UNITED NATIONS/RAMALLAH, 13 February — UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan called on Israel yesterday to end its confinement of Palestinian President Yasser Arafat and strive to revive peace talks as Israeli forces raided two West Bank towns yesterday, killing a Palestinian and arresting 12, and threatening to set up “security zones” in Palestinian areas to put Israeli cities out of the range of a new rocket.
“Certainly the virtual house arrest imposed on President Arafat should be lifted,” the UN leader said. “The destruction of the Palestinian Authority’s infrastructure will only increase the difficulty it has in meeting both its political and its security commitments,” said Annan.
Israeli tanks rolled into Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip late yesterday, occupying the eastern half of the town, Palestinian security sources told AFP.
Palestinian leadership condemned the latest Israeli bombardments in the Palestinian territories, saying the “war launched by Israel” would spread throughout the region. “Those concerned about security and stability in the Middle East should realize that the destructive war launched by Israel against our people will undoubtedly spread to strike security and stability in the whole region,” said a statement carried by the official WAFA news agency.
Israeli forces carried out sweeps for activists near the West Bank cities of Hebron and Ramallah, hours after the latest in a series of airstrikes on the Gaza Strip set a security compound and prison ablaze yesterday, injuring 37 people.
The new West Bank raids appeared to be part of Israel’s retaliation for what the army said was the first use of two Qassam-2 rockets by Hamas on Sunday. They fell harmlessly in farmland but set off alarm bells in Israel.
“Unfortunately, crimes are continuing...against our institutions and even against our prisoners,” Palestinian President Yasser Arafat told reporters in Ramallah. But he added defiantly: “No one can defeat the people of Palestine.”
