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Posted on 10/15/2003 8:46:35 AM PDT by yonif
The attack on a convoy carrying U.S. officials in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday that killed three Americans, is unlikely to have any major impact on U.S. involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which has been at a low ebb ever since the fall of the government of former Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas in early September.
Since Abbas' resignation, the Americans have been paying mainly lip-service to the road map and have applied some pressure on Israel regarding the West Bank security fence. But President George Bush and those around him are mainly preoccupied with Iraq and with reelection. The administration has much greater worries than the conflict here, especially the situation in Iraq.
The attack could impact on U.S. relations with the Palestinians. The area where the attack took place was under full Palestinian control. Israel handed it over to the Palestinians after Abbas took office earlier this year.
The Americans will demand that the Palestinian Authority investigate the attack and find the perpetrators. If the PA fails to do this, it will lose what little credibility it has left in the eyes of the Americans.
In the immediate aftermath of the bomb attack on the convoy, Israel is making the argument it has been trying to make since the Sept. 11 terror attacks in the U.S. and since the war in Iraq – that it and America are facing the same enemy. That the enemy in Baghdad is the same as the enemy in Gaza.
This is the first time that Americans have been successfully targeted since the start of the intifada, and this will strengthen those who oppose international deployment in the territories. It shows that the PA cannot provide security.
While there has not been a claim of responsibility so far, the attack seems to be a hostile message to the Americans who are viewed by many Palestinians as being strongly biased toward Israel. In recent weeks, Bush has backed the Israeli air strike near Damascus and the Americans have used their veto power in the United Nations Security Council to thwart resolutions critical of Israel.
By Nathan Guttman, Haaretz Correspondent, Haaretz Service and agencies
The U.S. ambassador to Israel called on Yasser Arafat's Palestinian Authority on Wednesday to capture the bombers of an American embassy convoy in the Gaza Strip that killed three U.S. security men.
Ambassador Daniel Kurtzer also told reporters that Washington would continue to work for an end to Palestinian-Israeli violence despite the bombing, an unprecedented attack on U.S. officials in the three-year conflict.
"We are shocked by this latest terrorist outrage. The United States government will investigate fully and work with the relevant authorities to bring to justice those responsible for this senseless and brutal attack. The U.S. will also continue assisting the parties as they seek ways to stop the terror and to achieve peace," Kurtzer told reporters.
Kurtzer also said that the FBI was sending a team to investigate the bombing.
In the wake of the attack, the U.S. embassy in Tel Aviv also advised American citizens to leave Gaza.
"There are several hundred American citizens in Gaza, both Palestinian Americans and Americans working for a variety of organizations, including humanitarian and other international organizations. The Palestinian Americans living there will obviously make their own decisions with respect to whether they stay, those involved in humanitarian and other forms and assistance will also make their decision," Kurtzer said.
Responding to the attack, a State Department spokeswoman said the U.S. would pursue the people who carried out the attack until they are brought to justice. "Our sympathies go out to these brave men and their families... The United States will pursue the perpetrators until they are caught and brought to justice," said State Department spokeswoman Brooke Summers.
Summers said an explosive device planted in advance destroyed the second vehicle in a three-vehicle convoy taking U.S. officials to interview Palestinian candidates for Fulbright scholarships in the United States.
This is the first fatal attack on American diplomats in the three years of the intifada.
Sources in the U.S. administration said they expect the Palestinian Authority to carry out a full and fundamental investigation of the incident to determine those responsible.
Hamas and Islamic Jihad deny any involvement Hamas on Wednesday joined the Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad in denying involvement in the incident.
"Hamas' position is not to expand its struggle, and Hamas' enemy is only the enemy of the Palestinian people, which is the Israeli occupation," said Hamas political leader Adnan Asfour.
In Tel Aviv, embassy spokesman Paul Patin said "We put out a warden message to Americans in Gaza to leave for their own safety."
U.S. embassies around the world use an informal network of 'wardens' to keep in touch with American expatriate communities.
Earlier Wednesday, U.S. ambassador to Washington Danny Ayalon spoke with administration officials, expressing Israel's condolences for the deaths of the three Americans killed in the bombing.
When will the US government understand that the Palestinian Authority IS THE PERPETRATOR?
Ambassador Daniel Kurtzer also told reporters that Washington would continue to work for an end to Palestinian-Israeli violence despite the bombing, an unprecedented attack on U.S. officials in the three-year conflict.
And, Yoni, if the Palies are "investigating," that translates into "destroying evidence." You saw that this morning when the Palies were throwing rocks at initial investigators at the scene.
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