| http://www3.haaretz.co.il/eng/scripts/article.asp?mador=14&datee=7/4/01&
id=123394 Kitchen cabinet okays expansion of liquidation list IDF warns of rise in violence shortly By Amos Harel and Aluf Benn Ha'aretz Correspondents The IDF will from now on be given a broader license to liquidate Palestinian terrorists, the kitchen cabinet decided yesterday. Formerly, the IDF was only permitted to assassinate "ticking bombs," meaning terrorists actually en route to commit a major attack. The new guidelines allow it to act against known terrorists even if they are not on the verge of committing a major attack. A security source explained: "In places where we have asked the Palestinian Authority to work to foil attacks and it is not doing so, we will have to act in its stead." In other respects, however, the kitchen cabinet agreed to continue the policy of restraint. A dispute erupted on this subject between Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Foreign Minister Shimon Peres, with the former advocating more vigorous action against the Palestinian Authority in response to Monday's violence - the worst in a month - and Peres arguing that "even if we need to do something, this is not the time." But in the end, Peres won out: The cabinet agreed that Israel will continue to refrain from striking at official PA targets, and that the IDF will in the main continue to be limited to "low-profile" actions that do not attract wide media coverage. In addition, the relatively strict rules of engagement instituted after the cease-fire was declared will remain in force. However, the cabinet adopted Defense Minister Benjamin Ben-Eliezer's recommendation that the IDF be given greater freedom to deploy its forces in Areas B and C, under Israeli security control, and even to destroy houses that constitute security risks in these areas. It also decided to increase the IDF presence on roads in the territorries. Finally, it agreed that because of the continued violence, Israel will continue to postpone implementing some of its obligations under the cease-fire agreement: Restrictions on Palestinian traffic, for instance, will remain in place throughout much of the West Bank. In addition to Sharon, Peres and Ben-Eliezer, Finance Minister Silvan Shalom and Deputy Defense Minister Dalia Rabin-Pelosoff were present at the meeting. All of the kitchen cabinet's decisions will be brought to the full cabinet for approval this morning. Meanwhile, senior IDF officers predicted yesterday that the violence in the territories is likely to ratchet up again as of tomorrow. The IDF believes that recent statements by Palestinian leaders are meant to prepare the ground for a new wave of violence. For instance, the head of the Palestinian General Intelligence Service, Amin al-Hindi, declared yesterday that "tomorrow [i.e. today] the quiet period will end," apparently referring to the week-long period of absolute quiet Sharon has demanded before the start of the cooling-off period called for in the Mitchell report. Similarly, PA Chairman Yasser Arafat charged that Israel was trying to destroy the cease-fire through its assassination of three Islamic Jihad activists on Sunday. The officers told Ha'aretz that the PA continues to insist that it is fulfilling its obligations under the cease-fire accord, completely ignoring the fact that attacks on Israeli targets are continuing. Monday was the worst day of violence in a month, with two Israelis killed - one in Sussya and one in Baka al-Garbiyeh - and 27 shooting and bombing incidents, most of them in the West Bank. Also noteworthy was the resumption of shooting attacks from Area A, under full Palestinian control (at Psagot from El Bireh and at Mount Ebal from Nablus). Yesterday, however, was relatively quiet. Intelligence officers also told the kitchen cabinet yesterday that Arafat had given a "green light" both for the recent attacks and for future attacks, for instance, by telling his men that "this is a long-term war." According to security sources, Arafat's Fatah movement has become increasingly involved in attacks over the last few days. Undersecretary of State William Burns is due to come to the region next week in an effort to rescue the cease-fire. But Israeli officials said they were disappointed with the most recent American effort in this direction, at the three-way security meeting in Tel Aviv Monday night. No agreements were achieved, and participants said the most of meeting consisted of mutual recriminations by the Israeli and Palestinian delegates. Security sources said that CIA officials - the American representatives at the security meetings - seem unable to cope with the wide gap between Israeli and Palestinian versions of events, though they seem to give somewhat more credence to the Israeli version. Israel is also concerned by the fact that the Americans have been downplaying the PA's failure to arrest terrorists - an issue to which Israel attaches great importance. On another issue, Sharon and Ben-Eliezer agreed yesterday to speed up implementation of a plan to beef up security along the seam line between Israel and the West Bank. The diplomatic-security cabinet will meet to discuss the plan today. One issue that has still not been resolved is which body will be responsible for carrying out the plan: Sharon favors putting the border police in charge, while Ben-Eliezer favors dividing the responsibility, with the IDF handling security east of the seam and the border police west of it. But work is slated to start soon on one element of the plan: erecting fences along those sections of the seam line where the towns on either side are in close proximity. Ben-Eliezer also met on Monday with leaders of the settlement movement to discuss the evacuation of several illegal outposts. Security sources said it appears that the settlers will agree to evacuate some outposts on their own, but the Yesha Council of settlements denied that any such agreement had been reached. Government sources expressed disappointment yesterday that Monday's meeting between President Moshe Katsav and Palestinian journalists was virtually ignored by the Palestinian press: Only one paper covered it. They said the journalists who participated told the Israeli organizers that they were heavily pressured not to write about it. In addition, a motion was submitted to the Palestinian journalists' union recommending their expulsion from the organization. |
