BICOM

After a rocket from the Gaza Strip was fired into southern Israel, Israel’s Air Force killed a Hamas policeman in Gaza, who had been involved in previous attacks. Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas was responsible for the violence in light of the recent Palestinian unity deal.

Yesterday’s Gaza rocket struck the Eshkol region of southern Israel and caused significant damage to a major road in the area. It was the most serious instance of Gaza rocket fire since the swearing in last week of a Palestinian unity government, which is backed by both Abbas’s Fatah faction and by Hamas, which remains dedicated to Israel’s destruction. In total, 140 rockets from Gaza have hit Israel so far during 2014.

In response to the attack, Israel’s Air Force, in conjunction with the Shin Bet security agency, launched an air strike yesterday evening which killed Mahmed Awwar, 33, a prominent Salafi activist. Awwar was also a Hamas policeman and had been involved in several other rocket attacks. An IDF statement said that, “The pre-emptive strike was intended to prevent Awwar from executing further attacks he had planned against Israel.”

Prime Minister Netanyahu said yesterday’s rocket attack was “the true face of Hamas.” Although Abbas called on all Palestinian factions to refrain from attacks, Netanyahu said that he is now responsible for violence from the Gaza Strip, having entered into a unity agreement with Hamas. Netanyahu commented, “I would like to remind the international community that Abu Mazen [Abbas] – on the day he formed a government with the Hamas terrorist organization – promised to honour all previous agreements. This means that he is responsible for disarming Hamas and the other terrorist organisations of the arsenals in Gaza.”

US State Department spokesperson Jen Psaki condemned the rocket attack as “totally unacceptable.” She said that, “President Abbas must do all in his power to prevent deterioration in the security situation,” but acknowledged “the reality that Hamas currently controls Gaza.”