BBC Monday, 27 August, 2001, 11:19 GMT 12:19 UK Palestinian leader dies in missile attack Mustafa rejected Mr Arafat's talks with Israel

The leader of the radical Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine has been killed in an Israeli attack.

Palestinian sources say Abu Ali Mustafa died when at least two missiles struck his office in the West Bank town of Ramallah, not far from the offices of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.

Israeli military forces confirmed that they had carried out the attack, saying the missiles were fired by a helicopter gunship.

Mustafa is the highest-ranking Palestinian official to be assassinated by the Israelis during the 11-month Palestinian uprising.

A spokesman for the PLFP in Damascus condemned the attack and vowed revenge.

"The blood of Abu Ali Mustafa is very precious ... we will respond to this crime in a bigger way. Israel will pay a heavy price for its crime," Maher al-Taher told the Reuters news agency.

Mustafa - whose real name was Mustafa al-Zibri - was in his early 60s and had been Secretary General of the PFLP since founding leader George Habash stepped down in April 2000.

Rejectionist faction

Mustafa was among those who founded the faction in 1967.

The PFLP, a Marxist faction of Mr Arafat's PLO, has traditionally opposed any dialogue with Israel.

But after the retirement of Mr Habash, Mustafa worked towards reconciliation between the PFLP and Mr Arafat.

At the same time, he continued to reject the Oslo framework as a basis for talks between Israel and the Palestinians, arguing that they did not give the Palestinians a fair deal.

The Israeli attack came after a weekend of violence in the region that left 11 people dead.

On Sunday, Israeli helicopters destroyed a Palestinian police station in the West Bank, while tanks shelled several police checkpoints.

The raids followed the death of an Israeli motorist who was shot as he stopped at a Palestinian shop in the West Bank.

Three Israeli soldiers were killed on Saturday when two Palestinians carried out a raid on a military base.

The two Palestinians were themselves killed by other soldiers.

Demolitions

Israel carried out a number of fighter jet and tank demolitions of Palestinian buildings in response.

Egypt and Jordan - the only two Arab countries to have signed peace treaties with Israel - called on the United States to do more to curb the violence.

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak said Washington's failure to intervene was "dangerous for the region, for our interests and even for the Israeli people".

On Friday, President George W Bush urged Mr Arafat "to put 100% effort into stopping the terrorist activity, and I believe he can do a better job of doing that".

Arab leaders said Mr Bush's comments would encourage Israel to escalate attacks on Palestinians.

Abu Ali Mustafa returned to the West Bank in 1999 after more than 30 years in Damascus.

The Israeli army said in a statement that "contrary to his promises, he continued with terrorist activities and was responsible for dozens of attacks on Israel".

Israel has a policy of killing Palestinians it says are responsible for attacks on Israel, which is calls "active defence" or "targeted killings".

Palestinians condemn the killings as assassinations and say more than 60 people have been killed in such attacks.

The policy has also attracted widespread international criticism.

-- Anonymous, August 27, 2001