Missiles Hit IDF Base, Over Sixty Wounded As Israeli Surrender Proceeds

Hamas and Islamic Jihad scored a coup last night as two rockets hit an IDF base at Zikim,just north of the Gaza Strip.

The attack wounded 69 soldiers, the highest number of casualties Israel has ever suffered from a Qassam missile attack. One soldier was described as critically wounded, four seriously and 10 moderately. Most of the soldiers suffered shrapnel wounds. One soldier's leg was amputated. The soldier in critical condition was being treated at Sheba Medical Center at Tel Hashomer for severe head wounds.

The wounded soldiers were all new recruits undergoing basic training. They were scheduled to complete their training on Wednesday and then head home for the Rosh Hashana New Year's holidays.

The soldiers were caught sleeping in tents out in the open."There was serious negligence on the part of the IDF that the soldiers were sleeping in tents and without anything really protecting them from rockets," a defense official said.

Actually, the serious negligence is sitting there and allowing these people to shoot rockets at will into Israel without serious consequences. And as far as Olmert is concerned, that's exactly what's going to happen.He refuses to `play into the hands of Hamas' and risk canceling that lovely November surrender conference.

That surrender ( and its bloody aftermath) is further advanced than most people realize. Olmert and Arafat II Abbas have already written out a ` document of principles' according to the Palestinian news agency Ma'an, including an Israeli military withdrawal from Judea and Samaria (AKA the West Bank) a major ethnic cleansing of Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria, a `solution agreed by both sides' for the so-called Palestinian `refugees' and the redivision of Jerusalem.

I see the hand of President Bush, Condi Rice and the Saudis in this travesty, aided and abetted by Olmert. Like Oslo, it will be A `well meaning' attempt at negotiations that will simply give the`Palestinians' a closer base to launch attacks against Israel's civilians and result in a lot more dead Jews if the Israelis allow it to happen.

As a matter of fact, I didn't see it elsewhere, but The Times of India had the story of the US pressuring`cautioning' Israel not to retaliate.

State Department Spokesmouth Scott McCormack, like Olmert wants nothing to interfere withthe big show planned for November.

"We will only counsel on this case Israel, which has suffered injuries and losses as a result of attack, to take into consideration the effects of whatever they might do in self defense on the overall political process," McCormack said.

He pointed out that the rocket attack from Gaza, praised by Hamas, contrasted with the "very positive" outcome of recent peace talks between Olmert and President Mahmud Abbas.

"We should not allow the few to stand in the way of the aspirations of Palestinian people for their own state. The only way you are going to get to that stage is to be at the negotiating table," he said.

Considering that Abbas and Fatah are funneling money to Hamas to pay salaries and the two factions are busily negotiating a sulwah, a reconciliation, this has to go down as one of the most idiotic sentiments imaginable.

Almost as idiotic as Olmert complying with it.