Barak: Israel won't be deterred from taking any action against Qassams

How did we get from maintaining Israeli deterrence to "Israel won't be deterred"?

Israel will not be deterred from taking the necessary military action to restore security to the residents of the Qassam rocket-bombarded south, Defense Minister Ehud Barak told the Labor Party Knesset faction on Monday.

"The IDF will act in any way necessary in order to restore security and quiet to Sderot and the Gaza border area," said Barak. "The primary objective (is) halting Qassam rocket fire and significantly reducing the strengthening (of terror organizations) through weapons smuggling."

The defense minister said Sderot residents have a right to be angry. "The fury and pain are natural, human, and justified," he said. "The government has the responsibility to ensure their security, to help in any way possible, and to embrace them warmly."

"We are open to any idea," Barak continued. "There are a lot of people who have come to me with various ideas. It is important that we listen but keep them to ourselves. When concrete modes of operation are discusses on the radio, they are liable to serve our enemies."

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/953182.html

give back the land you stole from the Palestinians. That would probably do a great deal in moving towards peace.

Or perhaps you mean that Israel should give back all of Israel before there can be peace?

ANKARA - Defense Minister Ehud Barak Tuesday criticized calls by other ministers for stepped-up military action in the Gaza Strip, claiming that such ministerial remarks give the enemy detailed and damaging information.

He made the statements after arriving in Ankara for a two-day visit, during which he will meet with Turkey's president, prime minister, foreign minister, defense minister and chief of staff.

Speaking to the Israeli correspondents who accompanied him, Barak said that he saw no danger in journalists speculating about a major military operation, but "it becomes dangerous when people with security experience give the names of targets for attack. The targets will simply disappear." He was apparently referring to proposals that Israel assassinate Hamas's political leaders, which has been suggested by several ministers, including Shaul Mofaz, who has previously served as both defense minister and army chief of staff. Barak insisted that there are good reasons for the fact that the Israel Defense Forces are not yet operating at full strength in Gaza. "When the time comes for this, we will do it," he said. "It won't be a one- or two-day operation."

The government, he added, must "act wisely, responsibly and with judgment, not on the basis of fleeting moods." There is a proper decision-making process for such issues, he said, and the government must keep its cool, despite the public outrage that the ongoing rocket fire from Gaza has generated.

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/953688.html