The continuing violence is yet further evidence of the failure on the part of the Palestinian side to adopt the measures they committed themselves to in the agreements with Israel. The Palestinian leadership continues to instigate and direct such hostile activities. Israel values the important work of the Committee and its important contribution to the effort to end the violence and rebuild trust between the sides. At the same time, it remains gravely concerned at the continuation, and even escalation, of the conflict. The indiscriminate terror attacks against innocent civilians have intensified.
Mortars continue to be fired at civilian communities.
A significant indication of this escalation was the recent seizure by the Israel Navy of a vessel carrying large quantities of illegal weapons and ammunition, including Katyusha rockets, anti-aircraft missiles, mortars and mines to the Palestinian Authority, just days following the submission of the Report to the sides. Israel s statements, in reference to the Palestinian violence, provided a detailed description of the life threatening circumstances facing the Israel Defense Forces on a daily basis in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. This has not been a civilian uprising but rather an ongoing situation in which Israeli forces are coming under intensive live-fire attack. The statements gave full and careful explanations of the methods used by Israel in dealing with such attacks and outbreaks of violence, stressing that the violence was not initiated by Israel and that Israeli actions were exclusively responsive to Palestinian attacks. Needless to say, the security measures adopted by Israel would have been unnecessary had the Palestinian violence come to an end.