Israel will work to restore calm in the south of the Jewish state, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said on Sunday morning.
"We are not eager to fight, but we do not fear a battle," Olmert was quoted by local daily Yedioth Ahronoth as saying at the start of the weekly cabinet meeting.
"In any event, we shall not tolerate the price tag the terror organizations are attempting to set. We have operated and will continue to target those violating the truce," said the outgoing premier.
Two hours before the cabinet meeting, two Qassam rockets were fired from the Gaza Strip, landing near a kibbutz in the Eshkol Regional Council.
Israel's Prime Minister Ehud Olmert attends the weekly cabinet meeting in his office in Jerusalem November 16, 2008. The Israel Air Force attacked a Qassam launching cell in response, killing four gunmen and injuring at least six, according to Yedioth Ahronoth.
The gunmen belongs to the Popular Resistance Committees (PRC), a military group loyal to Islamic Hamas movement which controls Gaza and observes a ceasefire with Israel.
The Egyptian-brokered ceasefire, which took effect in June, was left near collapse since a wave of violence erupted on November 4.The latest airstrike brings to 14 the number of Palestinians killed in the violence.
Abu Mujahed, a spokesman for the PRC, vowed to respond to the Israeli escalation. "For us, the lull is over and we won't renew it... we will respond in every time and every place."
On Saturday, Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni said that her country would use forces to protect its citizens from attacks by Palestinian militants from Gaza.
The promising premiership contender in the February general election added that if the situation in southern Israel becomes quiet and Gazan militants do not exploit the lull to prepare for the next attack, Israel will maintain the calm.
With a similar stance, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak alsowarned on Saturday that Israeli army would carry out military operations in the Hamas-ruled enclave should Gazan militants continue to launch cross-border attacks.
Yet the former prime minister also hinted his willingness to see the five-month-old Gaza truce remain in shape, saying that "wemust work with forethought and discretion" when considering the military option.
Both sides had generally honored the truce before the recent flare-up, and Israeli officials have voiced willingness to extend the ceasefire after its initial six-month phase which expires next month.
Source:Xinhua
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