'Targeted killings' of Palestinian extremists had been suspended
Reuters, June 22, 2005 JERUSALEM - Israel said on Wednesday it had resumed an assassination policy against some Palestinian militants and could mount air strikes with the risk of civilian casualties to ensure its Gaza pullout does not come under fire.

The Israeli threats, prompted by a flare-up of Islamic Jihad militant attacks on Jewish settlers in Gaza, underscored the deterioration of a four-month-old cease-fire and followed an acrimonious Israeli-Palestinian summit.

Israel shelved “targeted killings” of militants in February as part of a truce deal. But resurgent violence has raised the specter of disruption to Israel’s planned August withdrawal from Gaza and dimmed hopes for “road map” peace talks afterwards.

Word that the assassination policy had been dusted off came with Israeli confirmation of a failed missile strike on Tuesday while Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas were holding tense talks in Jerusalem.

Missed 'opportunity'
“There was an attempt in Gaza to intercept an (Islamic Jihad) activist yesterday. It was unsuccessful,” Public Security Minister Gideon Ezra said. “An opportunity presented itself. Any means to neutralize the organization are relevant and possible.”

Islamic Jihad has resumed mortar bomb and rocket salvoes against Jewish settlements in Gaza in what it calls retaliation for continued Israeli raids to capture wanted militants.

“The attempt yesterday to kill an Islamic Jihad leader in Gaza signaled the resumption of the targeted killing policy,” an Israeli security source told Reuters.

Khaled al-Batsh, a senior Islamic Jihad leader, warned of “terrible consequences” if Israel carried out assassinations.

“The calm would thereby end. We will not be dictated to by Israel,” he told Reuters in Gaza.

Later, a senior adviser to Sharon said Israel could stage air strikes in Gaza, even at the risk of Palestinian civilian casualties, if militants tried to attack departing settlers in a bid to show they were chasing them out of occupied territory.

'Major collateral damage' possible
“Israel will act in a very resolute manner to prevent terror attacks and (militant) fire while the disengagement is being implemented,” said Eival Giladi, head of the Coordination and Strategy team in Sharon’s office.

“If pinpoint response proves insufficient, we may have to use weaponry that causes major collateral damage, including helicopters and planes, with mounting danger to people in the surrounding area,” Giladi said.

Withdrawing from Gaza under fire would be political poison for Sharon, strengthening rightist foes who have said the pullout would be perceived by the Palestinians and Arab world as a sign of weakness after four years of bloodshed.

Israeli air force drones have been hovering at low altitude over Gaza since Monday evening in an indication of preparedness for renewed lightning strikes on militants.

Tense summit
At their summit, Sharon complained to Abbas that the moderate Palestinian leader was doing little to rein in gunmen from whom he wrung a pledge of “calm” after his election in January on a platform of non-violence and peace negotiations.

Other militant groups including the most powerful, Hamas, have generally respected the truce pact. The overall level of violence is much lower than during the Palestinian revolt launched in the occupied West Bank and Gaza in 2000.

Sharon and Abbas agreed at their meeting to cooperate for as smooth as possible an evacuation of 8,500 settlers from Gaza and a few hundred among 230,000 in the West Bank set for August.

But aides to Abbas said Sharon brushed aside his requests for gestures to relieve burdens of occupation, including open borders for Gaza, a removal of a roadblock network in the West Bank and further releases of jailed Palestinians.

Abbas says such gestures would help him isolate militants.

However, Sharon stuck to his position that Abbas act first to disarm militants and ruled out diplomatic progress otherwise.

Washington counts on what would be Israel’s first uprooting of settlements on land Palestinians want for a state. Israel captured Gaza and the West Bank in the 1967 Middle East war.

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