Infrastructures Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer (Labor) told his Palestinian Authority (PA) counterpart Tuesday that Israel will not tolerate rocket and mortar shell attacks near strategic facilities. He added, however, that cutting off power and water to the Gaza region is out of the question.

Previous Kassam attacks have hit dangerously close to Israeli oil and gas pipelines and the electric generating station in Ashkelon. The Laborite minister did not explain how the Fatah-led PA in Judea and Samaria can stop the attacks from Gaza, which has been taken over by the Hamas faction.