Travel  |  Business World  |  Women's World  |  Entertainment

Change Your Life!

Arafat calls for end to gunfire

News
Sports
Chat
Travel
Dhaka Today
Yellow Pages
Higher Education
Ask a Doctor
Weather
Currency Rate
Horoscope
E-Cards
B2K Poll
Comment on the Site
B2K Club

November 18, 2000 

JERUSALEM (AP) — Yasser Arafat ordered Palestinian gunmen to stop shooting at Israelis from areas under his control Friday in what appeared to be an effort to halt return fire that could hurt Palestinian civilians.

It was not clear whether Arafat's call also was a step toward a full-fledged truce that would bring an end to nearly two months of violence. In new confrontations Friday, six Palestinians were killed by gunfire.

Responding to Arafat's call, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak said, ``words are not enough.''

Arafat's appeal Friday was his first public statement of the need to end the shooting. Israel and the United States have demanded that Arafat make a clear statement to his people to halt the fire. Israel has made cessation of the violence a condition for returning to peace talks.

The appeal comes amid growing complaints by Palestinians living in areas caught in the cross fire that more must be done to halt the shooting. A number of Palestinian bystanders have been wounded in gunbattles; on Wednesday a resident of the West Bank town of Beit Jalla was killed by Israeli return fire.

In a statement that was aired on Palestinian television and radio stations, Arafat said the Palestinian Authority was doing all it could to put an end to the gunfire.

``We are trying our best to get our people to stop shooting'' from Palestinian-controlled areas, Arafat said. ``There are orders from the Palestinian security council to stop shooting.''

Under the peace agreements, the West Bank and Gaza Strip were broken into three areas that gave the Palestinians varying degrees of control. The Palestinians control the Palestinian police and have full authority in Area A but have to share security control in Area B. Israel maintains full control in Area C.

Most of the shooting has come from Area A districts, which cover 18 percent of the West Bank and Gaza. The majority of Palestinians live in places under Area A status.

Israeli army officials said Arafat's statement falls short because it does not direct Palestinians to end the gunfire everywhere. This week, four Israelis were killed in shooting ambushes in areas where Israel is in charge of security. Such ambushes would not be banned under Arafat's decree.

The weeks of violence have left 230 people dead, the vast majority of them Palestinians. Fighting continued throughout the region Friday.

Barak said Friday that he plans to continue what he terms a policy of restraint in dealing with the crisis, saying the chance to resume peace talks will only come if the country ``does not lose its cool.''

``On the one hand we won't be dragged into adventures, but on other hand we won't let it appear that we are surrendering,'' Barak said in an interview with Israel Television.

Shortly after Arafat's call to halt the shooting, gunfire came from the Palestinian-controlled town of Ramallah in the West Bank, directed at nearby Israeli positions. An Israeli tank shelled an empty building. The Voice of Palestine radio said there were no injuries.

Among the deaths Friday was a Palestinian killed in a clash near the West Bank city of Qalqilya. Hospital doctors said he was hit by live ammunition. The Israeli military said soldiers did not fire live bullets in the clashes.

Elsewhere in the West Bank, two Palestinian teen-agers were killed during clashes. In Hebron, a 14-year-old was shot in the head by a live bullet and south of Hebron in Halul village, a 16-year-old was shot in the chest by live fire, hospital officials said.

In Karni, in the southern Gaza Strip, a 17-year-old was shot to death during clashes, according to hospital officials there.

Also Friday, near the West Bank town of Jericho, Israeli commandos opened fire on Palestinian policemen, killing two. The army said their forces were responding to Palestinian fire. However, the Palestinian police said the Israeli shooting was unprovoked.