BICOM

According to a report in Haaretz today, Israeli and Palestinian security bodies consider that Hamas is currently planning to resume terrorist operations in the West Bank. The report contends that Hamas plans to abduct and kill Israeli soldiers and civilians, then negotiate the return of the bodies to Israel, in return for the release of Hamas prisoners. Pressure on Hamas cells in the West Bank to carry out operations of this kind is coming from the leadership in the Gaza Strip, which remains under Hamas control, and in Damascus, where the top leadership of the movement is domiciled.

Due to the close cooperation of Israeli and Palestinian Authority security forces in recent months a a number of active Hamas cells in the West Bank have been successfully apprehended. In the Ramallah area alone, five such cells have been rounded up in the last year. The plan by Hamas to kill hostages rather than detain them, the Haaretz report suggests, derives from the difficulties the movement would face in holding a hostage for an extended period of time in the West Bank. The prevention of terrorism in the West Bank remains a joint concern of both PA and Israeli security forces.