Arafat Calls end to Armed Attacks on Israelis

Palestinian President Yasser Arafat, under intense international pressure to rein in Palestinian militants, called on Sunday for an end to all armed attacks on Israelis, especially suicide bombings.

But Arafat also said in an address on Palestinian television that the government of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon must stop its ``brutal war'' against the Palestinian Authority.

``I today reiterate (a call for) the complete and immediate cessation of all military activities. I renew the call to completely halt any activities, especially suicide attacks which we have condemned and always condemned,'' Arafat said.

``We will punish all planners and executors... and we will hunt down the violators firmly,'' he said, reissuing a call for a cease-fire in some 15 months of bloodshed in which more than 1,000 people have been killed.

The initial reaction from Israel, which has retaliated for recent suicide bombings and shooting attacks with air raids and roundups of militants, reflected the wait-and-see attitude it has often adopted to pledges of truce by Arafat in the past.

``Prove it. That's what I'm saying to Arafat. Prove it right now -- in deeds. Don't make declarations. Start making the arrests,'' said Raanan Gissin, a Sharon spokesman.

Sharon, who cut ties with Arafat and declared him irrelevant after 10 Israelis were killed in an attack on their bus near a Jewish settlement in the West Bank on Wednesday, ignored the speech in an address of his own in Tel Aviv about an hour later.

The White House said Arafat's speech held ``constructive words, but what's important is that they be followed up by concrete action.''

Pressed by Israel, the United States and the European Union to crack down on militants, Arafat said the Palestinian Authority had already declared illegal ``groups that carry out terrorist activities.''

VIOLENCE SCUTTLES US PEACE MISSION

Violence has surged since the start more than two weeks ago of a peace mission by US envoy Anthony Zinni, who was recalled over the weekend after Palestinian militant groups killed more than 40 Israelis in bombing and shooting attacks.

More than 30 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces since Zinni arrived in the region, 13 during a large-scale roundup of suspected militants in Palestinian areas that began Friday. Palestinian officials say Israel's F-16 warplane and helicopter gunship attacks on Palestinian Authority security targets and a tank advance to within 100 yards of Arafat's West Bank headquarters were aimed at humiliating him.

Arafat, in a direct appeal to Israelis, said in the speech that Palestinians posed no threat to Israel's existence and his people's goal was an independent state, with Jerusalem as its capital, side-by-side with the Jewish state.

It was not immediately clear if Arafat's speech would have any immediate effect on Israel's current military campaign.

But Gissin, speaking to CNN, noted there had been no Palestinian attacks Sunday, the first day of the Muslim Eid al-Fitr holiday marking the end of the holy month of Ramadan.

``When Arafat wants to control the situation he can control it, when he wants to take action he can take action. I do hope that these words will be followed by the necessary deeds.''

Gissin repeated Israeli demands for Arafat to make good on his promises by dismantling ``terrorist infrastructure'' and stopping anti-Israeli incitement -- moves that would put both sides ``back on the road'' to a truce and peace.

``And then perhaps Arafat will once again be relevant,'' he said.

ARAFAT SAYS PEACE TALKS ARE ONLY WAY

In his speech, Arafat urged Israel to return to peace talks as the sole means to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Israel has said it will not negotiate under fire and has demanded seven days of calm before implementation of a US-backed plan charted by an international panel led by former US Senator George Mitchell.

The Mitchell plan calls for a truce leading to a cooling-off period and confidence-building measures that includes arrests of militants and a halt to construction at Jewish settlements on land Israel occupied in the 1967 Middle East war.

U.N. Middle East envoy Terje Roed-Larsen said: ``The speech clearly called for an end to all armed attacks and it also clearly states that the Palestinian Authority is committed to implement a full cease-fire.''

In a warning to militant groups behind the bombings, such as Hamas and Islamic Jihad, Arafat said his Palestinian Authority ``will only allow one authority'' in its territory.

``In this complicated conflict... we must not allow anyone to shake the credibility of the (Palestinian) leadership and its decisions,'' Arafat said.

Before Arafat's address, Palestinian police in the West Bank closed offices affiliated with Hamas and Islamic Jihad, sealing doors with red wax or changing locks. At least 26 such offices in Gaza and the West Bank have now been closed, officials said.

Before Sunday's speech, Palestinian officials said Arafat was determined to assert his authority, which has been challenged by Hamas's popularity and Israeli military actions.

At least 781 Palestinians and 233 Israelis have been killed since a Palestinian uprising against Israeli occupation erupted in September 2000 shortly after peace talks hit an impasse.

(China Daily December 17, 2001)