BBC

Thursday, 29 March, 2001, 11:29 GMT 12:29 UK

Arafat defiant as three more die

Fierce clashes have erupted in the Gaza Strip following Wednesday's heavy Israeli air raids on Palestinian targets.

Three Palestinians, two of them teenagers and the other a member of the security forces, are reported to have been shot dead by Israeli troops early on Thursday.

Israel Foreign Minister said Wednesday evening's bombardment of Gaza and the West Bank was a warning to the Palestinian leader, Yasser Arafat, to rein in militants who killed three Israeli children this week.

But Mr Arafat said the uprising would continue and Palestinians would not be cowed by the rocket attacks, which he described as the start of 100-day escalation planned by Israel.

The United States has called on both sides to exercise restraint, saying that force cannot resolve the situation in the Middle East.

Israeli warning

A White House statement urged the Palestinian leadership to speak out publicly against terrorism, and the Israelis to ease blockades and remove checkpoints.

Windows in Mr Arafat's villa in Ramallah were shattered in Wednesday's raid and the headquarters of Force 17, Mr Arafat's elite guard, were destroyed. One Force 17 member was killed, and more than 60 people injured.

It was the first military strike against Palestinian targets ordered by Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, and the first major one since October, when Israel retaliated for the lynching of two of its soldiers in Ramallah.

Foreign Minister Shimon Peres said Israel had been left with no choice but to retaliate after an Israeli baby was shot dead and two teenagers were killed by a suicide bomber earlier in the week. Thirty people were also injured in two bomb attacks on Tuesday.

Mr Peres told Israeli army radio that Wednesday's air strike "was in the nature of a very serious warning, mainly to Force 17. That force is on Arafat's payroll and he has to bring them in line."

More strikes

Israel blames the Palestinian Authority for the suicide bombings, even though the militant groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad say they carried out the attacks.

The Israelis says that Mr Arafat's men have been working directly with Hamas. They blame the Palestinian leader personally for releasing a number of militants from jails over the past few months.

A senior Israeli source told Reuters news agency that Israel's security cabinet had decided there would be more strikes in the coming days.

"There will not be a policy of reaction to attacks, rather a consistent and stable policy over time of a war on terror initiated by Israel," the source said.

Since the Palestinian uprising or intifada started six months ago, almost 450 people have been killed - more than 360 of them Palestinian and at least 60 Israeli Jews.

-- Anonymous, March 29, 2001

Answers

I wonder when Israel is going to say, "enough is enough"? I realize the ramifications are horrendous if they call and all out war, but how much and how long can people live like this? Its like the Balkans. The hate is at such an intensity that all sides are to blame and no one is going to give an inch. They just want every man woman and child on the other side, dead. And I have often wondered how I would feel were I involved in either of these situations. I think I would quickly learn to hate also if my husband, son or daughter were struck down. The Palestinans have valid claims and so do the Jews. And I know this is probably a stupid staatement, but I don't think the Jews should have ever been located in what is now Israel. They should have been shipped to SW Australia or some nation where they were interested in increasing population, and had the natural resources there for them to make a living. I KNOW the Jews considered Palestine their historical home, but can't help thinking they would have traded it for peace. Wonder if anyone ever asked Australia at the time?

-- Anonymous, March 29, 2001