Reported Differences Between Israeli Leaders Over Response to Recent Resistance Attacks

29/05/2002| IslamWeb

HIGHLIGHTS: Sharon Upbraids Mofaz for Presenting Political Rather than Military Options to Cabinet||Rolling Raids on Palestinian Cities & Towns Expected to Continue||FRC Calls for an End To Resistance Operations Inside Israel||Barghouti to Remain Under Custody for 22 More Days||STORY: Israel's security cabinet met Wednesday to weigh its response to a spate of Palestinian attacks, including the killing of three settlers at a Jewish settlement in the West Bank. (Read photo caption)

A fourth settler was killed in a highway shooting ambush near Ramallah.

But the session ended after several hours without having made operative decisions, occupation army radio said. It quoted army chief Shaul Mofaz when asked to listpossible options for an Israeli response, as having reiterated his support for exiling Palestinian leader,Yasser Arafat.

The deportation proposal was opposed at length by the Israeli Defense Minister, Benjamin Ben-Eliezer.

Prime Minister Ariel Sharon then upbraided Mofaz, who has been increasingly outspoken in matters the prime minister has viewed as political rather than military in purview. According to Israeli media reports, Sharon said the discussion over Israel's response will continue next week, and until then, the current military posture of directed raids and brief incursions would continue.

SHARON UNDER PRESSURE

Sharon faces demands from right-wing members of his coalition government for tougher action after ending a six-week military offensive in the West Bank that was intended to destroy the militants' capacity to carry out Resistance bombings.

But Sharon also faces calls for restraint from left-wing cabinet members and from international leaders.

German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer arrived for meetings with Israelis and Palestinians. European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana was due in the region in the next few days.

In other diplomatic activity, Russian envoy Andrei Vdovin met with Arafat in Ramallah and called for an end to "these terrorist attacks." He also called for an international peace conference

The United States, Russia, the European Union and the United Nations plan to convene a Middle East conference this summer.

ROLLING RAIDS ON PALESTINIAN CITIES & TOWNS EXPECTED TO CONTINUE

After the attacks, Israeli occupation troops raided West Bank villages near Bethlehem overnight and re-entered the city of Qalqilya. The occupation army said it had detained eight people.

Sources close to the government said they expected no major announcements after the meeting and the policy of frequent army raids into Palestinian-ruled territory was likely to continue.

AQSA BRIGADES CLAIM RESPONSIBILITY

Al-Aqsa Brigades, the military wing affiliated to FATAH group claimed responsibility for the two Palestinian attacks.

Palestinians regard settlers as a symbol of occupation and consider them legitimate targets. Militants have carried out numerous raids on settlements during their uprising against Israeli occupation.

FATAH REVOLUTIONAR COUNCIL CALLS FOR AN END TO RESISTANCE ATTACKS INSIDE ISRAEL

A major forum in Palestinian President Yasser Arafat's Fatah movement echoed its calls for an end to Resistance attacks inside Israel, saying the bombings harmed the Palestinian struggle for a state.

"Military attacks inside the 'green line' (in Israel) must stop because they reflect negatively on the image of our national struggle," the Fatah Revolutionary Council (FRC) said in a document issued after two weeks of internal discussions.

But the group expressed support for "resistance" in occupied parts of the West Bank

BARGOUTI TO REMIN IN CUSTODY FOR 22 MORE DAYS

Meanwhile and Israeli military court has decided to grant the prosecution in the case of FATAH Secretary General, Marwan Al-Bargouti for a request to extend his custody for 22 more days under the pretext that investigations were not over yet.

Barghouti, whose fiery speeches made him one of the most visible leaders of the Palestinian uprising, was arrested by Israel last month during its military incursion in the West Bank. Israel says Barghouti organized attacks against Israelis, though so far he has not been charged with any crime.

Barghouti's lawyer, Jawad Boulos, says his client has denied all charges leveled at him adding that he (Boulos) has demanded that his client be examined by a doctor to verify that Barghouti is being subjected to torture.

While in Israeli custody, Barghouti has complained of sleep deprivation and interrogations that have stretched more than 20 hours at a time.

Under Israeli law, Palestinian detainees can be tortured 'within reason' to extract confessions or 'vital information'.

PHOTO CAPTION

In this handout photo distributed by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), IDF Chief-of-Staff Lt. Gen. Shaul Mofaz talks to army reservists from the armored corp at a base in southern Israel Tuesday May 28, 2002. Israeli troops swept through Jenin and an adjacent refugee camp early Tuesday, stepping up raids of Palestinian areas after a deadly bombing in Petach Tikvah Monday left two Israelis dead and dozens wounded. In two separate shooting attacks, Palestinian Resistance men killed 4 Israeli settlers early Wednesday. (AP Photo/HO/IDF)