Arutz-7 asked Dr. Eli Karmon, senior researcher on terrorism in the Interdisciplinary Institute in Herzliya, why Israel let Mustafa enter the PA areas. Karmon said, \"The policy at the time [1999] was to allow in whichever terrorist leaders declared opposition to the armed struggle. Abu Abbas, for instance, who killed wheelchair-bound Leon Klinghoffer aboard the Achille Lauro, was let in under these circumstances, but Naif Hawatmeh, head of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine, refused to make such a declaration. Mustafa was allowed in after he conceded that the Oslo agreement \'must be recognized as a political reality.\'\" It should be noted, however, that within about three weeks of his arrival, he appeared on Palestinian television\'s \'Meet the Press\' program and rejected the annulment of the PLO charter calling for the destruction of Israel, and supported the PLO\'s 1974 \'Plan of Stages\' for the destruction of Israel.
Karmon noted that Mustafa\'s organization carried out some minor attacks within the first year of his arrival, \"but when the current intifada broke out, he became very active in attempts to cause mass killings, such as at least two car bombs in Jerusalem that did not cause damage. He would have liked to be like Hamas and attack inside Israel, but he had much less manpower. He caused much damage to Israel in attacks outside Israel, and he was the first to hijack an Israeli plane, in the incident with the notorious Leila Khaled and the hijacking to Algiers in 1968...\" Karmon said that today\'s strike \"is a serious strike to the PFLP, which he had helped rehabilitate.\" Asked for his opinion, as a researcher on terrorism, on the effectiveness of today\'s hit, he said, \"I am generally against the general air bombings that have been practiced until now, because they are not very accurate... Today\'s strike is much preferred. The elimination of the top leadership in a terrorist organization is the recommended way. For instance, Hamas\' top leadership was wiped out in the 1980\'s and this basically silenced them for a long while. These strikes may increase motivation for younger terrorists to join, but there\'s no one to lead them.\"
Karmon noted that Mustafa\'s organization carried out some minor attacks within the first year of his arrival, \"but when the current intifada broke out, he became very active in attempts to cause mass killings, such as at least two car bombs in Jerusalem that did not cause damage. He would have liked to be like Hamas and attack inside Israel, but he had much less manpower. He caused much damage to Israel in attacks outside Israel, and he was the first to hijack an Israeli plane, in the incident with the notorious Leila Khaled and the hijacking to Algiers in 1968...\" Karmon said that today\'s strike \"is a serious strike to the PFLP, which he had helped rehabilitate.\" Asked for his opinion, as a researcher on terrorism, on the effectiveness of today\'s hit, he said, \"I am generally against the general air bombings that have been practiced until now, because they are not very accurate... Today\'s strike is much preferred. The elimination of the top leadership in a terrorist organization is the recommended way. For instance, Hamas\' top leadership was wiped out in the 1980\'s and this basically silenced them for a long while. These strikes may increase motivation for younger terrorists to join, but there\'s no one to lead them.\"