February 04, 2008

Suicide Bombing Comes In Time Of Weakness For Olmert

The first suicide bombing that Israel has seen in more than a year killed a 20-year-old woman and injured 11 others, and comes at a particularly delicate time in renewed Mideast peace negotiations.

The attack was claimed by al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, the unofficial terrorist wing of the Fatah Party, and took place at a shopping center in the southern town of Dimona. A second bomber was shot and killed by police before he could detonate explosives strapped to his body.

"Monday's terror attack gives us a painful reminder that we must be vigilant and maintain our readiness in all areas," said Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. "We are waging a war on terror. It is continuing without bounds and we will get to everyone involved in terror activity."

According to BBC News, an al-Aqsa spokesman hinted that the breach along the Gaza-Egypt border made the bombing mission possible. Gaza militants blew up the border two weeks ago amid an Israeli-enforced blockade that made travel to purchase goods and visit family members nearly impossible.

Egyptian security forces finally sealed the last remaining breach on Sunday, but not without violent exchanges with some lagging Palestinians. Officials haven't yet confirmed whether the Dimona bombers entered Israel via Egypt, but the bombing has already led to calls for suspending peace negotiations with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

"On the very day that we are talking about relaxing the criteria for the release of prisoners with blood on their hands we have received a painful reminder of what those very terrorists are capable of," said Likud Party parliamentarian Silvan Shalom. "Our talks with Abu Mazen [Abbas] are worthless, because Hamas rules the [Gaza] Strip."

Releasing Israeli-detained Palestinian prisoners is one of the negotiating points in the two-state solution talks.

Abbas has no control over the breakaway Hamas-ruled government in Gaza, and that is the biggest threat to his, Olmert's and President Bush's goal of finalizing a peace agreement by the end of the year. Bush has placed reconciliation between Israel and the Palestinians near the top of his final-year agenda, making his first presidential visit to the region shortly after the new year to emphasize his seriousness on the issue.

When Hamas revolted and took over Gaza last spring, the world community was hoping that the choked-off and impoverished Palestinians there would come to see that loyalty to Hamas was a no-win. But the Gazans pouring into Egypt last week did not seem to blame their leaders in Hamas. The Egyptians, meanwhile, don't want the role of Gaza's caretaker, either. "We need the Europeans because the last arrangement with Israel required them to be there, but also because otherwise Egypt alone will carry the whole responsibility," Abdel Monem Said Aly of the Al-Ahram Center in Cairo told BBC News. "We need someone else to be there to act as referee."

Meanwhile, Olmert continues to lose influence among his own people. A final report showing "serious failures and shortcomings" by Israeli's government and military in the 2006 war against Hezbollah in Lebanon led to renewed calls for Olmert's resignation. Though Olmert wasn't singled out in the report, a poll showed 60 percent of Israelis wanted him to step down. Just 19 percent said Olmert should stay.

Olmert has made some goodwill gestures toward Abbas, such as releasing 440 prisoners just before the historic Annapolis Summit last November. He's been criticized for appearing to make more concessions toward the Palestinians than have been returned. Earlier today, Israeli security forces killed two Palestinian militants in a West Bank raid. In his statement condemning the Dimona bombing, Abbas also condemned that security operation.

-JANE ROH

Photo courtesy of Israel News Agency.

Posted at 12:45 PM
Posted to: Bush Administration, Fatah, Hamas, Israel, Middle East, Palestinians, President Bush, Terrorism
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