Palestinian

Authority:
Israel “Opening For Itself
The Gates Of Hell.”
BY SAMUEL SOKOL,
ISRAEL CORRESPONDENT

Palestinian Authority president

Mahmoud Abbas declared this week that
the killers of 45-year-old Rabbi Meir
Avshalom Hai are “Shahids [Martyrs] of
the Palestinian revolution.”
The president’s personal representa-
tive, Tayeb Abd Al-Rahim, conveyed his
condolences to the families of the terror-
ists, affiliated with the banned Al-Aqsa
Martyrs Brigades organization, saying
that “without doubt, what the occupa-
tion authorities have carried out is a wild
and barbaric act and a deliberate, mali-
cious assassination in cold blood.”
The Bethlehem-based Ma’an news
agency reported that President Abbas
“vowed to seek prosecution for Israeli
leaders he termed war criminals” in
regard to operation Cast Lead, ignoring
the two recent attempted suicide bomb-
ings originating from territory which he
controlled.
Twenty thousand individuals, includ-
ing top PA officials, attended funerals for
the slain gunmen, who were reported in
the Arab press as having been “assassinat-
ed…as they slept.” The Fatah leader was
quoted as defining the killing of the terror-
ists as part of a “policy of assassination.”
After protests were made by PA offi-
cials and a public demand was made for
an investigation into Israel’s actions by
B’tzelem, the United States contacted
National Security Adviser Prof. Uzi Arad
for clarification. Arad defended Israel’s
actions in killing the terrorists.
The Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades was
affirmed as the armed wing of Fatah dur-
ing the movement’s 2009 convention in
Bethlehem. Brigades members are shel-
tered by and receive payment from PA
Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, who is
widely perceived as a moderate in west-
ern circles.
Abu Mahmoud, a senior commander
of Fatah’s armed wing threatened that
suicide bombers would “turn Israel’s
night to day” in response to the killings.
In an official statement, the Brigades
declared, “We won’t stand around doing
nothing and the blood of holy warriors
will not have been spilled in vain. The
enemy won’t see anything from us
besides the language of blood and fire.”
According to reports from the WAFA
news agency, PM Fayyad visited the
house of mourning for the terrorists,
accompanied by PA Police Director-
General Major General Hazem Atallah.
November was an extremely quiet
month in regards to terrorism, according
to figures published on the website of
Israel’s General Security Service (GSS).
However, on Monday, Israeli defense min-
ister Ehud Barak stated, “We definitely see,
over the last two or three days, an awaken-
ing of terror activity in Judea and Samaria.”
In December, Arabs from Judea and
Samaria attempted to infiltrate Israel in
order to carry out suicide attacks in
Jerusalem and Ashkelon.
38 January 1, 2010 5 TOWNS JEWISH TIMES TRAVEL SECTION
 On December 3, the IDF
spokesman’s office related that
three explosive devices had
been found and neutralized in
Bet Ummar, southwest of
Bethlehem. A number of days
afterwards, two pipe bombs
were found on a PA resident at a
checkpoint near Jenin. A pipe
bomb was also discovered on a
road near Hebron and was deto-
nated by sappers.
There has also been a spate of
rock throwing attacks against
Israeli vehicles. On December 25
a four-year-old girl was lightly
injured when a firebomb was
thrown at the car in which she
was riding, and a woman was
moderately injured by firebomb
hurled at a bus near Negohot
two days later.
The council of Jewish com-
munities of Judea and Samaria
(Yesha) issued a statement that
“the murderous shooting attack
in Samaria is a direct result of
the policy of lifting restrictions
on the Palestinians, removing
necessary roadblocks in Judea
and Samaria, and transferring
the responsibility for security to
those whose ranks have pro-
duced many terrorists who mur-
dered Jews. As in similar inci-
dents in the past, once again the
gestures aimed at Abu Mazen
[Mahmoud Abbas] carry a price
tag of Jewish blood.”
In a related development,
Israel’s Supreme Court decided
to open up route 443 in
Judea/Samaria to Arab traffic.
The road was originally closed
to Arabs at the outbreak of the
second intifada in light of
attacks on Jewish travelers.
The ruling is vexing to settle-
ment leaders; the court admit-
ted last year that the physical
safety of Jews using the road
would be compromised were
Palestinian Authority Arabs
given unrestricted access.
According to the IDF
spokesman, a roadside bomb
was uncovered as recently as
December 17 along route 443,
planted by the Al-Aqsa Martyrs
Brigades.
National Union parliamentar-
ian Uri Ariel blasted the court
decision, saying that “it has
again been proven that the secu-
rity of Israel’s citizens is worth
less than the comfort of travel
of the Palestinians” in the eyes
of the Supreme Court.
Fatah members have indicat-
ed that there exists a possibility
of a third Intifada against the
Palestinian Authority, due to the
PA’s security coordination with
Israel. The PA’s military forces,
trained by American General
Keith Dayton, sometimes work
together with Israeli security
forces in Judea and Samaria.
Former GSS director Avi
Dichter told army radio that
while the PA security forces are
strong in fighting their rival
Hamas, they are lax in taking
action against Fatah forces. ❖
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