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Commentary;
The inevitable has occurred. The “truce” lasted but 4 days and was broken first on Monday night by the launching of a mortar followed by four Kassams bombarding the Western Negev late this afternoon.
Dr. Aaron Lerner of IMRA (Independent Media Research and Analysis) noted;
The Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement that “the prime minister has warned that the ceasefire could be short and fragile. Israel warned against a violation of the understandings, and will weigh its options following the rocket fire.”
Lerner added that it is “not even sure Israel will act.”
As was noted on this blog last Friday, the Arabs have unilaterally extended the Gaza “truce” to include Yehuda and the Shomron in order to create a pre-text of Israel’s counter-terrorism actions, such as those in Jenin and Shechem, in order to violate the “cease-fire.”
The scenario was/is oh soo predictable right down to the Olmert regime’s equivocal reaction (or lack thereof) and testifies tons about why Olmert, Barak, Livni, Ramon and Yishai MUST GO, why there must be new elections followed by the onset of faith-based government. MB
3 Kassams Hit Western Negev; PMO: “Gross violation” of Truce
Excerpts;
Three Kassam rockets hit the western Negev on Tuesday afternoon, in a second violation of a cease-fire that Hamas has been abiding by since it went into effect last Thursday.
Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the attack, saying that the attack was to avenge an IDF raid that killed one of its members in the West Bank early Tuesday.
“We cannot keep our hands tied when this is happening to our brothers in the West Bank,” the group said in a statement.
Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said the rocket attack “came as result of Israeli provocation this morning.” He added, however, that Hamas was “committed to the calm”
“We will talk and we will make sure that all of the factions are committed to the calm, too,” he said.
A statement from Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s Office has condemned the attack as a “gross violation” of the truce, but did not say whether it would retaliate.
One of the rockets damaged a house in Sderot, where two women were treated for shock. A second rocket landed in the Sderot area, causing no casualties or damage, and a third landed in an open area in the western Negev.
The rockets were fired just as Prime Minister Ehud Olmert was meeting with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in an effort to piggyback on the momentum of the cease-fire and push the release of kidnapped IDF soldier Gilad Schalit.
Earlier Monday overnight, Palestinian gunmen in the Gaza Strip fired a mortar shell into Israel – the first breach of the cease-fire since it went into effect five days ago.
4 Rockets, 1 Injured in Kassam Attack (Update)
As Expected: Gaza Terrorists Break Ceasefire, Shoot Kassams, by Hillel Fendel (Israel National News)
Rocket-Launching Terror Cell Spotted in Beit Hanoun
Mortar Shell Hits Western Negev Despite Ceasefire [Regime Silent]
Barak’s Target Audiences, by Caroline Glick (Jerusalem Post)