[ Ha'aretz] Avi Issacharoff, Barak Ravid and Amos Harel - Brig.-Gen. Yossi Baidatz, the head of the research division of Military Intelligence, told Tuesday's cabinet session that Hamas both fears a broad IDF operation in Gaza and is expediting its preparations for such an incursion. He added that Hamas was currently most interested in achieving calm in Gaza, but was simultaneously continuing to smuggle weapons from Egypt. Israel holds Hamas responsible for almost daily rocket and mortar attacks by Palestinian gunmen on Israel from Gaza. In recent weeks Israel has demanded that any agreement for calm in Gaza include progress on the question of abducted IDF soldier Gilad Shalit, who has been held in Gaza since June 2006.
2008-06-11 01:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive