From: "Stasi" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: [Peoples War] Palestine: Islamic militants attack Israeli patrol - Ananova Ananova : Islamic militants attack Israeli patrol ======================== Two members of the militant Islamic Jihad group have attacked an Israeli army patrol in the Gaza Strip in a failed suicide mission. Troops killed one assailant and found remnants of an explosives belt near his body after the incident which came despite Yasser Arafat's truce order. Israel has lifted a blockade of Bethlehem, the second West Bank town where travel restrictions were eased this week in response to a recent drop in violence. Palestinian attacks on Israelis have decreased sharply since Palestinian leader Mr Arafat's renewed a truce call on December 16. However, Israel's army chief of staff, Lt Gen Shaul Mofaz, dismissed Mr Arafat's crackdown on militants, saying the Palestinian Authority itself is "infected by terror from head to toe and does everything to disrupt our lives, and to bring terrorism to our doorsteps". The Palestinian Cabinet demanded after its weekly session that the United States send its special mediator, retired Marine Corps Gen Anthony Zinni, back to the region as soon as possible to oversee confidence-building measures that would lead to an eventual resumption of peace talks. Israel TV's Channel Two said Gen Zinni is expected to return to the Middle East by next week if there is no major outburst of violence. Gen Zinni left the region in mid-December, after a failed three-week truce mission that saw a sharp increase in violence. The US State Department would not comment on Gen Zinni's possible return. US Secretary of State Colin Powell has also called Mr Arafat to discuss the recent security situation in the territories. Mr Powell welcomed Mr Arafat's efforts to calm the situation - including the arrests of militants - and said he would try to press Israel to ease the closure on the Palestinian areas. In the 25-minute call, Mr Powell assured Mr Arafat that the United States will continue to sponsor peace talks and push for their renewal. Story filed: 23:01 Friday 28th December 2001 _________________________________________________ KOMINFORM P.O. Box 66 00841 Helsinki Phone +358-40-7177941 Fax +358-9-7591081 http://www.kominf.pp.fi General class struggle news: [EMAIL PROTECTED] subscribe mails to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Geopolitical news: [EMAIL PROTECTED] subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] __________________________________________________
