Last update - 01:40 18/04/2007
Abbas deal with Islamic Jihad seeks to end Qassam rocket attacks
By Amos Harel and Avi Issacharoff
Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas has reached an agreement in principle with senior Islamic Jihad officials, whereby the organization would stop firing Qassam rockets at Israel for three weeks.
Israel Defense Forces sources confirmed there has been a sharp drop in rocket fire as a result of the agreement. Other attacks, however, such as sniper fire along the Gaza Strip security fence, have continued on a small scale.
Abbas and other senior Fatah officials have conducted an intensive effort to bring the Islamic Jihad into an agreement on renewing the tahadiyeh (calm) with Israel along the Gaza border. This is an internal Palestinian agreement, and not an accord with Israel.
Islamic Jihad has been the main perpetrator of rocket fire in recent months, and in many cases Hamas militants have given Islamic Jihad their rockets to fire at Israel.
The issue of restoring the tahadiyeh was also discussed in a Damascus meeting this week between former Palestinian prime minister Ahmed Qureia of Fatah and Islamic Jihad Secretary General Ramadan Salah.
It appears that while senior Fatah and Islamic Jihad officials have agreed to halt the rocket fire, Islamic Jihad militants have fired at least one rocket in recent days without taking responsibility for the attack. In addition, Abbas will apparently turn a blind eye to "low profile" attacks such as Hamas sniper fire and mortar fire on IDF outposts along the Gaza Strip.
In recent months, an average of 10 rockets were fired per week from the Gaza Strip into Israel. Last week, only three rockets were fired, according to the YeshaNews Web site, which tracks the number of rocket launches. This week, only two rockets have been fired.
There are two primary reasons behind Abbas' initiative. One is an attempt to convince Israel to carry out a number of confidence-building measures in the West Bank, first and foremost the easing of restrictions on Palestinian travel between West Bank cities.
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert told Abbas during their meeting this week that he would be willing in principle to discuss the issue in two weeks, should Abbas succeed in achieving quiet along the Gaza border.
The second reason behind Abbas' push is that the PA chairman intends to depart shortly for an extended visit to Europe, and the renewed calm would help him convince European leaders that the Palestinians are doing their part and that it is up to Israel to reciprocate with steps of its own.
A senior Islamic Jihad official in the Gaza Strip, Nafez Azzam, told Haaretz yesterday that he has no information confirming the agreement with Fatah.
Meanwhile, a delegation of European ambassadors to Israel toured the Gaza Strip crossings yesterday in order to assess their performance. Olmert's diplomatic advisor Shalom Turjeman and his chief of staff Yoram Turbowicz also visited the Karni crossing yesterday.