The arrest of the weapons dealer from the Bedouin of Aruar, between Dimona and Be'er Sheva, indicates a growing trend of Israeli Arab involvement in terrorism. The 20-year-old Bedouin, Afnan Abu Juaid, had made 14 deliveries of Kalashnikov assault rifles to an Arab from PA-controlled Bethlehem, south of Jerusalem. Their contact point was near the Dead Sea.
The Bedouine had received the weapons from a resident of the Egyptian-controlled Sinai Peninsula, which Israel surrendered to Egypt as part of the 1979 peace agreement. The Sinai resident, Abed Tarabir, crossed the border and met with the Bedouin south of Mitzpeh Ramon, between Eilat and Be'er Sheva.
The smuggler received $70,000 for bringing in the arms, and was planning to bring rocket propelled grenades to the Palestinian Authority (PA).
Weapons smuggling over the international border is a prime concern of Israeli defense officials, who fear that Wednesday's agreement between Israel and Egypt, giving Egypt responsibility over the border between Sinai and Gaza will allow sophisticated weapons to reach terrorists. Israel has agreed to let Egypt deploy 750 soldiers along the Philadelphi Route, which runs through the border city Rafiah. IDF troops will remain only for several more weeks.
Military officials fear that terrorists connected with Al-Qaeda terrorists, the group which was behind last month's attack in Egypt and the September 11th attacks on the United States, will be able to cross into Gaza after an IDF withdrawal. A web site supposedly belonging to the Al-Qaeda network claimed this week that the terrorist organization has established a new branch Gaza, known as the Al-Qaeda-Palestine, Borderlands Jihad Brigades.
The lack of ability of the PA to control terrorists has been cited as the reason behind this week's attempt to attack the Sderot anti-expulsion rally with Kassam rockets. One rocket fell short of Sderot and the other two exploded in Arab villages, killing an Arab girl and wounding five others earlier this week.
The Islamic Jihad immediately promised it would cease firing rockets while claiming it was not involved with the Kassam rocket firings. It later claimed it had not promised to refrain from further attacks and apologized for the attack that claimed Arab casualties. One suspicious aspect of the incident is that the missile ripped through the house, but did not strike the roof, indicating that the father of the children, a former PA minister, may have tried to launch it himself.
PA Minister Mohamed Dahlan pointed out that terrorists have a financial incentive to fire mortars and rockets, for which they receive money from superiors.
In another incident indicating increasing anarchy in Gaza, a bomb exploded in the Gaza home of the chief justice of the PA, two days after an explosion ripped through the house of the PA attorney general. There were no injuries in the attacks.
In Samaria, Israeli intelligence officers arrested in Ramallah the spokesman for the Islamic Jihad terror gang. The gang's leaders said Israel violated the "calm" that was announced by the PA in February and they threatened to retaliate.
Since the PA terror groups announced a "calm" following the Sharm el-Sheikh agreements, Arab terrorists have killed 21 Israelis.
The Bedouine had received the weapons from a resident of the Egyptian-controlled Sinai Peninsula, which Israel surrendered to Egypt as part of the 1979 peace agreement. The Sinai resident, Abed Tarabir, crossed the border and met with the Bedouin south of Mitzpeh Ramon, between Eilat and Be'er Sheva.
The smuggler received $70,000 for bringing in the arms, and was planning to bring rocket propelled grenades to the Palestinian Authority (PA).
Weapons smuggling over the international border is a prime concern of Israeli defense officials, who fear that Wednesday's agreement between Israel and Egypt, giving Egypt responsibility over the border between Sinai and Gaza will allow sophisticated weapons to reach terrorists. Israel has agreed to let Egypt deploy 750 soldiers along the Philadelphi Route, which runs through the border city Rafiah. IDF troops will remain only for several more weeks.
Military officials fear that terrorists connected with Al-Qaeda terrorists, the group which was behind last month's attack in Egypt and the September 11th attacks on the United States, will be able to cross into Gaza after an IDF withdrawal. A web site supposedly belonging to the Al-Qaeda network claimed this week that the terrorist organization has established a new branch Gaza, known as the Al-Qaeda-Palestine, Borderlands Jihad Brigades.
The lack of ability of the PA to control terrorists has been cited as the reason behind this week's attempt to attack the Sderot anti-expulsion rally with Kassam rockets. One rocket fell short of Sderot and the other two exploded in Arab villages, killing an Arab girl and wounding five others earlier this week.
The Islamic Jihad immediately promised it would cease firing rockets while claiming it was not involved with the Kassam rocket firings. It later claimed it had not promised to refrain from further attacks and apologized for the attack that claimed Arab casualties. One suspicious aspect of the incident is that the missile ripped through the house, but did not strike the roof, indicating that the father of the children, a former PA minister, may have tried to launch it himself.
PA Minister Mohamed Dahlan pointed out that terrorists have a financial incentive to fire mortars and rockets, for which they receive money from superiors.
In another incident indicating increasing anarchy in Gaza, a bomb exploded in the Gaza home of the chief justice of the PA, two days after an explosion ripped through the house of the PA attorney general. There were no injuries in the attacks.
In Samaria, Israeli intelligence officers arrested in Ramallah the spokesman for the Islamic Jihad terror gang. The gang's leaders said Israel violated the "calm" that was announced by the PA in February and they threatened to retaliate.
Since the PA terror groups announced a "calm" following the Sharm el-Sheikh agreements, Arab terrorists have killed 21 Israelis.