PM: Further fire will meet harsh response
Weekly government meeting focuses on rising tensions in south. Prime Minister Netanyahu says Israel considering strategy vis-à-vis Hamas aggression, while Interior Minister Yishai suggests broader aerial offensive
Sunday's government meeting focused, naturally, on the escalation in southern Israel and the tensions on the Gaza border.
Palestinian terror groups fired some 120 rockets on southern Israel, some of which were successfully intercepted by the Iron Dome missile defense system.
Netanyahu went on to note what he called a major achievement for the IDF: "From a defensive aspect, Israel noted a significant achievement by the Iron Dome system, whose missile intercepts resonated worldwide.
"Still, it is obviously only a partial response, and we need an offensive as well. From am offensive aspect, the IDF dealt Hamas and other terror groups massive blows in terms of lives and equipment," he said."
Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz said it was only a matter of time until Israel topples Hamas' rule in Gaza: "While the situation remains unclear, Israel will not abide the existence of a terror regime in Gaza Strip in the long run. The more Hamas provokes us, the closer the days come when we will defeat it in Gaza."
As for claims that Iron Dome batteries suffer from insufficient deployment, Steinitz said that "We will never be able to provide cross-country protection. The big cities – yes, but not every city."
Minister for Development of the Negev and Galilee Silvan Shalom criticized Defense Minister Ehud Barak Sunday for dedifferentiating between Hamas' political and military wings.
"There is no reason for this differentiation. The two are the same," he said. "It took me a long time to convince the international community to include Hamas on their terror watch lists. There is no place for this differentiation," he said.
Meanwhile, the government is expected approve outfitting four new Iron Dome batteries, early next week.
The US administration promised the defense establishment $205 million in funding for the project, but the funds have yet to be delivered. The Israeli government intends to go ahead with the project in the meantime, in order to deploy the new batteries as soon as possible.
Defense establishment officials were pleased with Iron Dome's performance over the weekend, saying the number of missile defense batteries must be increased to meet terror threats in all sectors, not just the southern one.
The defense establishment aims to eventually have 12-13 Iron Dome batteries, which will become a part of the Magic Wand defense system, meant to counter medium-range missiles.
The Irom Dome system and the future Magic Wand system are meant to provide interlacing defense, in the same manner that the Patriot and Hetz defense systems do.
Just prior to the meeting, Interior Minister Eli Yishai said that Israel should launch a wide-scale airstrike in the south, adding that "Restraint may be a show of strength, but if you apply it for too long it becomes a weakness. We have to make the effort to pursue a less-conventional, harsher response.
"I'm not saying we should embark on another (Operation) Cast Lead, a ground operation in completely unnecessary, but aerially target bases, crossings, roads and the infrastructure that allows them to hit the south.
"We need to be more forceful, instead of being sluggish, as we have been so far," he said.
Hanan Greenberg contributed to this report
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