The News: For many months, the Israelis have been pounding away at open areas such as fields and orchards in an effort to prevent Palestinian militants using them to fire their home-made missile into crudely made missiles into nearby Israeli territory. (BBC)

The Note: “Prevent” ...? I.e. they are doing it pre-emptively, routinely destroying orchards and fields so that no one will think of using them. Of course that also means that no one can farm them. It also means that crops are destroyed. We know that this is preemptive because “for many months” there have been virtually no missile attacks on Israel from Gaza.

They are also bombing beaches. Clearly this is an attempt to intimidate the civilian populace.

©WCG, 2006
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