Understanding Gaza

Gaza Equals Iran

Speaking at a special session of the Knesset on the escalation in Gaza rocket fire, Prime Minister Netanyahu said:

"The dominant factor that motivates these events in Gaza is Iran. Gaza equals Iran. Where do the missiles come from? From Iran. Where does the money come from? From Iran. Who trains the terrorists? Iran. Who builds the infrastructure? Iran....Who gives the orders? Iran. Gaza is a forward operating base for Iran."

"Some people say that a third- or fourth-rate terrorist organization is acting against a million citizens in the State of Israel. That is not true. Iran is operating against us....The terrorist organizations in Gaza - Hamas and Jihad, as well as Hizbullah in Lebanon - are taking shelter under an Iranian umbrella. Now imagine what will happen if that umbrella becomes nuclear."

"Wherever we withdrew, Iran entered. We withdrew from Lebanon, Iran came in. We withdrew from Gaza, Iran came in. Some people suggest that we act in a similar manner in Judea and Samaria [the West Bank]. Iran will come in there too....If we come to an agreement with the Palestinians, we must ensure that our security foundations are sound and that Iran cannot enter the territory."

"Our enemies must know that, at the end of the day, Israel will not accept an Iranian base in Gaza. Sooner or later, Iran's terror base in Gaza will be uprooted."
(Prime Minister's Office)
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No "Disproportionate" Reaction to Gaza Flare-Up -Herb Keinon

This time the world, for the most part, showed little interest in the latest round of fighting between Israel and the Palestinian terrorist organizations in Gaza.

Even the targeted killing of PRC commander Zuhair al-Qaissi did not generate much condemnation since targeted assassinations have now been adopted by the U.S. There is more understanding of its legitimacy because if President Obama can authorize a targeted hit against a terrorist leader hell-bent on trying to kill Americans, why can't Prime Minister Netanyahu do the same against those trying to kill Israelis?
(Jerusalem Post)
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Iran's War in Gaza -Jonathan Schanzer

The latest round of violence began on March 9 after an Israeli airstrike killed Zuhair al-Qaissi, the head of the Popular Resistance Committees (PRC), a group with deep ties to Iran-backed Hizbullah.

Iranian leaders are clearly irked that Hamas has refused to stand by Syria's Assad, a key strategic figure for Tehran in the region. Iran is using its smaller proxies, the Popular Resistance Committees  and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, to create unrest on Hamas's turf. The current crisis reveals that, for Iran, Hamas is expendable.
The writer, a former counterterrorism analyst at the U.S. Treasury Department, is vice president of research at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.
(Foreign Policy)
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