PALESTINIAN MILITANTS in Gaza fired a Grad-type rocket into Israel yesterday as the two sides continued to slide from fragile ceasefire to open confrontation.
It was the first attack of its kind since the Jewish state ended a three-week offensive against the Hamas-controlled territory.
The rocket, which has a longer range and carries more explosives than those usually used by Gaza-based groups, landed in the city of Ashkelon. There were no injuries.
Israeli aircraft responded by attacking targets inside Gaza, including tunnels linking the territory with Egypt, used by Hamas and other groups to smuggle weapons and other supplies.
“Hamas is playing with fire, and if there is going to be an escalation now, Hamas has no one to blame but itself,” Israel said.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attacks of the past two weeks. But Israeli officials and Gaza-based sources agree that the rockets were not fired by Hamas but by smaller groups such as Islamic Jihad and the Popular Resistance Committees.
These groups operate at a remove from Hamas but have in the past succumbed to pressure from it to halt fire. Israel’s policy is to hold Hamas responsible for all attacks from the Gaza Strip, which it has ruled since June 2007.
The escalation has again sparked calls for Israel to oust Hamas from Gaza. Benjamin Netanyahu, the leader of the opposition Likud party and the man tipped to win next week’s general election, said: “We need to topple the Hamas regime in Gaza.”
Meanwhile, the Obama administration will follow through on a pledge to make Israeli-Palestinian peace a priority by sending its Middle East envoy back to the region this month to try to revive stalled talks.
US secretary of state Hillary Clinton said yesterday that envoy George Mitchell, whose first trip came a week after Barack Obama took over the presidency, would return to the Middle East before the end of February.
Ms Clinton, with former senator Mr Mitchell at her side, said the US was prepared to work with “all of the parties” to make progress toward Palestinian statehood.
But she urged the militant group Hamas to meet oft-repeated conditions. “They must renounce violence, they must recognise Israel, they must agree to abide by prior agreements,” she said.
Asked whether Ms Clinton might have a new approach toward Hamas, state department spokesman Robert Wood indicated no policy shift.
“I don’t think there was any ambiguity there on what she said,” said Mr Wood.
But Middle East expert Prof Shibley Telhami said the issue of how to tackle Hamas was key for the new team. Hamas, which the Bush administration isolated, rules Gaza while the West Bank is run by president Mahmoud Abbas and his Fatah movement.
“The real choice is between whether they continue just to support president Abbas . . . or whether they will actively pursue a policy that encourages Arab partners to bring about reconciliation between Hamas and Fatah,” said Prof Telhami.
In his presidential campaign, Mr Obama promised to focus on the Middle East right away. His predecessor, George W Bush, who was engaged in wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, waited until his last year in office to make a major effort in the area.
Ms Clinton, whose husband Bill Clinton worked until nearly his last day in office to get an elusive deal, promised a sustained effort from the new administration.
“This is the first of what will be an ongoing high level of engagement by senator Mitchell on behalf of myself and the president,” she said.
Mr Mitchell said he planned “to establish a regular and sustained presence in the region” – (Financial Times service; additional reporting Reuters)