http://www.wildolive.co.uk/Sderot.htm
Sderot
War in all but name - (until December 2008)
Sderot, and the surrounding area of the Negev, is the only place in the western world in which rockets are regularly targeted on civilian communities but the world’s media regards it a a minor event. Sderot is the place where every children's playgrounds has to have a concrete bomb shelter, even if it is painted in rainbow colours.
When Hitler’s forces targeted London with
VI and
V2 rockets it was called
World War 2.
How can a proper context be established?
What can be done about the situation?
What is a Qassam Rocket?
What justification can the Palestinians produce?
Sderot and Qassam Rockets in context
Qassam rockets are generally referred to as
"homemade",
"primitive" and
“inaccurate”, but this is neither accurate nor helpful.
- Manufacture requires both expertise and an engineering workshop.
- The lack of a guidance system does not negate the terror value of the Qasaam as the sheer number launched ensures some hits and each launch renews the stress of the people of Sderot.
- The use of unguided rockets in war is common. (See Kutyusha Rocket at the foot of this page)
Reporting tends to suggest the rockets are puny and do little damage. But that is also misleading.
- A Qassam 3 carries 10Kg of explosives mixed with steel fragments, so the risk is not primarily of being blown up by a direct hit, but of being ripped to bits by steel fragments flying at bullet speed.
- Reports of minor building damage occurring in a hit and a couple of people being treated for shock completely misses the point that many of the children in Sderot are suffering Post Traumatic Stress Disorder from living under threat every day and having to run to the shelters several times in a day. ( Over 4, 000 Sderot residents are suffering from symptoms of post-traumatic-stress disorder while one third of Sderot children, ages 13 to 18, have trauma-related learning disorders.)
- The terror is accentuated by the fact that residents receive a TZEVA ADOM (COLOUR RED) warning for every detected Qassam launch and know that they only have ten to fifteen seconds to run to safety.
- Over seven thousand Qassams have been launched at Sderot and the Negev, and Hamas are known to have stockpiled another ten thousand.
- Media coverage tends to be driven by death statistics, and only(!) around fifteen people have been killed by Qassam rockets, the death toll is not high (from the media’s detached viewpoint). The paradox of the situation is that God’s protecting hand can be discerned in the stories of miraculous escapes that come out from Sderot, but since this lowers the body count, sympathy for Israelis id diminished.
- Media / Public sympathy tends to be negated when Israel attempts to do something to protect its civilians, and Palestinians are killed. The phrase, “proportionate response” is used to criticize Israel. The Palestinian casualty toll is as high as it is because,
a) the Qassams are fired from civilian areas so that, when launch sites are attacked, there is a high risk of collateral damage...
Sderot, War in all but name
Originally Posted by Ferrets54
