Note: The translations of articles from the Hebrew press
are prepared by the Government Press Office
as a service to foreign journalists in Israel.
They express the views of the authors.
Unskilled Terrorists
(Commentary by Ronni Shaked, "Yediot Ahronot", Sept 6, 1999, p. A5)
It is no coincidence that the explosions in Haifa and Tiberias occurred
almost simultaneously, nor is the timing a surprise: The day after the
signing of the Sharm agreement.
The extremist Islamic organizations, Hamas and the Islamic Jihad, have
chosen the path of killing and murder to express their opposition to
progress in the peace process, which was rejuvenated at Sharm el-Sheikh.
The timing was important for achieving their objective: One can try to
stop the process in the interim between the signing of the agreement and
its implementation.
The plan to carry out two simultaneous attacks in two locations in an
attempt to cause massive deaths, attests to strategic planning at the
highest echelon: Hamas or Islamic Jihad command. The plan to carry out a
double attack shows that the terrorist commands have the ability to
initiate, plan and coordinate terrorist attacks at short notice.
It is not yet clear whether Hamas or the Islamic Jihad is behind the
attacks. If it was Hamas, it may have been an initiative by an activist in
its military wing, Muhammad Abu-Hunoud from the village Atzira Smaliyya
near Nablus. Abu-Hunoud has already carried out a number of simultaneous
bombings, at the market and pedestrian mall in Jerusalem. There were two
simultaneous bombs in the former attack and three in the latter.
If the Islamic Jihad is behind the attacks, the clues may lead to Iyad
Khardan from Jenin, one of Islamic Jihad's field commanders, who is
currently in Nablus Prison.
The reason for the failure was in the faulty training and poor operational
ability of the terrorists on the ground. In recent years, GSS
counter-operations have damaged the ability of Hamas and the Islamic Jihad
to recruit personnel. Out of necessity, the terrorist leaderships have had
to use new recruiting methods - and have even tried to approach Israeli
Arabs.
The premature explosions show that the attacks were hastily planned and
the terrorists did not receive adequate briefings. Although the
investigation has shown that experienced engineers prepared the bombs, it
is clear that the operatives themselves were inexperienced.
The success of the terrorists in organizing attacks at such short notice,
less than two days following the signing of the agreement, proves that
explosive material is available. Israeli security sources are concerned
that this means that there is a new bomb factory in one of the Palestinian
Authority cities.