ISRAEL DEFENSE FORCES LAUNCH OPERATION PROTECTIVE EDGE AGAINST GAZA BASED MILITARY INFRASTRUCTURE TO STOP THE TERROR ISRAELIS FACE ON A DAILY BASIS The Israel Defense Forces announced late Monday that it had launched Operation Protective Edge against Gaza-based Palestinian military infrastructure to stop the terror Israels citizens face on a daily basis, a day after at least 80 rockets slammed into Israel and after multiple Israeli efforts at de-escalation - including a last-ditch gesture last Friday - had failed. At least 220 projectiles had been launched by Gaza-based Palestinians in under a month, and Hamas had recently begun openly taking credit for the barrages. Business Insider had assessed earlier in the day that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was seeking to avoid a broader conflict for a range of domestic and geopolitical reasons, to the point where Israeli foreign minister Avigdor Lieberman pulled his Yisrael Beitanu faction out of Netanyahus Likud Party, supposedly over Netanyahus insufficient response to the rocket barrage. The pace and amount of attacks nonetheless increased over the course of the day, at one point reportedly reaching 30 rockets per hour and penetrating deeper into Israel than at any point since Jerusalem concluded its November 2012 Operation Pillar of Defense. Rail services across southern Israel had been suspended, as had summer camps, kindergartens and schools within 40 kilometers of the Gaza Strip. Asked about the crisis in general at Mondays daily State Department briefing - and more specifically, about Hamass declaration that barrages targeting Israeli civilians would continue until Jerusalem lifted security-related import and export restrictions on the Gaza Strip - State Department Spokesperson Jen Psaki tersely stated our view is that Israel has the right to defend itself and we certainly support that.
Posted on: Tue, 08 Jul 2014 11:53:26 +0000
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