Israeli plan includes creation of Gaza buffer zone

Israel’s army has developed a plan for creating a “buffer zone” of about 300 yards inside the fence around the Gaza Strip in an effort to stop Palestinian rocket fire, military officials said today.

The plan is one of several options Israel is considering to counter the rocket fire, which has increased since the weekend and wounded one person yesterday. Another rocket was fired early today, but no one was injured.

Military commanders have presented the plan to Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s Cabinet, but it has not yet been approved, the officials said.

A forum of senior ministers will debate the various plans next week, the Haaretz newspaper reported today.

Israel withdrew from Gaza in September 2005, ending a 38-year military occupation. In recent months, however, Israeli forces have periodically entered the fringes of the strip to stop the rocket launchings. But the plan calls for a greater presence that would in some places be constant.

The plan also calls for an increase in attacks on rocket launchers, including airstrikes on high-ranking militants who oversee the firings, the officials said.

Mr Olmert has already agreed to slightly expand the area in the Gaza Strip in which the army can operate, Haaretz said.

Senior military officials have been pushing for approval of a large land offensive in the Gaza Strip to stop the rocket fire, but other security chiefs are opposed to such a complicated operation in the densely-populated coastal area that could exact many Israeli troop casualties.

To minimise Israeli injuries, the army plan for such an operation includes the use of heavy fire, which often results in civilian casualties, Haaretz said.