Prime Minister Ehud Olmert addressed the renewed Qassam rocket fire from the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, saying 'this is a blatant unequivocal violation of the understandings in the cease fire agreement.' | 'But we're not gonna do anything about it...' |
Deputy Prime Minister and Shas chairman Eli Yishai voiced his outrage at the Qassam attack on Tuesday, saying that it was proof that the truce was merely virtual. 'This is what we were afraid of. It was unequivocally proven to us that there isn't anyone to talk to, and there is certainly nothing to talk about. These are the buds of Hamas' growing strength which we need to nip immediately.'
| It's the usual crap. They've got a truce with Hamas, but not with everybody else. |
While Islamic Jihad said it would abide by the cease-fire, the group has also said it would reserve the right 'to respond to the Zionist violations' of the truce. The rocket attacks were in apparent response to an Israel Defense Forces raid on the West Bank, in which two Jihad militants were killed. The cease-fire agreement does not include or limit IDF activities in the West Bank.
Gaza's Hamas rulers issued a statement saying that they were still committed to the cease-fire with Israel, despite the small militant group's obvious violation of its terms. Sami Abu Zuhri, a Hamas official, responded to the attacks by urging 'all Palestinian factions to abide by the calm agreement,' adding: 'Hamas is keen to maintain the deal.'