Steinitz: Cease-fire in South is 'problematic and impossible'
By YAAKOV LAPPINGaza artillery 248.88(photo credit: AP)
Palestinians fired two anti-tank missiles at an IDF unit patrolling the border with Gaza at the Kissufim border crossing on Friday, in the first incident of its kind since the start of the four-month-old cease-fire with Hamas. No injuries were reported in the attack.
The missiles were fired at paratroopers who were mobilized to the Kissufim crossing following suspicions that an explosive device was planted in the area. As the soldiers began to search for the suspected bomb, they came under missile fire.
The assailants managed to escape back into Gaza, and it remained unclear which terrorist organization stood behind the attack.
Following the rocket fire, soldiers did not enter Gaza in pursuit of the attackers,
the IDF added.A number of explosive devices have been uncovered since the cease-fire with Hamas began in June, but Friday's attack was the first to involve IDF soldiers coming under direct fire. It came one day after Palestinians fired a Kassam rocket at Israel on Thursday, leading Defense Minister Ehud Barak to order all border crossings with Gaza to be sealed until further notice.
Friday's missile fire is another warning sign that a "second Hizbullah" is rearing its head in Gaza, the Chairman of the Knesset's Subcommittee for the State of Alert and Field Security, Knesset Member Yuval Steinitz, told The Jerusalem Post on Saturday evening.
"It shows how problematic and impossible this cease-fire in the South is. This is a cease-fire in which the other side is arming itself with modern long-range anti-tank missiles. Every month that goes by while this arming process continues unabated will cost us in lives," Steinitz said.
"This is one small example of the kinds of weapons that Hamas is smuggling in to Gaza, and it shows what their capabilities are becoming," he added. "Israel cannot agree to the development of a second Hizbullah. Things are moving in the direction where in a year or two, Ashdod and Tel Aviv will be in range. This is about our national security. Unfortunately, I believe the cease-fire in Gaza will be viewed in the future as a serious strategic error," Steinitz warned.
On Thursday, Egyptian police announced the discovery of surface-to-surface and surface-to-air rockets in northern Sinai.
Responding to news of the find, Maj. Gen. (ret.) Aharon Ze'evi Farkash, former head of Military Intelligence, told the Post that if the rockets were destined for Gaza, it would not be the first time Hamas had attempted to import "balance-altering weaponry."
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