Israel revives militants assassination policy
By Mark HeinrichWed Jun 22,12:14 PM ET
Israel said on Wednesday it had resumed an assassination policy against some Palestinian militants and could mount air strikes with the risk of civilian casualties to ensure its Gaza pullout does not come under fire.
The threat, prompted by a flare-up of Islamic Jihad attacks on Jewish settlers in Gaza, reflected the deterioration of a four-month-old truce after a frosty Israeli-Palestinian summit.
An Israeli aircraft fired missiles at four Islamic Jihad men in the north Gaza village of Beit Lahiya as they launched rockets into Israel, militants sources said. No one was hurt but a rocket was destroyed. The army had no immediate comment.
Israel shelved "targeted killings" of militants in February as part of a truce deal. But resurgent violence has raised the specter of disruption to Israel's planned August withdrawal from Gaza and dimmed hopes for "road map" peace talks afterwards.
Word that the assassination policy had been dusted off came with Israeli confirmation of a failed missile strike on Tuesday while Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas were holding tense talks in Jerusalem.
"Any means to neutralize the organization are relevant and possible," Public Security Minister Gideon Ezra said.
Islamic Jihad has resumed mortar bomb and rocket salvoes against Jewish settlements in Gaza in what it calls retaliation for continued Israeli raids to capture wanted militants.
"The attempt yesterday to kill an Islamic Jihad leader in Gaza signaled the resumption of the targeted killing policy," an Israeli security source told Reuters.
Khaled al-Batsh, a senior Islamic Jihad leader, warned of "terrible consequences" if Israel carried out assassinations.
"The calm would thereby end. We will not be dictated to by Israel," he told Reuters in Gaza.
Later, a senior adviser to Sharon said Israel could stage air strikes in Gaza, even at the risk of Palestinian civilian casualties, if militants tried to attack departing settlers in a bid to show they were chasing them out of occupied territory.
"MAJOR COLLATERAL DAMAGE"
Withdrawing from Gaza under fire would be political poison for Sharon, strengthening rightist foes who have said the pullout would be perceived by the Palestinians and Arab world as a sign of weakness after four years of bloodshed.
"Israel will act in a very resolute manner to prevent terror attacks ... while the disengagement is being implemented," said Eival Giladi, head of the government team coordinating the plan.
"If pinpoint response proves insufficient, we may have to use weaponry that causes major collateral damage."
Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom said Israel could respond to any Palestinian attacks from Gaza even after the pullout.
"If needed, Israel will return to Gaza after the disengagement for a few days in order to stop the terrorism," the Haaretz daily quoted Shalom as telling foreign diplomats.
At their summit, Sharon complained to Abbas that the moderate Palestinian leader was doing little to rein in gunmen from whom he wrung a pledge of "calm" after his election in January on a platform of non-violence and peace negotiations.
Other militant groups including the most powerful, Hamas, have generally respected the truce pact. The overall level of violence is much lower than during the Palestinian revolt launched in the occupied West Bank and Gaza in 2000.
Sharon and Abbas agreed at their meeting to cooperate for as smooth as possible an evacuation of 8,500 settlers from Gaza and a few hundred among 230,000 in the West Bank set for August.
But aides to Abbas said Sharon brushed aside his requests for goodwill gestures to relieve burdens of occupation, such as open borders for Gaza, a removal of a roadblock network in the West Bank and further releases of jailed Palestinians.
(Additional reporting by Nidal al-Mughrabi in Gaza)
Copyright © 2005 Reuters Limited. |
