Two days after Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat called for a cease-fire, he expressed his willingness to sacrifice additional martyrs and vowed to continue the struggle for Jerusalem. Israeli security officials warned that the PA is aware of upcoming terror attacks, but is doing nothing to thwart them.

In a fiery speech in Ramallah Tuesday before a group of Palestinians from east Jerusalem, Arafat said he was willing to sacrifice 70 martyrs for each dead Israeli. Arafat declared that "all Palestinians are Muhammad al-Dura," referring to the 12-year-old boy who was killed in the Gaza Strip last year while his father tried to protect him from crossfire.

Arafat called for all Palestinians to join in the struggle to

"It's like trying to empty the sea with a teaspoon" - IDF official on Israel's anti-terrorist efforts

stop what he termed the Israeli program to Judaize Jerusalem. The crowd roared back, "Millions of martyrs are already marching to Jerusalem."

Palestinian sources denied that Arafat had called for seventy more martyrs in the struggle against Israel. "Whoever translated it, translated it wrong," said Arafat adviser Bassam Abu Sharif. Abu Sharif said Arafat was answering a question about his cease-fire declaration, and explained that if Prime Minister Ariel Sharon continued to attack the Palestinians, they would continue to defend themselves and never surrender.

Terrorists may change rules of the game
Speaking before the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee Tuesday, Director of Military Intelligence Maj.-Gen. Amos Malka called Arafat's cease-fire speech a "bad check." Malka said that the arrests initiated by Palestinian security forces were only "technical" and were being orchestrated with the cooperation of the terror organizations.

"There are many terror attacks in the making right now, and the PA knows about them because we keep feeding them the information," Malka said. "As in the past, we don't even see a minimal effort to prevent them."

Malka said that he had information of terrorists' intentions "to continue to try and assassinate Israeli political figures." This assessment was reinforced by information received by the Israel Security Agency (ISA) recently, according to which the Hamas and Islamic Jihad were planning to launch "strategic attacks."

The attacks "could change the rules of the game, for example by taking down a multi-story building," a security official said, speaking at a briefing with reporters in Tel Aviv on Tuesday. The official also said terrorists may try to kidnap Israeli soldiers and civilians in order to negotiate the release of prisoners. There is a marked increase in planning for suicide attacks, the official warned, and "many young Palestinians who are ready to volunteer for the mission."

Security officials noted increased cooperation between the various terror organizations, and also with Israeli Arabs. The Hizbullah has been establishing footholds in the territories by training militants in the use of explosives, officials said. The Hamas is spiking its bombs by adding nitroglycerin and other dangerous chemical compounds and is planning synchronized terror attacks. The Islamic Jihad had upgraded the quality of its explosives as well. The advances in bombs and technology come despite Israel's preventive measures aimed at key terrorists and engineers.

Officials warn of anti-terrorist operations' limitations
"We'd be deluding ourselves to think that by getting rid of some terrorists, we could get rid of Hamas," one senior security official said. "They can quickly replace them, but we are certainly making it more difficult for them to carry out attacks."

But another official warned, "Each time we've caught a terror suspect, a new one has arisen to take his place. We have succeeded in preventing or thwarting attacks, but it's like trying to empty the sea with a teaspoon," he said.

"We're talking about an entire terror infrastructure located on Palestinian Authority territory," he said, describing a large network for the production and smuggling of weapons. "Hundreds, even thousands of Palestinians are active, unbothered, in the territories with the goal of carrying out as many terrorist attacks as possible against Israelis."

The official said that Israel's military options were limited in the fight against Palestinian terror. "It is clear to all of us that there is no military solution to terror. Nowhere in the world have such situations been solved via military action. You can reduce terror; but you certainly can't eliminate it," he said.

Former Shin Bet head Ami Ayalon backed this view up when he spoke to Israel Radio yesterday. Ayalon warned that with "targeted killings," Israel couldn't kill the ideology behind the terrorists. "We need to create a diplomatic process. It is impossible to handle the situation without a diplomatic process or just with military means," he said.

© 2001 Koret Communications Ltd. All rights reserved. Terms of Use.