The IDF removed the curfews from several PA cities this morning: Ramallah, Hevron, Jenin, Tul Karem, and Kalkilye. Intelligence warnings of impending attempted terrorist attacks continue to be received, however. Islamic Jihad and Hamas announced this afternoon that they had officially rejected the proposal to call off all terrorism against Israel for a one-year period.
The other Arab-populated areas in Judea, Samaria, Gaza and the Jordan Valley remain under curfew, except for humanitarian needs. For instance, representatives of the Red Cross and "Doctors Without Borders" provided medical aid to the Arab population in the Muassi, near Gush Katif; six trucks delivered medical supplies, food, and oxygen tanks to PA hospitals; and over 200 Arabs were transferred to hospitals over the Green Line and abroad for medical treatment. In addition, trucks with food were allowed in, and dozens of relatives of Arab prisoners were granted visitation rights.
Dr. Aaron Lerner of IMRA (www.imra.org.il) notes that Maj.-Gen. Amos Gilad, Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories, wrote in October of last year that his recommendation to lift a curfew once nearly cost many Israeli lives and was a "professional failure." In his words:
"As the coordinator of government activities in the territories, I recently recommended that the Chief of Staff and the Defense Minister lift the curfew in Nablus [Shechem] for "humanitarian reasons." The Chief of Staff accepted my recommendation, but the General Security Services (Shabak) representative firmly resisted. He said that lifting the curfew would result in terror, bloodshed, and casualties within 5 to 7 hours. It was decided to take the risk.
"Five hours after the curfew was lifted, two dangerous terrorists left Nablus. Neither the Israeli intelligence agencies nor the IDF were able to prevent them from doing so. Miraculously, Israeli civilians caught one terrorist and killed the other, but, in fact, professionally we failed. We endangered our countrymen because my "humanitarian" recommendation to lift the curfew was accepted."
Other excerpts from the article by Gen. Gilad:
"Arafat's position is based on four demands: a return to the 1967 borders, an Arab capital in Jerusalem, a Palestinian right of return, and control of the mosques...
"Within any peace agreement, Arafat is determined to force Israel to absorb the 300,000 Palestinians now living in Lebanon...
"Arafat is further determined that the independent Palestinian state should have the full right to absorb more than half a million overseas Palestinians into the Palestinian territories. Arafat mentally adds these to the 2 million Palestinians in the West Bank, the 1.2 million in Gaza, and the 3.2 million in Jordan, and hopes to create an overwhelming Palestinian majority between the Mediterranean Sea and the Iraqi desert...
"As a member of Israel's delegation to the peace talks in Washington and at Wye Plantation, I often had private discussions with Palestinian leaders. One told me secretly: 'I like you personally, not nationally, and I'll help you with your job in national assessment. In 2000, if Arafat does not get what he wants, we will use violence and terror. I'm not threatening you or trying to manipulate you. I'm telling you in order to help you.' ... Thus, Israel is facing state-sponsored terror. Murder and terror have become a local 'industry.' Almost every day Israel has to try to prevent bloody, cruel acts of terror as the Palestinians use explosive devices specifically constructed to cause mass casualties... There is no punishment [of them in the PA], no trial. Under such conditions, the PA's commitment to 'fight terrorism' is meaningless...
"Arafat's initiated confrontation with Israel has caused considerable suffering to the Palestinian population. Some 80% of Palestinians in Gaza live below the poverty line, as do, perhaps, 60% in the West Bank. Nearly 1.8 million are living on charity from international organizations. Although there is no hunger or any humanitarian crisis in the territories - a statement I can readily defend - the economic situation there is very poor, and having a poor population is, in the long run, against the interests of Israel, the Palestinians, and the world at large...
"It is very difficult to solve this contradiction between terror, on one side, and humanitarian assistance, on the other. For example, to ease the daily life of Palestinians we must open the roads between cities, but the moment we do that, we are hit with terrorist attacks. Similarly, without the IDF presence in the Palestinian cities, we would be suffering a totally unacceptable toll of casualties..."
An Arab youth from Gaza was killed today by a grenade hurled by a fellow Arab. The victim was participating in the funeral of one of those killed in Israel's anti-terror attack in Gaza yesterday when several masked terrorists shot in the air and threw grenades. One of the grenades exploded next to the youth, killing him on the spot.
The other Arab-populated areas in Judea, Samaria, Gaza and the Jordan Valley remain under curfew, except for humanitarian needs. For instance, representatives of the Red Cross and "Doctors Without Borders" provided medical aid to the Arab population in the Muassi, near Gush Katif; six trucks delivered medical supplies, food, and oxygen tanks to PA hospitals; and over 200 Arabs were transferred to hospitals over the Green Line and abroad for medical treatment. In addition, trucks with food were allowed in, and dozens of relatives of Arab prisoners were granted visitation rights.
Dr. Aaron Lerner of IMRA (www.imra.org.il) notes that Maj.-Gen. Amos Gilad, Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories, wrote in October of last year that his recommendation to lift a curfew once nearly cost many Israeli lives and was a "professional failure." In his words:
"As the coordinator of government activities in the territories, I recently recommended that the Chief of Staff and the Defense Minister lift the curfew in Nablus [Shechem] for "humanitarian reasons." The Chief of Staff accepted my recommendation, but the General Security Services (Shabak) representative firmly resisted. He said that lifting the curfew would result in terror, bloodshed, and casualties within 5 to 7 hours. It was decided to take the risk.
"Five hours after the curfew was lifted, two dangerous terrorists left Nablus. Neither the Israeli intelligence agencies nor the IDF were able to prevent them from doing so. Miraculously, Israeli civilians caught one terrorist and killed the other, but, in fact, professionally we failed. We endangered our countrymen because my "humanitarian" recommendation to lift the curfew was accepted."
Other excerpts from the article by Gen. Gilad:
"Arafat's position is based on four demands: a return to the 1967 borders, an Arab capital in Jerusalem, a Palestinian right of return, and control of the mosques...
"Within any peace agreement, Arafat is determined to force Israel to absorb the 300,000 Palestinians now living in Lebanon...
"Arafat is further determined that the independent Palestinian state should have the full right to absorb more than half a million overseas Palestinians into the Palestinian territories. Arafat mentally adds these to the 2 million Palestinians in the West Bank, the 1.2 million in Gaza, and the 3.2 million in Jordan, and hopes to create an overwhelming Palestinian majority between the Mediterranean Sea and the Iraqi desert...
"As a member of Israel's delegation to the peace talks in Washington and at Wye Plantation, I often had private discussions with Palestinian leaders. One told me secretly: 'I like you personally, not nationally, and I'll help you with your job in national assessment. In 2000, if Arafat does not get what he wants, we will use violence and terror. I'm not threatening you or trying to manipulate you. I'm telling you in order to help you.' ... Thus, Israel is facing state-sponsored terror. Murder and terror have become a local 'industry.' Almost every day Israel has to try to prevent bloody, cruel acts of terror as the Palestinians use explosive devices specifically constructed to cause mass casualties... There is no punishment [of them in the PA], no trial. Under such conditions, the PA's commitment to 'fight terrorism' is meaningless...
"Arafat's initiated confrontation with Israel has caused considerable suffering to the Palestinian population. Some 80% of Palestinians in Gaza live below the poverty line, as do, perhaps, 60% in the West Bank. Nearly 1.8 million are living on charity from international organizations. Although there is no hunger or any humanitarian crisis in the territories - a statement I can readily defend - the economic situation there is very poor, and having a poor population is, in the long run, against the interests of Israel, the Palestinians, and the world at large...
"It is very difficult to solve this contradiction between terror, on one side, and humanitarian assistance, on the other. For example, to ease the daily life of Palestinians we must open the roads between cities, but the moment we do that, we are hit with terrorist attacks. Similarly, without the IDF presence in the Palestinian cities, we would be suffering a totally unacceptable toll of casualties..."
An Arab youth from Gaza was killed today by a grenade hurled by a fellow Arab. The victim was participating in the funeral of one of those killed in Israel's anti-terror attack in Gaza yesterday when several masked terrorists shot in the air and threw grenades. One of the grenades exploded next to the youth, killing him on the spot.