Observations on Potential Responses to the Bombing

Amos Harel in Haaretz gives an insightful reason as to why Israel had committed to turning over control over more West Bank towns to PA control.

There are senior officers in the army who at least until Tuesday believed that it is best to speed up the handover to bring the PA leadership to a moment of truth: present Abbas and Dahlan with a real test of foiling terror while they are responsible for the territory instead of accepting a reality in which the hudna is seemingly in place but "little" attacks continually occur.

Up until Tuesday night, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz preferred the IDF's position in favor of a withdrawal over the Shin Bet security service's warnings of its dangers. Thus, Sharon and Mofaz even agreed to a withdrawal from the cities without a commitment from the PA to arrest the wanted men in the cities.

Unfortunately, it will never work. He has an even more accurate assessment of what will happen as an American and Israeli response to the bombing.

The immediate response Tuesday night was to freeze the talks about a withdrawal from the four West Bank cities of Qalqilyah, Jericho, Ramallah and Tul Karm . But there is no certainty that freeze will last for very long.

It is reasonable to assume that Israel will try to use the attack to enlist the U.S. administration to pressure Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas and his Minister for Security Affairs Mohammed Dahlan to finally confront the organizations. And then, after a few days of contacts, with American mediation, the incentive for the Palestinians, in exchange for implementation of Dahlan's "90 day plan" for fighting terrorism, will be, after all, handing over the cities.