Arafat defiant as three more die

A Palestinian observes the rubble after the bombing

Fierce clashes have erupted in the Gaza Strip following Wednesday's heavy Israeli air raids on Palestinian targets.

Three Palestinians, two of them teenagers and the other a member of the security forces, are reported to have been shot dead by Israeli troops early on Thursday.

Our people will continue the Al Aqsa uprising until we raise the Palestinian flag in every mosque and church and on the walls of Jerusalem

Yasser Arafat

US President George W Bush urged the Palestinians to halt their violence and Israel to control its military response, to pave the way for a return to peace negotiations.

Israel's Foreign Minister Shimon Peres said Wednesday evening's bombardment of Gaza and the West Bank was a warning to the Palestinian leader, Yasser Arafat, to rein in militants who killed three Israeli children this week.

But Mr Arafat said the uprising would continue and Palestinians would not be cowed by the rocket attacks, which he described as the start of 100-day escalation planned by Israel.

Israeli warning

Mr Bush said he would meet Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Jordanian King Abdullah in the coming weeks to seek their help in defusing tensions.

"The tragic cycle of incitement, provocation and violence has gone on far too long," he said at a White House news conference.

A Palestinian protester's T-shirt catches fire after throwing a petrol bomb

"Both sides must take steps to calm the situation now," he said.

Windows in Mr Arafat's villa in Ramallah were shattered in Wednesday's raid and the headquarters of Force 17, Mr Arafat's elite guard, were destroyed. One Force 17 member was killed, and more than 60 people injured.

It was the first military strike against Palestinian targets ordered by Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, and the first major one since October, when Israel retaliated for the lynching of two of its soldiers in Ramallah.

Foreign Minister Shimon Peres said Israel had been left with no choice but to retaliate after an Israeli baby was shot dead and two teenagers were killed by a suicide bomber earlier in the week. Thirty people were also injured in two bomb attacks on Tuesday.

Mr Peres told Israeli army radio that Wednesday's air strike "was in the nature of a very serious warning, mainly to Force 17".

"That force is on Arafat's payroll and he has to bring them in line," Mr Peres said.

More strikes

Israel blames the Palestinian Authority for the suicide bombings, even though the militant groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad say they carried out the attacks.

Arafat's Force 17

Formed in early 1970s as personal security force for Palestinian leaders

US says it expanded operations in 1985 to include attacks on Israel

Israeli government accuses it of working with militant groups to plan attacks

Force 17 positions now under regular attack by Israel

The Israelis says that Mr Arafat's men have been working directly with Hamas. They blame the Palestinian leader personally for releasing a number of militants from jails over the past few months.

A senior Israeli source told Reuters news agency that Israel's security cabinet had decided there would be more strikes in the coming days.

"There will not be a policy of reaction to attacks, rather a consistent and stable policy over time of a war on terror initiated by Israel," the source said.

Since the Palestinian uprising or intifada started six months ago, almost 450 people have been killed - more than 360 of them Palestinian and at least 60 Israeli Jews.