Israel rejects blame for Mideast violence

Arafat salutes his honor guard in Gaza upon arrival from Cairo on Saturday   ON THE NEWS Mike Hanna: Searching for solutions in the Mideast

From Ben Wedeman
CNN Cairo Bureau Chief

JERUSALEM (CNN) -- Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon convened his Security Cabinet on Sunday, a day after Arab foreign ministers recommended suspending political contacts with the Jewish state.

The recommendation came against a background of mounting Arab anger after a Palestinian suicide bombing attack set off a round of retaliatory air strikes by the Israelis Friday.

On his way into the Security Cabinet meeting, Sharon defended his decision to respond to the suicide bombing with warplanes, saying he would do whatever was necessary to protect the Israeli people.

VIDEO CNN's Ben Wedeman reports on a recommendation made by Arab League ministers (May 19) Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media) CNN's Mike Hanna has more on the latest act of violence in the turbulent Mideast (May 18) Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media) CNN's Sheila MacVicar has more on the continuing violence in the Mideast (May 16) Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media)    GALLERY Scenes from Friday's violence    AUDIO CNN's Ben Wedeman: Arab countries try to increase U.S. involvement 493K/46 sec. AIFF or WAV sound Kofi Annan: 'Disproportionate' Israeli response 399K/37 sec. AIFF or WAV sound George W. Bush: We must break the cycle of violence 239K/22 sec. AIFF or WAV sound CNN's Mike Hanna: Diplomatic moves appear to be on hold 564K/52 sec. AIFF or WAV sound CNN's Sheila Macvicar: Bomb hidden in oversized blue coat 525K/48 sec. AIFF or WAV sound    ALSO Arab League ministers urge suspending political contact with Israel CNN's Sheila MacVicar on the aftermath of the Israeli jet strikes

"We are talking today about a prolonged conflict that's been forced upon us," he said.

Israeli Defense Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer, accompanying the prime minister to the meeting, called the attacks and counter-attacks of the last two days "preposterous," and said he was not happy about the chain of events.

"Do you really think I want to send out planes?" he said. "I would prefer to attack only specifically pinpointed targets. But sometimes there's no choice."

Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat, however, rejected Israel's claims that he was responsible for the bloodshed that has flooded the area in the past eight months of conflict, and thanked the nine Arab foreign ministers who called for more support for the Palestinian cause.

"It's a great thing that the Arab leaders and countries are behind us in the great struggle against Israeli aggression," Arafat said. "The Israelis are trying to destroy us but we, the Arab people, will never be destroyed."

Peace needs 'unending dialogue,' says Peres

The foreign ministers have endorsed a call to suspend political contacts with Israel until "aggression" and "occupation" by the Israelis stop.

Among the group were the foreign ministers of Jordan and Egypt, the only two Arab countries that have signed a peace treaty with Israel and authors of an initiative to halt fighting and start peace talks.

Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres said he regretted his Arab counterparts' action.

"Peace is something that needs continuous cultivating and unending dialogue," said Peres, a former prime minister and Nobel Peace Prize laureate. "At Oslo it was agreed to clarify all the issues by way of dialogue at the negotiating table, without the interference of terror and violence, and that is the way to act."

In Washington, the White House said Saturday it needed to review the "specific language" of the recommendation before commenting, but added that no matter what the document contained, severing Arab-Israeli ties would not help bring about an end to the violence in the region.

"There needs to be as much dialogue as possible," a senior administration official told CNN.

The official, who had not seen the "exact language" yet, said he believes the committee recommendation may be "less" significant than it appears, adding that there have been "things very close to (this) before" from the Arab League.

Arafat, who denounced the air raids and accused Israel of waging a war to destroy the Palestinian Authority, set the tone.

Non-binding recommendation

The Arab ministers also issued a call for an international force to act as a buffer between the Palestinians and the Israelis.

"I believe it is the responsibility of the international community to protect the civilian population from the bombardment by fighter bombers and by tanks and rockets," said Arab League Secretary-General Amre Moussa of Egypt.

"This is a major responsibility. Otherwise, the whole international system will be a joke."

The ministers also sought a more active role from the United States in helping to resuscitate the battered peace process.

Their pleas came at a time when many Arabs view the United States -- Israel's biggest backer and a principal supplier of military hardware -- as party to the conflict.

Armed Palestinians march on Sunday during a funeral for a farmer killed Saturday in Gaza

Though Saturday's recommendation is not binding on the 22 members of the Arab League, Arab diplomatic sources told CNN they were certain, given the mood here, it will be adopted by each of the members.

The move represents a significant change in the Arab position. Earlier, they had recommended that contacts be frozen, but an exception had been made for those Arab countries that have diplomatic relations with Israel: Egypt, Jordan and Mauritania. Saturday's call makes no such exception.

"OK, let's say they sever relations," said Raanan Gissin, a senior adviser to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. "And then what? And then what?"

The Arab countries ought to be working to convince Arafat to halt the violence and restart the negotiations, Gissin told CNN.

"They're giving [the Palestinians an] incentive to continue with this kind of horrendous attack," he said.

"We're trying to exercise restraint as much as possible, offering an open hand for peace. What we get in return is not just a cold shoulder, but a deliberate intent to intensify the violence."

Israeli helicopters in action

The latest violence included the killings Saturday of at least three Palestinians, Palestinian sources said. But the Israelis said one of the men was only wounded.

Israeli troops shot and killed a Palestinian Saturday in the West Bank town of Nablus after a funeral procession for 11 Palestinians killed Friday in Israeli air strikes, according to the Palestine Red Crescent Society.

Israeli helicopter gunships were in action Saturday morning over the West Bank towns of Jenin and Tulkarem, striking at Palestinian security headquarters in both towns.

In Tulkarem, the Palestine Red Crescent Society said as many as 30 people -- many of them civilians -- were wounded, though apparently most of the injuries were not serious.

A statement from the IDF said the Israeli Air Force "attacked terrorist targets in the area."

A Palestinian police officer was shot and killed in Jenin early Saturday, the IDF said. Israeli military said gunfire erupted after two Palestinian police officers approached two Israeli soldiers.

An Israeli soldier "shot towards the Palestinian policemen, a third Palestinian policeman neared the car and opened fire towards the Force. Soldiers then threw a grenade toward the policemen," said an IDF statement.

Saturday's attacks followed in the wake of air strikes Friday night, when Israeli F-16 fighter jets hit Palestinian targets in the West Bank and Gaza.

Those strikes came after a suicide bombing killed five Israelis as well as the bomber and left 100 wounded at a shopping mall in Netanya.