Shattered Alai - , 11- I sorn B ri nk A special report as Israel recovers and prepares to counterattack. INA FRIEDMAN ISRAEL CORRESPONDENT ach move that Israel has opted for in this new war against Hamas — which has taken the lives of 61 Israelis, tourists and ter- rorists and wounded 234 others in nine days — comes with serious ques- tions. The introduction of $93 million worth of defensive mea- sures decided upon last Sunday admits that charging Palestinian Authority President Yassir Arafat alone with halting Islamic ter- rorism has become untenable. Yet, these new measures — ranging from the erection of elec- tronic fences in selected areas to checking everyone boarding a bus in Jerusalem — may be no more than a psychological balm for the skittish and increasing- ly angry Israeli public. This week's bombings, for ex- ample, occurred during a full clo- sure of the territories. That belied the effectiveness of that tradi- tional device as a protective mechanism. Even if the new measures suc- ceed in "hermetically" sealing Is- rael from the West Bank, they will take time to put into place. Neither do they guarantee a reliable solution in Jerusalem — unless the government intends to "functionally divide" the city with fences and checkpoints be- tween its two populations. In- deed, the perpetrator of Sunday's bus bombing reportedly set out from the Old City, in the very heart of Jerusalem. Compounding matters, even if detected while preparing to board a bus, there's nothing to stop a suicide bomber from activating his explosives on the spot — tak- ing soldiers, policemen, passen- gers and passersby along with them. Defensive measures aside, un- less the government decides to scuttle the Oslo agreements and retake the Gaza Strip and cities of the West Bank turned over to Palestinian rule, it is Yassir Arafat who holds the key to dis- abling, if not dismantling, Islamic terrorism. Mr. Peres knows this and has increased pressure on Mr. Arafat, announcing or intimating possi- ble economic, political and even military measures. But such op- tions dig the two sides deeper into the paradox that has plagued the peace process from the start. The "separation" measures, for example (which re- portedly include sealing off the au- tonomous West Bank cities from the surrounding coun- tryside), will height- en the economic pressure on the Palestinians. And this raises the old question: Does this help or hinder Hamas and the Islamic Jihad? Popular support for Hamas is strongest in refugee camps and poor urban neighbor- hoods, places where the popula- tion is in dire economic straits and thus most dependent on Hamas' social services. For Israel, one political equa- tion has not changed: the stronger the trend toward "sep- aration," and the less Palestini- ans can enjoy the benefits of the peace process, the more they're likely to aid and abet its oppo- nents. Mr. Peres has also demand- ed that Mr. Arafat take decisive measures directly against the ter- rorist "infrastructure" by banning the terrorist organizations, dis- arming their members and ar- resting their leaders. While not new calls, until this week Mr. Arafat resisted taking them se- riously. After the bombing in Jer- usalem and Ashkelon two weeks ago, Mr. Peres sent Chief of Staff Amnon Shahak to Mr. Arafat with a list of (and hard intelli- gence about) 30 terrorist lead- ers. During the intervening week, only two were detained. On Sun- day, Mr. Peres upped the politi- cal ante considerably. "Arafat will have to act according to the (Oslo) agreement," he declared angrily. "If he does not fulfill the agree- ment, we will have to reconsider it," meaning that the peace process could end. That threat already appears to have had an effect. On Sun- day, Mr. Arafat officially out- lawed the Islamic Jihad and the military wings of Hamas, the leftist fronts and even the Fatah. On Monday night — after the Tel Aviv suicide bomb- ing — Mr. Peres told the Cabinet that "as a result of the deci- sions we took earli- er, the Palestinian Police has arrested the organizers of the last three actions in Jerusalem in Ashkelon." The question remains how long this activity will last. Also, Israel is watching if Mr. Arafat will meet its demands before the end of this month, when the Is- rael Defense Forces redeploy- ment from Hebron is scheduled. For years, the Labor govern- ment has argued that officially suspending the peace process in response to Islamic terrorism (which the opposition has screamed for from the start) means knuckling under to the op- ponents of peace. Now, Mr. Peres has been forced to implicitly reverse him- self, even though it is a com- monplace that halting the peace process will not make the Pales- tinians less disposed to engage in terrorism. Finally, there has been endless speculation about the military measures that Israel can take if Mr. Arafat doesn't solve the prob- lem quickly. Likud Chairman Binyamin Netanyahu has prudently limit- ed his suggestions to urging that Israel "take the initiative." His less-circumspect electoral part- ner, ex-Chief of Staff Rafael Ei- tan of Tsomet, has another answer: "Kill them any time, any- he main measures an- nounced by the Israeli government on Sunday are * Esta.blishing a special head- quarters for waging the war against terrorism, headed by General Security Services Chief Anil Ayalon. ,' Reinforcing the securing forces m Jerusalem by station- Mg 4,000 soldiers and policemen at bus stops and other public places. Taking legally permissible measures against the families of suicide bombers --- e.g., seal- ing and then demolishing their houses — as a deterrent to oth- ers planning suicide attacks. * Investigating the feasibili- ty of taking similar measures against members of the Hamas and Islamic Jihad "infrastruc- ture" {broadly defined as "those who dispatch" the suicide bombers). * Dismantling the centers of }lamas activity, especially in Jerusalem proper. Enlarging the unit for pro- tecting buses to 800 men, all graduates of combat units. * Moving toward the "sepa- ration" of Israeli and Palestin- ian populations, inter alia, by building electronic fences near Qalqilya and Tulkarem, two sensitive stretches of the "seam" with the West Bank; creating a 2-kilometer buffer zone along the seam to be closed to Pales- tinians; limiting the passage of vehicular traffic, pedestrians, and goods from the West Bank to Israel to 18 special crossing points (6 into Jerusalem), re- quiring special entry permits, and meting out severe punish- ments for illegal entry. * The government approved a special supplementary budget of $93 million for these mea sures (including $13 for the pro- Separation, once shunned by some, is now embraced by all. tection of public transport) to be spread over two years. 0 <,.