Two Palestinians were killed Sunday in an explosion in their car as they were on their way to carry out a suicide attack in Jerusalem, Palestinian sources said.
The car they were traveling in appears to have been hit by a missile between Bethlehem and the Jerusalem village of Jabal Mukaber. The passengers seem to have been on their way to carry out a suicide attack.
Earlier, Israeli Border Police officers shot a Palestinian reportedly carrying a large bag at the A-Ram roadblock north of Jerusalem Sunday afternoon. The man, who ran toward the roadblock, did not follow soldier's orders to stop for inspection, Israeli media reports said. He was critically wounded and later died.
Elsewhere, in Bethlehem, Israeli sappers blew up four Palestinian-set bombs in a controlled explosion Sunday afternoon.
Tel Aviv on Alert
It is reported that the number of Israeli police officers in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and the Sharon region has been beefed up following increased warnings of attacks in those areas in the coming days.
The police received the information that two Palestinian activists set out over the weekend from the West Bank city of Ramallah, intending to carry out large-scale attacks in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.
Tel Aviv is on high alert, with large numbers of security forces deployed in central areas of the city over the weekend.
Israeli Cabinet
On Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon told government ministers that Israel was fighting a war and that he would do anything in his power to bring about an end to the violence.
Speaking at a meeting called in order to allow Sharon to explain his reasons for dropping his long-standing demand for seven days of quiet before holding cease-fire negotiations with the Palestinians, the Israeli Prime Minister said that Israel was in a "war situation," and that he was "ready to do all I can to reach a cease-fire."
Earlier, Sharon met with his expanded kitchen cabinet to coordinate Israel's response to the two attacks Saturday, in which 13 Israelis were killed and over 100 injured.
The ministers at the meeting, including Defense Minister Benjamin Ben-Eliezer, Foreign Minister Shimon Peres and Housing Minister Natan Sharansky, decided to intensify the Israeli army’s current operations against “terrorism in West Bank and Gaza Strip”.
Haaretz daily reported that an Israeli government source said Israel's response to the attacks would be "in line with the outline already approved: continuous operations, lasting another week or two, aimed at stopping the attacks."
The Israeli army has submitted a plan calling for large-scale operations in additional West Bank towns and refugee camps, which would require the Israeli army to take control of sizable swathes of territory in the West Bank.
Meanwhile, Israeli Deputy Chief of Staff Major General Moshe Ya'alon is due to meet with the Israeli army’s top brass later Sunday to discuss the possibility of a partial call-up of the Israeli reserves, in wake of the escalating violence. The army is opposed to a general call-up, however may decide to call up a few brigades. Any such decision would need the approval of the chief of staff and the cabinet.
Israel’s Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Shaul Mofaz said Sunday that the army is planning a partial call-up of reservists who live in the territories and can protect their own settlements.
Mofaz said the decision was made due to the escalation of violence in the region. He added, that the situation was not yet at a point for a general reserves call-up.
Meeting
Before the Israeli cabinet meeting, a high-ranking Palestinian official told AFP that Israeli and Palestinian officials, including Israel’s Foreign Minister Shimon Peres and Palestinian parliament speaker Ahmad Qorei, are to meet in Jerusalem.
The head of Shin Beth, Israel's general security services, Avi Dichter, will also attend the meeting, as well as top Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat and Gaza Strip Palestinian preventative security chief Mohammed Dahlan, the source said.
For its part, the Palestinian leadership denounced the demolition of Yasser Arafat's offices by Israel, branding it a "serious attack" on Palestinian sovereignty.
"The Palestinian leadership condemns this serious attack on (Palestinian) national sovereignty," said a statement carried by the news agency WAFA, accusing Israel of "stepping over all the red lines". "Through such acts, Israel has shown to the world its real objectives to destroy the institutions of the Palestinian Authority and to wage war against our people," the statement said Sunday.
General Strike
A general strike was held Sunday in Arab towns in Israel, both to protest Israel's policies against the Palestinians and to show their identification with the Palestinians.
In a statement published Saturday, the Follow-Up Committee on Arab Israeli Affairs stressed that the step was part of a peaceful protest, and called on all Arab citizens of Israel to maintain measures of an "organized" protest.
The announcement on the decision was publicized at the conclusion of a large demonstration held in the town of Sahnin. The demonstrators were protesting the Israeli government's policies in the conflict with the Palestinians.
Tens of thousands of people took part in the demonstration, in which protestors held banners objecting to steps Israel has taken against the Palestinians as well as those in favor of a peace agreement. (Albawaba.com)
© 2002 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
