Palestinians detail push against terror

JERUSALEM -- Trying to deflect intense pressure, the Palestinian Authority has handed the United States a detailed written response to allegations that it has not acted against terrorism.

The 17-page document, obtained Wednesday by The Associated Press, says the Palestinians have arrested 195 militants, blocked 56 suspect bank accounts, closed 15 illegal munitions factories and 79 unregistered charities and clamped down on militant mosque preachers.

Yasser Arafat's government "remains committed to peacefully negotiating an end to Israel's occupation of Palestinian territories," said the document, which seemed to be part of a concerted Palestinian effort to convince Western nations that it is sincere in trying to find a way to end 16 months of violence and restart peace talks.

Earlier this week, Arafat wrote an article in The New York Times condemning Palestinian "terrorist groups" who attack Israeli civilians and saying he was "determined to put an end to their activities."

Israel has dismissed the overtures and violence has continued, with each side blaming the other.

"As far as we know, there are no actions and there are no results," said Danny Ayalon, a senior aide to Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. The claims of arrests are especially misleading, he said, because those arrested were "small-fry" who were not on a list of 33 militants the United States and Israel have demanded be arrested.

Terror acts continue

"The warning of terrorist attacks are continuing all the time," Ayalon said. "The Palestinians are talking the talk, but they won't walk the walk."

A Palestinian teen-ager, meanwhile, was shot and killed in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday by Israeli soldiers, witnesses said. They said he was among youths who gathered near an Israeli military position, and there were no clashes at the time. The Israeli military said a Palestinian threw a grenade at the post.

Also Wednesday, Israeli police in the West Bank seized a Palestinian man on a bus who was wearing an explosives belt, arresting him and defusing the weapon, police said. And Israeli soldiers intercepted a truck in the West Bank carrying rockets for Palestinian militants, the military said. Brig. Gen. Gershon Yitzhak said the soldiers found eight launchers and rockets with a range of six to seven miles, which would give Palestinians the ability to hit Israeli cities from the West Bank.

In the Jordan River Valley, a Palestinian infiltrated the Hamra settlement and opened fire, wounding four Israelis, military and rescue officials said. Large numbers of soldiers converged on the scene.

At his West Bank headquarters, Arafat addressed visitors Wednesday, pledging Palestinians would defend holy sites in the "land of jihad" and leading a chant, "it's ours, it's ours, it's ours, and to Jerusalem we go, her martyrs in the millions."

But in a possible sign of a thaw, a senior Palestinian official said CIA chief George Tenet will return to the Middle East next week.