Israel Independence Day Marred by Attacks

By Tzippe Barrow

CBN News - Jerusalem Bureau

April 24, 2007

CBNNews.com - JERUSALEM, Israel - Last night, following a day of honoring the memory of soldiers who gave their lives defending the country and those whose lives were snuffed out by terrorists, the flag at Mt. Herzl military cemetery was raised from half mast to the top of the pole.

Representatives of the government and the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) addressed the crowd, gathered to bring the day of mourning to an end and begin the celebration of the country's 59th Independence Day and the 40th year since the reunification of Jerusalem, the nation's capital.

In her opening remarks, acting President Dalia Itzak acknowledged that Israel's battle against its enemies is far from over.

Hamas militants fired a barrage of rockets and mortar shells toward Israel today- the Jewish state's 59th Independence Day. Click player to watch the report.

"Even on a day of flags and happiness, there are people among us who mourn their loss," she said. "We have been living for 59 years in a war, the end of which is not yet in sight. We have won before and we will win again because we have no other choice."

Even a cursory review at the nation's history confirms her words, no less true today than they've been over the years.

"Residents of Iran, Syria and the Palestinian Authority," Itzak continued, "has there not been enough blood spilled, both yours and ours? Replace your Katyushas and Kassams with computers and education -- and finally be rewarded with peace and quiet," she said. "Israel lives and lets live."

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert also marked the memorial day with a new call for peace with the Palestinians.

He said that Israel is prepared to make what he calls "far-reaching compromises" and "very painful concessions."

But the peaceful coexistence that Israel has longed for with its Arab neighbors ever since its rebirth on May 14, 1948, continues to elude the Jewish state.

A few hours after the ceremony at Mt. Herzl, IDF troops detonated a 44-pound bomb discovered near the Palestinian Authority (PA)-controlled city of Nablus.

South of the PA-controlled city of Jenin, Palestinians opened fire at Israeli soldiers. No one was injured in the attack.

Early this morning as Israeli families prepared picnic baskets for Independence Day outings, 10 Kassam rockets and eight rounds of mortar shells were fired into southern Israel from Gaza. There were no casualties, but some damage occurred.

Iz al-Din al-Qassam, the military wing of Hamas, said that the rockets and mortar attacks avenged "Zionist crimes against people in Gaza and the West Bank."

Various media groups say that the Muslim terror group is trying to pick a fight with Israel.

Meanwhile, PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas and Damascus-based Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal plan to meet in Egypt to discuss the continuing violence in the Gaza Strip between rival factions of Fatah and Hamas, the two groups that make up the Palestinian Authority government.

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