Actualité - Israel Authorizes Operations in Gaza

Tel Aviv, Nov 22 (Prensa Latina) - The Israeli government authorized its troops to continue military operations and actions against the Hamas movement in the Palestinian territories, where a person died and several others were injured Wednesday.

A communiqué was given to the press saying that only Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and his Defense Minister Amir Peretz will be the ones in charge of choosing the targets.

A governmental spokesman assured this strategy wants to stop the launching of rockets from the Palestinian part of Gaza on Israeli territory, and stop the transfer of weapons and ammunition.

Some sources said rockets were fired over Israel Wednesday, where two people died and a third one was injured en Sderot last week. In the last six years, 10 Israeli citizens died because of these rockets, seven of them in Sderot.

In spite the government of Ehud Olmert has stated it opposes an aggression on a big scale against the Palestinian autonomy, it keeps systematic attacks against the Strip of Gaza and the West Bank. Almost 100 Palestinian citizens have been victims of the attacks.

The strongest Israeli attack occurred on November 8, when Israeli artillery pieces shot several projectiles against Beit Hanun (north) killing 19 people, eight of them children, and five of them women.

This attack deserved a condemnation of 156 votes in favour, seven against and six abstentions at the UN General Assembly, after the US vetoed a resolution project in the UN Security Council.

Meanwhile, Palestinian National Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said he was confident in the fact that once the national government is formed, the Strip of Gaza will become a safe place.

The financial blocking measures by the US government, the European Union and Israel in the region caused conflicts between the different organizations and Palestinian movements.

(Prensa Latina News Agency)