At the moment, the IDF has cut off northern West Bank from the rest of the region to prevent Islamic Jihad militants from entering Israel, said the post.

Concerning the pending military operation in the West Bank, some Israeli generals expressed different opinions on the need for such an operation.

Major General Amos Gilad, head of the Defense Ministry's Political-Military Bureau, was cited by the Post as saying that the main question yet to be decided was whether Israel would retain a military presence in evacuated areas of the West Bank.

"If the army stays there, then there is no need for such an operation, but if the IDF pulls out together with the settlers, then there might be a need for such an operation to destroy terror infrastructure prior to the withdrawal," another high-ranking defense official said.

Olmert has been touring around the world to seek support for his convergence plan since his U.S. visit in May.

Olmert vowed to set Israel's final borders by 2010 by pulling out isolated settlements in the West Bank but keeping bigger ones with or without peace talks with the Palestinian side.

Although assassinations of Palestinian murderers have existed since the beginning of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Operation Zarzir was exceptional. For the first time, a nationwide program involving such assassinations was planned, with operational rules. Targeted assassinations are not, therefore, as we tend to believe, a result of the intifadas or of the suicide attacks.



The Operation Zarzir order was sent to the headquarters of the Fourth Battalion of the Palmach (the Haganah's elite strike force), which included special units. Among these units was the Arab department (Jewish soldiers disguised as Arabs, today called mistaravim), which was then called Shahar (Dawn). Its commander during that period was Danny Agmon of Kibbutz Ein Herod, who died recently. Before his death he was engaged in writing a book and collecting historical documents, and with his help I found out about Zarzir. Agmon served in the past as the head of the bureau of then Palmach commander Yigal Alon. Later, in the Israel Defense Forces, as a colonel, he headed the department that studied the enemy.

The order for launching Operation Zarzir begins with the words: "You have been instructed to assassinate, without any additional confirmation, the following people ..." The list of candidates was long and testified to the political-strategic intentions of the Haganah on the eve of the War of Independence.

As opposed to what is happening today, at that time there was no widespread public debate concerning the order. However, it is interesting to note the cautionary measures and the limitations imposed on those involved in such operations. The orders emphasized the need to act cautiously so as not to arouse an extreme Arab reaction. In addition, there was a directive not to carry out the assassination near "weak Jewish settlements." Regarding one of the candidates for assassination, Subhi al-Khadra, it said that he should not be killed in the city of Safed; no explanation was given. Those carrying out the operations were directed not to perform the assassination "in places holy to Islam, or in hospitals." There was also a piece of advice from headquarters, to the effect that "the operation should look like an Arab action" - in other words, as though it was an Arab who had murdered an Arab.

All the brigade commanders back then were asked to assist in the Zarzir actions. The commander of the whole operation had to report on his activities once a week. On January 5, 1948, commander Alon ordered Agmon to give a direct and regular report of the assassinations to Moshe Dayan. The two arranged to meet weekly. Agmon told me that during the first two encounters, he had a feeling that Dayan was not paying attention to him and was not interested in the operation. "I felt that Dayan was barely answering my questions." For that reason, Agmon did not show up for the third meeting. Dayan complained that he was not receiving reports of the assassinations, and Alon, who was then senior to Dayan, ordered Agmon again to report to Dayan in detail.

Before the war broke out in full force, the country was divided between two officers who were in charge of the assassinations. When the war was over, the assassination activities ended.



The original list of candidates for assassination included 23 Arab leaders and high-ranking officers from all over the country. The largest group was in the Jerusalem area; the second largest was in Jaffa. Several of them, like Emile Ghouri, were political leaders. Others were prominent military leaders, such as Hassan Salameh and Abdel Khader al-Husseini, both of whom were ultimately killed during battles with Israel.

The means for assassination were primitive. The commandos did not even dream of firing missiles or using helicopters or unmanned aerial vehicles. During the late 1950s, Israel returned to "targeted assassinations" on a very small scale. The effort was directed against Egyptian intelligence people and attaches involved in organizing Palestinian gangs for the purpose of murdering Israelis. This story came to an end during the Sinai Campaign in 1956.

The meeting ended minutes before a midnight deadline Abbas had given Hamas to accept a document written by prominent Palestinian prisoners in an Israeli jail, accepting a Palestinian state and impliticly recognising Israel.

A statement from Abbas's office said: "President Abbas will set a date for the referendum after the meeting on Tuesday of the PLO Executive Committee and parliamentary caucuses."

Hamas has been calling for more time to discuss the proposal and suggested changes in the language. But Abbas, who has avoided confrontation since taking office early last year, rejected Hamas's demands on Monday.

"If anyone wants to amend this document, then we will not reach any results," Abbas said after meeting Javier Solana, the European Union foreign policy chief.

Crushing sanctions

Abbas has endorsed the plan as a way to end crushing sanctions against the Palestinians and allow him to resume peace talks with Israel.

The US, European Union and Israel have cut off cash transfers to the Palestinian government since Hamas won legislative elections earlier this year.

The Western countries want Hamas to renounce violence and recognise Israel.

The plan was formulated by politically powerful Hamas and Fatah prisoners held in Israeli jails. But the group's exiled leaders, who make final decisions on policy, have refused to accept the proposal.

In the Gaza Strip, Hamas officials reacted angrily to Abbas's threats on Monday. Ismail Haniya, the Palestinian prime minister, in a brief interview with Israel's Channel 10 TV, favoured "a continuation of the dialogue", and opposed the deadline, which he called "a sword at our necks".

Sami Abu Zuhri, a Hamas spokesman, said the group was ready to continue negotiations, but rejected any deadline set by Abbas. "We are against the referendum. We are not going to accept it, and we reject this referendum," he said.

Violent struggle

The dispute comes amid an increasingly violent power struggle between Abbas and the Hamas-led government. Since Hamas was sworn into office in March, Abbas has taken steps to curb its authority.

Many Palestinians are uneasy about the referendum, though polls show the document would be approved easily.

The Palestinian infighting has turned deadly in recent weeks. Sixteen people have died in clashes between Hamas and Fatah loyalists, including five killed on Sunday.

Five Palestinians were wounded in two clashes in the southern city of Khan Yunus on Monday, security officials said.

Also on Monday, Israeli aircraft fired missiles at a car in the Jabaliya refugee camp next to Gaza city, the military said, killing two fighters and wounding two bystanders, according to Palestinian hospital officials.

Israel said the main target, a fighter from the renegade Popular Resistance Committees, was involved in firing rockets at Israel. He died of his wounds.

Erekat was 12 years old in 1967, when his hometown of Jericho came under Israeli occupation. As a teenager he resisted the Israelis by throwing stones, cutting wires and writing PLO graffiti. As an adult, however, he wrote articles calling for a dialogue between Arabs and Israelis and peace through negotiations.

Erekat came to Maine this week to attend his son Ali's graduation from Kents Hill School. His visit comes at a key time in his people's history. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas is in conflict with the Hamas-led government, which refuses to deal with Israel.

Abbas was expected to call today for a vote on the issue later this summer.

The result could send a clear mandate for peace that re-energizes negotiation efforts. Or it could muddy an already confusing and dangerous situation.

Erekat agreed to an interview in a conference room at Pierce Atwood on Monday, where he had just met 75 lawyers from the firm who are interested in the development of a nation in one of the world's most troubled places. Erekat said he came to Maine as three of his children attended programs with other Palestinian and Israeli children at Seeds of Peace summer camps.

Q: What has Seeds of Peace meant for your children?

A: I was 12 years old when the occupation came to my county in 1967. I had no alternative at that time except to be part of the conflict in a very ugly way. And when my children were 12 years old, Seeds of Peace gave them an alternative which I didn't have. They come to camp here and meet with Israeli kids and come back and talk and see them the way they are, not the way we think about them. I think my children were very fortunate to be part of this experience.

Q: How will it be different for your son's generation than your generation?

A: It's all about having an alternative. I think my son has the alternative to talk, to get acquainted with other cultures, to try to solve his problems through negotiation and dialogue. And I think my son, unlike me when I was his age, he is focusing on solutions and not on problems. Not on hate and complaints. I did not have the opportunity that my son has.

Q: How old is your son?

A: Today he is 18. His name is Ali. I have another son, Muhammad, who is 14, and a daughter (Dalal), who began with Seeds of Peace and who is now 24. My other daughter, Salam, did not come because she will graduate from Jordan University as a doctor. And she thinks we should get treatment (laughs). She asks, why would a university professor, so much writing, so much books, a family that he claims that he loves, waste his time with all this? That's what she tells me! She tells me, you could go wherever you want to work and take us. She wants me to be a university professor or a writer and be what I was before the peace process began. And she doesn't understand why I'm doing what I'm doing, why I'm risking my life and wasting my family's time.

Q: What do you tell her? Why do you do what you are doing?

A: For her. I'm doing it for her. I'm not doing the Israelis a favor. Honestly, I'm doing my family a favor. I'm doing my people a favor. I don't want my son to be a suicide bomber. That's the truth. And every father, whether he's an American or Israeli, they don't want to lose their children to anything, whether it's drugs or conflict or war. So I'm a normal person.

Q: One of the very confusing things for Americans right now is understanding the divide in your government, and I wonder if you could explain the situation now between the government of President Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas?

A: It's not just Americans who are confused with our situation. (laughter) Look, we are not an independent state yet, even though we have a very complex political system. . . . The government that was formed by Hamas (in February) has nothing to do with foreign policy. They are responsible for day-to-day life. There are things in our basic law such as negotiations, investments and (foreign policy) that totally belong to the president. . . .

Right now we have one authority but we have two policies.

The policy of the president is our policy of a two-state solution recognizing Israel, renouncing violence and accepting the obligations of the Palestinian Authority.

And we have a government that refused to recognize Israel or accept a two-state solution. And so we are going back to the people.

Q: All our images of your country involve violence, and I wonder if you could describe what life is really like there?

A: I don't think we have seen normality in any way of life for a long time. And how we maintain and keep things going on, it's a miracle.

But the situation is bad, what you see is not an exaggeration. That's why we need to work more and more on delivering ourselves out of this misery.

After receiving the incentives, the chief nuclear negotiator, Ali Larijani, said: "The proposals had some positive steps in them and some ambiguities which should be removed.

"We hope, after we study the proposal in detail, we will have another round of talks and negotiations to achieve a balanced and logical conclusion," he said.

The six-power incentive was given to Larijani, secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, by European Union foreign policy chief, Javier Solana.

Solana, speaking to reporters in brief comments before he left for Iran late on Monday, said: "The proposal we bring along, the one that we carry, we think that will allow us to get engaged in that negotiation based on trust and respect and confidence."

Iran willing

Iran has said it will consider the proposals, but officials have also said Iran will not give up uranium enrichment, a process that can be used to make fuel for nuclear power stations or, if enriched to a high enough level, material for bombs.

Manouchehr Mottaki, the foreign minister, said shortly before Solana arrived that "if their aim is not politicising the issue, and if they consider our demand, we can reach a logical agreement with them."

The United States has said Iran's negative comments so far are probably part of efforts to stake out a negotiating position, and urged careful consideration by the Islamic Republic, with which it broke off diplomatic ties in 1980.

Mottaki said discussions on the package would require "shuttle diplomacy" and Iran would have suggestions to make - indicating no imminent breakthrough.

"After receiving this proposal, Iranian officials will start to review this proposal and we will give our answer at an appropriate time," he said.

Details of the proposals have not been announced, but diplomats have been working on themes ranging from offering nuclear reactor technology to giving security guarantees.

Trade sanctions

The New York Times reported that incentives included a proposal to allow Tehran to purchase aircraft parts from Boeing Company and Airbus, and to buy agricultural technology from the United States, which has trade sanctions on Iran.

Diplomats in Washington said an arms embargo against Iran was among the possible penalties if it rejected the offer.

But they said the six powers had pledged to keep details secret until the package was shown to Iran so Tehran did not feel compelled to reject any or all of the elements as a face-saving gesture if they were made public first.

The nuclear dispute has unsettled oil markets, where traders fear an escalation could disrupt supplies from the world's fourth-largest oil exporter.

The stand-off has helped to keep oil prices near record levels above $70 a barrel.

'Wrong move'

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has the final word in state matters, said on Sunday that oil supplies from the region would be in danger if the United States made a "wrong move" - a veiled threat to use oil as a weapon.

Officials had previously said Iran would not resort to such a measure.

Although the United States says it wants a negotiated resolution to the nuclear stand-off, US officials have refused to rule out a military option if diplomacy fails.

The ultimatum statement of Ali Khamenei was released Sunday, a day after the reconciling speech of Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Ayatollah said it was a lie that some consensus had been established against Iran, as the country was supported by member states of the Non-Aligned Movement, and warned to disrupt the energy flow in case of need.

In the United States, they don't seem rattled. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was prompt to remind that the oil revenues account for around 80 percent of Iranian budget and disrupted deliveries would incur serious problems for Iran.