Arafat urged to crack down on Islamic militants

Associated Press

JERUSALEM — U.S. envoys urged Yasser Arafat to take harsh measures against Islamic militants in meetings and a phone call hours before a suicide bomber detonated explosives Wednesday outside a Jerusalem hotel, further rattling terror-weary Israelis’ nerves.

In Arafat’s boldest move yet against militants, Palestinian police put Hamas spiritual leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin under house arrest late Wednesday. Hamas has claimed responsibility for dozens of attacks, including deadly weekend suicide bombings in Israel.

Palestinian security officials said Yassin, a quadriplegic, was told he would be allowed no visitors except for relatives, and his telephone lines would be cut.

More than 600 Hamas supporters, some of them carrying weapons, gathered in the street near Yassin’s home on Wednesday night, demanding his release. Some threw stones at Palestinian police outside the building. Others fired automatic weapons in the air.

Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres said he urged the Palestinian leader to arrest 36 suspected terrorist leaders, while other Israeli officials dismissed Arafat’s arrests of 151 people in recent days as a show.

Arafat countered that he was determined to break the terror networks in the Palestinian territories, but Israeli military strikes and sieges were making the job impossible.

"They have to cool down to give me the chance," he told ABC News.

Israel’s air force struck Palestinian targets Monday and Tuesday, but there were no Israeli strikes on Wednesday in what Palestinian officials said was a lull aimed at allowing Arafat to act.

An early morning explosion outside a central Jerusalem hotel showed his task was far from finished.

Jerusalem police chief Mickey Levy said the bomber may have gotten nervous and detonated the explosives strapped to his body and packed with nails and bolts too early. The attacker died and two bystanders were lightly injured.

Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the blast — a chilling reminder of a wave of weekend attacks that killed 25 people — in a statement faxed to The Associated Press.

"This operation is only an introductory and rapid response to the crimes of the Israeli enemy," the statement said. It identified the dead bomber as Dawoud Ali Ahmed Abu Sawi, of Artas near Bethlehem.

Copyright ©2001 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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