Sharon talks tough after air raids

Sharon talks tough after air raids

JERUSALEM (Reuters): Prime Minister Ariel Sharon pledged to
use as much Israeli military might as needed against the
Palestinians, amid scathing domestic and international criticism
on Sunday of his dispatch of warplanes to retaliate for a suicide
bombing.

"We will do everything necessary and use everything we have to
protect Israeli citizens," Sharon was quoted as saying in an
interview with Israel's largest daily, Yedioth Ahronoth.

Six people, including a suicide bomber from the militant Hamas
movement, were killed in the explosion at a shopping mall in the
seaside Israeli city of Netanya on Friday.

Hours later, Israeli F-16 warplanes struck Palestinian
security compounds in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, killing at
least 12 Palestinian policemen and raising Israeli retaliation to
a new level in the current uprising for independence.

The Palestinian Authority called the Israeli attacks a
"serious escalation" and urged the international community and
the United States to intervene immediately.

Echoing commentary in other Israeli dailies, Yedioth Ahronoth
called the decision to unleash the U.S.-built F-16s in the West
Bank for the first time since the 1967 Middle East war
"pointless" and "stupid".

Arab foreign ministers, meeting in Egypt on Saturday,
recommended the suspension of political contacts with the Israeli
government until it halted its military assaults against the
Palestinians.

They did not call for an outright break in diplomatic ties.
Addressing his security cabinet, Sharon said Israel faced "a
lengthy campaign requiring determination and perseverance" -- and
pointedly offered "special thanks" to the air force.

The fighting brought new calls for an end to the violence and
heightening of a security alert in Israel, where police on the
watch for more suicide bombers set up roadblocks that caused
traffic jams at the start of the Israeli work week on Sunday.

"I...call on behalf of the United States for all leaders in
the region to...do everything in their power immediately to bring
into being an unconditional cessation of violence," U.S.
Secretary of State Colin Powell said in Washington.

United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan called the suicide
attack appalling, but branded Israel's response
"disproportionate".

In fighting on Sunday, Israeli soldiers and Palestinian gunmen
exchanged fire near the West Bank city of Ramallah and a roadside
bomb exploded near an Israeli tank along the Egyptian border in
the Gaza Strip. No casualties were reported.

Last Saturday, Israeli troops killed a Palestinian policeman
during a gun battle in the West Bank and shot dead another
Palestinian in the Gaza Strip. The Israeli army said both were
armed and posed a threat to its forces.

A 20-year-old Palestinian was killed by Israeli gunfire while
throwing stones at troops in the West Bank city of Nablus.
At least 441 Palestinians, 13 Israeli Arabs and 87 Israelis have
been killed since the Palestinian uprising began.