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Netanyahu, Arafat trade barbs as Mideast tensions mount

bus

Israeli bus overturns in West Bank blast; 13 injured

April 2, 1997
Web posted at: 10:06 a.m. EST (1506 GMT)

In this story:

JERUSALEM (CNN) -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ceded nothing to Palestinians Wednesday as Mideast tensions appeared to be widening. Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat warned that the entire peace process was "in real danger."

Relations between the two sides have deteriorated sharply since Israel decided last month to begin building a Jewish settlement in disputed East Jerusalem, triggering days of stone-throwing riots in the West Bank that continued Wednesday.

Gunman

Adding to the unrest, an Israeli bus filled with civilians and Israeli soldiers overturned in the West Bank Wednesday after a firebomb was hurled at it. At least 13 people were injured.

Two Palestinians died Tuesday in explosions that Israel said were botched suicide bombings aimed at Jewish school children. Two other Palestinians were shot dead by Israeli troops in the West Bank.

Washington intervention

Netanyahu, speaking through adviser Shai Bazak, said Israel would not give in to Palestinian demands to stop building in East Jerusalem.

The comments came ahead of Netanyahu's planned Monday visit to Washington for Middle East peace discussions with U.S. President Bill Clinton. Earlier reports indicated Netanyahu wasn't planning to make the trip, but on Tuesday Clinton urged him to attend.

"The building at Har Homa will continue -- (Netanyahu) will say that to Clinton," Bazak said. "He has said that to the whole world and he will say it again: Jerusalem is the capital of Israel and we have the right to build in it."

woman

Bazak added that "the cessation of Palestinian terrorism" would lead to the "continuation of diplomatic negotiations."

An opinion poll of 509 Israeli Jews published in the Israeli daily newspaper Maariv showed Israelis are nearly divided over the disputed settlement, with 52 percent saying they backed continuing the construction.

U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, meanwhile, called Arafat twice Wednesday to hear his views on the situation ahead of Netanyahu's visit, the Palestinian news agency Wafa said.

The agency quoted Arafat as telling Albright: "The Israeli settlement policy ... places the entire peace process in real danger." Arafat emphasized that only a halt in settlement building would calm the situation.

According to Maariv, Clinton planned to ask both sides to move up negotiations on a permanent peace agreement, set a specific deadline, and conduct the last, decisive phase of the peace process in a Camp David-type setting under U.S. auspices.

Jihad suspects detained

Also Wednesday Arafat's police detained 30 Islamic militants in connection with Tuesday's bungled suicide bombings. Most of those detained were followers of the militant Islamic Jihad group.

Palestinian officials said 13 were released after questioning.

men

The move came a day after Clinton urged Arafat to show "zero tolerance" for terrorism.

Meanwhile, some confusion remained over the nature of Tuesday's explosions. Palestinian police insisted one was caused by Israeli troops, but there were growing signs that Islamic Jihad was involved -- a claim Jihad has denied.

The two men killed outside the Netzarim and Kfar Darom settlements had both been held in Palestinian jails in the past on suspicion they belonged to Islamic Jihad. The two were identified as Anwar Shadrawi, 20, and Abdallah Madhoun, 19.

Correspondent Jerrold Kessel and Reuters contributed to this report.

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