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Posted on 10/08/2003 2:33:40 PM PDT by anotherview
Last Update: 08/10/2003 21:30
IDF to call up four battalions of reservists after Sukkot
By Amos Harel, Haaretz Correspondent
Israel Defense Forces chief of staff Lieutenant General Moshe Ya'alon, decided Wednesday to call up four battalions of reserve infantry soldiers after the Sukkot holiday, to be deployed in the Gaza Strip and along the Green Line border between Israel and the West Bank in the Jenin, Tul Karm, Qalqilyah and Ramallah sectors.
The reservists will be deployed in order to boost troops already on high alert for terrorist attacks and in some cases will replace regular army units whose training had been cut short due to the high alert. Overnight Tuesday, the IDF blockaded all Palestinian cities in the West Bank and clamped a full closure on the area. The Gaza Strip was also cut into four sections.
Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz said Wednesday that the extra troops were needed to help monitor the border crossings between Israel and the Palestinian areas in light of information showing that the suicide bomber behind Saturday's attack in Haifa entered Israel at one of the border crossings in a car with yellow Israeli license plates.
Mofaz also said that he had instructed the defense establishment to only call up reserve forces where vitally needed. The call-up orders will also have to be approved by the minister.
Mofaz, who approved a limited call-up Tuesday, told senior army and Shin Bet security service officers that their top priority now was to prevent a terror attack during the eight-day Sukkot holiday, which begins Friday night.
Some weeks ago the security cabinet approved a special budget for the army for just such an emergency purpose.
The battalions designated for the emergency mobilization have not yet been called up this year.
In addition, the IDF has cut short some of its training operations, instead deploying those troops into the territories. Battalions from the infantry training camps have been sent to the West Bank, while a squad commander course has been sent to Gaza. Two infantry battalions which were in training were also called into active service in the West Bank.
The army now has information about five separate terror groups in the West Bank trying to dispatch suicide bombers into Israel. Three are in Nablus and two in Jenin.
The cells are from Islamic Jihad and what is commonly referred to as rogue Fatah cells, meaning Tanzim activists who are now acting on instructions from Iran and no longer obey Yasser Arafat. The numerous alerts also refer to ambushes on roads and infiltrations into settlements.
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I wonder if it would be good with egg noodles?
Yup, I think the IDF is gonna accelerate his passing.
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