100 top Palestinians
on Israel's hit list

JERUSALEM — Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has launched a plan to end the Palestinian mini-war against Israel by July.

The Sharon plan, coordinated with the military, is to target Palestinian leaders of the mini-war and strike hard at aides of Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat. In all, 100 leading Palestinians have been targeted for either assassination or detention.

"The idea is to isolate Arafat and leave him very vulnerable," a senior Israeli source said.

Officials said the plan has already been launched. Over the weekend, Israel commandos captured a regional chief of the praetorian guard of Arafat. On Monday, Israel assassinated a leading Islamic militant in the Gaza Strip.

"There is a change in direction," Israeli minister Danny Naveh said. In the latest attack, an Israeli helicopter fired three missiles toward the car of Mohammed Abdul Al.in Rafah near the Egyptian border. Abdul Al, 30, identified as a leading activist in the Iranian-backed Islamic Jihad organization, was said to be responsible for attacks on Israeli civilians.

Palestinian sources said two AH-64A helicopters first flew over a PA installation, prompting a quick evacuation. Then, the helicopters returned to bomb Abdul Al's car.

The next step, Israeli sources said, is to go higher up the chain of command toward Arafat. They include the Force 17 leader in Ramallah, Mahmoud Damara, as well as the heads of Arafat's security forces.

Those on the list include Marwan Barghouti, head of Arafat's Fatah militia in the West Bank. He is said to have received up to $10 million from Iraq to lead the mini-war against Israel.

Another Palestinian said to be on the hit list is Col. Tawfiq Tirawi, head of PA General Intelligence in the West Bank. Tirawi is believed behind the frequent Palestinian shooting attacks on Jerusalem's southern Gilo neighborhood.

A third candidate for Israeli assassination is Mussa Arafat, a nephew of the PA chairman and head of PA military intelligence. The junior Arafat is said to be particularly active in attacks on Israeli troops and Jewish settlements in the Gaza Strip.

The PA chairman, himself, is not a target, Israeli sources said. They said Sharon has no intention of making Arafat into a martyr and would prefer confronting him with either acceding to Israeli demands to end the mini-war or flee into exile.

The sources said that so far Sharon has ended up restraining his military rather than ordering it to attack after Palestinian bombings or shootings. The prime minister is said to have concluded that his policy has the support of U.S. President George Bush as long as Israeli attacks fall short of outraging international opinion. On late Monday, U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell telephoned Sharon regarding the prospect of resuming security cooperation between Israel and the PA.

Still, Israeli military sources don't expect the Sharon plan to be smooth sailing. They predict a Palestinian escalation of attacks against Israel to force Sharon to order an invasion of PA-controlled territory. The idea is to raise the stakes so as to prompt international intervention.

Indeed, hours after Abdul Al was killed, a car bomb exploded near an Israeli military position in the northern West Bank. At the same time, Palestinians fired toward Rachel's Tomb in Bethlehem. An Israeli soldier was killed and nine Palestinians were injured in the firefight.

Overnight Tuesday, an Israeli military force destroyed a Force 17 installation outside Khan Yunis. Palestinian sources said Israeli tanks destroyed the installation.

"Sharon's tactics consist of sharp pinpricks," a military source said. "But he might not have any choice but to use a hammer against Arafat."

Some Likud parliamentarians agree. Knesset member Yuval Steinetz, a member of parliament's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, said Sharon has not demonstrated a military policy that is significantly different from his predecessor, Ehud Barak.

"I am very concerned that if we don't declare a war against the PA we will lose the momentum," Steinetz said.