TEL AVIV Ñ After a lull of nearly a month, Palestinians have resumed
suicide bombing attacks in Israel, as Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat blocked paychecks for 4,000 security officers.
At least three people were killed and 33 injured in a Palestinian
suicide attack in Tel Aviv on late Wednesday. The bombing took place near
the city's old central bus station, an area teeming with foreign laborers.
Two of the casualties were foreign laborers, neither of whom was identified, Middle East Newsline reported.
The Iranian-backed Islamic Jihad group claimed responsibility for the
attack. Israeli authorities said the attack involved two suicide bombers who
detonated small explosive devices.
Israeli officials said they expect additional Palestinian attempts to
bomb targets in Tel Aviv.
Near Tel Aviv, Israeli troops and police launched a manhunt for a
Palestinian couple who infiltrated Israel with weapons. One suspected
Palestinian insurgent was shot and killed during the Israeli operation.
Earlier, Israeli F-16 fighter jets attacked a suspected Hamas weapons
factory in the Nusseirat refugee camp in the Gaza Strip. On early Thursday,
Palestinian gunners responded with mortar fire toward Israeli communities in
the Gaza Strip.
Israel has also captured a leading Hamas military commander. Mustafa
Natshe, Hamas commander in the West Bank, was arrested by Israeli troops in
Ramallah and was said to have engineered numerous suicide bombings in
Israel.
Natshe was deemed as the head of Hamas's military wings in the entire
southern West Bank. This included Jerusalem, Bethlehem and Hebron.
Israeli officials also reported the capture of a leading Fatah
commander, Sabih Abu Hamad. Abu Hamad
was said to have sponsored several suicide attacks, including the foiled
attack on a Tel Aviv disco in May.
Meanwhile in Ramallah, Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat has blocked
salaries to an errant Palestinian security agency.
Palestinian sources said 4,000 security officers of the PA Preventive
Security Apparatus did not get paid. Palestinian sources said this was meant
to pressure the Preventive Security Apparatus to submit to Arafat's rule.
The agency has rejected Arafat's appointment of a new chief, Zuheir
Manasra. Manasra replaces the founder of the agency, Jibril Rajoub, regarded
as the most pro-U.S. officer in the PA.
The sources said the officers were told that the salary delay was
attributed to a technical mishap. They said the officers were promised they
would obtain their salaries on Thursday.
The withholding of salaries by Arafat comes as his Fatah movement has
issued recommendations regarding Palestinian security agencies. The Fatah
Central Committee called for one person to be in charge of all Palestinian
security agencies and accountable to Arafat. The committee said the security
chief must not be allowed to meet Israeli officials or have private economic
or security interests.
The Fatah committee also acknowledged tension within the ruling
Palestinian militia. A Fatah statement said the movement must resume control
over the use of weapons.
"Among these were shooting in funerals, marches, and residential areas,
targeting civilians, and other unacceptable patterns of behavior," the
statement said.
=
=
=
