Five Israelis were injured, one of them seriously, in a shooting attack Sunday afternoon near a military base next to the city of Hadera. According to media reports, two armed Palestinians traveling in white Mazda vehicle arrived near the military base. One of them started to shoot and tried to enter the base. He was shot dead by policemen.
The second Palestinian drove off in the car, with the police giving chase, and blew himself up near the army base.
Sharon
Earlier, Israel’s Prime Minister Ariel Sharon convened an extended security cabinet meeting on Sunday, after a weekly cabinet meeting, to discuss Israel's reaction to the recent violent events, including the suicide bombing Saturday evening at the West Bank settlement of Karnei Shomron, in which two settlers were killed.
Israeli Defense Minister Benjamin Ben-Eliezer, Foreign Minister Shimon Peres and the coalition faction leaders attended the meeting, the first held by the Prime Minister.
On his part, the Defense Minister reviewed the situation throughout the territories during the cabinet meeting. He said that, “terror organizations” were competing over who could carry out the most deadly attack, and he accused Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat of encouraging “terror”.
"Israel has never lost a war and will win this one declared by the Palestinians," Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon told top security figures Saturday night, following the suicide bombing in Karnei Shomron and renewed Palestinian missile attacks, according to AFP.
"The citizens of Israel have known in the past harder times than those we are living through today," he was quoted as saying in the media Sunday. "If we remain united we will attain our goal, we will triumph."
"At present, Israel will have to increase the strength of its military operations in the face of terrorism," Sharon was holding consultations late Saturday and early Sunday with his security heads, including talks with Defense Minister Benjamin Ben Eliezer.
Meanwhile, an anonymous political source quoted in the Yediot Aharonot daily said, "Israel will answer the Palestinian attacks with a progressive military response which will grow in the coming days."
(Albawaba.com)
© 2002 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
