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STRATFOR.com
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THE INTERNET SOURCE FOR GLOBAL INTELLIGENCE
If it’s in the news, it’s too late...
New Tactic Evident in Beersheba Strike?
May 10, 2002
Palestinian militants on May 10 detonated explosives in Beersheba, an Israeli town in the central Negev desert, wounding four people. Two suspects were arrested and two other people -- one Israeli and one Palestinian -- were detained on suspicion of aiding the attack, Ha'aretz reported.
Image Credit: l'Agence France-Presse (AFP).
This attack, coupled with a recent suicide bombing in Rishon Letzion that killed 16 people, hints at an important development in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Both locations are out-of-the-way towns and are difficult for Palestinian militants from the West Bank or the Gaza Strip to access. It is still too early to know whether the attacks indicate a shift in Palestinian tactics or if the targets were chosen because increased security in larger Israeli cities has deterred further bombings. Either way, the strikes may lead Israeli security forces to broaden the scope of the areas they protect -- thus weakening their operational capabilities and defensive structure.
Image Credit: Stratfor.com.
Beersheba is far from the West Bank and Gaza and it does not have a large local Palestinian population. This makes it more difficult for Palestinian militants to travel freely without notice and, therefore, more difficult to launch assaults. In fact, the May 10 attack is only the second in Beersheba since the Palestinian intifada erupted nearly 20 months ago; the first occurred in February, when gunmen opened fire from their car on a restaurant where Israeli soldiers were lunching.
(The Rest of the Story)
(c) 2001 Stratfor, Inc.
Dan
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New Tactic Evident in Beersheba Strike . . . ?