Facing the 'anti-peace' Sharon-Netanyahu-Mofaz government, Palestinian factions are seeking unity, writes Khaled Amayreh from occupied Jerusalem Click to view caption As Israeli politicians gear up for elections scheduled for the new year, the Israeli army, backed by dozens of tanks and helicopter gunships, mounted an attack on the town of Tulkarm and surrounding refugee camps in the northern West Bank. The advancing troops imposed a strict curfew on terrified and exhausted residents amid largely indiscriminate shooting by armoured personnel carriers. Soldiers with heavy machineguns were strategically posted on rooftops, suggesting the duration of the assault on the defenceless town might be protracted. Concurrent with these developments, the Israeli army was amassing troops and tanks on the outskirts of Nablus to the south, suggesting preparations for yet another invasion of that city. Earlier, Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and his newly-appointed defence minister, Shaul Mofaz, declared that the occupation army would launch a large-scale attack on Palestinian population centres, particularly in the northern West Bank. The onslaught comes ostensibly in retaliation for the Palestinian guerrilla attack on 10 November on the Metzer Kibbutz, just across the former armistice line between northern Israel and the West Bank. Five Israelis were killed in the attack, including two children, and five others wounded. The Al-Aqsa Brigades, the military wing of Fatah, took credit for the attack which came just hours after three Palestinians were killed in automobile explosions in the area. The brigades said the attack on the kibbutz was carried out in retaliation for the assassination by Israeli troops in Jenin two days earlier of Iyad Sawalha, the local commander of Al- Quds Regiments, the military wing of the Islamic Jihad organisation. According to eyewitnesses, Israeli soldiers bulldozed and dynamited the house where Sawalha was hiding, crushing him to death. And after they had made sure that he was dead, the soldiers reportedly dragged the corpse outside and riddled it with bullets in front of Sawalha's wife and children. The Palestinian Authority (PA) issued a "strong condemnation of the killing of civilians" inside the Green Line and PA President Yasser Arafat ordered an investigation of the event. In addition to killing Sawalha, the Israeli army inflicted widespread destruction and vandalism in Jenin, destroying more than 10 homes, roads and sidewalks, damaging water mains, electricity grids, telephone poles and even palm trees lining the streets. The Israeli army left Jenin on 10 November for a few hours, only to return the next day to reimpose collective house arrest on its 70,000 inhabitants. Following the guerrilla attack on the kibbutz near Tulkarm, Israeli helicopter gunships fired at least seven missiles at a foundry and car- repair workshop in the heart of Gaza City. The devastating attack completely destroyed the two-storey building and seriously damaged score of neighbouring houses and businesses. Luckily, no serious injuries were reported. The Israeli army alleged the facility was used to manufacture mortar barrels and other kinds of weaponry for the resistance. However, the owner of the foundry, as well as his neighbours, vehemently denied the Israeli claims. Furthermore, on 11 November, the Israeli army shot and killed a two-year-old toddler in Rafah, at the southern edge of the Gaza Strip. Administrators at the Rafah Hospital said Nafez Mash'al died 15 minutes after he was admitted with a bullet wound to the upper part of his back. "The boy was playing with a small ball; suddenly we came under fire," said the child's uncle, Mohamed Mash'al. "When we looked towards the boy we found him lying on the ground in a pool of his blood." Meanwhile, the new Israeli foreign minister and former premier Benyamin Netanyahu has sought to outdo his rival for the leadership of the Likud, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, in his vitriolic tone towards the Palestinians. On 11 November, Netanyahu renewed his call for the removal of the PA and expulsion of Arafat. Speaking to the Israeli-state run radio, Netanyahu reminded his listeners that he had always been in favour of "the expulsion of Arafat's terror regime". "I would find the proper time to do so," said Netanyahu, adding that "such action would depend on international developments currently underway", a clear reference to American preparations for a possible war on Iraq. The new Israeli cabinet, rightly described by Palestinian and Israeli commentators as the most extremist in Israel's history, is drawing understandably negative reactions from Palestinian officials and the Palestinian public at large. PA officials characterised the Sharon- Netanyahu-Mofaz government as a "fascist, expansionist, bellicose and anti-peace" junta intent on crushing Palestinian hopes for deliverance from 35 years of Israeli military occupation and domination. Some Palestinian leaders have entertained the hope that with the Labour Party no longer part of the Sharon government, the international community might now exert pressure on the right-wing government, which could at least deter it from carrying out acts of extreme savagery and repression against Palestinian civilians, especially in the 75 days leading up to the Israeli general elections, due to take place on 28 January. Needless to say, many Palestinians are well aware of the implications that Israeli election campaigns carry for them in light of right-wing Israeli politicians' strategy of trying to win popularity and precious votes by "demonstrating toughness" toward the Palestinians. Seeking to overcome these fears, Palestinian leaders from across the political spectrum have called for strengthening national unity and reaching a unified stance vis-à-vis Israel in order to achieve maximum political advantage for the Palestinian cause. Trying to effect these goals, Fatah and Hamas representatives met at an undisclosed venue in Cairo on 10 November to discuss a variety of contentious issues, most notably the proposed suspension of suicide bombings inside the 1948 borders of Israel. Hamas, while strongly rejecting any unilateral halt to resistance against the Israeli occupation, reportedly indicated willingness to halt attacks against Israeli civilians provided that the Israeli army and Jewish settlers stop targeting Palestinian civilians. "We nearly stopped martyrdom operations targeting civilians. However, in order to make a final commitment in that respect, the Israeli army would have to end its policy of targeting and killing Palestinian civilians," a senior Hamas official told Al-Ahram Weekly. Fatah and, therefore, the PA are very worried that one or two bloody suicide bombings in Israeli urban centres would play into the hands of the Likud and the Israeli far-right and enable them to win a landslide victory on 28 June. For the time being, Hamas, or at least its more moderate leaders, seems to respect this view. However, the Islamist movement argues that the present Israeli government shouldn't be granted a blank cheque to murder and maim Palestinians and that the Palestinians shouldn't be asked to foot the bill of the Israeli elections in blood. Despite such reservations, observers believe that it is highly probable that Hamas and Fatah will reach a tacit understanding to desist from attacks on Israeli civilians inside Israel at least until after the elections. The survival of any such agreement would, however, depend to a great extent on what the Israeli army does or does not do in the run-up to the elections. Related stories: Bloody electioneering Secret dialogue
