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| Israel-Palestine-Jordan | |
| Israel 'will no longer show restraint when attacked' | |
| 2009-01-07 | |
(AKI) - Israel's Foreign Minister, Tzipi Livni, signalled on Monday that Israel would no longer respond with restraint to rocket fire from militant Islamist Palestinian group Hamas.
Earlier on Monday, Israel's Defence Minister Ehud Barak told MPs that Hamas had suffered a "very heavy blow", but insisted the offensive in Gaza would continue to defend Israeli citizens. "We still haven't reached our objectives," Barak said. On the tenth day of the military operation, thousands of Israeli troops, backed by tanks, artillery and helicopters, pushed deeper into Gaza, effectively splitting the north from the south in the the aid-dependent territory. Israeli Navy, Air Force and special units are also taking part, Barak stated. Over 500 people have been killed in the military bombardment and ground offensive, most of them Hamas operatives, and over 2,200 have been wounded, Barak confirmed. Barak defended Israel's action, saying any country would have taken the same action in the face of Hamas rocket attacks. Palestinian militants fired 20 missiles into southern Israel on Monday, the Israeli army said. It said 47 rockets were launched from Gaza into southern Israel on Sunday. Intense diplomatic efforts are under way to try to secure a ceasefire in Gaza, with separate missions to the Middle East being led by the French President Nicolas Sarkozy, and a high-level European Union team. | |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #7 They are still a humane, civilized, Jewish country. That might be part of the problem. Rabid animals need to to be put down, and their supporters. |
| Posted by: Clinert Smith4068 2009-01-07 22:44 |
| #6 there are many levels of "no longer show restraint". ISrael has launched a significant offensive, has attacked hamas leaders, all levels of hamas infrastructure INCLUDING Mosques, etc. That doesnt mean they are going to all the things you might think of as unrestrained. They are still a humane, civilized, Jewish country. |
| Posted by: liberalhawk 2009-01-07 17:34 |
| #5 Good point. But Fatah isn't doing this out of moral superiority, it's just that they "don't care" factor is somewhat lower than Hamass'. |
| Posted by: gorb 2009-01-07 13:35 |
| #4 Notice you haven't heard a peep out of Fatah since this started. They aren't a bit worried about Gaza. |
| Posted by: bigjim-ky 2009-01-07 10:46 |
| #3 If the Israelis dismantle enough of the Hamas infrastructure, when Fatah moves back into power in Gaza, they will be able to pull a "Night of the Long Knives" on Hamas. Fatah has already been supplying targeting info to the Israelis and Abbas really wants to shed Hamas blood after their attacks on Fatah. |
| Posted by: Shieldwolf 2009-01-07 08:08 |
| #2 Not bowing to "international pressure" will help. |
| Posted by: gorb 2009-01-07 03:48 |
| #1 Her country's current military offensive in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip is intended to "change the equation" in the region, Livni said. Short of lining the D-9s up shoulder-to-shoulder and pushing everything that's currently above ground in Gaza into the Med I don't really see how they can do much that will actually "change the equation" in the long run. |
| Posted by: AzCat 2009-01-07 01:14 |