After the IDF withdrew its forces yesterday from the PLO-controlled towns of Beit Hanoun, Dir el-Balah and Beit Lahiya in Gaza, Arabs fired several mortar shells at Jewish communities in the area. No injuries were reported, but in response, the army re-entered Dir el-Balah to hunt down those responsible for the attack and to locate mortar launchers. Army officers were quoted today saying that the action did not sufficiently meet its goal of destroying the Kassam missile-launching infrastructure. However, Defense Minister Ben-Eliezer said that he stands by the action.
Lt.-Col. (res.) Avi Farhan, a founder and resident of the north-Gaza town of Elei Sinai, told Arutz-7 today, \"It could be that there is room for criticism, but I don\'t subscribe to these anonymous quotes [from \'army officers\'], brought by one specific commentator with known left-wing views and then copied by all the other media... To quote this criticism while the soldiers are still in the midst of the operation is a blow to morale, and should not be done. I call upon the Defense Ministry to invesigate this matter.\" MK Tzvi Hendel (National Union) condemned the \"intolerable ease\" with which the army is turned into a punching-bag as it attempts to deal with a \"miserable situation brought about by the same politicians who now criticize the army.\"
Last night further south in the coastal region an IDF force detected a terrorist cell apparently on its way to an attack in Morag; the soldiers opened fire and killed one terrorist, and three others fled.
In other attacks since last night: A would-be murderer was apprehended this morning after attempting to stab a soldier stationed near Kedumim, in the Shomron... Further south, a resident of Eli on midnight guard duty was shot at. Three shots from the direction of Luban a-Sharkiya were directed at the watchman in the N’vei Shir neighborhood; he was not hurt and he returned fire. Eli is located 30 kilometers (18 miles) north of Jerusalem… Shots were also fired at Jewish homes in the Shomron town of Chomesh, east of Netanya… Arabs opened fire against IDF posts near Ganei Tal and near Rafiach, and at the Gush Katif communities of Atzmona and N’vei Dekalim, in Israel’s southern coastal region…
Today\'s Haaretz newspaper reports that the dozens of Kassam-2 rockets in Tul Karm and Kalkilya have not been fired due to technical difficulties, not because of policy considerations. Both Arab towns border on large Jewish population centers north of Tel Aviv.
Lt.-Col. (res.) Avi Farhan, a founder and resident of the north-Gaza town of Elei Sinai, told Arutz-7 today, \"It could be that there is room for criticism, but I don\'t subscribe to these anonymous quotes [from \'army officers\'], brought by one specific commentator with known left-wing views and then copied by all the other media... To quote this criticism while the soldiers are still in the midst of the operation is a blow to morale, and should not be done. I call upon the Defense Ministry to invesigate this matter.\" MK Tzvi Hendel (National Union) condemned the \"intolerable ease\" with which the army is turned into a punching-bag as it attempts to deal with a \"miserable situation brought about by the same politicians who now criticize the army.\"
Last night further south in the coastal region an IDF force detected a terrorist cell apparently on its way to an attack in Morag; the soldiers opened fire and killed one terrorist, and three others fled.
In other attacks since last night: A would-be murderer was apprehended this morning after attempting to stab a soldier stationed near Kedumim, in the Shomron... Further south, a resident of Eli on midnight guard duty was shot at. Three shots from the direction of Luban a-Sharkiya were directed at the watchman in the N’vei Shir neighborhood; he was not hurt and he returned fire. Eli is located 30 kilometers (18 miles) north of Jerusalem… Shots were also fired at Jewish homes in the Shomron town of Chomesh, east of Netanya… Arabs opened fire against IDF posts near Ganei Tal and near Rafiach, and at the Gush Katif communities of Atzmona and N’vei Dekalim, in Israel’s southern coastal region…
Today\'s Haaretz newspaper reports that the dozens of Kassam-2 rockets in Tul Karm and Kalkilya have not been fired due to technical difficulties, not because of policy considerations. Both Arab towns border on large Jewish population centers north of Tel Aviv.