Environment Minister Gideon Ezra told cabinet ministers during the weekly Sunday meeting that he advocates increasing the response to Palestinian Authority terrorists who continue to fire Kassam rockets at Israel.

MK Ezra acknowledged that there is no “quick fix” to the situation, as one minister said during the discussion. “There are a thousand organizations in Gaza. Even if we take out one or two of them, we still have to deal with the others,” he agreed. Nonetheless, he said, “we must take calculated risks” to put an end to the rocket attacks.

The Environmental Affairs Minister said he did not believe any stepped-up IDF response to the attacks would jeopardize the chances of rescuing kidnapped IDF Cpl. Gilad Shalit. “The Palestinians know exactly what kind of ace they have up their sleeve,” he said. “They won’t hurt him.” Shalit was captured by Hamas terrorists almost a year ago in a cross-border raid near the Kerem Shalom crossing.