Beersheva bombing

The suicide bombing in Beersheva takes us back to the intifada as if no
disengagement happened, status quo ante. The bomber did not manage to get on
a bus at the main Beersheva bus station due to the quick reactions of two
security guards, and so a large number of casualties were avoided. But
unfortunately the two guards were badly injured, one of them a Bedouin Arab,
Luay abu Juma and the other a Russian Israeli, Pavel Srotzkin. They are
both now in recovery, although abu Juma lost an eye.
But, why Beersheva? Probably because there is no security fence in southern
Judea. The security fence was built first in the northern West Bank, around
Samaria, where the terrorist centers of Jenin, Nablus and Ramallah are
located. Then the focus of attacks moved to Jerusalem since the terrorists
from these cities found that the easiest target. Now that the security
fence and wall around Jerusalem is finally being built, after several
changes were made to accommodate various court challenges, the easiest entry
to Israel from the WB is in the south. The major Palestinian city there is
Hebron and there is no barrier between the southern Hebron hills and
Beersheva, which is the largest Israeli city in the south and is very open.
The bomber has been named by Hamas and Islamic Jihad as Ayman Zakik, 25,
from a small village near Hebron. There are many Bedouin Arabs living in and
around Beersheva, so it's easy for a Palestinian to merge in.
Although the IDF has increased patrols in the area, it is no substitute for
a fence. So now that the bombing has occurred in Beersheva, the pressure is
on to finish the fence in the south. A section of 30 km around Beit Shemesh
in the south west is nearing completion, but the 26 km stretch in the south
between Hebron and Beersheva still needs to be built and that will take ca.
3 months, and then there is an as yet unplanned section from the end of this
section to the Dead Sea which could take a year.
Palestinians often get into Israel by hiring an Israeli taxi that can pass
more easily through Israeli checkpoints. Sometimes these taxis are driven
by Israeli Arabs and sometimes even by Jews. Several weeks ago a Jewish
taxi driver was arrested for being involved in transporting the suicide
bomber who blew himself up in Netanya, killing five. This Jewish taxi
driver had two Arab co-conspirators, who switched cars with him so that they
could get through the check points. Although he swore that he did not know
the Arab he was transporting was a terrorist, the police do not believe him
because so many switches and subterfuges were made. Now it turns out that
he and his younger brother were deeply involved in transporting Arabs
illegally into Israel, and his brother has also been arrested. He was
running a van service from the southern WB into Beersheva. It is possible
that the latest suicide bomber was transported by him. Because they were
Jews they could, for a price, make the transfer much easier for their Arab
passengers.
Another 14-year old boy carrying pipe bombs on him was nabbed at the Tarawa
checkpoint outside Nablus yesterday. He is the brother of one caught there a
few months ago. There has been no let-up in the attempts by the terrorist
organizations to kill Israelis.
There is a report in the Jerusalem Post that the PA leadership have decided
to once again bring pressure on Israel by starting a campaign at the UN.
They plan to try to get the UN to pass a resolution requiring Israel to give
up all so-called "occupied" land and dismantle all settlements, as well as
labeling the "wall" illegal. In other words, requiring Israel to implement
its side of the road map, without requiring them to do anything. But, FM
Shalom has stated that Israel will go no further unless and until the PA
acts against the terrorist organizations. In this case they have the
support of Pres. Bush.