Defense Minister Amir Peretz on Thursday ordered military and defense establishment officials to take action to prevent Qassam fire without bringing about a collapse of the cease-fire in effect since last month.

Palestinians in the Gaza Strip on Thursday fired six Qassam rockets at Israel, two of which landed in the center of the Western Negev town of Sderot.

The first strike on the city, which occurred in the early evening, shattered some windows on a local structure, and several people were treated for shock. Another rocket fired shortly afterward also hit an area in the center of town, sending pieces of shrapnel flying into a bus. Three people were taken to hospital due to ringing in their ears.

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Islamic Jihad confirmed firing the rocket in a phone call to The Associated Press in Gaza.

Another Qassam fired earlier in the day hit a house in the northern Gaza town of Beit Hanun, wounding five Palestinians. Another rocket landed in a field inside Palestinian territory.

The first errant rocket blew through the home's living room and exploded in a bedroom where three children were sleeping, relatives said.

Two-year-old Samir al-Masri suffered two broken legs in the attack, said Dr. Said Judeh of Kamal Adwan hospital. The boy's 4-year-old sister and 3-year-old brother were lightly wounded by shrapnel, said their uncle, Jad al-Masri.

Another hit near a western Negev kibbutz, causing no damage or injuries, while the sixth also landed inside Palestinian territory.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility. But the militant group Islamic Jihad fired at least six rockets at Israel on Wednesday, saying it was avenging the deaths of two members in an Israeli arrest raid in the West Bank.

Peretz to PM: Reassess policy of restraint
Meanwhile, Peretz on Thursday criticized Israel's continued policy of restraint despite repeated cease-fire violations in the form of Qaassam rocket on fire on the Negev, and told Prime Minister Ehud Olmert there had to be a reassessment of the policy.

"We have to examine anew a policy that strengthens elements operating outside the framework of the cease-fire," said Peretz.

"It is impossible to gamble with the lives of Israeli citizens and forbidden to grant immunity to those launching Qassams."

Olmert is intent on adhering to the policy of restraint in face of the continued Qassam rocket attacks from the Gaza Strip, a senior political source in Jerusalem said Wednesday.

Peretz will hold security consultations with members of the IDF top brass and other senior defense officials on ways Thursday evening, to discuss ways to counter the Qassam fire emanating from Palestinian Authority territory.

Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni said the issue of rocket fire was "complex" and rjoined Peretz's assessment that Israel would have to consider whether the current policy of restraint could be maintained.

"A number of weeks after the ceasefire ... it is not being adhered to as it should by the other side," she said.

Fellow cabinet members National Infrastructures Minister Benjamin Ben-Eliezer and Industry, Trade, and Labor Minister Eli Yishai, also called on the government Thursday to respond to the ongoing Qassam attacks from the Gaza Strip, Israel Radio reported.

Yishai called on the government to give the Palestinians an ultimatum on the rocket fire and, should they fail to halt the fire, respond immediately, the radio reported. During a visit to Sderot, Yishai said the Palestinians are taking advantage of the policy of restraint in order to continue firing the rockets.

Ben-Eliezer called on the government to instruct the Israel Defense Forces to end its restraint and start responding to the rocket fire.

The former defense minister told Israel Radio that while he respects Olmert for initiating the policy of restraint, and had supported the policy until today, Israel cannot continue "to sit with its arms crossed."

"Enough restraint," he told Israel Radio. "Israel is many things, but a
suicidal state isn't one of them. The moment a rocket squad is in the
crosshairs, we can't leave them there for a second."

"It's their [the Palestinians'] swamp," he added. "Let them sink in it."

'Ducks at a shooting range'
National Religious Party Chairman Zevulun Orlev said in response Thursday that continuing the restraint would "turn Sderot residents into ducks in a shooting range." According to Israel Radio, Orlev said "Israel's policy of burying its head in the sand must stop before the next disaster."

National Union-NRP MK Arieh Eldad accused the government of willfully abandoning Israel's civilians, saying the leadership is "apparently waiting for someone to be killed so it has an excuse to fulfill its obligation," according to the radio.

Speaking at a joint press conference with the visiting Prime Minister of Norway Jens Stoltenberg on Wednesday, Olmert said that "for a number of weeks now I have used my authority in order to prevent a response to the continued Qassam rocket attacks, but it is clear that it is impossible to ignore this for long, so long as the Palestinians continue to shoot."

In response to the Qassam attacks on Wednesday, Defense Minister Amir Peretz declared that "Israel has no intention of gambling over the security of its citizens. Restraint has its limits. The launching of rockets is a blatant violation of the cease-fire."

Peretz also stressed that in the West Bank "there is no cease-fire. There is no reason to allow terrorists to carry out their plans and carry out attacks. If the cease-fire violations in the Gaza Strip continue, the policy of restraint will be changed."

Olmert is scheduled to hold a series of meetings with leading members of the defense establishment in which the future of the fragile cease-fire between Israel and the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip will be evaluated.

The prime minister will meet with Defense Minister Peretz, Chief of Staff Dan Halutz, Shin Bet chief Yuval Diskin and the Minister of Public Security, Avi Dichter.

The issue of the cease-fire will dominate all meetings, and Olmert is keen to stress that Israel should not be the one that announces an end to the cease-fire.

Olmert has the backing of Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni on this matter.

Notwithstanding the continuous Palestinian violations in the form of Qassam rocket attacks, "the cease-fire provides more calm than without it," a senior political source said on Wednesday.

The source added that the cease-fire is also important for Israel diplomatically.

This is a particularly relevant point in view of the infighting that has prevailed in the Gaza Strip during the past week. Israel may choose to adhere to its commitment to the cease-fire precisely because it wants to avoid being blamed for intervening in an internal Palestinian conflict.

It would seem that so long as the Qassam attacks result in no injuries, Israel will continue its policy of relative restraint.

The cease-fire between Israel and the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip went into effect nearly four weeks ago, but according to the Israel Defense Forces the Palestinians fired 40 rockets against Israel during that period.

Most of the rocket attacks were carried out by members of Islamic Jihad, an organization whose participation in the cease-fire was unclear from the start.

One possibility is that the seven rockets fired into Israel on Wednesday were a response to the killing of two Islamic Jihad militants near Jenin by officers of a police anti-terror unit.

However, IDF sources say that for some time now the enforcement of the cease-fire by the Palestinians has been loose and that rockets are being fired by groups that oppose Hamas, such as radical factions of Fatah and Islamic Jihad.

The current instability and fighting among factions in the Gaza Strip is depleting the resources and attention of Hamas, which is not investing great efforts in preventing the launching of missiles against Israel.

The instability in the Gaza Strip has led senior IDF officers, mostly in the Southern Command, to call for easing the strict rules of engagement put in place for the cease-fire, and allow troops to open fire against Qassam rocket crews.

The current orders are not to shoot at the militants even if they have been clearly identified as preparing to launch rockets against Israel.