New Phase of Conflict Takes Shape in Middle East

(Reuters) Matthew Tostevin - For the Palestinians, waging war from the West Bank, where Israel has arrested hundreds of suspected militants in recent days, is tougher than from Gaza. The Israeli army has far more control and access in the West Bank. There is also more than a grain of truth in the old quip that the Shin Bet, which runs networks of Palestinian informers, is the territory's biggest employer. Militants acknowledge that Israel's West Bank barrier has made it harder to get suicide bombers into the Jewish state. Tunneling through the West Bank's rocky ground into well-guarded hilltop settlements is much more difficult than mining the sandy terrain of the Gaza Strip. "It is not as easy to attack these settlements," said Nasser Abu Aziz of the al-Aqsa Brigades in Nablus.


2005-09-29 00:00:00

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