US Middle East peace envoy Anthony Zinni is expected to press ahead with his truce mission Friday after a Palestinian suicide bomber killed three Israelis and Israel signaled it would not hold back retaliation for long.
The Israeli security cabinet has agreed to show “restraint” following the latest suicide bombing in downtown Jerusalem. The Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, an armed group linked to Fatah, claimed responsibility for the bombing.
Following the attack, Israel postponed the second round of truce talks with the Palestinians set for Thursday night under the supervision of US Middle East peace envoy Anthony Zinni.
Israeli Cabinet
The Israeli security cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, said it wanted to give the US-led peace initiative a chance.
The security cabinet had reached the decision not to retaliate immediately with "contained rage," the Israeli media reported. The cabinet warned that the policy would not apply indefinitely. "Israel will not be able to sustain for long its one-sided effort" to implement a ceasefire, said Sharon's office in a statement.
The statement added that Arafat "is solely responsible for the murderous terrorism".
Israeli sources told the press the Israeli army was opposed to a massive retaliation following the Jerusalem bombing, when it was asked to give its assessment to the cabinet.
Zinni
American sources described Thursday night envoy Zinni as undeterred by the bombing attacks, and that he was working on a bridging proposal for a possible meeting Friday of the joint security committee.
A senior Palestinian official told Reuters that Zinni would hold a morning meeting with Arafat in Ramallah.
U.S. sources said Zinni would continue working to resolve differences between Israel and the Palestinian Authority on how to start implementing the Tenet plan, and he was still seeking to arrange a cease-fire declaration. Zinni said he would continue his mission and, according to American sources, he asked Israel to exercise restraint.
In his meeting with Zinni, at the Tel Aviv Defense Ministry compound, Israeli defense minister, Benjamin Ben-Eliezer quoted Marwan al Barghouti, Fatah-Tanzim leader in the West Bank, who Thursday said the U.S. and Zinni were responsible for the Jerusalem attack "because of the one-sided American approach of supporting Israel in the security talks."
Despite serious differences between the parties at the recent meeting of the joint Israeli-Palestinian security committee, Israeli sources in Jerusalem were optimistic that a cease-fire would be announced by the start of next week.
The sources said that only a large-scale Palestinian attack, with many casualties, could prevent a cease-fire by Sunday or Monday of next week. "The differences in the talks are bridgeable by negotiations," said one of the sources Thursday, "and the Americans are very determined to reach a cease-fire."
Palestinian sources said that there had been differences of opinion between the two sides as to the length of time allocated to the Tenet cease-fire plan, before the resumption of the diplomatic process, Israel Radio reported Thursday.
PA
Meanwhile, Palestinian leader, Yasser Arafat, promised to take "immediate and appropriate steps to put an end to these actions (bombing attacks) and those who stand behind them". But US officials said it is now most unlikely that Vice President Dick Cheney will meet Arafat next week in Egypt.
However, under intense pressure from the US and Israel, Arafat gathered leaders of Palestinian "nationalist and Islamic factions" on Thursday night to urge an end to attacks on civilians in Israel.
"The representatives of the factions expressed their understanding of President Yasser Arafat's position," al Bargouthi told Reuters. Another official who attended the meeting said: "Arafat was very angry at the recent attacks against civilians in Israel and he said these do not serve the Palestinian cause."
Before the meeting, Arafat told journalists in Ramallah "We strongly condemn this military operation ... especially since it was against innocent Israeli civilians.".
Nevertheless, an Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades spokesman, who used a nom de guerre, Abu Mujahed, said the group would not stop attacks on Israelis until there is a truce agreement. The spokesman said Arafat has not given orders to stop attacks on Israelis, reported AP.
The State Department said Thursday Secretary of State Colin Powell had added the Brigades to its list of designated "foreign terrorist organizations." Fatah denounced this U.S. ruling.
"Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades is part of the legitimate resistance movement against the occupation and (Jewish) settlers," al-Barghouti commented.
"U.S. accusations of terrorism against the Brigades reflect the stupidity and American enmity to Palestinian national rights, because occupation is terrorism and the Brigades reflect the conscience of Palestinian independence," he said. (Albawaba.com)
© 2002 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
