Palestinian PM rules out crackdown on militants

4.45pm

RAMALLAH, West Bank - Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qurie says he will not risk civil war by cracking down on Islamic militants, despite pressure to rein them in under a United States-backed plan for peace with Israel.

Speaking today, one day after President Yasser Arafat declared a state of emergency in Palestinian areas and approved an eight-member cabinet, Qurie told Reuters he would try to persuade the militants to halt attacks on Israelis.

"We are facing an abnormal situation. There is a state of chaos that should be confronted," Qurie said by telephone.

Asked how he would confront the violence, he said: "There won't be a civil war, (I will do it) through dialogue. There won't be martial law".

Qurie declined to give more details or say when he would hold talks with the militant groups which have killed hundreds of Israelis in suicide bombings since a Palestinian uprising for statehood began three years ago.

A unilateral truce declared by Palestinian militants in June collapsed in August after Israel assassinated a top Hamas political leader following a suicide bombing in Jerusalem that killed 22. Hamas said the bombing was in response to Israeli attacks on Palestinians.

Qurie called for an end to attacks on Israeli civilians on Saturday after a Palestinian woman killed 19 people in a suicide bombing at a restaurant in the northern Israeli city of Haifa.

He did not make clear in his statement on Saturday whether he was also demanding an end to attacks on Jewish settlers in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Palestinians have said in the past they do not regard the settlers as civilians.

Israel says the failure to rein in the militants is the main obstacle to progress on the US-backed peace "road map" intended to end violence and establish a Palestinian state. The Palestinians blame the lack of progress on Israel.

Palestinian security services have been impaired by Israeli offensives and army blockades that have fuelled resentment among ordinary people.

Qurie, former speaker of the Palestinian parliament, was nominated by Arafat a month ago to replace Mahmoud Abbas, who quit saying he was frustrated with the lack of US and Israeli help in peacemaking but also lost a power struggle with Arafat over control of the security forces.

Qurie has said he wants a truce with Israel but Israel has ruled this out until the Palestinian Authority takes action against militant groups such as Hamas and Islamic Jihad.

Reiterating his criticism of suicide attacks in Israel, he said: "This gives the Israeli side a justification to steal the land under the pretext of security, kill under the pretext of security and expand settlements under the pretext of security. So there is a state of chaos that cannot be tolerated."

Palestinian officials said Arafat's decree declaring a state of emergency was intended to restore security in areas where the militants have become more powerful.

The formation of a crisis cabinet also reflects concern that Israel may soon carry out its threat to "remove" Arafat, whom it holds responsible for the violence although he denies this.

"The agenda of this government must be to face the Israeli aggression against President Arafat and against the Palestinian people and not anything else," former internal security minister Mohammed Dahlan told reporters in Gaza.

- REUTERS