Asked if the Bennetts ever would collect any money from Iran, given Iran's non-participation in the case and that country having no formal diplomatic relations with the United States government nor obvious assets in the U.S., the attorney replied he did not wish to answer that question in any detail.  However, he said, "we have some ideas about recovery.  We are hopeful we can collect something."

 

Early morning Kassam attack wounds 69 sleeping Israeli soldiers

KIBBUTZ ZIKKIM, Israel (Staff Report)—Sixty nine Israeli soldiers were wounded when a Kassam rocket launched from near Beit Hanoun in northern Gaza landed at an IDF basic training base near Kibbutz Zikkim in the western Negev at around 1:30 am this morning.

The rocket landed directly on an empty mess tent used in the daytime. Soldiers sleeping in adjacent tents were wounded by shrapnel. One IDF soldier was critically wounded, four seriously wounded, seven moderately wounded and 57 lightly wounded.

The Salah a-Din Brigades - the military arm of the Public Resistance Committees - and the Islamic Jihad both claimed responsibility for the attack. Islamic Jihad operatives celebrated the attack in their mosques in Gaza later Tuesday morning.

Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum, speaking on Hamas radio, praised the rocket attack on an Israeli army base, calling it a "victory from God...We consider this a victory from God for the resistance. We consider the resistance as the legitimate right of the Palestinians to defend themselves and restore their rights."

In response to the attack, Israel's Prime Minister Ehud Olmert told France's visiting Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner today "that alongside Israel’s desire to reach peace, it is necessary to defend its citizens against terrorist attacks and added that Israel would continue its counter-terrorist operations," according to a statement from Olmert's office. "The Prime Minister emphasized that there is no place for talks of any kind with Hamas, which cannot be a partner in the peace process since its path is that of terrorism.

Israel's Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni responded to the attack during her a joint news conference  with Kouchner.

"This morning began with a deliberate attack on Israel from the Gaza Strip. We discussed the situation in the Gaza Strip and its comparison to the different situation in the West Bank," she said.

"When it comes to the Israeli policy, of course, and I believe that this also is and should be international policy, we need to act with a clear distinction between the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, between moderates and extremists, between Abu Mazen-Fayyad and those in Gaza who are looking not to create a state of their own but to act against the existence of the State of Israel.

"The policy is going to be totally different when it comes to the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. So on one hand we need to act against the terrorists in Gaza Strip; on the other hand we need to take this opportunity to reach an understanding and find the common ground between Israel and the moderate, pragmatic leaders, namely Abu Mazen and Salam Fayyad."

Asked by a reporter if Israel would respond militarily to this latest incident, Livni responded:

"It doesn't make any difference to me exactly which terrorist organization claimed responsibility for the attack. All of Gaza is controlled by Hamas. They have the ability to stop the attacks and decided not to do so. So our policy towards them has to be radically different.

"True, in the context of this differential policy, the dialogue with Abu Mazen, which I do consider very important, will not provide a short-term solution to the situation in Gaza. I hope it creates such a solution, that it can improve the situation in the long run, so in the meantime Israel must take deliberate action. I think we have the means, and not only military means, that can be used against what is happening in Gaza. But here as well, the truth is that even if these measures will not stop the rocket launchings, because we are talking about a group of leaders that doesn’t care about their people and are not affected by deterrence, and who are motivated by extremist-religious Islamic ideology that has one goal - despite all this, I say that we are obliged to take action, because there are things a state has to do both to reduce the Kassam rocket fire and to make it clear that matters cannot continue in this way.

"We left Gaza with the goal of ending Israeli responsibility for what is taking place there. All the processes were also meant to achieve a situation of ending the “occupation” – in international terms, and an end to Israeli responsibility. So, I think that Israel’s legal position and our ability to use the means at our disposal are better than in the past. Of course, this needs to be restrained and based on clear criteria. Meetings have been scheduled on this matter for next week, and I am taking part in these discussions on behalf of the Foreign Ministry."

Concerning whether Israel might retaliate, Kouchner told the news conference: "I understand that Israel has to defend its population and there is a contract between the government and the army, first to defend the Israeli population. I don’t know how they will react or not. But certainly the major goal should be not to undermine the process of negotiation with Abu Mazen and the West Bank..."