By Julie Stahl
CNSNews.com Jerusalem Bureau Chief
May 14, 2007

Jerusalem (CNSNews.com) - Israel cannot tolerate ongoing rocket attacks on its southern communities, Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni said on Monday.
She spoke one day after government ministers decided to step up operations against attacks from the Gaza Strip. They will not launch a full-scale military invasion, however.
The violence isn't all directed at Israel: Clashes among Palestinian factions -- Hamas and Fatah -- continued in Gaza on Monday, despite a truce mediated overnight by Egypt.
Two Palestinians were reported killed on Monday, bringing the total number of dead to seven since renewed violence between Hamas and Fatah erupted over the weekend.
The clashes, sparked by the assassination of a senior Fatah militant, are the worst since Hamas and Fatah formed a unity government in March. The fighting has sparked fresh fears of a Palestinian civil war.
Also on Monday, Palestinian Authority Interior Minister Hani Al-Qawasmi resigned. His ministry is responsible for overseeing the security forces.
Most P.A. forces are loyal to P.A. Chairman Mahmoud Abbas while the Executive Force in Gaza is committed to Hamas.
Abbas reportedly deployed thousands of extra troops in the Gaza Strip recently, raising tensions between forces loyal to Abbas and those loyal to Hamas.
"Hamas is not able to restore law and order in the place they're the strongest," said a senior Western official who asked not to be named. Hamas can't keep the peace in Gaza and can't even keep their own men from shooting people in the street, he said.
The new round of inter-Palestinian violence is bound to further complicate attempts to revive Israeli-Palestinian talks. The U.S. has called for the P.A. to clamp down on rocket attacks from the Gaza Strip - one of the "benchmarks" established as part of the effort to bring the two sides back to the negotiating table.
According to the army, eight rockets were launched at Israel from the Gaza Strip over the weekend, and on Monday Palestinian gunmen opened fire at army bulldozers working along fence separating Israel and the Gaza Strip.
In the past, Hamas and Fatah have sometimes settled their rivalries by turning their anger against Israel.
Livni told the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee on Monday that terror elements are getting stronger inside the Gaza Strip. Israel's message to the world, she said, is that Israel cannot accept such a security situation.
Livni said it would take a mixture of military, economic and diplomatic pressure to change the situation, but she did not elaborate.
Israel's security cabinet met to discuss the Gaza Strip on Sunday but the ministers reportedly put off a decision on a full-scale ground invasion.
Experts say it is only a matter of time before Israel needs to launch a massive ground operation to deal with the weapons stockpiles and terrorist infrastructure in Gaza. Some say it is better to do it now before Hamas and other terror groups have more time to improve their military capabilities and obtain more weapons.
But analysts believe that Olmert may be hesitant to do so. Olmert, they say, would rather be remembered as a peacemaker than a warmonger. (A recently released government report into last summer's Israeli-Hizballah war laid the blame for the war's failure squarely on Olmert's shoulders.)
Defense Minister Amir Peretz (who was also blamed for wartime mistakes) said on Sunday evening that Israel needed to "target the people who are causing the escalation." He said once the army decides on "harsh action," it will be "decisive action."
Orignal Source