CINA

Uzi Mahnaimi, the magazine's correspondent in Israel, described an Israeli plan to take over major Palestinian-controlled towns in a bid

to break the increasingly powerful grip of terror groups there, focusing on Hamas strongholds.

According to Mahnaimi, Major-General (res.) Amos Gilad, one of the Defense Ministry’s most senior officials, talked about the possibility of an operation aimed at penetrating the terrorists’ strongholds in both the West Bank and Gaza Strip following the appointment of a Palestinian government led by Hamas.

Mahnaimi, who claimed to rely on Israeli defense officials, described the details of the planned operation, which is believed to call for at least three armored divisions as well as several battalions of paratroops and infantry. It would be intended primarily to destroy nests of terror from Hamas and other groups in West Bank towns such as Nablus, Ramallah, Bethlehem and Hebron, he reported.

“The military aim will be to seize the main Palestinian towns in the West Bank and continue the operation until the last of the terrorists are dead or under arrest,” an Israeli security source told the Sunday Times reporter.

Mahnaimi added that operation planners envisage the army eventually withdrawing to Israel’s final borders as part of Acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's "convergence" plan, having neutralized much of the potential threat to Israel's security.

It is possible of course that the publication's timing, two days before the Israeli public casts its votes, also has to do with politics and with an another attempt by Kadima to appeal to right-wing voters, after it already wooed the Left with withdrawal promises.

Moussa's conditions

Defense establishment officials have been estimating for a long time now that an additional round of violence is expected in the region in the near future. The assessment gained further backing following Hamas' victory in the Palestinian parliamentary elections, and in light of what appears as additional unilateral moves on the part of Israel opposite the Hamas authority.

The Arab world is also preparing for the day after, and is concerned over an accelerated attempt by Israel to isolate the Palestinian Authority in the international arena. Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa has already announced that he would not allow such a situation and expressed his fear that any prospect for negotiations between the parties after Olmert's apparent victory will be lost.

Moussa also said that the Arabs would oppose unilateral moves on the part of Israel, which would harm the Palestinian interest and change facts on the ground. He added, however, that if Israel withdraws from territories while leaving fundamental issues such as Jerusalem and Palestinian refugees up for future talks, "we will not oppose a peace initiative."

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BTW here you can reads three intersting article which were published after the Jericho raid by the IDF...

The good ol' IDF

Jericho raid reminder of what army can do when it's not constrained

Last week's Jericho operation reminded the nation and the world that the IDF, when it wishes to – or more accurately when the politicians allow it to – is able to take care of all sorts of scoundrels better than any other army.

The problem is that in the past 12 years we almost forgot we have this kind of army. False prophets were scared to utilize it as they should have, even when necessary, lest their "peace process" be undermined and their tragic mistake be exposed to the public.

Read the full article here..

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3229663,00.html

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Jericho raid: A new era

Prison raid reflects new Israeli attitude to Hamas-led PA; officials: Confrontation inevitable 

New rules: The story of Israel's takeover of the Jericho prison last week can be viewed as a microcosm reflecting developments in the Palestinian Authority, Israel's relations with the Palestinians, and the kind of future that lies in store with a Hamas-led PA.

The decision to refrain from a full-scale raid into the prison in order to detain top detainees barricaded there and choosing instead to avoid unnecessary risks and continue to chip away at prison walls and pressing ahead with the siege, was not only a military tactic.

Read the full article here..

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3229522,00.html

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And the wall came tumbling down

A little while after it was all over, early Wednesday morning, Colonel Motti Almoz, who commanded operation "Rapid Closure," met with 17 wanted Palestinians arrested in the raid on the Jericho jail. The six more important inmates, whose incarceration was the main objective of the operation, had already been handed over to the Shin Bet. Almoz remained behind in the army camp at the southern exit of the city to speak with the mid-level wanted men, whose arrest was a unexpected bonus for the Shin Bet.   Read the full article here.. http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/695196.html

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