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Last update - 21:15 29/12/2008
Barak: We'll use every resource to stop 'criminal' rocket fire from Gaza
By Shahar Ilan and Amos Harel, Haaretz Correspondents and Haaretz Service
Tags: Israel, Hamas, Gaza 

Defense Minister Ehud Barak said upon completing his daily briefing that the Israel Defense Forces will use every resource to bring about an end to Palestinian rocket fire.

Speaking at the end of the third day of deadly aerial assaults on the Gaza Strip, Barak said "if the criminal rocket fire aimed at Israeli civilians does not stop immediately, Israel will use all its resources and all the legal tools it possesses to force the enemy to stop this aggressive, illegal behavior," Barak declared.

The defense minister reiterated previous calls on the residents of the Gaza Strip to stay away from areas where terrorist activity exists. Barak added that humanitarian aid will continue to be transferred into Gaza even during warfare.
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Earlier Monday, in the face of catcalls from Arab lawmakers, Barak told a stormy Knesset session that the operation in Gaza will be "widened and deepened as necessary."

"We have an all-out war against Hamas and its kind," Barak said, using a term he has employed in the past to describe a long-term struggle against Israel's Islamist enemies.

Barak also cited a comment made by U.S. President-elect Barack Obama, who visited Sderot during his election campaign earlier this year.

"Obama said that if rockets were being fired at his home while his two daughters were sleeping, he would do everything he could to prevent it," Barack told the plenum.

The defense minister went on to say that Israel is engaged in a "war to the bitter end" against Hamas in Gaza.

Barak added that the massive air assault Israel launched beginning Saturday is aimed not at Gaza's residents but at the territory's Hamas rulers. He said the operation's goal is to force Hamas to stop its hostile actions directed at Israeli civilians.

Barak said Israel quit all of Gaza three years ago to give a chance for a new reality on the ground, but that Hamas had used the territory as a terrorist haven.

"Hamas is responsible for everything that happens in Gaza and which emanates from it," the defense minister said. "This operation will be widened, deepened as we see fit."

Barak told the assembled lawmakers that the defense establishment spent months preparing for the Gaza operation.

Likud chairman MK Benjamin Netanyahu criticized the Arab protests while calling on Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to dismiss minister Raleb Majadele, the lone Arab serving in the cabinet.

Arab MKs repeatedly accused the government of waging a war for electioneering purposes and the defense minister of intentionally killing children. Russian-Israeli MK Avigdor Lieberman (Yisrael Beiteinu) proposed that the Arab lawmakers relocate to Gaza and not return. The Arab MKs retorted by calling him a "Fascist," and insisted that he should return to the country where he came from.

"There are those who are counting bodies and at the same time counting Knesset seats," Israeli Arab MK Ahmed Tibi (Ra'am-Ta'al) said. "Bodies for votes - this is done primarily by the Labor Party."

"There are those who are profiting from Palestinian blood in order to get elected," Hadash chairman MK Mohammed Barakeh said. Barakeh and MK Taleb a-Sana were subsequently evicted from the plenum.

Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni lashed out at Hamas in her remarks, imploring foreign leaders to not judge Israel solely on the images broadcast on television screens.

"Israel is acting against Hamas and not against the population," Livni said. "We are once again making clear that whoever has complaints over the state of the population should take them to those who have responsibility over the situation there - Hamas."

Livni also made reference to Hani al-Mahdi, the 27-year-old man from Ar'ur, who was killed by a Palestinian rocket in Ashkelon on Monday. "A state must defend all of its citizens," she told the plenum. "I heard on the way here that Hamas announced that the man killed by the rocket in Ashkelon was one of the Zionists, even though he is an Israeli-Arab. They do not make this distinction."

Related articles:
  • Gaza War Diary II - Who speaks for the Gazans?
  • Why hasn't Hamas responded to Gaza strikes with greater force?
  • OPINION / Trying to 'teach Hamas a lesson' is fundamentally wrong
  • Amira Hass / 'Gaza strike is not against Hamas, it's against all Palestinians'
  • Hezbollah: Israel may take this opportunity to attack Lebanon
  • Hamas: Time for a third Intifada
  • ANALYSIS / IAF strike on Gaza is Israel's version of 'shock and awe'
  • IN PICTURES / Gaza under attack
  • Bradley Burston / The worst anti-Israel charges you'll hear in wartime
  • U.S. demands Hamas end terrorist acts, urges Israel to avoid civilian casualties
  • Israeli Arabs react with violence to IDF operations in Gaza
  • Israel to mount emergency international PR effort in wake of Gaza campaign
    • Bookmark to del.icio.us  
     
    Army of martyrs
    Iran clerics enlist volunteers to fight 'Zionist regime' in Gaza.
    New anti-Semitism
    Greek paper: World Jewish plutocracy behind Gaza strife, global financial crisis.
      1.   Maybe Obana should have visited Gaza, not Sderot 12:30  |  sharon 29/12/08
      2.   What Obama forgot to say... 12:36  |  Maureen Ann 29/12/08
      3.   Very nice Barak! Finally I hear a worthy Israeli general. 12:45  |  S 29/12/08
      4.   BARAK SPEAKS FOR BARACK? 13:28  |  indrajaya 29/12/08
      5.   #1 Sharon 13:36  |  George Kaplan 29/12/08
      6.   if ehud barak keeps this offensive up, he might get reelected! 13:39  |  michelle 29/12/08
      7.   Who Likes Rockets On Thier Homes? 13:42  |  Baruch Gold 29/12/08
      8.   New Reality 14:00  |  Abdel Ilah Al-Bakri 29/12/08
      9.   Olmert Noticably Absent: Kadima == SHAME 14:05  |  Ovadiah ben Avraham 29/12/08
      10.   Barak`s talk at the Knesset has been one of the best ever 14:46  |  Anat 29/12/08
      11.   Why not target the population? 14:46  |  Hir O`shima 29/12/08
      12.   Barak`s wager. 15:11  |  sandra chitayat 29/12/08
      13.   Ignoring the root cause, as usual 15:14  |  Jim 29/12/08
      14.   all ou war with hamas 15:34  |  elliot 29/12/08
      15.   to #1 15:56  |  NYC Jew 29/12/08
      16.   #14 What about Rabin? 15:57  |  Jim 29/12/08
      17.   #11 18:37  |  houran 29/12/08
      18.   Obama`s remarks as told by Barak 18:53  |  DR. PATRICIA WOODS 29/12/08
      19.   Livni`s plea to the world... 19:22  |  Silvienne 29/12/08
      20.   Livni`s plea to the world... 19:22  |  Silvienne 29/12/08
      21.   George kaplan 19:48  |  Marilyn 29/12/08
      22.   to Abdel Ilah Al-Bakri 20:11  |  CM 29/12/08
      23.   For the Moderator 20:26  |  Clickfool 29/12/08
      24.   Jim 21:28  |  Brad 29/12/08
      25.   Here`s an idea 22:41  |  Tim 29/12/08
      26.   Hir - you`ve only been watching Israeli TV haven`t you? 23:16  |  Palestinian Brit 29/12/08
      27.   The Problem with your lying Brit Pal is . . . 23:33  |  GZLives 29/12/08
      28.   Barak "widening and deepening.." 23:58  |  Palestinian Brit 29/12/08
      29.   to Mr baruch Gold 00:27  |  Alberto 30/12/08
      30.   Unwise words. 00:47  |  Fortuna Benmayor 30/12/08
      31.   Pal Brit Forgot the 300 Hamas fighters hit? 01:08  |  I 30/12/08
      32.   ad. Palestinian Brit - you`re right! 01:13  |  Hanoman 30/12/08
      33.   Pali Brit - Faulty Logic 01:24  |  Petero 30/12/08
      34.   # 11 Hir O`shima 01:50  |  Joseph.E 30/12/08
      35.   Incompetent Barak and Olmert 02:35  |  MK 30/12/08
      36.   Withdrawal from territory is used as a terrorist haven 03:02  |  Joseph.E 30/12/08
     Read & React
    Two Israelis die as rockets fired from Gaza hit south
    Responses: 166
    Bradley Burston: Who speaks for Gazans, when they need it most?
    Responses: 134
    Tom Segev: Trying to 'teach Hamas a lesson' is wrong
    Responses: 153
    Amira Hass: 'Gaza strike is against all Palestinians'
    Responses: 94
    Greek paper: World Jewish plutocracy behind Gaza strife, global financial crisis
    Responses: 73
    Why hasn't Hamas responded to Gaza strikes with greater force?
    Responses: 40


    More Headlines
    01:33 Rockets fired from Gaza kill 2 Israelis within hour
    02:58 ANALYSIS / Hamas is hoping for an IDF ground operation
    03:02 Israel targets senior Hamas, Islamic Jihad commanders in fresh Gaza strikes
    20:20 Hezbollah: Defending Gaza means offering blood of martyrs
    02:18 David Grossman / Is Israel too imprisoned in the familiar ceremony of war?
    02:28 EU to press Israel on ceasing Gaza operation
    01:42 U.S.: Hamas must halt rocket fire at Israel, agree to lasting truce
    23:23 WATCH: Israel's attack on Gaza from the missiles' point of view
    16:50 IN PICTURES / Firestorm over Gaza
    13:02 Top PA negotiator: No peace talks with Israel during Gaza assault
    01:48 VIDEO / Egyptian paper: Hamas leaders partially responsible for Gaza assault
    12:07 Gaza War Diary II - Who speaks for the Gazans?
    15:41 Greek paper: World Jewish plutocracy behind Gaza strife, global financial crisis
    02:44 Amira Hass / Uncertainty and bombing keep Gazans awake and fearful of who will be next
    12:28 Report: Captive IDF soldier Shalit wounded in Gaza air strikes
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