2008 Woodie Awards
Olmert orders reduction of Gaza operations as Palestinian rocket fire decreases
By: THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Issue date: 3/11/08 Section: World
JERUSALEM - Israel's prime minister ordered the army to scale back operations in Gaza yesterday after a sharp drop in Palestinian rocket fire, raising the possibility of a wider truce that would ease the path for peace talks.
Ehud Olmert denied talk of a cease-fire with Gaza's Hamas rulers but said there was no need to attack Gaza as long as calm prevailed.
Hamas said it was encouraged by the relative lull, saying it proved that attacks on Israel were paying off. The militant group wants an agreement that would include opening the Gaza Strip's shuttered borders.
Israel, concerned that calm could enable the militants to claim victory and rearm, said it reserves the right to strike at will.
The army said no rockets were fired yesterday, and Israel has not carried out any airstrikes or land raids in Gaza since Wednesday.
Last week, militants fired an average of more than a dozen rockets a day, while the army struck hard in Gaza, leaving more than 120 Palestinians dead, according to Palestinian medical officials.
The past few days have seen no serious Israeli casualties from rocket fire, though Palestinian militants killed two Israeli soldiers Thursday in a roadside bombing along the Gaza border. Later that day, a Palestinian fired on students at a Jewish seminary in Jerusalem, killing eight before he was shot dead.
The increase in violence in the past two weeks has raised serious doubts about President Bush's goal of forging a peace deal by year's end. Hamas, which violently took control of the Gaza Strip last June, has proven itself capable of playing the role of spoiler.
Ehud Olmert denied talk of a cease-fire with Gaza's Hamas rulers but said there was no need to attack Gaza as long as calm prevailed.
Hamas said it was encouraged by the relative lull, saying it proved that attacks on Israel were paying off. The militant group wants an agreement that would include opening the Gaza Strip's shuttered borders.
Israel, concerned that calm could enable the militants to claim victory and rearm, said it reserves the right to strike at will.
The army said no rockets were fired yesterday, and Israel has not carried out any airstrikes or land raids in Gaza since Wednesday.
Last week, militants fired an average of more than a dozen rockets a day, while the army struck hard in Gaza, leaving more than 120 Palestinians dead, according to Palestinian medical officials.
The past few days have seen no serious Israeli casualties from rocket fire, though Palestinian militants killed two Israeli soldiers Thursday in a roadside bombing along the Gaza border. Later that day, a Palestinian fired on students at a Jewish seminary in Jerusalem, killing eight before he was shot dead.
The increase in violence in the past two weeks has raised serious doubts about President Bush's goal of forging a peace deal by year's end. Hamas, which violently took control of the Gaza Strip last June, has proven itself capable of playing the role of spoiler.
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