Schlaglicht Israel Nr. 06/11 Aktuelles aus israelischen Tageszeitungen 7. – 25. März 2011 1. Neue Eskalation der Gewalt In den vergangenen Tagen ist es zu einer Eskalati­on der Gewalt zwischen Israel und Palästinensern gekommen. Nach dem Mord in der Siedlung Itamar im Westjordanland explodierte am 23. März eine Bombe in Jerusalem. Eine Frau starb und mehrere Menschen wurden verletzt. Zudem ist die Lage an Israels Grenze zum Gazastreifen angespannt. Pa­lästinensische Extremisten schossen Grad-Raketen auf die israelische Stadt Be‘er Sheva und auf an den Gazastreifen grenzende Gebiete. Die Hamas be­kannte sich zu den ersten Raketen, die am 22. März abgeschossen wurden, während spätere Angriffe auf das Konto des Islamischen Jihads gingen. Die israelische Luftwaffe tötete mehrere Palästinenser, darunter auch vier Zivilisten. Einige israelische Be­obachter sehen einen Zusammenhang zwischen den Angriffen von Hamas und den Bemühungen von Präsident Mahmoud Abbas, eine palästinensische Einheitsregierung zu schaffen. Teile der Hamas könnten sich durch eine solche Entwicklung bedroht sehen. Israel's war and peace "The time has come to show responsibility and say in a clear voice that only a combination of an un­compromising war on terror alongside the start of a genuine diplomatic process will ensure our exis­tence as a Jewish democratic state. On one hand, we must strike the terror groups that wish to exter­minate us and fight them mercilessly, without hypo­crisy or doublespeak. On the other hand, we must raise the banner of peace, embark on a diplomatic process with the Palestinian Authority[…] and secure Israel’s final­status borders once and for all.[…] The Netanyahu government lacks the will, intention and political ability to take us there." Shaul Mofaz, JED 24.03.11 Killing Jews in small doses "The murder in Itamar,[…] as well as Wednesday's bombing in Jerusalem were not perceived by the world[…] as'equivalent' to the suicide bombings of the 1990s and 2000s that left dozens of fatalities. […] Despite some coverage and international con­demnations, the tone and ferocity were far weaker than the response to previous'major' attacks.[…] Lack of global sympathy in the face of such attacks may aggravate the situation further, limiting the IDF's freedom in responding to terror later.[…] Our government and military leaders must make it clear to the Palestinians that even limited terror at­tacks will be met with a tough, aggressive and dis­proportionate response and will not be tolerated.[…] We shouldn't expect the international community to be overly shocked by'limited attacks,' when our own actions serve to downplay such violence." Yigal Walt, JED 23.03.11 Hamas wants calm "Despite the escalation, Hamas does not seem to want large-scale clashes yet. The organization ac­tually has good reasons to believe that Israel is the one heating up the southern front. It began with a bombardment a few weeks ago that disrupted the transfer of a large amount of money from Egypt to the Gaza Strip, continued with the interrogation of engineer and Hamas member Dirar Abu Sisi in Israel, and ended with last week's bombing of a Hamas training base in which two Hamas militants were killed." Amos Harel, HAA 24.03.11 Get tough with Hamas now "Hamas is testing our resolve and seeking to identify to what extent we will remain restrained because of our concern not to antagonize or embarrass the Americans who are pressuring us not to be'spoilers' during this period of turmoil sweeping the Arab world.[…] 1