December 29, 2005:
The ruling Palestinian Fatah party split, then reunited over corruption and sharing the billions of dollars the Palestinians get each year in foreign aid. For the moment, the Fatah dissidents have agreed to stay united with the old (and very corrupt and inept) guard. Fatah is deathly afraid of Hamas, and other Palestinian terrorist groups, who are less corrupt, and are willing to fight to destroy Israel, no matter what. Israel is now resuming it's search for terrorist leaders and technicians, to capture or kill as many as possible.
A Palestinian suicide bomber, trying to get through a checkpoint in the West Bank, detonated his explosives, killing himself, two other Palestinians and one Israeli soldier. The Israelis had information on the suicide bomber, and had set up a temporary checkpoint to catch him.
December 28, 2005: Israeli jets attacked PFLP-GC bunkers outside the Lebanese capital. This group has long been supported by Syria. Israel has threatened to attack Lebanese and Syrian military units if Israel were attacked by the Palestinians based in Lebanon.
In Gaza, gunmen kidnapped a British aid worker and her vacationing parents. Radical Palestinian groups like to kidnap foreigners in order to get some negotiations going with the Palestinian leadership.
Israel aircraft fired missiles at Palestinian terrorist locations in Gaza. Palestinian terrorists fired three longer range rockets at military bases in southern Israel.
December 27, 2005: The Palestinian terrorist group, PFLP-GC (Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command), fired three rockets into northern Israel. This group has been based in Lebanon since 1968, but has not been very active. The rockets were Russian made, apparently obtained from Syria.
In Gaza, Palestinian terrorists say they have a new rocket design, with a range of 15 kilometers. Israel believes that, in the last month, about twenty tons of bomb and rocket making materials have been smuggled into Gaza from Egypt.
December 25, 2005: Israel has declared northern Gaza areas, 2.5 kilometers from the border, where Palestinian terrorists are firing rockets into Israel, as a free fire zone. Palestinian civilians have been warned to stay away, because Israel will kill anyone they spot in there (using artillery and missiles from aircraft.)
