(Jerusalem Post) - Bethlehem has become a haven for Palestinian fugitives since the IDF pulled out in accordance with understandings reached in the "Bethlehem-Gaza First" plan almost three months ago, Col. Shimshon Arbel, head of information and coordination for the coordinator of government activities in the territories, said Monday. Arbel warned that we should not be deceived by the "relative calm" in the Bethlehem area, which has become a hotbed of terrorists from all over the West Bank, especially from the Hebron area. "From the city, where they receive shelter, they convey instructions to terrorists elsewhere in the West Bank to perpetrate attacks," he said. The PA is capable of acting if it chooses to do so. "A good example is what happened recently in the Gaza Strip, when Hamas killed the Palestinian police commander. Immediately, the PA condemned the act and demanded that those responsible for the attack be turned over. Yet I never heard such sharp and immediate responses of condemnation in cases where terrorists who lived in areas under PA control entered Israel and perpetrated suicide attacks." Meanwhile, the PA announced an investigation into Monday night's attack on the home of Bethlehem Mayor Hanna Nasser. Masked men hurled a firebomb and fired into the air from automatic rifles outside his house near Manger Square. Although Nasser and his wife were inside, no one was injured.
2002-10-16 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive