The Israeli Defense Minister, Amir Peretz, announced Sunday that
Israeli forces will resume their shelling of northern Gaza, and will
continue the daily invasions and attacks of the West Bank.
The ceasefire, which began last Sunday, has been violated several times by both the Israeli navy, which fired at Palestinian fishing boats off the Gaza coast, and by rogue Palestinian resistance factions that fired several homemade shells across the Gaza-Israel border, causing no injury or damage.
Peretz stated, "There are still some projectiles being launched against Israel. Palestinians should prove that they are able to commit to the promises they made. I have given orders to the army to open fire against the launchers", while addressing a meeting of the Israeli Cabinet.
Israeli forces have killed six Palestinian civilians and one resistance fighter in invasions of the West Bank since Sunday, leading Palestinian groups to call for the expansion of the truce to include the West Bank. Peretz refused this option in his talk on Sunday, saying that the daily and nightly invasions of various parts of the West Bank are necessary to pre-empt possible "terrorist attacks" by the Palestinians.
He added that, "We should act in a responsible way, and study all sides of the issue. We have strategic promises from European countries and the USA, although they don’t look at things the same way we do."
