Barak predicts operation in Gaza 'closer than ever'

Defense minister tours factory hit by Hamas mortar barrage, says Israel likely to launch act against Gaza terror groups before ceasefire agreement can be reached. Municipal leaders of bombarded communities in South demand government 'start putting safety of our residents first.' Meanwhile, Israel files formal complaint with UN over Palestinian attack

Yonat Atlas
Published: 06.05.08, 20:55 / Israel News

Defense Minister Ehud Barak arrived at the Nirlat paint factory in Kibbutz Nir Oz on Thursday evening to examine the site where a Hamas mortar barrage killed 51-year-old Amnon Rosenberg and wounded five other employees earlier in the day.

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Barak also visited the neighboring Kibbutz Nirim, of which Rosenberg and his family had been members since 1982. The defense minister sounded pessimistic regarding chances to secure a ceasefire deal with terror groups in Gaza in the near future.

"Military action is closer than even, it appears likely there will be an operation prior to the calm (truce)," said Barak.

Chairman of the Sha'ar HaNegev Regional Council, Alon Shuster, said Barak had been evasive when asked by those present at the site to provide a more detailed timetable and declined to provide a clearer picture.

"It was evident from what he said that a military strike won't be long in the making and the 'calm' is off the table. The fact that we've lost quite a few people here in recent times has probably also had an effect," said Shuster.

"The fortitude of civilians here is being battered and it's time for the State to make some difficult decisions, it's inconceivable that everything must first be reviewed by legal counsel," said Shuster, repeating what the local leaders had told Barak. "We stressed that factory employees are scared to come to work. It's clear that without the government's support, these factories will collapse."

Eshkol Regional Council chairman, Haim Yalin, had harsher words for Barak. "We will not bury any more of our people here," he said, demanding of Barak to provide adequate fortification for all the Gaza-vicinity communities. Yalin was skeptical of Barak's statements regarding a possible military operation in the near future. "He said the same things when we buried other people here. We'll live and see."

Meanwhile Israel's ambassador to the United Nations, Dan Gillerman, launched a formal complain to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the UN Security Council over the mortar shell barrage that killed an Israeli citizen and wounded several others on Thursday.

"Israel will not sit on its hands, it will defend itself," wrote Gillerman.

Shmulik Hadad, Hanan Greenberg and Yitzhak Benhorin contributed to this report

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