(Communicated by the Defense Minister’s Media Advisor)
Last night, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense Amir Peretz held a special meeting to assess the situation following the serious events in the South.
Participating in the discussion were Deputy Defense Minister Dr. Ephraim Sneh, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Gaby Ashkenazi, ISA Director Yuval Diskin, and senior military officers and security officials.
The meeting included intelligence briefings, analysis of the latest developments and a discussion of possible courses of action.
It was concluded at the meeting that yesterday’s Hamas rocket barrage is essentially an attempt by the Hamas to shift the responsibility for its own murder of Fatah officers away from itself, in order to channel the internecine Palestinian tension towards Israel.
The Defense Minister said, "Israel cannot tolerate attacks on its citizens. We will do whatever is necessary to protect our sovereignty and to ensure the safety of our citizens. Israel will not be a party to an internal Palestinian power struggle. We will respond vigorously."
At the end of the meeting, operative decisions were made and the Home Front Command was instructed to increase aid to the residents of the city of Sderot and the other communities bordering the Gaza Strip.