IDF says PA failing to combat terror in Bethlehem [a city handed over to the PA as a "gesture"]

Jerusalem Post ^ | Aug. 5, 2003 | MARGOT DUDKEVITCH

[yonif]

As long as the Palestinian Authority fails to combat terror and confiscate the weapons held by terrorists, the potential for additional attacks exists, Col. Yaron Boem, the IDF commander in the Bethlehem district, warned on Monday.

Speaking to The Jerusalem Post the day after terrorists shot and wounded Tsilla Hayoun and her three children as they were returning to their home in Har Gilo, he said a curfew imposed on Batir remained in effect and security forces were searching the area for the perpetrators of the attack.

Boem said he did not rule out the possibility that the terrorists fled to Bethlehem.

"It would be a relatively easy move for them, as the city is under PA security control," he said. Fatah's Al-Aksa Martyrs Brigade claimed responsibility for the attack.

Security officials believe two gunmen ambushed the car from the side of the road as the family drove along the Walaja bypass road, minutes away from their home. They believe the terrorists then fled on foot to Batir.

Residents of Har Gilo demanded that lights be installed along the road, which begins near the Jerusalem Mall and climbs up a mountainside passing near Walaja.

The condition of Tsilla Hayoun, 39, remains serious but stable, officials at Hadassah-University Hospital, Ein Kerem, said. She suffered gunshot wounds to the chest and underwent surgery. The condition of her daughter, Hamutal, nine, who suffered gunshot wounds to the leg and hand improved and was described as satisfactory. Teenage daughter Hadass and 12-year-old Amitai, who were cut by glass shards, were released from the hospital.

While the PA has failed to crack down on terrorists operating in Bethlehem since receiving security control of the city, Boem said he doesn't believe that the city has turned into a refuge for them.

While the issue has been raised in conversations with his PA counterparts, they do their utmost to sidetrack the issue and avoid a response, he said.

"We gave the Palestinians in Bethlehem far more then they anticipated," he said. "We opened up the main routes to Palestinian traffic now they have access to Hebron and to Jericho and partial access on the Hussan bypass road. We have permitted hundreds of Palestinians from Bethlehem to enter Israel daily for work. All these gestures were made in the framework of confidence-building measures, but we expect them to honor their commitments and act."

Sunday's shooting attack has necessitated a change in IDF activities in the area, he said, including increased patrols on the roads and a combination of operations to safeguard Israelis in the area, he said.

[lilylangtree]

The IDF says the PA is failing to combat terror. No surprise! Even before the current pali uprising, members of the PA run by araRAT participated in terrorist attacks against Israeli citizens.