Another blow was dealt to Jewish residents of Yesha today with the decision by Prime Minister Sharon to accept Defense Minister Ben-Eliezer's recommendations to begin thinning out military forces in Hevron. Today or tomorrow, the army will stop its patrols in the city's Arab neighborhoods, except for those adjacent to the Jewish neighborhoods. Israel maintains the right to re-enter in case of an attack or other necessity.
Noam Arnon, spokesman for Hevron's Jewish community, said, "The reason why it was quiet here for the past few months is because the army has been in control of the whole city. But now, the army will deploy only in the neighborhoods around the Jewish neighborhoods, and the Arabs will once again be freely able to prepare suicide terrorists, explosives labs, etc. This is a danger not only to us, but to the entire country." The status of the PA para-military forces in the city not yet been decided; they have not been allowed to travel armed around the city over the past few months. It was learned that the U.S. has recently trained a new group of Arab policemen in preparation for their return to the city.
Palestinian terrorists have shot very often at Jews and their homes in the ancient Jewish city from the high ground of Abu Sneineh and Haret A-Sheikh. In March of last year, ten-month-old Shalhevet Pas was killed, and her father Yitzchak was wounded, by murderous Palestinian sniper shots from those very areas. At this morning’s Security Cabinet meeting, Ben-Eliezer sad that it is important to give the Palestinians the necessary incentives to take action to maintain quiet in areas they control.
Noam Arnon, spokesman for Hevron's Jewish community, said, "The reason why it was quiet here for the past few months is because the army has been in control of the whole city. But now, the army will deploy only in the neighborhoods around the Jewish neighborhoods, and the Arabs will once again be freely able to prepare suicide terrorists, explosives labs, etc. This is a danger not only to us, but to the entire country." The status of the PA para-military forces in the city not yet been decided; they have not been allowed to travel armed around the city over the past few months. It was learned that the U.S. has recently trained a new group of Arab policemen in preparation for their return to the city.
Palestinian terrorists have shot very often at Jews and their homes in the ancient Jewish city from the high ground of Abu Sneineh and Haret A-Sheikh. In March of last year, ten-month-old Shalhevet Pas was killed, and her father Yitzchak was wounded, by murderous Palestinian sniper shots from those very areas. At this morning’s Security Cabinet meeting, Ben-Eliezer sad that it is important to give the Palestinians the necessary incentives to take action to maintain quiet in areas they control.