GAZA, July 3: Faced with the threat of Israeli assassination, Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh and many of his top ministers meet in secret, sleep in safe houses, and communicate by fax and email instead of by cell phone.
Israel has jailed more than a third of Mr Haniyeh’s cabinet. Many of the others have gone into hiding, including deputy prime minister Naser al-Shaer, who has not been seen since last week.
An Israeli helicopter fired a missile into Haniyeh’s empty Gaza office on Sunday in not-too-subtle warning that the prime minister himself could be killed if harm comes to an Israeli soldier captured by militants in a cross-border raid.
Other possible targets — Interior Minister Saeed Seyam and Foreign Minister Mahmoud al-Zahar — have not appeared in public since Israel launched its offensive in Gaza to free Corporal Gilad Shalit last Wednesday.
“Ministers are taking the Israeli threats very seriously,” said a Palestinian government official who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Trying to keep what remains of his cash-strapped government functioning, Haniyeh has shifted the responsibilities of many of the jailed ministers to others.
Minister of Information Youssef Rizqa, who has limited financial experience, has assumed responsibility for the ministry of finance and religious affairs after Israel detained ministers Omar Abdel-Razeq and Nayef al-Rajoub.
Atef Odwan, the minister of refugee affairs, has temporarily stepped in for the jailed ministers of prisons and Jerusalem affairs.
HAMAS TELECOMMUTING: Some ministers are telecommuting, using the Internet and faxes to avoid going to offices that could be bombed.
Some have stopped using their own cars while others have removed important papers and computer files from their offices, Palestinian sources said.
“Most of the ministers have switched off their mobile phones and are not coming to their offices,” a Palestinian official said.
Israeli intelligence monitors cell phone communications and can use the signals to track their movements.
Israel also has an extensive network of informants in Gaza, which the Jewish state quit last year after 38 years of occupation.—Reuters