Israel declares ‘war on terror’

Associated Press

JERUSALEM – Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon declared a “war on terror” today and said Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat was directly responsible for attacks on Israel over the weekend.

Israel will act with all the means at its disposal, Sharon said in a televised address.

He spoke just before a Cabinet meeting that was to decide how to retaliate to suicide bombings in two Israeli cities and a shooting that killed 26 people, mostly Israelis, over the weekend.

Earlier today, Israeli helicopter gunships struck a security compound near Arafat’s headquarters in Gaza City, and Israeli F16s struck Arafat’s offices and a police station in the West Bank city of Jenin.

Sharon did not say exactly what further steps would be taken, but he said Israel would wage on “war on terror” comparable to the United States’ campaign against Osama bin Laden.

“Just as the United States acts in its battle against world terror, under the brave leadership of President Bush, just as it acts with all its strength, so shall we do,” he said, “with all the means at our disposal.”

Arafat, he said, is “responsible for all that has happened.”

“Arafat is the main impediment to peace and stability in the Middle East,” he said. “Arafat will not succeed in deceiving the government I head. … Arafat has chosen the path of terror … to try to make diplomatic gains through murder.”

Israel will “chase after those responsible for terror: Those who carry it out, and those who assist, and they will pay the price,” Sahron said.

Sharon did not comment on efforts by the Palestinian Authority to arrest Islamic militants. About 110 members of the Hamas and Islamic Jihad groups have been rounded up in a sweep that began Sunday.