|
Israel rules out Gaza incursion
12/12/2007 21:23 - (SA)
Jerusalem - Israel's security cabinet on Wednesday ruled out launching a widescale military operation in the Gaza Strip to counter rocket fire from the Hamas-ruled territory, a senior official said.
"The cabinet ruled out a widescale operation for the moment, but decided to continue the current pattern of localised ground incursions and air strikes," the official said on condition of anonymity.
Following the decision, the mayor of Israel's southern town of Sderot - which has borne the brunt of the rocket fire - resigned in protest at what he called the government's inability to stop the fire.
"It is not possible that rockets fall on the town on a daily basis and members of government do nothing to remedy this," Eli Moyal said on army radio. "I am not resigning in fear but because no one in this country wants to assume his responsibilities concerning this town."
Army chief of staff Gabi Ashkenazi warned, however, that despite Wednesday's decision time was "approaching" when Israel would launch a major offensive in Gaza, public radio reported.
The security cabinet met on the same day as Israeli and Palestinian negotiators sat down for the first time since the two sides formally relaunched their peace talks at a November conference in the United States.
Deadly factional fighting
The meeting also came a day after Israel carried out one of its largest incursions in Gaza in months, killing six militants in the territory where Islamist Hamas seized power in mid-June.
Since Hamas violently seized control of Gaza, calls have grown in Israel for the army to launch a widescale operation to halt the near daily firing of rockets and mortar rounds from the territory into Israel.
Since mid-May - when deadly Palestinian factional fighting that led to the Hamas takeover first flared - 260 Palestinians and three Israeli soldiers have been killed, the official quoted military top brass as telling the cabinet.
The army carried out 115 ground incursions inside Gaza to counter rocket fire and Gaza militants had launched 970 rockets and 1 200 mortar shells from Gaza, killing two Israeli civilians and wounding 50, the cabinet was told.
On Wednesday, 16 rockets were fired from Gaza toward Israel. One landed in Sderot, causing damage and lightly wounding one person, the army said.
The attacks were claimed in Gaza by several armed groups which said the fire was in response to Israel's operation in the territory on Tuesday.
- AFP
|
News
