TEL AVIV Ñ Israel and the Palestinian Authority have escalated their
conflict.
Israeli tanks and troops attacked PA positions in the Gaza Strip as a
Palestinian insurgent blew himself up in the Jewish settlement of Karnei
Shomron. Palestinian gunners also fired Kassam-1 and Kassam-2 short-range
rockets toward Israeli targets and damaged an Israeli military facility. Two
Kassam-2 rockets were fired at a kibbutz inside Israel.
"The Kassam bombardment took place in the early morning hours in
unpopulated areas and is a warning to the Zionists criminals for their
criminal bombardment by airplanes and tanks," a statement by Hamas's
military wing said. "If the Zionists criminals do not stop their criminal
actions, they will know what damage a single rocket could cause in civilian
areas, an attack which we have so far avoided."
The suicide bomb attack took place in a shopping mall outside the Jewish
settlement on late Saturday. Two Israeli teenagers were killed and more than
30 were injured in the bombing. The Popular Front for the Liberation of
Palestine claimed responsibility for the attack, which also left the bomber
dead.
On early Sunday, Israeli F-16 fighters responded by bombing PA
facilities in the West Bank city of Nablus. Palestinian sources said the
buildings targeted had been evacuated.
It was the second Israeli air strike over the weekend. On late Friday,
Israeli F-16s pounded PA positions in Gaza City. Three Palestinians were
killed, including a security officer, about 30 were injured.
Israeli sources said the military has been restrained by the government
of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. The sources said the United States has
pressed Sharon not to expand the current war against the Palestinians.
Earlier, the commander of an elite Israeli ground unit was killed during
an operation in the West Bank city of Tulkarm. The commander was killed when
a wall collapsed and fell on him during a search operation for Palestinian
insurgents.
In Ramallah, hundreds of Palestinians hurled stones at the headquarters
of PA Chairman Yasser Arafat to protest the detention of Islamic insurgents
by Palestinian authorities. In Tel Aviv, 15,000 Israelis called for a
unilateral Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank and Gaza Strip in an
attempt to end the war with the Palestinians.
