HAMAS militants yesterday vowed to renew their suicide bombing campaign against Israel and threatened that Presidents Yasser Arafat's Palestinian Authority would also become a target.
In a leaflet issued to Jerusalem news agencies by the Hamas military wing, Izz a Din al Qas vowed it would "punish anyone who declared war on Hamas and Qassam". Israel, it said, would be made to pay for the blockade it had imposed on the Gaza Strip and the West Bank since a spate of Hamas suicide bombings a month ago killed 58 people. The blockade bars about 60,000 Palestinians from reaching their jobs in Israel.
But Hamas also threatened action against Mr Arafat and the Palestinian police for "the great crime it is committing against the [Palestinian] people." Under strong pressure from Israel in the wake of the bombings, Mr Arafat's forces have arrested hundreds of Hamas activists and taken punitive measures against mosques where religious leaders are suspected of having incited against Israel.
While some Hamas leaders have called for an end to suicide bombings and for negotiations with Mr Arafat's Palestinian Authority, yesterday's leaflet accused the Palestinian police of torturing prisoners and said that Hamas's armed wing would "react strongly to the crimes of Arafat's Authority".
In a reference to the suicide attacks which spread fear and panic among Israelis, the leaflet said that Hamas would resume "the wonderful operations of martyrdom". The Israeli Chief of Staff, Gen Am non Shahak, yesterday revealed that the intelligence establishment had received several warnings of planned attacks.
Mr Arafat, however, appeared more concerned yesterday with an announcement made by the Israeli Prime Minister, Mr Shimon Peres, on Monday that he will hold a national referendum on any final agreement reached between Israel and the Palestinians. An angry Mr Arafat attacked Mr Peres's pledge, saying it was a violation of the Israel Palestinian peace agreement.
Other Palestinian leaders also attacked the announcement, saying that the Israeli people had no right to decide the future status of the areas now under the control of Mr Arafat and his Palestinian Authority.
Responding to the attacks, Mr Peres said that the Palestinians should be encouraged by his announcement because it indicated that Israel was firmly committed to reaching a final settlement. Furthermore, he added, we never told Arafat whether the agreement would be passed in the parliament or in a referendum." This was "an internal Israeli matter," he said.
Mr Peres made his comments while on a flight to the Gulf state of Qatar for the first ever visit by an Israeli prime minister. Following his historic visit to Oman the previous day, Mr Peres yesterday arrived in the Qatari capital of Doha.
In a meeting between Mr Peres and the Qatari emir, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al Thani, it was decided that the two countries would exchange low level trade missions. Also up for discussion was a multi million pound deal whereby Qatar plans to export over two million tonnes of liquefied natural gas to Israel every year.
While a survey showed that over 90 per cent of the 450,000 people living in the emirate still viewed Israel as an enemy, Qatar along with Oman, has led the way among the Gulf states in establishing ties with Israel.
Just before Mr Peres left, the Qatari emir invited Israeli business leaders accompanying the Prime Minister to stay on to complete discussions on economic ties. The business leaders politely declined, saying they had to get home for the Jewish Passover holiday, which begins this evening.