HAIFA - The Israeli-Palestinian conflict cannot be resolved before Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas disarms the Hamas and Islamic Jihad, Chief of Staff Moshe Yaalon said Friday.
Speaking at a meeting of business leaders in Haifa, Yaalon warned against getting “too excited by the temporary calm," and added terror groups were regrouping and rearming under cover of a temprorary
| Temporary Quiet? |
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| 'A positive first step' / By Ali Waked |
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Intra-Palestinian agreement to maintain a temporary "period of calm" is a step in the right direction, Sharon tells Mubarak following Cairo talks; earlier Thursday, Palestinian terror groups reject long-term cease-fire |
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The army chief also stressed that the “strength of perseverance is the heart of Israel’s security."
Yaalon said that in the years 2002-2004 Israel cut combat spending by 50 percent, mainly in the area of reserve duty.
Meanwhile, a spokesman for the Popular Resistance Committees, a Gaza terror group, told Ynet his organization has no intention to observe the intra-Palestinian Cairo agreement to maintain calm.
“I say to the residents of Sderot, return to your bomb shelters. You’ve never seen what we’ve got in store for you,” he said.
'They see me as a threat'
Meanwhile, for the first time since the decision to end his term early, Yaalon chose to publicly slam his opponents.
“As a Chief of Staff, I can see the damage caused to the army by politicians who see me as a threat,” he said, in a clear reference to Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz, who decided to cut Yaalon’s term short.
Addressing signs of growing democratization in the Arab world, Yaalon expressed guarded optimism.
“Even in states that were very much closed up, the leadership has no choice but to listen to what’s coming from the street,” he said. “They can no longer prevent people from owning cellular phones and surfing the Internet.”
As to the situation on the Lebanon border, Yaalon noted the number of armed groups active in the area has dropped from more than 150 to 13. In addition, attacks on the contentious Mount Dov area are becoming increasingly scarce, he said.
“The Lebanese people are becoming more concerned with internal affairs, and Israel interests them less and less,” he said.
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