Palestinian Authority: Israel "Opening For Itself The Gates Of Hell."

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Written by Samuel Sokol

Wednesday, 30 December 2009 19:00

Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas declared this week that the killers of 45-year-old Rabbi Meir Avshalom Hai are "Shahids [Martyrs] of the Palestinian revolution."

The president's personal representative, Tayeb Abd Al-Rahim, conveyed his condolences to the families of the terrorists, affiliated with the banned Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades organization, saying that "without doubt, what the occupation authorities have carried out is a wild and barbaric act and a deliberate, malicious assassination in cold blood."

The Bethlehem-based Ma'an news agency reported that President Abbas "vowed to seek prosecution for Israeli leaders he termed war criminals" in regard to operation Cast Lead, ignoring the two recent attempted suicide bombings originating from territory which he controlled.

Twenty thousand individuals, including top PA officials, attended funerals for the slain gunmen, who were reported in the Arab press as having been "assassinated...as they slept." The Fatah leader was quoted as defining the killing of the terrorists as part of a "policy of assassination."

After protests were made by PA officials and a public demand was made for an investigation into Israel's actions by B'tzelem, the United States contacted National Security Adviser Prof. Uzi Arad for clarification. Arad defended Israel's actions in killing the terrorists.

The Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades was affirmed as the armed wing of Fatah during the movement's 2009 convention in Bethlehem. Brigades members are sheltered by and receive payment from PA Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, who is widely perceived as a moderate in western circles.

Abu Mahmoud, a senior commander of Fatah's armed wing threatened that suicide bombers would "turn Israel's night to day" in response to the killings.

In an official statement, the Brigades declared, "We won't stand around doing nothing and the blood of holy warriors will not have been spilled in vain. The enemy won't see anything from us besides the language of blood and fire."

According to reports from the WAFA news agency, PM Fayyad visited the house of mourning for the terrorists, accompanied by PA Police Director-General Major General Hazem Atallah.

November was an extremely quiet month in regards to terrorism, according to figures published on the website of Israel's General Security Service (GSS). However, on Monday, Israeli defense minister Ehud Barak stated, "We definitely see, over the last two or three days, an awakening of terror activity in Judea and Samaria."

In December, Arabs from Judea and Samaria attempted to infiltrate Israel in order to carry out suicide attacks in Jerusalem and Ashkelon.

On December 3, the IDF spokesman's office related that three explosive devices had been found and neutralized in Bet Ummar, southwest of Bethlehem. A number of days afterwards, two pipe bombs were found on a PA resident at a checkpoint near Jenin. A pipe bomb was also discovered on a road near Hebron and was detonated by sappers.

There has also been a spate of rock throwing attacks against Israeli vehicles. On December 25 a four-year-old girl was lightly injured when a firebomb was thrown at the car in which she was riding, and a woman was moderately injured by firebomb hurled at a bus near Negohot two days later.

The council of Jewish communities of Judea and Samaria (Yesha) issued a statement that "the murderous shooting attack in Samaria is a direct result of the policy of lifting restrictions on the Palestinians, removing necessary roadblocks in Judea and Samaria, and transferring the responsibility for security to those whose ranks have produced many terrorists who murdered Jews. As in similar incidents in the past, once again the gestures aimed at Abu Mazen [Mahmoud Abbas] carry a price tag of Jewish blood."

In a related development, Israel's Supreme Court decided to open up route 443 in Judea/Samaria to Arab traffic. The road was originally closed to Arabs at the outbreak of the second intifada in light of attacks on Jewish travelers.

The ruling is vexing to settlement leaders; the court admitted last year that the physical safety of Jews using the road would be compromised were Palestinian Authority Arabs given unrestricted access.

According to the IDF spokesman, a roadside bomb was uncovered as recently as December 17 along route 443, planted by the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades.

National Union parliamentarian Uri Ariel blasted the court decision, saying that "it has again been proven that the security of Israel's citizens is worth less than the comfort of travel of the Palestinians" in the eyes of the Supreme Court.

Fatah members have indicated that there exists a possibility of a third Intifada against the Palestinian Authority, due to the PA's security coordination with Israel. The PA's military forces, trained by American General Keith Dayton, sometimes work together with Israeli security forces in Judea and Samaria.

Former GSS director Avi Dichter told army radio that while the PA security forces are strong in fighting their rival Hamas, they are lax in taking action against Fatah forces.