Narrative tradition dictates that an incendiary balloon prepared in the first act will always explode in the third. So the question is not where one of the bomb balloons sent from Gaza will explode, but rather when and how many casualties it will cause.
We residents of Sderot ponder among ourselves whether the next balloon will explode in a kindergarten or a school yard while children are playing.
Will our decision-makers only wake up when there are dead and wounded?
The State of Israel is suffering from chronic procrastination that is affecting everyone’s daily lives, especially those of us living in the south.
For the past 19 years, the south has been battered by terrorism from the Gaza Strip that has the sole aim of taking human life.
It started with mortars and rocket fire, and over the last two years new mechanisms of death such as incendiary kites and bomb balloons have been added to the roster.
It is pure luck that there have not been any victims of these new types of terrorism, but since when have we relied on luck instead of addressing the root of the problem?
Each time, the State of Israel finds another excuse to postpone dealing with the problem.
Sometimes it’s the Iranians at the gates, sometimes it’s Hezbollah in their tunnels and sometimes it’s efforts to reach a deal with Hamas.
Sometimes it’s because of the right-wing government, sometimes because of the left-wing government and sometimes because of the interim government.
And all this dilly-dallying does is serve to intensify the threats.
This is what Israeli procrastination looks like: Explosive balloons are delivered to our children in the morning, incendiary kites are dispatched to our farmers at noon and rockets are fired at us all at night.
A sovereign and strong state is not supposed to simply accept such a surreal reality; we all know how the U.S. handles such threats.
The residents of the south, like all Israeli citizens, need victory.
Enough with the procrastination; we are sick and tired of containment.
Our lexicon should never include terms like “sporadic fire” or “only balloons.” Terror is terror, and when it is directed at Israelis in any shape or form it must be fought fiercely and resolutely. The time for excuses is over.
It is the hope of every generation that there will be peace here, but the classic diplomatic paradigm of Israel giving up territories has failed before our eyes time and again. So we have to change our tactics and seek to quell the other side, for peace can only be made with defeated enemies.
The children of Sderot should not have to wonder where the next bomb balloon will come from.
They deserve to grow up in a normal environment and for we need a clear deterrent.
This can be achieved in several ways, including the resumption of targeted killings.
The public demands Israeli victory, and demands it now.
