Prime Minister Ehud Olmert returned from his four-day trip to Japan a short time ago and received updates during the flight on the Grad rocket attacks on the port city of Ashkelon. He has not commented on the escalation in the rocket attacks, which threaten to strike oil and gas pipelines and a large power station in Ashkelon. Officials also fear that the rockets can reach nearby Ashdod, where oil refineries are located.
The Prime Minister will receive updates and reports from Defense Minister Ehud Barak and his temporary replacement Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni. Prime Minister Olmert has opposed a full-scale invasion of Gaza. He agreed to a ceasefire agreement with the Palestinian Authority (PA) more than year ago by which Israel would cease counterterrorist operations and terrorists would stop staging rocket attacks. The agreement was broken within several hours by rocket explosions in the Negev, but he maintained a policy of restraint for several weeks. He gradually allowed the IDF to target terrorists and has threatened to strike Hamas offices and leaders.
As Acting Prime Minister two years ago, he told members of the Mayors Conference that Israel "will fight terror forcefully and without hesitation." He threatened that rocket launchers "will not have one minute of rest [and that] we will reach them everywhere."