Israel fears prolonged struggle against Palestine

GAZA CITY, OCT 25: The Israeli army is gearing up for a prolonged struggle against the Palestinians, as the death toll mounts, with fears ...

GAZA CITY, OCT 25: The Israeli army is gearing up for a prolonged struggle against the Palestinians, as the death toll mounts, with fears that the fighting could last into next year.

Two Palestinians were shot dead by Israeli troops in the Palestinian territories yesterday as Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak sought to join forces with the right wing in a move critics say will kill the Middle East peace process.

The deaths brought the toll from almost four weeks of violence to 138. All but eight of the fatalities have been Arabs, while some 4,000 people have been wounded.

Story continues below this ad

In Washington, US President Bill Clinton, whose time in office is waning, made a last-ditch attempt to get Barak and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat back on the peace track.

In a telephone conversation with the Palestinian leader yesterday, Clinton suggested that Arafat and Barak might meet separately with him in Washington, the White House said.

Chief of staff General Shaul Mofaz predicted that the clashes would last at least a year.

Mofaz also predicted more clashes on the border with Lebanon, but said the risk of a regional conflict was slight, Israel’s daily Haaretz reported.

Story continues below this ad

The clashes continued last night when armed Palestinians and Israeli troops exchanged automatic arms fire in the Palestinian sector of Toulkarem in the occupied West Bank, sources from both sides said.

There were no reports of casualties from either side. According to Palestinian witnesses, Israeli tanks then opened fire and explosions were heard. A military spokesman in Jerusalem told AFP that the tanks had not fired shells towards Toulkarem.

Barak accused Arafat of choosing the "path of conflict in an attempt to make us fold and to get us to surrender our vital interests through force."

Russian President Vladimir Putin today discussed the latest developments in the West Asia with Ehud Barak and Yasser Arafat, the Kremlin announced.

Story continues below this ad

"The president discussed Israeli-Palestinian relations and the West Asia peace process in general during the telephone conversations late Tuesday," presidential press secretary Alexei Gromov told the Interfax news agency.

Putin confirmed to Barak "Russia’s willingness to continue cooperating with the two sides, any interested parties in the West Asia region, the United States and European governments, to settle the current crisis and revive the peace process," Gromov was quoted as saying by ITAR-TASS.

Meanwhile, Arafat today angrily rounded on Barak over his accusations that the Palestinians had chosen the path of conflict.

"Palestinian President Yasser Arafat considers these declarations bizarre and reprehensible," his secretary general, Tayeb Abdel Rahim, told AFP.

Story continues below this ad

"Our people are only defending themselves against the Israeli military machine," he added.

In Gaza, a 17-year-old Palestinian boy was shot dead, and a 13-year-old died of a bullet wound suffered four days earlier, the Shifa hospital said. A Palestinian man was also shot dead in Jenin, on the West Bank.

In the US, the State Department warned Americans to avoid travel to Israel because of a "heightened threat of terrorist incidents in Israel, the West Bank and Gaza."

"American citizens should exercise caution and avoid shopping areas, malls, public buses and bus stops as well as crowded areas and demonstrations," the department said in a statement yesterday.