Israel 'faces fresh terror wave'

Yaalon (2nd right) is predicting another eruption of violence

Israel's outgoing army chief of staff has warned of a possible new wave of Palestinian attacks after the planned withdrawal from the Gaza Strip.

General Moshe Yaalon said that, unless Israel committed itself to subsequent withdrawals from the West Bank, a "second war of terror" would begin.

The decision not to renew Mr Yaalon's three-year term has caused controversy - so soon before the withdrawal.

About 9,000 settlers and the troops who guard them will leave Gaza this summer.

Mr Yaalon's replacement is Gen Dan Halutz, 57, the former air force chief, who was sworn in on Wednesday.

'Moral mission'

"The army will be ready for any mission against threats near and far, on land, at sea and in the air," Mr Halutz said at a ceremony at the prime minister's office.

He also paid tribute to what he said was the traditional spirit of the Israeli military.

"It comprises a sense of mission, values and morality, morality that sanctifies life and the dignity of the human being, created in the image of God," he said

Mr Halutz outraged Israeli liberals in July 2002 when as air force chief he authorised the bombing of a densely populated area of Gaza which killed a Hamas leader and 14 civilians, including nine children.

Correspondents have suggested differences in opinion between Defence Minister Shaul Mofaz and Gen Yaalon may have been behind his early departure.

His tenure was expected to be extended for another year - as is customary for chiefs of staff.

Mr Mofaz was conspicuously absent from the long list of colleagues to whom Mr Yaalon voiced thanks during Wednesday's transition ceremony, Haaretz newspaper reported.

Eruption

In a pessimistic interview with Haaretz, Mr Yaalon warned violence would return if Israel did not commit itself to further pull-outs.

"If there is an Israeli commitment to another move, we will gain another period of quiet," he said.

"If not there will be an eruption ... Terrorist attacks of all types: shooting, bombs, suicide bombers, mortars, Qassam rockets."

Without an additional withdrawal, he said, "there is a high probability of a second war of terror," which would begin in the West Bank.

But he warned that the establishment of a Palestinian state would also lead to war "at some stage".

He said this was because the Palestinians had not given up on their claims to land lost as a result of the creation of Israel in 1948.