Two of the rockets landed in open fields and the third struck the city of Sderot, a frequent target for the Kassams. None of the rockets caused damage or casualties. The rocket fired at Sderot set off the city’s, “Red Dawn” warning system. Residents took cover in bomb shelters.
Over night Sunday, the IDF carried out an aerial attack against a structure in the southern Gaza Strip used by terrorists of the Fatah-affiliated Al-Aksa Martyrs Brigade. IDF spokesmen said the attack was in retaliation for recent Arab terror activity, including the firing of rockets from the Gaza Strip at Israeli communities.
Sunday’s Kassam strikes calls into question the effectiveness of the IDF’s operation in northern Gaza, code named, “Blue Skies.” Many of the Kassem rockets, especially those fired on the Ashkelon industrial zone, were launched from the former Jewish communities of Dugit, Elei Sinai, and Nisanit. The IDF has warned the Palestinian Authority that any unauthorized Arab present in those areas would be hit by the IDF.
PA police are exempt from the ban, although Israel has warned the PA security forces against assisting the terrorists.
The IDF’s strategy has been to effectively create a buffer zone in the areas that were thriving Jewish communities prior to the disengagement last August.
That strategy was put into practice Saturday night. IDF troops spotted three terrorists near the former community of Elei Sinai as they were attempting to launch a Kassam into Israel. Two of the three terrorists were killed and one was wounded by a missile fired by the Israeli Air Force.
The PA, in an unusual act of candor, admitted that the Arabs killed were in fact terrorists from the Al Aksa Bridages, the military arm of the Fatah, the political party of PA chief Mahmoud Abbas.
The IDF has warned the PA that the “Blue Skies” operation could be expanded to include large swaths of territory bordering Israel, if the PA does not act to stop the rockets.
Sources in the IDF said that certain foreign governments have been pressuring Israel to halt the operation, claiming that it limits PA control over territory ceded to it by Israel under the disengagement plan. Those sources emphasized that at present, there are no plans to stop the operation.
Sderot residents, however, have complained to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, that operation “Blue Skies” in northern Gaza has no effectiveness in preventing Kassam rockets from being fired from other sites in Gaza into areas of the western Negev.
“Are the children of Sderot worth less than those of Ashkelon?” asked Sderot Mayor Eli Moyal. “We live in one country, and if an operation is to be carried out to prevent the firing of Kassem rockets is different for Sderot than for Ashkelon…this is very serious.”
Moyal said that what appeared to be discrimination between the two cities, “should not happen in a democratic country.”
Moyal said the residents of Sderot were “very angry” at the government. “We’re very happy the prime minister is defending the residents of Ashkelon. But we want them to do the same thing when rockets are fired at Sderot,” he said. “And if not, let them explain why they discriminate between the lives of Ashkelon’s children and the lives of those in Sderot.”
Over night Sunday, the IDF carried out an aerial attack against a structure in the southern Gaza Strip used by terrorists of the Fatah-affiliated Al-Aksa Martyrs Brigade. IDF spokesmen said the attack was in retaliation for recent Arab terror activity, including the firing of rockets from the Gaza Strip at Israeli communities.
Sunday’s Kassam strikes calls into question the effectiveness of the IDF’s operation in northern Gaza, code named, “Blue Skies.” Many of the Kassem rockets, especially those fired on the Ashkelon industrial zone, were launched from the former Jewish communities of Dugit, Elei Sinai, and Nisanit. The IDF has warned the Palestinian Authority that any unauthorized Arab present in those areas would be hit by the IDF.
PA police are exempt from the ban, although Israel has warned the PA security forces against assisting the terrorists.
The IDF’s strategy has been to effectively create a buffer zone in the areas that were thriving Jewish communities prior to the disengagement last August.
That strategy was put into practice Saturday night. IDF troops spotted three terrorists near the former community of Elei Sinai as they were attempting to launch a Kassam into Israel. Two of the three terrorists were killed and one was wounded by a missile fired by the Israeli Air Force.
The PA, in an unusual act of candor, admitted that the Arabs killed were in fact terrorists from the Al Aksa Bridages, the military arm of the Fatah, the political party of PA chief Mahmoud Abbas.
The IDF has warned the PA that the “Blue Skies” operation could be expanded to include large swaths of territory bordering Israel, if the PA does not act to stop the rockets.
Sources in the IDF said that certain foreign governments have been pressuring Israel to halt the operation, claiming that it limits PA control over territory ceded to it by Israel under the disengagement plan. Those sources emphasized that at present, there are no plans to stop the operation.
Sderot residents, however, have complained to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, that operation “Blue Skies” in northern Gaza has no effectiveness in preventing Kassam rockets from being fired from other sites in Gaza into areas of the western Negev.
“Are the children of Sderot worth less than those of Ashkelon?” asked Sderot Mayor Eli Moyal. “We live in one country, and if an operation is to be carried out to prevent the firing of Kassem rockets is different for Sderot than for Ashkelon…this is very serious.”
Moyal said that what appeared to be discrimination between the two cities, “should not happen in a democratic country.”
Moyal said the residents of Sderot were “very angry” at the government. “We’re very happy the prime minister is defending the residents of Ashkelon. But we want them to do the same thing when rockets are fired at Sderot,” he said. “And if not, let them explain why they discriminate between the lives of Ashkelon’s children and the lives of those in Sderot.”