The Israeli army is encroaching on Palestinian National Authority territory as a tactical measure to provide better security to its forces and Jewish residents, a senior army officer said Monday.
Quoted by The Jerusalem Post on Tuesday, the officer said the move also has the strategic value of showing the Palestinians that there is a territorial price for continuing the conflict, he said.
The "territorial assets," as he called them, are mainly in the Gaza Strip along the approach roads to the three blocs of Jewish settlements.
He said the Israeli army is against evacuating any Israeli-held territory or difficult-to-defend settlement in the Gaza Strip at this moment, since the Palestinians would interpret this as a victory.
There have been reports since the outbreak of the Intifada of settlement temporal evacuation in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank when Palestinians intensified attack on the illegitimate colonies.
The officer made the statements following comments by Prime Minister and Defense Minister Ehud Barak's farewell to the General Staff. Barak said that separation, either in an agreement or unilaterally, should entail abandoning isolated settlements, according to the Post.
However, the Palestinians have take steps to improve their defenses to block any Israeli move on their areas, it added.
"It reminds me of Beirut in 1982, when the PLO feared a land assault," said the officer. "Gaza is the bunker of the Palestinians."
The Palestinians have introduced a number of new weapons, including sniper rifles, rifle grenades, and homemade 81 mm mortars. The army believes there is a fledgling arms industry in the Gaza Strip, the officer claimed.
On Tuesday, Palestinians threw four hand grenades at soldiers near the Gaza Strip settlement of Neveh Dekalim during the night, reported the daily.
The troops were patrolling the nearby industrial zone when the attack took place.
The soldiers were uninjured in the attack, and troops manning a nearby outpost fired back at the assailants, said the paper, adding that the Palestinians were uninjured.
Meanwhile, four people arrested on suspicion of having beaten a Palestinian unconscious after Sunday’s Netanya suicide bombing in which three Israelis were killed, were released late Monday, Israel Radio reported, quoted by Haaretz.
The police determined that while the four were in the area of the bombing, they had not participated in the attempted lynching of Salah Bassam, who was still in critical condition late Monday in Tel Aviv’s Tel Hashomer Hospital.
Bassam, claimed to be seen running away from the scene of the bombing, was initially suspected by police and Shin Bet investigators of involvement in the bombing.
Despite the fact he was unconscious, he was handcuffed to the hospital bed, first at Laniado Hospital where he was taken immediately from the scene in Netanya, and then at Tel Hashomer. But on Monday, investigators concluded he was innocent of any involvement in the attack, said Haaretz.
Citing Israel Radio, the paper also reported that the US has advised Israel to cooperate with the Mitchell Committee, set up to investigate the outbreak of clashes in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, when it returns to the region in three weeks time.
American officials have told their Israeli counterparts that if they refuse to cooperate with the committee, headed by former Senator and Northern Ireland peace-broker George Mitchell, the Palestinians are likely to turn to the United Nations to pass a resolution condemning Israel – Albawaba.com
© 2001 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
