Arafat criticizes Palestinian attacker as truce crumbles

JERUSALEM -- In a rare public criticism of Palestinian militants, Yasser Arafat's Cabinet has demanded gunmen stop attacking Israel, saying they have violated the Mideast truce and damaged Palestinian interests.

Still, several days of heavy fighting have greatly undermined a Mideast cease-fire announced 10 days ago after both sides came under considerable pressure by the United States.

Neither Israel nor the Palestinians wants to be blamed for the failure of the truce, and the Palestinian statement was intended to show Arafat remained supportive of the cease-fire. But Israel has insisted that the Palestinian leader also arrest Palestinian militants, and so far Arafat has refused to take this step.

More violence Saturday

In violence Saturday, Israeli troops shot and killed a Palestinian in the volatile West Bank city of Hebron. The Israeli army said troops shot at an armed man after Palestinians shot at soldiers. Five Palestinians were injured in a heavy exchange of fire that included shelling by Israeli tanks, Palestinian witnesses said.

The fighting took place near two Palestinian neighborhoods where Israeli armored vehicles remained stationed for a second day, making it one of the longest-lasting Israeli incursions during a year of Mideast fighting.

Israeli troops fortified hilltop positions seized a day earlier in Hebron, where about 500 Jewish settlers live among 130,000 Palestinians. Israeli forces entered the city in response to a series of shooting attacks on Israelis in Hebron and elsewhere.

Palestinian youths threw stones Saturday at one armored personnel carrier, which drove toward the youths at one point before retreating. Israeli soldiers have evicted the residents of six houses and were flying Israeli flags from the rooftops.

Israeli troops have entered Palestinian territory several times over the past year, but have usually knocked down buildings used by Palestinian militants and then withdrawn after a few hours.

The army did not say how long Israeli troops would remain in Hebron. Cabinet Minister Tsipi Livni said that "there is no policy or ideology to reoccupy Palestinian Authority territory."

In a statement issued late Friday night, Arafat's Cabinet issued a call for order and sought to distance the Palestinian leader Arafat and his ministers from the recent shooting attacks.

"Some of the Palestinian factions, by their actions, are deviating from the national interest and the national unity of the Palestinian people," said the statement, released after a Cabinet session in the West Bank city of Ramallah.

"The Palestinian leadership is warning all those who are trying to violate President Arafat's decision to cease fire that it is a dangerous action and will harm the Palestinian national interest," it said.

Militants were warned that the Palestinian leadership would take "firm and clear measures to put an immediate end" to truce violations by Palestinians. Such language was extremely unusual for Arafat's government, which throughout a year of fighting has routinely blamed Israel for the violence and refrained from criticizing Palestinian militants.

Meeting with militants

In recent days, the Palestinian leadership has been meeting with militants and urging them to refrain from attacks.

However, Palestinian security forces have not physically prevented militants from carrying out attacks or arrested anyone from a list Israel has handed over naming more than 100 people it suspects are militants.

Some militant Palestinian factions, including Hamas, have said they will not honor the truce and have claimed responsibility for attacks.

Marwan Barghouti, a leader of Arafat's Fatah movement in the West Bank, said the Palestinian uprising would continue. "This uprising didn't begin with a decision and will not end with a decision from anyone," Barghouti said Friday, before the Cabinet meeting was held.

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, who claims Arafat was never serious about a truce, said the military would do whatever is necessary to protect Israeli lives, suggesting the truce deal had become irrelevant.

Sharon angered the United States on Thursday by saying the Bush administration should not build its anti-terror coalition by making deals with Arab countries at the expense of Israel.

Bonds reaffirmed

However, Sharon later called Secretary of State Colin Powell to reaffirm Israel's bonds with the United States, and Powell declared an end to the public disagreement over the remark.

Israel initially believed the U.S. coalition would bring the two allies closer, but Washington has been courting support from Arab and Muslim states.

To help that effort, the United States wants the Middle East conflict to calm down. President Bush said this past week that he would support a Palestinian state as part of a Mideast settlement.

Bush's comments were welcomed by the Palestinians, who feel the United States has not put enough pressure on Israel. But some Israelis were upset, saying the Palestinians were being rewarded for violence.