The Deadly Rules of the Hunt

By LISA BEYER/JERUSALEM

When the Palestinian extremist group Hamas unleashed a blitz of bloodshed on Israel in mid-October, climaxing in the suicide bombing of a Tel Aviv bus that left 23 dead, it meant to escalate the conflict between Arab and Jew to a more vicious level. Last week Israel gave an uncompromising answer to the challenge. Through leaks to the media, Israeli security officials let it be known that "this is now a war with gloves off. Whatever is needed to neutralize these people, whether it's to put them in jail or whatever, will be done."

According to intelligence sources, new instructions issued to Israeli forces in the West Bank allow them greater liberty to open fire on known guerrillas belonging to Hamas and its spin-off, the Islamic Jihad. In addition, activists in detention are to be interrogated more harshly to make them divulge the hideouts of dangerous cohorts.

So far the Israelis have run into a wall in trying to find the militants who commit Hamas outrages. Since the bus bombing, security forces have rounded up about 100 West Bank Palestinians suspected of serving as accomplices to the Izzeddin al-Qassam brigades, the violent arm of Hamas. "We are shaking the tree to see what will fall," says a security official.

Under Israeli law, interrogators are allowed to use "moderate physical pressure" when ordinary questioning fails. More extreme means are permitted only when there is a "ticking bomb," that is, when the authorities urgently need information on an act of violence either planned or under way. Moderate pressure includes depriving detainees of sleep and food, and placing them in a narrow cell called "the cage." Beating is prohibited, though occasional slaps to the face are not. Detainees belonging to Hamas who are suspected of involvement in violence are now being subjected to such pressure, and the more aggressive "ticking-bomb" proviso will also be applied more liberally.

Security officials are hoping that interrogations of the latest batch of Hamas suspects will lead them to the al-Qassam militants. The Israelis have a list of 27 fugitives in the West Bank and believe there are others as yet unidentified. At the top of the wanted list is Yehia Ayyash, 29, an electrical engineer from the West Bank village of Rafat, who is known within Hamas as "the engineer." According to Israeli and Hamas sources, he is the movement's master bombmaker, who probably built the TNT device used in Tel Aviv.

If the security forces catch up with those on the wanted list, new rules of engagement will apply. Now, say officials, forces in pursuit of a known member of al-Qassam may open fire immediately, without ascertaining whether the suspect is armed, unless he surrenders at once.

The Israelis would rather arrest than shoot, officials say, since only a live suspect can provide intelligence. On the whole, though, the Israelis do not expect to catch Hamas guerrillas without a fight.

Precisely how far Israel will take the war is not clear. Israeli intelligence analysts and Hamas insiders say the orders for al-Qassam cadres come from leaders living in Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Sudan and Iran. Operatives of the Mossad, Israel's intelligence agency, have been given added leeway and increased funding to keep tabs on these commanders, but their specific instructions are unknown.

Israeli authorities hope that word of the new policies will force al-Qassam members into deeper hiding. "We want to make Hamas shiver," says an official.

While the stepped-up campaign may quiet Hamas temporarily, the experience of past crackdowns suggests it will regroup and strike again. Hamas members promise as much. "You kill me, I kill you," says a militant in the West Bank. He notes how easy it is for Hamas to replace lost members. "The Israelis have killed important figures in Hamas, but is Hamas still there or not? Hamas is a movement deep-rooted in Palestinian society."

The most the Israelis can hope for is to reduce Hamas violence by raising both cost and penalty. Neutralizing Hamas requires a political solution, namely full resolution of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. For the first time, Israeli leaders are talking about including Hamas in a settlement. Last week Deputy Foreign Minister Yossi Beilin said the government should not rule out negotiating with members of Hamas who disavow violence.

The October outrages, particularly the bus bombing, which appalled even some of the organization's activists, have widened an emerging split within Hamas. Israel is moving to exploit the rift, trying to appease the moderates with the prospect of political power. Once the fighters are isolated from the mainstream, the Israelis calculate, they can be picked off one by one.

With reporting by Ron Ben-Yishai/Tel Aviv and Jamil Hamad/Nablus