Palestinians Vow Action Against Militants
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip – The top Palestinian security commander said Wednesday he will deploy forces on Gaza’s border with Israel to prevent rocket attacks, the first concrete step to rein in militants since Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas took office over the weekend.
Later, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon decided to resume security talks with the Palestinians – effectively lifting a threat to retaliate for an attack last week that killed six Israeli civilians at a Gaza checkpoint.
Security officials from the two sides were to meet later Wednesday to discuss ways of stopping Palestinian rocket fire in the northern Gaza Strip, Israeli officials said.
The moves came a day after a Hamas suicide bombing killed an Israeli and wounding seven others, disrupting fledgling efforts by Abbas to coax militants into halting their attacks. Abbas, who is under tremendous pressure from Israel to take action, was meeting with leaders of armed groups in Gaza on Wednesday to negotiate a truce.
Sharon halted contacts with Abbas after last week’s checkpoint attack, and Israel threatened to carry out a major reprisal. But Israel held off to give Abbas time to take action. Sharon decided at a security Cabinet meeting Wednesday to resume contacts, participants at the meeting said.
Earlier Wednesday, Lt. Gen. Abdel Razek Majaide, the top Palestinian commander in Gaza and the West Bank, said Palestinian forces would soon be deployed near the Gaza border with Israel.
“Preparations are under way to deploy Palestinian national security soldiers along the borders to stop any sort of violations,” Majaide said in a radio interview. Palestinian militants near the Gaza-Israel border frequently launch rockets into southern Israel.
Palestinian forces were last deployed along the Israeli-Gaza border during a two-month cease-fire in 2003 that Abbas, who was then prime minister, negotiated with the militants.
The Palestinian forces, however, have been greatly reduced by more than four years of fighting with Israel and security officials say they will not be able to be deployed in the area without an Israeli agreement not to target the troops.
Shortly after the announcement of the troop deployment, militants fired a missile at an Israeli military vehicle near the border, wounding two soldiers.
Abbas has rejected Israeli calls to crack down on militants. Instead, he hopes to persuade them to halt their attacks. In exchange, the Palestinians want Israel to stop attacking militants – a demand that Israel is unlikely to accept.
The latest violence appears to be an attempt by the militants to increase their leverage.
Abbas, known by his nickname Abu Mazen, met Wednesday with members of his Fatah faction and was scheduled to hold talks later in the day with Islamic Jihad. He met once already with Islamic Jihad and the other main militant group, Hamas, immediately after the suicide blast.
“We are going to listen to Abu Mazen regarding all the items, including the cease-fire,” said Mohammed al-Hindi, a leader of Islamic Jihad. But he added: “Nothing can be given for free.”
Palestinian Foreign Minister Nabil Shaath he believed Abbas could negotiate a truce “in a fairly short time.”
Palestinian lawmaker Ziad Abu Amr, a participant in the negotiations, said the sides were making progress. “Discussions were comprehensive, serious, candid and positive,” he said.
Militants have given mixed signals about their readiness for a truce. The groups have said they will not give up their arms, but have also indicated they will halt the violence if Israel stops attacking them.
Violence has surged in Gaza since Sharon announced plans last year to pull out of the area. Militants want the pullout to look as if Israel is fleeing under fire. In recent weeks, militants have repeatedly fired rockets and mortars at Jewish settlements in Gaza and border towns in southern Israel. Last week, attackers killed six Israelis at a border crossing.
In fresh violence, the army said it shot two Palestinians near the Israeli border Wednesday. It said the men had crawled toward a border fence, and one threw a grenade. Their conditions weren’t immediately known.
Palestinians also fired a mortar shell at a Jewish settlement in the southern Gaza Strip, causing no injuries, the army said.
In the West Bank, Israeli troops arrested 13 Hamas members during an overnight operation in Nablus, witnesses and the army said. The operation helped “severely disrupt” Hamas efforts to increase attacks on Israelis, said the Israeli commander of West Bank forces, Col. Yuval Bazak.
At least four tanks and dozens of military vehicles entered the city late Tuesday. In some areas, residents were unable to return to their homes due to the operation, witnesses said. The army denied that a curfew was imposed.
The troops demolished a four-story house and another burned after it was hit by a tank shell, witnesses said. The army confirmed firing at the homes, saying it had forced out suspects hiding inside who were later arrested.