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January 11, 2002/27 Tevet 5762, Vol. 54, No. 17
Shipment, Hamas attack prompt reassessment
NAOMI SEGAL
Jewish Telegraphic Agency
JERUSALEM - A Hamas attack within Israel and the capture of an arms shipment Israel says was bound for the Palestinian Authority have prompted the Israeli government to reassess its dealings with the Palestinians.
For months, even the most dovish Israelis have wondered whether they can still consider Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat a partner in the peace process - and the events of recent days gave them little reason to become more optimistic.
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon convened the Security Cabinet for an emergency session Jan. 9 following the Hamas attack. Sources at the meeting were quoted as saying the attack, in which four Israeli soldiers were killed, would likely have grave repercussions on Israel's stance toward the Palestinian Authority.
In the attack on the early morning of Jan. 9, two Hamas members, wearing Palestinian police uniforms, cut through a security fence between the southern Gaza Strip and Israel. They soon opened fire with automatic weapons and grenades on an Israeli military outpost near the fence.
In the attack and ensuing gunfight, a company commander and three soldiers were killed. Two other Israeli soldiers were wounded, one of them seriously.
The two terrorists, one of whom belonged to the Palestinian naval forces, were killed during the gun battle and an ensuing chase.
Arafat was reportedly furious over the attack, and the Palestinian police issued a statement issued a statement denying their involvement - but these developments were considered unlikely to get top Israeli officials to shake off the mistrust they feel.
Even before the attack Jan. 9, the officials were debating whether the seizure last week of a weapons-laden ship warranted a reassessment of policy toward the Palestinian Authority.
Palestinian officials denied any involvement in the incident, but the ship's captain confirmed the Israeli claim that the weapons were bound for areas under Palestinian control.
On Jan. 9, a day after the U.S. State Department said the arms smuggling involved Palestinians, Secretary of State Colin Powell went a step further, saying it was hard to imagine that the arms were meant for a destination other than the Palestinian Authority.
The Israeli claims and Palestinian counterclaims regarding the arms came as U.S. envoy Anthony Zinni returned to Washington on Jan. 7 after a five-day visit to the region. He is due back in the region Jan. 18.
Despite the arms capture Jan. 3, Zinni expressed optimism that the possibility of arranging a durable Israeli-Palestinian cease-fire is improving.
Some Israelis argued that the ship episode proves beyond a doubt that Arafat cannot be trusted even when he talks about a cease-fire.
Others, however, argued that Israeli policy had pushed the Palestinians into a corner where they had no choice but to smuggle arms.
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