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| Israel-Palestine-Jordan |
| Barak asks Justice Ministry for OK to expel Gazans from rocket launch areas |
| 2008-03-06 |
| If Israeli Jews could be legally expelled from their homes in Gaza, and their communities destroyed, why not Palestinian Arabs? Indeed, as the former Jewish communities of Gaza are being used as launch pads for rockets against Israel, the supporters of the 2005 "disengagement" now seek to make amends for their destruction of Jewish homes by visiting a similar punishment on Palestinians -- to stop the rocket problem that the Disengagement exacerbated. Defense Minister Ehud Barak is seeking legal approval to evacuate thousands of residents of Gaza City and rocket launch areas in northern Gaza to locations in the south of the Strip to enable the IDF to attack terror infrastructure without harming civilians, Channel 2 reported Wednesday evening. The report came after the Security Cabinet decided Wednesday morning to act in an "ongoing and consistent" manner to end rocket attacks and other terrorist activity from the Gaza Strip. In the past, the language of such decisions only committed to reduce, not cease, rocket attacks and terrorist activities. The cabinet held a special meeting to debate the response to ongoing rocket attacks on Ashkelon and the western Negev. The ministers also decided to coordinate with various parties, including Egypt, to weaken the Hamas government without creating a humanitarian crisis. It stopped short of calling for regime change although, as the recent Vanity Fair report indicated, that was and may still be, the plan of the Bush Administration and the Israeli government. Israel, the cabinet decided, will continue to advance "peace" while maintaining operational freedom to conduct counterterrorism measures and fpublic diplomacy efforts to bolster Israel's media image even as it takes on the terrorists forcefully in Gaza,. According to Israel Radio, Transportation Minister Shaul Mofaz demanded that the IDF be sent on a large-scale operation to "crumble Hamas," but was overruled by the rest of the forum. |
| Posted by:3dc |
| #1 And in related news, Hamas doesn't ask Gazan Justice Ministry (stop laughing) if it's OK to keep rocketing Jews. |
| Posted by: Phil_B 2008-03-06 01:01 |