NEW YORK- Instead of cracking down on terrorists —as President Bush’s Road Map plan requires— the Palestinian Authority is permitting the terrorists to use the “cease-fire” period as a cover to rebuild their arsenal and test new weapons for future use against Israel.
The Israeli daily Ha’aretz reported (July 7, 2003): “Hamas continues to manufacture Qassam rockets under cover of the cease-fire, senior intelligence officials revealed.”
Israel Radio reported (July 10, 2003): “A special report by Military Intelligence finds that the Palestinians are exploiting the cease-fire to reorganize to attack. According to the report, the Palestinians are recruiting suicide bombers and have increased the pace of production of Qassam missiles in the Gaza Strip now under Palestinian security control.”
Israel Television reported (July 13, 2003): “The Palestinians recently test fired a new extended range Qassam rocket … It has a range greater than 10 kilometers.”
Israeli Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz told the cabinet on July 13, 2003, that the terrorist organizations are “using the ceasefire to rebuild their infrastructures.”
Ha’aretz reported on July 14, 2003: “A senior IDF officer said Sunday that Palestinian terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip are engaged in an effort to complete the production of 1,000 Kassam rockets during the period of the hudna (cease-fire) that is slated to last three months. During recent weeks, the organizations in Gaza, and above all Hamas, have been making an effort to extend the range of the rockets they have. The main objective of the rocket industry is to reach a range of nearly 20 km. and thus place the city of Ashkelon in striking range. The Kassam-2, that is currently being used by Hamas, reaches a range of some 8 km.”
ZOA National President Morton A. Klein said: “The so-called “cease-fire” is not a step towards peace—it is allowing the Palestinian Arabs to prepare the next steps for war. The Bush administration should insist that the PA fulfill President Bush’s Road Map requirement that it immediately “dismantle terrorist capabilities and infrastructure”. There have been periods when terrorism was more frequent; there have been periods when it was less frequent. But the Palestinian Arabs’ terrorist war against Israel has never stopped.”