A reminder for those who don't remember

Israel evicted nearly 10,000 Jews from their homes in Gaza, yet all Israel received in return was - and continues to be - a steady barrage of rocket fire from Muslim and Hamas-occupied territory. Gilad Shalit, who was abducted by the Muslim terrorist organization in June 2006 begins today his 22nd month in captivity.

Israel's Ambassador to the UN, Danny Gillerman, summed up the situation by telling the Security Council on March 25th that the apparent lull in Hamas rocket attacks is only superficial, because the bombs keep ticking, while Hamas is using this time to smuggle in and produce more rockets. He commented:

Whereas Israel makes all efforts to protect civilians in accordance with international law, Hamas indiscriminately fires rockets into Israeli civilian areas. Whereas Israel ensures that medicines and fuel enter the Gaza Strip to reach hospitals and needy civilians, Hamas hijacks those trucks and diverts them to its bomb making factories and terrorist camps. Whereas Israel allows humanitarian convoys into Gaza - more than 1,600 trucks and over 20,000 tons of aid in recent weeks alone - Hamas cynically fires on those same crossing points, so it can fabricate a pretext for inciting the Palestinian public against Israel.

I am sure that many in this Council watched with horror and disgust as Hamas terrorists joyfully fired their rifles into the air [after the Merkaz HaRav slaughter] and passed out candy to children in celebration. If anyone doubted what the extremists stand for, the reaction in Gaza to the murder of eight Israeli boys sets the record straight. It was also a stark reminder that these were the same people who danced on the rooftops after 9/11.

"Which is why, Mr. President, it was so sad and disturbing that the Council could not condemn the terrorist attack... The Security Council has a longstanding practice of condemning terrorism, no matter the victims, no matter the location, no matter the perpetrator, no matter the motivation. Yet the Council could not unanimously condemn this terrorist attack and intentional killing of civilians, for the Council was blocked by a politicized opposition, of one Member State [Libya - ed.] in particular...

INN reports that Gillerman also addressed the situation along Israel's northern border, noting that Hizbullah is violating the ceasefire reached after the Second Lebanon War nearly two years ago in three areas: Weapons continue to flow illegally through the porous Syrian-Lebanese border; Hizbullah is rearming, and "has already adapted its weaponry and tactics so as to take into account the UNIFIL presence south of the Litani River, as its spokesmen openly declare; and Israeli soldiers Udi Goldwasser and Eldad Regev have still not been released by their Hizbullah kidnappers.