"Israeli" raids fail to stem tide of Gaza rockets

Source: AFP, 07-4-2006
JERUSALEM (AL-QUDS), April 7 2006-- Palestinian militants retaliated with more rockets from Gaza into "Israel" on Friday, amid growing "Israeli" realisation that increased military bombardments failed to stem the tide of retaliatory attacks.
The "Israeli" air force launched three raids overnight against targets in the northern Gaza Strip, including two on what it called offices of Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, one of the main militant factions behind the rocket attacks.
A military spokesman said the strikes were in response to the firing on Thursday of six makeshift rockets against southern "Israel".
None caused any casualties although one hit a factory in the southern city of Ashkelon, sparking a fire.
Defence (War) Minister Shaul Mofaz last week ordered an intensification of aerial bombardments and tank shelling of northern Gaza in the wake of the attacks which are usually launched by members of Al-Aqsa or the Islamic Jihad.
But the impression that so-called Operation Southern Arrow is having little impact was reinforced on Friday when the army reported that another two rockets had been fired in the early morning. Neither caused any damage.
Senior officers, while careful not to publicly criticize their political bosses, are now acknowledging that the bombardments do little to stop the attacks in Gaza, from where the army withdrew last summer.
One high-ranking officer in the southern command said the shelling and air raids were pointless.
"It is only for public opinion and has no effect whatsoever. On the military level, if we want to do something effective then we will have to go back inside Gaza or shell populated areas," he told AFP.
Another senior officer was equally scathing in his assessment of the increase in rocket attacks.
"This is proof that the Army has no true solution to the Qassam rockets," he told the Yediot Aharonot daily.
"We have become used to rockets falling in strategic installations without even noticing," he added.
While the government is so far sticking to its guns, leading opposition MPs have also started to speak out against the operation.
The right-wing Likud MP Yuval Steinitz, chairman of the outgoing parliament`s foreign affairs and defense (war) committee, said only a ground operation inside Gaza could bring the militants to heel.
The current tactics were about as effective as "giving medicine to a corpse", said Steinitz.
The Maariv daily also concluded that the operation was more or less futile.
"The Army has poured a great deal of ammunition and explosions onto Gaza... but the rockets continue to fly, and every day the Islamic Jihad and Fatah succeed in increasing the range of the rockets and in launching more and more of them," it said.
"No one in Gaza is demanding that the rocket fire cease ... Who can stop the launching of the rockets? Abu Mazen (Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas) and his security troops have no influence. Hamas spokesmen are encouraging the launchers to continue."
Hamas, the largest of the armed Palestinian factions which last week formed a government, has itself held back from joining the volley of attacks.
A report in Friday`s Haaretz daily said that the movement was now trying to broker an unofficial truce with "Israel" as long as it is reciprocated.
An "Israeli" government source confirmed that the proposal had been conveyed via a number of emissaries, including Egyptian officials, although the initial reaction was skeptical.
"The government is so far completely opposed to the initiative as it believes every agreement with Hamas will give it legitimacy," the source told AFP.
Hamas, which has not carried out any suicide (martyrdom) attacks for more than a year. But it continues to advocate the use of violence after carrying out dozens of suicide (martyrdom) bombings during the five-year Palestinian uprising.
A Hamas spokesman, Ghazi Hamad, said the truce issue had not been discussed by the new government.