Occupied Jerusalem: Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has defied claims that Israel's military offensive in the Gaza Strip is an excessive use of force by vowing to continue with attacks indefinitely.
He said, "We're talking about a war that will continue for a long time and it is complicated. This is a war for which we cannot set down a timetable and we can't say how long it will continue."
The Israeli Cabinet expressed complete support for both the military action and the prime minister's refusal to agree with Hamas-linked militants, who demanded the release of 1,500 prisoners in exchange for information about kidnapped soldier Cpl. Gilad Shalit.
Security officials told the Cabinet that the offensive was likely to force the militants to scale back their demands.
The 12 day operation by Israeli troops has left 51 Palestinians dead. An Israeli air strike on Sunday, aimed at a Hamas militant, missed, instead killing one bystander and wounding five others, including an eight year old girl.
Olmert said at the meeting that he planned a prisoner release as a goodwill gesture to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, but this now appears highly unlikely.
He said, "It's not a secret before the kidnapping that we would free prisoners. But we intended to release them to moderate elements and not to terrorist elements. The release of prisoners means destroying the moderates in the Palestinian Authority, and would signal to the world that Israel can only talk to extremists."
The United Nations blamed Israel for widespread human rights violations and hardship to civilians in Gaza, but Olmert and key cabinet members maintained they were not concerned about the international reaction.
Cabinet Minster Yitzhak Herzog said, "Anybody who calls this operation disproportionate has no clue about the facts on the ground. We have been attacked and bombarded for months and weeks. With all due respect to all those who criticize us, if anything of this nature would have happened in their homeland, they would have acted much worse."
