Harsh Israeli response. Sharon
Photo: Yaron Brenner
_a.jpg "Photo: Yaron Brenner")
Scene of Netanya attack
Photo: Yaron Brenner
PM orders wide-scale West Bank operation
PM convenes security meeting following Netanya attack, orders extensive IDF activity in northern West Bank; VIP credentials permitting senior PA officials to enter Israel freely to be annulled, entry of Palestinian workers into country to be denied indefinitely
Palestinians will be prevented from entering Israeli territory, and security forces will operate extensively in the northern West Bank, where Monday’s Netanya terror attack originated from, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon instructed following consultations with security establishment officials in his Tel Aviv office.
Terror Returns
Raanan Ben-Zur
Suicide bomber blows himself up at 11:30 a.m. outside Sharon Mall in Netanya; about 58 people injured, including several in serious condition; according to eyewitness account, woman identified bomber seconds before he detonated explosives; Islamic Jihad claims responsibility
Meanwhile, senior adviser to Sharon Dov Weisglass conveyed to U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice the severity with which Israel regards the Netanya attack, saying, “We demand an immediate and decisive act on the part of the Palestinian Authority against the terror groups, mainly Islamic Jihad, which claimed responsibility for the suicide bombing.”
Weisglass also discussed the situation with U.S. Ambassador to Israel Richard Jones and Javier Solana, European Union High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP). Earlier on Monday a similar conversation was held with top Egyptian officials, during which the Egyptians were asked to relay a harsh message to the Palestinians stating they must ct to eradicate active terror cells – those responsible for the Qassam and suicide terror attacks on Israel.
Government sources said they view Egypt as the PA’s “tutor,” following its involvement in the steps that led to Israel’s unilateral pullout from Gaza in the summer of 2005.
During the meeting at the PM’s office it was decided that all VIP credentials permitting senior PA officials to enter Israel freely would be annulled. It was also decided that the entry of Palestinian workers into the country would be denied indefinitely and secured Palestinian convoys traveling to and from Gaza and the West Bank would be forbidden to pass.
IDF gets 'green light'
Some of these restrictions are expected to have harsh economic ramifications for the Palestinians, which may be alleviated only after the PA works to repress the terror organizations.
“We must deal with the Netanya bombing just as we have been dealing with the continued Qassam fire,” Sharon said in the meeting.
In this framework, the prime minister has instructed the security establishment to launch a wide-scale operation against Islamic Jihad infrastructure in the northern West Bank, in what is actually an expansion of a previous decision taken after the Hadera market terror attack, which led to a series of arrests and attacks against senior Jihad members.
Earlier on Monday, during a meeting of top security officials at Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz’s office, it was decided that the IDF would step up its activity in the West Bank to increase the number of wanted terror suspect arrests and expand activity against Islamic Jihad in Gaza and the West Bank.
Furthermore, it was decided that the IDF would seize control of cities and villages that will be found to contain terror infrastructure; a full closure of the territories will be imposed, and the IDF will get the “green light” to carry out targeted assassinations of senior Jihad members.
Security supervision along the security fence will also be upgraded, the security officials said.
