ISRAEL
06.21.06 (12:55 am) [edit]
Israel Air Force fires missile at metal workshop in Gaza Strip
Mon Jun 19, 2006 3:52 pm (PST)
Last update - 01:30 20/06/2006
Israel Air Force fires missile at metal workshop in Gaza Strip
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=727912&" title="http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=727912&" target="_blank"http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/...;
By Avi Issacharoff, Gideon Alon, Yuval Azoulay, and Mijal Grinberg, Haaretz
Correspondents and Agencies
An Israel Air Force aircraft fired missiles at a metal workshop in Gaza City
early Tuesday, residents and Israel Defense Forces sources said.
The IDF said the workshop was run by Hamas and used to make rockets and
other weapons. Residents said no one was hurt.
Palestinian militants have been pelting Israel with rockets fired from Gaza,
aiming many of them at the southern city of Sderot.
Defense Minister Amir Peretz said Monday that a sharpened military response to
Palestinian rocket fire would lead to intensified bombardments of Sderot.
"I will do everything possible in order to avoid an escalation because it
would lead to days of Qassam barrages," Peretz said during his meeting with
President Moshe Katsav in Sderot on Monday afternoon.
Peretz was joined by President Moshe Katsav for a meeting Monday afternoon in
Sderot with bereaved families and city officials, including Mayor Eli Moyal.
The "Red Dawn" Qassam early-warning system was tripped a short time before
their meeting.
"After our withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, all military operations are
legitimate," Katsav said.
"Ahead of my visit today, I spoke to Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Defense
Minister Peretz, and IDF Chief of Staff Dan Halutz. All believe that we will
not accept continued rocket fire. The defense establishment has targets, and
we will hit them. We'll certainly do everything so as not to harm women and
children," Katsav said.
Katsav met with hunger strikers protesting Qassam rocket attacks on the
southern city Monday afternoon and called on them to halt their protest and
give the military time to deal with the Qassam attacks.
The nine-day old hunger strike was halted after leaders began fearing for the
health of the eight protesters.
Peretz said that Israel's message to the Palestinians vis a vis the Qassam
attacks has been absorbed but that a number of extremists organizations have
yet to respond to the demand to halt the fire.
Israel will take further action if the terror groups do not halt their rocket
attacks shortly, Peretz said.
Sderot, which has borne the brunt of the Qassam strikes, prepared to seal off
its entrances and exits for 24 hours starting Tuesday to protest the ongoing
Palestinian rocket attacks.
Peretz under fire from the right
Peretz on Monday came under fire from right-wing legislators at a Knesset
Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee session, over his policy to combat
Qassam rocket fire from the Gaza Strip.
MK Effi Eitam (National Religious Party-National Union) dubbed Peretz's policy
as "cowardly," adding that the Israel Defense Forces were not producing the
necessary deterrence.
According to Eitam, Hamas and Hezbollah realize it is possible for them to
launch Qassam rockets at Israel, without incurring an appropriate IDF
response.
Peretz reiterated at the meeting that if the Qassam attacks persist, he
intends to employ harsh measures to create a complete cessation of rocket fire
on Israel.
Earlier Monday, Moyal called on Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and his government
to resign in the face of their failure to put an end to the Qassam attacks on
the southern town.
Speaking on Israel Radio, Moyal said that if the government is unable to
defend the town it must step down.
Justice Minister Haim Ramon, who spoke on Israel Radio after Moyal, said that
if rocket attacks were to continue, the IDF would step up the measures used
against those launching the Qassams.
Ramon said that the IDF has killed hundreds of militants engaged in firing the
rockets, but it will take more time before the attacks are halted altogether.
Sderot strike
Sderot's municipal council decided to completely bar anyone from entering or
leaving the town limits on Monday, including longtime resident Peretz.
Moyal postponed the strike, originally scheduled to begin Monday morning,
until after the Peretz-Katsav visit.
Sderot, which has been the target of sometimes daily Qassam attacks from Gaza,
was hit by another rocket Sunday evening. The Qassam landed near the town's
public library, and did not cause any casualties, according to the Itim news
agency.
Three other rockets fired from Gaza on Sunday evening landed in Palestinian
territory, Israel Radio reported.
Palestinians in Gaza fired two Qassam rockets at southern Israel in predawn
attacks Sunday, leaving parts of Sderot without electricity for several hours.
One of the rockets hit several electricity poles in the southern town,
temporarily disrupting the power supply to the Rabin neighborhood.
The second Qassam was fired at the western Negev and landed near the border
fence. No damage or casualties were recorded in this incident.
Two Sderot residents were evacuated to Soroka Hospital in Be'er Sheva Sunday,
after collapsing during a mass hunger strike in protest over the government's
inability to halt the rocket fire. The two are said to be receiving treatment
for dehydration.
Sderot's local council decided to end the school year on Monday, starting the
summer vacation earlier than planned. The council also decided to step up its
protests and camp out in front of the government offices in Jerusalem.
"None of the government ministers care for Sderot," Moyal said. "If the
government cannot provide the city residents with security, it should resign
or say [it cannot provide security] out rightly. The resident's are exhausted
and they cannot continue living like this without the government doing
something."
Israel Air Force fires missile at metal workshop in Gaza Strip
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=727912&" title="http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=727912&" target="_blank"http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/...;
By Avi Issacharoff, Gideon Alon, Yuval Azoulay, and Mijal Grinberg, Haaretz
Correspondents and Agencies
An Israel Air Force aircraft fired missiles at a metal workshop in Gaza City
early Tuesday, residents and Israel Defense Forces sources said.
The IDF said the workshop was run by Hamas and used to make rockets and
other weapons. Residents said no one was hurt.
Palestinian militants have been pelting Israel with rockets fired from Gaza,
aiming many of them at the southern city of Sderot.
Defense Minister Amir Peretz said Monday that a sharpened military response to
Palestinian rocket fire would lead to intensified bombardments of Sderot.
"I will do everything possible in order to avoid an escalation because it
would lead to days of Qassam barrages," Peretz said during his meeting with
President Moshe Katsav in Sderot on Monday afternoon.
Peretz was joined by President Moshe Katsav for a meeting Monday afternoon in
Sderot with bereaved families and city officials, including Mayor Eli Moyal.
The "Red Dawn" Qassam early-warning system was tripped a short time before
their meeting.
"After our withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, all military operations are
legitimate," Katsav said.
"Ahead of my visit today, I spoke to Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Defense
Minister Peretz, and IDF Chief of Staff Dan Halutz. All believe that we will
not accept continued rocket fire. The defense establishment has targets, and
we will hit them. We'll certainly do everything so as not to harm women and
children," Katsav said.
Katsav met with hunger strikers protesting Qassam rocket attacks on the
southern city Monday afternoon and called on them to halt their protest and
give the military time to deal with the Qassam attacks.
The nine-day old hunger strike was halted after leaders began fearing for the
health of the eight protesters.
Peretz said that Israel's message to the Palestinians vis a vis the Qassam
attacks has been absorbed but that a number of extremists organizations have
yet to respond to the demand to halt the fire.
Israel will take further action if the terror groups do not halt their rocket
attacks shortly, Peretz said.
Sderot, which has borne the brunt of the Qassam strikes, prepared to seal off
its entrances and exits for 24 hours starting Tuesday to protest the ongoing
Palestinian rocket attacks.
Peretz under fire from the right
Peretz on Monday came under fire from right-wing legislators at a Knesset
Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee session, over his policy to combat
Qassam rocket fire from the Gaza Strip.
MK Effi Eitam (National Religious Party-National Union) dubbed Peretz's policy
as "cowardly," adding that the Israel Defense Forces were not producing the
necessary deterrence.
According to Eitam, Hamas and Hezbollah realize it is possible for them to
launch Qassam rockets at Israel, without incurring an appropriate IDF
response.
Peretz reiterated at the meeting that if the Qassam attacks persist, he
intends to employ harsh measures to create a complete cessation of rocket fire
on Israel.
Earlier Monday, Moyal called on Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and his government
to resign in the face of their failure to put an end to the Qassam attacks on
the southern town.
Speaking on Israel Radio, Moyal said that if the government is unable to
defend the town it must step down.
Justice Minister Haim Ramon, who spoke on Israel Radio after Moyal, said that
if rocket attacks were to continue, the IDF would step up the measures used
against those launching the Qassams.
Ramon said that the IDF has killed hundreds of militants engaged in firing the
rockets, but it will take more time before the attacks are halted altogether.
Sderot strike
Sderot's municipal council decided to completely bar anyone from entering or
leaving the town limits on Monday, including longtime resident Peretz.
Moyal postponed the strike, originally scheduled to begin Monday morning,
until after the Peretz-Katsav visit.
Sderot, which has been the target of sometimes daily Qassam attacks from Gaza,
was hit by another rocket Sunday evening. The Qassam landed near the town's
public library, and did not cause any casualties, according to the Itim news
agency.
Three other rockets fired from Gaza on Sunday evening landed in Palestinian
territory, Israel Radio reported.
Palestinians in Gaza fired two Qassam rockets at southern Israel in predawn
attacks Sunday, leaving parts of Sderot without electricity for several hours.
One of the rockets hit several electricity poles in the southern town,
temporarily disrupting the power supply to the Rabin neighborhood.
The second Qassam was fired at the western Negev and landed near the border
fence. No damage or casualties were recorded in this incident.
Two Sderot residents were evacuated to Soroka Hospital in Be'er Sheva Sunday,
after collapsing during a mass hunger strike in protest over the government's
inability to halt the rocket fire. The two are said to be receiving treatment
for dehydration.
Sderot's local council decided to end the school year on Monday, starting the
summer vacation earlier than planned. The council also decided to step up its
protests and camp out in front of the government offices in Jerusalem.
"None of the government ministers care for Sderot," Moyal said. "If the
government cannot provide the city residents with security, it should resign
or say [it cannot provide security] out rightly. The resident's are exhausted
and they cannot continue living like this without the government doing
something."