Israeli PM says 'no one is immune,' rebuffs cease-fire effort by Egypt, Abbas
JERUSALEM - Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Sunday pledged more attacks on Hamas after a rocket from Gaza killed an Israeli, and brushed aside efforts by Egypt and Palestinian moderates to negotiate a new truce. “No one is immune,” Olmert said of Hamas.
The 11-day campaign of Israeli airstrikes aimed at halting rocket attacks from Gaza has killed 49 Palestinians, most of them militants. But the rocket fire has continued, and Hamas said its attacks would continue as long as the Israeli airstrikes persist.
Another rocket slammed into the southern Israeli town of Sderot early Sunday, killing a 36-year-old computer technician as he was driving. It was the second fatal rocket attack in less than a week.
Olmert told the weekly meeting of his Cabinet Sunday that he had instructed the army to do whatever it takes to halt the rocket fire. “There will be no limit in acting against the terror groups and against those who are responsible for the terror. No one is immune,” Olmert said.
In the private segment of the Cabinet meeting, Olmert also seemed cool to efforts by Egypt and moderate Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to negotiate a new cease-fire, according to a participant, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the meeting was closed.
Olmert acknowledged that there is no quick military solution to halting the crude Qassam rockets, which have baffled Israel’s high-tech army for years. He told his ministers to be prepared for a long-term conflict. “We don’t want to create unrealistic expectations that it’s possible to stop the Qassams totally,” Olmert said.
Hamas political leaders targeted?
The participant in the Cabinet meeting said the ministers did not discuss targeting Hamas’ political leaders or launching a large-scale ground operation in Gaza.
Israel has so far avoided attacks on Hamas leaders — a tactic it used at the height of Israeli-Palestinian fighting earlier this decade. It was not immediately clear whether Olmert’s comments Sunday were aimed at the Hamas leadership. The group is now the senior partner in the Palestinian coalition government.
Olmert spokeswoman Miri Eisin would not comment on whether Hamas’ political leaders were now targets, but said Israel would strike not only against those involved in the rocket attacks, but also against anyone who smuggles weapons or money used for attacking Israel.
“If somebody in the hierarchy is involved in terrorism, they should not feel safe,” she said.
The Israeli airstrikes appear to have hit Hamas hard — knocking out key Hamas bases, killing several top militants and forcing the movement’s leadership underground.
Israeli missiles also have hit close to the homes of Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh and Hamas lawmaker Khalil al-Haya, though the army has said the men weren’t targets.
Sami Abu Zuhri, a Hamas spokesman, warned Israel against targeting the movement’s leaders. “Whoever thinks that harming the Hamas leadership can dissipate the movement is a fool,” he said. “Hamas is a group based on institutions, not individuals.”
Hamas warns Israel
Sunday’s rocket attack came a day after Hamas vowed revenge for a barrage of Israeli airstrikes that killed five militants in Gaza. Hamas rejected calls for a truce and promised more attacks.
It also warned that the Israeli air assault would jeopardize the release of Cpl. Gilad Shalit, the Israeli soldier captured last June by Hamas-linked militants. Shalit has not been heard from or seen since his capture.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, a moderate from the rival Fatah faction, has tried in recent days to revive a cease-fire with Israel.
Under his plan, Gaza militants would halt rocket fire for a month to allow for negotiations on a more comprehensive truce that would include the West Bank. Abbas has long been a vocal critic of Palestinian rocket attacks, but been powerless to stop the rocket fire.
Hamas had said it would consider Abbas’ plan. But after Saturday’s airstrikes, Hamas called on its fighters to “direct painful strikes at the Zionist enemy.” Hamas “will not offer a free truce to the Zionist occupation,” the group said.
“If there is an end to the attacks, we can talk about a truce,” said Abu Obeida, a spokesman for the Hamas military wing.
Michael C. Williams, the new U.N. envoy to the Middle East, met Saturday with Abbas in Gaza.
“I’m very troubled by the level of violence here,” he said. “I think the U.N., the international community in general, have been very concerned about the level of intra-Palestinian violence, but also by the Israeli attacks which I know have caused civilian deaths, considerable numbers.”
Israel has launched dozens of targeted missile strikes over the past 10 days to halt Hamas rocket fire at southern Israeli border towns. The army said it carried out three more airstrikes overnight Sunday, targeting Hamas targets in northern Gaza. There were no reports of injuries.
In all, the Israeli campaign has killed 48 Palestinians, most of them militants, and damaged many Hamas installations. The army also has arrested more than 30 Hamas officials in the West Bank, including two Cabinet ministers.
Despite the Israeli crackdown, Palestinian militants have fired almost 250 rockets have landed in Israel since May 15, according to the army.
Shooting in east Jerusalem
There also was a rare incident of violence in east Jerusalem late Saturday when two Palestinian gunmen opened fire at an Israeli security patrol near Israel’s West Bank separation barrier.
Israeli border police at the scene fired at the attackers, killing both of them. A Palestinian bystander also was killed in the exchange of fire, witnesses and medical officials said.
Israeli medical officials said the two Israeli guards were in moderate condition Sunday.
An offshoot of the violent Al Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigade, which is affiliated with Fatah, claimed responsibility for the shooting, according to the Palestinian news Web site Maan.
While doing IDF (Israel Defence Forces) reserve duty on a mountain overlooking the 
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