in Tel Aviv, which killed 4 Israelis and injured 49 others. "The orders came from Islamic Jihad elements in Syria," said Prime Minister Ariel Sharon in a statement obtained by BosNewsLife News Center. In a first reaction, the Syrian Foreign Ministry denied the charges, saying that "Syria has no relation to this operation or any other and that the [Damascus] office of that group [Islamic Jihad] had been closed."
But Sharon maintained that Israel knows "this for a certainty," [that Syria was involved] and warned Israeli forces "may be compelled to step up military activity" in Palestinian areas "to protect the lives of Israeli citizens."
He said "the fact [of Syrian involvement] is not enough to absolve the Palestinian Authority (PA) of its responsibility…" as it should have prevented "the departure of the terrorist and…act against his partners in the crime," which he suggested shattered a truce between Israel and the Palestinian leadership.
"VIGOROUS ACTION"
"The immediate test for the PA will be in vigorous action against Islamic Jihad members," Sharon added. "While the State of Israel is interested in advancing towards a [peace] settlement with the Palestinians, there will be no diplomatic progress, [there will be] no progress, until the Palestinians take strong action to eliminate the terrorist organizations and their infrastructures in the PA areas," he said.
Sharon’s comments came amid reports that Israeli and Palestinian forces arrested eight men, including two brothers of the bomber, identified as 21-year-old university student Abdullah Badran, and a local imam. The brothers were detained by the Israeli military in their home village of Deir al-Ghussun near the northern West Bank town of Tulkarem, while Palestinian police arrested at least two suspects in Tulkarem itself, officials said.
Initially all three of the main militant groups Hamas, Islamic Jihad and the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, denied they had anything to do with the attack, which rocked a Tel Aviv nightclub in a beach area. Some Palestinian officials said they believed Hezbollah was behind the bombing, a charge reportedly denied by the Lebanon based militant group.
RUSSIA PRESSURED
Syria’s alleged involvement in the blast was expected to increase pressure on Russia not to sell advanced missiles to Damascus. This week United States President George W. Bush and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin failed to reach an agreement on this and other divisive issues during their summit in Bratislava.
They agreed to see each other several times this year to discuss their differences, BosNewsLife learned. Meanwhile Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas convened a special meeting of his security chiefs Saturday, February 26, to discuss the escalating tensions. He told reporters in Ramallah afterward that those responsible would be caught and brought to justice.
Abbas stressed he believes "a third party was trying to sabotage" efforts to reach a peace settlement with Israel and create an independent Palestinian state.
US CONCERNED
The United States praised Abbas for condemning the blast, but urged him to step up the fight against terrorism. "We understand that the Palestinian leadership has condemned the attack. We now must see actions that send a clear message that terror will not be tolerated," said US
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in a statement monitored by BosNewsLife Sunday, February 27.
"It is essential that Palestinian leaders take immediate, credible steps to find those responsible for this terrorist attack and bring them to justice," she added.
In a controversial move, Abbas is considering bringing back the use of death sentences in a bid to keep law and order in the Gaza Strip, news reports said. However the Israeli human rights group B’Tselem has written a formal letter to urge to abolish the death penalty, the Reuters news agency reported.
"There is nothing wrong with sending a very strong message that people will be punished for carrying out criminal acts," the group’s Rachel Greenspahn was quoted as saying. "The question is how you do that." The last time someone was executed within Palestinian territories was in 2002. (With: Stefan J. Bos, reporting from Bratislava, BosNewsLife News Center, reports from Israel. Syria and the United States).
