Head in the Sand

Ehud Olmert has his head in the sand and ignores realities for the sake of political expediency.

Vice PM Ehud Olmert says that Israel's withdrawal from Lebanon is a model that could apply to Gaza and Samaria - adding that he doesn't want to talk about the dozens of attacks from Lebanon.

Olmert recently told the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations that Israel's withdrawal from Lebanon should serve "as a model that Israel would apply to Gaza and Samaria." Olmert (pictured above) said that even though Hizbullah terrorists in southern Lebanon have accumulated 15,000 missiles and mortars, "they have never, never, never used missiles against Israel on the northern border since Israel's withdrawal from Lebanon in May, 2000."

Several days later, writes journalist David Bedein in an Arutz-7 op-ed appearing today, an Israel Resource News Agency reporter showed Olmert a declassified IDF situation report from June 8th, 2004 that showed otherwise:

"In the four years since the IDF unilaterally redeployed its troops from Lebanon," the report reads, "the following attacks on Israel took place from the north: 34 attacks with mortar shells and anti-tank missiles into northern Israel; 7 shooting attacks with light arms fire into northern Israel; 8 roadside bombs that were planted in northern Israel; 127 times when anti-aircraft missiles were fired into northern Israel; 5 Katyusha rocket attacks into northern Israel; 10 infiltrations into northern Israel; 11 soldiers killed in northern Israel, while three IDF troops were kidnapped and murdered; 50 soldiers were wounded in northern Israel; 14 civilians were killed in northern Israel."

Olmert's response, Bedein writes, was to walk away, saying he did not want to discuss it.

Bedein concludes that the Israeli government strategy is to promote the alleged "quiet" on the northern front as a sign of how Gaza and Samaria will look following the disengagement. "Hardly anyone in Israel or abroad is aware of the arms buildup in southern Lebanon," Bedein writes, "and they are even more unaware of the attacks from the north, and how Israel's hasty withdrawal from southern Lebanon has left Israel vulnerable to attacks from the north... The Sharon Plan... will allow the PLO free reign in Gaza and northern Samaria, placing all of Israel in rocket range of Arab terrorists."