(Ha'aretz) Amos Harel - The Shin Bet reported Sunday that terrorist attacks claimed the lives of 45 Israelis in 2005, compared to 117 in 2004. In 2002, 450 Israelis were killed by terrorists. The fact that Hamas, in general, stopped engaging in terror activities changed the picture. The Islamic Jihad network in the West Bank upgraded its capability and was responsible for the murder of 23 Israelis in 2005, but during that time, Hamas scaled back its engagement in terror. The security fence is no longer mentioned as the major factor in preventing suicide bombings, mainly because the terrorists have found ways to bypass it. The fence does make it harder for them, but the flawed inspection procedures at its checkpoints and the uncompleted sections enable suicide bombers to enter Israel.
2006-01-02 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive