The unfortunate deaths of Palestinian civilians as result of the Israeli Air-Force trying to target Palestinian terrorists is obviously regrettable. The immediate question though is what alternative does Israel currently have in light of the hundred of rockets that Palestinian terrorists have launched on the southern Israeli town of Sderot and its environs? How can Israel protect its citizens without causing non deliberate large numbers of Palestinian civilian casualties. Israel has five options open to it in dealing with these attacks on her sovereign territory.
1.Like the US following September 11th, it could launch a ground operation into Gaza with the aim of destsroying the terrorists' ability to launch rockets. Whilst this option would ultimately succeed it carries the risk of heavy casualties particularly to Palestinian civilians amongst whom Palestinian terrorists hide.
2. On the other hand Israel could do absolutely nothing in the face of physical attacks on its people. Such appeasement whilst it might gain international sympathy for Israel would in the light of past experience only encourage further terrorist rocket attacks.
3. A third option would be to prevent all aid reaching Gaza until the terrorist attacks cease. Israel could make it perfectly clear that humanitarian aid will not be allowed into Gaza so long as southern Israel is attacked. Such a step would cause direct damage to more Palestinians than the airforce strikes which whilst more deadly and immediate cause less widespead damage than would the prevention of humanitarian aid from reaching Gaza. This option whilst it would be internationally unpopular, would lead Palestinian civilians to pressurize their Government to prevent attacks on Israel.
4. The fourth option would be to target political leaders associated with Palestinian terror groups and not just their military wings. This option would cause the political wings of the terror groups, in the very real spirit of self preservation, to pressurize their armed counterparts to cease attacking Israel.
5. The final option is to continue as at present by way of airstrikes aimed at armed targets with the regretable but unavoidable risk that innocent bystanders could become casualties.
An objective interantional observer should ask himself this question - how would he or she expect their government to react to attacks launched on their sovereign territory from territory which they had previously controlled but had since withdrawn from? Israel unilaterally disengaged from the Gaza strip in its entirety and is now being subject to a continuous barrage of rocket attacks from that very territory. Clearly, any country in similar circumsatnces would react in the way Israel is doing even if it resulted in the non intentional loss of civilian life on the other side.
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