By Jerusalem Newswire Editorial Staff
Jun 27, 2004
Israel at the weekend dealt a severe blow to the terrorist infrastructure entrenched in the biblical Samarian town of Shechem, killing or capturing 20 of the 38 top wanted “Palestinians” located there.
“Operation Full Court Press” left the Hamas, Islamic Jihad and Al Aqsa Brigade terror groups reeling after the regional leaders of all three were eliminated Saturday.
The overwhelming success of the raid resulted in the near incapacitation of local terror cells, IDF sources reported.
But a senior army official warned Sunday that Israel’s planned retreat from the Gaza Strip would increase efforts by the terrorists to rebuild their operational capabilities in the near future.
Defense Minister Sha’ul Mofaz also cautioned against overconfidence, saying Israel could not afford to “rest on our laurels. We need to continue applying harsh pressure on the terrorists.”
In typical fashion, the Brigades — a terrorist wing of Yasser Arafat’s Fatah movement — vowed to unleash an “earthquake” of vengeance in response to the operation. Such threats are rarely if ever realized as a result of relentless IDF anti-terror activity.