Some elements of the Fatah military wing have recently resumed terror activities, security sources told Haaretz, following Hamas's victory in the Palestinian parliamentary election last month. Fatah officials in the West Bank had obeyed Palestinian Authority orders over the last year to refrain from terrorism.

On the border of the Gaza Strip, meanwhile, the violence continues to escalate, as a Qassam rocket landed close to a sensitive infrastructure installation near Ashkelon on Wednesday. The Associated Press reported that the rocket landed close to the Ashkelon power station. There were no Israeli casualties.

Israel Defense Forces troops killed two Fatah military wing gunmen south of the Karni crossing Wednesday. IDF sources said a tank opened fire on three armed Palestinians approaching the security fence. Twelve Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since Saturday night, all suspected of being active in terror organizations.

 

Since the parliamentary election, there has been an increase in the number of attempts to send suicide bombers into Israel. Haaretz has learned that Islamic Jihad, which never recognized an Egyptian-brokered Palestinian agreement to maintain "calm" and refrain from attacking Israeli targets, is not the only Palestinian group attempting to carry out terror attacks, but has been joined in these attempts by members of the Fatah-affiliated Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades.

Colonel Yuval Bezek, commander of the Samaria Brigade, said this week that the troops had identified an increase in terror-related activity among Fatah men in Samaria. "Since Fatah lost in the elections, people who belong to the organization have returned to terror attacks in full force," he said.

Military sources told Haaretz that the phenomenon is most evident in Nablus, where the Fatah military networks are relatively strong. However, the sources said that the first indications of terror-related activity can also be seen in other areas of the West Bank.
They said the PA's partial control of the local gangs is also weakening. The incentive for gangs to act with restraint - assurance that they will earn a living as members of the security services - is losing its appeal in light of the political uncertainty in the territories.

Fatah military wing members are apparently using terror attacks as a way of assuring their position, even though Hamas is coming into power.

The head of the Military Intelligence research department, Brigadier General Yossi Kupperwasser, told the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee on Wednesday that the increase in attempts at carrying out terror attacks reflects a desire on the part of Islamic Jihad and the Fatah military wing "to challenge Hamas" and return it to the forefront of terrorism targeting Israel. Kupperwasser said Iran was funding and directing the terror and funneling assistance to terror groups in the territories via Hezbollah.

In Gaza, too, Al-Aqsa Brigades members are taking part in attacks, but there the terror cells were overtly violating the "calm" even before the election. They have recently been showing signs of increasing their involvement in firing Qassam rockets, along with Islamic Jihad.

The IDF responded to Wednesday's Qassam that landed near Ashkelon with massive artillery fire, directed at Gaza areas which the army considers rocket "launch zones" in the northern Strip.

IDF officials said they think the Palestinian organizations are directing their efforts at damaging sensitive sites in the Ashkelon area. The rockets are now being fired from seven to eight kilometers away and do not exceed the known Qassam range (about 9.1 kilometers).

Security sources said the sensitive facilities were built to withstand more serious attacks than Qassam rocket fire, and that a Qassam will not be able to stop them from working. Kupperwasser said the Palestinian organizations are trying to increase the range of the rockets and are likely to succeed within a few months.

The IDF is planning to continue its extensive activity against rocket fire coming from Gaza. The military response began after four civilians were wounded by a Qassam rocket in Kibbutz Carmia, south of Ashkelon. The Southern Command sees the military effort both defensive and offensive - as a success in that it is minimizing the effectiveness of the Qassam fire, despite the negative influence the rocket fire has on communities near Gaza.

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