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| Israel-Palestine-Jordan |
| Dichter calls for major Gaza operation |
| 2007-10-18 |
| As the IDF wrapped up its southern Gaza operation in which a Golani Brigade soldier was killed during a firefight with Palestinian gunmen, Public Security Minister Avi Dichter hinted Wednesday at the need for Israel to embark on a large-scale military campaign in the Gaza Strip. "We can either send the army into the Palestinian territories or face suicide belts in Tel Aviv," Army Radio quoted Dichter as saying. St.-Sgt. Ben Kubani, 20, from Hadera, was killed near Khan Yunis in southern Gaza during an IDF operation aimed at reducing the threat to Israelis living on the Gaza periphery. The army penetrated about two kilometers into the southern Gaza Strip early Wednesday morning east of Khan Yunis to disrupt the terrorist infrastructure. The force, mostly comprised of Battalion 51, with support from tank and engineering units, came under attack several times from Hamas gunmen wielding antitank rockets, RPGs and small arms. Kubani was killed during one of the firefights, the army said. There were reports that he had been killed by a sniper. Kubani was treated at the scene and evacuated to Beersheba's Soroka Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead. Kubani was the only casualty among the soldiers. Kubani will be laid to rest at 3:30 p.m. on Thursday in the Hadera military cemetery. Kubani, a member of of the Golani Brigade's Battalion 51, was survived by his parents, Margalit and Rahamim, a sister, Sarit, 27, and a younger brother, Ido, 17. "The goal of the operation is to push back the threat to the communities surrounding Gaza," a defense source told The Jerusalem Post. "It is a complex operation that goes on nearly every day. There was nothing out of the ordinary about it, and it will continue." |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #1 Dichter, have you tried turning off the power and water first? |
| Posted by: 3dc 2007-10-18 00:21 |