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April 10, 2002
Embassy Briefing
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The attack in Haifa
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The attack which took place this morning in Haifa represents
a Palestinian reply to Israel's withdrawal from Tulkarm
and Kalkilya.
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The attack is also a Palestinian welcome to Secretary of
State Powell on the eve of his arrival in the region. The
terrorists are determined to torpedo Powell's upcoming visit,
just as they systematically undermined the visits of Powell's
envoy, General Zinni.
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We are again facing the frightful consequences of the asymmetry
of the international community's attitude toward Israel
and the Palestinians. While heavily pressuring Israel to
cease its effort to root out terrorism, almost no pressure
is being applied on the Palestinians to cease the terror
itself. The outcome of this flawed and unbalanced equation
is painfully felt in Israel's streets, busses and cafes.
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If Israel hadn't embarked on its strike against terror,
and hadn't entered the areas sheltering the terrorist infrastructure,
then the number of Palestinian terrorist attacks would most
certainly be much greater.
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Secretary Powell's Visit
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Israel welcomes Secretary Powell, and will make every effort
to promote the success of his mission.
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Israel hopes that the Secretary of State will be able to
convince the Palestinians to abandon terrorism and return
to the path of dialogue and negotiation. Success in this
effort would be both historically significant and an essential
element to the promotion of peace.
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The Operation in Jenin
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The IDF exerts great effort in order to avoid causing harm
to the innocent civilian population. Hence, IDF infantry
units must cautiously move house to house, taking care to
take action only against terrorists. Due to this respect
for the safety of non-combatants, Israel is paying a heavy
price in casualties suffered by its armed forces.
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The combat in Jenin is being carried out against heavily
armed terrorists, who employ a vast arsenal of explosives
and booby traps against Israeli forces. The Jenin refugee
camp had become a hotbed of terrorist operations against
Israel. From among the nearly 100 suicide attacks against
Israel in the last year, twenty-three attacks originated
from Jenin, and the amount of explosives found in the camp
was sufficient to carry out hundreds more.
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The Situation along the Northern Border
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Tension continues along Israel's northern border. The Hizbullah
and other terrorist organizations are continuing to shell
and rocket IDF border posts and civilian centers. Fourteen
people, among them four Alawi Muslim of the village of Ghajar
and one from the Druse city of Mas'adeh, have been wounded
in these attacks.
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Israel will first exhaust all political and diplomatic
efforts to ease the tension. Israel views the Syrian and
Lebanese governments as responsible for the current situation.
Apparently, Israel's restraint is being misinterpreted in
the Arab world. It should be remembered that despite its
diplomatic efforts, Israel still reserves the right to employ
all means at its disposal, including military options, in
order to defend its citizens.
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The Issue of Terrorism
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There are no quick fixes against terrorism. The fight against
terrorism is ongoing, and will take time. The purpose of
Operation Defensive Shield is to eradicate the terrorist
infrastructure, and this is exactly what Israel is doing.
Every pound of explosives captured in the operation represents
one pound less for use in attacks against Israel.
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Arafat has not, and does not cooperate in the struggle
against terrorism. He takes no action today against terrorism,
just as he took no action even when he had 60,000 policemen
and security officers at his disposal. This is due not to
a lack of ability but to a lack of political will. Even
today, six days after he was asked to take verbal rather
than tangible action against terrorism - merely to personally
declare in Arabic a rejection of terrorism - Arafat has
yet to take the necessary actions. We are still waiting
Moshe Fox
Minister of Public Affairs
Embassy of Israel, Washington DC
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