Lieberman: If Code Red blares in Israel, it will blare in Gaza too
Defense minister warns Hamas of further violence on Gaza border, advising it 'to act wisely and with calm this weekend, and not force us to do what we don't want to do'; 10 fires break out as result of incendiary balloons, leading IAF to attack incendiary balloon cell in response.
Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman warned Friday that if Code Red rocket alert sirens continue to blare in Israeli communities along the Gaza border, "there'll be very strong Code Red on the other side as well."
Speaking during a visit to Kibbutz Or HaNer on the Gaza border, Lieberman added that the IDF "will try to do what it has been tasked with, which is primarily ensuring the security of the citizens of Israel."
The defense minister expressed hope the residents of the Gaza border communities will have a quiet weekend.
"Since March 30, when Hamas started the friction on the fence and all of its provocations—including all the (incendiary) balloon launches—the other side has suffered some 152 fatalities and close to 5,000 injuries, and serious damage to its most critical terror infrastructure—including production sites, storage sites, training facilities. We're also closely supervising the Kerem Shalom crossing," he elaborated.
"Do we need to move on to the next level? Looks like we do, but at the end of the day our responsibility is over all borders of the state, our responsibility is to deal with all threats at the same time, ensure normal life and daily routine here and everywhere," he continued.
Despite saying Israel likely needs to move on to "the next level," the defense minister stressed that "We very much don't want to be dragged into war. We're doing everything to avoid a wide-scale campaign, but the ball is in the other court. I very strongly advise Hamas to act wisely and with calm this weekend, and not force us to do what we know how to do but don't want to do."
Lieberman asserted that the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip "is not because of the Israeli occupation, it's because Abbas decided to cut $300 million (from money transferred to the strip), it's because UNRWA cut its budget by an additional $260 million, it's because Hamas doesn't want to give even a cent of its budget to the citizens."
"By the way, the homes of (Hamas leaders) Sinwar and Haniyeh have electricity and water 24/7, they lack for nothing. But they are cynically taking advantage of the Gazan residents' distress to incite them against the State of Israel and Israeli citizens. If they can think they can continue this for long, they're wrong," he added.
The defense minister noted the difference between the Israeli communities on the Gaza border and the strip itself. "Here, they're busy working, creating, living. While there they're busy with death, poverty and hatred," he said.
"We really did everything—we evacuated our communities (in Gaza), returned to the 1967 lines. We were brainwashed—lands for peace. We returned the lands, and got Qassam rockets," he concluded.
Arson terrorism continues
Ten fires broke out in Israeli communities along the Gaza border on Friday as a result of incendiary balloons flown from the Gaza Strip. Among others, fires broke out in Shokeda Forest, Simhoni Forest and Be'eri Forest.
Firefighting teams have gained control over the fire in some of the locations, but were still battling the flames in Kissufim, Gvar'am and Be'eri.
In response, an IAF aircraft attacked an incendiary balloons cell in the northern Gaza Strip. No one was hurt.
Ilana Curiel, Elior Levy contributed to this report.
