Terrorists' Demands in Judea and Samaria Threaten Truce
Terrorists' Demands in Judea and Samaria Threaten Truce

Hamas and other terrorists groups have stated they will unilaterally extend their halt on terrorist attacks to Judea and Samaria - but may consider IDF counterterrorist measures there a violation of the Gaza agreement that went into effect Thursday morning.

The terms of the understanding between Hamas and Israel, which was brokered by Egyptian mediators, call for the ceasefire to include Judea and Samaria after several months of quiet in Gaza. However, Islamic Jihad's deputy leader Ziad Nakahleh warned, "We will respond even if the violation takes place in the West Bank."

An additional threat to the truce, which is barely 24 hours old, came from the Popular Resistance Committees (PRC). "The ceasefire means lifting the siege and opening all of the crossings," it stated. "We will comply with the ceasefire as much as it serves those interests."

Israel has insisted that re-opening the key Rafiah crossing at the Egyptian border depends on the release of kidnapped IDF soldier Gilad Shalit. Hamas and other groups may consider a continued closure at Rafiah a ceasefire violation that allows a response of resumed rocket attacks.

The issue of Rafiah has catapulted Palestinian Authority (PA) chairman Mahmoud Abbas into the picture, prompting a possible Hamas-Fatah reunion. This, despite promises by Prime Minister Olmert to halt negotiations with Abbas the day the Fatah leader tries to achieve reconciliation with the rival Hamas terrorist party.

Re-opening the Rafiah border would require Israeli security clearance for the participation of European monitors and PA personnel. Israel restricted movement at the crossings because of continued lethal terrorist attacks that killed soldiers and civilians.

Abbas, leader of Fatah, said he welcomed the Israel-Hamas agreement, and is anxious for a new unity government, which ended a year ago when Hamas militia terrorists overpowered Fatah in Gaza. He sent senior leaders to Gaza this week for the first time since the takeover.

One result of the temporary truce is that Hamas is "back in the saddle," a senior European diplomat told Reuters News Agency. "Hamas becomes an interlocutor again and gets international and regional recognition" - a claim that Israel denies.

Hamas will gain stature if it succeeds in stopping rocket attacks in southern Israel, which Abbas was not able to do before last year's Hamas purge.

The major issue for Prime Minister Olmert is the return of kidnapped IDF soldier Gilad Shalit, a move that would catapult him into the good graces of the public and the media and help him to escape the political noose that has tightened as a result of allegations of pocketing hundreds of thousands of dollars of cash from American businessmen.



The Prime Minister is to visit Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak next week and discuss the issue of Shalit and the ceasefire that Egypt has brokered. Hamas has been insistent that the soldier's release depends on the Olmert government's releasing hundreds of terrorists, including those with "blood on their hands."

The government already has shown Hamas "good will" measures since the truce began. A military court on Thursday ordered the release of a Hamas legislator from Hevron who has been detained by authorities for two years.



Meanwhile, the IDF is considering a plan to move soldiers near Gaza to more distant bases if the period of quiet continues. The day before the understanding went into effect, the IDF attacked one rocket-launching cell, one of several that attacked Israel with more than 30 rockets and mortar shells the same day.

IDF officers have complained that they have not been issued specific orders on what to do if they see suspicious Arabs approaching the Gaza separation barrier, where they frequently try to plant bombs against military vehicles. The only direct orders have been that soldiers may shoot only if they come under direct fire.