“The Palestinian Authority is currently taking no preventative measures [against terrorism],\" IDF Chief of Staff Sha\'ul Mofaz announced today at a briefing in his Tel Aviv office. He also identified PLO leader Yasser Arafat as the leading force behind the anti-Israel incitement, which he said is ongoing. “The Palestinian approach to Israel will not change as long as Arafat is navigating the ship, incorporating terrorism and violence,” Mofaz said.
US President George W. Bush also had some harsh words of criticism for Arafat today. On his way from Russia to France this morning, Bush said that Arafat has simply \"not delivered. He had a chance to secure the peace as a result of the hard work of President Clinton, and he didn\'t. He had a chance to fight terrorism and he hasn\'t.\" In contrast, Bush spoke warmly of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon during his visit today to the 100-year old Grand Choral Synagogue in St. Petersburg. Bush told the rabbi of the landmark synagogue that Sharon is “a man of truth” and that he shares with him a “a true friendship.”
Chief of Staff Mofaz also related to the much-touted reforms in the Palestinian Authority. “As long as Arafat is the one in charge of the reform,\" Mofaz said, \"it’s not going to happen. He will try to water it down… If a different [PA] leadership takes it upon itself, it might happen. I do give it a chance…” Ultimately, Mofaz feels, the demands for reform come from the Palestinian street, from the Arab world and from the United States, with some Arab states actually seeking to reduce Arafat\'s influence in the PA in order to facilitate a political solution.
However that reform process ultimately turns out, and it “may last months or even years,” the Chief of Staff assured the assembled journalists that the IDF will act on any intelligence information it receives, going wherever is necessary to fight terrorist initiatives. “We cannot go back to the situation as it was on Passover night,” he said. “If the current security measures\" - he called them \'offensive defense\' - \"are not successful, then we may have to take deeper and more widespread action.”
Mofaz said that the army had killed or arrested some 50 armed terrorists in the recent past, and that Israel is currently holding 2,200 PA terrorist suspects. \"There were times that we captured two and even three would-be suicide terrorists in one night,\" he said. Mofaz said that Israel\'s recent military operations had restored the country\'s deterrent power.
US President George W. Bush also had some harsh words of criticism for Arafat today. On his way from Russia to France this morning, Bush said that Arafat has simply \"not delivered. He had a chance to secure the peace as a result of the hard work of President Clinton, and he didn\'t. He had a chance to fight terrorism and he hasn\'t.\" In contrast, Bush spoke warmly of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon during his visit today to the 100-year old Grand Choral Synagogue in St. Petersburg. Bush told the rabbi of the landmark synagogue that Sharon is “a man of truth” and that he shares with him a “a true friendship.”
Chief of Staff Mofaz also related to the much-touted reforms in the Palestinian Authority. “As long as Arafat is the one in charge of the reform,\" Mofaz said, \"it’s not going to happen. He will try to water it down… If a different [PA] leadership takes it upon itself, it might happen. I do give it a chance…” Ultimately, Mofaz feels, the demands for reform come from the Palestinian street, from the Arab world and from the United States, with some Arab states actually seeking to reduce Arafat\'s influence in the PA in order to facilitate a political solution.
However that reform process ultimately turns out, and it “may last months or even years,” the Chief of Staff assured the assembled journalists that the IDF will act on any intelligence information it receives, going wherever is necessary to fight terrorist initiatives. “We cannot go back to the situation as it was on Passover night,” he said. “If the current security measures\" - he called them \'offensive defense\' - \"are not successful, then we may have to take deeper and more widespread action.”
Mofaz said that the army had killed or arrested some 50 armed terrorists in the recent past, and that Israel is currently holding 2,200 PA terrorist suspects. \"There were times that we captured two and even three would-be suicide terrorists in one night,\" he said. Mofaz said that Israel\'s recent military operations had restored the country\'s deterrent power.