By Jerusalem Newswire Editorial Staff
May 18, 2005
Palestinian Arab terrorists fired at least 15 mortar shells and rockets at Jewish communities in southern Gaza Wednesday afternoon, lightly wounding one local resident, area officials reported.
An IAF helicopter gunship fired a missile at one of the mortar crews, critically wounding a Hamas terrorist, according to ?Palestinian? reports.
It was the first time this year the army had responded in such a manner to Arab artillery, despite several other incidents of heavy mortar and Kassam rocket fire. Gazan Jews had accused the government of leaving them defenseless as a means of pressuring them to willingly leave their homes.
Wednesday's conflagration came just hours after Hamas threatened to renew widespread anti-Jewish violence in response to what it says was the IDF's overnight killing of an armed terrorist near the Gaza-Sinai border.
The IDF denied shooting the terrorist, who was apparently carrying a large bomb that PA officials later confirmed had detonated prematurely.
PLO chief Mahmoud Abbas pledged to put a complete halt on all violence targeting Israeli Jews everywhere when he met with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon in Sharm el-Sheikh in February.
Abbas also promised to begin implementing the Palestinian Authority's obligation to disarm and dismantle the terrorist infrastructure.
Instead, he has allowed all terror groups to remain armed, and has brokered a temporary terrorist ceasefire to enable the PA to pressure Israel into renewing negotiations.
All indications are that Abbas is in fact fulfilling the wishes of his constituents when he takes actions to, as Sharon told visiting US senators last month, ?strengthen terror.?
A poll of Palestinian Arabs conducted by the Jerusalem Media & Communication Center this month showed majority support for continued terrorism against Israel's Jews.
Over fifty-three percent of respondents said they were in favor of the so-called ?Al Aqsa Intifada? continuing, despite international peace efforts. A poll earlier in the year revealed most ?Palestinians? see terror and negotiations as complimentary aspects of their ?peace? process strategy.
?Suicide? bomb attacks against Israeli men, women and children garnered just under 50 percent support overall, though a firm majority of respondents from the Gaza Strip did back such ?operations.?
The survey was carried out among a random sampling of 1,200 Palestinian Arabs in Judea, Samaria and Gaza between May 2-7.