Prepared for the Worst
Israel Braces for Reprisals
Amid Palestinian Fury
August 1 - Chanting "death to Israel," tens of thousands of Palestinian
mourners marched in funeral processions through the West Bank town of Nablus
today as Israel braced for a possible retribution for Tuesday's killing of
eight Palestinians.
Israeli security forces were on high alert as enraged mourners pledged to
renew a jihad, or holy struggle, against the Israeli state.
The Israeli security Cabinet today held a meeting to discuss the rocket
attack, which claimed the lives of two senior Hamas officials and two
children among others. The meeting followed international condemnation of
the attack, which is widely expected to escalate the tensions in the region.
But Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon described the targeted attack as one
of Israel's most important successes. "If we didn't stop them, the attacks
that they would carry out in Israel would harm children and women," said Uri
Shani, director of Sharon's office, on army radio. "Our job is to prevent
such attacks."
In the occupied territories though, there was no letup in the violence.
Clashes broke out in the West Bank town of Hebron overnight and in the
volatile Jewish settlement of Gilo in a disputed part of southern Jerusalem,
Israeli security forces fired tank shells and machine guns as clashes raged
on into the morning.
'Unilateral War'
Tuesday's killings drew widespread criticism from Palestinian leaders. At a
news conference in Ramallah today, Palestinian legislator Hannan Ashrawi
condemned the recent spate of Israeli attacks this week. "This is a
unilateral war declared by an occupying power using military means against a
captive population," she said.
The victims of the attack included Jamal Mansour and Jamal Salim, both
senior Hamas activists who were killed while conducting a meeting in the
third floor offices of the organization, which was housed in a seven-story
building.
Eight-year-old Bilal Abu Khader and his five-year-old brother, Ashraf, who
were playing in the building compound at the time of the attack, were also
killed.
Israeli officials claimed the main target of the attack was Jamal Mansour,
42, who had been arrested repeatedly by the Israelis and the Palestinian
Authority in the past.
According to officials of the Israeli Defense Forces, Mansour was
responsible for the June 1 suicide bombing of the Dolphinarium night club in
Tel Aviv, which killed 21 Israelis.
Deadly Days
Tensions were high in Nablus today as the bodies of the dead, wrapped in
green religious flags, were carried aloft on stretchers amid cries of
"revenge, revenge."
As crowds gathered in the public square and mourners poured out of windows
and perched on rooftops, Nablus governor Mahmoud Aloul addressed the
gathering. "Our path is to continue the intifada (uprising) and put an end
to occupation," he said as gunshots greeted his words.
The past two days have seen the deadliest violence in the region since a
U.S.-brokered cease-fire was declared in June.
On Tuesday, the United States accused Israel of violating the cease-fire
agreement. "Violence is violence, and the president has deplored the
violence in the region," said White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer.
In London, British Foreign Office Minister Ben Bradshaw deplored "the
targeted assassination by Israel of Palestinian militants."
On Monday, six Palestinian activists died in a blast at a roadside car parts
store outside Nablus, not far from today's attack. All six belonged to the
Fatah movement headed by Arafat.
Palestinians said the attack was part of Israel's "assassination policy."
But Israel says they died when a bomb they were preparing went off
prematurely.
Since fighting erupted last September, at least 548 people have been killed
on the Palestinian side and 133 people on the Israeli side
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