JERUSALEM, Dec. 25 (UPI) -- Israeli government ministers called on the prime minister Monday to end his policy of restraint after a Qassam missile hit a strategic facility in Ashkelon.
No workers were injured when the missile, launched by Palestinian gunmen, hit the facility, but a number of structures were damaged , YNetNews reported Monday.
"The State of Israel must act against the Qassams in a well-planned and organized manner," said Avigdor Lieberman, the country's minister of strategic affairs. "We must not respond merely in order to appease the public."
"Such an operation must cause a cessation of the Qassam fire plaguing the residents of Ashkelon, Sderot and the western Negev," he said.
Defense Minister Amir Peretz agreed with Lieberman and other ministers calling for Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to initiate a swift response to rocket fire.
"We must operate against Qassam fire and rocket launching cells if we identify them before or after shooting," he said. "We must not let these cells get away."
