OCCUPIED JERUSALEM (AlArabiya.net, Agencies)
Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni vowed on Sunday to end Hamas's rule in the Gaza Strip if she is elected prime minister in a February election.
"The state of Israel, and a government under me, will make it a strategic objective to topple the Hamas regime in Gaza," Livni told members of her centrist Kadima party. "The means for doing this should be military, economic and diplomatic."
Israel's prime minister earlier brushed aside calls for an immediate large-scale operation in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip as Tel Aviv and Hamas forces solidified the end of a six-month ceasefire with strikes from both sides.
Palestinian forces have fired more than 50 makeshift rockets at Israel, which often cause no damage or injuries, and Israel responds with air strikes that are usually fatal and kill civilians.
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Severe action " It needs to be clear. A strike in Gaza will come, and it will be hard and painful " Cabinet Minister Herzog Unless Hamas stopped the salvoes, Israeli cabinet minister Isaac Herzog said the army would have no choice but to take "severe action", though he did not say what that might entail.
"It needs to be clear. A strike in Gaza will come, and it will be hard and painful," Herzog said after the Egyptian-brokered ceasefire with Hamas ended on Friday.
The ceasefire initially broke down last month after a fatal Israeli airstrike on Gaza coupled with its crippling blockade of the impoverished strip, a move Israel says is for its protection, but world leaders and organizations have slammed as "collective punishment" of Gaza's 1.5 million people. |
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'Bold statements' " It is obvious where we are heading in Gaza. The situation is intolerable but clear. The army's considerations are the only thing that is deciding when events will unfold " Defense official But outgoing Prime Minister Ehud Olmert suggested a more measured approach for now, underscoring the difficult choices facing the government in the run-up to a Feb. 10 election.
The rocket fire has increased pressure on Olmert and his government to launch a major operation that could result in heavy casualties on both sides, create a severe humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip and spark an international outcry.
The right-wing Likud party of former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has led in the polls, accused Olmert and his government of failing to protect Israeli civilians bordering the Gaza Strip, which Hamas seized in June 2007.
"A government doesn't rush to battle, but doesn't avoid it either," Olmert told his cabinet.
He cautioned fellow ministers and opposition parties against making "bold statements", and suggested he favored a wait-and-see approach. "Israel will know how to give the proper response at the right time in the right way, responsibly." |
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Ending Hamas' regime " What we want is to end the Hamas regime in Gaza. This is a strategic decision that must be made " Vice PM Ramon A number of key ministers have called for tough military response against Hamas ahead of the cabinet meeting with some even saying it was 'unavoidable.'
"Israel has so many ways to act in Gaza but nothing is being done," Trade and Industry Eli Yishai told public radio, calling for retaliatory strikes against rocket launchers and for militant leaders in Gaza to be killed.
"The second Israel comes under fire we should fire back intensively to reduce their capabilities," Yishai said.
Vice premier Haim Ramon said that Israel must dethrone the Islamist movement that seized control in Gaza in June 2007 after ousting forces loyal to Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas, who is widely seen as too pro-America and Israel.
"What we want is to end the Hamas regime in Gaza. This is a strategic decision that must be made," he said.
"The ceasefire has strengthened Hamas and weakened us both militarily and diplomatically, and therefore we must draw the conclusions and change our policy," Ramon added.
"It is obvious where we are heading in Gaza. The situation is intolerable but clear. The army's considerations are the only thing that is deciding when events will unfold," a defense official told AFP on condition of anonymity. |
