Military actions

Since the victory of Hamas in the PA elections there has been a doubling in
the number of warnings and of attempted terrorist incidents. Since most of
these have come from Nablus, that has taken over from Jenin as the active
center of terrorism in the West Bank, Israel last week launched Operation
Northern Lights to counter this threat. The IDF entered Nablus and the nearby
Balata camp and arrested 7 wanted terrorists. One of the leading bomb
makers, Ahmed Abu Shrah, a member of Tanzim and Islamic Jihad, resisted
arrest and was killed in a gunfight with Israeli troops. Mobs of youths also
attacked the Israeli soldiers with rocks and Molotov cocktails. Several youths
and one Israeli soldier were wounded. One of the terrorists captured was the
leader of Islamic Jihad in Nablus,
Ahmed Marshud, who was responsible for a number of suicide bombing attacks
in Israel, including that at the Tel Aviv bus station on January 19 this year.
The increase in attempted attacks results from funding and orders emanating
mainly from Islamic Jihad in Gaza and in Damascus. IJ has clearly stated that
it does not recognize any truce with Israel and will continue the Jihad
without regard for the election of Hamas and whatever Hamas decides. No one
expects that the new Hamas PA Government will do anything to restrain IJ. The
IDF Operation in Nablus is continuing this week and a further 11 suspected
terrorists have been arrested and a bomb factory destroyed.
In other action, a young Palestinian man and woman were wounded by IDF
gunfire after they were spotted throwing firebombs at an Israeli bus near
Hebron. Also, a cache of 8 mortars and a launcher stolen from an IDF base
were discovered in Bethlehem, and the Tanzim cell that planned to use them to
fire at Jerusalem were arrested. This is a potentially ominous development
that will no doubt become reality in the not-too-distant future. Two rockets
were fired from Gaza near Sderot and the IDF responded with artillery fire
into empty fields.
Avi Dichter, the head of the Shin Bet security service, has warned the Israeli
Government in a briefing against accepting a Hudna (temporary ceasefire) with
the Hamas-led PA Government, since it will be used by them to bide time until
they feel that they are strong enough to attack Israel in force. This may
take them as long as 10 years, and in the meantime they will merge their
militias with the PA security forces and train an Army for this purpose. They
will also attempt to acquire heavy weapons, probably through Egypt and by
sea from Iran and Syria. Only by remaining vigilant and in an active military
mode can Israel hope to interdict this planned threat.