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Israeli helicopters fired missiles at Palestinian buildings in the West Bank city of Nablus early Sunday after a deadly suicide bomb attack in a nearby Jewish settlement.
©Associated Press
February 17, 2002
Israeli helicopters fired missiles at Palestinian buildings in the West Bank city of Nablus early Sunday after a deadly suicide bomb attack in a nearby Jewish settlement.
Witnesses said the helicopters fired missiles at Palestinian police buildings and also hit an apartment in the city. No casualties were reported.
In a statement, the Israeli military said it attacked one of Yasser Arafat's offices, Palestinian Authority headquarters and the police command post, "following murderous attacks against Israeli civilians and soldiers."
The airstrike followed a suicide bombing in the Jewish settlement of Karnei Shomron, west of Nablus. Two Israelis and the bomber died in the blast at a shopping center, the first suicide bombing at a Jewish settlement in more than 16 months of Palestinian-Israeli violence.
The blast occurred in an open-air mall in a Jewish West Bank settlement, marking the first time a settlement was targeted in such a bombing since they are usually so heavily guarded.
The restaurant was gutted, with pieces of concrete and wires dangling from the ceiling. Blood, glass and debris covered the sidewalk.
In the northern Gaza Strip, a Palestinian rocket hit an Israeli army base, causing damage but no injuries. In response, Israeli tanks advanced on the nearby Palestinian town of Beit Lahia, and Palestinian witnesses said they heard intense shooting in the area.
The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, a military branch of Arafat's PLO, took responsibility for the suicide attack.
Since September 2000, Palestinian militants have carried out two deadly shootings in the Jewish settlements that dot the West Bank and Gaza, areas Palestinians claim for their would-be state.
It was not clear how the bomber infiltrated Karnei Shomron, a settlement with 1,500 residents in the heart of the West Bank.
Residents complained that security around the shopping center was lax despite repeated warnings that Islamic militants planned to carry out more attacks on Israelis.
Avi Levy, a member of the regional council, told Israel Channel 1 TV that "there were supposed to be checks so that Palestinians were not let into the mall."
Settlements are usually heavily guarded, ringed by fences with guards posted at entrance gates.
Gideon Meir, an Israeli Foreign Ministry official, said Israel would retaliate by hunting down Palestinian militants.
"If we have to kill them, we'll kill them," Meir said. "Wherever we can get them, we will get them."
Arafat's main West Bank office is in the town of Ramallah. Israeli tanks have been encircling the site for three months, holding Arafat under virtual house arrest there.
Israel blamed Arafat and the Palestinian Authority for the suicide bomb attack, charging that they had not done enough to stop militants from carrying out their missions against Israelis.
But Israeli Foreign Ministry official Gideon Meir said there was no plan to oust Arafat, despite calls from members of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's government to expel him.
"I don't think that is an option at all," said Meir.
Sharon planned to convene his leadership later Sunday to consider a further response to the suicide bomb attack, Israel TV reported.
Also Saturday:
A leader of the Hamas military wing, Nazih Abu Sabaa, was killed in the West Bank town of Jenin. Palestinian security officials said Abu Sabaa was walking near a parked car when the vehicle exploded. A 2-year-old Palestinian boy was injured. The officials blamed Israel. The Israeli army didn't comment.
In central Gaza, three Palestinians were killed in a gunbattle with Israeli forces in the Boureij refugee camp.
Palestinians fired a homemade Qassam-2 rocket from Gaza into Israel. The rocket landed in an open area and caused no injuries.
Thousands of Israelis gathered in Tel Aviv to urge a pullout from the West Bank and Gaza. Israeli media estimated the crowd at 20,000, making it one of the largest peace rallies since violence resumed 16 months ago.