Press statement by FM Livni in response to Kassams on Sderot
Source: Information Department, Israel Foreign Ministry
Israeli civilians are now under ongoing attacks by terrorist organizations which are part of the Palestinian government headed by Hamas, which is itself a terrorist organization. Israel views the Palestinian government as responsible for the situation.The situation in the last two days is unbearable. It is important to
understand that the Israeli government has shown restraint in the last two months, but the last two days, in which Israeli civilians are being attacked on a daily basis with missiles from the Gaza strip - a place that Israel left in order to give the Palestinians the possibility to create a normal life and not to attack Israel - this is a situation that should be changed.
The Israeli government will take all the necessary steps in order to give security to Israeli citizens, and we expect the international community to demand of the Palestinian Authority and the Palestinians to stop this violence against innocent civilians in Israel.
The army has received instructions to act in accordance with some of the proposals that were submitted to us. The fact that terrorist organizations that actually make up part of the government in the Palestinian Authority, headed by Hamas, are involved in this shooting is a situation that, from from Israel's standpoint, is intolerable.
We view the Palestinian government itself as responsible. We will act in order to provide the residents of Sderot with better security. That is our responsibility as a government and, as you have seen, we are appealing to the international community in order to highlight the situation in Sderot.
We also want to clarify that, from out standpoint, this is a situation that cannot continue. We are making it clear to the international community that, until now, Israel has shown restraint, but for no reason and because of some internal disagreements in the Palestinian Authority, someone has decided to strike the residents of Sderot in such a massive and severe manner. This is something we cannot accept.
I think that every citizen of Israel, and certainly we, as cabinet ministers, feel the pain of the people of Sderot. We identify with their feelings, but we also have a responsibility - and our responsibility is not just to identify with the situation, but also to try to decrease the quantity and to convey the message to the Palestinian Authority, both militarily and otherwise, that this situation, from our standpoint, is intolerable.
We have shown restraint for a lengthy period of time, when the situation was different from what we have seen in the past few days. We must understand that no one has a magic solution. We will have to act, and the time period will be determined by the circumstances.
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IDF Targets Hamas Terrorist HQ in Gaza City
Source: IDF
Following continuous launchings of rockets into Israel and other terrorist activities executed by Hamas and other terror organizations, the IDF carried out, a short while ago, an aerial attack against a Hamas terrorist headquarters in Gaza City, in the northern Gaza Strip.The IDF will continue to operate against the terror organizations in order to ensure the security and safety of all the citizens of Israel.
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Wednesday, May 16, 2007
Peretz: Israel won't tolerate attacks on its citizens.
Source: Defense Minister's Media Advisor
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense Amir Peretz held a
special meeting to assess the situation following the serious events in the
South.
Participating in the discussion were Deputy Defense Minister Dr. Ephraim
Sneh, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Gaby Ashkenazi, ISA Director Yuval Diskin,
and senior military officers and security officials.
The meeting included intelligence briefings, analysis of the latest
developments and a discussion of possible courses of action.
It was concluded at the meeting that yesterday's Hamas rocket barrage is
essentially an attempt by the Hamas to shift the responsibility for its own
murder of Fatah officers away from itself, in order to channel the
internecine Palestinian tension towards Israel.
The Defense Minister said, "Israel cannot tolerate attacks on its citizens.
We will do whatever is necessary to protect our sovereignty and to ensure
the safety of our citizens. Israel will not be a party to an internal
Palestinian power struggle. We will respond vigorously."
At the end of the meeting, operative decisions were made and the Home Front
Command was instructed to increase aid to the residents of the city of
Sderot and the other communities bordering the Gaza Strip.
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IAF continues to attack Hamas targets in Gaza
Wednesday 16/05/2007 17:58
Source: IDF
In response to the continuous terrorist activity by Palestinian groups against the State of Israel, the Israel Air Force carried out an air strike in the northern Gaza Strip a short time ago, targeting a vehicle transporting Hamas operatives armed with weapons. Soon after, in a joint operation conducted by the Southern Command and the IAF, the IDF also targeted a Hamas position in the northern Gaza Strip.
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