Friends of slain Israeli soldier Amir Mansuri, who was killed in an ambush in the Gaza Strip on February 18, 2002, mourn during his funeral in Jerusalem Feb. 19. A gunman killed four Israelis before being shot dead in the incident.
In one of the bloodiest days of the 17-month Palestinian uprising, gunmen shot and killed six Israelis in a West Bank assault Tuesday, and Israeli raids left eight Palestinians dead.
The Palestinian attackers entered a building close to an Israeli roadblock near the village of Ein Arik and opened fire on the occupants, then escaped, Israeli television said. The army did not immediately comment.
The Al Aqsa Brigades, a militia linked to Yasser Arafat's Fatah movement, distributed leaflets claiming responsibility for the attack, Palestinians said.
The upsurge in violence threatened to increase still further the pressure on Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to take more decisive action.
Deputy Internal Security Minister Gideon Ezra said the Palestinians had taken over the element of surprise, once an Israeli prerogative.
"They attack and we defend. In the past we attacked and they defended," Ezra said. "We need to return to that...we have to control the situation."
Earlier Tuesday, Israeli airstrikes, shelling and a raid by undercover forces killed eight Palestinians, including a 14-year-old girl, according to Palestinian sources.
Also Tuesday, a Palestinian suicide bomber blew himself up seconds after he was pushed off an Israeli bus by its suspicious driver near the northern West Bank settlement of Mehola, police said. There were no other casualties.
In all, the day of carnage left 15 dead: the suicide bomber, the eight Palestinians, and the six Israelis.
A total of 25 Palestinians were wounded, including five children, according to Palestinian sources.
In one Israeli strike, helicopter gunships fired three missiles at the office of the Islamic militant group Hamas in the crowded Jebalya refugee camp, killing two Palestinians and critically wounding four, including a 10-year-old girl, doctors said.
In the Gaza town of Khan Yunis, Israeli tank shells hit homes, killing three Palestinian civilians, including a mother and her 14-year-old daughter, Palestinian witnesses said. The army declined comment.
Later Tuesday, one of two Palestinians who shot at soldiers near a junction in the Gaza Strip was killed by return fire, the army said.
With 15 Israelis killed over six days, Sharon came under growing pressure by hard-liners in his coalition.
"He doesn't have the right to be prime minister when a Jew is killed every hour," right-wing member of parliament Zvi Hendel told the Yediot Ahronot daily.
Sharon decided after consultations with top security officials late Monday to intensify military strikes but stop short of a large-scale military operation. "There will be no strategic change, but there will be wider use of military means," said Sharon adviser Raanan Gissin.
In 17 months of fighting, Israel has launched air strikes against Palestinian Authority installations, raided Palestinian areas, killed suspected militants in targeted attacks and destroyed hundreds of acres of crops.
Newspaper commentators said that policy had failed. "The army should either conquer the Palestinian territories, withdraw unilaterally or pursue a peace agreement," Yoav LImor wrote in the Maariv daily.
In addition, a group of 1,200 retired Israeli security officials proposed an immediate Israeli withdrawal from much of the West Bank and Gaza Strip, and the dismantling of 40 to 50 isolated Jewish settlements.
In a position paper published this week, the Council for Peace and Security said troops being used to defend the settlements should be deployed along a line close to the frontier between Israel and the West Bank. The group called for the immediate resumption of negotiations with the Palestinians.
Arafat said Tuesday that despite the Israeli reprisals, "we are still committed to the peace process." Israel accuses Arafat of professing commitment to peace talks while quietly encouraging militants to carry out attacks.
In Amman, Jordan, King Abdullah II said that solving the Arab-Israeli conflict can only be achieved through dialogue, not violence. "The policy of violence will only bring more tension and instability to the Middle East," Abdullah said.
His comment came during a meeting with Richard N. Haass, the head of the US State Department's policy planning office, Jordan's official Petra news agency reported.
Tuesday's events were the latest in a string of incidents which began Monday, with three separate attacks.
On the outskirts of Jerusalem Monday, a Palestinian blew himself up, killing himself and an Israeli Arab police officer. A Palestinian gunmen fired at Israelis in the Gaza Strip, killing a civilian and two soldiers before being shot dead. Another Palestinian was killed by Israeli troops as he attempted to carry out a shooting attack.
Near the site where the motorist and the two soldiers were killed, Israeli troops demolished a Palestinian home and severely damaged another on Tuesday.
Soldiers told 18 other homeowners in the area to prepare to evacuate, witnesses said, but further demolition was prevented by a temporary High Court injunction, requested by Arab parliamentarian Mohammad Barakeh.
(China Daily February 20, 2002)
