(Jerusalem Post)- Nina Gilbert The Palestinian terror groups and PA security organizations are working to "upgrade" explosives to include chemical agents, and are also investing efforts in producing weapons that can go over the security fence, Shin Bet head Avi Dichter said Tuesday. The weapons threat from Gaza could "hasten a Defensive Shield operation" there to rout out terrorists and confiscate weapons, Dichter warned the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee. In 2003, 210 Kassam rockets were fired from populated Palestinian areas in Gaza. Dichter also called for the Jerusalem area fence to be built "very quickly," noting that suicide bombers are being sent to the capital and other areas with no fence because they are unable to penetrate where the security fence is operational. He termed the PA a "haven for terrorists." Dichter said the Fatah-Tanzim is the main force that will determine the future of the PA, and not Hamas which is relatively weak in the West Bank, where many senior figures were neutralized. Dichter said that in 2003, 2,000 Kalashnikov rifles were smuggled into Gaza from Egypt, in addition to anti-aircraft and anti-tank missiles and RPGs. Dichter also said the Israeli Consulate in Istanbul was the planned target of the al-Qaeda terror attack that instead hit the nearby British Consulate and a British bank, killing 27 people. Dichter singled out Iran as the "No. 1" terror state in the world, that is operating a channel via Europe to penetrate its terrorists into Israel, as well as operating via the Hizballah, Israeli Arabs, and Palestinians. Hizballah is paying thousands of shekels to those who agree to carry out attacks and gives bonuses to those who succeed.
2003-02-25 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive