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Politics : WAR on Terror. Will it engulf the Entire Middle East? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Scoobah who wrote (661)	11/27/2001 9:48:09 AM
From: Scoobah	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 32591

Tuesday, 27 November, 2001, 12:10 GMT Four die in Israel shooting rampage A Palestinian suicide bomber was killed on Monday Palestinian gunmen have opened fire on crowds in the northern Israeli town of Afula, killing two Israelis and wounding at least 19 others. Israeli police confirmed that they shot and killed two gunmen after chasing them into a car park. A third assailant may have fled after the attack. This illustrates the fact that the Palestinian Authority is not doing anything to stop terrorism Avi Pazner Israeli Government spokesman, reacting to Afula attack Witnesses said the gunmen began shooting in the Afula central bus station, then went on to a busy nearby market, firing indiscriminately. At least four of the wounded are believed to be in a serious condition. Witnesses said a woman was shot by the gunmen after trying to attack them. Afula lies near Israel's border with the West Bank and has been targeted in previous attacks by Palestinian militants. US peace mission The attack took place shortly after two US envoys met Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon at the start of a new mission to halt Israeli-Palestinian violence that has raged for 14 months. A witness in Afula, Mordechai Cohen, told Israel Radio that "terrorists in civilian dress appeared and started to fire". "They shot the first person in the head. He fell down; they ran toward the market." During the night Israeli forces pulled out of the West Bank town of Jenin - the last of six Palestinian towns occupied by Israeli forces last month. Gideon Meir, spokesman for the Israeli Foreign Ministry, said the withdrawal was a gesture of goodwill as the talks with the US envoys started. The US officials - former General Anthony Zinni and assistant Secretary of State William Burns - plan to stay in the region until a truce has been achieved. But a statement from Mr Sharon's office repeated that he wanted to see a week without violence before a peace plan could be implemented - a condition that Palestinian officials say means that any peace moves are doomed to fail. Retribution Israeli troops began their incursions into the six West Bank Palestinian towns on 18 October following the assassination of Israeli Tourism Minister Rehavam Zeevi by the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. They had remained inside Jenin, citing security threats, after their withdrawal from the other five towns - Tulkarm, Qalqilya, Ramallah, Bethlehem and Beit Jala. Colin Powell: A new drive to revive the stalled peace talks The envoys' mission follows last week's speech by the US Secretary of State, Colin Powell, in which he spelled out Washington's vision for the Middle East. BBC Middle East correspondent Barbara Plett says they will be greeted by a stack of reports documenting the Israeli view that the Palestinian authority is involved in the violence. Israel has appointed a right-wing reservist general, Meir Dagan, as head of its negotiating team. For their part, the Palestinians are looking for a clear timetable leading to changes on the ground, such as a pullback of Israeli troops and an end to military operations that provoke revenge attacks. The envoys are expected to press both sides to implement the terms of a ceasefire negotiated five months ago by US Central Intelligence Agency director George Tenet which never took hold. Ceasefire plan Mr Tenet's plan called on Israel to stop military incursions into Palestinian towns, to stop killing suspected militants and to lift travel restrictions between Palestinian-controlled areas. He called on the Palestinians to stop attacks on Israel, to take action against militant groups and to collect illegal firearms. Nearly 1,000 people, most of them Palestinians, have been killed since the Palestinian uprising against Israeli occupation began in the West Bank and Gaza Strip in September 2000, shortly after peace talks stalled. WATCH/LISTEN ON THIS STORY The BBC's Richard Engel reports from Jerusalem "Police shot dead the two assailants" Avi Pazner, Israeli government spokesman "This is how the Palestinians welcome the peace mission" Ghassan Khatib, director, Palestinian Media Centre "This is an unfortunate development, but it was inevitable"