Jerusalem – Israel Places New Limitations On Cargo Crossing Into Gaza

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    FILE - In this Tuesday, Oct. 14, 2014, file photo, a Palestinian worker walks next to trucks loaded with sacks of cement at the Kerem Shalom border crossing on its way from Israel to Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip. Israel shut down the cargo crossing of Kerem Shalom with the Gaza Strip on Tuesday in response to continued Hamas hostilities, even after it agreed to a cease-fire ending 24 hours of intense fighting. (AP Photo/Eyad Baba, File)Jerusalem – Israel placed new restrictions on its only cargo crossing with the Gaza Strip on Tuesday in response to continued Hamas hostilities, even after it agreed to a cease-fire ending 24 hours of intense fighting.

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    Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman said Israel will cease transferring gas and fuel through the Kerem Shalom crossing until Sunday but will allow food and essential medication to cross. Commercial cargo was suspended last week.

    Lieberman also said Israel was tightening its naval blockade to limit Palestinians from sailing beyond three nautical miles off Gaza’s coast. Israel previously allowed sailing up to six nautical miles.

    Even after Hamas, Gaza’s militant rulers, agreed to a cease-fire late Saturday, incendiary kites and balloons have continued to float from Gaza into Israel setting off damaging fires to farmlands. Israel has stepped up it strikes since then to signal its new threshold for engagement after months of largely refraining to act.

    Israel pounded Hamas targets on Saturday in its most massive bombardment since the 2014 war, while militants fired dozens of rockets toward Israel that halted daily life in the area. Two Palestinian teenagers were killed in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City, while four Israelis were wounded from a rocket that landed on a residential home in Sderot.

    Israel says it has no interest is engaging in another war with Hamas, but says it will no longer tolerate the Gaza militant campaign of flying incendiary kites and balloons across the border that have ignited fires damaging Israeli farms and nature reserves. Israel says some 2,500 acres of nature reserves and parks close to Gaza have been burnt thus far and it is reported to have delivered messages to Hamas that if the fires continue it risks sparking a full-fledged war, like the three they have waged over the past decade.

    “The Israeli army is prepared and ready for any mission we give it,” Lieberman said during a visit to the border area Tuesday. “If we are required to launch a campaign we can overcome any enemy. The army knows what to do, how to do it and when to do it. We will dictate the rules of the game and no one else.”

    On Sunday, Israel said it discovered a falcon to which Gaza militants tied an incendiary device meant to set fires. Israel’s Nature and Parks Authority said it found the common kestrel hanging in a tree with its legs tied to a wire that had flammable material. It appeared to be the first case of Gaza militants using birds to attack Israel and authorities said they were considering filing a complaint — under the appropriate international treaties — about the use of animals for militant activities.

    Israel and Egypt have maintained a blockade on Gaza for over a decade in an attempt to weaken Hamas. The blockade has caused widespread economic hardship. Israel says the naval blockade is necessary to protect its citizens from weapon smuggling.

    The weekend’s violence came after months of near-weekly border demonstrations organized by Hamas aimed in part at protesting the Israeli-Egyptian blockade of Gaza. Over 130 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire since the protests began on March 30.

    Israel says it is defending its sovereign border and accuses Hamas of using the protests as cover for attempts to breach the border fence and attack Israeli civilians and soldiers.


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    5 years ago

    In reading about Israel’s efforts to intensify the bombing of Hamas facilities, I am left wondering. You see, they have done this countless times in response to Hamas terror attacks. But each successive retaliation indicates that the one before allowed Hamas to maintain and continue its terror activity and preparation somewhere, and Israel knows the locations of the places they allowed to remain. Why? When Israel has reason to retaliate, they should not be sending messages, not even a bombardment of buildings. They should be disabling Hamas completely. That means eliminating every single location that is used to support their violence and terror. They should be targeting and eliminating every single terrorist, especially their leaders. These savages do not understand any other language. Not cease fires, not negotiations, not even concessions. While exponentially more damaging, they are similar to insects that are pests. One would never bargain with a termite. Just exterminate them. If any are left, they will only continue their evil and destructive ways. Waste them completely. Don’t leave over anyone.

    5 years ago

    Paulin the frum Jewish liar trickster thinks it’s safe and it’s ok to burn down other people’s property . As long as we g-d forbid don’t kill ” innocent” border protestors who have knives and murder war weapons on them . After all they are just taking their liesurley stroll .

    Nice try tricky yoni