Israel threatened to severely bomb Palestinian areas in the Gaza Strip should the Palestinian Authority fail to act against the resistance attacks during the disengagement, Israeli sources reported on Wednesday.
A senior security aide to Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon warned that Israel will even at the cost of hurting civilians.
‘Israel will act in a very resolute manner in order to prevent terror attacks and fire while the disengagement is being implemented,’ said Brigadier-General (Res.) Eival Giladi, the head of the Coordination and Strategy team of the PMO.
‘If pinpoint response proves insufficient, we may have to use weaponry that causes major collateral damage, including helicopters and planes, with mounting danger to surrounding people,’ Giladi stated.
He said that this issue was raised during the Tuesday summit between Sharon and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
On the other hand Public Security Minister Gideon Ezra hinted that Israel had resumed the assassination policy against operatives from the Islamic Jihad group. Ezra confirmed that Israeli Air Force gun ships attempted to assassinate an Islamic Jihad operative in northern Gaza Strip on Tuesday.
The assassination attempt which was launched ten minutes after the start of the Abbas-Sharon summit in Jerusalem failed.
Local observers said the timing of this failed assassination is “enough evidence that Israel is not taking negotiations serious and is acting without any coordination with the Palestinians.â€Â
“Israeli officials coordinate only when they want to pressure the PA to act against the resistance,†observers said.
