WarSclerotic

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Tuesday said he will respond harshly to rocket fire from the Gaza Stripon his own time table, speaking after a weekend that saw upwards of 120 rockets fired into Israel, injuring a number of Israeli civilians.”Anyone who thinks he can disrupt the lives of Israelis in the South without paying dearly for it, is mistaken,” the prime minister said after a visit to the South.He added, “I am responsible for choosing the right time to make the terrorists in Gaza pay the heaviest price possible.”

The inner security cabinet agreed Tuesday not to fire on the Gaza Strip as long as the rocket fire stops, Army Radio reported.

However, should the rocket fire be renewed over the next few weeks, then Israel will increase the severity of its response in order to enhance its deterrence, the ministers reportedly concluded.

Following the meeting, Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz said Gaza has a terrorist infrastructure paralleling that of Hezbollah prior to the 2006 Lebanon War.

“[Israel] never agreed to this situation which goes against all of our agreements with the Palestinians,” he added.

Monday night, Israel asked the United Nations Security Council to condemn the recent barrage of Palestinian rockets.

“The serious danger of an even greater escalation hangs over our very volatile region. Many Israeli civilians and soldiers have been injured. Damage to property has been significant. One million people in Southern Israel remain under grave threat,” Ambassador to the UN in New York Ron Prosor wrote in a letter.

He addressed it to the Security Council and to the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

“Israel holds Hamas fully responsible for all acts of terrorism flowing from Gaza,” Prosor wrote. If Security Council members value peace and security they will Hamas a clear message, he continued.

“The time for the Security Council to condemn Hamas terrorism with one voice is now, before it is too late,” the ambassador added.

He also said that “The Palestinian leadership also has a fundamental responsibility to clearly condemn Hamas terrorism. The silence that continues to echo from [Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud] Abbas’ office speaks volumes.”

Israel, he concluded, will take all necessary steps to protect its citizens.

“Those who target Israelis with terrorism today will pay a very heavy price tomorrow. Israel has exercised – and will continue to exercise – our right to self-defense.”