ISA Director Avi Dichter briefed ministers at the weekly
Cabinet meeting last Sunday, and said that the part of the
Security Fence built so far has been an unqualified success.
Dichter said he does not know of another meter of fence in
Israel that has been as worthwhile as the 107 kilometers of
the security fence that have been constructed so far in the
northern part of the border with Palestinian areas. This
fence, Dichter said, has already paid for itself "with
compound interest."
Dichter cited the terrorist who dispatched the suicide bomber
who blew up the Maxim restaurant in Haifa six weeks ago. He
told his interrogators that because of the fence, it is much
more difficult to penetrate into Israel, and as a result the
terrorists have moved their targets southward where it is
easier to get across the Green Line. Much more of the
activity is know concentrated south of Kfar Kassem, or from
Nablus in the direction of Jerusalem, he said.
In response to an interview given by four former Shin Bet
heads who said that Israel has not given enough to recent
Palestinian administrations, Dichter told the cabinet that he
does not feel that Israel is at fault for the downfall of
current PA prime minister Qurei's predecessor, Mahmoud Abbas.
The former Shin Bet directors intimated that Israel should
have been much more forthcoming in the gestures it offered to
Abbas.
Dichter said that PA Chairman Yasser Arafat has regained 100
percent control over the Palestinian security services.
Likewise, Dichter said that of the PA's $93 million monthly
budget, Arafat's personal office receives some $8 million. By
comparison, only a total of $6 million a month goes to the
PA's health system. This disproportion, Dichter said, "cries
out to the heavens."
Some 300 people are employed by Arafat's office, and the rest
of the funds goes to Fatah in the territories to ensure
Arafat's control.
ISA Director Dichter also briefed ministers on matters
connected to terrorist organizations and to their continued
efforts to perpetrate terror attacks. He said that the quiet
that has prevailed is deceptive since there were 14
unsuccessful suicide bombing attempts in recent weeks and the
number of terror alerts increased recently from 30 to 50 per
day. Two of the failed bombers blew themselves up without any
damage to others but Israeli security forces foiled the rest,
be'ezer Hashem.
Dichter compared the situation to a water polo match. When
seen from above it all looks elegant, but underneath the
water there is a great deal of kicking and thrashing.
According to Dichter, Hamas and Islamic Jihad are interested
in reaching a new cease-fire agreement in order to rebuild
their damaged infrastructure in the West Bank. Today 90
percent of their energy is being devoted to survival, and 10
percent to carrying out attacks, Dichter estimated. "If there
is a new hudna, this proportion will change," he said.
On Tuesday, the last day of the Moslem special month of
Ramadan, Israel released ten Jordanian prisoners. None was
convicted of a violent crime. Foreign Minister Shalom had
argued that it would be mistake to release the Jordanians as
part of a larger prisoner release with Hizbullah, since that
would give Hizbullah credit in the Arab world for being able
to release prisoners while the Jordanian government, even
with its peace pact with Israel, would be seen as unable to
do so. His recommendation to release them to Jordan without
any intermediaries was accepted.
Also at the Cabinet meeting, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon
responded to media reports that the government is considering
taking unilateral steps in Judea, Samaria and Gaza. The PM
said that Israel is committed to the Roadmap, but that he
does not rule out unilateral steps. The Prime Minister
emphasized that his position is not yet fully formed, and
that any plan will be submitted to the cabinet at the
appropriate time.
The prime minister later told Likud MKs that there would be
no additional concessions to the Palestinians before high-
level meetings. He said that he would not make any
concessions or ease restrictions on the Palestinians in order
to get Israeli-Palestinian meetings to start.
Sharon also said that the government's decision on the route
of the fence "wont be changed. Period," in an answer to a
question from MK Gidon Saar.
"Don't be impressed by press reports," he told Likud members.
"We will not wait for them forever; nor will we wait for
repeated cabinet changes. If there is no progress, we will
take unilateral steps.
"What they didn't receive today, they won't necessarily
receive tomorrow. Unilateral steps mean nonnegotiable steps;
and these won't always be to their benefit," he said.
"I have told the Palestinians that their time is not
unlimited. I am against drawing timetables but there is a
limit to our patience. Time is not unlimited; our patience
is. There is no way we will continue to suppress our reaction
to continuing acts of terror," the Prime Minister added. But
he also said, "It is clear that in the end we will not be
sitting in all the locations we are now situated."
According to press reports, Sharon's unstated ideas include
dismantling isolated settlements and clustering others behind
the security fence. He insisted that if Israel is forced to
make unilateral steps it would not be in the Palestinians
favor.
Sharon reiterated controversial statements of his: that it
was not good to have three million Palestinians under Israeli
control. "Under our current economic situation it is
unrealistic to control that many Palestinian people," he
said.
Almost the entire Likud faction expressed opposition to
dismantling settlements. One MK after another told the PM
they adamantly oppose evacuating settlements unilaterally.
According to Israel Radio, the recent declarations of Sharon
are results of a secret meeting between the prime minister
and US National Security Council member Eliot Abrams that
took place in Rome last week. Abrams, a top liaison between
the White House and Israel, reportedly informed Sharon of the
Bush administration's impatience with progress on the road
map, and made clear the US demand for Israel to remove
illegal outposts and freeze settlement construction.
Sharon responded by saying that he intends to take unilateral
steps in the territories.
Palestinian officials and Israeli liberals were skeptical.
"We've heard many promises, but nothing has come of them,"
said Israeli opposition leader Shimon Peres, adding that the
removal even of small settlements would break up Sharon's
center-right coalition. "I don't think Sharon is in a hurry
to take apart his government," Peres said.
Meanwhile, Egyptian officials are confident that they can
broker a hudna (temporary cease-fire) agreement between the
various Palestinian factions by December 9, Palestinian
Authority Foreign Minister Nabil Shaath told The Jerusalem
Post this week.
Such a deal could then form the basis for a permanent cease-
fire with Israel. After the factions agree to the move, PA
Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei will take the pact to Prime
Minister Ariel Sharon for permanent cease-fire talks. As
mentioned previously, ISA head Avi Dichter says that the
terror organizations want the hudna to rebuild their
capabilities.
