Andrei Garmitzky mourns his wife, one of
the five Israeli civilians killed in the Palestinian
Islamic Jihad suicide bombing attack at the
entrance to the Sharon shopping mall in
Netanya (Photo: Gil Cohen, Reuters).
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Members of the Palestinian Authority’s security
forces arresting a Palestinian Islamic Jihad
operative, one of many arrests made after the
attack in Netanya
(Photo: Al-Jazeera TV, December 8)
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Main points
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During the first half of December Palestinian terrorism escalated. The main event was the suicide bombing attack in Netanya carried out by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), the terrorist organization which, sponsored by Iran and Syria, has sought more than any other to sabotage the lull. There was also a sharp increase in the launching of rocket and mortar shells from the Gaza Strip at western Negev settlements.
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The Israeli security forces implemented a series of activities to foil attacks, including the detention of terrorist-operatives in the West Bank, especially those belonging to the PIJ’s terrorist infrastructures in northern Samaria. The Israeli Air Force attacked terrorist-operatives in the Gaza Strip responsible for rocket fire. Four high-ranking terrorist-operatives were killed, three belonging to Fatah and one to the Popular Resistance Committees (PRC).
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After the suicide bombing attack in Netanya, Abu Mazen instructed the Palestinian security services to detain PIJ activists in Judea and Samaria. That was a change from the PA’s usual response of merely condemning an attack. Nevertheless, only time will tell if it is a new policy or a unique action resulting from media waves and external pressures.
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