RAMALLAH — Fatah has claimed responsibility for shooting attacks throughout the
West Bank as Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas left for a foreign
tour that would include the United States.
On Sunday, three Israelis were killed and three others were injured in a
drive-by shooting in the Etzion Bloc south of Bethlehem. Witnesses said a
Palestinian car drove past a bus stop and directed semi-automatic fire
toward a group of Israeli youngsters and soldiers on their way to the Hebron
area.
Palestinian sources said the weekend strikes reflected operations
conducted in cooperation with Islamic Jihad and Hamas. They said Jihad is perfecting its methods for drive-by shootings.
At the same time as the attack near Bethlehem, an Israeli motorist was seriously injured in a
drive-by shooting near the Israeli town of Eli in the northern West Bank.
Fatah's Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades also took responsibility for the attack.
Later, senior members of Al Aqsa denied the claim of responsibility.
Palestinian sources said the insurgency attacks were meant to galvanize
Fatah supporters ahead of primaries within the organization on Oct. 26. The
primaries were meant to select Fatah candidates for Palestinian Legislative
Council elections in January 2006.
"Fatah took advantage of Abu Mazen's [Abbas] absence, when there is no
real address for security concerns," a Palestinian source said. "I expect
the attacks to end the day Abu Mazen arrives in Washington."
The sources suggested that other organizations conducted the attacks and then
blamed Fatah.
"We have talked to our brothers in the West Bank and so far nobody has
confirmed [responsibility] for the operation," Zakaria Zubeidi, head of Al
Aqsa in the West Bank, said.
Hours after the Fatah attacks, Israeli troops killed an Islamic Jihad
operative near Jenin. Later, Israeli troops arrested 18 suspected insurgents
around the West Bank.
At the same time, Israeli Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz ordered a siege
on Palestinian cities as well as a ban on Palestinian private vehicles along
two major highways in the West Bank. Instead, Palestinians would be forced
to travel by public transportation.
Israeli security sources said Fatah and other Palestinian insurgency
groups planned to increase attacks in the West Bank in wake of Israel's
withdrawal from the Gaza Strip. The source said the strikes were ordered and
financed by Iran and Syria.
"With Abu Mazen out of the country and [PA Civil Affairs Minister
Mohammed] Dahlan under medical treatment, there is nobody to talk to on the
Palestinian side regarding security," an Israeli security official said.
Earlier, the PA Interior Ministry asserted that Palestinian security
forces discovered 15 Kassam-class, short-range missiles and 75 improvised
explosive devices. The ministry said in a statement that security forces
also foiled 17 attacks against Israeli targets from the Gaza Strip in
September 2005. The statement said the PA also stopped seven weapons
smuggling attempts along the Egypt-Gaza border.
