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Two Israelis, Attacker Killed in West Bank

Posted on: Saturday, 27 September 2003, 06:00 CDT

A Palestinian gunman fired into a home in this isolated Israeli settlement during Jewish New Year's festivities, killing a man and a baby girl, the Israeli army said.

Nobody claimed responsibility for the shooting in Negahot late Friday, but Israeli government officials blamed Yasser Arafat's Palestinian Authority for not stopping such violence.

The officials refused to say whether Israel would now speed up efforts to expel Arafat. Israel has not said when it would take action against the Palestinian leader, but it is believed the trigger could be a major Palestinian terror attack with many Israeli casualties.

"We have information that the Palestinian Authority has not been doing anything in the last few days to deter these terrorist organizations from carrying out their atrocities during the religious holidays," said Avi Pazner, an Israeli government spokesman.

Palestinian officials said leaders of Arafat's Fatah party would meet as planned Saturday to approve a new Cabinet for the incoming Palestinian prime minister, Ahmed Qureia.

A Palestinian armed with an M-16 assault rifle broke into the settlement of Negahot at around 9 p.m. Friday, said Capt. Jacob Dallal, an Israeli army spokesman. The attacker knocked on the door of one of the houses and shot a 30-year-old guest who answered and a 7-month-old girl.

Soldiers guarding Negahot, near the West Bank city of Hebron, killed the attacker before he could escape, Dallal said.

The girl's parents were lightly injured in the shooting, he said.

"It's no coincidence that this attack was planned for this hour, the night of the Jewish New Year," Dallal said. "Clearly the people behind the attack knew they could find families at home during the holiday dinner."

Several attacks have been carried out during Jewish holidays in the past three years, most notably the March 27, 2002, suicide bombing at the Park Hotel in the northern coastal town of Netanya, which killed 29 people as they participated in the ritual Passover meal.

In an effort to prevent a repeat of such incidents, Israel stepped up security during the two-day New Year's holiday that ends at sundown Sunday. Palestinians were banned from entering Israel and were barred from leaving their communities under a tightened travel ban in most of the West Bank. Thousands of police officers also were sent to guard synagogues, parks and intersections in Israel.

In an interview published Friday, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said he was determined to "remove" Arafat one day, even at the risk of harming him.

"You have to keep in mind that it is very difficult to ensure that he (Arafat) won't be harmed if we seize him," Sharon told the Israeli daily Yediot Ahronot .

The fate of Arafat, who is holed up in his headquarters in the West Bank city of Ramallah, was thrown into question Sept. 11, when Israel's security Cabinet called for his removal.

Sharon said the security Cabinet's decision canceled his personal promise to President Bush - made several years ago - not to harm the Palestinian leader physically.

Other top Israeli officials have said the term "removal" could mean both expulsion and assassination, but Sharon's remarks seemed to suggest the first choice is to oust Arafat.

Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said Sharon's comments proved Israel was trying to kill Arafat and was not committed to implementing the U.S.-backed "road map" peace plan, which envisions the creation of a Palestinian state by 2005.

"It's no longer a matter of whether they will kill President Arafat, it's a matter of when," he said.

The incoming Palestinian prime minister said Friday that he has concluded consultations on his new Cabinet and will present it to parliament for approval within the coming days.

Qureia has given Fatah - and thereby Arafat - considerable say in forming the Cabinet and he has said that, unlike predecessor Mahmoud Abbas, he will not challenge Arafat.

Israel has said it would not deal with an Arafat-controlled Cabinet. However, Sharon has not ruled out doing business with Qureia, whom he has met repeatedly in recent years.

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