Israel Matzav

Ehud flees again?

During his tenure as Prime Minister from 1999-2001, Ehud Barak became known as Ehud Barach (Ehud fled) due to his capitulation to a group known as the 'Four Mothers' and subsequent ordering the IDF to flee southern Lebanon where it had maintained order and kept terrorists off our borders since 1982. Barak lost a special election to Ariel Sharon in February 2001, took a temporary hiatus from politics to make money, and returned to politics as the head of the Labor party, replacing Amir Comrade Peretz as both Defense Minister and Labor party chief after the IDF's disastrous showing in Lebanon in the summer 2006. Now Barak may be ready to start the cycle all over again.

Today, in an order that must have come from the political echelon, the IDF was ordered to 'relocate' from the Erez IDF base because it is threatened with terror attacks. Politicians across the board are furious.

For the first time since the disengagement plan, soldiers are being evacuated from a base near the Gaza Strip due to the security situation in the area, Ynet has learned.

Major-General Yosef Mishlav, the coordinator of the government's activities in the territories, has instructed the army to temporarily relocate the soldiers serving in the Coordination and Liaison Authority near the Erez crossing to the Julis base, located about 17 kilometers (10.5 miles) away from the Strip.

This unprecedented decision sparked a great deal of criticism in the IDF. "(The decision to evacuate the base) is an admission of our failure to protect the lives of our citizens and soldiers," an army official said.

"The army and members of the security establishment should be at the front and serve as a buffer between the enemy and our civilian population. It is wrong to evacuate them because of a threat. What will the residents of Netiv Ha'asara, who live near the base, say? They will justifiably demand that the State evacuate them as well."

The decision to evacuate the base was reached prior to last week's attempt to launch an attack at the Erez crossing with the use of a truck bomb.

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Following the disengagement, the base was relocated to the upgraded Erez crossing, which contains fortified structures. Millions of shekels worth of additional fortification apparatus was brought to the base.

The base that is slated for evacuation has become a favorite target for terrorists since Hamas' violent takeover of the Strip in June 2007, with more than 200 mortars and rockets of various kinds fired in its direction.

The Zikim army base, located south of Ashkelon, was not evacuated even after a Qassam rocket attack last September left some 70 soldiers injured. Other bases that were also exposed to terror threats were not evacuated for fear of the message such an act might send to the Palestinians.

The office of Maj.-Gen. Mishlav said that "in light of the security situation at the Erez crossing the coordinator decided to temporarily relocate the soldiers to a home front base because there is no point in jeopardizing their lives. The decision is temporary and may change according to security estimates."

Knesset Member Zevulun Orlev (National Union-NRP) said in response to the decision "Those who run away from terror - terror will chase after them. The solution of relocating an entire IDF base is a cowardly one. Are they also planning to relocate Sderot, Kfar Aza and Ashkelon?"

MK Otniel Schneller of Kadima called the decision to evacuate the base "a show of weakness", adding that it is "akin to waving a white flag in surrender."

"This is not characteristic of the IDF. This is a show of weakness by people and commanders who do not understand what the IDF stands for," he said.

MK Danny Yatom (Labor) was less critical of the move, as he claimed the soldiers being evacuated were not combat soldiers. "I can't see any reason to make claims against the security forces for moving these soldiers, who are not combat soldiers, elsewhere. It shouldn't be perceived as the waving of a white flag," he reasoned.

Yatom cannot really be serious. Does he really believe that this will have less propaganda for Hamas because they aren't combat soldiers? From Hamas' perspective, the IDF is the IDF and they have forced the IDF to withdraw from a base that is outside the Gaza Strip. If the base can only be populated with combat soldiers, then populate it with combat soldiers. How can anyone seriously argue that this is not handing a victory to Hamas?

Residents of the southern town of Netiv Haasara were shocked by the decision. Chairman of the town's security committee, Ziv Volk, said that it constituted "impudence, gall, and disgrace for the IDF and the State of Israel." He thought for a moment and then added, "Actually, nothing surprises us anymore.

"We have been under fire for three years now, since the pullout. We have had ministers, Knesset members, and security officers from the very highest levels visit us and promise to protect us, but in the end they run away. When the State makes such a decision it is shameful," Volk said.

Residents of Netiv Haasara also commented upon the decision. "This means we are staying here alone," one resident remarked. "It leaves us vulnerable to other infiltration incidents." Another resident commented that "perhaps next they will give us rifles or mortars to shoot at the Palestinians ourselves."

Alon Shuster, head of Shaar HaNegev Regional Council, was also upset by the decision, especially since no one had informed him ahead of time. "Unfortunately nobody thought to update us and we learned about the decision from Ynet. The decision may not have an operational impact, but it certainly has psychological repercussions," he said.

Meanwhile, the IDF is continuing to asses the damage done to the crossing following the attempted truck bomb attack. Army officials said the cost of renovating the site may exceed NIS 2 million (about $600,000). [Why not take it out of the 'Palestinians' 'tax money' or foreign aid? CiJ]

The renovation works at the Kerem Shalom crossing, which was attacked by Palestinian terrorists in Passover, have yet to commence. The security establishment does not plan on reopening the crossing anytime soon.

So keep Erez closed too. Let the 'Palestinians' starve. But keep the soldiers there so you don't hand the 'Palestinians' a victory.

The people of Netiv Haasara should bus the entire town up to the IDF headquarters in Tel Aviv and block the road until the IDF reverses the decision. That's part of the problem: The IDF is run out of Tel Aviv with the Tel Aviv mentality that the Negev is NotInMyBackYard.

JPost adds:

"It seems that the IDF has forgotten that its role is to protect citizens - not vice versa," said MK Arye Eldad (NU/NRP) Sunday, responding to the army's decision to reduce the number of soldiers serving at a base near the Gaza border due to the deteriorating security situation.

Eldad added that the IDF, which he said was evacuating soldiers "because they are close to an enemy," would "eventually forfeit the citizens, and misappropriate its obligations to defend the State of Israel."

The MK urged Defense Minister Ehud Barak to order the army to immediately "refresh the army's memory as to its obligations," and to remind them that "the best defense of all is offense."

Also responding to the IDF's announcement, Likud MK Yuli Edelstein attributed the evacuation of troops to the IDF having "internalized the government's lack of strength," adding that the army "prefers not to pay with the lives of soldiers."

He said that the move sends a "defeatist message" to Israel's enemies.

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Erez is the main crossing point for international aid workers and Palestinians traveling to Israel for medical treatment.

Bottom line: The Olmert-Barak-Livni government is afraid to go to war and the 'Palestinians' know it. They're more afraid of getting 'Palestinian' civilians human shields killed than of getting IDF soldiers killed, and they're afraid of getting IDF soldiers killed too. They're too scared to fight and because of that we are being beaten up by a group of punks.

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 8:08 PM