Four tons of explosives, 50 anti aircraft missiles and large amounts of weapons as well as ingredients required to manufacture rockets have been smuggled into the Gaza Strip by Hamas since the recent tahdiya or so called truce with Israel went into effect, Yuval Diskin head of the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) told the weekly cabinet meeting on Sunday.
Hamas he said is also in control of the vast network of tunnels in Gaza used to smuggle the goods into the narrow strip of land, and the truckloads of cement Israel permitted to be transferred to Gaza have been used to build bunkers, he said. Diskin also expressed concern that the recent swap between Hizbullah and Israel may have a reverse effect, and encourage terror organizations to increase their efforts to abduct Israeli soldiers or civilians.
Commenting on the situation in Gaza, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert declared the situation must be monitored in order to ensure that five years down the line, Israel will not find itself in the position of asking how the situation got out of hand.
Defense Minister Ehud Barak noted that the truce has also provided Israel time to prepare for any eventuality, a situation it should take advantage of. Barak admitted that Hamas was doing far more than expected to prevent truce violations, and supported Israel’s lack of response to Hamas violations. Barak warned however that Israel’s lack of response does not mean that it will be prevented from taking action when the time arises.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Tzipi Livni however shared a different opinion and declared that Israel should respond every time Hamas violates the truce. “Israel's response needs to give the message that we won't accept fire, regardless of which organization it comes from," Livni declared. Diskin also expressed concern that the recent swap between Hizbullah and Israel may have a reverse effect, and encourage terror organizations to increase their efforts to abduct Israeli soldiers or civilians.
During the same meeting, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni spoke of the shaky Gaza cease-fire, telling the cabinet that "Israel needs to respond to truce violations, fire against fire." "Israel's response needs to give the message that we won't accept fire, regardless of which organization it comes from," she said. Livni also declared that the border crossings used to transfer goods into Gaza should remain closed until a deal concerning the release of Gilad Schalit is sealed. 07/28/08
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