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IDF Heading Back to Jenin, Nablus

(Ha'aretz) - After evidence gathered from Monday's terror attack confirmed that the bombers came from Jenin, the army, which had thinned out its presence in Jenin and other northern West Bank towns earlier this week due to international pressure, now appears likely to move back in. Chief of Staff Moshe Ya'alon told the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee Tuesday that the attack "took place a mere 48 hours after the curfew in Jenin was eased," enabling the bombers to leave the city. A senior intelligence officer told the committee that since the start of Operation Defensive Shield in April, the army has uncovered 37 weapons smuggling tunnels in Rafah, on the border between Gaza and Egypt, each of them four to seven meters deep and 600 to 700 meters long. Ya'alon reported a recent incident when the IDF exploded a smuggling tunnel and the smoke created by the explosion could be seen rising from an Egyptian Army position on the Egyptian side of the border. [IMRA] The intelligence officer added that the new Palestinian finance minister, Salam Fayyad, has so far not managed to gain control of all the Palestinian Authority's sources of income. Most of the money is still in the hands of Arafat, who continues to buy arms.
2002-10-23 00:00:00
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