Israel declares ‘war to bitter end’ against Jihad

JERUSALEM – Israel declared all-out war yesterday on Islamic Jihad, launching air strikes on its Gaza Strip stronghold and putting its leaders in the crosshairs after a suicide bomber killed five in a marketplace.

As the funerals took place for the victims of Wednesday’s attack in Hadera, officials said they were taking the gloves off against Jihad in the absence of any firm action from the Palestinian Authority. The five dead were the first Israelis to be killed by Palestinian militants since Israel pulled its troops and settlers out of the Gaza Strip.The pullout had raised hopes in the international community of a genuine breakthrough in the Middle East peace process but Israeli commentators warned that the public must get used to continuing attacks.Army chief of staff General Dan Halutz was quoted as declaring a “war to the bitter end” against Islamic Jihad after convening a meeting of defence chiefs late on Wednesday.Security sources said Defence Minister Shaul Mofaz gave the green light for the resumption of ‘targeted killing’ operations against the masterminds of attacks such as the one in Hadera, carried out by a 21-year-old from the northern West Bank village of Qabatiya, near Jenin.The army also announced a general closure on the West Bank and Gaza Strip.Jihad said the attack was to avenge the death of their West Bank military leader who was killed in a gunfight with Israeli troops at the weekend.”We will hit Islamic Jihad very hard.We will not give them any respite,” a source close to Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon told AFP.”We will not allow the West Bank to become a new Iraq and we will use every means possible in our offensive, including targeted operations.”Around a dozen Palestinians, including members of Jihad, were arrested overnight by the Israeli army while the air force carried out three air strikes over Gaza without causing casualties.Two of the attacks targeted access routes into Gaza City and the nearby town of Beit Hanun and a third hit open fields in the north of the territory.Residents living in Gaza City said jet fighters had screeched overhead throughout the night, triggering sonic booms and keeping most people awake through the early hours.Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas condemned Wednesday’s attack, saying it was counter-productive and warned that he would not tolerate people taking the law into their own hands.Israeli officials, however, say there is no sign of Abbas taking on hardline groups such as Jihad and the larger Hamas movement.All the main armed factions are meant to be observing a truce brokered by Abbas in March but Wednesday’s attack served as a reminder of its fragility.A front-page editorial in Israel’s leading Yediot Aharonot daily said the attack should shatter the illusions of anyone who thought that violence would melt away after Israel’s departure from Gaza.”No one promised the citizens of Israel that tranquillity would reign the day after the withdrawal from Gaza.If there was anyone who harboured hopes of that kind, those hopes were in vain.The Israeli withdrawal from Gaza rectified a distortion.It did not make peace,” the daily said.There was widespread international condemnation of the bombing, led by the United States.”Our deepest sympathy goes out to the victims of these heinous attacks, their families, and the Israeli people,” said the newly installed US ambassador to Israel, Richard Jones.Britain’s ambassador Simon McDonald travelled to the scene of the blast to lay a wreath on behalf of the European Union.Britain is the current holder of the bloc’s rotating presidency.- Nampa-AFPThe five dead were the first Israelis to be killed by Palestinian militants since Israel pulled its troops and settlers out of the Gaza Strip.The pullout had raised hopes in the international community of a genuine breakthrough in the Middle East peace process but Israeli commentators warned that the public must get used to continuing attacks.Army chief of staff General Dan Halutz was quoted as declaring a “war to the bitter end” against Islamic Jihad after convening a meeting of defence chiefs late on Wednesday.Security sources said Defence Minister Shaul Mofaz gave the green light for the resumption of ‘targeted killing’ operations against the masterminds of attacks such as the one in Hadera, carried out by a 21-year-old from the northern West Bank village of Qabatiya, near Jenin.The army also announced a general closure on the West Bank and Gaza Strip.Jihad said the attack was to avenge the death of their West Bank military leader who was killed in a gunfight with Israeli troops at the weekend.”We will hit Islamic Jihad very hard.We will not give them any respite,” a source close to Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon told AFP.”We will not allow the West Bank to become a new Iraq and we will use every means possible in our offensive, including targeted operations.”Around a dozen Palestinians, including members of Jihad, were arrested overnight by the Israeli army while the air force carried out three air strikes over Gaza without causing casualties.Two of the attacks targeted access routes into Gaza City and the nearby town of Beit Hanun and a third hit open fields in the north of the territory.Residents living in Gaza City said jet fighters had screeched overhead throughout the night, triggering sonic booms and keeping most people awake through the early hours.Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas condemned Wednesday’s attack, saying it was counter-productive and warned that he would not tolerate people taking the law into their own hands.Israeli officials, however, say there is no sign of Abbas taking on hardline groups such as Jihad and the larger Hamas movement.All the main armed factions are meant to be observing a truce brokered by Abbas in March but Wednesday’s attack served as a reminder of its fragility.A front-page editorial in Israel’s leading Yediot Aharonot daily said the attack should shatter the illusions of anyone who thought that violence would melt away after Israel’s departure from Gaza.”No one promised the citizens of Israel that tranquillity would reign the day after the withdrawal from Gaza.If there was anyone who harboured hopes of that kind, those hopes were in vain.The Israeli withdrawal from Gaza rectified a distortion.It did not make peace,” the daily said.There was widespread international condemnation of the bombing, led by the United States.”Our deepest sympathy goes out to the victims of these heinous attacks, their families, and the Israeli people,” said the newly installed US ambassador to Israel, Richard Jones.Britain’s ambassador Simon McDonald travelled to the scene of the blast to lay a wreath on behalf of the European Union.Britain is the current holder of the bloc’s rotating presidency.- Nampa-AFP