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Israel Not to Tolerate Violence, Terror: Barak
Israeli caretaker Prime Minister Ehud Barak said late Thursday night that Israel will not tolerate violence and "terror attacks" against its citizens or soldiers.
A statement issued by Barak's office said that Barak made the remark in a telephone conversation with Jordanian King Abdullah Bin Hussein.
Barak emphasized that he "viewed with great severity the acts of terror, which make the diplomatic process very difficult."
The prime minister was referring to two bomb attacks earlier Thursday, which killed at least two Israelis and wounded 16 others. Israel police believed that the bomb attacks were carried out by Palestinian "terrorists."
The statement also said that the two leader exchanged thoughts and views about the latest developments.
In response to the bombing attacks, Barak had ordered to re- impose tight closure on the Palestinian self-rule areas as of Thursday midnight, a move may further dampen the hope for an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal.
This was the fourth time that Israel had blockaded the Palestinian self-rule areas since the outbreak of the Palestinian- Israeli clashes on September 28.
Earlier in the month, Israel had eased the closure on some West Bank towns and allowed some 10,000 Palestinian workers to work in Israel.
The bomb attacks further complicated the already fragile situation between Israel and the Palestinians as U.S. peace efforts suffered a setback Thursday as a three-way summit between Barak, Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, boding well for the Palestinian-Israeli peace process, was cancelled at the last minute.
The aborted tripartite summit had been widely believed indicating agreement between the Palestinians and Israel over a U. S. compromise plan for a peace accord between the two rivals.
The Palestinian leadership Wednesday night expressed deep reservations over the proposals, demanding clarifications over some major issues.
The proposals raised last Saturday by US President Bill Clinton give Palestinians sovereignty over the Arab neighborhoods in East Jerusalem and Al Aqsa mosque compound, which is known to Jews as Temple Mount, in return for Palestinian abjuration of rights of return for the some 3.7 million Palestinian refugees.
In addition, Israel will withdraw from 95 percent of the West Bank and 100 percent of Gaza, and territories captured along with East Jerusalem since the 1967 Mideast war.
Shortly after reports of Palestinian reservations, Barak decided not to attend the three-way summit planned for Thursday afternoon at Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el Sheikh.
Barak had planned to hold talks with Abdullah after the tripartite summit. Egypt and Jordan are the only two Arab states that have signed a peace treaty with Israel and have been playing important mediatory roles in Arab-Israeli peace talks.
The explosions, one in Tel Aviv and the other in the Sufa border crossing between Israel and Gaza, took place as Arafat was holding talks with Mubarak on the US proposals and the latest developments in the Palestinian situation. Over 300 people, mostly Palestinians, have been killed during the three-month violence.
Barak Condemns Bomb ExplosionIsrael's caretaker Prime Minister Ehud Barak condemned the bus bombing in Tel Aviv Thursday, saying it was "a reprehensible attack on innocent citizens."
He said that he would make efforts to bring security to Israel by putting an end to the conflict with Palestinians, which is seen as a clear indication that despite the attack he would continue the peace process.
In the meantime, the Palestinian militant group Hamas issued a statement Thursday afternoon in Gaza, claiming responsibility for the bus bombing earlier, Israel Radio reported.
Hamas spokesman Mahmoud Zahar said in Gaza that the Izzadin Kassam military wing of the group carried out the attack, which " was in response to Israeli aggression."
One, maybe two bombs, exploded Thursday lunchtime on the No. 51 Dan bus in central Tel Aviv, injuring 13 people, four of them in medium-to-serious condition. The injured people have been taken to hospitals for treatment.
The explosion occurred near the Beit Recital hall on Derech Petah Tiqva, a major Tel Aviv traffic artery.
Israeli TV Channel One reported that the explosion was small and that the bombs may have misfired, raising the possibility that the attack had been planned in a haste and with a clear intention to undermine any possible progress on peace.
The bombing comes as U.S. President Bill Clinton is trying to make a final push, before he leaves office on January 20, to bring about a Mideast peace deal.
Palestinian National Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat is in Cairo for a meeting with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to discuss American proposals for a framework peace deal.
Barak, who had been originally scheduled to join the two leaders for a three-way summit, cancelled the trip for unknown reasons.
In the past, Hamas and the Islamic Jihad (or Holy War), which reject the Oslo process, have carried out bombings in an effort to derail negotiations. Israel Radio quoted police sources as saying that the combination of possible movement in the diplomatic process and the end of the Islamic fast month of Ramadan had increased the threat of terror attacks.
In recent weeks there have been three bombings. Two people were killed when a car bomb exploded near the Mahane Yehuda open-air market in Jerusalem on November 2. Another car bomb blasted near a bus in the coastal town of Hadera on November 22, killing two people and injuring 52.
In the most recent attack, two soldiers were seriously injured last week when a Palestinian suicide bomber blew himself up at a restaurant in a settlement in the Jordan Valley.
At Least 13 Injured in Bus Explosion in Tel Aviv At least 13 people were injured, four of them seriously, Thursday in a bus explosion in central Tel Aviv, Israeli police said.
The explosion occurred near the Beit Recital hall on Derech Petah Tiqva, a major Tel Aviv traffic artery.
There were 30 people on the bus when the bombs went off. The police suspect there were three bombs and believe it was a " terrorist" act.
The injured have been taken to hospitals for treatment.
Israel television reported that the explosions were small and that the bombs had possibly misfired. The police are searching the area for potential bombs.
Palestinian militant group Hamas spokesman Mahmoud Zahar said Hamas and Islamic Jihad (Holy War) would continue to carry out attacks within Israeli territory.
Thursday's explosion is a major blast following the bus bombing on November 22 in northern central city of Hadera that killed two people and injured nearly 60 people and another deadly bomb attack in central Jerusalem in early November that killed two Israelis and injured about 10 others.
The explosion took place against the backdrop that diplomatic efforts were intensified to renew the Israeli-Palestinian peace talks based on U.S. President Bill Clinton's compromise peace proposal.
Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat arrived in Cairo Thursday for talks with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on the American proposals after a scheduled three-way summit with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak in Egypt's Red Sea resort of Sharm el Sheikh was cancelled in the small hours Thursday morning.
The tripartite summit, which had been expected to discuss the American proposals and ways to end the three-month bloody clashes between Israeli forces and Palestinians, was suspended because Barak decided not to come, an Egyptian official said.
Arafat reportedly sent a letter to Clinton Wednesday night expressing a number of reservations and requests for clarification of the proposals following a meeting of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) leadership.
Barak shortly decided not to attend the summit after his security cabinet at a late-night session accepted the U.S. proposal as a basis for renewing "intensive negotiations for a permanent agreement between Israel and the Palestinians."
According to media reports, the Clinton proposal stipulates that Palestinians will gain sovereignty over the Arab neighborhoods and the al-Aqsa Mosque compound in East Jerusalem while the Western Wall, Judaism's holiest site, will remain under Israeli control.
In return, there would be no right of return for the some 3.7 million Palestinian refugees displaced since the 1948 Arab-Israeli war, with only a small number allowed back to Israel for family reunification.กก
In addition, Israel would withdraw from 95 percent of the West Bank and 100 percent of the Gaza Strip, territories it occupied along with East Jerusalem in the 1967 Arab-Israeli war.
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