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Last update - 18:50 30/05/2007

Sheetrit, Eitan propose firing 'Israeli Qassam' at Gaza Strip
By Aluf Benn, Haaretz Correspondent, Haaretz Staff and Agencies


Ministers Meir Sheetrit and Rafi Eitan proposed Wednesday that Israel produce its own version of the Qassam rocket to be fired at targets inside the Gaza Strip in response to Palestinian rocket fire on its southern communities.

The suggestion was made at a meeting of the security cabinet to discuss the ongoing military operation aimed at countering Qassam fire from Gaza.

The two said that this kind of rocket, which would cost very little, would cause a small amount of damage but would put pressure on the population in Gaza.

The cabinet decided at the meeting to reject a cease-fire with Hamas over the violence in the Gaza Strip, and that the Israel Defense Forces should continue with its ongoing policy of military action against the Palestinian militant groups.

Minister of Industry, Trade and Labor Eli Yishai of Shas proposed that Israel use air strikes to destroy Palestinian towns and villages in response to the rocket fire, after giving local residents advance notice allowing them to evacuate their homes.

Strategic Affairs Minister Avigdor Lieberman also suggested intensifying Israel's response to the Qassams, but Prime Minister Ehud Olmert rejected both proposals.

Shas MK Yitzhak Cohen proposed cutting off the supply of electricity, water and fuel to the Strip, and justify the move by saying that Qassam rockets had destroyed Israel's infrastructure and that it will take a long time to repair the facilities with which to supply the Palestinians with basic resources. Shin Bet security service director Yuval Diskin suggested that Cohen's idea is worth examining.

Noting a "relative decrease in Qassam rocket launchings," the cabinet decided to continue "attacks and military pressure on terrorist groups, mainly Hamas and Islamic Jihad," Olmert's office said in a statement.

"It was emphasized [at the meeting] that Israel is not conducting any negotiations for a cease-fire with the terrorist organizations," the statement said.

The methods currently employed by the IDF include air strikes on those responsible for or carrying out Qassam rocket attacks on southern Israel, limited ground operations within the Gaza Strip, and targeted assassinations of those firing rockets and members of the military wings of Hamas and Islamic Jihad.

Meanwhile, Hamas political leader Khaled Meshal said in an interview published Wednesday that the organization intends to continue its attacks on Israel despite the IDF operations in Gaza.

A political source in Jerusalem said Tuesday, however, that Hamas is under increased pressure due to the number of casualties in the Strip and the number of arrests in the West Bank.

According to the source, Hamas and Islamic Jihad are experiencing difficulties in firing rockets, due to Israeli pressure, which is evidenced by a reduction in the number of launches.

The source added that the original Palestinian cease-fire offer was not acceptable to Israel, and that "we must see what they offer in the future."

A Qassam rocket directly hit the fourth floor of a building in Sderot on Wednesday. The strike caused damage to several apartments in the building. No one was wounded but several people were treated for shock.

Security sources told Haaretz that the leaders of Hamas' military wing disagreed on Tuesday as to whether or not to halt the Qassam fire on Israel. According to the sources, the commander of Hamas' military wing instructed the men under his command to stop firing Qassam rockets on Sderot, while the branch of the military wing stationed in the northern Gaza Strip refused to follow his instructions and continued the attacks.

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert will meet next Thursday with Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, and Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni will meet Thursday with United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in Austria.

Meanwhile, Meretz MKs Avshalom Vilan and Zahava Gal-On have been promoting a new diplomatic initiative for several weeks, which would give the Arab League responsibility for the Gaza Strip and install a multinational force, in cooperation with the European Union.