RUTHFULLY YOURS

There have been busier months, to be sure, but that only underscores the same point as July’s count of 26: which other country besides Israel would be expected to tolerate such behavior? And of what other entity than an anti-Israel jihadist group would it be not only accepted, but more or less expected? Even North Korea has to exercise a modicum of restraint.

Again, for example, suppose a chunk of Belgium made no secret of its intention of destroying the Netherlands as an entity, taking it over, and wiping out the Dutch, all the while lobbing rockets over the border.

If it sounds absurd, it should. But Hamas-run Gaza gets a pass. “Two rockets fired from Gaza ‘hit Israe’l: army,” from Agence France-Presse, July 31:

Two rockets fired from the Gaza Strip landed in southern Israel on Sunday, without causing any damage or injuries, the Israeli military said.

The rockets fell in the southern regional councils of Pitchat Shalom and Shaar HaNegev, areas both bordering the Palestinian territory.

The attack brought to 26 the number of rockets fired from Gaza into Israel since July 1, the military said.

July has seen an uptick in the number of rockets and other projectiles fired at Israel from Gaza after several months of calm following a flare-up of violence in April, when an anti-tank missile fired from Gaza hit an Israeli school bus, killing a teenager.

Israel responded to that attack with a series of air strikes that killed at least 19 Palestinians in the deadliest violence since Israel’s devastating 22-day assault on Gaza in 2008-2009.

The violence had raised fears of another similar offensive, but on April 10 Gaza’s Hamas rulers declared a return to the truce that ended Israel’s Operation Cast Lead in January 2009.

It took a few days for everyone to make up their minds, as rockets continued flying from Hamas after the first call for a ceasefire. And Islamic Jihad never signed on, of course.