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Keeping Gaza Quiet until Independence Day

[Ha'aretz] Amos Harel and Avi Issacharoff - Hamas' failed attack at the Kerem Shalom crossing on Passover eve shows that it is trying to abduct more soldiers. According to the Israel Defense Forces, Hamas operatives believed they had identified a breach in Israel's defenses: the crossing where 200 trucks cross to meet humanitarian needs each week. It was preceded by the Nahal Oz fuel terminal attack on April 9, where two Israeli civilians were killed. The Hamas leadership understands that Israel does not want to embark on a major operation in the coming month - between Passover, Independence Day and another visit by President Bush. IDF success depends greatly on the quick judgment of the commander in the field. Saturday it was the Bedouin Desert Battalion deputy commander, Major Wahid, who correctly foresaw the impending explosion of a booby-trapped vehicle and ordered his men into protected vehicles, certainly limiting casualties. Despite a leg injury from the second explosion, Wahid continued to command the forces that surrounded and killed the driver of the armored vehicle. Almost two years ago, at almost exactly that spot, soldier Gilad Shalit was abducted. The attack also shows a misconception: The armored vehicles Israel plans to transfer to the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank have been described as useless weapons, easily targeted by the Israel Air Force. But they served Hamas in its abduction plan.
2008-04-21 01:00:00
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