Israel
Cabinet: Gaza Operation To Continue Until Terrorism Ends
By
Israel News Agency Staff
Jerusalem
---- November 5..... The following news story was communicated by the Israel Cabinet
Secretariat to the Israel News Agency.
At
the weekly Israel Cabinet meeting in Jerusalem, Israel Prime Minister Ehud Olmert
made the following remarks: “For the last few days IDF forces have been operating
in the Gaza Strip, primarily in the Beit Hanun area. The aim of this action is
to diminish Kassam attacks on southern Israel and to halt terrorist actions and
attempted actions against Israel. Those Palestinians who have been wounded were
mostly armed, but, to our regret, they are using innocent people as human shields,
resulting in the injury of uninvolved civilians as well. The instructions given
to IDF forces are to make the utmost effort to act carefully and with sensitivity
to avoid unessential damage and to avoid harming the lives of those not involved
in terrorist operations."
"The
main strikes are against Islamic Jihad and Hamas infrastructures and armed personnel,
who are constantly trying to perpetrate terrorist attacks, " said Olmert.
"We have informed the world that we do not intend to countenance continued
Kassam rocket barrages against Sderot and other surrounding Israeli communities.
We will take the necessary measures to significantly diminish them and prevent
terrorist operations. Thus we have said, thus we are doing and thus we will continue
to do. This operation is naturally limited in time, but we have no intention of
revealing when we will end it. When we conclude that the desired effects of the
operation have been achieved and we are nearer to our goals, we will - of course
- withdraw our forces from the Gaza Strip. Israel has no intention of either remaining
in, or occupying, Gaza. But we do intend to put a halt to terrorism from Gaza
and we will continue until our goals have been achieved.”
Israel
Defense Minister Amir Peretz briefed Israel ministers on IDF activity in the Gaza
Strip and said that since October 10, the IDF had been acting in the Beit Hanun
district in order to arrest terrorists and strike at the infrastructures behind
the firing of missiles at Israel.
Last
Friday, the Israel Defense Forces took control of the Beit Hanun district, including
the kasbah, and begin to carry out arrests, locate stores of war materiel and
strike at armed persons. It seems that the terrorists in Beit Hanun were surprised
by the scope and strength of the IDF action even though there was considerable
opposition to our forces at the outset.
Terrorist
activity has decreased over time. Since the beginning of the operation, there
have been approximately 20 incidents in which missiles were fired, with about
60 hits. Defense Minister Peretz made it clear that as long as the Palestinian
Authority does not take responsibility for what happens on its territory and operates
against extremist elements, Israel will undertake operational-aggressive measures
wherever the use of force is necessary in order to counter and fight terrorism.
Israel
will not allow Hamas and the other terrorist organizations to gain strength and
engage in terrorism, and will do its utmost to prevent attacks on civilians and
communities in the greater Gaza Strip area.
The
Beit Hanun district had become a center from which missiles were fired at Israeli
territory and Israel had no choice but to deal with the terrorist infrastructure
there. Defense Minister Peretz stressed that while Israel has no intention of
being dragged into a broad move to occupy the Gaza Strip, it will continue carrying
out localized operations to both reduce the terrorist threat and improve the security
of Israeli citizens, especially in the greater Gaza Strip area. Defense Minister
Peretz also discussed the Philadelphia corridor, the situation in Judea and Samaria,
Israeli humanitarian assistance, the situation in the north, the Iranian issue
and his meeting last Friday with German Defense Minister Franz Josef Jung to whom
he stressed the need to prevent smuggling from Syria into Lebanon.
The
Israel Cabinet transferred overall responsibility for dealing with the Bedouin
sector in the Negev to Construction and Housing Minister Meir Shetrit; the unit
for coordination, implementation, monitoring and oversight of Government activity
in the Bedouin sector in the Negev will be transferred to the Construction and
Housing Ministry from the Industry, Trade and Employment Ministry. The Cabinet
also directed Construction and Housing Minister Shetrit to coordinate with Finance
Minister Hirchson and Attorney General Meni Mazuz and to submit, within 90 days,
a detailed plan for establishing a unit within his Ministry to unify Government
activity regarding the Bedouin sector in the Negev. The foregoing will not affect
the statutory authorities of the Israel Lands Administration.
The
Israel Cabinet adopted a variety of measures to encourage industry and employment
in the non-Jewish sector.
The
Cabinet decided to establish a National Water Safety Authority.
The
Israel Cabinet approved the appointment of attorney Yoram Hacohen as Director
of the Legal Authority for Information Technologies and Privacy Protection and
as the Registrar of Databases.
Pursuant
to the 1958 Council on Higher Education Law, the Cabinet decided to recommend
that President Moshe Katsav appoint Israel Student Association Chairwoman Eti
Sonneschein to the Council on Higher Education.
The
Cabinet decided that that Construction and Housing Ministry would carry out a
series of development projects regarding the planned Halutzit 1 and Halutzit 4
communities.
National Infrastructures Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer discussed the recent controversy
over the transport of an Israel Electric Corp. transformer on the Sabbath.
Defense Minister Peretz referred to recent remarks by Minister Avigdor Lieberman
regarding the Arab sector and said that the latter’s remarks were unacceptable.
Minister Peretz said that all ministers were obliged not to make statements that
could lead to unnecessary unrest and confrontations. Prime Minister Olmert said
that Minister Lieberman’s remarks reflected the latter’s personal views and not
the Prime Minister’s. Minister Lieberman did not express the Government’s views.
The
Prime Minister said: “I have made it clear to Avigdor Lieberman and he knows this
- we favor full equal rights for the Arabs of the State of Israel. I want it to
be clear. I have never hid this. I am a great believer in full equal rights for
Israeli Arabs in the State of Israel and as long as I am Prime minister, this
will be the Government’s policy. Avigdor Lieberman and I sharply disagree on this
issue but the Government is bound by its agreed-upon policy.” Minister Lieberman
said that while he supports full equal rights for Israel Arabs, he supports equal
obligations as well.
Israel
Minister Lieberman will be a member of the following ministerial committees: the
Ministerial Legislative and Law Enforcement Committee, the Ministerial Committee
on Immigrant Absorption, the Ministerial Committee on Coordination between the
Government and the World Zionist Organization/Jewish Agency, the Ministerial Committee
on Unauthorized Outposts (the Talia Sasson report) and the Ministerial Committee
on Road Safety.
Education
Minister Yuli Tamir will serve as Acting Science, Culture and Sports Minister
while tourism Minister Yitzhak Herzog will replace former Minister Ophir Pines-Paz
as a member of the Israel Ministerial Committee on National Security Affairs.