Israel and Hamas on the brink of war
Pastor Dale Morgan
Hamas threatens to break ceasefire after Israeli air strikes*
By Tim Butcher, in Jerusalem
(Filed: 16/10/2006)
Israel and Hamas were on the brink of war last night as a senior member
of the Islamic movement hinted that it would stop observing a
20-month-old ceasefire in retaliation for the latest Israeli assault on
the Gaza Strip.
The Israeli military insisted that it would carry on targeting Hamas,
after what it described as clear evidence that the movement was
smuggling weapons into Gaza to mount cross-border attacks.
After a series of raids by Israel over the past four days in which 22
Palestinians, mostly Hamas members, died, Atef Idwan, a minister in the
Hamas government, said Israel's offensive showed the ceasefire was
effectively over.
"Which is better – to respond to the Israeli aggression or not to
respond?" asked Mr Idwan, who serves as minister for refugee affairs.
"Which is better – to defend yourself or surrender to the enemy? The
ceasefire should be bilateral but what we see now shows Israel has never
committed to a ceasefire."
Amos Gilad, a senior Israeli defence official, accused Hamas of
smuggling weapons into Gaza to try to turn the small scrap of land
crowded with 1.4 million Palestinians into a "second Lebanon".
"Our policy is clear – we will deploy all our efforts to prevent rocket
firings and this contraband," he said, indicating that this would
include "ground and air attacks on terrorists and their infrastructure".
"Hamas, which is reinforcing itself, constitutes a threat to Israel's
security," he said. "Our priority is to make it more difficult for the
continuation of terrorism."
The latest deaths happened as Israel mounted armed incursions into Gaza,
apparently targeting members of Hamas. Israeli attack helicopters
targeted Hamas fighters but several civilians, including at least one
woman and three children, died in the crossfire.
Hamas militants have so far responded at a relatively low level, firing
home-made Qassam rockets from Gaza into Israel without any reports of
injuries. While this is likely to provoke further Israeli military
reaction, it would be far worse if Hamas returned to using suicide bombings.
No such attacks have taken place since the leadership agreed to observe
the ceasefire negotiated in February last year.
Mr Iswan said that while his side had largely observed the ceasefire,
Israel has continued to mount operations against Palestinian targets.
"Israel asked others to ask for the ceasefire, but Israel has never
stopped its crime against the Palestinian people," he said.
"The Palestinian people should defend himself. Israel is beating us
badly, that is true, but that does not mean we should not respond."
Human rights groups have reported that Israel has killed more than 230
Palestinians, including scores of civilians, since it launched Operation
Summer Rains in the summer. Two Israeli soldiers, including one killed
by so-called friendly fire, have died in the same period.
Israel argues that the large number of Palestinian fatalities resulted
from operations it carried out after the capture of Corporal Gilad
Shalit by Palestinian militants in June.
Meanwhile, the career of Moshe Katsav, the president of Israel and moral
figurehead of the Jewish state, hung in the balance last night as police
recommended that he face rape charges for alleged sexual assaults on
female members of his staff.
The decision surprised many, as police sources had indicated that the
president, who is married with five children and six grandchildren, was
likely only to face a charge of sexual harassment.
Israeli police said in a statement: "There is sufficient evidence
indicating that in several cases... the president carried out acts of
rape, forced sexual acts, sexual acts without consent and sexual
harassment."
The police recommendation was passed to Menachem Mazuz, the Israeli
attorney general, who is expected to make the final decision on whether
to press charges in about four weeks.
Any such charges would cause a constitutional conundrum as Mr Katsav,
60, enjoys immunity from criminal prosecution in his capacity as
Israel's head of state. For any prosecution to proceed, he would have to
stand down as president.
Mr Katsav vehemently denies all the allegations, and has said he is the
victim of a "witch hunt".