(Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Prime Minister's Office, and various Israeli government agencies) The al-Aqsa Martyr’s Brigades belonging to the Fatah movement, Yasser Arafat’s component of the PLO, is responsible for the twin attack. President Bush, in his historic speech of June 24th, said that leaders compromised by terror cannot be partners for peace. Yasser Arafat and the Palestinian Authority, by perpetrating terror through forces under their direct responsibility, namely the Fatah, Tanzim, and al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigade, and by aiding and abetting the terror of Hamas and Islamic Jihad, cannot be partners for peace. The Palestinian terrorists must have known that they would kill foreign workers when they targeted the area of Tel Aviv’s former central bus station since they had attacked that very same spot a few months ago. These suicide bombings were meant to kill as many people as possible, from as many countries as possible. Israel’s Ministry of Interior has made multilingual announcements to illegal foreign workers who need medical care that they may come to Israeli hospitals without having to fear that deportation measures will be taken against them. The Palestinians are trying to take advantage of this period - the eve of the war against Iraq - to attack Israel, expecting that Israel’s hands will be tied by the international community. The government of Israel, like any democratic government, has the right - and indeed the obligation - to defend itself against terrorist attacks. The relatively few bomb attacks over the last few weeks is not due to a new cease-fire policy on the part of Fatah, Hamas, or any other Palestinian organization. Throughout this period, all the organizations have attempted to infiltrate into Israel, but have been foiled by Israeli security forces. Neither the Cairo talks between Fatah and Hamas, nor the promise of the coming Palestinian discussions in London, have reduced the threat of terrorism to Israeli citizens.
2003-01-06 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive