Arab terrorists continued their daily bombardment on southern Israel during the Sabbath despite Hamas’s stated opposition to the attacks. The terrorist organization that controls the region has questioned the timing of the rocket firing because of talks in Egypt on Hamas’s joining the rival Fatah party in a Palestinian Authority unity government.
No one was wounded, and no injuries were reported in the latest explosions, one near southern Ashkelon and the other near a kibbutz. On Friday, three Kassams exploded in open areas near Sderot and in the Eshkol region.
Islamic Jihad terrorist spokesmen reported that Hamas arrested 10 of its members for firing rockets but that all but one were released.
Unlike previous attacks, the IDF has not retaliated. Previous retaliation has targeted rocket launching cells and tunnels used to smuggle weapons and ammunition.
Israel agreed in mid-January to end the Operation Cast Lead counterterrorist campaign in Gaza, stating that rocket attacks virtually had ceased and that the United States and European countries would use technology and monitors on the border between Egypt and Gaza to prevent more smuggling.
The proposals still are on the drawing boards, but seven European nations, Canada and the U.S. have proposed methods to prevent the smuggling, Hamas legislator Moushir al-Masri responded that the international efforts will fail.
Knesset Member Yuval Steinitz (Likud) and former chairman of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee has maintained that the only way to prevent Hamas from bringing arms into Gaza is to create a security zone along the Philadelphi Route.