Qassam hits Ashkelon structure
Rocket launched from Gaza damages building in town's industrial zone; no injuries reported in attack. Islamic Jihad claims responsibility
A Qassam rocket landed Saturday evening in southern Ashkelon, causing some damage to one of the structures at the area. No injuries were reported in the attack. The IDF reported that another rocket was launched at Israel's direction, but that its landing site has yet to be identified.
The Islamic Jihad's military wing, the al-Quds Brigades, claimed responsibility for the rockets' attack. The organization pledged this weekend it will prove Army Chief Dan Halutz that "the Palestinian resistance will continue to target Israel," in response to Halutz's statement the group was growing weak.
Members of the organization said that as far as they were concerned, the series of responses by the al-Quds Brigades to the targeted killings against its activists in the last few weeks, have not ended.
Meanwhile, army officers claimed that the Palestinian police were doing next to nothing in a bid to counter the rocket threat. They claimed that while Hamas was not taking active part in launching the Qassams, it participated in transferring the rockets "behind the scenes."
Hundreds of Qassams were fired at the western Negev region in southern Israel in the last months, with one of the terrorists' primary targets being Ashkelon's industrial zone, where several strategic sites – including a power plant – are located.
At the beginning of the month, a Qassam launched by the Islamic Jihad landed in a security-sensitive structure south of the town. One employee suffered shock and was treated by Magen David Adom paramedics at the scene. Slight damage was caused to the building itself in the incident.
Factories in southern Ashkelon have recently been connected to the Red Dawn alert system that identifies the launching of rockets at the area's direction.
'We are an enlightened country'
IDF Chief of Staff Dan Halutz was asked recently why the army fails in putting an end to the attacks from Gaza, and replied that "life means choosing between alternatives. Some would say, 'let's re-conquer Gaza,' because that's one of the ways to fight this threat."
"I always remind people that we were inside the Strip up until eight months ago, and even when we were there we were unable to give a comprehensive solution to each Qassam attack. This is because we conduct ourselves like an enlightened country, and try to refrain from crossing lines in our operations," Halutz added.
