|
|
June 8, 2001/Sivan 17, 5761, Vol. 53, No.36
After bomb, Israeli officials demand action from Arafat
NAOMI SEGAL
Jewish Telegraphic Agency
JERUSALEM - Israeli officials have decided to wait and see whether Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat follows through on his call for a cease-fire - but they are not optimistic.
Israeli ministers agreed to withhold a military response and give Arafat a few days to live up to his vow to crack down on terrorists and rein in violence.
Eighteen Israelis were killed and more than 100 wounded when a Palestinian terrorist blew himself up outside a nightclub along Tel Aviv's beachfront promenade June 1.
Most of the victims were young immigrants from the former Soviet Union for whom the disco was a popular hangout.
In the wake of the bombing, Israel tightened a closure on the territories and ordered even those Palestinians with entry permits back to the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon declared an end to the unilateral cease-fire he announced May 21, but did not immediately order any military reprisals, deciding to see whether international pressure would spur Arafat to rein in Palestinian violence.
Israeli officials were vague on how long it would take Israel to determine if Arafat is more serious about observing this cease-fire than the numerous ones he has disregarded in recent months, but some officials spoke of a testing period of one or two days.
The Palestinian Authority "has established in its terri-tory a coalition of terror, and is attempting to disguise it with words of peace as lip service to the international community, while continuing to incite its people to hatred and violence," Israel said in a statement issued after the attack. "Israel calls upon the international community to take action that will clarify that terrorism has a political price."
On June 2, after Israel called off its unilateral cease-fire, Arafat called for an immediate and unconditional halt to violence.
"We are prepared to act in order to invest the maximum efforts possible to stop the bloodshed of our people and of the Israeli people," Arafat said at a news conference in Ramallah.
A day later, 14 Palestinian groups - including Hamas, Islamic Jihad and the 12 factions that make up Arafat's PLO - pledged that they have a right to continue their uprising against Israel.
|
