Palestinian Islamic Jihad leader publicly admits that Israel's security fence is an important obstacle to the terrorist organizations

Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center
at the Center for Special Studies (C.S.S)

November 15 , 2006
Ramadan Shalah, Palestinian Islamic Jihad leader,
publicly admits that Israel's security fence is an
important obstacle to the terrorist organizations, and
that "if it weren't there, the situation would be
entirely different." The PIJ has carried out the
greatest number of suicide bombing attacks during the
past few years.

Ramadan Shalah interviewed by Al-Manar TV: "The fence
is an obstacle to the resistance..." (November 11)

On November 11, PIJ leader Abdallah Ramadan Shalah
granted a long interview to Al-Manar TV, Hezbollah's
television channel. During the interview, for the
first time he admitted that Israel 's security fence
was an important obstacle to the terrorist
organizations (the "resistance").

He noted that the suicide bombing attacks (istishhad)were the Palestinian
people's "strategic choice,"
and were meant to "create a balance of force and
deterrence" in the campaign against a superior enemy.
Ramadan Shalah noted that the terrorist organizations
had every intention of continuing suicide bombing
attacks , but that their timing and the possibility of
implementing them from the West Bank depended on other
factors. "For example," he said, "there is the
separation fence , which is an obstacle to the
resistance, and if it were not there the situation
would be entirely different ."

Click here to view the relevant
footage from the interview

The last few years have witnessed a constant decrease
in the number of suicide bombing attacks. It results
from a number of factors, including the (partial)
construction of the security fence, which hinders
attempts made by the terrorist organizations to
infiltrate suicide bombers into Israel , although they
continue to search for the fence's weak spots. 1

During the past few years the PIJ, supported and
encouraged by Syria and Iran , is the Palestinian
terrorist organization which has carried out the
greatest number of suicide bombing attacks. In 2005
(during the so-called "lull in the fighting") the
organization carried out five lethal suicide bombing
attacks within Israel, and two more in 2006. 2
Partially completing the fence and the IDF's
successful counterterrorist activities in Samaria (a
focus for the terrorist organization's infrastructure)
indeed hinder (although do not completely prevent) the
carrying out of suicide bombing attacks . Such
attacks, as stated by Ramadan Shalah, are the modus
operandi preferred by the PIJ and the senior leaders
of the organization, who have recently expressed their
intention to continue using them to attack Israel .

1 For statistical data and an analysis of the suicide
bombing attacks in 2005, see the January 2006
Bulletin, "Palestinian Terrorism in 2005," at
http://www.terroris
<http://www.terrorism-info.org.il/malam_multimedia/English/eng_n/pdf/palesti
nian_terror_e.pdf>
m-info.org.il/malam_multimedia/English/eng_n/pdf/palestinian_terror_e.pdf
.

2 The last PIJ suicide bombing attack was carried out
at the old Central Bus Station in Tel Aviv on April
17, 2006. For further information see our Bulletin
entitled "Palestinian Islamic Jihad suicide bombing
attack at the old Central Bus Station in Tel Aviv," at
http://www.terroris
<http://www.terrorism-info.org.il/malam_multimedia/English/eng_n/html/pij_e1
80406.htm> m-info.org.il/malam_multimedia/English/eng_n/html/pij_e180406.htm
and
http://www.terroris
<http://www.terrorism-info.org.il/malam_multimedia/English/eng_n/pdf/pij_e18
0406.pdf> m-info.org.il/malam_multimedia/English/eng_n/pdf/pij_e180406.pdf
.

http://www.intellig
<http://www.intelligence.org.il/eng/eng_n/html/pij151106e.htm>
ence.org.il/eng/eng_n/html/pij151106e.htm

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