Haaretz is reporting that “Israeli security officials said they were permitting 400 Gaza Christians to travel through Israel to Bethlehem for Christmas”. The Haaretz report is here.
Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said at the opening of the weekly cabinet meeting today that “Defense Minister Ehud Barak will brief us this morning on the continued fighting in the Gaza Strip. Our security forces—the ISA and the IDF – have been active for long months, in countless operations, in the Gaza Strip in order to reduce the number of Kassam attacks against residents of the south to the unavoidable minimum and in order to strike at those who are responsible for launching these Kassam missiles. Counter-terrorist operations will continue as they have for months. There is no other way to describe what is happening in the Gaza Strip except as a true war between the IDF and terrorist elements. This war will continue even as we take strict care, as we have up to now, to avoid a humanitarian crisis which could harm civilians who are uninvolved in terrorism. This policy requires both patience and fortitude. The State of Israel has no interest in negotiating with elements that do not accept the Quartet’s basic principles. Thus we have declared and thus we will continue. This is true regarding Hamas, Islamic Jihad and all other elements. Whoever accepts the Quartet principles will be – in principle – a partner for negotiations. Whoever is unwilling to do so, to our regret, cannot be a partner for dialogue. This policy will not change.”
Tags: Gaza