14 July 2014 For Immediate Release
The Zionist Federation of Australia strongly condemns the continued indiscriminate rocket attacks on Israel from the Gaza Strip.
Hamas, a partner in the government of the Palestinian Authority, controls the Gaza Strip and is a terrorist organisation sworn to the destruction of the State of Israel and its citizens. Over 1,000 rockets have been fired at Israel in the last two weeks alone and close to 10,000 since Israel disengaged from Gaza in 2005. “There is no other nation in the world that would tolerate rockets targeting their citizens and their cities”, Dr Danny Lamm, President of the Zionist Federation of Australia said. “Six million people are now within range of these increasingly deadly rockets”. The rockets and those firing them do not discriminate, and have put the entire population of Israel under threat regardless of whether they are Jewish, Christian or Muslim. This was no more evident than when rockets landed near Bethlehem and Hebron”.
Hamas uses Palestinian men, women and children as human shields to protect an extensive network of bunkers and tunnels that has been dug under residential, religious and communal buildings. Rockets are fired from heavily populated areas including from mosques and schools thus putting the entire population of Gaza at risk as Israel does what it has to do to protect its citizenry. Lamm said, “We have seen first-hand the leadership of Hamas urging residents to stay in their houses even after Israel has taken the extraordinary step of pre-warning its intended targets to give people an opportunity to evacuate. Meanwhile these so called leaders cowardly hide themselves far from harm”.
Notwithstanding that the Palestinian government in Gaza has effectively declared war on Israel, the border crossing to Gaza from Israel has been kept open. In one day alone 70 truckloads of food and general supplies, 120 tons of gas and 376,000 litres of fuel has been transferred to Gaza. Additionally Israel supplies Gaza with most of its electricity, water supply and communications infrastructure and does so despite hundreds of millions of dollars being owed by the Palestinian Authority for this material. “Where else in the world would you find a country providing power, fuel and supplies to an enemy population engaged in an avowed war of destruction?” asked Lamm.
