Blames Abbas for violence. Halutz
Photo: Haim Horenstein
'Dealing with terror precedes pullout'
Chief of Staff Dan Halutz says Hamas in violation of truce, PA Chairman Abbas has chosen 'strategy of weakness that relies on the actions of others;' Mofaz expected to hold security assessment meeting in light of escalation in Gaza, IDF operation in area considered
TEL AVIV - Hamas is no longer abiding by the rules of the fragile lull, Chief of Staff Dan Halutz said Friday regarding the recent series of terror acts launched by the Palestinian organization against Israeli targets.
He said the four-month-old relative lull in violence is, in fact, slipping away.
"We are facing a level of terror the results of which are different from what Israelis are used to, but it is significant," Halutz told members of the Trade and Industry Club in Tel Aviv prior to the IDF attacks on terrorist targets in Gaza and the West Bank.
Targeted killings
By Ali Waked and Efrat Weiss
Three Hamas terrorists killed in Air Force missile strike in northern West Bank Friday afternoon; meanwhile, four Hamas members killed after IDF targets explosive-laden vehicle in Gaza
He attacked Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, saying he had chosen "a strategy of weakness that relies on the actions of other people."
The terror organizations are taking advantage of Abbas' weakness, and as a result the PA is essentially controlled by two separate "heads," according to Halutz.
As to last Wednesday's deadly Islamic Jihad terror attack in Netanya, he said, "The PA's helplessness is demonstrated in its inability to control matters related to the disengagement."
"We will first have to deal with the terror, and then with the disengagement, " Halutz said.
The chief of staff said he does not believe a civil war would break out in Israel, adding, "The internal threat that is concealed in the phrase 'civil war' should unite us, or else we will find ourselves in a place we do not want to be."
"It is impossible not to feel the disengagement opposers' pain. You would have to be made of stone not to understand it," Halutz said, adding that the army of a democratic country must be able to complete the task at hand.
Assessing the security situation
He said he accepts all anti-pullout activities and demonstrations, as long as they are legitimate.
"Most of the citizens obey the law and would not raise a hand on a soldier or police officer," Halutz said. "There is a large, more militant group that is confused as to who its rival is."
Regarding the recent decision to close off Gaza and the northern West Bank, the chief of staff said the move was necessary to prevent a situation in which the disengagement process would be further extended and more difficult, as militant pullout objectors would pour into the territories.
"The closure undoubtedly makes things difficult for the population, but we had no choice," Halutz said.
Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz is expected to meet with Halutz and other senior security establishment officials Friday to discuss the developments in Gaza and a possible IDF operation in the area in light of the Qassam rocket attacks on Israeli towns and the general escalation of violence.
Early Friday the IDF began moving armored vehicles to a gathering point in the south, and soldiers from various units were also summoned to the area.
Moreover, dozens of trucks are hauling equipment set to be used by the IDF forces tasked with closing off the Gaza Strip to the Kissufim crossing area.
Shmulik Hadad and Hanan Greenberg contributed to this report
