Next target may be Ashkelon, defense officials warn
Intelligence information collected by defense establishment indicates that
Gaza terror groups have Soviet-made Grad missiles with 22-km range; defense
officials warn that terror groups may target Ashkelon in response to Israeli
offensive in Gaza
Ronny Sofer YNET Published: 05.17.07, 01:53 / Israel News
www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3401117,00.html

Ashkelon could be the next target of Palestinian rocket attacks, defense
officials warned during a security consultation at the Prime Minister's
Office Wednesday. With violence worsening in the Gaza Strip, Hamas and other
terror groups may decide to use Grad rockets against Israeli targets, the
officials said.

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Defense Minister Amir Peretz instructed the
defense establishment and the civil authorities to prepare for the
possibility of long-range rockets attacks, which may come in response to
Israel's decision Wednesday to discontinue its policy of restraint in the
Gaza Strip.

The officials said that Hamas was trying to drag Israel into Gaza to force
the battling Palestinian factions to unite and redirect their hostilities
against Israel. After hearing the security recommendations, Olmert said
there was a limit to the blows Israel could take against its sovereignty and
vowed a harsh response against the continued attacks.

During the meeting IDF and Shin Bet intelligence agents said that according
to information in their hands, terror groups in Gaza have Soviet-made Grad
rockets, which have an approximately 22-kilometer range. Although Grads are
considered relatively old-fashioned and problematic rockets, they are
considerably more advanced than Qassam rockets, whose maximum range is 12
kilometers.

Military officials said they believed Palestinian terror groups planned to
use the Grad rockets against Ashkelon, a city with some 110,000 residents
and a number of strategic facilities. Practice drills have been carried out
in the southern city, but Ashkelon has not yet been hooked up to the Color
Red alert system.

Facing Europe

Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni also attended the security consultation, in
accordance with the recommendations of the Winograd report on the failures
of the Second Lebanon War. After the meeting, the Foreign Ministry and the
PMO contacted Washington, Berlin, London, Paris and other world powers to
communicate the developments in Israel, as part of a new Israeli
international PR campaign.

Diplomatic officials in Jerusalem said that the majority of nations, and
especially moderate Arab powers, showed understanding for Israel's decision
to stop exercising restraint, they said.

The officials added that Olmert still planned to meet with Palestinian
President Mahmoud Abbas, although the scheduled meeting between the two has
been on hold for over two months. It was first delayed due to the
publication of the Winograd report, and has now been postponed again as a
result of intra-Palestinian violence. "The prime minister wants the meeting
to take place, but Abbas has his own problems now," they said.

'Hamas should feel threatened'

Government officials refused to reveal whether the IDF and Shin Bet might
target the Hamas leadership. The official statement issued Wednesday said
the army would operate against Qassam cells, their commanders, and terror
operators.

However, after the meeting a senior government official noted: "We've never
hidden the fact that Hamas in its entirety, as a terror organization, is in
Israel's sights. Anyone who terrorizes Israel's citizens should feel
threatened. We won't talk anymore - we'll act to protect Israeli citizens."

Other participants in the meeting said the decisions made Wednesday did not
entail a wide-scale ground offensive in the Gaza Strip.

"At this stage we don't plan to enter Gaza and wallow in the Gazan mud.
We'll carry out pointed operations against terror threats and terror
infrastructure - primarily Qassam cells. Yesterday we launched two Air Force
strikes, and we'll launch more, with no time constraints," an official
declared.

The political-security cabinet plans to assemble against Sunday to continue
discussing strategic policy against Gaza terrorism. At this point the
general assessment is that if there are no further escalations in attacks,
Israel will suffice to launch a series of restrained retaliations. However,
if Palestinian terror groups intensify attacks against Israel and fire Grad
rockets on Ashkelon or cause mass destruction in southern towns, Israel may
step up its response to a wide-scale ground offensive.

Hanan Greenberg contributed to the report