The successful IDF liquidation of four leading terrorists in Bethlehem last week has rocked Palestinian Authority society. According to the IDF, however, it is not likely to lead to renewed terrorist shooting attacks, despite such assessments by government-controlled Voice of Israel Radio. The IDF chastised Voice of Israel for the report.
On Friday, Israel Radio reported that senior Jerusalem Police officers had visited the southern Jerusalem neighborhood of Gilo the day before. The decided to refresh the procedures for responding to shooting attacks upon the area. The police visit came in response to increased agitation among the terrorist groups, following the killing of the four terrorists.
It will be recalled that in 2001, Gilo was frequently the target of Arab terror shooting attacks from the Bethlehem suburb of Beit Jala, causing many injuries and damaged apartments. One day in May, for instance, saw five people wounded and 20 apartments damaged. two days later, another man was wounded. Windows were reinforced on streets facing Beit Jala, and concrete barriers were placed there - and are still there today.
The IDF reacted with anger to the report about fear of renewed gunfire, calling it "groundless and irresponsible." The army notes that the months of gunfire in 2001 were stopped by a brief military invasion of parts of the city, and has been prevented by continued IDF counterterrorism activity there since then.
PA Wants Quiet
The Palestinian Authority also has its own interest in preventing shooting from Beit Jala, army officials feel. "They know that if the shooting begins again," an army officer told Arutz-7's Haggai Huberman, "the IDF will return in great force to Beit Jala, and all their economic gains that are the result of the years of calm will be erased at once."
Meanwhile, it has been learned that Abu Mazen tried to save the four terrorists' lives, having contacted Israeli officials in an attempt to have Israel stop pursuing them. So said the PA governor of Bethlehem on Thursday at the funeral of the four. The governor said the dead terrorists had told him an hour before they were killed that an Israeli officer had told them by phone that they would be killed.
Hizbullah Support
The quadruple funeral was attended by some 10,000 people, a portion of whom chanted pro-Hizbullah slogans.
Hizbullah chieftain Hassan Nasrallah phoned the widow of one of the four terrorists and promised her, "Hizbullah will not abandon Palestine and will continue to support the Palestinian nation [sic] and support the families of the dead [terrorists]." Hamas leader Ismail Haniye made a similar phone call of support.