While
stopping short of renouncing a truce that they have been observing
since the end of January, the main armed Palestinian groups have let
it be known that they are not prepared to sit quietly in the face of
Israeli aggressions.
Palestinian
resistance factions ran out of patience in the wake of the fatal
shooting on Saturday, April 9, of three Palestinian teens in the
southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah.
Hamas,
Islamic Jihad, Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, Ahmad Abu Al-Rish Brigades
and the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP) all
have confirmed they had shelled settlements in the Gaza Strip in
retaliation for the Israeli “crime.”
“Our
fighters have their fingers on the trigger to respond to any Israeli
violation,” Mushir Al-Masri, a spokesman for Hamas, told Agence
France-Presse (AFP) on Monday.
“The
period of calm is in danger. The fact that we continue to respect it,
does not signify that we will allow the Israeli crimes to take place
in silence,” he added.
This
“period of calm,” orchestrated by Palestinian President Mahmmoud
Abbas, has been observed by the main Palestinian armed factions since
January 21.
What
was initially an informal agreement was turned into a formal
declaration of a truce lasting until the end of the year during talks
in Cairo last month.
But
the euphoria of two months ago has since largely faded to be replaced
once more by tit-for-tat accusations from both governments that their
counterparts are violating the terms of the roadmap peace plan.
Threats
by Jewish extremists to storm Al-Aqsa Mosque, Islam’s third holiest
site, have also rubbed salt in the Palestinian wounds, triggering
threats of a volcano of revenge.
“Israel
and its continuing violations are at the root of the current tension
in the Gaza Strip. The Israeli threats against Al-Aqsa, the
roadblocks, the settlements and now the deliberate assassination of
the three youngsters in Rafah,” said Nafez Azzam, a senior official
from the Islamic Jihad movement.
For
his part, the veteran chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said
that the “continuation of the settlements, the incursions and the
assassinations have put the calm in danger.”
“The
end to violence should be reciprocal and not unilateral,” he told
AFP.
End
of Honeymoon
 |
|
US
Peace activists protesting the visit of Sharon near Bush’s ranch
in Crawford, Texas.
|
Israeli
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, who started Monday a visit to the United
States, described Abbas as a “disappointment.”
“His
description has showed that the honeymoon between the Israeli leader
and the man who replaced his arch enemy Yasser Arafat has come to an
end,” AFP commented.
“The
man is doing nothing,” Sharon was reported as telling aides on his
flight Sunday, April 10, for a summit with US President George W. Bush
while being given updates on the missile attacks.
“He
is not speaking with anyone, no one trusts him, not his own people,
not Hamas, not Islamic Jihad, not the organizations. He does not
realize that at this pace, he's run out of time.”
Bush
is set to give Sharon a public show of support for his plan to
withdraw from the Gaza Strip at their summit later on Monday.
Israeli
officials also said that what they describe as Palestinian inaction
against “the terror infrastructure” will also be a key issue.
Sharon
met with US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice soon after arriving in
Texas late Sunday.
Palestinian
Prime Minister Ahmed Qorei publicly called on Bush to use the meeting
to pressure Sharon to stop expanding settlements and construction of a
separation barrier in the West Bank.
