Today's Situation

NO MAGIC BULLET, November 16, 2006

The death yesterday of a 57-year-old woman in Sderot as a result of a Qassam rocket attack dominates the front pages of all the Israeli newspapers this morning, along with questions about how Israel should respond to this latest deadly attack on the Western Negev.

Speaking to reporters on his return from the United States, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert revealed that Israel was considering new ways of countering Qassam attacks from Gaza. According to Israel Radio, Olmert warned that there were no magic solutions to the problem.

Haaretz reports that Olmert expressed reservations over a widespread military operation in the Gaza Strip, similar in scope to Operation Defensive Shield in the West Bank in 2002, saying instead that he favored pinpoint strikes.

"There are many opinions on how to deal with the Qassam fire," he said. "We have to remember that this war will not be over in one blow. Those who are always bringing up Defensive Shield as an example and calling for a similar operation in the Gaza Strip need to remember that the terrorism will never end altogether, and in the West Bank it continues to this day. I take this [Qassam] threat seriously, but each of our actions in Gaza will last according to information, preparation and the ability to curtail this fire as much as possible."

Defense Minister Amir Peretz, in a piece published by both Yedioth Ahronoth and Maariv, vowed that militants would 'pay a heavy price" for rocket attacks.

Following talks late Wednesday with military top brass, Peretz said, "We will move against those who are involved in the firing of rockets, starting from their leaders and down to the last of their terrorists."

Meanwhile, The Jerusalem Post reports on its online edition that the barrage continued on Thursday morning, as three Qassam rockets, fired from the Gaza Strip, landed in the western Negev. One of the rockets fell in a Kibbutz chicken coop, another hit a public building, while the third landed in open territory. No one was wounded, the paper added.

Speaking on Army Radio, the chairman of the National Religious Party-National Union, MK Uri Ariel, said that if Israel did not embark on a "Defensive Shield 2," it would end up with "Lebanon War 3."

The other major issue is the future of IDF chief Dan Halutz.

In an interview with Yedioth Ahronoth, retired major general Doron Almog, who conducted the IDF's probe into the kidnapping of two soldiers on the northern border, says that Halutz 'made mistakes' during the course of the war.

Almog added that he spends hours upon hours with Halutz, observing him chain smoke, admittedly admiring the man who is a memorable air force commander.

Asked whether Halutz should step down, Almog said that he would rather not answer the question. 'Dan has do to his own soul-searching,' he said, 'and make up his own mind.'

Maariv, meanwhile, speculates that retired major-general Gabi Ashkenazi, who was overlooked when Halutz was appointed, is the leading candidate to step in should the current incumbent be forced out. The paper says that Ashkenazi is considered close to Amir Peretz, but that his appointment as army chief depends largely on how long Peretz remains defense minister.

The above text was written and compiled by Simon Spungin using newpaper, radio and wire reports, in English and Hebrew.

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