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| Israel-Palestine |
| Israel targets Islamic Jihad |
| 2005-06-21 |
| ISRAELI forces have rounded up dozens of suspected West Bank militants in a sign of impatience with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, just hours before a summit with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. The operation, in which the army said 52 members of Islamic Jihad were taken into custody, was the biggest sweep against wanted militants since Messrs Abbas and Sharon declared a truce on February 8. It followed an Islamic Jihad drive-by shooting that killed a Jewish settler in the West Bank yesterday and mortar bomb and rocket attacks by the group against Jewish settlements in the Gaza Strip and a town in southern Israel. Islamic Jihad said the attacks were in response to recent Israeli raids in the West Bank against several of its men. Israel's planned pullout from the Gaza Strip in mid-August will be high on the agenda of the first meeting between an Israeli prime minister and a Palestinian president in Jerusalem, a holy city at the centre of the Middle East dispute. From Mr Sharon's side, the talks will focus on steps to prevent Palestinian militants from disrupting the withdrawal and filling a potential power vacuum in Gaza afterwards. Israel says Mr Abbas has not done enough. "As things stand now, (Mr Abbas's) powers have not been brought to bear in fighting terror," Israeli Vice Prime Minister Ehud Olmert told Israel Radio before the summit at Mr Sharon's residence. Mr Abbas, whose election in January to succeed the late Yasser Arafat brought new hopes of peace, wants to be able to show militants he has won clear concessions from Israel in return for efforts to ensure the pullout is not carried out under fire. He coaxed Palestinian factions in March into agreeing to a "period of calm" until the end of the year, conditional on Israel ending its operations against them. But an Islamic Jihad spokesman in the West Bank urged Mr Abbas to cancel the summit after the latest Israeli arrests, while the militant Hamas group said in the Gaza Strip that "a declaration of an end to calm could be made at any moment". Washington is counting on Israel's pullout from all 21 settlements in Gaza and four of 120 in the West Bank to kick-start a US-backed international peace "road map" plan, which envisages the establishment of a Palestinian state. However, Mr Sharon reaffirmed at talks with US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in Jerusalem on Sunday that he would not enter into talks on permanent peace deal with the Palestinians until Mr Abbas had disarmed and dismantled militant groups. Mr Abbas wants to co-opt gunmen into the Palestinian security forces and their organisations into mainstream politics rather than risk confrontation that may lead to civil war. The chief Palestinian negotiator said Mr Abbas would press Mr Sharon for further Israeli troop pullbacks from West Bank cities, two of which have been turned over to Palestinian security control. The Palestinian leader also wants Israel to free more of the 8000 Palestinians in its jails, including long-serving inmates. Abbas aides said he would seek Mr Sharon's agreement for a free passage corridor between Gaza and the West Bank, and demand an end to Israeli settlement expansion. No joint news conference was scheduled, an apparent sign of low expectations. |
| Posted by:Spavirt Pheng6042 |
| #9 IJ's time is up. Hammas is going to eat them. |
| Posted by: Shipman 2005-06-21 15:50 |
| #8 Thats only one reason, TW. Israel also recognizes the PA cause they dont want to have send the IDF back in to keep order in the West Bank cities, which not only makes Israel look bad, but tends to get young Israeli soldiers killed - at times its necessary to go in, but not now. |
| Posted by: liberalhawk 2005-06-21 14:09 |
| #7 Israel recognizes the PA/PLO because the World insists that they do so, because someone had to sign the Roadmap that was imposed on Israel. Just like the World inserted itself in all of Israel's wars just as the Arabs were losing decisively, forcing Israel to negotiate truces that protected the Arab nations from the Joooos. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2005-06-21 12:30 |
| #6 israel, when agreeing not to target IJ, or Hamas, retained the right to target "ticking bombs" guys in the process of committing terr acts, and that is the justification for this arrest. I note with interest that only IJ members were arrested and not Hamas. Meanwhile Abbas specifically warned (empty words - maybe) IJ and Fatah members not to disrupt the disengagement. Note he mentioned IJ, but NOT Hamas. It seems the strategy is to isolate IJ, and to leave Hamas alone for now. We shall see. |
| Posted by: liberalhawk 2005-06-21 11:30 |
| #5 This to me has strong connections to our own home grown loonies. Israel goes out and rounds up militants (where, I assume they're given 3 square meals a day and de-loused) and what does IJ do? The go out and kill Joooooos. Much like us going out and rounding up jihadis and putting them in Gitmo (heard yesterday that we've spent like $110 million on upgrading the facilities there and they get to eat better than our own troops) only to have the jihadis kidnap citizens, behead them, etc. and have apologists back here in the States (Sen. Durbin ring a bell?). I'm to the point that we need to get down and dirty with these a$$wipes, but then, I think, we're soooooo much better than that! |
| Posted by: BA 2005-06-21 10:19 |
| #4 Israel says Mr Abbas has not done enough. Well that's certainly an understatement.... |
| Posted by: Bomb-a-rama 2005-06-21 10:13 |
| #3 The story I posted yesterday about this said the PIJ was retaliating for abuse of Koran. Can't even keep their lame a** excuses for blood lust straight. Pfeh. |
| Posted by: Seafarious 2005-06-21 10:09 |
| #2 by forcing Abbas to confront the killers, Israel is forcing the Paleos to decide whether they want a nation, or eternal attacks on the Joooos. I see civil war ahead and another missed opportunity by the Losers of the Middle East™, the Paleis |
| Posted by: Frank G 2005-06-21 09:53 |
| #1 Why is the Palastinians allowed to make demands but give nothing in return? I dont understand why the Isrealis even recognize the PLA at all. A government that cannot control thier own people is not in control so negotiations with that gov is pointless it would be like making peace negotiations in 43' with the italian leadership for germany. Dont matter what aggreement is reached Italy has no control over Germany to enforce thier end of the bargain so what is the point? waste of time. |
| Posted by: C-Low 2005-06-21 09:44 |