Israel's secret power

Beyond their immediate goal of inflicting civilian casualties among innocent civilians (including children), the 240 rockets fired on southern communities since Friday were designed to drive a wedge between the residents of that area and to have Israelis take to the streets and rile against their government and its policy of assassinating the leaders of terrorist groups.

Targeting the top brass of terrorist organizations has a significant deterrent value, but this is not what brought about this current flare-up, hardly. People call this an escalation? Where have they been? The Gaza-area communities have been living under the constant threat of terrorism since Operation Cast Lead [in late 2008], involving a barrage of hundreds of rockets. What other country would accept such a way of life-

The residents of Sderot and the Gaza-area communities are part of the state of Israel; they are our brothers and we must not allow them to be fair game for rocket fire; ceding ground on Sderot and those communities would, God forbid, lead to Rishon Lezion, Tel Aviv and other communities becoming the targets of rocket fire.

The Grad rocket fire on Beersheba and the likes, running all the way from Ashkelon to Ashdod has created a rather complex situation for thousands of our citizens, among them many children. But the impressive stamina demonstrated by the Beersheba residents, and the resolve we have, both carry national and strategic importance of the highest order. They make the IDF and the security forces stronger and provide them with more maneuvering room and allow the government of Israel to employ all the means at its disposal to harm these killers whose sole intent is to kill innocent civilians.

The state of Israel has had to contend with quite a few complex security challenges, flare-ups in the north, terrorism in Tel Aviv and in Jerusalem’s city center, and in recent years, rocket fire on the south, which has become the target of Gaza-based terrorist groups. Now it's our turn to be on the front and this is our turn to grapple with it; we have no intention of giving up.

The residents of the south serve as a vital component of the Israeli deterrence and the IDF’s in particular. It all comes down to our determination and unity. The residents of Sderot, Beersheba and Jerusalem - we are all in this together. This is perhaps the Jewish state’s best-kept secret. It is our solidarity, and not our supposed nuclear capability, whether we actually have such or not.

Our answer is the new form of Zionism. We will weather the Grad rockets; we will beat the Qassams; the future of the state of Israel lies in the Negev. This is the most powerful answer to the cowardice and lame rocket fire the terrorists are engaged in. The high-tech industrial campus in Beersheba, the Beersheba Stream Park - the biggest in the country. A thriving cultural scene; the expected construction of the IDF multi-corp training school. The youth have been gradually discovering the Negev’s majestic beauty.

The newly established communities that are sprouting in the area along with the record investments have been a significant boon for national deterrence. The government of Israel has come to understand that developing the Negev and the south is a clear answer to those who entertain the pipe dream that Grads or Qassams will stop us.

The writer is the mayor of Beersheba