Downplaying sporadic attacks, Liberman says Gaza calm holding

Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman said Tuesday that the key to long-term calm in the Gaza Strip and its surrounding Israeli communities was economic stability in the impoverished Palestinian enclave, but again denied reports of an upcoming ceasefire deal with the Hamas terror group.

Speaking to reporters during a tour in the country’s north, where the IDF is conducting a military drill, Liberman was asked about sporadic attacks from Gaza in recent days despite Israel having reopened the Kerem Shalom goods crossing on condition of there being no further attacks.

Liberman responded by saying there was nevertheless “definitely a dramatic decrease” in the violent incidents.

An IDF patrol came under fire by a Palestinian gunman in northern Gaza on Monday, without casualties. The troops returned fire and hit the gunman.

“Yesterday’s shooting was probably [committed by] a lone perpetrator who doesn’t belong to any [faction], and you can’t completely prevent all attacks by lone terrorists,” Liberman said.

“Regarding balloons, when I see in the media that there are balloons in the south and call the IDF’s Southern Command, I am told that while there were balloons, they were just balloons and not incendiary balloons,” Liberman added.

“There is undoubtedly a decrease but it’s not enough, and therefore everything we do and what really matters is to create an absolute linkage between security in the south and economical benefits [for Gaza],” he continued.

While no rockets have been launched at Israel in over a week as talks have progressed, residents of the coastal enclave have continued to release incendiary balloons at bordering Israeli towns nearly every day.

“In the end, we need to understand that looking 12 years into the future, what we eventually wants to see is security and calm,” Liberman claimed. “That’s why we also need to understand that economic stability also guarantees security and calm.”

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The defense minister again denied widespread reports of an imminent ceasefire with Hamas brokered by Egypt and the UN, saying Israel was acting “unilaterally.”

Reports have proliferated in recent days that a long-term ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas in Gaza is on the table after months of on-again, off-again violence. A senior Hamas official said over the weekend that negotiations for such an accord were in “the final stretch.”

“I hear numerous remarks and stories about Israel’s agreement with Hamas and I repeat, we are indeed talking with the Egyptians, with the UN and with international players,” he said. “As far as I am concerned, there is only one agreement and that is the reality on the ground, and if anyone wants some formal agreement, a defined condition is an arrangement on the captives.”

Israel has demanded the release of Israeli civilians Avera Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayed, believed to be mentally ill, who crossed into Gaza and are believed to be held by Hamas, along with the bodies of IDF soldiers Hadar Goldin and Oron Shaul who died in the 2014 military operation in Gaza.

“We are acting unilaterally in accordance with the reality on the ground, and that’s probably how it will continue,” Liberman concluded.

The past months have seen repeated rounds of intense violence between Israel and Hamas, along with weekly border protests at the Gaza border that have regularly included rioting, attacks on Israeli troops and attempts to infiltrate and sabotage the border fence.

Israeli communities, agricultural land, and parks on the Gaza periphery have suffered from hundreds of fires as a result of incendiary kites and balloons flown over the border from Gaza. Over 7,000 acres of land have been burned, causing millions of shekels in damages, according to Israeli officials.

Liberman said Sunday that the government’s “endgame” for Gaza was the toppling of its Hamas rulers to allow the Palestinian residents of the coastal enclave to enjoy the economic benefits of peace with Israel.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.