The Omar Brigades, a Palestinian group that supports Islamic
State, claimed responsibility for Saturday's salvo, which, like the
Israeli air strikes, caused no casualties.
Israel closed its border crossings with the Hamas-controlled enclave
and Netanyahu hinted at a stronger Israeli military response if the
cross-border attacks persist.
It was the third such rocket strike by Jihadi Salafis, radical
rivals of Hamas, who are demanding the ruling Islamist movement in
the Gaza Strip release imprisoned Islamic State sympathizers and
that Israel frees Palestinian inmates.
Political analysts in Gaza said the Salafis hoped the prospect of
the collapse of Hamas's ceasefire with Israel, after a 50-day war
nearly a year ago, would pressure the group to free the men.
Israel said Hamas bore overall responsibility for any rocket attacks
from the enclave of 1.8 million Palestinians.
Netanyahu seized on the strikes to launch his own attack against
international criticism of his right-wing government's policies
toward the Palestinians and its opposition to a burgeoning nuclear
deal between world powers and Iran.
"I did not hear anybody in the international community condemn this
firing at us from Gaza, neither has the United Nations said a word,"
he told his cabinet in public remarks.
Hinting at a stronger Israeli military response to any further
cross-border attacks, Netanyahu said: "It will be interesting to see
if this silence continues when we use our full strength to uphold
our right to defend ourselves."
The United States on Sunday reaffirmed its support for Israel's
right to defend itself.
[to top of second column] |
"Clearly the U.S. stands with the people of Israel as they defend
their people and their nation against these kinds of attacks," said
White House spokesman Josh Earnest, who was accompanying President
Barack Obama at a G7 summit in Germany.
U.S.-sponsored peace talks collapsed in April 2014, with disputes
raging over Israeli settlement in occupied territory and
Western-backed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's unity deal with
Hamas.
Israel's critics, Netanyahu said, were accusing it of failing to
pursue peace when it was the Palestinians who "ran away from
negotiations".
After Saturday's rocket strike, Israel closed two main crossings on
its border with Gaza.
The rocket, which triggered warning sirens in the city of Ashkelon,
about 10 km (6 miles) north of Gaza, exploded in an open area.
Israeli aircraft later struck a Hamas training facility, where no
casualties were reported.
(Additional reporting by Nidal al-Mughrabi in Gaza, Ori Lewis in
Jerusalem and Paul Taylor in Kruen, Germany; Editing by Janet
Lawrence)
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