“They might be imperialist pig-dogs, but they know how to handle rocket defense.”

Khan Yunis, Gaza Strip, June 9 – Sallah Odeh grew tired of Hamas rockets falling short of Israel and hitting his neighborhood, so he tried to build a small bomb shelter. Hamas representatives came by and confiscated the materials, saying they were needed by the resistance to make more rockets. The thirty-three-year-old father of five banded together with fellow residents to stand up for their safety, but local officials and UN agencies have been deaf to their petitions. So Odeh and his colleagues are turning to the one entity they know has the resources and skills to build the shelters they seek: Israel.

Hamas and allied militant organizations operating in the Gaza Strip are fighting what they call Israeli occupation, though Israel withdrew its soldiers and citizens from the coastal territory in 2005. The southern Israeli communities within rocket range have developed an alert and shelter system to minimize or eliminate casualties, in addition to the Iron Dome missile defense system that actually intercepts incoming projectiles headed toward populated areas. The Hamas rockets, however, often fail to travel far enough, and land in Palestinian areas.

Efforts by residents to persuade Hamas and other militant groups not to fire the rockets have come to naught, as those organizations see attempts to kill as many Israelis as possible the only way toward a better future. Subsequent requests to take measures to reduce the risk to the local population have met with similarly inconclusive results, prompting Odeh to try contacting Israeli civil and military engineers who might be able to advise on the construction of shelters.

“They might be imperialist pig-dogs, but they know how to handle rocket defense,” said Ahmed al-Kalim, also a member of the neighborhood group. “Which is more than can be said for our glorious leadership.” Hamas is certainly capable of digging tunnels deep enough to suffice, but tunnel-digging resources are earmarked for anti-Israel measures only, such as kidnapping, according to al-Kalim. He declined to comment on whether the glorious leadership was also composed of pig-dogs.

It remains unclear whether Israel will acquiesce to the request, but Odeh and his associates see no other option for the moment. “Israeli is willing to provide electricity and water already, and handles export of our agriculture,” noted Odeh. “It’s Hamas that refuses to pay for the electricity, which is why we have so many power outages. So we know the Israelis aren’t completely obtuse to our needs, unlike a certain local entity.”

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