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02/24/2006:

"Five Killed as Heavy Fighting Breaks Out in West Bank"

JERUSALEM, Feb. 23 -- Israeli soldiers killed three Palestinian gunmen and two civilians in heavy fighting Thursday in the West Bank city of Nablus, Palestinian hospital officials and the Israeli military said. Two Israeli soldiers and 22 Palestinians were wounded in the gun battles, which unfolded in stages throughout the day.

The clashes were some of the most intense since Israel and a dozen armed Palestinian groups agreed a year ago to abide by a cease-fire. They reflect intensifying Israeli military operations in the West Bank in recent days, particularly in the volatile north.

The fighting Thursday occurred in the Balata refugee camp on the city's edge, witnesses and Israeli military officials said. The military has been operating for several days in the camp, a stronghold of the most potent Palestinian armed groups.

"We had a lot of alerts about terror attacks against civilians and soldiers that were coming from Nablus," an Israeli military official said, adding that four explosive belts had been seized at a military checkpoint outside the city in recent days. "That basically caused us to decide that we had to operate more in the area."
washingtonpost.com


Analysis: IDF operation comes as Fatah returns to terror in Nablus
The IDF's Northern Glory operation in Nablus was born of the Palestinian parliamentary elections. But it didn't take place as described by Hamas leaders, who view it as Israeli provocation aimed at embarrassing the PA government-designate. There are different reasons.

The declaration of calm in the territories in January 2005 involved two senior partners: Hamas, which forced members to abstain from terror attacks, and the Palestinian Authority, which bought off the heads of Fatah gangs with salaries and perks that removed them from the terror cycle. But since the elections, senior PA security personnel have lost the incentive to act, and left the arena open to Islamic Jihad headquarters in Damascus. Fed by Iranian money, Jihad headquarters are transferring greater sums into the territories to operate as many cells
as possible in order to carry out attacks against Israel.

Local Fatah leaders, some of whom have lost routine financial support from the security forces, are returning to terror given the incentive from Damascus. This is particularly true in Nablus, which had been dominated by Fatah military organizations over the past two years.
In the month since the PA elections, the IDF has seized four explosive belts that Fatah and Jihad members were trying to smuggle into Israel. In addition, a Jihad terrorist blew himself up in a restaurant at Tel Aviv's old bus station. The IDF has begun to fear that the West Bank's two terror hubs, Jenin and Tul Karm, are acquiring a third sister - Nablus.

Operation commander Yuval Bazak told Haaretz that the IDF came to the conclusion that defensive moves are no longer enough. "Like in tennis, when your opponent gets more aggressive, ground strokes aren't enough any more."