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Rockets, Terror Tunnels 10 Years after Gaza Pullout

CBN

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MOSHAV NETIV HA'ASARA, Israel -- Ten years ago the Israeli government moved more than 9,000 Jewish Israelis from their homes in the Gush Katif Settlement Bloc in the Gaza Strip and four in northern Samaria, the "West Bank."

This so-called disengagement was supposed to open the way for peace, but instead it led to war with Hamas, the Palestinian faction ruling Gaza.

Moshav Netiv Ha'asara sits on the frontlines of the Israeli-Hamas conflict. It's the closest Israeli community to the Gaza border.

CBN's Scott Ross visited there recently and toured the moshav with resident Hila Fenlon.

"You know, you're in the center of a village that looks in first look (like a) normal village, and when you look over there, for example, you can see there's a bomb shelter," Fenlon said, pointing out several nearby bomb shelters.

"In the last 14 years when our kids are waiting for the school bus, they're waiting here on the doorstep of a bomb shelter because if the alarm starts, they have less than three or four seconds to find shelter," she said. 

"Since the disengagement, it's put the whole village into the range of mortars," Fenlon continued. "Now, mortars are (the) official weapon, made in Iran, made in Russia. We know it because we see the serial number and it says made in Iran.

Ross asked if many people had been killed.

"We had three people that lost their lives, but the real story of the mortars and the rockets is not how many people are being killed. It's what happens to you," Fenlon said. "They are not trying to kill us. They're trying to break our spirit."

Government's Unilateral Withdrawal

In 2005, then Prime Minister Ariel Sharon unilaterally moved 21 Israeli communities from the Gaza Strip. 

Three villages facing Netiv Ha'asara soon became launch pads for firing rockets into Israel. Now they're Hamas outposts and terror training camps.

At the time of the pullout, the Israeli government argued that the one-sided withdrawal would reduce friction with the Palestinians and pave the way to peace.

Instead, Hamas won legislative elections in 2006 and eventually seized control of the Gaza Strip.

Since then, rockets have rained down on Israel, leading to war between Israel and Hamas.

When asked if as a mother she would want to live somewhere away from the threat, Fenlon answered, "First of all, of course I do, but …this is my home…you don't leave home for war. If I'll leave, they won and I don't have the privilege to lose this war."

Terror Tunnels

And if rockets, missiles, and mortar shells weren't bad enough, last summer's war revealed a frightening new scenario: tunnels.

Fenlon showed Ross just how close Gaza City is to her home, pointing to a road that serves as the border between Israel and Gaza. Then she showed him where they discovered an opening to a tunnel.

"The tunnel was just over there, just behind us, closer to the houses," she said. "It was a mile long, half a mile into the Palestinian side and half a mile into the Israeli side."

"And you could drive through it?" Ross asked.

"A car could go through, yes," she answered, adding that it was equipped with electricity and ventilation.

"It was meant to serve a very big operation against our villages," Fenlon explained.

Asked how she knows they're not building new tunnels, she answered, "We know they're building. We don't know where."

"Do you have much of a military presence here, Israeli soldiers?" Ross asked.

"Israel always said they use other means than at present," she responded. "I do sometimes feel abandoned on the border. That's true."

'Someone's Shooting'

As Ross talks with Fenlon, shots appear to be fired from somewhere nearby.

"What is that?" Ross asked.

"This is shooting. Someone is shooting at someone. Probably Hamas practicing somewhere or I don't know. You see there's some military. I think we might want to go away (from here) actually," she said.

At the border there are two walls -- one to stop sniper fire and the other to stop attackers from entering the community.

"This is where Hamas is practicing for the next war, right now, as we speak," Fenlon said. "They are just behind this wall."

"People all over the world pray for the peace of Israel," Ross told her. "The peace in this land will come. The people's wishes are here."

"That's something that I appreciate a lot," Fenlon said. "And I hope it will help as well."

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