Netanyahu on escalation: 'There is no cease fire in South'
At weekly cabinet meeting in Safed, PM says terrorists will pay high price until attacks stop; Barak warns Hamas over rocket fire: Don't test us; Peres calls barrage a 'borderline declaration of war.'

by Yaakov Lappin, The Jerusalem Post
October 30, 2011

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu
 

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said Sunday afternoon "there is no cease fire" in the South, in reference to the recent escalation in violence along the Gaza border.

Speaking at the start of a special cabinet meeting being held in Safed, the prime minister warned: "The other side will pay a higher price then they have already paid, until they stop firing."

Netanyahu's comments came as the IDF struck a Gaza cell attempting to launch rockets at Israel and a day after an Israeli man was killed by shrapnel when a Grad rocket hit Ashdod.

Earlier on Sunday, Netanyahu reiterated the Israeli government's policy of strict retaliation against those that harm Israelis, warning both Islamic Jihad and Hamas not to test Israel.

Speaking in Safed at the opening of the Bar-Ilan University Faculty of Medicine in the Galilee, Netanyahu went on to stress the importance of remembering that "Hamas is the ruling power in Gaza, and it is [the organization's] responsibility to preserving the quiet and to prevent [rocket] fire" from the Strip," even if those launching the rockets are from Islamic Jihad.

"It's not worthwhile for anybody to test our resolve" to invoke the government's defense principles. "We will prevent every attempt to shoot at Israel and we will hurt everyone who nevertheless succeeds" at launching rockets.

Defense Minister Ehud Barak also warned Islamic Jihad and Hamas leaders "not to test our abilities," following a meeting with security and intelligence chiefs on Sunday.

During the meeting, Barak examined plans for continued IDF operations in Gaza to stop the rocket attacks on Israel. The defense minister added, "We will do everything to protect the citizens of Israel."

Also speaking at the medical school in Safed, President Shimon Peres said "the government and the IDF will do everything necessary in order to secure residents of the South and to put an end to this intolerable situation."

Any country would respond as Israel does to indiscriminate rocket fire on its citizens, he added.

In a message to "our Arab neighbors," the president said, "neither we nor you want war, but [the] rockets from Gaza are [a borderline] declaration of war. Reckless groups cannot be allowed to endanger our peace."

"While the majority of Arabs are trying to end oppression and poverty," Peres said, "Hamas is bringing oppression and poverty to the Gaza Strip."

Also:

Former IDF Boss Halutz: Smash Hamas
Lt. Gen. (res.) Dan Halutz calls for a "mortal blow" to Hamas leadership, the sooner the better.

by Gil Ronen, Arutz Sheva
October 30, 2011

Former IDF Chief of Staff, Lt. Gen. (res.) Dan Halutz
 

Former IDF Chief of Staff, Lt. Gen. (res.) Dan Halutz, thinks Israel should mount a crushing offensive against Gaza. He called for a "mortal blow" to be dealt to Hamas's civilian and "military" leadership.

In an interview with IDF Radio, Halutz said, "We must bring back our deterrence vis-à-vis Gaza. It has not existed for even one moment since Operation Cast Lead and to this day."

Halutz said that in the end, Israel will have to conduct an extensive operation of this kind, and there is no reason to wait. "A rocket struck an empty school on the Sabbath," he said. "Why wait until a rocket strikes a full school in the middle of the day?"

"This must be dealt with through a strong blow, beyond the expectations of the other side," he explained. "The other side creates equations based on its own preferences and we have to create different equations based on what is good for us."