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Three Palestinians killed, 2 Israeli soldiers wounded in Mideast fightingArafat to push U.N. for security force
JERUSALEM (CNN) -- Bitter fighting between Palestinians and Israeli security forces entered a seventh week on Friday as Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat sought support from the United States and the United Nations for an international protection force in the West Bank and Gaza. Three Palestinians were killed in fighting on Friday: two in Gaza and the third in the West Bank, according to Palestinian hospital officials. An explosion just outside Jerusalem's walled Old City slightly injured an Israeli policeman. An Israeli soldier was critically injured outside Rachel's Tomb in the West Bank and fighting was also reported near Ramallah, also in the West Bank. The confrontations followed Friday's funeral of Hussein Abayat, a local Palestinian leader killed in an Israeli rocket attack on Thursday. Members of Arafat's Fatah party vowed retaliation on Israel for Abayat's death, which they called an assassination. More than 200 people, all but 18 of them Palestinians or Israeli Arabs, have been killed since fighting began on September 28. No other details on the Palestinian deaths were available. The east Jerusalem explosion occurred in a Muslim cemetery, near a group of Israeli policemen deployed to prevent conflict as Muslims arrived at the Al Aqsa mosque for Friday prayers.
More fighting was reported on Friday near Rachel's Tomb and Ramallah in the West Bank, and in Gaza. The east Jerusalem explosion occurred in a Muslim cemetery, near a group of Israeli policemen deployed to prevent conflict as Muslims arrived at the Al Aqsa mosque for Friday prayers. Some scuffles broke out between Muslims and the Israelis before prayers began, but none were reported as the worshippers left the area. Al Aqsa and another mosque, Dome of the Rock, sit atop a hill known to Muslims as Haram al-Sharif (Noble Sanctuary) and the Temple Mount to Jews. It is a site sacred to both religions. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak called the explosion "a very severe event," and Ephraim Sneh, Barak's deputy defense minister, characterized it as "part of a global terrorist campaign." The Palestinians had no official comment on the explosion, and no group stepped forward to claim responsibility. An Israeli police spokesman said investigators "are not sure whether it was caused by a hand grenade or an explosive device, but we're checking." "One police officer was lightly wounded," he said. Fatah official killed in Israeli attackMilitant Palestinians had declared Friday another "day of rage," this one over the killing of local Fatah leader Hussein Abayat in an Israeli rocket attack on Thursday. Israel claimed Abayat was a mastermind of violent attacks against Israelis in the West Bank. The vehicle Abayat was riding in, Israel said, was targeted because Israel Defense Forces (IDF) identified it as the source of several shootings in the area. Two Palestinian women bystanders were also killed in the attack and eight people were wounded. Fatah leader Hussein Sheikh called the attack a serious escalation and accused IDF of attempting to assassinate Fatah leaders. "This will only make us more determined," he told CNN, warning that the Israelis should "expect a violent response." He said Israel was pushing the Palestinians into "a new phase of violence which we did not want to enter." Israel heightened security on Friday, expecting retaliation. White House cool to protection force ideaSpeaking Thursday night at the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington, Arafat said a proposal for a protection force "was one of the major points I presented to, and requested from, President Clinton" when the two met Thursday at the White House. Clinton, however, did not warm to the idea. Noting Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak's rejection of a buffer force, the White House said that the two sides should focus on where they agree. "To spend too much time on it right now just simply diverts us then from bringing the violence under control," said U.S. national security adviser Samuel Berger. "It can't be done unless both parties want it done." Barak has flatly rejected such a proposal, saying a protection force in Palestinian-controlled territories would be a "reward" for Palestinian violence. Arafat countered Barak, pointing to buffer forces watching the borders between Israel and other Mideastern nations. "Between Israel and Egypt there is an international force," he said. "Between Lebanon and Israel there is an international force. Between Israel and Syria there is an international force." Arafat will hold a closed meeting with the Security Council on Friday morning to push for the U.N. protection force. Barak is scheduled to travel to Washington for a meeting with Clinton on Sunday. Barak said on Friday his expectations were low for the meeting with Clinton. RELATED STORIES: After meeting with Clinton, Arafat's next stop is U.N. RELATED SITES: United Nations | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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