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Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and PA President Mahmoud Abbas (file)
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| By israelinsider staff April 18, 2007 |
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Olmert announced Wednesday that there has been a considerable decline in rockets attacks on Israel's south, confirming reports from the IDF and Palestinian Authority. He noted, however, that he was not confirming the Islamic Jihad had stopped attacks altogether.
The drop in Qassam attacks is due to an unofficial agreement reached between PA President Mahmoud Abbas and top Islamic Jihad officials, which prescribes that the group stop firing rockets into Israel for three weeks.
According to YeshaNews, which records the number of attacks, two Qassams were fired into Israel from Gaza this week, and three last week. This is a significant drop compared to the recent average of 10 rockets per week. These rockets are mainly fired by Islamic Jihad, and in some cases are given to the group by Hamas.
Sources within the IDF have confirmed the effectiveness of the agreement against rocket launches, but say that other attacks, such as security fence sniper fire in Gaza, have occurred.
Despite agreements made with Fatah and Islamic Jihad concerning rocket fire, "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," reported Haaretz.
Abbas has worked with top Fatah officials to acquiesce Islamic Jihad into an agreement in order to restore relative tahadiyeh (calm) along the Gaza border, with two goals in mind.
The first concerns Israel's actions in the West Bank. Most importantly, Abbas seeks an ease on restrictions for Palestinians traveling between cities in the West Bank.
During this week's meeting, Olmert said he would consider the issue in two weeks if Abbas is successful in achieving and maintaining border calm.
The second concerns Abbas' upcoming trip to Europe where he hopes the restored calm will persuade European leaders that the PA is taking appropriate steps in the right direction, and that it is now Israel's turn to act.
Nafez Azzam, a top Gazan Islamic Jihad official, told Haaretz Tuesday that he could not confirm any agreement with Fatah. |
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