SECRET METHODS OF STIFLING TERROR SHARED WITH U.S.

By URI DAN NYPost

SECRET METHODS OF STIFLING TERROR SHARED WITH U.S.

By URI DAN

November 4, 2001 -- Inside Israel

JERUSALEM.

ISRAEL has been supplying the U.S. with its detailed military and security procedures on how to find and eliminate terrorists before they carry out mass murder attacks.

Highly credible sources in the Defense Ministry explained that while the United States has the best technology and military equipment to wage war, Israel has unique information for fighting terrorism.

Last week, for example, missiles from Israeli helicopters wiped out a top Hamas commander in Hebron on one day and eliminated a two-man suicide bomber team near Tulkarem the next.

But Israeli officials have never disclosed how, particularly in the past five months, they have succeeded in catching terrorists off guard.

The emphasis on the secret war against terror was diminished for about seven years in Israel because the Palestinian Authority and its secret services were declared cooperative forces in the effort to stop terrorism.

But once the Palestinian uprising began last year and suicide bombers became its spearhead, the urgent need arose to locate, follow and kill the ticking human bombs - and their commanders and dispatchers.

In order to use their high-tech defense against stone-age warfare, many hundreds, if not thousands, of Israelis have been working 'round the clock.

After all, there is no Ramadan for suicide bombers.

Quite the contrary, that is a sacred time to carry out attacks.

The most devastating war against Israel - the Yom Kippur War of October 1973 - is still called the Ramadan War by the Egyptians, who used their holy days to surprise the Jews on their holy day.

Yet Israel can use its sophisticated weapons to combat terror while trying to avoid killing innocent Palestinian civilians.

Two months ago, when Israel targeted Abu Ali Mustafa, the de facto commander of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, they had to postpone an attack several times because he had innocent visitors in his office in Ramallah - but eventually killed him with a pinpoint missile.

The use of these special operations, a top Israeli officer told The Post, "doesn't mean the terrorists will stop their efforts to send more car bombers or suicide bombers.

"But it has become much more difficult for them. They have been shocked and surprised by our operation."

-- Anonymous, November 05, 2001