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Russian-made Palestinian missiles deter Israeli patrols

SPECIAL TO WORLD TRIBUNE.COM
Thursday, July 12, 2001

TEL AVIV Ñ Defense sources said Israeli police have sharply reduced flights over the West Bank over the last few weeks amid alerts that the Palestinian Authority or allied forces have deployed shoulder-fired surface-to-air missiles in the area. The PA is believed to have received Soviet-made Strella SA-7 missiles from Russia via Croatia.

"We have had to change the altitude and flight path so that we can provide help without endangering ourselves," Asst. Comm. Shmuel Porat, head of the police air unit, said. "We have reduced our flights in accordance with the situation and under the circumstances, which have decreased in this area.

The police have five aircraft, mostly helicopters. Their deployment in the West Bank was meant to monitor Palestinian automobile theft of Israeli vehicles as well as Palestinian infiltration.

Civilian aircraft flying over the West Bank have been ordered to remain at an altitude of at least 8,000 feet of, or 2.5 kilometers, to keep out of the range of the SA-7.

The police have received additional funds during fiscal 2001 to battle Palestinian insurgency. On Monday, parliament's Finance Committee approved close to $100 million to the police and another $470 million to the military.

Finance Minister Silvan Shalom said the government plans to allocate another 800 million shekels [$190 million] for the military and security forces.

On Wednesday, Israeli officials confirmed and Palestinian Authority officials denied a report in the Israeli Maariv daily that PA Chairman Yasser Arafat has ordered his forces to kill Jewish settlers daily. Arafat was said to have told his security chiefs to ignore his pledges to implement a ceasefire in the war with Israel.

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