GAZA CITY Ñ The Palestinian Authority has launched its first
crackdown on Islamic insurgents in months on the eve of the release of a
U.S. plan to establish a Palestinian statehood.
Palestinian sources said around 30 Hamas members were arrested in a
weekend.
operation by PA security forces. Most of those detained were said to have
been members of the Hamas-affiliated Al Khalas political party.
PA forces also surrounded the house of Hamas leader Ahmed Yassin. The
sources said Yassin was placed under house arrest.
The PA crackdown came on the eve of an address by U.S. President George
Bush on his vision of a Palestinian state. Bush is expected to outline a
plan for Palestinian statehood on Monday or Tuesday.
The sources said PA police and special forces raided Hamas and Jihad
strongholds around Gaza City. They included the refugee camp of Shati.
In the southern Gaza City neighborhood of Sejaiyeh, PA forces were met
by Hamas gunfire. A Hamas agent was killed in the clash.
Palestinian sources said Fatah has begun negotiation with Hamas and
Islamic Jihad to stop suicide attacks in Israel. The sources said PA
Chairman Yasser Arafat has come under pressure of Arab states, particularly
Egypt and Saudi Arabia, for a halt in attacks in Israel.
But Palestinian insurgents have rejected Arafat's call. The sources said
insurgents have threatened several of the 35 prominent Palestinians who
signed an appeal in Arabic to end the suicide attacks.
In Ramallah, Israeli forces renewed its siege of Arafat's headquarters
in the West Bank city. Israeli troops and tanks surrounded the complex of
buildings in the center of the city and raided suspected Palestinian weapons
factories in the area.
In the Gaza Strip, two Israeli AH-64A Apache attack helicopters fired
missiles at two Palestinian taxis in the city of Rafah. Palestinian sources
said six people, identified as Hamas operatives, were killed in Monday's
attack. Two of the six were said to have been senior members of the group's
military wing.
