PM Netanyahu at kindergarten in the area adjacent to the Gaza Strip.
Photo By: Haim Zach / GPO
In the midst of a tenuous ceasefire in which a Gaza projectile proved it’s not over, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said “for the seventh time” that his country would not accept a ceasefire in which terrorists continue to launch incendiary kites and balloons in arson attacks on Israel. “It is worth their while to listen to me, especially on the other side, there is no such thing from our perspective of a ceasefire that makes an exception for incendiary kites and balloons,” said Netanyahu on Monday in comments released by his office. “…[This message] will, I hope, get through. But if it will not be understood from my words, it will be understood through the actions of the IDF.”
Those actions were on display on Monday, as Israeli aircraft struck a pair of Hamas posts in Gaza located near where flaming balloons had been launched, according to a series of Tweets from the IDF Spokesperson. Those last strikes were “in response to Hamas’ arson attacks against Israeli civilians and Israeli sovereignty,” said the Twitter posts. Based on Netanyahu’s words on Monday, don’t expect Israel to stop there if the terrorists keep launching the fire kites and balloons.
“Just as we are now completing the blocking of the tunnels and as we took action and succeeded in stopping the mass storming of the fences, I have directed the IDF to defeat and stop the terror of incendiary kites and balloons, and we are in the midst of the process,” said Netanyahu.
The same day as Netanyahu’s comments, another projectile was launched from Gaza at Israel, but the IDF Spokesperson noted on Twitter that it appears to have fallen short and landed inside the Gaza Strip.
Netanyahu warned that the fight is not over in his comments, which followed a meeting with local leaders from Israel’s southern region that has been hit hardest by the Gaza terror. Noting he had just visited children in a kindergarten in the south, the Israeli premier said, “We are committed to them and this is a continuous process. I do not want to tell anybody that it is over.
“The day before yesterday we took very strong action against Hamas and dealt it the strongest blow it has taken since Operation Protective edge. It must be understood that whoever asks me these questions needs to be prepared for the continuation of the struggle.”
Netanyahu also emphasized that Israel would not back down from the fight.
“It is important that Hamas understand that it faces an iron wall and this wall is comprised, first of all, of a determined government, of strong local leadership and Zionist settlement, and that we will continue to strengthen it and—of course—the IDF.”
(By Joshua Spurlock, www.themideastupdate.com, July 16, 2018)