Mideast retaliatory violence continues to escalate

Associated Press And The Los Angeles Times

JERUSALEM – Israel on Tuesday killed three top commanders of a militia loyal to Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat, and Palestinians fired long-range rockets for the first time into an Israeli city, Sderot, amid shrill cries for revenge and growing despair, fear and hate.

Palestinian militants struck at Israeli civilians Tuesday with a suicide bombing on a bus in Afula and a roadside ambush in the West Bank, in addition to the early-morning restaurant shooting in Tel Aviv, leaving five Israelis and two Palestinian assailants dead. The Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, affiliated with Arafat, claimed responsibility for the attacks.

In retaliatory raids, Israeli warplanes and helicopters bombed seven separate Palestinian government compounds and security complexes in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. An Israeli raid in the West Bank city of Ramallah killed three Palestinian security officers in a car, one of whom was wanted by Israel, Palestinian officials said.

Early today, Palestinians said they saw Israeli soldiers approaching farmland near Beit Hanoun. Israeli tanks entered Palestinian territory near Khan Younis in Gaza, witnesses said. A 40-year-old woman was killed by tank fire, according to doctors.

The death toll has soared over the past week amid violence that is erupting round-the-clock. At least 62 Palestinians and 31 Israelis have died in one of the deadliest weeks since fighting broke out in September 2000.

The nature of this conflict has shifted markedly. After months of tit-for-tat violence, Israel is now engaged in a sustained military campaign, aimed at inflicting massive damage. And on the other side, the well-organized, well-armed Al Aqsa brigade has assumed the lead in Palestinian fighting, aimed at exacting the maximum price through guerrilla operations.

In Washington, President Bush and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak searched Tuesday for solutions to the spiraling violence, with Bush emphasizing the need to stop Palestinian attacks on Israelis while Mubarak demanded that Israel ease up on the Palestinians.

Bush also spoke favorably of a Saudi Arabian proposal, which would offer Israel peace, trade and security in exchange for the land the Arabs lost in war, and of Mubarak’s offer to be the host for talks between Arafat and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.