-Moshe Elad argues that cutting off Gaza electricity would give the Palestinians a propaganda bonanza: “every natural death of an elderly Gaza resident would be reported as a death as a result of the “oxygen supply being cut off” in the wake of the power outage. Every normal death of a premature baby will be reported as the death of a “day-old martyr hurt by the Zionist enemy’s horrorsâ€?. Foreign news teams would … rush to photograph and present to the world “horrific scenes” of people, cows, and chickens dying as a result of skyrocketing food prices. Huge quantities of rotten food will be photographed from every possible angle.â€? (Ynet)
-Moshe Arens argues that Israel’s worries about a “second front� have in effect given the launchers Qassams “a license to kill.�
-Yehuda Ben Meir makes the argument that Israel is not prohibited from striking against civilian targets or assets in Gaza as a response to the recent aggression, and provides historical precedent. He concludes: “Israel is entitled not only to cut off Gaza’s electricity, but also to hit every power plant in Gaza because the electricity is used to operate the lathes that produce the Qassam rockets. Israel is entitled to destroy all the bridges and roads in Gaza because they are used to transport the Qassams that are launched against Israeli citizens.â€? (Haaretz)
-A day in the life of a Sderot social worker and emergency affairs coordinator. (The Jewish Week)
-Will the Israeli decision to declare the Gaza Strip “hostile territory” help or harm Hamas? (The Jerusalem Post)
-Of Haim Ramon’s plan to cut off electricity etc. to Gaza, Gideon Levy asks: “But Ramon’s path is not only illegal and immoral, it is also ineffective. How long will we continue to believe that striking a population will make it more moderate? Are 40 years of bitter experience not enough to teach us that the opposite is true?” (Haaretz)
