West Asia: Both sides trade charges, gun-fire

By Kesava Menon

MANAMA (BAHRAIN), OCT. 2. While the tempo of the clashes between Palestinian civilians and Israeli security forces has lessened, the situation is still very delicate. Israel's Cabinet has demanded that the Palestinian Authority and its President, Mr. Yasser Arafat, put a stop to the violence immediately and has warned that it is about to give the army and security forces a free hand if the violence continues. The Arabs, not just those in the Palestinian territories, are still incensed at the event that sparked the rioting and the firing by Israeli security forces that has claimed 27 Palestinian lives in four days of clashes.

Palestinians throwing rocks and molotov cocktails are still confronting the Israeli security forces at different places in Jerusalem, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip for the fifth day running. But the tempo of the confrontations that seemed to have lessened as of yesterday morning was lower than it was in the first two days. Nevertheless an Israeli civilian, an Israeli Arab and an Israeli security man have been killed in the last two days. They join the 27 Palestinians, some as young as 10, that have been killed in the clashes so far. The Israeli Arab is believed to have been killed when clashes spread to towns largely populated by Arab citizens of Israel.

At its regular weekly meeting today, the Israeli Cabinet accused Palestinian officials of having instigated the violence. Palestinian officials were said to have instigated the confrontation out of a mistaken belief that they would gain something in the negotiation processes. While calling on the Palestinian Authority and its security forces to quell the rioting, Israel said that its army and security forces would be given orders to respond to any developing situation as they thought fit. Helicopters have reportedly been used already and there is now talk that the Israeli armed forces might deploy tanks. Though there have been reports that gun-fire was exchanged on a few occasions, there does not so far appear to have been a repeat of the incidents in 1996 when Israeli and Palestinian security men fought each other directly. This frightening possibility could arise once again if the situation escalates.

The Israeli Deputy Defence Minister, Mr. Ephraim Sneh, speaking on CNN, was to state that the Israeli Cabinet had evidence that Palestinian officials had organised the confrontation before hand. According to him, the Israeli leader of the Opposition, Mr. Ariel Sharon's visit to the Temple Mount/Al Aqsa complex while wrong and misguided had not provided the spark by itself but merely a pretext to carry through the Palestinians pre-laid plans.Mr. Arafat is in a position to tell his people that they have vented their anger sufficiently. He could also tell them that they have demonstrated how strongly they feel about the Al Aqsa issue and how strongly they will oppose any effort to share its sovereignty with Israel. If the rioting continues, its original cause would be forgotten and the Palestinians will lose more than they could gain if they quietened down now.

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Section  : International
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