By YAAKOV KATZ
The IDF plans to escalate its operations against Hamas in the Gaza Strip after US President George W. Bush leaves Israel on Friday, senior defense officials said Thursday.
(Interesting that every time an American sponsor leaves, Israel enacts another portion of its plan for aggression into Gaza.)
At the same time, Israel is continuing its dialogue with Egypt over the cease-fire proposal that Intelligence Minister Omar Suleiman presented in Jerusalem earlier this week and which Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is said to be leaning toward accepting.
Defense Minister Ehud Barak is scheduled to travel to Sharm e-Sheikh next week to participate in the World Economic Forum and to hold talks with Suleiman and possibly President Hosni Mubarak regarding the proposal, The Jerusalem Post has learned. Olmert is scheduled to visit Egypt for talks with Mubarak the following week.
Defense officials said Thursday that Barak and Olmert would likely "close the loose ends" on the cease-fire deal brokered by Suleiman with Hamas.
(Perhaps this new round of attacks is aimed at undoing this alleged progress?)
Earlier in the day, Barak visited the Ashkelon mall that was struck by a Grad-model Katyusha rocket on Wednesday and said Israel would find a way to stop the rocket fire in the coming months.
(Since the rockets were provoked by Israel's illegal policy of Collective Punishment towards Gaza - as its own defence staff warned when these measures were first discussed - ending these criminal policies, and speaking with the elected Palestinians, as desired by a majority of Israelis, would be the best way to achieve this result.)
"You need to grit your teeth, but not for many more months," Barak told the residents of Ashkelon during a tour of the scene together with Deputy Defense Minister Matan Vilna'i and OC Home Front Command Maj.-Gen. Yair Golan. "We won't allow this to continue for much longer. I am not talking about years or many months. We will do what needs to be done."
(Perhaps a veiled warning about the full-scale invasion to come?)
Throughout the day a number of rockets were fired into Israel, including a Grad-model Katyusha that hit a field outside Netivot without causing injuries. Two Hamas gunmen were killed when IAF aircraft bombed a terrorist observation post in Gaza City before dawn.
(How many US-made missiles did Israel fire into Gaza?)
Several people were treated for shock when Palestinians fired three Kassam rockets from the Gaza Strip at Sderot Thursday night. One of the rockets hit a synagogue, causing damage. Another projectile fell outside the city and police were searching for the third.
(Apparently the Palestinians aren't affected by Israeli attacks the way Israelis are by these rockets ...)
Earlier Thursday evening, Palestinians fired three rockets at the Sderot area. One of the rockets hit an industrial zone near the city, while another landed in a wheat field in the Sha'ar Hanegev region, causing a fire.
One woman was treated for shock in that attack.
(They're getting a small dose of what the Palestinians have been experiencing daily for six decades.)
Meanwhile, terrorists (or somebody ...) fired three mortar shells from the northern Gaza Strip at the Nahal Oz area. There were no reports of injuries in that attack, which raised to eight the total number of shells fired during the day.
In an indication of Palestinian success in increasing their rocket range, the IDF Home Front Command decided to connect Netivot to the Kassam early-warning alarm system. The decision was made following a security assessment held in the wake of Katyusha rocket fire nearby.
(Ashkelon and Sderot, however, still blare no warnings when rockets are detected ...)
Defense officials said that while the IDF was preparing for possible military action in Gaza, Israel was still interested in obtaining a cease-fire with Hamas, via Egyptian mediation. The officials said that during his meetings with Suleiman and Mubarak, Barak would stress that Israel would only accept a cease-fire if abducted IDF Cpl. Gilad Schalit's release was one of its primary elements.
In addition to expediting Schalit's release, Israel has said that it would accept the cease-fire deal - which calls for a six-month halt to IDF operations and Hamas terrorism in Gaza - if Egypt made considerable efforts to curb the smuggling of arms into the Gaza Strip.
(These DEMANDS, meant to obstruct the cease-fire, are all issues which should be a part of the negotiations which should follow a cease-fire.)
A senior official involved in the cease-fire talks said Thursday the defense establishment was skeptical that Hamas would release Schalit in exchange for a truce.
"The chances of this happening are slim," the official said. "If they don't agree to our conditions (demands) then the chances of a large-scale operation will increase significantly."
(In other words, Israel will reject the cease-fire, in order to pursue what they've been plotting for months now. As predicted ...)
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winnipeg.indymedia.org/item.php?8994S
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alaanasnews.blogspot.com/2007/12/as-predicted-israel-attacks-gaza.html
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today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=topNews&storyid=2008-01-18T
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Jewish Groups Condemn Collective Punishment of Gaza
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Zionism's Support Faltering
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Child Victims of a War the World Doesn't Want to Know About
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www.israel.indymedia.org/newswire/display/8882/index.php
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israel.indymedia.org/newswire/display/8877/index.php
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israel.indymedia.org/newswire/display/8898/index.php#Comment-19179