Defense Minister Amir Peretz said Sunday that neither he nor Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Dan Halutz approved the appointment of General (res.) Yom Tov Samiah as deputy GOC Southern Command.

Speaking in Sunday's weekly cabinet meeting, Peretz added that he had spoken with Halutz and GOC Southern Command Yoav Galant about remarks made by Samiah last week calling for the IDF to re-occupy a half-kilometer-wide strip along the Gaza-Egypt border.

Peretz said remarks by IDF officers regarding the army's operational plans must be dealt with severely. According to Peretz, details of operational plans have been irresponsibly revealed in recent weeks. The defense minister said he intends to deal with the issue in order to prevent its reccurence.

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Regarding the Palestinian arena, Peretz said there has been an escalation in the confrontation between Hamas and Fatah, and both groups are preparing for the situation to deteriorate further after the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

According to Peretz, the internal Palestinian crisis could lead to increasing Palestinian anger directed at Israel.

Peretz emphasized that although terror attack warnings still occur, there has been a marked drop in the number of terrorist attacks thanks to IDF operations.

Shas Chairman Eli Yishai added that IDF troops should reoccupy the Philadelphi Route between Egypt and the Gaza Strip in light of the massive amount of weaponry being smuggled in.