RAMALLAH, 31 October 2007 — Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak said yesterday that a large-scale Israeli military operation against Palestinian rocket squads was drawing near. Barak has made the threat before, but this is the first time he’s repeated it since Israel started reducing fuel supplies to Gaza this week in another tactic to pressure militants to halt their rocket fire into southern Israel.
“Every day that passes brings us closer to a broad operation in Gaza,” Barak told Army Radio. “We are not happy to do it, we’re not rushing to do it, and we’ll be happy if circumstances succeed in preventing it,” he said. “But the time is approaching when we’ll have to undertake a broad operation in Gaza.”
Past incursions have not deterred the militants from firing rockets into Israel, and have resulted in large numbers of civilian Palestinian casualties.
Last month, the Israeli government changed tack, and approved a plan to cut off fuel and electricity to Gaza in an effort to halt the barrages.
Palestinians in Gaza rely on Israel for all of their fuel and more than half of their electricity. Barak gave the final go-ahead for the sanctions last week, and on Sunday, fuel cutbacks began. On Monday, Israel’s attorney general held up the government’s plan to cut back electricity supplies, demanding more work be done to prevent humanitarian harm.
Human rights groups, meanwhile, have petitioned Israel’s Supreme Court against the sanctions, saying they impose collective punishment. The government has until Thursday to respond to the petition by the human rights groups.
Meanwhile, the chief Palestinian peace negotiator threatened yesterday that there would be no talks with Israel unless a deadline is set for establishing a Palestinian state — the first indication the Palestinians could scuttle a US-sponsored peace summit over the issue.
Palestinian officials have repeatedly said they want a detailed timeline for talks that are expected to begin in earnest after a US-sponsored Mideast conference in November or December. But although Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has consistently resisted the notion of a deadline, they had never before made the matter a condition for talks.
