The Jerusalem Post is not an extremist publication. However, consider what it said on 10 September: "The world will not help us; we must help ourselves. We must kill as many of the Hamas and Islamic Jihad leaders as possible, as quickly as possible, while minimising collateral damage, but not letting the damage stop us. And we must kill Yasser Arafat, because the world leaves us no alternative." For the leaders of Hamas, those words are a reality as they struggle to survive an all-out Israeli campaign to eradicate them that has driven them deep underground and paralysed the organisation’s operations. Many have been killed. Others have narrowly escaped death.
Hamas’ security apparatus has been penetrated: the Israelis are getting a stream of precise information on the movements and plans of the leadership. Air strikes are launched at short notice following tip-offs by informers within Hamas. The vast network of informers, real or alleged, that the Israelis are said to have built up spreads panic and distrust. Scores of Hamas footsoldiers have been arrested or shot in Israeli sweeps through Gaza or the West Bank. Despite threats of retaliation, Hamas has not carried out any major attacks in recent weeks, apparently the result of the Israeli campaign and the extent of the penetration of the organisation’s security. Collaborators daub the roofs of target vehicles with dye invisible to the naked eye but easily detected by sensors in the Israeli helicopters. A militant riding in a donkey cart fooled nobody: he was killed by a missile fired from a helicopter in Khan Yunis. Disguises are worn; use of mobile phones is kept to a minimum. Leaders no longer attend funerals of militants killed by the Israelis.
Our prediction: Israeli operations, including undercover forays by Mossad, will intensify and spread in the coming months. But suicide bombers will not abandon their mission. The dirty war continues. |