Israeli airstrikes hit Palestinian buildings
Israeli warplanes pounded Palestinian security installations early today after a string of Palestinian attacks left four Israelis and three militants dead.
Israeli F-16 warplanes destroyed two Palestinian security buildings in the Gaza city of Rafah, near the Egyptian border, witnesses said. Four Palestinian police were hurt, none seriously, doctors said.
A Palestinian police structure in Ramallah in the West Bank was also attacked from the air. The Israeli military said the air strikes were a response to ‘‘murderous attacks’’ by Palestinians.
The military also blocked the main road in Gaza in three places, banning Palestinian traffic, a statement said.
Three of the dead from yesterday’s violence were Palestinians armed with rifles or bombs, and three of the Israeli victims were in uniform. All the attacks were in territories under Israeli control.
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon called in his top military team for consultations, a statement from his office said.
Missing from the consultations was foreign minister Shimon Peres of the moderate Labour party, who favours renewal of contacts with the Palestinians. Instead, Mr Sharon met with defence minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer, the leader of the Labour party, as well as the army chief of staff and other officers.
The Al Aqsa Brigade, affiliated with Yasser Arafat’s Fatah movement but not under his direct command, appeared to be involved in all three incidents. Israel blamed Mr Arafat for the violence.
In the first incident yesterday, Israeli police stopped a suspicious car on a road leading to Jerusalem from the Jordan River Valley, part of the West Bank. Police said the driver got out of the car and then detonated explosives inside, killing himself and a policeman.
Two hours later, a Palestinian opened fire on an Israeli vehicle in the Gaza Strip, killing a woman. Soldiers returned fire, and the attacker threw grenades at the soldiers before he was killed by gunfire. Two soldiers were killed in the clash.
Later last night, two armed Palestinians entered a farm area of a Gaza settlement and opened fire on Israeli soldiers. Soldiers returned the fire, killing one of the gunmen.
The spate of incidents, along with an attempted bomb attack at an army base in Israel’s north on Sunday, made up one of the most intense periods of violence in the 16-month-old conflict between the Palestinians and Israel.
Israeli officials accused Mr Arafat of not taking steps to stop the militants. Palestinians countered that Israel was responsible, because Israeli roadblocks and restrictions, including the virtual house arrest of Mr Arafat, have made it impossible for Palestinian security to operate.
Mr Sharon faced pressure from both sides. Former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel should expel Mr Arafat.
‘‘The goal is to defeat the terror regime, to effectively bring it down,’’ he said. Mr Netanyahu said he would challenge Mr Sharon for leadership of their Likud party and try to replace him as prime minister.
