OCCUPIED JERUSALEM – Israel said its aircraft had attacked 10 sites in the Gaza Strip on Sunday in response to rocket strikes, but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu signaled that broader action in the Palestinian enclave was not imminent. In remarks to his Cabinet on Sunday, Netanyahu pledged “to do whatever is necessary” to restore quiet to southern Israeli communities that have come under rocket attack. But he also cautioned against any rush toward wider confrontation with the Hamas. Tensions were also high in Arab towns and villages in northern Israel and in East Jerusalem, after the kidnap and killing of a 16-year-old Palestinian on Wednesday. An autopsy showed he had been burned alive, the Palestinian attorney-general said. Israel has arrested some suspects in the case, Israeli media reported on Sunday. Palestinians believe the teen was the victim of right-wing Jews avenging the abduction and killing of three Israeli teenagers who disappeared while hitchhiking in the occupied West Bank on June 12 and whose bodies were found on Monday. Police said East Jerusalem and flashpoints in Israel's Arab community in the north were quiet on Sunday after protesters throwing stones and burning tyres clashed with Israeli police late on Saturday. Israel beefed up ground forces along the Gaza frontier on Thursday, sending a message to Palestinian groups that an invasion was an option if rocket fire did not stop. Egypt, a bordering country, has been trying to mediate a truce. While Hamas's armed wing is no match for Israel's powerful military, the Palestinian group's arsenal includes long-range rockets that can strike the Israeli heartland, including the business capital of Tel Aviv. “Experience has shown that during moments like these, one must act in a level-headed and responsible manner and not hastily,” Netanyahu told his cabinet, in broadcast remarks. The Gaza flareup began in mid-June after Israel launched a crackdown in the occupied West Bank on Hamas after blaming the group for the abduction of the three Israeli teenagers. Hamas has neither confirmed nor denied the Israeli allegations. – Reuters
