"We will act forcefully, responsibly and wisely to preserve the calm and security that have prevailed here over the past two years"
Israeli aircraft bombed the Gaza Strip on Thursday, stoking mounting concerns that a grave new round of hostilities will fill the vacuum left by a negotiations failure.
Israeli aircraft allegedly targeted resistance training sites and tunnels beneath the Gaza-Egypt border used to smuggle weapons and other contraband goods into Gaza, but Palestinian police in Gaza said the airstrike hit an abandoned rocket launcher.
In response to the incessant aggressive attacks, a Qassam rocket was fired from north Gaza Thursday morning towards south of Ashkelon. There were no reports of injury or damage. Another Qassam launched from the strip overnight exploded in an open area in the western Negev region.
Yesterday a deadly bombing was recorded in occupied Jerusalem where one Israeli was killed and 25 were injured. That attack was an apparent operation in response to the Israeli round of shelling that martyred eight people in Gaza including four children.
Iran's foreign ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast on Thursday slammed Israeli air raids on the Gaza Strip, the official news agency IRNA said. "The Zionist regime is exploiting the climate of war in the region to achieve its nefarious objectives and spill the blood of Gaza's innocent people," he added.
NETANYAHU VOWS ‘FIRM, WISE RESPONSE’
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convened an emergency session at Ben-Gurion Airport Wednesday, ahead of his departure to Russia.
"We will act forcefully, responsibly and wisely to preserve the calm and security that have prevailed here over the past two years," Netanyahu said following the meeting.
"They are trying to test our level of determination," he said, "They are also trying to test the
people's resilience. They will discover that the government, the IDF and the Israeli public have an iron will to defend the state and its citizens."
Wednesday evening's emergency session was also attended by Defense Minister Ehud Barak, IDF Chief of Staff Benny Gantz, Shin Bet Chief Yuval Diskin, among others. According to estimates, officials approved a series of military operations in Gaza.
The defense establishment already prepared plans for Gaza strikes, ranging from the assassination of senior figures to attacks on Hamas infrastructure and government buildings, according to Ynet.
"The return to the Oslo Process that relies on the Palestinians to fight against terror is a terrible mistake," the group said in a statement.
Netanyahu then left at night for a 24-hour trip to Russia, after delaying his departure for a few hours.
WESTERN, PALESTINIAN CONDEMNATIONS
EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton condemned Thursday the occupied Jerusalem operation in the "strongest terms." "I express my condolences to the family of the deceased, and extend my sincere wishes to the persons injured for their full and speedy recovery," Ashton said
In an official statement, Ashton also condemned rocket attacks coming from the Gaza Strip, adding that "attacks on any civilians are completely unacceptable in any circumstance." Ashton urged acting parties to show restrain and "avoid further escalation of violence," and a "lasting truce in Gaza."
Ashton also mentioned with regret the ‘deaths’ in the Gaza Strip resulting from Israeli occupation forces attacks. The EU foreign policy chief concluded that "the only way forward in resolving the conflict in the Middle East is through peaceful negotiations."
On Wednesday, US President Barack Obama ‘harshly condemned’ the bomb attack in Jerusalem Wednesday and ‘expressed his condolences’ for Palestinians killed in Gaza the day before. "I condemn in the strongest possible terms the bombing in Jerusalem today, as well as the rockets and mortars fired from Gaza in recent days,” Obama declared in a statement.
Also Wednesday, Foreign Secretary William Hague said from London that “This appears to have been a callous and disgusting act of terrorism directed against innocent civilians, which I condemn unreservedly. I would like to express the UK’s unwavering support for the people of Israel in the face of such horrific acts.”
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Salam Fayad condemned the Jerusalem operation. "I condemn this terrorist operation, in the strongest terms, regardless of which party standing behind it."
