Barak: IDF can't eliminate Kassams

Eli Moyal calls Shimon Peres a "persona non grata" in Sderot.

By JPOST.COM STAFF
peres face shot298 88 ap (photo credit: AP [file])
peres face shot298 88 ap
(photo credit: AP [file])
Former prime minister Ehud Barak said Tuesday that no activity by the IDF or security forces would entirely eliminate all of the Kassam rocket attacks from the Gaza Strip. Barak said that the army had made significant gains in its war on the Kassam attacks but that it needed to do more, in an interview with Israel Radio. He specifically criticized the lack of defense of homes and schools immediately following disengagement. Meanwhile, Vice Premier Shimon Peres stressed on Tuesday morning that Israel should exert its maximum effort to prevent Kassam rocket attacks, a day after implying that the attacks on Sderot were not so serious in the context of Israel's difficult history. While emphasizing that Israel needed to prevent the rocket strikes, he said that the nation should refrain from hysteria. Kiryat Shmona had been shelled for many years and Israel survived, Peres added on Monday, to provide context for his argument. He had said on Monday that Israel should tell the Palestinians, "Kassams shmassams - we will survive and aren't going anywhere." After clarifying that he thought Israel should use all its resources to stop the Kassams, Peres added on Tuesday that all military endeavors must remain within the bounds of Israel's codes and values. Sderot Mayor Eli Moyal, responded to Peres' Monday comments by saying that the town was boiling over the vice premier's comments and that they were considering calling him a "persona non grata," an unwelcome person in the southern city.