New Rocket Attack

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Israel to show restraint after rocket attack


Israel will show restraint in its response to a rocket attack on northern Israel, an official traveling with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Sunday.

The official said the attack appeared to have been carried out by Palestinian radicals, and not Hezbollah, the group that battled Israel during a monthlong war last summer.

"This is an attempt to provoke Israel into a response," the official said. "Israel will not succumb to this provocation but will monitor the situation carefully." The official, who was traveling with Olmert in New York, spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation.

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At least two Katyusha rockets fell on northern Israel Sunday, the first fired from Lebanon since last summer's inconclusive war with Hezbollah guerrillas. No one was hurt, but there was some damage, police and the military said.

Channel 2 TV said one rockes hit a factory and another hit a car. The station's Arab affairs analyst, Ehud Yaari, said a splinter Palestinian group in Lebanon was probably behind the attack.

The rockets exploded near the northern town of ***yat Shemona, hard hit during last summer's war, when almost 4,000 rockets were fired at Israel. The mayor of the town, Haim Barbivai, called for a tough response from both the Israeli and Lebanese government.


"Heaven help us if we have another summer like the last one. That would be a tragedy," he told Channel 2.

Lebanese television reported three rockets were fired from the Lebanese village of Taibeh.

A witness told Channel 2 TV that she saw one of the rockets explode and heard the other one. Eli Bin, director of the Magen David Adom rescue service, said no one was hurt.

The privately owned Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation LBC channel reported three rockets were fired at Israel came from the village of Taibeh, but did not say who fired them.

Nir Mariash, a local police commander, told Channel 2 that residents in Israel's north were not instructed to enter bomb shelters, rather, "to maintain normal life."

Channel 2 showed footage of a small crater in a street, and a damaged car. The station's military reporter said that based on the limited damage, the rocket was small.

A sign at a factory in the northern part of ***yat Shemona was pockmarked by shrapnel from one of the rockets.

The 2006 war started with a cross-border raid by Hezbollah in which three Israeli soldiers were killed and two captured. Israel launched a full-scale air offensive against Hezbollah targets and Lebanese infrastructure, as Prime Minister Ehud Olmert pledged to return the captured soldiers and smash Hezbollah.

The war ended inconclusively after 34 days.

There was no immediate response to Sunday's rockets from either the Israeli or Lebanese governments or Hezbollah.

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Rockets from Lebanon hit Israel


Israel has been hit by a rocket attack from Lebanon, officials say.

Two Katyusha rockets exploded near the northern Israeli border town of ***yat Shmona. There were no casualties, but roads and vehicles were damaged.

Israeli and Lebanese security sources said they believed a Palestinian group had fired the rockets. Israel said it would not "succumb to provocation".

The Lebanese group Hezbollah has denied any involvement in the attack. No-one has yet claimed responsibility for it.

It is the first time Israel has come under such an attack from Lebanon since last year's conflict with Hezbollah.

'Not drawn in'

The rockets came from the Lebanese village of Taibeh, 4km (2.5 miles) from the border with Israel, Lebanese television station LBC reported. One hit a factory, the other hit a car.

A Hezbollah spokesman in Beirut told Reuters news agency his group was not involved in the attack, saying: "We had nothing to do with this."

The incident came as Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert arrived in New York for a three-day visit to the US. He had been informed of the attack.

An Israeli official travelling with Mr Olmert said: "It seems that it was Palestinians, not Hezbollah."

Israel believed Palestinians were trying to trigger a military response but it would "not be drawn in", the official said.

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Two Katyusha rockets fired from Lebanon fell on northern Israel Sunday afternoon, police and the military said. No one was hurt, but there was some damage, they said.

They were the first rockets fired from Lebanon since last summer's war between Israel and Hezbollah guerrillas, when almost 4,000 rockets were fired at Israel.

Sunday's attack raised the possibility of an Israeli reprisal raid and a new flareup between the two countries. It came as Prime Minister Ehud Olmert was arriving in the United States for talks. In New York, an official with Olmert said the prime minister was briefed about the incident. "Israel will not succumb to this provocation but will monitor the situation carefully," the official said, requesting anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation, indicating that Israel would not hit back.

Al-Manar, the Hezbollah TV station in Lebanon, broadcast a denial of Hezbollah involvement in the attack.

The rocket attack came as a new defense minister, former premier and army chief Ehud Barak, was about to take over from Amir Peretz, defeated in a party primary election.

Peretz was convening military and security commanders for a meeting that was planned before the rocket attack. Security officials said they would discuss how Israel should respond.

One of the rockets hit a factory and the other hit a car. Channel 2 TV's Arab affairs analyst, Ehud Yaari, said a splinter Palestinian group in Lebanon was probably behind the attack, .

In Beirut, there was no immediate comment from the Lebanese army, Lebanese security officials or the Hezbollah group.

The rockets exploded near the northern town of ***yat Shemona, hard hit during last summer's war. The mayor of the town, Haim Barbivai, called for a tough response from both the Israeli and Lebanese government. "Heaven help us if we have another summer like the last one. That would be a tragedy," he told Channel 2.

An eyewitness told Channel 2 TV that she saw one of the rockets explode and heard the other one. Eli Bin, director of the Magen David Adom rescue service, said no one was hurt.

There was no immediate response from Israeli officials.

Area police commander Nir Mariash told Channel 2 that residents in Israel's north were not instructed to enter bomb shelters, rather, "to maintain normal life."

Channel 2 said the rocket fire came from the southern Lebanese village of Adaiseh, just across a ridge from northern Israel.

Channel 2 showed footage of a small crater in a street, and a damaged car. The station's military reporter said that based on the limited damage, the rocket was small. Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said the rockets were 107mm.

A sign at a mineral water factory in the northern part of ***yat Shemona was pockmarked by shrapnel from one of the rockets.

The 2006 war started with a cross-border raid by Hezbollah in which three Israeli soldiers were killed and two captured. Israel launched a full-scale air offensive against Hezbollah targets and Lebanese infrastructure, as Prime Minister Ehud Olmert pledged to return the captured soldiers and smash Hezbollah.

The war ended inconclusively after 34 days.

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Hizbullah denies was behind Katyusha attack

IDF officials believe Palestinian group, and not Hizbullah, responsible for rocket attack on north

Hanan Greenberg


Hizbullah denied it was behind the launching of two Katyusha rockets at ***yat Shmona Sunday afternoon, the organization's TV station al-Manar reported.

The station also said that the IDF was currently firing mortar shells at the Shebaa Farms area in southern Lebanon.

Meanwhile, the Northern Command was holding meetings to evaluate the situation. IDF sources said that several Palestinian organizations were operating in southern Lebanon, and that they were possibly attempting to bring to an escalation on the northern border in conjunction with the crisis in Gaza, in order to create a two-front emergency situation in Israel.


Army officials explained that although the groups did not have sophisticated weapons like Hizbullah, they could create provocations that may lead to an escalation in the northern sector.


They added that while Hizbullah is not likely to have been behind the attack, the Shiite group may have supplied the Palestinian organizations with the rockets.

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حزب الله: حمله موشكي به اسرائيل كار ما نبود


حزب الله لبنان اعلام كرد: حمله موشكي عصر امروز به شهرك صهيونيست نشين "قريات شمعونه" در شمال سرزمين*هاي اشغالي، كار مقاومت اسلامي نبوده است.



به نقل از خبرگزاري رويترز، يك سخنگوي حزب الله تأكيد كرد: اين حمله هيچ ارتباطي با ما ندارد.

از سوي ديگر راديو اسرائيل به نقل از يكي از مسؤولان وزارت دفاع رژيم صهيونيستي تأكيد كرد: يك گروه فلسطيني در لبنان، مسؤول شليك اين موشك*ها به "قريات شمعونه" بوده است.

به گزارش خبرگزاري فرانسه، مسؤولان وزارت دفاع معتقدند كه شليك اين موشك*ها كار يك سازمان فلسطيني موجود در لبنان بوده است.

راديو نظامي اين رژيم نيز اعلام كرد: "ايهود اولمرت" نخست*وزير اسرائيل كه اكنون براي ديداري رسمي در واشنگتن به سر مي*برد از اين تحولات مطلع شده است.

از سوي ديگر يك منبع امنيتي لبناني در گفت*وگو با رويترز اعلام كرد: يك گروه مسلح كه احتمالاً از فلسطيني*هاي داخل لبنان بوده*اند اقدام به شليك چهار يا پنج فروند موشك به داخل سرزمين*هاي اشغالي كرده*اند.

يك منبع امنيتي ديگر نيز گفت: سه فروند موشك از روستاي "الطيبه" در جنوب لبنان به سوي سرزمين*هاي اشغالي شليك شد كه دو فروند آنها در شمال اسرائيل و يك فروند ديگر در نزديكي يك پايگاه نيروهاي بين*المللي حافظ صلح (يونيفل) در روستاي "الحوله" جنوب لبنان فرود آمده است.

يك سخنگوي پليس رژيم صهيونيستي در قدس نيز اعلام كرد: دو موشك اصابت*كرده به قريات شمعونه از نوع كاتيوشا بوده كه آسيب*هايي وارد آورده اما هيچ زخمي نداشته است.

اين حمله موشكي، بي*سابقه*ترين حمله از خاك لبنان به شمال سرزمين*هاي اشغالي از زمان جنگ 33 روزه تابستان گذشته به شمار مي*رود.

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العربيه مدعي شد:

موشك*هاي فرود آمده به اسرائيل از لبنان شليك شده است


خبرنگار شبكه تلويزيوني العربيه امارات مدعي شد: چهار يا پنج موشك شليك*شده به شهرك صهيونيست*نشين "قريات شمعونه" از "سهل العديسه" واقع در يك كيلومتري داخل لبنان شليك شده است.



يك منبع امنيتي لبناني گفت: احتمالاً موشك*هاي شليك*شده خمپاره*هايي بوده كه از سوي افراد مسلح فلسطيني در جنوب لبنان به اين شهرك اصابت كرده است.

يك سخنگوي ارتش رژيم صهيونيستي با تأييد خبر اصابت اين موشك*ها به "قريات شمعونه" گفت: موشك*هاي شليك شده به چند خانه برخورد كرده اما كسي زخمي نشده است.

وي افزود: اين موشك*ها همچنين به يك خودرو و چند خيابان آسيب زده و اكنون كارشناسان مواد منفجره با حضور در محل حادثه مشغول بررسي آسيب*هاي واردشده هستند.

ارتش رژيم صهيونيستي نيز تأكيد كرد: حمله*كنندگان فلسطيني بوده*اند و نه مبارزان حزب*الله.

اين نخستين حمله به شمال سرزمين*هاي اشغالي از زمان جنگ 33 روزه تابستان سال گذشته اسرائيل عليه لبنان به شمار مي*رود.