The Israeli cabinet decided to look at the legalities of expelling relatives of Palestinian suicide bombers in a new step to crack down on the attacks, government secretary Gideon Saar stated Sunday.
The government debated the move at its regular weekly cabinet meeting.
"The government decided to examine the legal possibilities (that would allow) the expulsion of families of those who commit suicide attacks," Saar told reporters after the meeting.
The Israeli cabinet also gave the nod to complete work on the first 102 kilometers of a security barrier along the West Bank aimed at keeping would-be suicide bombers bottled up.
Work commenced June 16 on the barrier, the first part of what would eventually be a 350-kilometer montage of fences, trenches and walls with electronic devices that has drawn sharp criticism from Palestinians.
The cabinet decision to proceed with the first leg was approved Sunday by a vote of 25-1 with Foreign Minister Shimon Peres the sole dissenter.
During the debate regarding the barrier, Peres issued a veiled threat to resign from the cabinet.
A map shown ministers outlining the placing of the fence "looks like we're cutting up the West Bank. This will do a lot of political damage," Peres said, according to Israel Radio. "I'm not ready to be part of a government that approves such a map," he added.
Israel’s Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said he did not intend to let any ministers go, including Peres, media reports said. Sharon gave the ministers through the end of the month to propose changes in the fence plan.
Meanwhile, Israel’s Defense Minister Benjamin Ben-Eliezer declared Sunday that Israel has no intention of reactivating the civil administration in the Palestinian territories.
In a statement released by his office, Ben-Eliezer said that he had instructed the army to enable Palestinian civil institutions to continue operating, as well as to ensure that aid agencies which assist the Palestinians in the field of health, education, infrastructure and supply of food and water, were able to continue operating.
Palestinian security forces arrested about a dozen activists of Hamas in the Gaza Strip on Sunday, a Palestinian security source said. The source said most of those detained were field-level activists and not top political leaders.
However, source told Reuters an arrest warrant had been issued for Abdel Aziz al-Rantissi, a senior Hamas official who has been arrested and released several times by the Palestinian security forces.
"The Authority is very serious this time to continue this campaign of arrests in order to ensure stability and a respect to the one authority, the Palestinian Authority," the source said. He said security forces had also been ordered to put an end to the shows of strength by armed activists in Gaza streets, which embarrass Yasser Arafat at a time when he is under intense international pressure to crack down on them.
Hamas condemned the detention of its activists. "We view the arrest campaign as a grave step that harms the national unity at a time when we all need to be in one trench facing the occupation," Ismael Abu Shanab, a senior Hamas official, told Reuters. Those arrested included Jamal Saleh, leader of an Islamic political party which is an offshoot of Hamas, and Mohammed Shahab, a well known Islamic activist.
The security source said more arrests would be made.
In the latest military action, Israeli troops backed by 10 tanks entered the northern West Bank village of Al-Yamun west of Jenin, Palestinian security sources said.
They said Iyad Sammudi, a 28-year-old Palestinian policeman, was killed when the Israelis began shooting. Four other people were wounded and the army took two of them to an undisclosed location.
Israeli troops conducted house-to-house searches for activists in Jenin. There were no immediate reports of arrests.
In Gaza strip, three Palestinians were wounded when Israeli troops fired on their car near the Nezarim settlement, a Palestinian security source said, according to AFP. Israeli officials said only one was wounded and all three arrested. (Albawaba.com)
© 2002 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
