#24 Terror Plan Turns Sour

Hamas has repeatedly talked about a "truce" with Israel, which the world has urged the Israelis to accept as a sufficient alternative to recognition for now. The latest news is that the term "truce" is the perfect word to use, as it is inherently a temporary phenomenon. Hamas has been rearming, regrouping and becoming ever more powerful and ready to combat the Israelis in the soon to come renewed confrontation.

It appears the time of confrontation has come very near. This, of course, means Hamas is feeling strong enough despite all the attempts to cripple them. A major suicide attack on Tel Aviv was prevented this Passover, as Shin Bet and IDF forces arrested 19 Hamas members in the West Bank city of Qalqilya for planning a car bomb containing some 220 lbs of explosives. The Hamas ring which the arrested members belong to was involved in some serious attacks, including the Dolphinarium attack of June 2001.

For some reason, the bomber (a holder of an Israeli ID, no less) did not carry out the attack in Tel Aviv, though he had made it to the center of the Tel Aviv metropolitan area with the vehicle. Instead, he returned to Qalqilya, where the bomb accidentally exploded. Perhaps a very welcome moment of moral cringing, but the fact remains that Hamas is still able to exert immense influence and be a major obstacle in any talk of peace.

#17 A New Hezbollah?

Ten anti-personnel mines were thrown by Syrians into Israel on Saturday afternoon. The mines were identified by a routine military patrol and sappers were alerted to the scene to neutralize the explosives.

While the army is still investigating who is behind the incident, one of the possibilities it is likely to consider is involvement on the part of the Resistance Committees for the Liberation of the Golan Heights. A Syrian source told Ynet that the resistance group was founded with the aim of launching "a guerrilla war" in the Golan, with Syrian gunmen planning to infiltrate Israel to perpetrate attacks. Syria drew its conclusions from last summer’s war in Lebanon, and it was likely the group would operate parallel to the Hezbollah terror organization.

The army insists the Syrian government is responsible for its border, even if the incident was a local initiative. This would mean that two terrorist organizations directly supported by the Syrian government are now operating against Israel. One, Hezbollah, is increasingly becoming an Iranian puppet group, which makes it all the more likely that the Resistance Committees for the Liberation of the Golan Heights will become the new Syrian toy. Although clearly in baby shoes for now, this group has the potential to grow in power. At (read: War) increasingly likely.

#11 Israei and Lebanese Troops Exchange Fire

Israeli and Lebanese troops have exchanged fire. Lebanese troops deployed along the border with Israel opened fire late Wednesday as Israeli troops searched for Hezbollah bombs, drawing retaliatory fire, officials from both sides said.

This was the first time that shooting erupted across the border since shortly after an Aug. 14 cease-fire that ended a 34-day war between Israeli forces and the Lebanese Hezbollah militants. Lebanese troops fired volleys of machine guns toward the bulldozer after it crossed the so-called Blue Line — the U.N.-demarcated boundary — and entered about 20 yards into Lebanon, Lebanese officials said. Israeli troops responded with tanks and light weapons.

The Israelis were searching for more explosives, as Israel Defense Forces soldiers on Monday uncovered four devices in the Avivim area in northern Israel, about 60 meters north of the border with Lebanon. It is estimated that the devices were planted recently in order to target IDF troops. The Israeli army said troops operating in Israeli territory along the frontier came under fire, and that the source of the shooting was apparently Lebanese troops nearby. When the attackers refused to quit firing, the Israeli troops opened fire at them.

According to the army, the bulldozers crossed the heavily guarded border fence but remained inside Israeli territory, which extends north of the fence in that area. Lebanese officials contend the Israelis were across the border when fired at.