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Chris McGreal in Jerusalem
October 28, 2005
The Guardian
Ariel Sharon yesterday warned the Palestinians that they have no hope of winning independence until they combat armed Islamist groups as he announced a "broad and continuous" offensive in the occupied territories, a day after an Islamic Jihad suicide bombing killed five Israelis.
The Israeli prime minister blamed the Palestinian leadership for the escalation, saying it had failed to heed Israeli demands that it disarm Islamic Jihad, Hamas and similar groups.
"We are not prepared in any way to countenance continued terrorism; therefore, our activity will be wide-ranging and continuous until we have brought about the cessation of terrorism," he said.
Mr Sharon said he would not negotiate with the Palestinian leader, Mahmoud Abbas, also known as Abu Mazen, unless he confronted the armed groups. "If the Palestinian Authority does not take serious and tangible action against terrorism, there will be no diplomatic progress and that would be a pity," he said. "In such a situation, I will not meet with Abu Mazen and the Palestinians are losing all of their national dreams due to this situation."
The army deployed tanks around the northern edge of the Gaza Strip yesterday, although it was not immediately clear whether it was preparing for the first ground incursion into the territory since Israel's withdrawal of settlers and soldiers in mid-September. The air force hit several targets in the Gaza Strip described as sites used by Islamic Jihad to fire rudimentary rockets into Israel.
In the northern West Bank, dozens of soldiers backed by helicopters raided the town of Jenin and arrested a local Islamic Jihad leader, Abdel Khalim Izzadin. Similar raids over the past month have resulted in the arrest of about 800 Islamist activists, and 28 killings by the army.
The defence minister, Shaul Mofaz, said the army would resume "targeted killings" of Islamic Jihad activists. It was the shooting dead of one of the group's commanders, Luay Saadi, in a West Bank raid on Monday that prompted Wednesday's bombing in Hadera. "We will do everything we can to strike out at the infrastructure of the organisation that carried out this act of terror," he said.
The Israeli press reported that Mr Mofaz and army chiefs had met in the hours after the bombing to discuss the possibility of a ground assault on the West Bank, but came to no immediate decision. However, the military imposed a general curfew on the West Bank, limiting movement, shutting off access to some towns and barring Palestinians from entering Israel. Palestinian cars were barred from driving in the northern part of the West Bank. Israel also closed the Erez border post, used by Palestinian workers entering from Gaza, and the main cargo crossing at Karni.
Diplomatic sources said the US was expected to urge Mr Sharon to ensure that the assault against Islamic Jihad did not cost innocent lives, or result in the collective punishment of Palestinians, which could undercut support for Mr Abbas and bolster the Islamist groups in January's parliamentary elections.
The Israeli government has demanded for months that Mr Abbas act to disarm or dismantle Hamas and other Islamist armed groups. The Palestinian leader has said such a move would provoke a civil war and instead ordered that no one other than members of his security forces be permitted to carry weapons in public. The order has only rarely been enforced.
Egypt's president, Hosni Mubarak, told an Israeli newspaper yesterday that he backed Mr Abbas's view of the danger of trying to disarm the groups. "Progress in the peace process cannot be pegged on disarmament," he told Yedioth Ahronoth.
October 28, 2005
The Guardian
Ariel Sharon yesterday warned the Palestinians that they have no hope of winning independence until they combat armed Islamist groups as he announced a "broad and continuous" offensive in the occupied territories, a day after an Islamic Jihad suicide bombing killed five Israelis.
The Israeli prime minister blamed the Palestinian leadership for the escalation, saying it had failed to heed Israeli demands that it disarm Islamic Jihad, Hamas and similar groups.
"We are not prepared in any way to countenance continued terrorism; therefore, our activity will be wide-ranging and continuous until we have brought about the cessation of terrorism," he said.
Mr Sharon said he would not negotiate with the Palestinian leader, Mahmoud Abbas, also known as Abu Mazen, unless he confronted the armed groups. "If the Palestinian Authority does not take serious and tangible action against terrorism, there will be no diplomatic progress and that would be a pity," he said. "In such a situation, I will not meet with Abu Mazen and the Palestinians are losing all of their national dreams due to this situation."
The army deployed tanks around the northern edge of the Gaza Strip yesterday, although it was not immediately clear whether it was preparing for the first ground incursion into the territory since Israel's withdrawal of settlers and soldiers in mid-September. The air force hit several targets in the Gaza Strip described as sites used by Islamic Jihad to fire rudimentary rockets into Israel.
In the northern West Bank, dozens of soldiers backed by helicopters raided the town of Jenin and arrested a local Islamic Jihad leader, Abdel Khalim Izzadin. Similar raids over the past month have resulted in the arrest of about 800 Islamist activists, and 28 killings by the army.
The defence minister, Shaul Mofaz, said the army would resume "targeted killings" of Islamic Jihad activists. It was the shooting dead of one of the group's commanders, Luay Saadi, in a West Bank raid on Monday that prompted Wednesday's bombing in Hadera. "We will do everything we can to strike out at the infrastructure of the organisation that carried out this act of terror," he said.
The Israeli press reported that Mr Mofaz and army chiefs had met in the hours after the bombing to discuss the possibility of a ground assault on the West Bank, but came to no immediate decision. However, the military imposed a general curfew on the West Bank, limiting movement, shutting off access to some towns and barring Palestinians from entering Israel. Palestinian cars were barred from driving in the northern part of the West Bank. Israel also closed the Erez border post, used by Palestinian workers entering from Gaza, and the main cargo crossing at Karni.
Diplomatic sources said the US was expected to urge Mr Sharon to ensure that the assault against Islamic Jihad did not cost innocent lives, or result in the collective punishment of Palestinians, which could undercut support for Mr Abbas and bolster the Islamist groups in January's parliamentary elections.
The Israeli government has demanded for months that Mr Abbas act to disarm or dismantle Hamas and other Islamist armed groups. The Palestinian leader has said such a move would provoke a civil war and instead ordered that no one other than members of his security forces be permitted to carry weapons in public. The order has only rarely been enforced.
Egypt's president, Hosni Mubarak, told an Israeli newspaper yesterday that he backed Mr Abbas's view of the danger of trying to disarm the groups. "Progress in the peace process cannot be pegged on disarmament," he told Yedioth Ahronoth.