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Gaza crossings blocked after rocket attack

JERUSALEM: Prime Minister Ehud Olmert warned Palestinian militants on Tuesday that Israel would respond if attacks from the Gaza Strip persist in defiance of a recent truce.

Israel once again shut its cargo crossings with Gaza earlier in the day, accusing Gaza militants of firing a rocket at southern Israel on Monday. Gaza’s Hamas rulers denied a rocket was fired and accused Israel of trying to shirk its commitment under the ceasefire to ease its bruising blockade of Gaza.

Militants have attacked Israel at least three times since the June 19 truce. Israel has responded by closing its cargo crossings with Gaza, but has not responded militarily.

Mr. Olmert wanted that Israel’s restraint should not be misinterpreted as weakness. “We are in favour of a genuine calm,” he said while on a tour of southern Israel. “If it prevails, fine. If it doesn’t, we know how to respond with full force, and in a manner that will guarantee complete security to the residents of the south.”

Israel’s military said its radar detected a rocket launched from Gaza on Monday, which struck near the communal farm of Mefalsim. But actual rocket fragments were not located, it said. “The closing of the border today is unjustified and another indication that the Israeli occupation is manoeuvring and trying to dodge the conditions of the calm understanding,” said Hamas. — AP

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