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Israel Has No Intention to Re-enter Area A: Spokesman
Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has no intention to re-enter totally-Palestinian-controlled areas in West Bank and Gaza Strip, or Area A, in the wake of the clashes between Israeli forces and Palestinians, an IDF spokesman said Monday.
Colonel Ra'anan Gissin told Israel Radio that the army's closure measure imposed on Beit Jala, a Palestinian village on the border with the southern Jerusalem neighborhood Gilo, early Monday was only a "temporary measure."
It did not mean that Israel will tried to re-enter Beit Jala, a village marked as Area A, he stressed. The IDF only screened every person entering the village to make sure that they will not carry arms into Beit Jala, according to the spokesman.
Gissin further clarified that Israeli troops will only be deployed in Area B under joint Israeli-Palestinian control or Area C ruled fully by Israel, which he said was permitted under interim accords between Israel and the Palestinians.
The closure of Beit Jala was announced Monday morning by IDF Chief of General Staff Shaul Mofaz, who said the village had been "the sources of gunmen attacks against Gilo."
The Gilo neighborhood, which was annexed by Israel after the 1967 Mideast war and abuts on the Palestinian self-rule city of Bethlehem, was attacked by Palestinian gunmen Sunday night.
Israel said the attack caused no injuries but damaged 16 apartments on four streets. It was the fifth attack, and the biggest to date, against the Gilo neighborhood since the Israeli-Palestinian violence flared up on September 28.
In response, the IDF helicopter gunships fired missiles against Beit Jala Sunday night. Israeli tanks, which had been posted near Gilo, also fired a shell and machine guns. Palestinian sources said at least 10 Palestinians were wounded in the attack.
Mofaz warned Monday that the Palestinians should not test Israel's reaction to the Gilo attacks further, because they will feel the IDF's "heavy hand."
"This is a warning that we will not allow more shooting at Gilo," Mofaz said.
The bloody violence between Israel and the Palestinians had rocked the region for more than three weeks and killed over 120 people and wounded thousands more, most of them Palestinians.
American's Newsweek magazine said in its latest issue published Monday that due to the violence, Israel was planning to retrieve Area A under a secret plan codenamed "Field of Thorns."
The purpose of the plan, according to the report, would not be to annex the land permanently but to use it as a "bargaining chip" in future negotiations.
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