…..but it doesn't really answer my question " Why ? ".
Perhaps I should have asked ....why now ?
This article does , I suggest you read it :
https://972mag.com/doesnt-need-happen-another-pre-election-war-gaza/140706/
On the other hand, the attack is surprising only if we disconnect it from all the stories that don’t get any airtime: unarmed protesters shot on the Israel-Gaza fence almost every week (only recently, a 14-year-old was shot dead by Israeli snipers), several deadly incidents West Bank in recent weeks, along with attacks and other steps being taken against Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails. When we talk about Palestinian aggression, hardly anyone mentions the fact that since the beginning of the year, Israeli security forces have killed 30 Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank.
The rocket attack is a surprise only if we allow ourselves to forget the wider context of the daily reality of occupation — from arrests of Palestinian children in their classrooms to settler attacks on Palestinian farmers — or the siege on Gaza, which has left the Gazans impoverished and hopeless.
None of this justifies attacks on Israeli civilians, of course, but it should remind us that Israel is the one attacking Palestinian civilians on a daily basis. We cannot lose sight of that context when we talk about what may come next.
And .....
The danger is that now, following the attack on Mishmarot, in light of the upcoming elections, and in an attempt to maintain his image as “Mr. Security,” Netanyahu could be dragged into the deadliest and most devastating round of violence we have seen since the last Gaza war in 2014.
But there is another way. We can stop the bloodshed. We do not have to wage another pre-election war. We can stop speaking in empty slogans about destroying the Hamas regime. These are lies, they have always been lies. What we need is leader who can talk about negotiations, ending the siege and the occupation, about equality, freedom, and security as the only solution for both Israelis and Palestinians.
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