Israel complains to UN over rockets on South

Sporadic rocket fire hits Israel as pace which saw 130 rockets from Gaza in 3 days slows; Prosor: A million Israelis are paralyzed.

By YAAKOV KATZ
Rockets from Gaza 370(r) (photo credit: Nikola Solic / Reuters)
Rockets from Gaza 370(r)
(photo credit: Nikola Solic / Reuters)
Israel on Thursday lodged an official complaint with the United Nations about the rocket fire into southern Israel from the Gaza Strip over the past several days.
Ambassador to the UN Ron Prosor complained to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon that “the lives of about a million Israelis are paralyzed” by the projectiles.
Three rockets were fired into Israel on Thursday night, one of which was intercepted by the Iron Dome rocket-defense system. They marked the first such attacks since early Thursday morning when seven missiles hit Israel, in addition to one that was intercepted by the Iron Dome near Ashkelon. The IDF said that 130 rockets were fired into Israel since Monday.
Prosor stated that “as long as Israel’s southern communities will not know quiet, it will not be quiet in Gaza.”
He added that Israel fully cooperates with the UN, allowing civilian material and humanitarian aid into Gaza, “and in exchange weapons continue to flow into the Strip and rockets are fired into Israel.”
On Thursday afternoon, the IDF raised the level of alert along the Egyptian border and ordered residents of communities located near Sinai to remain in their homes and lock their doors. Rapid response teams hurried to the towns and the army reinforced nearby forces out of concern that terrorists were planning another attack from the Sinai Peninsula.
By the evening, the IDF lowered the level of alert but kept Road 12 – along the border – closed due to a general concern over attacks.
On Wednesday, the air force attacked a motorbike in Rafah, seriously wounding a top global jihad operative who the army said was planning another assault on Israel from Sinai.
Also on Thursday, the IDF said that it had noticed an increase in the use of cellular phones to detonate roadside bombs in the West Bank. The use of phones, the military said, had declined in recent years but suddenly picked up again in late 2011. The IDF said it also noticed an improvement in the camouflage used to hide the bombs.
The most recent attack with cellular detonation was in April, when a bomb exploded next to an IDF vehicle close to Yatta, south of Hebron.
No one was injured. Last week, two residents of Yatta were indicted for manufacturing bombs and planting them in the Hebron area.