TEL AVIV – The Israel military has been preparing for a resurgence
of the Palestinian war.
The military's Central Command has drafted plans for an intense campaign
with Palestinian insurgents in the fall of 2005. Military sources said
Central Command envisioned the fighting to begin as early as September 2005
when the army withdraws from the Gaza Strip and northern West Bank, Middle East Newsline reported.
"The message is that once we withdraw from Gaza, everything will be back
to where it started, except the Palestinians will be stronger," a military
source said. "Right now, the Palestinian groups agree that it's worth
keeping quiet for a while to ensure an Israeli withdrawal over the next few
months."
"The main attempt by the Palestinians would be to bring rockets and
missiles from the Gaza Strip to the West Bank," a military source said.
The sources said Israel's military and Defense Ministry have informed
U.S. officials and Congress of the expected war with the Palestinians. They
said the government of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has sought to make
certain that Washington understood that Israel would retaliate for
Palestinian attacks.
Already, a huge amount of weapons has been smuggled from Egypt's Sinai
Peninsula to the Gaza Strip, the sources said. They estimated that more than
3,000 assault rifles, 400 pistols and 400,000 rounds of ammunition were
brought into the Gaza Strip between July 2004 and February 2005. They said
600 kilograms of explosives have also been delivered to Palestinian
insurgents.
Palestinian insurgency groups have also been amassing rockets and
missiles, the sources said. They said the groups, particularly Fatah, Hamas
and Islamic Jihad, have acquired more than 180 anti-tank rocket launchers
and five anti-aircraft missiles.
The Palestinian effort has now focused on transferring rocket-propelled
grenades and launchers from the Gaza Strip to the West Bank, the sources
said. Recently, the military captured a truck full of of RPG launchers near
Beersheba that was heading toward the Hebron region.
"We believe that some of the shipments have already entered the West
Bank," the source said. "Their aim is to use RPGs against army patrols and
civilian vehicles."