Was Israeli threat a bluff?

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By Ryan Jones
September 14, 2005

Israel's threat to respond to Gaza-based terrorism with unprecedented severity appears to have been nothing more than a strongly-worded bluff, similar to those issued regularly throughout the past decade.

Prior to Israel's withdrawal from Gaza, Defense Minister Sha'ul Mofaz told Israelis any attacks from Gaza after the ?disengagement? would be met by a military response far more harsh than any before.

A skeptical TV host pointed out Jerusalem had issued such empty threats before, to which Mofaz replied: ?This time will be different.?

But when the first Kassam rocket slammed into the Negev's Sderot just minutes after the last IDF soldier left Gaza Monday morning, all the defense minister could do was reiterate Israel's ?zero tolerance? for such aggression.

His bluff was again called later that day when a second Kassam hit the town of Yad Mordechai.

Now military sources have revealed that the IDF's General Staff has quietly come to the conclusion that the Sharon government will not approve any major retaliatory action in Gaza regardless of the terror emanating from there, Middle East Newsline reported.

Instead, according to officials that spoke to MENL, the government prefers to appeal to Washington and the Palestinian Authority to curb such attacks.

Over the past 10 years, that approach has resulted in over 1,000 Jewish dead.

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