By Jerusalem Newswire Editorial Staff
Aug 29, 2005
Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom said Monday he was certain his nation would have the world's backing to attack the Gaza Strip should the ?Palestinians? living there dare to launch missile strikes on Israeli towns.
?If missiles are fired from Gaza towards Israeli towns, Israel will exercise its right to retaliate, I think with significant international backing,? Shalom told Israel Radio.
Historically, the international community has harshly criticized and censured Israeli anti-terror military activity, whether retaliatory or preemptive, and it regularly demands Israeli restraint in the face anti-Jewish Islamic terror.
Seeking to strike a positive note, Shalom said if Israel's recent withdrawal from Gaza resulted in the Arabs reciprocating with extended calm, the Jews would willingly surrender more of their biblical homeland.
?If this model [of evacuating settlements] will work, and things will be calm and quiet, it will undoubtedly become a positive model for any future moves.?
A day earlier, Shalom met in Jerusalem with European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana, who called the Gaza pullout ?the first phase of disengagement,? and urged Israel to follow it up with further concessions to the Arabs.
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has publicly insisted there will be no second unilateral Israeli withdrawal, and that the onus is now on the Palestinian Authority to prove itself a worthy peace partner.