When late Prime Minister Ariel Sharon came up with the disengagement plan, which subsequently saw Israel pull out of the Gaza Strip in 2005, having razed the flourishing Israeli communities to the ground and redeployed along the international border, he was asked what would happen if the Palestinians continued firing rockets at civilians even after the eviction. “In that case,” Sharon replied, “I would demand that every rocket be met by heavy artillery fire.”

Sharon’s logic was simple. Once the territorial conflict was over and so was the occupation, firing rockets at civilian towns would be crossing a red line. Every rocket fired should be met with disproportionate force so as to make it clear that Israel would not tolerate a situation whereby one million citizens are being held hostage by a few terrorist organizations.

Sharon’s directive never got off the ground. Following that directive, then-Attorney General Meni Mazuz sent a detailed opinion, explaining that the kind of retaliation instructed by the prime minister was prohibited. An argument ensued. Outraged, Sharon pounded on the table, yelled and protested, yet he could not alter the decree. By definition, terrorist organizations are terrorist organizations. A sovereign democratic state, however, is bound by an entirely different set of laws. Sharon carried out the disengagement. The Jewish settlements were demolished and burnt (four additional settlements were evicted in north Samaria). Some 8,600 settlers became homeless, and Israel deployed along the international border of the Gaza Strip.

Since then, the rockets have turned from a nuisance into a strategic problem. Hamas seized the Gaza Strip by force, booting out the Palestinian Authority and Mohammed Dahlan’s security bodies, and turning it into a hub of terrorism replete with rockets and missiles — a hub which currently poses a threat not only to Israel’s southern region but also to the center Dan metropolitan area, as far north as the coastal city of Herzliyah. Since Israel’s pullout from the Gaza Strip, its southern citizens have been living under a constant threat of the “red color” siren alert. Forced to stay close to safe rooms or shelters, they find it hard to lead a normal life.