to use ‎cutting-edge lasers and sensors to ‎combat the kite ‎terrorism that has been wreaking havoc on the Gaza-‎vicinity communities for weeks.‎

The new sensors are designed to spot particularly ‎small targets like incendiary kites and balloon, ‎which usually evade the radar systems deployed in the area.‎

Once a sensor identifies a flaming object, military ‎drones will be launched to intercept it.‎

The IDF's Southern Command and ‎GOC Army Headquarters are collaborating with ‎several defense contractors in their effort to ‎devise a solution for kite terrorism. ‎

Palestinian arson terrorism continued to rage ‎Thursday, as 20 fires erupted as a result of ‎incendiary kites and balloons sent over the border. ‎

Authorities say that over 8,000 acres of forest and ‎‎‎‎agricultural ‎land on ‎the Israeli side of the border ‎‎‎‎have been reduced ‎to ash over the past six weeks, causing ‎‎‎‎tens of millions of ‎shekels in ‎damage. ‎

With incendiary kites and balloons posing a growing ‎‎threat to the safety and livelihoods of residents in ‎Israeli communities near the border, as well ‎as to local ‎wildlife and vegetation, there has been a growing ‎demand from the residents for the IDF to intensify ‎its response against terrorist kite cells. ‎

While some politicians and defense officials have ‎advocated surgical strikes against such cells – a ‎policy the IDF employs against terrorists firing ‎rockets at Israel – the military has cautioned that ‎targeting kite flyers, most of whom are teenagers, ‎would lead to a rapid security escalation opposite ‎the Gaza Strip that, in turn, is likely to lead to a ‎full-fledged military campaign.‎

Also on Thursday, the Katif Center in the border-‎adjacent community of Nitzan dedicated an ‎electronic memorial commemorating soldiers and ‎civilians killed in the area. ‎

Deputy Defense Minister Eliyahu Ben-Dahan (Habayit ‎Hayehudi) spoke at the ceremony, saying that the ‎tensions on the border prove that the 2005 ‎disengagement from Gaza was a mistake.‎

"Anyone in their right mind that looks at what is ‎happening now can see that we made a foolish ‎mistake. We may have thought we were promoting a new ‎Middle East, but today we see exactly how untrue ‎that assumption was."‎

Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid visited the Gaza-‎vicinity communities Thursday and said, "It's not ‎just the fields that are burning here, it's Israeli ‎deterrence. Hamas has to be made to pay a price."‎

Hamas and Islamic Jihad leaders, for their part, ‎‎warned Thursday that any Israeli strike on the ‎coastal ‎enclave will be met with rocket fire on ‎Israel. ‎

EDITOR'S NOTE: It would be even much more foolish for Israel to disengage itself from the West Bank.

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