Israel Matzav

Olmert to rebuild Fatah terror infrastructure

Prime Minister Ehud K. Olmert will meet today in Jerusalem with 'moderate' 'Palestinian President' Mahmoud Abbas Abu Mazen to rebuild Fatah's terror infrastructure in Judea and Samaria. Olmert is doing so as part of his campaign to delude the world that there is a difference between the goals of Fatah and those of Hamas. Reality is that both groups share the same goal: to eviscerate the Jewish presence in the Middle East. The difference between them is tactical: Hamas wants to murder all the Jews now, while Fatah is content to murder all the Jews in phases.

To this end, Olmert is to present Abu Mazen with a list of 250 prisoners terrorists whom he is willing to release as a 'gesture' to Abu Mazen. No one outside Olmert's immediate circle has seen the names on that list, and while 'government officials' claim that the list includes no terrorists with blood on their hands, call me extremely skeptical that is the case. In the past, the prisons service has published 'prisoner' release lists on their web site and the public has been given 48 hours to appeal specific cases. There is no indication that is going to happen this time. The same 'government officials' have 'promised' that all of the terrorists have at least one year left in their sentences so that Abu Mazen won't be 'embarrassed.' According to the JPost, at Abu Mazen's request, the list of terrorists is 85% Fatah and 15% Popular Front for the 'Liberation' of 'Palestine' (PFLP) and Democratic Front for the 'Liberation' of 'Palestine' (DFLP). The latter group belongs to Nayef Hawatmeh. Olmert is going to make the old terrorist feel at home.

But Olmert is taking another, more dangerous step. He is making a commitment to Abu Mazen that Israel will stop its pursuit of some 178 senior terrorists from the al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigade, which is Fatah's 'military wing.' The senior terrorists will commit not to carry weapons, but that certainly does not stop them from planning terror attacks, constructing bombs, and instructing others in the use of weapons. It also doesn't mean they will actually stop carrying weapons or give up terror. In an article in YNet yesterday, appropriately titled "Back to Oslo Illusion," Guy Bechor pointed out the reckless endangerment in Olmert's actions:

Instead of plotting terror attacks against Israel or against Israelis, Fatah activists, particularly those operating within the ranks of the al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, as well as Jihad activists (Hamas is not particularly prominent in these activities) are busy seeking refuge, escaping and living underground in constant fear of the IDF. This is one of the IDF's key successes in the war against terror that has completely shattered what has remained of the Palestinian intifada.

The collapse of the terror infrastructures was very perplexing for the Palestinians because albeit it being originally established against Israel, it also represented Fatah's strength against Hamas. Fatah demanded a truce from Israel that would also include the West Bank (and in exchange guaranteed progress in the Gilad Shalit affair – although it has no control over his destiny) and in any case asked for immunity for hundreds of persecuted activists.

Now Fatah activists will get what they wanted from the Israeli government. The West Bank will once again become an immune paradise; anti-Israel terror will be restored without interference and will pose a serious threat to Israeli society, which has experienced relative stability and calm in recent years.

Abu Mazen is not a 'moderate' and neither is the organization he leads. Abu Mazen himself, the financier of the Munich Olympics massacre, is a Holocaust denier. Six months ago, he told his 'Palestinian people' that “We have a legitimate right to direct our guns against Israeli occupation ... Our rifles, all our rifles are aimed at The Occupation.” Nothing has changed since then. So why is Israel coddling him?

Abu Mazen will arrive with additional demands. Abu Mazen knows that despite not having lifted a finger to comply with his own undertakings, he has Olmert on the run (it's not clear from what). Therefore, Abu Mazen will have plenty of demands:

Abbas is also expected to arrive with demands, including for permission for a Jordanian army brigade [the Badr Brigade. CiJ] to deploy in PA-controlled Judea and Samaria in order to help Abbas bring the areas under control.

He is also expected to request more weapons and other materiel from Egypt and full security coordination with Israel, which would prevent any more unilateral moves by Jerusalem.

According to Maariv, PA security forces have already received a large shipment of weapons from Jordan. The transfer of arms reportedly took place via the Allenby crossing on Sunday. Israeli officials agreed to allow the weapons delivery despite objections from senior security officials.

PA sources did not respond to reports of the weapons transfer. Israeli sources admitted that official policy regarding weapons transfers to the PA has changed and said the transfer had been approved several weeks ago.

...

Other concessions to be included in the “good will” package are the transfer of tax monies collected by Israel on behalf of the PA that were withheld after Hamas was elected to the PA leadership, and the removal of security checkpoints in Judea and Samaria.

Past experience indicates that Olmert has just brought the next terror attack much closer. (Past experience also shows that weapons given to Fatah end up in Hamas' hands, but I'm not convinced that matters here). Here's Bechor:

The IDF knows from the experience it gained in prisoner release deals with Ahmed Jibril and Hizbullah that 80 percent of released Palestinians, all of whom had made a commitment not to be involved in terror, immediately resumed their terror acts against Israel.

In 2005, for example, a few prominent prisoners were released as a gesture to Mahmoud Abbas - yes, that very same Abbas. Within a month they were apprehended for preparing the infrastructure for firing rockets at Israeli communities in the West Bank, no less. They even climbed a rung in their acts of terror.

Why does this happen? For released prisoners, terror is livelihood, a way of life, their honor and self determination. Moreover, those released within the framework of a prisoner deal must prove that they have not changed; they must reaffirm their status, and the only way to do so is by means of perpetrating terror acts against Israel.

The IDF knows, but Olmert the slick city lawyer does not. And his new defense minister isn't called "Ehud Barach" (Ehud fled) for nothing.

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 10:48 AM