Anger at Israeli army chief's comments
Palestinian militants pose a "cancer-like" threat to Israel and must be defeated at all costs, Israel’s new army chief has said.
Lieutenant General Moshe Yaalon’s comments yesterday stirred angry criticism by left-wing politicians who said he overstepped his bounds as a military officer.
Meanwhile, Israeli troops backed by tanks and helicopters raided the Jenin refugee camp and arrested Jamal Abul Haji, 44, a regional leader of the Islamic militant Hamas group, the army said.
Military officials said Abul Haji was responsible for planning at least six suicide bombings, including a bus attack in northern Israel that killed nine people and a Jerusalem pizzeria bombing that killed 15.
Also today, a lawyer for the Israeli government told the Supreme Court that expelling three relatives of Palestinian terror suspects from the West Bank to the Gaza Strip did not violate international law.
Today marked the first day in the landmark case, being heard by an expanded panel of nine judges, up from the customary three.
The Israeli military claimed the expulsions deter bombing and shooting attacks on Israelis.
Human rights lawyers say such measures violate international law and constitute collective punishment.
The court adjourned without making a decision.
In the Gaza Strip, two mortar shells fell in Jewish settlements early today, causing no injuries.
The mortar fire further jeopardised a fragile agreement under which Israel is to pull back troops from parts of Gaza, in exchange for Palestinian efforts to restore security in the areas handed over to them.
Despite internal criticism, both sides’ chief negotiators, Israeli Defence Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer and Palestinian Interior Minister Abdel Razek Yehiyeh, said they would proceed with the agreement.
Yaalon, the army chief, said in his speech to a rabbinical assembly that Israel’s May 2000 withdrawal from Lebanon was interpreted by Arabs as proof that Israel can be forced into concessions through attacks on civilians.
He said the Palestinians began their latest uprising - or intefadeh - two years ago because they sensed the dispute was headed towards a political resolution and did not want to accept a permanent Jewish presence in the Middle East.
"It is imperative that we win this conflict in such a way that the Palestinian side will burn into its consciousness that there is no chance of achieving goals by means of terror," Yaalon was quoted as saying by the Yediot Ahronot newspaper.
The army chief said the dangers of the conflict with the Palestinians were much graver than the threat posed by Iraq.
"The Palestinian threat harbours cancer-like attributes that have to be severed and fought to the bitter end," he said.
Yossi Beilin, a key player in previous peace accords, urged Yaalon to honour his admonition to his own troops, when he told them recently not to make political statements.
"The withdrawal from Lebanon and the peace process with the Palestinians were the most important things that Israel has done to save itself from a political, security and demographic disaster. If the chief of staff wants to argue with this, it is his full right as a civilian, but not as someone in uniform," Beilin said.
