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Saturday, 19 May, 2001, 06:49 GMT 07:49 UK
Pressure grows for Mid-East ceasefire
![]() Palestinian rescue workers search for survivors in Ramallah
US Secretary of State Colin Powell has called for an unconditional ceasefire between the Israelis and the Palestinians, after one of the worst days of violence since the Palestinian uprising began eight months ago.
Israeli bomber aircraft attacked Palestinian targets in the West Bank and Gaza, killing at least 12 people, in retaliation for a suicide attack in a crowded shopping centre which killed six Israelis.
In further violence on Saturday, a Palestinian policeman was shot dead at a checkpoint near the West Bank town of Jenin by assailants in a passing car, according to Palestinian officials. International pressure UN Secretary General Kofi Annan called Israel's military response to the Palestinian suicide bombing "disproportionate". It was the first time the Israelis had used fighter bombers against Palestinian towns since 1967. EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana, UK Foreign Secretary Robin Cook and French Foreign Ministry spokesman Bernard Valero were also among those voicing concern at the escalation in the fighting.
The Israeli prime minister's spokesman said the use of F16 aircraft was justified by the "seriousness" of the bomb attack on the coastal town of Netanya.
Bomber's town hit In Nablus, the governor's office, police headquarters and a prison were hit, causing substantial damage.
Israeli F16s also bombed the headquarters of the small Palestinian naval force in Beit Lahia, in the north of the Gaza Strip. As the violence escalated, a Jewish settler was shot dead and two others were injured when the car they were travelling in came under fire near Ramallah.
Palestinian radio has reported that five children were wounded when Israeli soldiers fired on them as they played football near an Israeli guard post in the Gaza Strip.
Israeli Government spokesmen blamed Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's Palestinian Authority for the bomb attack. Raanan Gissin said the bombing was "the fruit of a new wave of incitations to hatred" by Mr Arafat and official Palestinian media. A spokesman for the Palestinian Authority condemned "the murder of innocent Palestinian or Israeli civilians". 'Justified by Koran' The Palestinian militant group, Hamas, said it carried out the attack in Netanya, and has suggested that more will follow. Hamas spokesman Mahmoud Al-Zahhar told the BBC that the deaths of the Israeli citizens was "justified by the Koran and justified by international law".
The BBC's Stephen Gibbs in Jerusalem said that despite the calls for peace, the atmosphere is hardly conducive to a ceasefire, let alone negotiated peace. The sixteen people, Palestinian and Israeli, who died in Friday's violence are all expected to be buried later on Saturday. Far from being united in grief, the two sides have rarely been further apart. |
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