JERUSALEM Ñ Israel does not plan to harm the Palestinian Authority
or its chairman, Yasser Arafat, in wake of a Palestinian attack in which 12
Israelis were killed.
Israeli officials said Prime Minister Ariel Sharon will honor his
commitment to the United States not to harm Arafat or destroy the PA. They
said Sharon, despite the appeals of several ministers, has also ruled out
the exiling of Arafat.
"We don't want to do anything that will divert attention away from the
U.S.-led effort against Iraq," an official said.
Foreign Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said Israel must destroy the PA. But
he suggested that this will not take place until after the U.S.-led war
against Iraq.
"The more important thing is to go to an offensive doctrine," Netanyahu
said on Sunday. "He [Arafat] provides the gasoline. He carries the flag of
this entire war."
Earlier, Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz discussed the Hebron attack
with his U.S. counterpart, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, and Secretary
of State Colin Powell. A statement by Mofaz's office said the defense
minister asserted that the Palestinian Authority is connected to the attack.
"There is no difference between Islamic Jihad, Hamas and the [Fatah]
Tanzim," Mofaz was quoted as saying. "They are all trying to perpetrate
horrific attacks. Israel is now in the midst of a wave of terror against it
and will, therefore, do whatever is necessary to protect its citizens. In
no case will we compromise on the security of the citizens of the state of
Israel."
Seven of those killed in Hebron in an ambush on late Friday were
soldiers including the brigade commander of the Hebron region, the
highest-ranking Israeli officer to be killed during the more than two-year
Israeli-Palestinian war. He was identified as Col. Dror Weinberg, age 38.
His replacement was also killed. Another 14 Israelis were injured.
The Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for Friday's attack, which
sparked
celebrations in the Gaza Strip. Three Jihad gunmen were killed in the
ambush.
Military sources said the Jihad gunmen, at least one of them dressed in
a Jewish skullcap, planned to attack the neighboring Israeli town of Kiryat
Arba. The sources said that at the last minute the attackers saw a military
jeep blocking the entrance of Kiryat Arba and changed their plans.
Israeli bulldozers destroyed three buildings used by insurgents to
ambush the Israeli force. More than 40 Palestinians were detained.
Later, an Israeli brigade recaptured the Palestinian
Authority-controlled area
of Hebron. Under a 1997 agreement, Israel controlled 20 percent of Hebron,
with the PA being under control over the rest of the city.
