- Government sources said Saturday that Israel would respond
harshly to the suicide bomb attack in Haifa, and that the response might
come as early as Saturday evening.
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- Prime Minister Ariel Sharon convened a meeting of senior
political and defense officials shortly after the attack, in which 18 people
were killed, to discuss Israel's response.
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- Government sources said Israel would discuss the decision
by the security cabinet last month to "remove" Palestinian Authority
Chairman Yasser Arafat.
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- Speaking shortly after the suicide bomb attack Saturday
in Haifa, Health Minister Dani Naveh said Israel should "seize this
opportunity to get rid of Arafat."
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- The attack, Naveh added, was further evidence to those
arguing over whether the Palestinian Authority chairman's presence in the
region or his expulsion would cause greater damage, that Arafat's "presence
is far more damaging."
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- Former Labor Party leader Amram Mitzna disagreed, saying
that removing Arafat would be like "looking for the solution in the
wrong place." His removal, Mitzna said, would only increase the hatred
and violence.
-
- David Baker, an official in Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's
office, said Israel demands that the Palestinian Authority take immediate
steps against militant groups. "The bombing in Haifa is another indication
that the Palestinian Authority continues to refuse to take even minimal
steps against the terrorist infrastructure," he said.
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- Palestinian Authority Prime Minister-designate Ahmed
Qureia called Haifa Mayor Yona Yahav to express his sorrow over the bombing
and to condemn it.
-
- The deadliness of the attack raised the question of whether
the government would act on the decision by the security cabinet to "remove"
Arafat. That decision was taken after 15 Israelis were killed in two suicide
bombings on September 10 - in Tzrifin and in Jerusalem - in the space of
a few hours.
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- At the time, the security cabinet did not say when or
how Arafat would be "removed."
-
- The United States, fearing the removal of Arafat could
led to escalating violence in the region as it is engaged in a desperate
effort to stabilize the situation in Iraq, has until now opposed any Israeli
action against the Palestinian leader.
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- PM-designate Qureia condemns bombing Qureia issued a
statement condemning the bombing and also called on militant Palestinian
groups to cease attacks on Israeli civilians.
-
- "Mr. Qureia urged the Palestinian people and all
its national and Islamic factions to practise self restraint and to fully
halt these actions that target civilians and harm our legitimate and just
national struggle," his office said in a statement.
-
- It was Qureia's clearest call for an end to violence
since he was nominated by Arafat last month after the resignation of Mahmoud
Abbas.
-
- In his statement, Qureia also called on Israel to end
the oppression of the Palestinian people and to cease its efforts to strike
at the leaders of the various Palestinian groups.
-
- Senior Palestinian official Saeb Erekat condemned the
attack and appealed to the Quartet of international mediators - the United
States, the European Union, Russia and the United Nations - "to exert
every possible effort in order to ensure de-escalation, and to maintain
the road map" peace plan.
-
- Israel and the international community have called repeatedly
for the Palestinian Authority to crack down on groups like Hamas and Islamic
Jihad, but the Palestinian leadership has so far refused, saying such a
move would precipitate civil war.
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- Blair expresses outrage at bombing British Prime Minister
Tony Blair expressed outrage Saturday at the suicide bombing. "I am
outraged by the latest terrorist horror in Israel," he said in a statement
released by his Downing St. office.
-
- "My deepest condolences go to family and friends
of the victims caught in this attack. Such incidents are always sickening,
but even more so when they involve children," he said.
-
- "The U.K. unequivocally condemns terrorist action
against Israelis, as we do everywhere. These attacks do not serve the interests
of the Palestinian people," said Blair, who was in Rome on Saturday
for a summit on a European Union constitution.
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