This is not only a potential human disaster, it is an ecological disaster.
By JPOST EDITORIALA FIRE caused by a balloon launched from Gaza. (photo credit: REUTERS)
On Saturday, a home in Sderot suffered a direct hit from a Hamas rocket launched from Gaza, and a local resident suffered shrapnel wounds. The rocket attack was part of a recent escalation by the terrorist organization, which has gradually increased the number of incendiary balloons it has let loose on communities in southern Israel and returned to mass marches on the border fence.Rockets and mortars are very obvious dangers, but there is a risk of underestimating the threat from the clusters of balloons, inflated condoms and kites laden with incendiary and explosive devices – which can be anything from a homemade bomb to anti-tank RPGs. Make no mistake: These are weapons, and their use is a war crime. Hamas releases these balloons indiscriminately. It doesn’t care where they land, who gets hurts, or what damage is caused. Tragically, children in the South are now being taught from the earliest age to associate balloons with danger and to never touch a balloon if they find one.Palestinians launched countless incendiary and explosive balloons from the Gaza Strip last week, igniting more than 100 fires in southern Israel’s fields and forests and causing severe damage to the area.Footage on Saturday showed firefighters battling to contain the flames in a grove of avocado trees, someone’s livelihood literally going up in smoke. Members of Kibbutz Erez similarly shared photos of their greenhouses on fire. Vast areas of nature reserves, woods and fields are being razed and destroyed by the arson attacks.So far, miraculously, there has been no loss of human life to the fires, but the danger is very real.In addition, there is a constant threat to wildlife and unique habitats and ecosystems. When Hamas began its scorched earth campaign two years ago, there were heartbreaking pictures of tortoises, gazelles, birds and other animals that hadn’t managed to escape the flames. There were also at least two particularly shocking incidents in which Hamas used kestrels as “fire falcons” – attaching incendiary devices to the birds themselves.More pressure must be applied on international NGOs and governments to condemn these attacks. Animal rights organizations and environmental associations must issue condemnations and make it clear that such fires – like all other forms of terrorism – are not acceptable. This is not only a potential human disaster, it is an ecological disaster. The use of fire balloons and kites cannot be considered a legitimate form of protest.Israel now has to decide how to respond. At the heart of the matter lies the question: Did restraint against the incendiary kite-flyers lead to the escalation in the number and scope of attacks, or is it preventing an all-out war? Hamas is in control of Gaza. Were it to decide to put an end to the fire war, the flames would immediately go out. Clearly, it has chosen the opposite course. It should not be rewarded for its crimes.The IDF has responded to the attacks by hitting Hamas targets in Gaza, and the Defense Ministry reduced the fishing zone off the Gazan coast and halted the transfer of fuel and all but essential humanitarian supplies into the Gaza Strip. As a result, human rights groups denounced Israel for imposing “collective punishment” on innocent Gazans. The ordinary Gazans are victims not of Israel but of Hamas, which rules Gaza with an iron fist and uses its own population as human shields.The latest Hamas round of terrorism comes as Israel commemorates 15 years since the full withdrawal from the Gaza Strip – Gaza’s opportunity to build itself up instead of trying to destroy Israel. The peace agreement with the UAE announced last week is proof that Israel seeks peace, not war, but the Jewish state cannot afford to ignore the ongoing arson attacks. It needs to take firm action.Hamas is a terrorist organization, and it has added ecoterrorism to its list of crimes. The world needs to condemn it. If one terrorist organization gets away with a campaign of arson attacks, others will surely take note and consider adopting this cheap but effective form of terrorism. The fires burning now in Israeli fields are sending up smoke signals warning of more danger to come.
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