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Terrorism

?Ceasefire over?


By Stan Goodenough
October 28, 2005

Having made full use of what they called a ceasefire to rearm their cadres and rebuild their leadership, the Arab terror groups operating unhampered in the areas under Palestinian Authority control pledged Friday to fully reopen their front against Israel?s Jews.

Hamas, the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) seized upon Israel?s response to last Wednesday?s PIJ-perpetrated suicide bombing in Hadera to declare an end to a period of relative calm.

Israeli forces struck back Thursday after five civilian Jews were killed in the Hadera attack, the second terrorist attack in which Jews were murdered in just over a week.

Restrictions on Arab movement were imposed, terror suspects were rounded up in northern Samaria, IDF troops massed on the Israel-Gaza border, and an Israeli helicopter gunship fired on a car in the Gaza Strip, killing four terrorists ? including a senior PIJ leader.

The United States has again called on Israel to be ?aware of the consequences of its actions? in light of the two-state solution both the Sharon and the Bush administrations are committed to.

However, Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom said Friday it was not possible for his country to restrain itself in responding to the murder of its people.

The three ?Palestinian? terrorist organizations, who are assisted in their efforts by the US-supported Palestinian Authority, vowed Friday they would all participate in revenge attacks against Israelis whose government?s actions, an Arab spokesman said, had ?opened the gates to hell.?

The response would be ?painful and immediate.?

Hamas, with its eye on participation in the upcoming PA elections, agreed last February to observe a tahdia (ceasefire or period of calm). Instead of halting attacks, however, it only stopped taking responsibility for them.

In this way Hamas has sought to keep violent pressure on Israel to keep withdrawing from ancient Jewish lands.

Warnings from many in Israel, including military and intelligence officials, that the terrorists would only utilize the ceasefire to prepare for further violence against Jews, went unheeded. Israel scaled back its operations against the killers.

During the past month, the Arabs in the newly-surrendered Gaza Strip have used the suddenly-open border with Egypt to restock and upgrade their weapons stores. Recently they boasted of their readiness to unleash a ?3rd intifada? against Israel.

The so-called 2nd intifada started by Yasser Arafat in September 2000 has resulted in nearly 1100 Israeli deaths, and left thousands of Jews maimed and otherwise wounded.

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