Dispatch from Tel Aviv
As some of you know, I'm currently on vacation in Israel. I'm not going anywhere near the Gaza Strip, so unless the current conflict escalates, I'm not in danger. (While I think it's likely that it will escalate, any estimates on how or when are beyond me at the moment.)
Besides the television and newspapers, I haven't seen much in Tel Aviv indicating the heightened level of security. On the road back from the Galilee yesterday, however, the impact of the activities in Gaza were evident. Traffic near the Arab village of Um el Fahm was slowed to a crawl, with a very heavy police presence; we found out later that there had been rocks thrown at police by Arab protesters earlier in the day. And earlier, near Megiddo Junction, we passed several trucks carrying tanks and armored bulldozers. While it's impossible to say for certain, it's not unreasonable to think that these units are headed towards Gaza.
At any rate, I'm off to Eilat and the southern Negev desert, and will likely be offline for a few days. Hopefully things won't get too much worse in the Middle East, for everybody's sake.
Besides the television and newspapers, I haven't seen much in Tel Aviv indicating the heightened level of security. On the road back from the Galilee yesterday, however, the impact of the activities in Gaza were evident. Traffic near the Arab village of Um el Fahm was slowed to a crawl, with a very heavy police presence; we found out later that there had been rocks thrown at police by Arab protesters earlier in the day. And earlier, near Megiddo Junction, we passed several trucks carrying tanks and armored bulldozers. While it's impossible to say for certain, it's not unreasonable to think that these units are headed towards Gaza.
At any rate, I'm off to Eilat and the southern Negev desert, and will likely be offline for a few days. Hopefully things won't get too much worse in the Middle East, for everybody's sake.