JERUSALEM, Dec. 4 (UPI) -- The Israeli Cabinet supported Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's policy of restraint in Gaza after a discussion Monday.
Olmert said that responding with minimal force to Qassam rocket attacks might give the cease-fire a chance to take hold, Haaretz reported.
"We will fully explore every possibility that can lead to momentum to begin a diplomatic process, and so we are now giving the truce a chance," he told the parliament's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, participants in the meeting told Haaretz.
Olmert did not say what would prompt an Israeli reaction.
The government has also published new regulations that require approval from senior officers before the Israeli Defense Force makes arrests on the West Bank. The rule change is aimed at reducing tensions.
Defense Minister Amir Peretz opposed Olmert on both the possibility of a cease-fire on the West Bank or the change of rules of engagement in Gaza, but only Public Security Minister Avi Dichter agreed with him.
