The Israel Defense Forces responded to the Karnei Shomron attack late last night with an air attack against targets in PLO-controlled Shechem. F-16 jets and Apache helicopters attacked headquarters of the PA and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. Security forces caught three suspected terrorists in Ramallah last night, and another one in the Shechem region. Arabs opened fire on the troops in Ramallah, but no one was injured.
Prime Minister Sharon convened the expanded mini-security cabinet this afternoon, including himself, Ministers Peres, Ben-Eliezer and Landau, and leaders of the coalition parties. The ministers considered ways in which to restore Israel\'s deterrence capacity without bringing about a full-scale escalation, especially in light of the United States\' desire for quiet as it prepares for an attack on Iraq. No operative decisions were made.
Prime Minister Sharon\'s staffers said informally beforehand that Sharon feels that we are now truly at war - although it was unclear how this would be translated into actions. Interior Minister Eli Yeshai (Shas), a member of the security mini-cabinet, said that the fact that the enemy\'s strategy is based on indiscriminately killing themselves along with as many innocent people as possible must be taken into account.
Foreign Minister Shimon Peres said today that the Palestinians\' terrorist acts \"hurt them more than they do us,\" as they \"present many question marks about the Palestinian leadership.\" Speaking after meeting with visiting Czech Prime Minister Milos Zeman this afternoon, Peres said, \"Our intention is not to escalate the situation, but to take measures to prevent terrorism. We will fight a stubborn, uncompromising war against terrorism...\" He remains steadfast in his objections to proposals raised by other government ministers to bring about the collapse of the Palestinian Authority.
Defense Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer directly blamed Yasser Arafat, saying that not only is the PLO chief not taking steps against the terrorism, but \"is even fanning the flames with his public statements.\" Other ministers, such as Avigdor Lieberman, said that we must not concern ourselves with pressuring Arafat, but rather \"take the entire matter into our own hands.\"
Prime Minister Sharon convened the expanded mini-security cabinet this afternoon, including himself, Ministers Peres, Ben-Eliezer and Landau, and leaders of the coalition parties. The ministers considered ways in which to restore Israel\'s deterrence capacity without bringing about a full-scale escalation, especially in light of the United States\' desire for quiet as it prepares for an attack on Iraq. No operative decisions were made.
Prime Minister Sharon\'s staffers said informally beforehand that Sharon feels that we are now truly at war - although it was unclear how this would be translated into actions. Interior Minister Eli Yeshai (Shas), a member of the security mini-cabinet, said that the fact that the enemy\'s strategy is based on indiscriminately killing themselves along with as many innocent people as possible must be taken into account.
Foreign Minister Shimon Peres said today that the Palestinians\' terrorist acts \"hurt them more than they do us,\" as they \"present many question marks about the Palestinian leadership.\" Speaking after meeting with visiting Czech Prime Minister Milos Zeman this afternoon, Peres said, \"Our intention is not to escalate the situation, but to take measures to prevent terrorism. We will fight a stubborn, uncompromising war against terrorism...\" He remains steadfast in his objections to proposals raised by other government ministers to bring about the collapse of the Palestinian Authority.
Defense Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer directly blamed Yasser Arafat, saying that not only is the PLO chief not taking steps against the terrorism, but \"is even fanning the flames with his public statements.\" Other ministers, such as Avigdor Lieberman, said that we must not concern ourselves with pressuring Arafat, but rather \"take the entire matter into our own hands.\"