An Israeli defeat in Sderot

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Even if we declare dozens of times that Hamas is under pressure and wants a cease-fire, it will not erase the fact that in the battle for Sderot, Israel has in effect been defeated. The superfluous declarations about the possibility of war with Syria should not divert our attention from the defeat in Sderot.

Israel is experiencing something in Sderot that it has not experienced since the War of Independence, if ever: The enemy has silenced an entire city and brought normal life there to a halt. The despair of Sderot's mayor is one sign of what is happening. The sight of the town's elderly residents returning from a "rest and relaxation" trip and refusing to alight from the bus and go home is additional proof that what is happening in Sderot is a national disgrace.

It is worth listening to the words of reservists from Sderot and other communities in the south, who have met twice with Defense Minister Amir Peretz. They did not threaten to refuse to do reserve duty, but they explained that they live on Israel's front line and feel that the rest of the country and the government are not standing behind them. Their feeling is that the government has failed in the defense of the home front.

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/868471.html