TEL AVIV — Israel's military has concluded that it has lost its
deterrence against Palestinian insurgency groups.
Military sources said a report submitted to the General Staff asserted
that Palestinian insurgency groups, particularly in the Gaza Strip, were no
longer deterred by Israel. The report said Israeli air strikes on the Gaza
Strip have failed to stop Palestinian missile attacks on the Jewish state.
On Thursday, Palestinian gunners fired Kassam missiles toward Ashkelon.
The missiles landed in a military base as well as in the industrial zone
south of the city's residential area, Middle East Newsline reported.
"We have lost all of our deterrence against the terrorists in the Gaza
Strip," a military source said. "They don't care about our response or even
if their missiles go astray and strike Palestinian homes.
An army officer and four soldiers were injured in an attack for which
Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility, the sources said. Near the military
base is an industrial zone that contains such strategic facilities as a
power station and oil terminal.
Israeli artillery batteries responded by firing toward open fields in
the northern Gaza Strip. Minutes earlier, Deputy Defense Minister Zeev Boim
told Israel state radio that Palestinian insurgency groups appeared to have
suspended missile strikes.
Military sources dismissed the prospect that the insurgents would be
deterred by Israeli artillery salvos in the northern Gaza Strip. They said
the goal of the insurgents, financed by Iran and Hizbullah, was to attack
strategic facilities in the Israeli city of Ashkelon. The Iranian-sponsored
Islamic Jihad and Fatah have claimed responsibility for most of the missile
salvos.
The report said Islamic Jihad and Fatah have been coordinating with
Hizbullah, which finances Palestinian gunners. Hizbullah has deployed 15,000
missiles and rockets along the Israeli-Lebanese border, and the report
warned that the Shi'ite militia could launch attacks toward Israel in
support of Palestinian insurgents.
The Defense Ministry agreed with the military assessment, the sources
said. The two bodies, along with Israel's intelligence agencies, hold weekly
sessions on the security situation and relay recommendations to Chief of
Staff Lt. Gen. Dan Halutz.
"We have to impose here deterrence," Amos Gilad, the director of
political-military division of the Defense Ministry, said. "The phenomenon
is intolerable. The question is what should be done."
Over the last week, Palestinian gunners have fired Kassam-class,
short-range missiles inside military bases and strategic facilities in the
Ashkelon area. So far, nobody has been injured.
The sources said Palestinian gunners have managed to enter former Jewish
settlements in the northern Gaza Strip. They said this has enabled the
firing of Kassam-3 missiles, with a range of between nine and 12 kilometers.
The Defense Ministry has received a military assessment that Kassam
missiles could rain on Ashkelon in January 2006. The assessment said Hamas
would use its new extended-range Kassams against Israel when it formally
resumes attacks on the Jewish state.
"Currently, there isn't sustained fire at strategic facilities," Gilad
said.
For his part, Mofaz has pledged to review a range of recommendations by
the military. But he has ruled out the prospect of a ground invasion, urged
by the military's Southern Command.
"It's not high on the list [of feasible actions]," Mofaz said.
