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Israelis, Palestinians trade blame for new wave of violence
Hamas threatens more attacks
March 22, 1997
Web posted at: 1:29 p.m. EDT (1329 GMT)Latest Developments:
- Violence follows suicide bombing
- Two sides point fingers
- West Bank, Gaza Strip closed
- Peace process in danger?
- Related stories and sites
HEBRON, West Bank (CNN) -- The streets of Hebron were littered with rocks Saturday after the second day of clashes between rock- and firebomb-throwing Palestinians and Israeli soldiers.
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The soldiers responded with tear-gas, rubber bullets and finally live ammunition. Officials at Hebron hospitals said at least 20 Arabs had been shot in the conflict, and another 80 treated for other injuries.
Five Israeli soldiers were also injured by flying rocks, and several Palestinian policemen caught in the middle of the fracas were injured as well.
The violence in Hebron followed Friday's suicide bombing at a cafe in Tel Aviv. The radical Islamic group Hamas took responsibility for the blast, which killed three Israeli women and wounded dozens during the annual Purim celebration.
The explosion at the Apropo Cafe, three days after Israel broke ground for a Jewish settlement in East Jerusalem, followed days of warnings by intelligence sources that militants were planning attacks in Israeli.
On Saturday, Hamas threatened more attacks.
"The persistence of the Zionists to build the dirty settlement ... will commit us to continue our attacks, striking against the Zionists," said a statement faxed to an international news agency by Hamas' military wing.
Two sides point fingers
Palestinian officials blamed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's hard-line policies for fomenting the violence.
"Netanyahu must stop his crazy policies in East Jerusalem," said Brigadier Jibril Rajoub, commander of West Bank security. "The reaction, the riots, the demonstrations are the result of these policies."
But Netanyahu blamed Palestinian President Yasser Arafat for the blast, pointing to the freeing of Hamas militants who had been arrested after a spate of suicide bombings killed 59 people last year.
Ibrahim Maqadmeh, a 47-year-old dentist, was one of those released earlier this month. But Palestinian police took him back into custody late Friday at his home in the Bureij refugee camp. Hamas sources said five other members of the group were arrested, but Palestinian officials did not confirm those arrests.
Arafat condemned the bombing and telephoned Netanyahu with his condolences. He also said Saturday he was shocked that the United States vetoed, for the second time, a U.N. resolution condemning the Israeli construction project.
West Bank, Gaza Strip closed
In the wake of Friday's bombing, Israel closed the West Bank and Gaza Strip, keeping the Palestinians out of Israel.
In Zurif, the West Bank hometown of the man who bombed the Tel Aviv cafe, Israeli troops maintained a tight curfew, and arrested 13 residents as part of their investigation of the Tel Aviv bombing.
The home of assailant Mohammed Abdel Khader Abu Deiyah in Zurif was sealed, according to Israeli radio, and witnesses said soldiers were preparing to blow it up. Zurif is an Israeli-controlled town.
Radio reports said that Deiyah had an Israeli work permit, and that he had been arrested several times on suspicion of being a member of Hamas.
The army also arrested four residents of Nuva near Hebron.
Peace process in danger?
In talks held after Friday's bombing, Israeli security officials pressed Palestinian authorities to crack down on Hamas activists.
"The peace process is in jeopardy at this point," said Netanyahu's communications director David Bar-Illan before the Palestinians rearrested Maqadmeh. "If the Palestinians do not do what we are asking them to do by way of fighting terrorism, it is very doubtful that the process can continue.
Mohammad Dahlan, the Palestinian security chief in Gaza, said that his forces would do their part, "but Israel has to understand that for security measures to succeed there must be peace and the right environment has to prevail."
Correspondent Jerrold Kessel and Reuters contributed to this report.
Related stories:
- Palestinian security arrests Hamas leader - March 22, 1997
- U.S. again vetoes U.N. resolution on Israeli housing - March 21, 1997
- Bomber, 3 women killed in Tel Aviv blast - March 21, 1997
- Israelis, Palestinians clash near Bethlehem - March 20, 1997
- Court lets disputed Jerusalem home-building continue - March 19, 1997
- Netanyahu defends Jerusalem housing project - March 18, 1997
- Israelis to begin work on Jerusalem settlements - March 17, 1997
- With condolence visit to Israel, King Hussein spurs talks - March 16, 1997
- Netanyahu accuses Palestinians of creating 'crisis' - March 11, 1997
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