Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert pledged Sunday to step up
attacks on Hamas after a rocket from Gaza killed an Israeli man,
and brushed aside efforts by Egypt and Palestinian moderates to
negotiate a new truce. "No one is immune," Olmert said of
Hamas.
Olmert's comments, coupled with the latest bloodshed, signaled
the latest round of Israeli-Palestinian fighting in Gaza won't end
soon.
An 11-day campaign of Israeli airstrikes aimed at halting rocket
attacks from Gaza has killed nearly 50 Palestinians, most of them
militants. But the rocket fire has continued, and Hamas said its
attacks would continue as long as the Israeli air strikes
persist.
Another rocket slammed into the southern Israeli town of Sderot
early Sunday, killing a 36-year-old computer technician as he was
driving. It was the second fatal rocket attack in less than a
week.
Olmert told the weekly meeting of his Cabinet Sunday that he had
instructed the army to do whatever it takes to halt the rocket
fire. "There will be no limit in acting against the terror groups
and against those who are responsible for the terror. No one is
immune," Olmert said.
He said the campaign was not limited in time, and that Israel
would not yield to outside pressure.
In the closed-door segment of the Cabinet meeting, Olmert also
seemed cool to efforts by Egypt and moderate Palestinian President
Mahmoud Abbas to negotiate a new cease-fire.
"I don't commit that we will take action according to Hamas'
action, whether they stop fire or whether they open fire," he was
quoted as saying by a participant.
Olmert acknowledged that there is no quick military solution to
halting the crude Qassam rockets, which have baffled Israel's
high-tech army for years. He told his ministers to be prepared for
a long-term conflict. "We don't want to create unrealistic
expectations that it's possible to stop the Qassams totally,"
Olmert said.
The participant in the Cabinet meeting said the ministers didn't
talk about targeting Hamas' political leaders or launching a
large-scale ground operation in Gaza.
Israel has so far avoided attacks on Hamas leaders - a tactic it
used at the height of Israeli-Palestinian fighting earlier this
decade. It was not immediately clear whether Olmert's comments
Sunday were aimed at the Hamas leadership. The group is now the
senior partner in the Palestinian coalition government.
Olmert spokeswoman Miri Eisin would not comment on whether
Hamas' political leaders were now targets, but said Israel would
strike not only against those involved in the rocket attacks, but
also against anyone who smuggles weapons or money used for
attacking Israel.
"If somebody in the hierarchy is involved in terrorism, they
should not feel safe," she said.
The Israeli air strikes appear to have hit Hamas hard - knocking
out key Hamas bases, killing several top militants and forcing the
movement's leadership underground.
Israeli missiles also have hit close to the homes of Prime
Minister Ismail Haniyeh and Hamas lawmaker Khalil al-Haya, though
the army has said the men weren't targets.
Sami Abu Zuhri, a Hamas spokesman, warned Israel against
targeting the movement's leaders. "Whoever thinks that harming the
Hamas leadership can dissipate the movement is a fool," he said.
"Hamas is a group based on institutions, not individuals."
Sunday's rocket attack came a day after Hamas vowed revenge for
a barrage of Israeli air strikes that killed five militants in
Gaza. Hamas rejected calls for a truce and promised more
attacks.
It also warned that the Israeli air assault would jeopardize the
release of Corporal Gilad Shalit, the Israeli soldier captured last
June by Hamas-linked militants. Shalit has not been heard from or
seen since his capture.
In all, the Israeli campaign has killed 49 Palestinians, most of
them militants.
(China Daily via agencies May 28, 2007)
