If and when such an offensive does take place, the large-scale incursion is likely to be similar in scope to Operation Defensive Shield, which the IDF carried out in Judea and Samaria in 2002.
The operation is currently on hold, however, with all Israeli officials in agreement that Israel need not intervene while Fatah and Hamas are killing each other.
"We have to sit on the side," Vice Premier Shimon Peres said. "If we were to get involved, it would draw their mutual fire towards us."
Infrastructures Minister Eli Yishai (Shas) agreed, but added that Israel must be prepared to attack: "When the Hamas-Fatah fighting ends, we will have to act to destroy the terrorist infrastructure there, which continues to grow."
The IDF concern is that Hamas is accumulating a large stockpile of improved Kassam rockets, with upgraded accuracy and more powerful warheads. Hamas is also putting an effort into smuggling anti-tank weapons through the Egyptian border, and building an array of bunkers and tunnels throughout Gaza. Hamas appears to be implementing lessons learned from the Hizbullah’s successful use of bunkers against Israeli forces in the 2006 Lebanon War.
PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, who heads Fatah, and Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh are to meet in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday to try and reach yet another ceasefire accord and form a unity government in the PA. Senior Fatah men expressed the fear that if the summit fails, Hamas could begin to use suicide bombings against Fatah.
The Deputy Director of Israel's Shabak (General Security Service) told the government today that he does not expect the peace talks to succeed.
Saturday night, Hamas terrorists killed a leading Fatah man and kidnapped another -the nephew of PA strongman Muhammed Dahlan. Hamas also fired several mortar shells at Abbas' presidential palace. Fatah forces went on the offensive in several other incidents. Residents in Gaza are reported to be both terrified to set foot out of their homes, and in despair at the crisis that seems to have no solution.
Gaza University Torched Again
Fatah gunmen torched the Islamic University, a Hamas stronghold, in Gaza City for the second time in recent days, accusing Hamas of using the campus to store and distribute weapons. Several explosions caused millions of dollars in damage, and a university official said gun battles prevented emergency services from reaching the blazes. Three campuses of the Al-Quds University also were set on fire in Gaza City, Rafiah to the south and in northern Gaza.
Iran and the Islamic Jihad denied reports that seven Iranians, including a military general, had been taken captive in a Fatah raid on the Hamas-affiliated Islamic University in Gaza. In a joint press conference held by Iranian and Islamic Jihad officials in Iran, Iranian National Security Council Secretary Ali Larijani called the report “a gross lie,” and Islamic Jihad's Secretary-General Ramadan Abdullah Shalah said it was a “joke.” The Shabak Deputy Director, whose identity is not publicly known, said today that Israel cannot confirm that Iranians were arrested.
Despite this, Absorption Minister Ze'ev Boim (Kadima) said that Iran's involvement in fueling the conflict must be emphasized to the world.
The operation is currently on hold, however, with all Israeli officials in agreement that Israel need not intervene while Fatah and Hamas are killing each other.
"We have to sit on the side," Vice Premier Shimon Peres said. "If we were to get involved, it would draw their mutual fire towards us."
Infrastructures Minister Eli Yishai (Shas) agreed, but added that Israel must be prepared to attack: "When the Hamas-Fatah fighting ends, we will have to act to destroy the terrorist infrastructure there, which continues to grow."
The IDF concern is that Hamas is accumulating a large stockpile of improved Kassam rockets, with upgraded accuracy and more powerful warheads. Hamas is also putting an effort into smuggling anti-tank weapons through the Egyptian border, and building an array of bunkers and tunnels throughout Gaza. Hamas appears to be implementing lessons learned from the Hizbullah’s successful use of bunkers against Israeli forces in the 2006 Lebanon War.
PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, who heads Fatah, and Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh are to meet in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday to try and reach yet another ceasefire accord and form a unity government in the PA. Senior Fatah men expressed the fear that if the summit fails, Hamas could begin to use suicide bombings against Fatah.
The Deputy Director of Israel's Shabak (General Security Service) told the government today that he does not expect the peace talks to succeed.
Saturday night, Hamas terrorists killed a leading Fatah man and kidnapped another -the nephew of PA strongman Muhammed Dahlan. Hamas also fired several mortar shells at Abbas' presidential palace. Fatah forces went on the offensive in several other incidents. Residents in Gaza are reported to be both terrified to set foot out of their homes, and in despair at the crisis that seems to have no solution.
Gaza University Torched Again
Fatah gunmen torched the Islamic University, a Hamas stronghold, in Gaza City for the second time in recent days, accusing Hamas of using the campus to store and distribute weapons. Several explosions caused millions of dollars in damage, and a university official said gun battles prevented emergency services from reaching the blazes. Three campuses of the Al-Quds University also were set on fire in Gaza City, Rafiah to the south and in northern Gaza.
Iran and the Islamic Jihad denied reports that seven Iranians, including a military general, had been taken captive in a Fatah raid on the Hamas-affiliated Islamic University in Gaza. In a joint press conference held by Iranian and Islamic Jihad officials in Iran, Iranian National Security Council Secretary Ali Larijani called the report “a gross lie,” and Islamic Jihad's Secretary-General Ramadan Abdullah Shalah said it was a “joke.” The Shabak Deputy Director, whose identity is not publicly known, said today that Israel cannot confirm that Iranians were arrested.
Despite this, Absorption Minister Ze'ev Boim (Kadima) said that Iran's involvement in fueling the conflict must be emphasized to the world.