Israel's Secret War

And that of the Palestinian Authority harder. Under agreements made with Israel, the P.A. is supposed to crack down on militants threatening Israel. When it has suited Abbas to arrest his political foes in Hamas, he has been only too happy to oblige the Israelis (more than 500 Hamas and Islamic Jihad militants are now in Palestinian jails). But Abbas cannot crack down on militants when Israel is showing its mailed fist, as it has done of late in Gaza. So at the height of the Israeli assault, Abbas was unable to stop one of his lieutenants from releasing 20 Hamas prisoners from Tulkaram jail in solidarity with the Gaza fighters.

Popular sympathy for the militants means that they cannot yet be written off. A source close to Hamas commanders in the West Bank points out that Israelis have not caught the masterminds behind the Jerusalem yeshiva massacre and the Dimona café blast. "The Israelis are fools if they think we're going to keep fighting them with stones," this source says. "The Israelis update their weapons, and so do we." For now, Israelis have put a lid on militancy. But if that success breeds a new generation of terrorists, such as Abu Dhaim, who are willing to sacrifice life, marriage and a family for revenge, it will be a hollow victory.