[Dr. Aaron Lerner - IMRA: Unfortunately, experience until now has been that
such "gestures" to please Washington have turned out be literally "dying to
please the White House"

Israel Radio reported this morning that the "militants" being "disarmed"
will ultimately be "rearmed" to serve within PA security forces.]

IDF says it has cut down on arrests of wanted West Bank militants
By Amos Harel and Avi Issacharoff, Haaretz Correspondents Last update -
06:49 16/07/2007
www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/882145.html

The Israel Defense Forces has significantly cut down on operations involving
arrests of wanted Palestinian militants in the West Bank, as a result of
agreements reached between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. Since
Thursday morning, no such operations have been carried out in the West Bank.

This new development is linked to the meeting Monday between Prime Minister
Ehud Olmert and Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, but also to
the security program of the Palestinian prime minister, Salam Fayad, and to
Israel's decision to offer pardons to 178 Fatah militants sought by the Shin
Bet security service.

So far, the new regulations have still not been conveyed to the IDF in
writing, and Central Command has so far been given only oral instructions.

"For now, we have removed our foot from the gas pedal," military sources
told Haaretz Sunday, referring to the level of intensity with which wanted
militants in the West Bank are being hunted down.

Authorization for carrying out arrests of Palestinians about whom there is
no specific intelligence concerning a potential threat, will now be required
from senior-level officers, the sources say. Normally, such decisions would
be made by brigade commanders; now they require the authorization of the GOC
Central Command, and possibly the General Staff.

However, it appears that the IDF will adopt a policy that distinguishes
between Fatah and other organizations. As far as Fatah militants are
concerned, the IDF will arrest those described as "ticking bombs," a
euphemism for militants presenting an immediate threat and whose plans to
attack are imminent.

Fatah militants who have signed a commitment to refrain from terrorism, and
who are among the list of 178 Palestinians, will not be arrested unless
there is specific information that they are planning to carry out an attack.

Regarding other organizations, it is also expected that the IDF will also
limit its efforts to carry out arrests, but to a lesser extent.

Most likely, offensive operations in the cities of the West Bank will be
curtailed for a while, in order to evaluate the capabilities and conduct of
the Fatah's security forces vis-a-vis militant groups. The PA's emergency
government has vowed to check the activities of terror groups and curtail
lawlessness.

The general opinion in the IDF is that the restrictions on arrest operations
is a gesture with a short expiration date, because the expectation is that
the PA will be unable to keep its security-related promises.

Senior officers were quick to point to a number of similar, unsuccessful
efforts in the past over the seven years of the second intifada.