News Brief

(IsraelNN.com) The Security Cabinet has given the IDF the green light to prepare plans for counterterrorist operations in Gaza but withheld authorization to carry them out at this time. The decision, widely trumpeted by Israeli media as a ratcheting up of plans for a military offensive, does not change current policy. IDF Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi has said several times that the IDF is prepared for military maneuvers against terrorists in Gaza and is waiting for the go-ahead from the Olmert administration.

Nevertheless, Defense Minister Ehud Barak said after the meeting that he has ordered the IDF to prepare for retaliation, although military sources said that the most likely scenario is a slow escalation in operations, beginning with pinpointing terrorist targets from the air.