IDF Contradicts Olmert

Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu IDF Contradicts Olmert

Outgoing Prime Minister Ehud Olmert misled the government and the public by claiming that he is waiting for the IDF to make recommendations before acting against rocket and mortar attacks on Israel, according to an IDF statement that contradicted Olmert's statement to the Cabinet. Olmert told the Cabinet Sunday, "Following last week's Cabinet discussion...that I held this past Friday with Defense Minister Ehud Barak and senior defense establishment officials, I have instructed the latter to submit to me – as soon as possible – their proposals for formulating an action plan…to restore full quiet in the South."

However, Channel Two television quoted military sources as saying, "We already gave Olmert the plans - it is now up to him to decide."

Defense Minister Ehud Barak and the caretaker Prime Minister have stated several times the past two years that a military clash with Hamas is only a "matter of time" and that the IDF has the necessary means to respond according to government decisions.

"What plans does the Prime Minister mean--the ones we presented to him two weeks ago or the ones we saw a month ago?" one officer told the Hebrew newspaper Haaretz. "All of the operational plans regarding Gaza were presented to the cabinet and the security cabinet a long time ago."

Olmert also maintained before the Cabinet Sunday, "I know that tempers are rising and various voices are being heard. My Government has always acted, in such situations, with equanimity and sagacity."

Following another day of attacks that have returned the western Negev and Ashkelon to a daily routine of fear and panic, the Likud and Israel Is Our Home (Yisrael Beiteinu) parties collected enough signatures on Tuesday to force a special recess session next week to discuss the issue.

More than a dozen attacks were reported on Monday, including Kassam rockets that exploded six feet from a Kibbutz home and damaged greenhouses.

As of Tuesday night, more than half a dozen attacks were reported in the Western Negev, none of them causing any damage or serious injuries.