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Pastimes : Prophecy -- HYPE or HOPE? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: SOROS who wrote (1295)	2/3/2002 11:14:37 PM
From: calgal	Respond to of 5569

Israeli Helicopters Strike in Gaza Strip Sun Feb 3, 8:58 PM ET By Jeffrey Heller JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli helicopters fired missiles at a suspected Palestinian mortar bomb factory in the Gaza Strip on Monday, setting it ablaze in a late-night air raid. Photos Reuters Photo Slideshows AP Photo Mideast Conflict Audio/Video Clashes After Friday Prayers in Ramallah (AP) There were no reports of casualties in the strike, which came hard on the heels of a peace manifesto by Palestinian President Yasser Arafat that included a pledge to crack down on what he called "terrorist groups" that attack Israeli civilians. "In response to the firing of mortar bombs by Palestinians in the past few days, the Israel Defense Forces targeted a metal workshop in Jabalya, in the northern Gaza Strip," an army announcement said. Israeli military sources said mortar bombs were made at the facility and that it was attacked by air. Earlier the army reported Palestinians had fired two mortar bombs on Sunday at a Jewish settlement, causing no injuries or damage. Palestinian security officials said two helicopters fired four to five missiles at the workshop, which went up in flames. Arafat charted "The Palestinian Vision of Peace" in an article in Sunday's New York Times -- preceding White House talks on Thursday between Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and President Bush. Bush has publicly expressed disappointment with Arafat over his alleged involvement in an attempt to smuggle Iranian arms into Gaza in violation of interim Israeli-Palestinian peace deals. Arafat has denied any culpability. The United States signaled on Sunday however it would not walk away from the Middle East crisis and would strive to put the Israelis and Palestinians on the path to peace after more than 1,000 deaths in 16 months of conflict. Arafat wrote in the New York Times: "Israelis and Palestinians have been locked in a catastrophic cycle of violence, a cycle which only promises more bloodshed and fear." He said the time had come for the world to see the Palestinian vision of peace -- an independent and viable state on the territories occupied by Israel in the 1967 Middle East war, and two peoples living side-by-side in peace and security. "But first, let me be very clear. I condemn the attacks carried out by terrorist groups against Israeli civilians. These groups do not represent the Palestinian people or their legitimate aspirations for freedom," Arafat said. "They are terrorist organizations, and I am determined to put an end to their activities," he said. SHARON DISMISSES ARAFAT'S MANIFESTO Sharon, who has said he would urge Bush to cut ties with Arafat after a recent wave of suicide bombings in Israel, was dismissive. "Arafat is irrelevant. He talks incessantly. Certainly the comments were written in softer language, but he is excellent when it comes to talking," Sharon told Israel's Channel Two television. Last week Sharon said he regretted not having killed Arafat during Israel's 1982 invasion of Lebanon when the PLO chief was besieged in Beirut. However, Sharon's dovish Foreign Minister Shimon Peres said in a speech in New York to the World Economic Forum: "If Arafat will do what he has said, it is a good beginning." Sharon has ringed Arafat's West Bank headquarters with tanks since mid-December, keeping him a virtual prisoner and demanding he arrest militants behind the assassination in October of an Israeli cabinet minister. In Washington, Secretary of State Colin Powell welcomed Arafat's condemnation of terrorism. "But now what we need is action against terrorists," he said. Speaking on U.S. television, Powell said he would meet members of Arafat's Palestinian Authority to discuss efforts to achieve a cease-fire and move toward peace negotiations. He was to begin the round of talks on Monday at the State Department with Palestinian parliamentary speaker Ahmed Korei. "We can't walk away from the current crisis in the Middle East. We've got to get back on a track that provides a cease-fire and...then go forward to the negotiations," Powell said. "So we stay in touch with Chairman Arafat and other individuals within the Palestinian Authority." In surprise talks last Wednesday, Sharon met Korei, Arafat's unofficial deputy Mahmoud Abbas and Mohammed Rashid, an economic adviser to the Palestinian leader to demand the Palestinians crack down on militants. It was Sharon's first face-to-face meeting with Arafat's top associates since the right-wing Likud leader won an election a year ago on a pledge to restore security to Israelis shaken by a Palestinian uprising against occupation. At least 827 Palestinians and 249 Israelis have been killed since the uprising began in September 2000 after peace talks stalled. story.news.yahoo.com