Linking the Gaza Strip with the West Bank: - Jerusalem Center For ...

page 42and the oil pipeline running to the Red Sea port of Eilat. 235On February 14, 2006, eight Qassam rockets were firedat the Western Negev, with one exploding close to astrategic installation in the Ashkelon industrial zone. Thethreat this capability poses could wreak havoc: NationalInfrastructure Ministry officials told the Jerusalem Postthat if fired accurately, Qassam rockets had the abilityto shut down the Ashkelon power plant, which provideselectricity to half the country, causing “severe damageto infrastructure and human lives.” 236 Moreover, beingcloser to the Israeli border has enabled terrorists fromGaza to reach, as mentioned above, the major coastal cityof Ashkelon. This is especially so with reports by ShinBet Director Diskin that Fatah smuggled seven to tenmissiles with a range of nine to eighteen miles into theGaza Strip prior to disengagement. These missiles canreach approximately three times farther than the Qassamrockets that terrorists are currently using, and could putthe major Israeli port city of Ashdod within firing range. 237Additionally, Brigadier General Yossi Kooperwasser, Headof IDF Military Intelligence Research, warned that, “It isvery possible that in the coming months the Palestinianorganizations will succeed in extending the Qassamrange.” 238 However, these facts pale in significance whencompared with the imminent possibility of safe passageand the smuggling of rockets and such weapons into theWest Bank via the safe passage.Some might argue thatthe possibility of peaceeliminates threats ofterrorism to the Israelipopulation centers andstrategic Israeli interests.However, this does notappear to be the case basedon the historic responsesof the Palestinian people topeace initiatives.Indeed, on December 26, 2005, three Palestinian groups,one of which belongs to the mainstream Fatah factionof PA President Abu Mazen, 239 threatened to continuetheir attacks on Israel. They claimed to have longrangemissiles, capable of reaching more Israeli townsand cities than in the past, and one of the groups saidthat it has developed a rocket with a range of 9.3 miles.Further, the groups claim that they possess RussianmanufacturedGrad missiles smuggled into the Gaza Stripfrom Egypt. These missiles have a range of approximately15 miles. The missiles, also known as BM-21, are 4.80in (122-mm caliber) in diameter. 240 These missiles wereclearly intended for military use, and not for attacks onvulnerable civilian population centers.When asked whether Grad missiles had indeed beensmuggled into the Gaza Strip from Egypt, an unnamedPalestinian official said he did not rule out thepossibility that such weapons had been smuggled fromEgypt. 241 This failure on the part of the PA to meet thecommitments they made in the negotiations on the Rafahcrossing bodes poorly for the future Palestinian State’scommitments to peace. Further, the importation of suchweapons into Gaza from Egypt increases the probabilitythat they will be smuggled via the proposed safe passagefrom the Gaza Strip to the West Bank. The improvedweaponry would enable Palestinians in the West Bank toreach additional Israeli population centers.Thus, not only will the threat of smuggling be increased bythe creation of safe passage, but the threat posed by thefiring of rockets from the West Bank will be augmented.It does not appear that these threats will subside in thenear future. In fact, the threats posed are enhanced byimproved technology and increased rocket range. Thisconfirms the need for defensible borders, and raisesserious security concerns over any future safe passagethat is agreed to by the parties.To appreciate the threat that will be posed, it is importantto have a basic knowledge of the kind of weaponry thatthe Palestinians currently possess as well as thoseweapons that Palestinians could possess in the future.