Wednesday, October 23, 2002

Israel Buries Bomb Victims, but Does Not Strike Back
Israel did not retaliate today for the bombing of a bus that killed 14 passengers on Monday in what officials said was a nod to American concerns that rising violence here could disrupt plans for possible military action against Iraq.

Departing from what has become a regular pattern after suicide bombings during more than two years of violent conflict, the government did not order the army into action in the West Bank or Gaza Strip.

Mr. Sharon, who recently returned from a visit to Washington, has reportedly been asked by American officials to curb Israeli military responses to Palestinian violence as the United States tries to enlist the support of Arab countries for a possible strike against Iraq.

A 10-day Israeli siege of Yasir Arafat, the Palestinian leader, after a suicide bombing in Tel Aviv last month was criticized by Bush administration officials as damaging American diplomatic efforts and slowing the process of Palestinian reform.

The decision to hold off a military response this time came on the eve of a new round of American diplomacy.

In a sign that no retaliation was imminent, Mr. Sharon did not convene his security cabinet in the hours after the bombing, consulting instead by phone with Defense Minister Benjamin Ben-Eliezer. Mr. Ben-Eliezer's spokesman said curfews would have to be reimposed and blockades tightened on cities in the West Bank, canceling steps to ease restrictions on Palestinians.

"The terrorists are taking advantage of the easing of curfews and closures to carry out attacks, so this easing will have to be scaled back," said the spokesman, Yarden Vatikai. "They are shooting themselves in the foot and causing suffering to the population."

Israeli security officials said the attackers who struck on Monday exploited the lifting of a curfew to drive their car bomb into Israel. The militant Islamic Jihad group, which took responsibility for the attack, identified the bombers today and said they were from the northern West Bank city of Jenin. The army had recently pulled its forces back from Jenin, surrounding the city and digging a trench around it to prevent militants from sneaking out.

Despite the warnings that restrictions would be reimposed, curfews were not in force today in Jenin and Nablus, the army said. The two cities have been described by army officers as hotbeds of militant groups and the source of some of their most devastating attacks in Israel. The army did demolish two family homes in the Nablus area. One was the home of a suicide bomber who struck last July, the other of a militant suspected of organizing attacks on Israelis, a military spokesman said.
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/10/23/international/middleeast/23MIDE.html

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