OCCUPPIED JERUSALEM, 9 March 2004 — Escalating violence in Gaza shows Israel and Palestinian militants are trying to bloody each other as much as possible so they can claim victory in Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s planned pullout from the territory.
Israeli and Palestinian sources believe the situation could deteriorate even further after a weekend in which a botched suicide bombing and a lightning army raid left 20 Palestinians dead and scores wounded.
Tensions are expected to ratchet higher as Sharon gets closer to setting in motion his controversial plan, which calls for uprooting Jewish settlements and possibly withdrawing Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip.
Both sides are positioning themselves not only for more armed conflict but for a stepped-up propaganda war. “Every weapon will be needed in this volatile period,” an Israeli security source said.
Militants are vowing to intensify attacks so they can claim victory for any Israeli withdrawal from Gaza. For its part, the Israeli Army appears intent on crippling the militants before leaving to avoid the impression it is being driven out — an interpretation widely drawn by friends and foes alike after its hasty pullout from Lebanon in 2000.
Violence has surged in Gaza since Sharon recently announced his unilateral plan to evacuate settlers from occupied areas of the territory if a US-backed peace “road map” remains stalled.
The bloodletting seemed to drive another nail into the road map’s coffin ahead of a visit to Israel this week by US envoys more interested in exploring Sharon’s go-it-alone initiative than brokering new peace efforts.
Some Israeli officials have raised concern that a Gaza pullout for nothing in return would be seen as a sign of weakness after more than three years of violence.
“At this stage of the disengagement plan it has to be clear we are not pulling out with our tail between our legs,” Deputy Defense Minister Zeev Boim told Israel Radio. “Instead of aiding a political agreement, it would likely encourage terror groups.”
Despite suffering harsh blows, militant groups hope to spoil Israel’s strategy by keeping its forces under fire. Hamas vowed Israel would “only leave the Gaza Strip vanquished and defeated”.
