A Kassam rocket fired by Gaza-based â€œPalestinianâ€ terrorists landed meters
from a kindergarten in Kibbutz Sa’ad Monday afternoon, bringing to an abrupt
end a Hannukah party attended by local children and their parents. 
Arab rocket and mortar crews operating out of the Palestinian
Authority-controlled Gaza Strip regularly target Israeli schools and other public buildings
in the adjacent Negev region.  Miraculously, few have been killed or wounded. 
The seemingly divine shielding of these exposed civilians continued Monday. 
â€œThis was a big miracle, because the Kassam rocket landed at a very small
distance from the kindergarten during the Hannukah party,â€ community director
Sarah Evron was quoted as saying by Ynet. 
Evron reminded everyone that local kindergartens and schools are still not
fortified in accordance with government promises made before Israel’s
withdrawal from Gaza.  A direct hit on these buildings would cause horrendous
casualties among tens and hundreds of defenseless children. 
â€œWe’ve been waiting long months for a solution in terms of fortification,â€
Evron said, emphasizing that â€œwe have children growing up here on the border.â€

Residents of other targeted Negev communities have decried their
government’s display of weakness in the face of the terrorist threat, and the
deterioration of Israel’s deterrence resulting from regular threats to unleash an
unprecedented response to Arab rocket fire, only to back down when the moment of
truth arrives. 
Deputy Prime Minister Ehud Olmert last week threatened that Israel would
invade Gaza if the rocket fire did not end.  But as the Kassams continued to
land, the government predictably moderated it’s tone and decided instead on a
thin â€œno-go zoneâ€ in northern Gaza enforced by artillery and helicopter
gunships. 

The buffer will not prevent rocket fire on towns closer to the Gaza border,
such as Kibbutz Sa’ad. 

Locals have lamented the fact that adherence to international dictates will
continue to take precedence over protecting their lives until after the Arabs
manage to kill numerous Jews in a single Kassam barrage. 

This entry was posted
on Friday, December 30th, 2005 and is filed under news.