Netanyahu Says Gaza Strikes to Go on 'as Long as Necessary,’ Toll Reaches 18
إقرأ هذا الخبر بالعربية
Israel will continue air strikes against Gaza "as long as necessary," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday, giving no indication that a ground operation was likely for now.
"We extracted a high price from them and will continue to do so," he said at the start of the weekly cabinet meeting. "We will act as long as necessary."
His comments came as Israeli war planes carried out four air strikes on Gaza on Sunday morning, bringing the death toll in three days of clashes to 18.
Violence between Israel and Gaza militants erupted on Friday afternoon when an Israeli strike killed the leader of the ultra-hardline Popular Resistance Committees, sparking a bloody cross-border exchange.
Militants have fired more than 100 rockets and mortar rounds into southern Israel in the past three days, wounding four people. Some of them were intercepted by Israel's Iron Dome air defense system.
In remarks to public radio, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman justified the initial attack against PRC leader Zohair al-Qaisi, calling him "a ticking bomb."
But he said a ground operation in Gaza was "not desirable," unless it had the clear goal of overthrowing the territory's Hamas rulers.
Speaking before the cabinet meeting, Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz warned that "sooner or later, we will probably have to put an end to the Hamas regime, the terror regime, in Gaza."
But Education Minister Gideon Saar cautioned that "there is no need to rush into a wide-scale campaign," like Israel's December 2008-January 2009 Operation Cast Lead.
And Environment Minister Gilad Erdan argued that a ground operation would be a dangerous diversion from Israel's current priority -- preventing a nuclear Iran.
"Our defense systems are working well, particularly Iron Dome, and the army has inflicted heavy losses on the terrorists, so for the time being, there is no need for a ground operation," he said.
"The Israeli interest is for the world to focus on sanctions on Iran, not on an Israeli military campaign."
11 March 2012, 11:42
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wein el arab , wein el UN , wein bin jassem, wein el faisal wein el jame3a el 3arabye
the palestinian people is massacered for years , children women and men dying for years , refugees by millions occupation of their land 62 veto by the US to protect israel
bass as we say in arabic
el arab mich chatrin gheir 3ala ba3doun
11 March 2012, 17:29
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Swap out Netanyahu for Bashar al Assad and you get the same policy - Netanyahu against Palestinians = Assad against Syrians. I will not say that Assad is a Syrian, no more than Netanyahu is a Palestinian. Syrians do not do to fellow Syrians what Assad is doing to the Syrian people. Likewise, a human being does not do to the Palestinians what Netanyhu feels not just free, but ordained by God to do to them.
11 March 2012, 18:22
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It is the source of all the problems in the middle east. The funny part, people in that area are so blind and ignorant. You can keep them fighting forever and they will never see what is going on. I guess it is hereditary genes.
11 March 2012, 23:34
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Look at the regular Arabian double standards.
2 article above it states that Assad forces killed 34 innocent people including babies - no comment from any reader.
Israel hit back after weeks of mortars and rockets targeting Israel's civilian, only one side being condemned Israel of course.
What's new about it?
You know what keep on killing each other your deserve it, you are killing yourself with a great success same as civil war in Lebanon during 70s.
And keep your hate to the real Arab killers -the Arabs themselves.
