Israel defies US over West Bank raids

11.45 am

JERUSALEM - Israel has defied its closest ally, the United States, by rebuffing Washington's demands for an immediate pullback from its broadest military offensive against the Palestinian Authority.

Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres said after meeting President George W Bush in Washington that the US leader had asked Israel to withdraw from Palestinian-ruled areas.

"He (Bush) mentioned (a pullout) and we said that's our intention," said Peres, who held talks with US Secretary of State Colin Powell before the White House meeting with Bush.

"And the minute the Palestinians will take over in their own hands the introduction of law and tranquillity and put in jail the main troublemakers we (should) be more than happy to redeploy our army to their previous positions."

Washington, which hopes an end to fighting would boost Arab support for its Afghanistan campaign, had adopted a low-key response to raids Israel launched in or around six West Bank cities after Tourism Minister Rehavam Zeevi was killed.

However, the United States has taken an increasingly critical stance as the Israeli troops dug in and the death toll mounted in the past few days.

Israeli soldiers killed two Palestinians at a security post in the West Bank city of Tulkarm today, witnesses and hospital officials said. The incident occurred after Palestinian police opened fire at Israeli tanks.

In Bethlehem, heavy fighting continued between Israeli soldiers and Palestinian gunmen. More than a dozen Israeli anti-tank rockets streaked across the biblical city and the white flashes of their impacts lit the night sky.

At least 31 Palestinians and an Israeli have been killed since gunmen from the radical Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine assassinated Tourism Minister Rehavam Zeevi last Wednesday.

The US pressure presented a dilemma for Israel: continued defiance could alienate its guardian ally, but giving in to Washington's demands was likely to be seen by Palestinians as a sign of weakness.

Moreover, leaving before achieving a declared goal of forcing the Palestinian Authority to arrest and hand over Zeevi's killers was certain to bring Israeli right-wing wrath down on Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.

Israeli military affairs correspondents, who are briefed regularly by the army and defence officials, broadcast a flurry of reports that appeared to be setting the stage for at least a partial Israeli rollback within days.

They said Israel had achieved the bulk of its aims: arresting and striking at Palestinian militants and putting on a show of strength with tanks in the streets of West Bank cities.

Channel Two television's military affairs reporter said "the army is pleased with what it has achieved so far" and a phased withdrawal lasting two weeks or more could begin soon.

Earlier, Israeli Defence Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer brushed aside the demand to end the offensive.

"The things that came out of there (the United States), with all due respect, are not valid," Ben-Eliezer told reporters.

"Because we have no intention of staying in these territories. We have no intention of staying in area A (Palestinian-ruled areas) and we have no intention of conquering territory."

Terje Roed-Larsen, the UN special envoy for the Middle East peace process, said the region was at its "most dangerous moment in a decade" and called for an immediate Israeli pullout.

Palestinian President Yasser Arafat said in Gaza that Israel was "belittling" the international community by turning a blind eye to demands it withdraw.

Palestinian officials have said Israel's real aim was to topple Arafat. Israel has denied the allegation.

The surge of violence, a year into a Palestinian uprising against Israeli occupation, has obstructed Middle East peace efforts which Washington views as vital to its anti-terror war following the September 11 attacks in the United States.

Israeli army chief Shaul Mofaz told reporters that soldiers had killed "around 20 terrorists" and arrested 20 during the six-day-old operation which he said would not continue for "an extended period".

The PFLP said it killed Zeevi to avenge Israel's assassination of its leader, Abu Ali Mustafa, in August.

After Zeevi's death, the Palestinian Authority outlawed the PFLP's military wing. A senior Palestinian security official said Palestinian police had arrested 30 PFLP members.

Arafat's ability to crack down on radical groups was further weakened after the militant Hamas organisation vowed to avenge Monday's killing of one of its top bomb makers, Ayman Halaweh, by a booby-trapped car.

At least 657 Palestinians and 177 Israelis have been killed since the Palestinian revolt began in September 2000 after peace talks stalled.

- REUTERS

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