Article in Times of Israel by Andy Blumenthal

1. 7/16/2018 Legitimate Use of Landmines for Israel-Gaza Border | The Blogs
https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/legitimate-use-of-landmines-for-israel-gaza-border/ 1/7
THE BLOGS
Andy Blumenthal
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JUL 16, 2018, 6:25 AM
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The International Campaign To Ban Landmines has 164 countries that are
parties to the Mine Ban Treaty.
Countries that are not signatories include some of the largest and most
powerful nations in the world, including the United States, Russia, China,
and India.
Are you surprised to hear that?
Certainly, I think many, if not most of us, would say it is a righteous cause
to ban landmines in order to protect innocent people from these
dangerous weapons that often stay around long after a con ict has ended.
Yet these weapons are still all over the world and doing plenty of harm.
According to CARE (2003), there are 110,000,000 active landmines, and
another 250,000,000 stockpiled in over 108 countries.
The UNICEF website states that there still are 15,000 to 20,000 people
around the world that are injured or killed by landmines each year, and
CBC News reported that death and injuries from landmines and IEDs hit a
worldwide high in 2015.
There are two major types of landmines: one is anti-vehicle (e.g., anti-
tank) and the other is anti-personnel.
I read that there are also anti-helicopter mines and even “nuclear
landmines,” which are tactical (smaller) nuclear weapons to clear the
battle eld, for example, in a doomsday scenario to stop an advancing army
in its tracks.
Legitimate Use of Landmines
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2. 7/16/2018 Legitimate Use of Landmines for Israel-Gaza Border | The Blogs
https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/legitimate-use-of-landmines-for-israel-gaza-border/ 2/7
Of course, it is preferable not to use landmines, which are devices that are
triggered independently and can cause not only military casualties but also
that of innocent civilians.
However, I can think of a case these days for Israel to consider the use of
landmines.
Every day, the terrorists numbering as many as tens of thousands are
mounting attacks on the Gaza border of Israel.
Note, Israel unilaterally disengaged from Gaza and gave it to the
Palestinians in 2005 in an effort to make peace.
Yet, the terrorist organization, Hamas, soon took over Gaza in 2007.
Since then, the Palestinians from Gaza have perpetrated endless attacks
against Israel from shooting barrages of hundreds and thousands of
missiles; constructing scores of terror tunnels to in ltrate, attack, kidnap,
and kill Israelis; sending arson kites and balloons to burn tens of
thousands of acres of Israel already, and trying to overrun Israel’s border
fence to rampage into a sovereign country to murder Israelis.
While the IDF tries to warn the terrorists to stay away from the border and
not attack us, Hamas leadership has af rmed that they will not cease their
attacks that have been ongoing since March “until the border is erased”
(i.e., until Israel and all its Jews are eradicated).
In this case, where there is literally the persistent threat to a sovereign
country’s border, where the enemy refuses to be deterred and threatens
literally the genocide of its occupants and citizens, I think a legitimate
case could be made for mining the border.
Every time, Israel tries to stop the attacks, even with maximum restraint,
they are nevertheless vili ed by the UNjust United Nations, stacked with
anti-Semites that make resolution after resolution against them and
ignoring the terrorists that are attacking them.
It is time for Israel to earnestly defend its Gaza border to protect its
citizens from the daily attacks. Having to defend against each and every
terrorist coming from a territory (Gaza) literally run by terrorists (Hamas),
creates a situation where the haters of Israel blame and attack Israel in an
endless cycle for every act of self-defense.
Therefore, mining the border with plenty of warnings, signage, and fences
to keep civilians away is something that needs to be explored. Anyone
then entering the duly mined border is there for only one reason, to
commit terrorism and is a legitimate target.
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3. 7/16/2018 Legitimate Use of Landmines for Israel-Gaza Border | The Blogs
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Andy Blumenthal is business and technology leader who writes frequently about Jewish life, culture,
and security. All opinions are his own.
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SPONSORED STORIES FROM THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
Unfortunately, since its founding in 1948, the modern State of Israel has
been surrounded and repeatedly attacked by its neighbors. As others have
notably pointed out, Israel has not been given the opportunity of having a
bounty of nice, peaceful neighbors, like the US has with Canada and
Mexico.
If ever there was a case for landmines, stopping rampaging terrorist hordes
from overrunning their sovereign nation’s borders with the explicit reason
to attack and kill its citizens without end, then this is it.
Israel, like every other nation in the world, has a right to peace and
security for its people. While landmines are not the option of rst resort,
in this case, it may be the option of last resort to protect the lives of its
own citizens, rst and foremost.
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