Both Prime Minister Sharon and Defense Minister Mofaz said at
the Cabinet meeting on Sunday that the army's pressure on the
terrorism infrastructure is being stepped-up in response to
the deadly terror attack on leil Shabbos.
Two terrorists dressed in IDF uniforms burst into the kitchen
of the hesder yeshiva in Otniel in the southern Hebron
hills Friday night and sprayed the area with gunfire. Those
working in the kitchen were just preparing to bring out the
soup for the Shabbos meal.
A far worse tragedy was averted thanks to St.-Sgt. Noam Apter
Hy"d, 22, of Shilo, who managed to lock the door to
the adjoining dining room where the Shabbos meal was being
eaten by the yeshiva before he himself was murdered. Several
hesder soldiers and yeshiva students were wounded as
the terrorists shot through the door and an adjacent window
into the dining room. Security forces arrived soon and killed
one terrorist outside in a firefight. They tracked down the
other one and he was also killed in a firefight about two
hours later. IDF soldiers were wounded lightly in both
engagements.
There had been several warnings over the past weeks that
terrorists were gathering information about Otniel. According
to a report on Israel Radio, the commander of the Hebron area
had warned residents.
Many of the Jewish settlements were ideologically opposed to
having a fence around them arguing that the IDF should defend
them properly so that they do not need a fence. The residents
of Itamar were against a fence but they changed their
position after four of the residents were murdered,
Hy"d. Even today, according to Ha'aretz 10 of
the 150 settlements remain opposed to having a fence, though
many of the 140 that want fences do not yet have one, mostly
due to budgetary limitations. The IDF says that it will cost
NIS 1 billion to fence all the settlements, but the Yesha
Council disputes the figure and says the cost is much
lower.
At the Cabinet meeting, Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz briefed
ministers on current security matters and the terrorist
attacks which have occurred in recent days, including last
Friday's deadly shooting attack at Otniel. The Defense
Minister said that counter-terrorist actions are being
carried out on a continuous basis both inside Israel and in
Judea, Samaria and the Gaza Strip. The Defense Minister
reported that the IDF is continuing to use heavy pressure in
the field in order to prevent and foil terrorist actions and
added that this pressure has led to impressive
achievements.
The Defense Minister discussed the arrests that were carried
out last week among suspected terrorists and referred to
several of the most prominent.
Attorney-General Elyakim Rubinstein said targeted
assassinations must be used very carefully, and as a "last
resort" after all attempts to arrest wanted terrorists have
failed.
Mofaz said that Palestinian efforts to carry out attacks on
both sides of the Green Line continue unabated. Bechasdei
Shomayim, the security forces manage to stop most of
them. An Israeli undercover unit arrested three members of
Islamic Jihad near Hebron on Sunday.
Mofaz said Sunday that soldiers have arrested more than 1,200
Palestinians in the past two months in what he described as
an unprecedented campaign against suspected terrorists.
With regard to Iraq, the Defense Minister added that the US
is showing determination and is preparing the military option
against Iraq. Recent press reports say that thousands of
American troops are being moved into the area, as the UN
inspections of sites in Iraq continue. The UN inspection team
is scheduled to submit its first report on January 27.
