At last some sanity seems to be returning to Ariel Sharon’s Israeli government. In response to the Tel Aviv bombing, which was carried out by Islamic Jihad on orders from the Syrian government, with the help of Mahmoud Abbas’s own Fatah Tanzim group and Hezbollah, further movement towards handing over part of the West Bank to the PA has been put on hold. In addition, the Islamic Jihad representitive will no longer be permitted to attend upcoming meetings in Cairo, and no Islamic Jihad prisoners will be released.
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said on Sunday that Islamic Jihad was behind the suicide bombing on Friday night in Tel Aviv.
Issuing a short statement at the beginning of the weekly cabinet meeting in response to the attack, which cost the lives of four people and wounded some 50, Sharon said: “The orders came from Islamic Jihad in Syria. We know this for a fact.”
According to the text of the statement, which was posted on the Prime Minister’s Web site, Sharon said that the immediate test of the Palestinian Authority was to act against Islamic Jihad.
The prime minister stressed that while the State of Israel was interested in making progress towards an agreement with the Palestinians, there would be no political advances until the PA acted aggressively against the terrorist groups in its territory.
He concluded by saying that if the PA refused to act against the terror groups, then Israel would increase its military actions “which are designed to protect the lives of Israeli citizens.”
[...]
Vice Prime Minister Shimon Peres also pointed an accusing finger at Syrian President Bashar Assad on Sunday morning. “The orders go out of his country and he cannot excuse it,” Peres said in an interview with Army Radio.
Peres also expressed support for American pressure on Syria saying, “Americans should be permitted to continue their diplomatic actions against Damascus.”
While Islamic Jihad officially took responsibility for the attack, security officials also suspect that the bomber, Abdullah Badran, 21, had ties to Fatah Tanzim and Hizbullah.
In the coming weeks, Mofaz will dispatch Defense Ministry officials to meet with government leaders in London, Paris and Washington and present them with details of Syria’s involvement in terror and ask them to apply pressure on Syria to stop its activities. In addition, the officials will also ask the leaders to pressure Abbas and demand that he act and halt terror activities emanating from areas under his control.
The process of handing over security control of West Bank cities to the Palestinians would be frozen until the Palestinians start taking action on the ground, but dialogue between the sides would continue, security officials also said.
Stumble It!Rate this post:
(No Ratings Yet)
Loading ...
