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Thursday, 7 March, 2002, 00:14 GMT
Powell condemns 'war on Palestinians'
![]() Ariel Sharon (left) pledged to deliver "pain blows"
US Secretary of State Colin Powell has strongly criticised Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, as Israel launched more attacks against Palestinian targets in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
The secretary of state balanced his comments with further criticism of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, who he said should do more to end the bloodshed. But another day of violence has left at least 12 Palestinians and two Israeli soldiers dead, as Israeli air, ground and naval forces pounded Gaza and the West Bank.
EU envoy Miguel Moratinos had been meeting Mr Arafat at the Palestinian leader's headquarters in Ramallah when the missile exploded 15 metres (50ft) away, Palestinian officials said. Mr Moratinos's spokesman, Javier Sancho, said: "We are not now making any comment. We need to gather more information, but we were there, yes." Israel warned BBC State Department correspondent John Leyne says this was Mr Powell's most explicit criticism of the Israeli leader to date.
The Palestinian leader, for his part, "has to do more, can do more, must do more". Israeli commentators say Mr Sharon has been issuing some of his most aggressive statements in recent days. On Monday he told a parliamentary committee: "We have to deal [the Palestinians] very painful blows, continuously, until they understand that they won't achieve anything with terror."
Further bloodshed Most of the Palestinian deaths on Wednesday came about as Israeli tanks and troops rolled into Gaza, which was also bombarded from the sea and air.
The Israeli navy is also reported to have fired on Palestinian police buildings at the southern entrance to Gaza City. Seven Palestinians and two Israeli soldiers died during the attacks on Gaza. Israel said one soldier died at Abassan and another in an ambush on the border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt. The army said it had destroyed three homes belonging to Palestinian militants in Abassan and arrested 27 suspects. Five more Palestinians died in separate incidents, including two who were apparently trying to plant a bomb and two others at Israeli military checkpoints. A Hamas activist - named as Abdel Rahman Ghadal - was killed in an explosion at his Gaza City home.
In Gaza City, Israeli warplanes destroyed the Palestinian national security headquarters. It appears they narrowly missed a meeting of Palestinian intelligence officials. The latest Israeli operations come after a rocket attack from Gaza on the southern Israeli town of Sderot on Tuesday which injured two Israeli children. Israel has said it views the use of the unguided Qassam-2 rockets as a grave escalation of the conflict and has pledged to stamp it out.
Israel has stepped up military operations since the weekend when Palestinian suicide and gun attacks left 20 people dead. |
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