Israel Matzav

Fatah has 'resumed' terror activities

My first comment on seeing this story in Haaretz was, "Resumed? When did they ever stop?" (Hat Tip: IMRA).

Fatah members stopped attacks against Israel around two years ago, but the involvement of Fatah members in the recent deadly attack in Bat Ayin and the murder of two policemen in the Jordan Valley is being investigated.

The investigation into these attacks and the attempted bombing at a mall in Haifa are under strict censorship restrictions, as requested by the Shin Bet security service.

...

Foreign elements are cooperating with Fatah militants, defense officials say. In 2003 and 2004, when Fatah was responsible for a considerable part of terrorist attacks in the West Bank and beyond the Green Line, most teams were handled by Hezbollah and Islamic Jihad operatives based in Beirut and Damascus, who supplied funds and leadership.

In addition to a possible Hezbollah connection, terrorist factions in the Gaza Strip appear to have also increased their involvement in the West Bank, the officials say.

As Israel and the Palestinian Authority have tightened security cooperation in the West Bank, Fatah members have gradually ceased to carry out attacks against Israelis [This makes no sense. The 'Palestinian Authority' is Fatah. And the article says that Fatah is carrying out terror attacks. Perhaps this sentence is meant to be in the past tense. But even then it's debatable. CiJ]. Members of the Fatah-linked Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades have also stopped targeting Israelis [Then what are they doing? Al-Aqsa's raison d'etre is terror. CiJ].

Moreover, hundreds of members of Fatah's military wing pledge, in agreements between the Palestinian Authority and Israel, to have ceased terrorist activity in exchange for the Shin Bet's promise to stop pursuing them. Some of these men still enjoy a form of protective custody in the West Bank. Others became officials in the Palestinian Authority's security forces.

However, intelligence reports suggest that several Fatah militants have resumed planning and implementing attacks against Israel. Some of the militants who signed pledges are also thought to be in violation of the contracts.

But this too is nothing new. From the beginning, terrorists who enjoyed 'amnesty' from the Olmert-Livni-Barak government were engaged in terror activities.

Let's hope the Netanyahu-Lieberman government cancels the 'amnesty' program and puts the terrorists back where they belong.

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 1:49 PM