By Jerusalem Newswire Editorial Staff
Jan 05, 2005
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s plan to cleanse the Gaza Strip and northern Samaria of Jews will result in those areas becoming terrorist strongholds similar to southern Lebanon, General Security Services head Avi Dichter said Tuesday.
Dichter was testifying before the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee when he warned that quitting northern Samaria would “turn the region into Gaza” in terms of terrorist activity.
He added that relinquishing control over the Gaza-Egypt border would “bring southern Lebanon to southern Israel.”
At least five shoulder-launched anti-aircraft missiles had already been successfully smuggled into Gaza, Dichter reported.
The security chief explained that the threat of “Palestinian” mortars and rockets could only be dealt with by forces on the ground, an option that would likely be taken out of Israel’s hands due to international pressure following withdrawal.
Committee member Uri Ariel of the National Union Party pointed out that Dichter had issued a similar warning prior to Israel’s retreat from southern Lebanon.
In 2000, Ariel reminded, Dichter said withdrawing from the southern Lebanon security zone would encourage the Palestinian Arabs to launch an increased campaign of anti-Jewish terror. His prediction proved correct.
Turning to the upcoming PA leadership election, Dichter said he did not expect it to result in decreased “Palestinian” terrorist activity.
The PA-controlled territories “were, and will remain, a place of refuge for terrorists," he said.