On Tuesday morning the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) withdrew
from the border town of Tulkarm just over 24 hours after it
entered. IDF forces redeployed outside the city limits and
set up a blockade of the city.
A few days after a Palestinian suicide terrorist from
Tulkarm opened fire at a bas mitzvah in Hadera, just a few
minutes' drive from the Palestinian town of Tulkarm, killing
six Israelis and wounding more than 30, the Israeli army
seized control of Tulkarm to round up terrorists who operate
from there.
The operation was the first time since the signing of the
Oslo accords, even since the outbreak of the Palestinian
violence in September 2000, that Israel took over an entire
Palestinian city.
Around 3 a.m. on Monday, Israeli ground troops backed by
helicopters seized positions in the city. The army imposed a
curfew, began arresting militants and rounding up weapons.
Officers said there was only light opposition during the 30-
hour incursion, mainly from small arms fire, and there were
no IDF casualties. The IDF said that two armed Palestinians
were killed and several wounded, one seriously.
Nachal Brigade commander Col. Yair Golan, who commanded the
operation, said they were able to carry out quality arrests
and show the PA that the IDF will act to foil terror wherever
it does not.
Shortly before the incursion, Israel informed the Palestinian
Authority of the operation, saying it was targeting the
terrorist infrastructure in the city and not the Palestinian
Authority.
The army spokesman said terrorists "including the gunman who
carried out the Jan. 17 terror attack in Hadera" were being
sent from Tulkarm to attack Israeli targets.
Israeli authorities did not say in advance how long they
would stay in Tulkarm. As late as Monday night, Chief of
General Staff Lt.-Gen. Shaul Mofaz would only say, "We do not
intend to remain in Tulkarm forever."
The United States denounced the Hadera attack as "horrific"
and "vicious."
In other reprisals for the Hadera attack, Israeli troops
destroyed the Palestinian radio and television broadcasting
headquarters in Ramallah. A day earlier, Israel rocketed
Palestinian Authority offices in Tulkarm, killing one
Palestinian policeman and injuring at least 20 people.
Palestinian officials accused Israel of planning to reassume
control over the entire West Bank and called for an emergency
session of the U.N. Security Council. Arafat said Monday the
Israeli action "crossed all red lines," and warned that the
Palestinians would not stand idly by.
Concern over these actions may have been a consideration in
the pullback from Tulkarm.
Former President Clinton, in Israel for a conference at Tel
Aviv University and to receive an honorary doctorate, urged
Israelis not to lose hope for peace. In a speech Sunday in
Tel Aviv, Clinton also said there would be no peace while
terrorism prevails. He said Arafat missed a "golden
opportunity" for peace at the July 2000 Camp David summit.
Israel will take action wherever necessary to render the
terrorist infrastructure ineffective in all areas in which
the Palestinian Authority fails to combat terror and arrest
those responsible, senior government officials said on
Monday.
"The government does not intend to expel [PA Chairman] Yasser
Arafat or harm him, but he must be made to realize Israel
will not tolerate a terrorist entity on its borders," one
official said. "Tulkarm is located on the Green Line and is a
terrorist hotbed. If you don't stop [the terrorists] before
they leave their homes, the next stop is Netanya or Kfar
Yona, a few minutes' drive away."
Officials shrugged off any response to Arafat's statements he
would prefer to die as a martyr for the sake of a Palestinian
state. "We are used to Arafat's statements. He makes
declarations all the time, but so far they are meaningless,"
one said.
Deputy Defense Minister Dalia Rabin-Pelosoff criticized the
government and suggested the move proves it lacks a strategic
policy. She told Israel Radio it was taken to calm Israelis
following the recent terrorist attacks.
A senior government official denied this, saying, "This
government will not negotiate under fire and will insist that
all obligations be fulfilled. One of the major mistakes made
in the seven years since the Oslo Accords were signed was a
failure to insist the PA fulfill its obligations. We gave
them territory, and they failed to live up to their
commitments. We are establishing the rules of the game not
just for Arafat, but for any future leader."
Writing in the Jerusalem Post, Oren Shachor, a retired
general who was once deeply involved in the army's activities
in the territories, wrote that Israel definitely does have a
strategic plan.
He noted that both sides apparently abandoned the strategy of
negotiations they had been following since the signing of the
Oslo accords. First, the Palestinians adopted a policy of
terror aimed at winning a Palestinian state. Israel, in turn,
eventually, made defeating terrorism its central goal.
Shachor called proposals to carry out a unilateral separation
at this time, "a nice plan on paper, which is not practical
on the ground." Such a separation is only workable if the PA
cooperates.
Shachor says that Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is apparently
following a course designed to exhaust the PA and other
terrorist elements.
"One step at a time, in a gradual process, he is moving to
exhaust Arafat and the PA as far as their involvement in
terrorism. This strategic path has the following
components:
"A controlled incursion into the PA to clear out the
terrorist infrastructure, because the PA isn't doing it. This
is the framework in which we should view the operation in
Tulkarm and previous operations, such as those in Jenin and
Beit Jala.
"Attacks on the PA's symbols of government, such as its
broadcasting authority, or the proximity of IDF tanks to PA
government buildings. This is to demonstrate to the PA the
fragility of its existence and the real danger of its
collapse, if we so choose.
"Imposing closures on villages and towns, with as much
consideration as possible for the civilian population.
"Targeted killings of terrorists with `blood on their hands'
or those who are `ticking bombs.'
"Imposing a personal siege on Arafat, a sort of house arrest
in Ramallah that prevents him from touring the world and
having the international meetings he likes so well. This
house arrest is not only aimed at damaging Arafat's
international status, but also stresses to him and to the
people around him the illogic of the intifadah and the loss
of the many political assets they had.
"I assume there is some chance Arafat might resign, but there
is no doubt that in the long run the PA will be exhausted,
and more and more voices around Arafat in its leadership are
asking what is the point and wondering whether terrorism is
the correct strategy.
"As for us, if all the elements I listed are not a strategic
plan, I don't know what a strategic plan is."
