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Missiles slam West Bank, Gaza City; Arafat safe

Harsh Dobhal in Jerusalem

Israeli helicopter gunships on Tuesday launched a second wave of strikes in as many days on Palestinian targets, including Yasser Arafat's headquarters in Ramallah, but the Palestinian Authority leader escaped unhurt.

At least two persons were killed and some 120 injured, 60 of them students, in the strikes on eight Palestinian security buildings, including the Ramallah police headquarters next to Arafat's offices, where he was present.

In a statement, the Israeli army said warplanes and combat helicopters fired missiles at the headquarters of Arafat's Force-17 residential guards in the Gaza Strip and its training camps in Gaza City.

Reacting angrily to the attacks, Arafat accused Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon of trying to sabotage his efforts to deal with terrorism by launching the air strikes on Palestinian targets.

Arafat said Sharon wanted him to fail in dealing with terrorist activities, as "he does not want the peace process to start".

"He does not want me to succeed and for this, he is escalating his military activities on our towns, cities and establishments," Arafat told CNN.

The Israeli reprisal began on Monday night following a weekend of bloody violence in which 25 Israelis were killed in three suicide bomb attacks.

Israel denied that Arafat was the target in two days of strikes, but said eight Palestinian security buildings in Gaza and Ramallah were targeted.

Rockets also smashed into the preventative security headquarters in the large coastal city, as well as a security compound in Khan Yunis near the Egyptian border to the south.

In Salfit, between Ramallah and Nablus, the Palestinian military intelligence headquarters were hit.

Palestinian security and hospital officials said a 16-year-old student and a preventative security officer were killed in the Gaza City strike, and some 120 people injured.

Boys from the Al Aqsa junior boys school were walking out of classes when several missiles slammed into the security building across the street, reports said.

Chief Palestinian spokesman Saeb Erekat called Israel's air strikes a "war crime" and "state terrorism".

In Gaza City, there was panic on the streets, as Israeli F-16 jets fired missiles at a Palestinian security installation in a residential area.

Attacks on Gaza were directed at a unit of Force-17. Another Force-17 building in West Bank town of Tulkarem was also reported to have been hit.

Security installations in the Palestinian refugee camp of Khan Younis, on the outskirts of Gaza City, also came under attacks.

An Israeli cabinet meeting, which lasted for six hours, branded the Palestinian Authority as a "terrorist-supporting entity" and said, "The government determines the lethal and cruel terror attacks over the last weekend shows the lack of inhibition of our enemies and calls for a larger scale activity than has been taken to date against Palestinian terror."

However, the cabinet decision has caused fissures in Ariel Sharon's coalition government. Foreign Minister Shimon Peres was reportedly considering whether his Labour's party should continue in the government.

Peres criticised the cabinet decision saying it had in effect decided to destroy the Palestinian Authority.

After the attacks on Palestinian targets, the Israeli prime minister blamed Arafat for the ongoing violence in the region and accused him of being "the biggest obstacle to peace".

"This war will not be an easy war; this war will not be a short war, but we shall win," Sharon said in a televised address to the nation.

"Arafat is responsible for everything that is happening. He has made the strategic decision to follow terrorism," Sharon said, alleging that the Palestinian leader had tried to make political gains through the death of innocents.

PTI

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