Olmert Replies to IDF: Firing on Terrorists Costs Israeli Lives
Commentary;
A few weeks ago, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan commented that “One of the problems in the negotiations for the release of the two kidnapped Israeli soldiers in Lebanon is the demand for Hizballah to return them alive.”
This author undertook, with the help of a graphics expert to initiate the Kofi Annan Award for Absurdity.
It was inevitable that the first co-recipients of this award would be Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Foreign Minister/Justice Minister Tzipy Livni for dropping all defense against the launching of Kassams against Negev and southern Israeli Jewish cities such as Sderot.
On Sunday, the two jointly announced that other considerations transcend preventing Israelis [Jews] from being murdered by Kassams.
Subsequently on a Channel 2 news report, in responding to Defense Minister Peretz’s and Security Minister Avi Dichter’s calls for the IDF to attack the rocket launchers; the commentator related that “Olmert held his ground saying that Israel should act responsibly and wisely and that restraint will convince the world of the validity of Israel’s stance.” MB
Full Text;
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert tossed back to military and security officials Monday the same charge they made that government policy could cost Israelis their lives.
The Prime Minister argued that breaking the ceasefire, even if it means targeting a terrorist cell planning to stage a rocket attack on Israel, could end up with a greater loss of life than that prevented by eliminating the cell. His aides pointed out that “we already saw in November that a broad IDF offensive in Gaza coincided with a larger number of Kassam rocket attacks.”
One IDF officer said that the restrictions on opening fire did not include targeting an identified cell preparing an attack, but government officials rejected the statement. They explained that the IDF knew ahead of time of only one of the 15 rocket attacks since the ceasefire.
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