ISRAELI GOVERNMENT UNDER INCREASING PRESSURE TO

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 TEL AVIV 000466 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/28/2018 TAGS: PREL PTER PINR MOPS IS SUBJECT: ISRAELI GOVERNMENT UNDER INCREASING PRESSURE TO RESPOND TO ROCKET ATTACKS AGAINST SDEROT AND ASHKELON Classified By: Marc J. Sievers, Acting Deputy Chief of Mission. Reasons: 1.4 (b, d). -------------- SUMMARY -------------- ¶1. (C) Prime Minister Olmert's government is under increasing pressure to respond decisively to barrages of Qassam and Katyusha-like "Grad" rockets being launched against the Israeli communities of Sderot and Ashkelon from the Gaza Strip. On February 27, an Israeli father of four was killed when one of as many as 40 Qassam rockets struck Sderot and other communities in the area. On the same day, four Soviet-era Grad rockets struck targets in Ashkelon, north of the Gaza Strip, with one landing very close to a hospital treating the wounded from Sderot. As of the afternoon of February 28, at least seventeen Israelis were treated for shock when a Grad missile struck Ashkelon. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have been and will continue to review options for a ground operation in the Gaza Strip. Defense Minister Barak warned February 28 that Israel must prepare for a further escalation of tensions, and that Israel would not be afraid to launch a large-scale ground incursion into the Gaza Strip to end the rocket attacks. In the meantime, we can expect a proportional ratcheting up of airstrikes, small-scale ground incursions, and targeted assassinations all aimed at (1) increasing pain on Hamas, (2) reining in their capability and desire to launch rocket attacks against Israel, and (3) demonstrating GOI resolve in defending Israel. END SUMMARY. -------------- -------------- HOSTILITIES ESCALATING BETWEEN GAZA STRIP AND ISRAEL -------------- -------------- ¶2. (SBU) Since yesterday's barrage of at least 40 Qassam and 4 Katyusha-like "Grad" rockets against the Israeli communities of Sderot and Ashkelon from the Gaza Strip, hostilities between the Gaza Strip and Israel have been escalating. As of the afternoon of February 28, Ashkelon -- a city of 120,000 to the north of the Gaza Strip where one of Israel's main power stations is located -- has been hit at least eight times by Grad rockets. Early February 28, a Qassam rocket landed near Sapir College and wounded an officer belong to Internal Security Minister Avi Dichter's protection detail. Eight other Qassams landed in Sderot and its vicinity later in the day, lightly injuring a 70-year-old woman and causing property damage. Another of the Qassams landed near an elementary school in Sderot. ¶3. (SBU) Around 1600 local time, February 28, Israel Radio cited Palestinian sources as claiming that Israel Air Force (IAF) strikes killed four children aged 11 and 12 in the Jabalya refugee camp, and that IDF fire killed a Palestinian youth in the northern Gaza community of Beit Lahiya, and injured four others. The same sources claimed that a Hamas operative was killed and three others were injured in an IDF operation in Beit Hanoun. Israel Radio reported that, as of the writing of this cable, 9 Palestinians had been killed in IAF strikes, including 2 children, 4 Hamas operatives, and 2 members of the Popular Resistance Committees (PRC). Palestinian sources claim that the IAF struck a former Civil Administration building in Jabalya. The IDF has confirmed to the media that it has been targeting Qassam rocket cells in the Jabalya area, stressing that the area is not frequented by civilians. -------------- -------------- ISRAELI GOV'T UNDER INCREASING PRESSURE TO ACT DECISIVELY -------------- -------------- ¶4. (SBU) The Israeli Foreign Ministry issued a statement the morning of February 28 stressing that "the firing of rockets by Hamas at Israeli civilians from within populated Palestinian areas is a war crime that harms both Israelis and Palestinians." PM Olmert, briefed on the situation while in Tokyo, replied that he viewed it with the utmost severity: "Israel will know how to respond and get to the terrorists responsible for the murder of innocent Israeli civilians, be they those carrying out the attacks, or those directing the attacks." Defense Minister Barak warned on February 28 that Israel must prepare for a further escalation of tensions, and reiterated that Israel would not be afraid to launch a large-scale ground incursion into the Gaza Strip to put an end to the rocket attacks. ¶5. (C) The GOI is likely gratified by the unusual TEL AVIV 00000466 002 OF 002 international solidarity as expressed in a wreath-laying by resident EU Troika ambassadors February 28 at Sapir College in honor of the student killed there. That said, the launching of Grad rockets at Ashkelon since yesterday represents a significant escalation on the part of Hamas, and Israel will feel justified in ratcheting up its ground operations, IAF strikes, and targeted assassinations (to include political targets of opportunity like ministry buildings and possibly Hamas political leaders). This is especially the case as the successful rocket strikes against Ashkelon is viewed as an increase of Hamas' rocket capabilities requiring an urgent response. ********************************************* ******************** Visit Embassy Tel Aviv's Classified Website: http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/telaviv You can also access this site through the State Department's Classified SIPRNET website. ********************************************* ******************** JONES