Bush To Arafat: Condemn Violence
President Bush called on Yasser Arafat to call for an end to Mideast violence, hours after the defiant Palestinian leader said his people's uprising will continue despite Israel's warning that he must rein in militants.
Mr. Bush told a news conference he had instructed Secretary of State Colin Powell to call Arafat and deliver a message that he should "speak out against violence in a language the Palestinians can understand."
In addition, the president urged restraint by both Israel and the Palestinians to halt the recent escalation of violence in the Middle East.
"The tragic cycle of incitement, provocation, and violence has gone on far too long," Mr. Bush told reporters. "Both sides must take steps to calm the situation now," he added.
The president further said he planned to meet Monday with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and the following week with Jordan's King Abdullah to seek help in defusing Middle East tensions.
After Israel launched rocket attacks on the bases of Palestinian security forces to retaliate for a series of bombings, Arafat said, "Our people will continue the Al Aqsa uprising until we raise the Palestinian flag in every mosque and church and on the walls of Jerusalem."
For the first time since the Palestinian uprising began six months ago, an official from Arafat's Fatah movement in Gaza threatened to launch attacks in Israel should the Jewish state pursue what one official called its aggression against the Palestinian people.
"We say to the Israelis that our cities are not open targets to this enemy and if they hit our cities and civilians, then every place in Israel is a legitimate target for our fighters and our revolutionaries," said Ahmad Helles, the movement's secretary-general in the Gaza Strip.
In fresh clashes on Thursday, three Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire. A policeman died in a battle near the Jewish settlement of Netzarim in Gaza, while two boys, ages 13 and 17, were shot dead in a stone-throwing clash near the Erez crossing between Gaza and Israel. Eight teen-agers were wounded in the clash.
Windows in Arafat's two-story villa were shattered in Wednesday night's bombardment aimed at headquarters of Force 17, a Palestinian security service, in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank town of Ramallah. One Force 17 member was killed, and dozens of Palestinians were injured in the bombardment.
Since late September, 446 people have been killed in Israeli-Palestinian fighting, including 365 Palestinians, 62 Israeli Jews, and 19 others.
The bombardment was the first military strike ordered by Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. It came hours after the United States, standing by Israel, used its first U.N. veto since 1997 to kill a Security Council resolution backing a U.N. observer force to help protect Palestinians.
Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres said the rocket attacks were intended as a "very serious warning, mainly to Fore 17," which Israel has accused of involvement in attacks on Israeli civilians. The security service is on Arafat's payroll, "and he has to bring them in line," Peres told Israel army radio.
Arafat responded that the Palestinian people would not be cowed by the rocket attacks or other Israeli measures, such as blockades of Palestinian towns.
Peres, meanwhile, acknowledged that the United States was not given advance notice of the rocket attack, despite Sharon's promises to President Bush that the Israeli leader would not surprise him.
"What happened was not in the nature of a surprise," Peres said. "We've had two terrible days, the entire country," he added, referring to a shooting attack and two suicide bombings that killed a 10-month-old Israeli girl and two teen-agers and left scores wounded.
Islamic militants claimed responsibility for the suicide attacks, while Israel has blamed the Tanzim militia linked to Arafat's Fatah movement for the death of the baby. Israeli security officials have said Force 17 was involved in earlier shooting attacks on Israeli civilians.
Peres acknowledged that Israel's range of responses was limited. Under Sharon's predecessor, Ehud Barak, Israel had also rocketed Palestinian targets, but failed to stop the fighting, now in its seventh month.
Peres said attacks on Israelis were perhaps launched without Arafat's knowledge, but that Israel has briefed him on the culprits.
"We expected to see restraining action ... and when this didn't happen, we were left with no choice," Peres said, adding that he still considered Arafat a partner, albeit one who has made mistakes.
Some Israeli observers said the bombings were ineffective.
"The real aim was to calm those in Israel who demand revenge, so that they will not take the law into their own hands," said Ron Ben-Ishai, military commentator of the Yediot Ahronot daily.
In the West Bank town of Hebron, where the baby was killed, Jewish settlers have torched Arab-owned stores and cars and have repeatedly tried to enter Palestinian-controlled neighborhoods. Settlers, angry at being restrained, have scuffled with Israeli soldiers, cursed them, and thrown eggs at them.
Palestinian officials said Israel was trying to impose its political will on the Palestinians with the attacks. Sharon has proposed negotiating a long-term interim deal, an offer the Palestinians have turned down.
"We will not wave a white flag. We will not stop our uprising," said Hussein al-Sheikh, a leader of the Fatah movement in the West Bank.
In Wednesday's rocket attack, red flares lit up the night sky over Ramallah and flames leaped from burning buildings and cars as firefighters tried to put out multiple blazes.
In Gaza City, the low-flying Israeli gunships blasted a Force 17 building that had been used as a weapons arsenal and is only 100 yards from Arafat's house. The second-floor windows in Arafat's home wershattered in the attack.
Arafat was in Amman at the time. His wife, Suha, and daughter Zahwa, have been in France since the start of the fighting.
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