Israel Matzav

'Palestinian' Civil War Update - Zahar's bodyguard kidnapped, more 'clashes'

The 'Palestinian' Civil War continues in Judea, Samaria and Gaza.

Late last night, the bodyguard of 'Palestinian Foreign Minister' Mahmoud al-Zahar was kidnapped, and a 'Palestinian civilian' was killed in gun battles in the Gaza City neighborhood of Sabra. The gun battles were apparently between Hamas terrorists and relatives of two Fatah terrorists who were killed on Tuesday.

Hamas' two biggest complaints now are: 'Moderate' 'Palestinian President' Mahmoud Abbas' Abu Mazen's refusal to authorize a series of appointments approved by the Palestinian government which Abbas claimed were illegal, and a deal reached between Abu Mazen, the Egyptians, and the European monitors at the Rafah crossing, stipulating that Hamas leaders and ministers of the PA government will be banned from transferring cash through the crossing into Gaza.

Meanwhile another Kassam hit Sderot this morning, and the government continues to sit on its hands due to this kind of delusional thinking:

Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee chairman Tzachi HaNegbi (Kadima) told Voice of Israel government radio Friday morning that counter-terrorist actions by Israel are inevitable.

HaNegbi supported Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's policy of restraint on the assumption that it will give Israel a diplomatic advantage. He said the world will give Israel more "diplomatic credit" Israel for having held its end of the Gaza ceasefire obligation despite the incessant attacks against her. [The problem is that he's serious. Israel never gets a 'diplomatic advantage for more than a day or two, and it's not worth risking innocent lives to try to get one. CiJ]

The Prime Minister has withstood pressure from government ministers who have said "enough is enough" and that the time has come to strike back. Infrastructures Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer (Labor), a former senior IDF officer and ex-Defense Minister, said that "time has run out" for Abbas. Defense Minister Peretz, a resident of Sderot whose bodyguard lost his legs last month in a Kassam rocket attack, also asserted that the policy of restraint should be re-examined. [Amazing what happens to these ministers' thinking when it's InTheirBackYard, isn't it? CiJ]

Opposition leader ex-Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu called on the Prime Minister Thursday night to "free the IDF's hands" and resume counter-terrorist operations. "It is not the nation that is tired," Netanyahu said. "Olmert is tired. There is only one thing worse than a nation that has lost faith in its leaders, and that is leaders who have lost faith in their nation. I call on the Prime Minister to put an end to this restraint. It’s absurd that we are tying our own hands on this matter."

Speaking to a Likud gathering, Netanyahu asserted, "A leader needs to be an active authority, not a passive one [of] restraint and inaction."

Minister Rafi Eitan of the Pensioners Party predicted that Israel's restraint will end "sooner or later," and when it does, "it must be done in a way that will be interpreted by the world as an unavoidable option."

The security mini-cabinet will convene on Sunday to discuss the continued policy of restraint.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Olmert and Abbas say they are anxious to meet with each other before U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice visits the region in January.

"If it's possible to make [Abbas] happy and make me happy, then I can't see a reason not to [meet], and hope that it will happen very soon," Olmert said Thursday.

That's Ehud Olmert: Don't worry, be happy.

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 1:21 PM