17-Jul-11: Two more missile attacks on Israel during the night

Israel Army Radio reported in its 07:00 bulletin this morning (Sunday) that two more missiles emanating from the terrorist lair in Gaza crashed into Israel during the night. There are currently no reports of damage or injury, but no one who follows the ups and downs of the war against the terrorists doubts that damage and injury is always the goal, and it's civilians, not the military, who are the explicit target of the terrorists and their hinterland of supporters both inside and outside the Gaza Strip.

UPDATE Sunday 11:00am: Ynet says the overnight rocket attacks numbered three, not two. See here. It also reports that yet another rocket was fired by Gazan terrorists at Israel on Friday night. The Jerusalem Post is saying the same this morning, offering this analysis:

"The recent escalation in rocket fire is viewed in the IDF as part of an effort by global jihad-aligned groups in Gaza to undermine Hamas’s authority and rule by attacking Israel. It is believed that Hamas is not currently interested in a large-scale conflict, and therefore is not sanctioning the rocket attacks. Another possibility is that Hamas is turning a blind eye to the attacks as part of an effort to remind Israel, the Palestinian Authority and the world that it should be taken into account in ongoing efforts to get a diplomatic process back on track. The Hamas leadership in Gaza is also believed to be increasingly frustrated with its failure to establish a unity government with Fatah and by the PA’s plans to declare statehood at the United Nations General Assembly session in September without taking the Gaza-based group into consideration."

What's clear to those of us at the receiving end is there is very little incentive for the terrorists to stop. Their attacks get the barest of mentions in the Israeli media, and virtually none outside Israel. Israeli responses do get reported, and almost invariably have the effect of putting Israel's spokespeople and policy-makers on the defensive. Speaking as victims of cold-blooded Palestinian Arab terror, this situation - not new - is outrageous, infuriating, dangerous and demeaning.