Arafat fires official over arms ship

Investigators search a west Jerusalem neighborhood after a fatal bombing Sunday

JERUSALEM (CNN) -- Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat dismissed a top security official and issued arrest warrants for two others Monday in connection with the arms shipment intercepted by Israel earlier this month.

Arafat has denied involvement in the shipment of 50 tons of weapons and explosives that was seized in the Red Sea. But the captain of the Karine-A said he worked for the Palestinian Authority and that the arms were headed for Palestinian Authority forces.

The Bush administration, which is voicing growing dissatisfaction with Arafat over his response to Palestinian terrorist attacks, said it has "credible evidence" linking the Palestinian Authority to the shipment, which it said originated in Iran.

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Last week, President Bush cited the arms shipment and said he was "very disappointed" in Arafat, amid reports the White House was considering sanctions or an outright break of ties with the Palestinian leader.

After an investigation by a Palestinian committee, Arafat dismissed Brig. Gen. Fouad al-Shoubaki, who was in charge of military financial affairs, and replaced him with Muhammad al-Batrawi. Al-Shoubaki already had been detained by the Palestinian Authority.

Arafat also issued arrest warrants for Col. Fathi al-Razem, deputy chief of the Palestinian naval police, and official Adel Awadallah. Both men are traveling outside Israel, the Palestinian Authority said.

Israel has said the shipment originated in Iran and contained plastic explosives and missiles that had the potential to imperil every city in Israel.

On Sunday, top U.S. Senate leaders said the United States should consider breaking off ties with Arafat, and Vice President Dick Cheney blamed Arafat for buying arms from Hezbollah, a militant Lebanese group on the U.S. list of terrorist organizations, in an attempt to launch attacks against Israelis.

Saeb Erakat, the Palestinian chief negotiator, bristled Monday at the American accusations over the arms shipment.

Arafat wrote Bush a letter January 19, Erakat said, inviting Americans to join the Palestinians in investigating the incident, but the United States declined. Instead, the Palestinians were accused of arms smuggling, he said.

"We have said we are willing to exert every possible effort to know who's behind it because it's absolutely contradicting the policies of Arafat and the Palestinian Authority to smuggle arms," Erakat said.

Another incident in the recent upsurge in violence came Sunday, when a bombing in west Jerusalem killed an Israeli, Pinhas Tokatly, 81, as well as the suspected bomber and injured more than 110 people. It was the second attack in the same area in less than a week.

Israeli police said a woman's body was found at the scene, and they were working under the assumption that she was responsible for the blast. They said it was not clear if she was a suicide bomber or was planting a bomb that prematurely detonated.

The Palestinian Authority leadership said it strongly condemned Sunday's attack, but Israeli officials laid the blame on Arafat.

The blast occurred near Jaffa and King George streets, a busy commercial strip where a Palestinian gunman went on a shooting spree last week, killing two women and injuring more than a dozen people before police shot him dead. Jaffa Street is also close to the Sbarro pizza restaurant where a suicide bomber killed 15 people last year.

Near Tel Aviv early Monday, Israeli police shot and killed a Palestinian man, after events that began when the Palestinian drove through an Israeli army checkpoint near Qalqilya, injuring an Israeli soldier, Israeli sources said.