In his first appearance as head of the IDF's Military Intelligence, Maj.-Gen. Aharon Ze'evi (Farkash) told the Knesset's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee that "in the coming period, [Israel] will be witness to terror attacks, the likes of which have yet to be seen in Israeli cities."

Ze'evi told the Knesset members that the terrorist organizations had utilized the past three weeks of relative quiet to upgrade their capabilities to attack Israeli targets. Speaking just hours before a Fatah gunmen opened fire on civilians in downtown Jerusalem, Ze'evi warned of an expected escalation in violence.

The Tanzim had decided to avenge last week's killing of Raed al-Karmi for forty days, until the end of the period of mourning declared for the Tulkarm-based militant, Ze'evi said. Revenge attacks are top priority for them, and Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat had, in effect, given a green light to the terror organizations. The Palestinian Authority refused to condemn Tuesday's shooting attack in Jerusalem.

Arafat's statements this week that he would see the Palestinian state "whether as a martyr or alive" and asking for "the honor of becoming a martyr in the fight for Jerusalem," were seen by media analysts as an indication of his approval of a renewed round of terror attacks. The attacks in Hadera and Jerusalem by members of Arafat's own Fatah movement this week showed that attacks within the Green Line were now permitted, the analysts said.

"The United States sees Arafat as a 'lost cause,'" Ze'evi told the committee. The Americans came to the conclusion that the Palestinian leader was a problem with no solution. It is impossible to reach a final status agreement with Arafat, he added. Even if Israel would return to the 1967 borders, divide Jerusalem and accept the 'right of return' for Palestinian refugees, Arafat would not agree to end the conflict with Israel."

Ze'evi's warnings of additional attacks came on a day when the Hamas called for an "all out war" against Israel. In response to the IDF raid on an explosives lab in Nablus, in which four senior Hamas terrorists were killed, the Hamas released a statement saying: "This 'massacre' will leave the door wide open for a fierce war that will reach Zionist gangs everywhere, using all methods."

The statement said, in effect, that the organization was withdrawing from its previous agreement last month to comply with Arafat's request for a cease-fire. Hamas had agreed at the time to halt suicide bombings and mortar attacks against Israeli targets.

A Palestinian source told the Jerusalem Post that Hamas cannot remain quiet, especially after Fatah Tanzim terrorists had "successfully" carried out suicide attacks within Israel. As long as Israel continued to enter Palestinian territory and kill militants, Hamas would respond with attacks. The source added, "Islamic Jihad is threatening to carry out attacks if Israel does not let Arafat move (from Ramallah)."

If Hamas uses rockets, it would "change everything"
"We are very worried about warnings [that the Palestinians will launch] Kassam-1 and Kassam-2 rockets and mortars from the West Bank," Prime Minister Ariel Sharon told the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee on Monday. "This kind of attack would be, for us, an unacceptable escalation of violence." Sharon said that he had warned the Palestinians that use of rockets or mortars would result in a complete change in Israeli policies towards them.

Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Shaul Mofaz said that the Palestinians had brought the Kassam rockets to the West Bank "to produce and distribute there." The rocket is a Hamas product, produced in the Gaza Strip, and the organization was working on producing more so that it could threaten cities well within Israel, he said.

Hamas engineers in the Gaza Strip are preparing chemical weapons, Yediot Aharonot reported on Tuesday. In addition to rat poison, used in a suicide bombing in downtown Jerusalem at the beginning of December, the organization is also experimenting with mustard gas, the paper said.

Military sources fear that the Hamas will attempt to attach chemical warheads to its rockets and missiles, and not necessarily improve methods to incorporate the chemicals in explosive charges. This non-conventional warfare is still considered amateurish by the sources, but "the organization's determination in this direction is very worrisome," the sources told Yediot Aharonot.

© 2001-2002 Koret Communications Ltd. All rights reserved. Terms of Use.