pinkeye
03-16-2004, 11:13 AM
Israel Moves to Step Up Targeted Killings
37 minutes ago
By KARIN LAUB, Associated Press Writer
JERUSALEM - Israel's security Cabinet on Tuesday approved an army plan to intensify targeted killings of Palestinian militants and to send more troops into the Gaza Strip (news - web sites) for ground operations, a security official said.
The military campaign, which will last several weeks, was intended as retaliation for a double suicide bombing that killed 10 Israelis at the Ashdod seaport this week, the first deadly Palestinian attack on a strategic target in more than three years of fighting.
The strikes are also meant to increase pressure on militants, particularly the Islamic militant group Hamas, ahead of a possible Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, the security official said on condition of anonymity.
Both the militants and the Israeli military are trying to claim victory in the possible pullback, part of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon (news - web sites)'s unilateral "disengagement" plan. Armed groups are already bragging they are forcing Israel out. Israel wants to avoid the impression it is fleeing the strip.
The Ashdod bombing shook Israel's security establishment because of the relative ease with which the attackers got out of fenced-in Gaza and sneaked into the heavily guarded port. The facility, which has large storage tanks of fuel and hazardous chemicals, was considered a "strategic" target, meaning an attack there could lead to hundreds, if not thousands, of casualties.
In Tuesday's Cabinet meeting, ministers approved an army plan to step up targeted killings of militants, including leaders, the security official said. Since 2000, Israel has killed dozens of wanted Palestinians in air strikes and other attacks.
The army will also send more soldiers and tanks to the strip, for a series of raids of militant strongholds, the official said.
The campaign will be smaller in scale than Defense Shield, Israel's massive military offensive in 2002, but will last for several weeks, the official said.
Asked whether an Israeli crackdown would be effective, Justice Minister Tommy Lapid said: "You never finish with terror. You can only fight terror."
Said Siyam, a Hamas spokesman in Gaza, warned that Israel would pay a heavy price for any military strike in the strip.
Early Tuesday, Israeli troops blew up two abandoned buildings on the edge of Gaza City that the military said had been used to fire missiles repeatedly at Israeli motorists. The buildings, which belong to a Palestinian university, overlook a road frequently used by Israeli settlers. On Monday, an anti-tank missile tore through a bus carrying Israeli school children, causing damage, but no injuries.
Also Tuesday, four tanks entered Gaza's Rafah refugee camp, and soldiers fired from tank-mounted machine guns, hitting a 21-year-old woman in the chest, witnesses and hospital officials said. The army had no immediate comment.
Sharon has said he would go ahead with his unilateral plan if peace efforts remain frozen in coming months.
Sharon never declared formally that he had abandoned attempts to negotiate peace. However, on Monday, he told Israel's parliament that "there is no Palestinian leader with the courage, the ability, to struggle against terrorism" and that "clearly, in this situation, there will be no peace talks."
After the Ashdod bombing, Sharon also canceled a summit with Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia, which had been tentatively set for this week.
Qureia said Tuesday he still was willing to negotiate with Israel, and accused Sharon of trying to avoid peace talks. The Palestinians suspect Sharon is shying away from negotiations because he believes he can hang on to more West Bank land with his unilateral plan.
"A Palestinian partner exists and is committed to the peace process, but the Israelis are running away from their responsibilities," Qureia told an economic conference in the West Bank town of Ramallah.
In response to the Ashdod bombing, the military indefinitely closed the Erez crossing between Gaza and Israel, keeping some 19,000 laborers from jobs in Israel. Military officials said there is concern that the bombers, a pair of 17-year-old high school students, used forged IDs and permits to get through Erez.
A militant leader in Gaza, who identified himself only as Abu Qusay, has said he believed the bombers crawled through tunnels. Abu Qusay said bombers had planned to blow up large fuel tanks at Ashdod port. However, the explosions went off hundreds of yards from the tanks.
The bombing was carried out by Hamas and the Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, a group with ties to the Fatah (news - web sites) movement led by Yasser Arafat (news - web sites) and Qureia. Sharon said the involvement of the Fatah-linked militant group made a mockery of a Palestinian condemnation of the attack.
37 minutes ago
By KARIN LAUB, Associated Press Writer
JERUSALEM - Israel's security Cabinet on Tuesday approved an army plan to intensify targeted killings of Palestinian militants and to send more troops into the Gaza Strip (news - web sites) for ground operations, a security official said.
The military campaign, which will last several weeks, was intended as retaliation for a double suicide bombing that killed 10 Israelis at the Ashdod seaport this week, the first deadly Palestinian attack on a strategic target in more than three years of fighting.
The strikes are also meant to increase pressure on militants, particularly the Islamic militant group Hamas, ahead of a possible Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, the security official said on condition of anonymity.
Both the militants and the Israeli military are trying to claim victory in the possible pullback, part of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon (news - web sites)'s unilateral "disengagement" plan. Armed groups are already bragging they are forcing Israel out. Israel wants to avoid the impression it is fleeing the strip.
The Ashdod bombing shook Israel's security establishment because of the relative ease with which the attackers got out of fenced-in Gaza and sneaked into the heavily guarded port. The facility, which has large storage tanks of fuel and hazardous chemicals, was considered a "strategic" target, meaning an attack there could lead to hundreds, if not thousands, of casualties.
In Tuesday's Cabinet meeting, ministers approved an army plan to step up targeted killings of militants, including leaders, the security official said. Since 2000, Israel has killed dozens of wanted Palestinians in air strikes and other attacks.
The army will also send more soldiers and tanks to the strip, for a series of raids of militant strongholds, the official said.
The campaign will be smaller in scale than Defense Shield, Israel's massive military offensive in 2002, but will last for several weeks, the official said.
Asked whether an Israeli crackdown would be effective, Justice Minister Tommy Lapid said: "You never finish with terror. You can only fight terror."
Said Siyam, a Hamas spokesman in Gaza, warned that Israel would pay a heavy price for any military strike in the strip.
Early Tuesday, Israeli troops blew up two abandoned buildings on the edge of Gaza City that the military said had been used to fire missiles repeatedly at Israeli motorists. The buildings, which belong to a Palestinian university, overlook a road frequently used by Israeli settlers. On Monday, an anti-tank missile tore through a bus carrying Israeli school children, causing damage, but no injuries.
Also Tuesday, four tanks entered Gaza's Rafah refugee camp, and soldiers fired from tank-mounted machine guns, hitting a 21-year-old woman in the chest, witnesses and hospital officials said. The army had no immediate comment.
Sharon has said he would go ahead with his unilateral plan if peace efforts remain frozen in coming months.
Sharon never declared formally that he had abandoned attempts to negotiate peace. However, on Monday, he told Israel's parliament that "there is no Palestinian leader with the courage, the ability, to struggle against terrorism" and that "clearly, in this situation, there will be no peace talks."
After the Ashdod bombing, Sharon also canceled a summit with Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia, which had been tentatively set for this week.
Qureia said Tuesday he still was willing to negotiate with Israel, and accused Sharon of trying to avoid peace talks. The Palestinians suspect Sharon is shying away from negotiations because he believes he can hang on to more West Bank land with his unilateral plan.
"A Palestinian partner exists and is committed to the peace process, but the Israelis are running away from their responsibilities," Qureia told an economic conference in the West Bank town of Ramallah.
In response to the Ashdod bombing, the military indefinitely closed the Erez crossing between Gaza and Israel, keeping some 19,000 laborers from jobs in Israel. Military officials said there is concern that the bombers, a pair of 17-year-old high school students, used forged IDs and permits to get through Erez.
A militant leader in Gaza, who identified himself only as Abu Qusay, has said he believed the bombers crawled through tunnels. Abu Qusay said bombers had planned to blow up large fuel tanks at Ashdod port. However, the explosions went off hundreds of yards from the tanks.
The bombing was carried out by Hamas and the Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, a group with ties to the Fatah (news - web sites) movement led by Yasser Arafat (news - web sites) and Qureia. Sharon said the involvement of the Fatah-linked militant group made a mockery of a Palestinian condemnation of the attack.