Palestinian terrorism was highlighted today by a large-scale alert in the Herzliya-Netanya region, attacks against soldiers - and a declaration by Abu Mazen that he would not disarm the terrorist organizations.
In light of the terror alert, checkpoints were erected throughout the Sharon area this morning, and at one point, a suspicious car did not stop when ordered to; Border Guard policemen opened fire, killing one occupant, causing the other to flee, and leading security forces to believe that the threatened terror attack had been thwarted. A different picture soon began to emerge, however, when it was realized that the dead Arab was not a terrorist but an innocent citizen from the Israeli-Arab city of Taibe. The police will investigate the incident.
The terrorism alert has been downgraded, but heavy police forces are still deployed in the region. In Shechem, the office of the local Islamic Jihad leader exploded today, and one person was killed. Arab sources report that the explosion occurred while several terrorists were engaged in preparing a bomb for an attack against Israelis.
In other violence, Arabs activated a bomb towards an IDF force in southern Gaza, and fired at another unit on the Israeli-Egyptian border. An Israeli-Arab attacked a soldier at a checkpoint near Jericho; no one was hurt in these incidents.
The violence notwithstanding, Abu Mazen - the #2 PLO leader recognized as the head of the Palestinian Authority by Israel and the United States - said today that he has no intention of disarming the terrorist organizations. He made the statement in Cairo after a meeting with Arab League Secretary Amr Mussa. Abu Mazen is now on his way to Amman, where he will meet with Jordan's King Abdullah; he will travel later in the week to Washington and meet with U.S. President Bush.