11-12-2008
Eight days before the ceasefire agreement brokered with the resistance groups in the Gaza Strip is scheduled to end, and amid the continuous siege against the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, an "Israeli" security source said that the "Israeli" army "will execute any operation the political echelon orders."
The source further criticized statements made by various cabinet members, saying there was no need for them to publicly call for a Gaza operation, while they choose to take different stands - sometimes opposite stands - in the practical discussions on the matter.
The "Israeli" occupation army presented the National Security Cabinet, which discussed the ongoing rocket fire on the occupied territories Wednesday night, with various plans of action, meant to paralyze the rocket and mortar shell fire emanating from the Strip.
According to the security source, the occupation army is ready to launch any of its plans or a combination of them, but for that to happen, the political echelon must make an operational decision.
In a meeting which included "Israeli" Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, War Minister Ehud Barak and Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, and in light of the sparring between Barak and Livni, the prime minister urged both to leave the "Israeli" army and the war establishment out of the political debate: "The heads of the war establishment and the 'Israeli' Military Forces must not be attributed with any political considerations," the Israeli Prime Minister's Office said.
"Israeli" National Security Cabinet member Interior Minister Meir Sheetrit, called on the cabinet to halt the discussions on the fortification of the Gaza vicinity communities: "The best defense is a good offense... I want to see fortifications in Gaza, not in 'Israel'," he said.
Shas Chairman Eli Yishai called for "an immediate surgical operation against Hamas' heads and those carrying out (so-called) terror attacks and firing Qassam rockets and mortar shells on 'Israel'." Yishai also said "Israel" should opt for a "financial chokehold" on Gaza. Livni demanded an immediate "Israeli" response to the recent rocket fire, saying "fire should be met with fire."
"The situation is unbearable," said her office. "Hamas and other terror groups are firing rockets, we close the (Gaza) crossings but we don't launch a military response, and as a result the fire continues. The "Israeli" Military Forces has to act. As for the extent of the operation, we have to choose from the options laid out before us."