PM Tells Cabinet
‘Prepare for War With Gaza’
Breaking Israel News
Latest News Biblical perspective
By Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz October 8, 2018 , 5:24 pm
“Of David. Blessed
is Hashem, my rock, who trains my hands for battle, my fingers for warfare;”
Psalms 144:1 (The Israel Bible™)
Benjamin Netanyahu (second from right) chairs a cabinet
meeting in Jerusalem. (Credit: Kobi Gideon/GPO)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told his
cabinet on Sunday that he is preparing for a military solution to the violence
on the country’s southern border.
“If the reality of civil distress in Gaza is diminished,
that is desirable, but that is not certain to happen, and so we are preparing
militarily,” Netanyahu said in the cabinet meeting. “That is not an empty
statement.”
The prime minister’s remarks come after the Defense
Ministry ordered IDF troops to send reinforcements to the region on Thursday in
preparation for a possible escalation.
Israel has been threatened by the weekly Hamas-led March
of Return protests which began in March, bringing tens of thousands of Gazans
to the border. Though several media reports have described the protests as
peaceful, protesters hurl projectiles, firebombs, and hand grenades at IDF
troops stationed along the security fence separating Gaza from Israel. There
have been many attempts, some successful, to infiltrate the border and to place
explosive devices on the fence. In July, a Hamas sniper armed with a
specialized rifle killed one IDF soldier and wounded another.
The violence has been intensifying in
recent weeks.
At least 193 Palestinians, including at least 50 Hamas
members, have been killed since the riots began.
In a tactic that has proven successful, Hamas operatives
have sent thousands of incendiary balloons and kites
over the border, burning between 7,000-9,000 acres of farmland and nature
preserves in southern Israel.
In July, Hamas fired close to 200 rockets and projectiles
at Israeli cities, leading the IDF to strike 40 Hamas military targets in Gaza.
After the hostilities, Minister of Education Naftali Bennett confronted Chief
of General Staff Gadi Eisenkot and demanded that the IDF take more active
measures to protect Israelis from the ongoing attacks by aerial incendiary
devices.
Attempts by Egypt to mediate a ceasefire between Israel
and Hamas were recently discontinued. The conflict between Palestinian
Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas and
Hamas have exacerbated the tension in the region. Last week, Abbas threatened
to cut off all funding to Gaza if Hamas does not hand over complete control of
Gaza.The PA gives approximately $93 million each month to Gaza.
Israeli security officials told Hadashot news that
a financial crisis could drive Hamas to initiate a conflict with Israel. They
also warned that such a conflict could expand into Judea and Samaria.
Israeli Kan broadcasting reported that Abbas spoke
with Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi on Saturday. Al-Sisi reportedly
warned Abbas that additional measures against Gaza would endanger the Egyptian
security, particularly in the Sinai Peninsula. Egyptian forces are already
contending against ISIS operatives in the area and would not welcome an
increase in tensions along the border.
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