Today's Situation

CRISIS MANAGEMENT, May 25, 2007

Although most of the Israeli papers do not lead on the Gaza-Sderot crisis - Iran, Syria and the Labor leadership election are the leads in three of Friday's papers - the violence continued unabated Friday for the ninth day in a row.

According to Israel Radio, Palestinians fired four Qassam rockets at the western Negev early Friday morning, a day after it fired 10 rockets. No one was hurt and no damage was caused. Mortars were also fired by the Palestinians and they landed in the Erez crossing area. One Palestinian was lightly injured in the incident.

The IDF meanwhile, launched more air strikes against Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip on Thursday night and Friday. According Army Radio, air force attacked targets in the Gaza Strip, most of them belonging to Hamas. On Friday, a building apparently used by Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh's bodyguards in the Shati refugee camp was hit. Palestinian sources said that the target is located near Haniyeh's residence, but Israel insisted he was not the target. 'Haniyeh's home definitely was not the target,' an IDF spokeswoman said. 'There was an air strike on a structure used by the Hamas terrorist organization in Shati refugee camp.'

Hamas facilities were also hit in the Jebaliya refugee camp, in Gaza City, Khan Yunis and Dir el Balah. In Rafah, a building used by Islamic Jihad for producing weapons was also attacked. Palestinian sources reported ten people injured in the air force attacks.

Meanwhile, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas called on Hamas to halt the firing of 'futile' rockets from Gaza and for a comprehensive truce with Israel. Abu Mazin told reporters in a joint press conference with visiting European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana that the rocket firings have to cease so that a reciprocal truce can be achieved. Abbas said he is working to end the crisis in the Gaza Strip.

Back in Israel, only a few hundred Sderot residents, mostly children and their mothers, have arrived at the tent city set up in Tel Aviv by Russian-Israel tycoon Arcadi Gaydamak. In its lead story on Friday, Maariv quotes senior army officers as saying that evacuating Sderot residents from their homes 'is bad for Israel.' According to the sources, photographs of Israelis being forced out of their homes merely encourage Hamas and other terror groups to increase the intensity of their attacks.

Late Thursday, the Knesset's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee voted to extend the emergency situation in Sderot and the western Negev communities near Gaza. Defense Minister Amir Peretz declared an emergency situation in Sderot and the area on Sunday. The move gives the army many of the responsibilities usually handled by the local authorities. The new status will be reviewed in for 10 days. If the government wants another extension it will have to explain why and detail what it is doing to improve the security situation.

Finally, with just three days to go before Labor members vote in a five-way leadership race, polls in both Yedioth Ahronoth and Haaretz show that former Shin Bet chief Ami Ayalon leads former prime minister Ehud Barak by three to four percent. In both polls, however, neither candidate reaches the 40 percent mark needed to prevent a run-off poll. Current Labor chairman, Defense Minister Amir Peretz, trails in third place, with just 20 percent of the vote.

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