Violence Precedes U.S. Mideast Peace Mission
November 24, 2001 06:55 PM ET
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By Danielle Haas
JERUSALEM (Reuters) - The death of an Israeli in an apparent Palestinian mortar attack and Palestinian calls for revenge after Israel killed a Hamas militant in a rocket strike threaten to complicate a new U.S. peace mission this week.
Tens of thousands of Palestinians attended rallies in the West Bank and Gaza on Saturday, vowing to strike at the heart of Israel to avenge the rocket attack that had killed Hamas military leader Mahmoud Abu Hanoud a day earlier.
An Israeli security source said two Israelis were also wounded in Saturday's apparent mortar attack near the Jewish settlement of Kfar Darom, less than 48 hours before former U.S. Marine Corps General Anthony Zinni and Assistant Secretary of State William Burns are due to arrive in the region.
Some 50,000 Palestinians marched from the West Bank city of Jenin to nearby Nablus in a funeral for Hanoud, whom Israel accused of involvement with suicide attacks on its citizens.
Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres told Israel Radio that Hanoud had been a "professional terrorist" planning future attacks and that killing him was an act of self defense.
Palestinian Information Minister Yasser Abed Rabbo accused Israel of trying to scupper the U.S. peace effort. France and the Arab League condemned the missile attack and its timing.
Some 30,000 Palestinians in Gaza City burned Israeli flags and an effigy of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, vowing to "start accumulating Israeli bodies as revenge for Hanoud."
INTERNATIONAL REBUKE
Israel's killing of Hanoud drew condemnation in Paris where a French Foreign Ministry spokesman criticized the "particularly inappropriate and irresponsible act...at a time when parties have been asked to resume dialogue to bring about a cease-fire."
In Cairo, Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa said Israel's killings of Palestinians and other acts of violence constituted "a serious challenge" to the U.S. peace initiative.
The Palestinian leadership called on Palestinians to use their "pain and anger as an element for a comprehensive national steadfastness to sabotage this criminal plan."
The attack on Hanoud brought to at least seven the number of Palestinians to die violently on Friday, one day after five boys were killed in an explosion in the Gaza Strip that Palestinian authorities blamed on an Israeli booby-trap.
Israeli officials said they were investigating the incident and expressed regret for their deaths.
At least 720 Palestinians and 189 Israelis have been killed since an uprising against Israeli occupation erupted in September 2000 shortly after peace talks stalled.
Washington wants calm in the Middle East to bolster Arab support for efforts to capture Islamic militant Osama bin Laden, whom it blames for September's attacks on the United States.
Hamas political leader Abdel-Aziz al-Rantissi told the Gaza rally that Israel's attack on Hanoud was carried out "under American sponsorship."
"It is a war between us and them... We tell Sharon our response will come without a doubt and, God willing, it will be painful," he said.
Hamas has killed scores of Israelis in suicide bombings in recent years and has played an important role in the uprising.
The Palestinians accuse Israel of assassinating more than 70 Palestinians since the uprising began last year.
Israel says its policy, widely condemned by its Western allies, is aimed at militants who plan or carry out attacks. Palestinians say it has killed several political activists. |
