Israeli navy commandos destroyed several PLO naval targets early Saturday morning, including a fuel storage facility and a \"fishing\" vessel named “Jandallah,” formerly under the command of captured “Karin A” captain, Omar Akawi. The forces operated with the support of a navy gunship. The continued retaliatory attacks on the Gaza seaport over the last month have led to the site\'s utter destruction. The French-Dutch project, which began two years ago at a cost of $70 million, has been declared null and void, by its sponsors which also included the European Investment Bank.
Commander of IDF forces in Gaza, Brig. Gen. Yisrael Ziv, clarified yesterday that Israel destroyed a total of 22 structures in Rafiah, along the Israel-Egypt border. The operation was carried out early Friday morning. Contrary to reports in the international media, the IDF commander emphasized that the buildings were not private homes: \"These houses have been under close IDF surveillance for months. No one lived in them, rather they served as cover for sniping, grenade attacks, preparation of bombs and the smuggling of weapons from Egypt.\" He called the PLO\'s reports of over 50 inhabited homes destroyed, \"media manipulation.\"
Government ministers Ephraim Sneh and Matan Vilnai criticized the decision to destroy the buildings, while Foreign Minister Shimon Peres said that in the event that the buildings were used for weapons smuggling, “we must not make any exceptions.” Opposition leader Yossi Sarid of Meretz condemned the IDF retaliatory actions in Gaza, while former Meretz Minister Shulamit Aloni went further and echoed PLO leader Yasser Arafat’s previous statements, calling the Prime Minister, Defense Minister and IDF Chief of Staff “killers” who should be prosecuted for war crimes. Reserve Brig. Gen. Effi Eitam responded to Aloni’s accusations saying, “One must state the truth and not always make statements bordering on anti-Semitism, like Shulamit Aloni, who I am glad left the political and public arena… This [the PLO] is an enemy without limitations and [the biblical verse] ‘one who comes to kill you kill him first’ applies.”
Commander of IDF forces in Gaza, Brig. Gen. Yisrael Ziv, clarified yesterday that Israel destroyed a total of 22 structures in Rafiah, along the Israel-Egypt border. The operation was carried out early Friday morning. Contrary to reports in the international media, the IDF commander emphasized that the buildings were not private homes: \"These houses have been under close IDF surveillance for months. No one lived in them, rather they served as cover for sniping, grenade attacks, preparation of bombs and the smuggling of weapons from Egypt.\" He called the PLO\'s reports of over 50 inhabited homes destroyed, \"media manipulation.\"
Government ministers Ephraim Sneh and Matan Vilnai criticized the decision to destroy the buildings, while Foreign Minister Shimon Peres said that in the event that the buildings were used for weapons smuggling, “we must not make any exceptions.” Opposition leader Yossi Sarid of Meretz condemned the IDF retaliatory actions in Gaza, while former Meretz Minister Shulamit Aloni went further and echoed PLO leader Yasser Arafat’s previous statements, calling the Prime Minister, Defense Minister and IDF Chief of Staff “killers” who should be prosecuted for war crimes. Reserve Brig. Gen. Effi Eitam responded to Aloni’s accusations saying, “One must state the truth and not always make statements bordering on anti-Semitism, like Shulamit Aloni, who I am glad left the political and public arena… This [the PLO] is an enemy without limitations and [the biblical verse] ‘one who comes to kill you kill him first’ applies.”