Israeli government spokesman Arieh Mekel said the new policy was intended to jolt Arafat into finally acting against terror groups. Asked if Israel is moving to dismantle the Palestinian Authority, he said: "Hopefully, we won't get to this stage." If Arafat does not understand the warning and there are more attacks, however, "we will take more and more of it [Palestinian areas] and it will lead to wherever it may lead," Mekel said.
Reconquering Palestinian-controlled land won't stop Palestinian attacks, according to Israeli military analyst Roni Shaked. "It would only be a question of time before the Palestinians would get used to the renewed occupation and terrorism would resume," he wrote yesterday in the Yediot Ahronot newspaper.
Late Tuesday, dozens of Israeli tanks and armored vehicles moved into the West Bank town of Jenin and the adjacent refugee camp, both strongholds of Palestinian militias. The Jenin camp was the scene of the fiercest clashes in Israel's recent six-week military offensive, and both the town and the camp have been raided repeatedly by Israeli troops.
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