Kassam Attacks on Negev Continue

by Elie Leshem
Jerusalem Post
November 17, 2008

http://www.jewishpolicycenter.org/413/kassam-attacks-on-negev-continue

Palestinian terrorists in Gaza fired two Kassam rockets at the western Negev on Monday afternoon. The rockets landed in open areas in the Sha'ar Hanegev region and there were no reports of casualties or damage.

Earlier Monday, several houses in a western Negev kibbutz sustained damage when Palestinians fired a volley of at least seven rockets at the Eshkol region. No one was wounded in the attack.

The attacks came as British Foreign Secretary David Miliband was touring the nearby town of Sderot with Defense Minister Ehud Barak. Miliband called the repeated attacks from Gaza "intolerable" and said that Israel must continue to pursue talks with the Palestinian Authority, Israel Radio reported.

During a tour of a police station, Barak showed Miliband a display of Kassam rockets that had hit southern Israel.

The foreign secretary, Barak said, "was impressed by the determination of [Israeli] leaders to guide the public through this difficult reality, and I made it clear to [him] that in our opinion, no country can tolerate a constant bombardment of its citizens from a foreign entity… and Israel will not accept it. We will act when the conditions ripen and there will be need for such action, and we will act with force."

Posed with the question, "What has to happen for the conditions to be ripe? During your visit here seven rockets were fired at the Eshkol region," Barak replied: "We will act promptly when the time comes. The IDF is strong and prepared. Such an operation has several aspects… we are considering the issue and we will act precisely according to what is required, when it is required."

Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the volley of rockets.

Following the attack, Israel delayed the passage of thirty trucks carrying humanitarian supplies, including food and medicine, to the Gaza Strip. The initial decision to allow the shipment through the Kerem Shalom crossing was made during a late-night consultation by the defense establishment.
 

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