Olmert tours south
Photo: Moshe Milner, GPO
Olmert: We'll end Gaza op if arms smuggling, rocket attacks cease
PM tells southern residents 'I am not a man of war; I am a man of compromise. I am a man of peace, whose conditions of compromise may be painful, but will bring peace to the people of Israel'
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Tuesday that Israel would halt its military activities in Gaza under two conditions: That the arms smuggling from Sinai to the Hamas-controlled territory ceases and that Palestinian gunmen stop firing rockets toward Israel's southern region.
In an apparent reference to the mounting tension along Israel's northern border, the PM said during a morale-building meeting with southern residents "I am not compromising on security, not here, and not anywhere else. No one should be misguided on our level of determination, decisiveness, and preparedness on any front.
"I have dedicated the past two years to reach a peace agreement with Syria and the Palestinians. I am not a man of war; I am a man of compromise. I am a man of peace, whose conditions of compromise may be painful, but will bring peace to the people of Israel," he said.
Olmert continued to say that "the residents of the south have been exposed to incessant attacks for seven long years. What began with the launching of small rockets has developed into the firing of powerful rockets, and thousands of citizens are living under their threat."
Olmert mentioned that following his visit to Sderot, US President-elect Barack Obama told him that he would "fire back with full force in order to destroy anyone who would attack the house in which my two daughters live."
The PM said of Obama's comment: "Our sentiments here cannot be expressed more accurately."
Addressing the death of four Israeli soldiers in Gaza over the past 24 hours, the PM said "We sent the children to protect the parents. We sent in the army to defend the civilian population. There was no other way. This is what the Shin Bet and IDF recommended we do. I want to make it clear that we are not seeking a prolonged conflict.
"We will hold our fire under two conditions: One is an end to the arms smuggling from Sinai into Gaza, and the other is the cessation of all terror activity; not just the rocket fire," Olmert declared.
