Israel Arrests Attackers' Relatives

JERUSALEM (AP) - Israeli soldiers arrested 16 relatives of two Palestinians suspected in bloody terror attacks this week, and in what would be a new policy, officials Friday were considering expelling some of the men to the Gaza Strip ( news - web sites).

Israel Radio said expulsion of the fathers and brothers reflect new harsh measures the Israeli government is considering to deter potential attackers. Israeli soldiers also destroyed the family homes of the two suspected Palestinian militants.

In a statement, the militant group Hamas threatened to launch "unique martyrdom operations," if the deportations are carried out, a reference to suicide attacks.

The two attacks, a bus ambush in the West Bank and a double suicide bombing in Tel Aviv, were the first fatal strikes against Israeli civilians since Israeli forces moved into seven of the eight main Palestinian towns and cities in the West Bank on June 20, after back-to-back suicide bombings in Jerusalem.

A woman injured in the bus ambush near an Israeli settlement in the West Bank on Tuesday, Yocheved Ben-Hanan, 21, died in Tel Aviv hospital Thursday, police said, bringing the death toll to nine. Three bystanders, including two foreign workers, were killed in the double suicide bombing in Tel Aviv on Wednesday.

A new group affiliated with Yasser Arafat ( news - web sites)'s Fatah ( news - web sites) movement called Al-Nazir, "the warning" in Arabic, claimed responsibility for the Tel Aviv bombing, identifying the bombers as Mohammed Attala, 18, and Ibrahim Najie, 19, from the Balata refugee camp, next to Nablus.

Abdel Nasser Najie, a relative, said Ibrahim Najie "used to work in Israel and knew Israel very well." He said Najie left for Israel several days ago, and the family lost contact with him. He said if relatives had known he was going to carry out a suicide attack, "we would have stopped him."

Overnight, Israeli forces moved into the Askar refugee camp and the nearby village of Tel, near Nablus, the military and residents said.

In Tel, soldiers destroyed the house of Nasser Aseida, 26, a leader of the Hamas military wing who was suspected of organizing the bus ambush. Soldiers arrested his father and four brothers, and detained relatives of two other wanted Hamas leaders, who are in hiding, like Aseida.

In a similar operation in the Askar refugee camp, soldiers destroyed the house of a leader of the Fatah-linked Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades militia, Ali Ajouri, 23, badly damaging several nearby houses, residents said. Soldiers arrested Ajouri's father and two brothers, they said. Ajouri was not captured.

Altogether, the Israelis detained 16 men, Palestinians said. In a statement, the military said the operation was "part of the war against the terrorist infrastructure."

The Israel military has long destroyed the family homes of suicide bombers in an attempt to dissuade attackers. Expelling militants' relatives from the West Bank to Gaza would be a new step. The Gaza Strip, which has not been a source of suicide bombers in the past two years, is easier to seal off from Israel than the West Bank.

A senior Israeli official said the government was awaiting final recommendations from Attorney General Elyakim Rubinstein — expected within a few days — on whether deporting the 16 men to Gaza was legal.

If Rubinstein approves and the Cabinet determines deportations would be an effective deterrent, the government would proceed, the official said on condition of anonymity.

Rubinstein made an initial recommendation that there were legal grounds for "selective deportation to Gaza" for those people "directly involved in supporting" the militants, the official added.

Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres, a veteran peace campaigner who supports talks with the Palestinians, said he would support the new measures if they win legal approval.

Palestinian Cabinet Minister Saeb Erekat denounced the deportation idea as a war crime and violation of the fourth Geneva Convention, which governs the treatment of civilians in war zones.

"When nations in the year 2002 decide on collective punishment, and decide to deport (families) from one place to another, this is a war crime, and we will pursue it as such," he said.

Ranya Ajouri, a relative of Ali, said Israeli soldiers ordered the families out of the three-story house without giving them a chance to put on clothes or shoes. Told about the possibility that the men would be sent to Gaza, she said, "We have no relation to Ali's activities. Everyone should be responsible for his own behavior."

While the army did not say how many people were detained in connection with the attacks, it said it had arrested 16 militants in sweeps of other villages across the West Bank on Friday for alleged "terrorist activities."

Palestinian officials say they are powerless to assume control because Israeli forces have imposed curfews in the main areas, preventing Palestinian security from operating.

On Friday, the Israeli military said it was lifting curfews in the towns of Qalqiliya and Tulkarem "until further notice," and in Jenin and Hebron during the day Friday. The Israelis have said they would ease restrictions in the Palestinian towns they control if calm is maintained.

Questions about the effectiveness of Israel's reoccupation of West Bank population centers in stopping terror attacks have begun to emerge after the two attacks in Israel this week.

Israel would be causing a lot of trouble for itself by going that route, for little benefit.

Only because of those who don't understand the constant attack they go through and seem to despise Israel in the first place.

Actually I was thinking more along the lines of the trouble they'd cause among Palestinians, not among world opinion. I usually don't consider that latter angle.

What do we do to "terrorists" (David Koresh, Randy Weaver) here? We are many times worse and get away with it. Why is everyone all over Israel for what they're doing?

Probably because we're better at covering our tracks. But seriously, speaking only for myself, I'm opposed to any attempt by any nation to deliberately punish civilians outside of the normal course of law. I don't discriminate.

If they were thinking of executing the relatives, sure, I'd agree. But at this point I just can't agree with you yet.

It may very well have to come down to that, if Israel were to commit itself to that tack. I just have a hard time imagining that simply inconveniencing the families would provide much of a deterrent. I don't think that the decision to go on a suicide mission is something that they take lightly, like it's just a big party or something that can be so easily spoiled just by crapping in the punch bowl. I really think it's a serious decision, and it would take quite a bit to deter them from it, if anything would deter them from it.

Well, as I said, I advocate first taking out the top leadership, quickly. Then, without losing momentum - that is, without giving the terrorist groups a chance to reacquire their sense of balance - launch a massive invasion of the territories, arresting midlevel leaders, shutting down propaganda organs, and closing the terrorist training camps. The more massive the operation, the less resistance they'll put up. One thing about Arabs is that they fight like dogs, but only when they're sure they can win. They immediately go the other way when they know the game is up.

"Again, I have to say you're comparing apples and oranges by comparing our terrorism problems to Israel's. We can deport people who we feel are risks to our security (though we haven't availed ourselves of that option yet) because those people are not citizens,"

You are correct in that our terrorism problem is not the same right now; their problem is much worse. No, I'm not comparing apples to oranges. I am comparing little apples to BIG apples.

It's only a matter of time before it gets to be the same.

What we are combatting is a faulty, belief system, a belief in lies. The belief that Israelis should all die to make room for the Palestinian Muslims.

If the Muslims were content to live side by side in peace, I have no doubt the Israelis would allow that. BUT they know their adversary, and after many generations of terrorism, how are they supposed to trust them?

As far as deporting Palestinians being a problem, why, exactly? We have countries changing borders and booting people out all over Africa and yet no one makes a peep to object. Are we to say that no country can ever change its borders from now on? That might be plausible if all humans were willing to live together in peace and harmony, but... get real, we're talking about humans, humans that quite willingly believe lies in order to get what they want.

As far as deporting Palestinians being a problem, why, exactly? We have countries changing borders and booting people out all over Africa and yet no one makes a peep to object.

I wasn't aware of this going on in Africa, at least not as a matter of official government policy to which there is no serious opposition. Generally, whenever any population in modern times is forcibly relocated by their government, Western governments and human-rights groups raise strenuous objections.

But anyway, all that aside, in order for Israel to accomplish a wholesale Palestinian population transfer, there would have to be someplace for them to transfer to. And right now, no other country is going to be willing to take them. And that would mean war - all-out war, with the Palestinians caught smack in the middle. Leaving aside whatever world opinion might be, Israeli public opinion would simply not sustain such a course of action, especially as the war comes home and terrorism goes through the roof. It could backfire severely.

By the way, I do want to say that since I last posted to you, I'm glad to see that Israel took a step in the right direction by taking out the Hamas leader, and I am a bit dismayed (though not surprised) at Washington's reaction in condemning the "indiscriminate" attack, even as we launch even more indiscriminate attacks in Afghanistan. But again, I have to remain skeptical about Israel's commitment in following up on it in rapid-fire succession. Of all the circumstances where they might need to brush off international opinion, this is definitely it. Isolated incidents such as this aren't going to get them very far.

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