Posted on 03/08/2003 12:08:56 PM PST by xm177e2
Israeli Operational Successes Roundup:
These are all of the major successes Israel has had in the past few weeks fighting terrorism
3/8 - Ibrahim Makdme - Assassinated by Helicopter (alt spellings: Makadmeh, al-Maqadma)
"killing him and three of his bodyguards."
3/5 - Abdullah Jamal Barghouti - Arrested
"IDF troops arrested a senior leader of Hamas's military wing in the West Bank city of Ramallah, Israel Radio quoted Palestinian sources as saying Wednesday. According to the reports, IDF troops nabbed Abdullah Jamal Barghouti in his apartment and hastily evacuated him from the city."
3/3 - Sheikh Muhammad Taha - Arrested
"Sheikh Mohammed Tsalah Hassan Abdullah Taha, 65, one of the co founders of Hamas and three of his sons one of whom acted as Hamas fugitive Mohammed Dief's right hand man, were among six Hamas fugitives arrested by security forces during a raid on the El Brueij camp in the central Gaza Strip."
2/17 - Riyad Abu-Zed - Shot Dead During Arrest Attempt (alt spellings: Zeid, Zeit)
"The head of the Hamas military wing in the Gaza Strip was shot Monday morning by IDF troops and died of his wounds a short while later in Be'er Sheva's Soroka Medical Center. The man, Riyad Abu-Zed was considered to be the replacement for Hamas leader Salah Shehadeh, killed by the IDF last July."
And there was also a "work accident" in which Hamas lost six terrorists who were building a bomb for a remote-control plane. Things are not going well for Hamas, to the point where they are afraid Arafat has turned on them.
Possible reasons for Sharon's recent aggressiveness:
1) He's taking advantage of the situation while everyone is paying attention to Iraq
2) He's pre-empting a planned Hamas offensive
3) He's working with the PLO to get rid of Hamas
4) He's doing this in preparation for a new peace deal (the Oslo Accords in large part were successful because Arafat gave many concessions at Madrid after the first Gulf War, and Abu Mazen is being moved up to Prime Minister, which could mean a peace deal is in the works)
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.