IDF troops came under enemy gunfire this morning near Dahaniye in Gaza, and IDF outpost next to the nearby Jewish community of Gadid was also shot at. No one was hurt. In a series of early morning operations throughout Judea and Samaria, IDF troops and General Security Services operatives apprehended 11 Arabs suspected of anti-Israel terrorist activity. Six PA residents, including a Hamas terrorist, were arrested in a village near Ariel in central Shomron. In Hevron, security services arrested an Islamic Jihad member, and west of Bethlehem, another four Arabs were arrested for having throwing rocks and firebombs at Israelis.
Last night’s security consultation meeting between senior PLO militia heads and IDF and intelligence commanders ended with no results. The meeting was called to renew coordination of security activity and share intelligence regarding terrorist actions, but Palestinian sources called the meeting “a failure.”
Despite the above, Foreign Minister Shimon Peres, in a series of interviews today, said that Arafat is far from ruled out as a negotiating partner. Excerpts from his interview with Ynet:
\"Even if Israel says that we will not conduct talks under fire, it has to be clear that the negotiations can\'t only be made up of metal bullets. The talks must have political, economic, and psychological aspects… All the talks that I have [with the Palestinians] are with the knowledge of Prime Minister Sharon. I\'m not interested in detailing with whom I talk and what exactly is said there, because that is liable to harm the attempts to solve the situation. I will say only that there must be a diplomatic aspect to the negotiations in order to spur the Palestinians to take action…\"
Speaking with Der Spiegel, Peres criticized the government decision declaring Arafat \"irrelevant\" as having hurt the chances to reach a ceasefire.
Last night’s security consultation meeting between senior PLO militia heads and IDF and intelligence commanders ended with no results. The meeting was called to renew coordination of security activity and share intelligence regarding terrorist actions, but Palestinian sources called the meeting “a failure.”
Despite the above, Foreign Minister Shimon Peres, in a series of interviews today, said that Arafat is far from ruled out as a negotiating partner. Excerpts from his interview with Ynet:
\"Even if Israel says that we will not conduct talks under fire, it has to be clear that the negotiations can\'t only be made up of metal bullets. The talks must have political, economic, and psychological aspects… All the talks that I have [with the Palestinians] are with the knowledge of Prime Minister Sharon. I\'m not interested in detailing with whom I talk and what exactly is said there, because that is liable to harm the attempts to solve the situation. I will say only that there must be a diplomatic aspect to the negotiations in order to spur the Palestinians to take action…\"
Speaking with Der Spiegel, Peres criticized the government decision declaring Arafat \"irrelevant\" as having hurt the chances to reach a ceasefire.