Israel Update for August 2008

The Iranian-backed Islamic Jihad group revealed in mid August that it is busy training dozens of females to act as suicide bombers if Israeli military forces enter the Gaza Strip. International film crews were allowed to record the women as they received instructions on how to conceal explosives under their multilayered Muslim clothing. Some of the Arab women said they were "inspired" to use their own bodies as destructive weapons by Fatma Al-Najar, a 57 year old grandmother who injured three IDF soldiers when she blew herself up at a Gaza checkpoint in 2006. Meanwhile Hamas staged a mass drill of its growing militia force on the ruins of the Israeli Netzarim settlement, evacuated along with 20 other Jewish communities by Ariel Sharon in 2005. Security officials say several other groups are also preparing for an eventual Israeli military operation into Gaza in the coming months.

Setting The Captives Free

Ehud Olmert persuaded a majority of his cabinet on August 17 to approve his proposal to release nearly 200 Palestinian prisoners, most of them Fatah members, as a "goodwill gesture" designed to support PA leader Mahmoud Abbas. The PM told his junior ministers it is "a gesture to Abbas and the Palestinian people for the upcoming month of Ramadan." He insisted that the release, expected to take place before the end of the month, "will strengthen the peace process and moderate Palestinians, and demonstrate clearly that the path of moderation and of negotiations is the path that can deliver results." Foreign Minister Livni supported the release while Transport Minister Mofaz opposed it.

Many opposition politicians criticized the decision. They especially objected to the fact that at least two terrorists "with blood on their hands," meaning that they directly killed Israeli citizens, were set to be included in the release. Israel's security officials also initially argued against the release, with Shin Bet chief Yuval Diskin reportedly telling Olmert it would only encourage other Palestinians to engage in violent acts since they would assume they will eventually be set free if apprehended. However Diskin later told local journalists that the scheduled release "creates pressure on Hamas that is likely to accelerate negotiations over Gilad Shalit," the IDF soldier kidnapped by Hamas fighters in June 2006. But he also warned that "the gesture will not make Hamas more flexible over its demands since the organization sees that Israel is releasing prisoners with blood on their hands, which merely causes Hamas to harden its position."

The Bear Is Back!

Israeli leaders squirmed in their seats when several Russian government leaders blasted Israel for supplying weapons and training to Georgia's military in recent years. PM Olmert did not publicly speak about the Kremlin attack, but did order all weapons transfers to Georgia immediately suspended, at least until invading Russian soldiers pull out of Georgian territory. Syrian dictator Bashar Assad later traveled to Moscow to hold talks with Kremlin leaders, where he asked them to supply him with new Russian MIG jets and offered to host advanced Russian Iskander missiles, with a 200 mile range, on his soil.

Meanwhile officials expressed concern that the provocative Russian military action might spell the end of Moscow's cooperation with the West in attempts to force Iran to halt its nuclear program. This came as militant Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad once again called for Israel's imminent destruction, telling a Turkish newspaper that "the life of this regime has come to an end."

Hizbullah leader Hassan Nasrallah maintained that Georgia's "defeat" was another reflection of Israel's supposed crumbling military power. The statement came as Defense Minister Barak revealed that he is preparing the IDF for another round of fighting with Hizbullah militia forces, which he said had been "significantly strengthened in the last couple years...by the transfer of advanced weapons systems from Syria to Hizbullah."