(Ha'aretz) Ze'ev Schiff - As long as the Kassam rockets and mortar shells fired intermittently from Gaza do not take a toll in lives, it is unlikely that Israel will respond with force. However, if there are casualties, Israel will not be able to stay its hand. This is also the case if the Palestinians open fire during the disengagement itself. Abu Mazen does not like the shooting of rockets toward Israel but is doing virtually nothing to prevent it. He has sent orders to his forces but they are not being carried out on the ground. What is strange is that Abu Mazen does not take action even when those that violate the cease-fire are small and relatively weak Palestinian organizations with ties to Fatah, such as the Abu Rish group or the Popular Resistance Committees.
2005-05-06 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive